LIVE REVIEW: La Luz @ Constellation Room, Santa Ana 3/9/14

March 17. 2014 | By Andre Cruz

Seattle surf rock revivalists La Luz came and went in a swirl of groovy hypnotizing haze when they came to Santa Ana’s Constellation Room as opening act for mind blowing musical geniuses The Entrance Band.

La Luz @ Constellation Room, Santa Ana 3/9/14

Prior to the band’s start, the Constellation Room looked disappointing with small pockets of folks scattered throughout the dance floor. That changed as soon as the female four piece rock ensemble appeared on stage and drummer Marian Li Pino began instantly with an energetic uptempo drumbeat, as bassist Lena Simon kept up with a ridiculously thumping bass line. Despite recently joining the band Simon seemed as if she had always been part of La Luz. Lead singer and guitarist Shana Cleveland joined in toying with her guitar randomly adding some finger picking goodness, as keyboardist Alice Sandhi slowly came in, piecing it all together as the song came into full swing.

La Luz @ Constellation Room, Santa Ana 3/9/14

La Luz @ Constellation Room, Santa Ana 3/9/14

Following opener “Big, Big Blood,” the band quickly continued with “All The Time,” instantly establishing a tone and their dominating presence. The group played carelessly, wanting to show their laid back personalities, yet with a concentrated determination for precision. “Morning High” showed the band really letting loose as Sandhi provided some entertaining dance moves while awaiting her moment to add her organ to the song. Cleveland gracefully swayed and danced across the stage, attempting to engage with the other members who often responded with a laugh or smile. “It’s Alive” caused quite the stir amongst the crowd, with many loosening up and attempting to look as cool as the band.

La Luz @ Constellation Room, Santa Ana 3/9/14

La Luz @ Constellation Room, Santa Ana 3/9/14

Cleveland took a brief moment to thank everyone for attending, also noting that they loved being able to return to California. Saying “We love California! We spent the whole day at the beach today. We’re from Seattle, where there are beaches but no sun.” Ending their set with “Sure As Spring,” the band put their musical abilities on full display, jamming for an extended period.

La Luz @ Constellation Room, Santa Ana 3/9/14

As the band began to tear down their set, the crowd eagerly chanted for an encore. And thankfully the ladies in La Luz treated us with an instrumental jam session, orchestrating a “Soul Train”-like dance line with most participating, keyboardist Sanghi even jumped off stage to help encourage the dance movement. A perfect night of new music provided by the future of what’s to come in the indie music scene.

Check out a full gallery of the lovely La Luz ladies playing Santa Ana HERE!

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