By Raphael Dunn |Staff Writer|
The Growlers made a triumphant return to the West Coast last week performing at The Observatory North Park in San Diego, Calif. on May 9.
The band formed in 2006 in Costa Mesa, Calif. and are known for their heavy fusion of rock and psychedelic sounds; a genre they call Beach Goth.
The band is composed of Brooks Nielsen (vocals), Matt Taylor (lead guitar), Scott Montoya (drums), Anthony Perry (bass), and Kyle Straka (keyboards) who all bear a striking resemblance to The Doors, a rock band from the late 60s.
My night began with standing in line outside of an abandoned building for almost two hours.
I found myself surrounded by young fans with shabby-looking hair, flannel shirts, mix-matched clothes that looked like they belonged to an old man, all while sporting Chuck Taylors or Doc Martins; I was basically surrounded by what I would imagine thrift store models would look like.
Once inside, we had to listen and watch a shirtless, six-foot-five White boy with long, blonde hair mix old 70s disco records on stage for another two hours.
“Dude, I don’t know who this guy is but he’s the worst warm-up act I’ve ever seen!” said a couple of audience members.
The show started around 10 p.m. when all the lights went dim except for a hazy purple undertone lighting on stage, which would illuminate a red neon sign that read “The Growlers.”
Reflections of iPhone camera screens filled the crowd at the perfect moment to make it look like an old rock concert where the fans would flare their lighters in unison.
They opened the show with one of their most upbeat singles, “Drinking the Juice Blues (Hashima)”, that got the crowd roaring, with the chorus being a catchy sing-along.
It immediately got both guys and girls singing along since it is one of their most popular songs filled with raunchy, psychedelic guitar solos.
“One Million Lovers” is one of the bands most famous songs and immediately got a reaction when the crowd heard the keyboard solo in the intro.
Almost all the couples in the crowd were dancing together while belting out the lyrics that seemed to mirror their relationships.
They closed the night with another one of their most popular tracks, “Love Test.”
All the girls in the audience were on an emotional roller coaster when a spotlight was put on Nielsen as he sang what his definition of a real woman and real love is.
The room then went dark after the band said good night, which left everyone in shock.
It led to the whole crowd eagerly shouting, “Encore! Encore! Encore!”
“They can’t end the show without playing ‘Chinese Fountain’ man, they have to play it!” said a crowd member.
The purple hazy spotlights on the stage were suddenly turned back on as a scroll was unveiled showing a photo of them for the encore performance.
They ended the night by playing “Chinese Fountain” which elevated the entire crowd to a place of sheer bliss.
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