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Soundcheck: The Henry Clay People, The Pity Party & The Happy Hollows @ Spaceland, 12/31/08
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Part of an ongoing series
New Year's Eve was a raucous, booze-filled celebration at Spaceland (MySpace) in Silver Lake, with triple headliners The Happy Hollows (MySpace), The Pity Party (MySpace), and The Henry Clay People (MySpace) -- all of whom have been previously mentioned here -- kicking off 2009 with a show that will undoubtedly wind up on many "Best Of" lists at the end of this year.
Kevin Bronson at Buzz Bands reported that, "After leading up to the 12 o'clock countdown by covering the Airborne Toxic Event's 'Sometime Around Midnight' -- wink, wink -- THCP interrupted the set so that bassist Noah Green could propose to his girlfriend Natalie Milazzo. She said yes. Then brothers Joey and Andy Siara led the band in 90 minutes of rip-roaring covers, joined by as many 25 or 30 folks onstage. Yeah, it was festive." And Woods heralded it as "...a show that cemented the already concrete status of the Henry Clay People as Los Angeles' best and most entertaining live act, as well as priming them to be—conceivably—the breakout local act of 2009... It was fitting, then, that they were the band chosen to close out what was one of the more artistically successful years for local music (just check here and here, then here and here), and then inaugurate a year that will (hopefully) be twice as successful." Not to be ignored, "The Happy Hollows launched the final evening of 2008 reminding the room of what they do best: a beguiling blend of slightly askew, guitar-burned indie rock and sprightly pop gleaming with the blood-spattered carnality of frenzied, noisy punk," and "The Pity Party provided a dark interlude in the night’s midsection, a moody and eardrum pummeling tether buffering the festive sets of the Hollows and the Clays with a performance that was just as triumphant, albeit more threatening and sinister."
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As for upcoming local shows, The Henry Clay People, sans Green and drummer Eric Scott but with Jonathan Price and Mike Hopkins from I Make This Sound (MySpace), perform this Saturday at Spaceland, supporting The Afternoons (MySpace) with Lemon Sun (MySpace) and The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra (MySpace). Meanwhile, The Pity Party's drummer Heisenflei will be joining The Raveonettes (MySpace) on their upcoming tour, which concludes on January 24th at the Henry Fonda Theater.
Special thanks to The Happy Hollows, The Pity Party, The Henry Clay People, and Spaceland.
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