By the time I got to The Fonda Thetare last Wednesday night I knew that Sun Room, the headliners, were already on stage. It was just past nine o'clock and as I jotted across Hollywood Blvd I could hear a deep, rolling bass rocking from inside. I rushed in to find the balcony closed and the floor filled with rambunctious twenty somethings, a far cry from the setting cast at the sold-out show for The Japanese House at the same venue a week prior. It almost felt like two different venues when I walked into an atomosphere a kin to a dive bar last week.
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Sun Room @ The Fonda Theatre 11/29/2023
photo by Nikki DeMartini
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The 4 guys who comprise the band are Southern California bred which was made blantently apparent by excited screaming for the band, most notably shouting for Thomas, bewteen every single song. Their shared, amphlified excitment easily elevated the experience for everyone else at the show. And it probably made it that much more fun for the guys of Sun Room, too, albeit kind of embarassing.
The first thing I noticed was how loud they were paired with that fact that they sounded good without being able to escape the feeling how badly these guys want to sound good. To be good. In button down shirts, cardigans, neck ties and leather jackets they looked the part and their collective pouring of passion into their music/live show had them playing the part, too and well.
The next thing I noticed was the backdrop: a large, colorful custom tapestry in a patchwork fashion showcasing a friendly sun and their name across the top. It's an eye catching piece to say the least and it gives the band, and their live show, a sort of retro feel. One might expect to hear some western twang with this dusty desert and tumbleweeds type of vibe but Sun Room is all about the surf and garage rock.
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Sun Room @ The Fonda Theatre 11/29/2023
photo by Nikki DeMartini |
Some songs where more garage rock driven, heavy on the lo-fi guitar and bass while others struck a balance between surf and garage, a musical take on a surf and turf plate if you will. A little something for just about everybody. For instance, things got a little bit more beachy when they played "Kicking Rocks" off of their recently released EP, At Least I Tried. For as cliche as it may be, the floor was alive with a youthful exhuberience. There was movement in the crowd. More movement than I have seen at a show in a while.
The song "Fun" from their first EP, 2020's Sol de Sur starts with a whole bunch of Ooooh Ooooh Ooohs and by the time they got around to the first verse the place had erupted into a sea of heads bopping up and down. They grew louder as they played on and as they played on there was more crowd surfing. Ironically enough, the show took a grungy garage turn when they played "Cadillac" and, yep, it was louder than the previous song they played.
While each song brought it's own flavor, Sun Room's ability to waver within genres and delicately blend genres without breaking from their signature sound is admirable, especially for an up and comers still establishing themselves as a band. They did in fact only form three years ago during the 2020 quarentine.
It was hard not to notice the keen attention to deatil in the lighting as bright bursts of color were coreogrpahed to go with each song. From dark indigos and swirling rainbows and pirecing strobe lights, Sun Room's lighting is undeniably a part of their live show.
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Sun Room @ The Fonda Theatre 11/29/2023
photo by Nikki DeMartini |
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Sun Room @ The Fonda Theatre 11/29/2023
photo by Nikki DeMartini |
As the end of the show drew near, more and more mosh pits started circling and Sun Room only seemed to get louder and louder. Frontman Luke Asgian introduced the second to last song as a new one from their forth coming EP due out that same night! The song, louder than the last, weighed in as the night's heaviest guitar driven that they played because you literally could feel it rumbling and roaring with vigor beneath your feet. It was so strong I wondered if it was actally coming from one of them on-stage or some playback off stage.
Everyone was riled up by the time Sun Room wound down to their final song of the night, playing my personal favorite track off of their new EP, title track "At Least I Tried".
I could see Sun Room playing sets you wouldn't want to miss at Summer Music Festivals next Summer: they know how to get a crowd going and they continue to bring it. Their's isn't a new sound but Sun Room's core sound is that of an old rock soul, tapping into the best of both worlds from surf rock and garage rock with an emphasis on playing loud.
Tour continues for Sun Room later this month and into next year in Australia!
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The Fonda Theatre Marqee 11/29/2023
photo by Nikki DeMartini |
