The L.A.-based band Le Reverie took their most recent release Dark Symphony to the stage Saturday, March 9, as part of the "Ladies Of Metal"show at the Good Hurt Club in West Los Angeles. The macabre musicians would hit the stage at approximately 11:30 p.m. Le Reverie’s roster included: Allie Jorgen (lead vocals and songwriting), Jeff Mallow (guitar), Daniele DeCarlo (bass), Roc (drums and songwriting) the artist known as The Mysterious OG was mysteriously missing somewhere in Europe replaced temporarily by keyboardist Bastien Benkhelil who played the piano on "Ghost of You" on their latest CD.
While your usually reclusive writer is almost perpetually penned up he made a New Year’s Resolution to crawl out from under his laptop and venture out into the real world at least once a month. So as has been the case in the past, there will be no song-by-song analysis so that your randy writer might actually enjoy a live show as it is meant to be enjoyed—in person.
Upon eventually entering the Good Hurt Club it became quickly apparent that this was meant to be a trendy little place strategically located in the midst of tattoo parlors and indie record stores on Venice Boulevard. It’s a dark, dimly lit night spot free of sufficient seating for all deemed worthy of admittance. The sparse micro-beer vending venue was already alive and bustling once your crusty chronicler and his sexy sidekick du jour cleared club security with the timely aid of Le Reverie’s Roc.
The attending crowd was generally a younger mix of various races, creeds and colors, genders and sexual preferences and overall appearances. It was a blend of bespectacled boys with war paint, tattooed tootsies and bass players wearing eye-liner. While waiting for Le Reverie to take the stage yours truly was exposed to an assortment of other artists including Zookeeper's Palace (whose only apparent connection to the “ladies” of metal was their noteworthy dolly drummer) and the female-fronted band Phavian.
The music was often more macabre than metal but still interesting overall with Phavian’s femme fatale hawking their wares mid-set, further reminding one and all that this was an indie evening. While anyone who knows anything about the music industry will admit every act needs a ballad, it oft’times seemed that they were perhaps playing from the wrong playlist for a night of metal music. On the other hand, maybe it became quickly apparent to the band that the evening’s audience appeared to be more interested in chatting than head-banging.
Indeed, even the gathering e-mail addresses for Phavian was a bit counterproductive to the concert and the efforts of the multitude of mixed singles seeking to secure a mate for the evening. Nevertheless, boys and girls, good things come to those who wait as Le Reverie took the stage with their somewhat subtle introductory instrumental off their new Dark Symphony disc “La Naissance”. As they broke into the tune “Twisted”, it became quickly apparent that the band could easily substitute significant stage presence for studio polish
Their abilities as a live act became clear as they performed the Edgar Allan Poe-inspired “Raven”, the metal/prog rock hybrid titular tune “Dark Symphony” and their prerequisite theme song “Le Reverie” which remains the most obvious example of their signature sound. Their recent release came alive as they continued to perform pieces for it including the high flyin’ “Hall of Mirrors”, the powerful “Dark Secrets” and the apropos fan favorite “Pleasure and Pain”.
Perhaps one of the most impressive and certainly most popular performances was that of their “Breakout Single of the Year” and their first single “Hold Me Down”. As previously reported, this number holds a special meaning for the group. According to Jorgen they were once told by numerous others that starting a Gothic rock band “was not a good idea”. She adds: “The song is about following your ideas . . . and not letting anyone tell you different or ‘hold you down’.”
They closed their set with the title track of their Truth & Lies EP, which Jorgen once stated is “probably our best song so far.” It certainly does have that Led Zeppelin-influenced fuzz guitar lead-in, the stark piano work and Jorgen’s mezzo-soprano vocals. All in all, Le Reverie’s performance was wonderfully alive with an unfiltered edge that made their music even more exciting, immediate and vital than on their recent studio release.
My name is Phoenix and . . . that's the bottom line.
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