Show Review: Gamma World & Total Pleasure (Wisteria Residency 1) @ Zebulon LA

 Show Review

Gamma World &
Total Pleasure

(Wisteria Residency 1)

@ Zebulon LA

   Man, I would go to Zebulon more if they booked more shows that weren't the indie/underground equivalent of legacy acts.  I mean, I get it, they are going for diversity in their programming, not trying to replace the Echo.  But the regular shows are so good at Zebulon!  So I found myself at night one of the Wisteria Residency in February- every Monday night!  

    The bill started with Gamma World- they were cool- a two piece with a drum machine- that's all you need! They had some anthemic song writing, some political lyrics.  It was fun- I can see a path to a real career for those two, but they've only got one release on Spotify and its "Demo" from 2019 on "Unsigned" so there is work to do there.  Every act needs to make a physical product, tape, cd, vinyl, whatever and then sell it at live shows.   When I looked up their socials I saw my like minded contacts in the world of music were already following these guys, so I would say, worth checking out, hope they do more shows.  Didn't love their look!  I bet they don't care!

    The second band was Total Pleasure.  This is a trad post punk outfit, with a rhythm section that sounded like the Cure, a pair of guitarists that sounded like the Smiths and a normcore singer who looked like one of the neo-shoegaze front men you see out there in recent times.   It didn't quite hang together- the rhythm section sounds like it needs to play more shows together and the songwriting was uneven- some of the cuts really jammed, others felt awkward and flat.   But you know, ever since the pandemic, I've really begun to appreciate EVERY local band- god bless them all, each and every one.  Just the fact that they are playing shows on a Monday night- god bless them.

       Didn't stay for Wisteria- I was curious to see whether Zebulon was mighty enough to keep a three band Monday night bill on schedule and the answer, sadly, no.   Gamma World didn't play till after 9 PM, and I left at 10:30 with Wisteria's set no where in site (they were supposed to take the stage at 10:20 PM).  Here's a tip for Zebulon, or Wisteria- don't book a three band bill on a Monday night if the first band isn't willing to take the stage at 8:30, as was the case last night.  Still was a good time and looking forward to next week.