Photos by Philip Cosores
Considering that Caveman’s debut album, CoCo Beware, is a self-released offering that was available (originally) solely from digital retailers, it’s surprising how much the band has been on people’s lips for the past few months. This says a lot about the way in which Caveman’s music manages to be wholly digestible for a mass populous while simultaneously including elements of mild experimentation that prevent them from falling into the column of just another run of the mill pop-rock band. This being a free show, and Caveman’s first in Los Angeles, the likelihood is that many in the audience may have just come along having heard only the word of mouth and not any of the actual music.
Before Caveman took their turn onstage, there were a couple of bands playing beforehand that possibly hoped that they could gain some popularity from the interest refelected off of Caveman. First up was Hands, a band that infused dance elements with straightforward indie rock. At times a little bit Yeasayer, but with not quite as much song craft, the guys seemed to be thoroughly enjoying performing. All four members seemed like the kind of people that may have been awkward growing up, but having discovered a passion for making music have come out of their shells and enjoy putting on a show. Although their music may not have been the most original, this passion for their work was plain to see and kept everyone involved in the performance.
Next up was Races, a band that is the complete opposite to Caveman in the fact that they have played in L.A. (and at The Echo in particular) countless times. This comfort was plain to see as the band set up and played a typically great set. Leader Wade Ryff embodied this ease and love for his home by sporting a Los Angeles Lakers t-shirt under his customary blazer. In the small space afforded by The Echo’s stage, all six members moved as much as they possibly could, lilting back and forth on their haunches in time with their undulating rhythms and riffs, seemingly adding more volume to their sound purely with this physical presence. Concluding a relatively short set was their recently released single “Big Broom,” Ryff tried to persuade the crowd to sing along to the song’s conclusion, and while it may not have quite worked on this occasion, it is easy to picture a whole room singing along to this part in unison not too far in the future.
Despite a few sound issues, Caveman were more or less into the swing of their performance from the minute they began. Singer Matthew Iwanusa’s auxilliary drumming served to both interplay and strengthen the rhythms of Stefan Marolachakis, while Jimmy Carbonetti and Sam Hopkins used variations of guitars and keys to keep up a wall of sound around the percussion which stayed more or less constant throughout the performance. With only one album under their belt, Caveman decided to save the clear standouts until a little later in the set; easing the crowd into their performance with cuts like album opener “A Country’s King of Dreams.” However, judging by the reaction of some members of the audience, every single song was a highlight.
The first true standout moment of the set came midway when the band played “Thankful” and at its conclusion maintained the atmospheric din of the keys and guitars in order to cleanly segue into “Decide,” which saw the biggest crowd reaction of the night, with many bodies shuffling in time with its danceable chorus. Caveman also gave us a glimpse of new material, which seems to be continuing down the path of what they do best; the more atmospheric and slow material that subtly builds into something slightly mournful and quite beautiful. Caveman concluded the set with “Old Friend,” which took the shoegaze-like guitars and dreamy wordless vocals from its recorded counterpart and expanded them with more volume and plenty of gusto in the performance from the band members.
Having played all 10 of the songs from their album, and a new one, there was nothing left for Caveman to do but to say thank you and leave the stage, which they did, but not before they admitted that they hoped they’d return to LA soon. I’m sure that it won’t be long before Caveman returns, and I’m confident that many people in the audience from this performance will return to see them again too.
