TALKING ABOUT L.A. AND INSTAGRAM
Story by Laura Hermiston
Video by Olenka Szymonksi
On Canadian Thanksgiving night, the Allah Lahs from L.A. played the Great Hall in Toronto. Their sound check ran late and evidently Ola and I bumped into the jacketless men on the red velvet stair case in a fluster. They asked us to take them to a place to eat nearby that was both cheap and quick. The pressure was on. Unfortunately, everything was closed and we ended up at a restaurant where we were not exactly welcomed. With approximately 15 minutes to spare before their early set time (and a band still hungry and dismayed with Toronto dining), we finally got to sit with them backstage and properly interview them.
The Allah-Lahs opened up the show with their insturmental song Ela Navega and then followed with their single Busman’s Holiday. It wasn’t until they played the second more catchier song that the crowd warmed up to these Californian’s and closed the gap between themselves and the stage.
The most noteworthy aspect about this show was how good this band sounded live. Ultimately, it shouldn’t be difficult to convey surf-garage songs live. However, it shows that when they recorded their record, it was limited to mostly (if not, only) what they can achieve live. Their vocal harmonies were surprisingly all in tune and sounded just as melodic as on their record.
