Allah-Las + Tashaki Miyaki @ Café Campus

Presented by Greenland Productions

"The best soundtrack to the best road trip through the desert I have never taken."

When the Allah-Las released their self-titled debut album in September of 2012, and listening to it became part of my daily ritual. As the colder weather approached and winter's brutal arrival became inevitable, those twelve songs soaked in sun and ocean played obsessively in my headphones, taking me on an daily imaginary California road trip, in search of sand and sun, through the desert and down the coast. I also felt the undeniable urge to surf, every day that my feet were negotiating snow banks and slushy puddles felt like a waste of time, or that I had somehow become displaced.

The frigid temperature in Montreal the day of the Allah-Las show at Café Campus was a reminder that there is no turning back and winter is here. Luckily on The Allah-Las also rolled through town in support of Worship The Sun, their excellent follow up to 2012's Innovative Leisure debut. 

Upon arriving at Café Campus, I was surprised to see that the line up to get in stretched down the three flights of stairs inside the club and continued onto Prince Arthur street. The fact that only days before the venue was upgraded from the smaller Petit Campus room, it was a clear indication that the word had spread about these former Amoeba record store employees and their undeniable California sounds. 

Fans of The Allah-Las are familiar with their weekly Reverberation podcasts, eclectic mixes that showcase many new, lost, or rare West Coast bands with some jazz and world music thrown in for good measure. These podcasts perhaps share some of the music that Miles Michaud (vocals, guitar), Pedrum Siadatian (lead guitar, vocals), Matthew Correia (drums, percussion, vocals) and Spencer Dunham (bass), were listening to when they weren't surfing. It was for this reason I was interested in catching opening band Tashaki Miyaki, a trio also from Los Angeles.

It seems that poor timing in regards to Café Campus opening its doors just 15 minutes before Takashi Miyaki took to the stage meant that the majority of ticket holders queued up outside didn't get to see the opening act, myself included. I would however recommend to any one that missed them to check out their soundcloud page to listen to some very interesting cover versions such as INXS's "Never Tear Us Apart" and GNR's "Sweet Child O' Mine". Their sound is typically Californian in the vein of Mazzy Star. Hushed female vocals and reverb guitar make these songs sound fresh no matter how many times you've heard them. So I've taken note to keep my ear to the ground for the next chance to see them perform.

The venue was at full capacity by the time the Allah-Las took the stage, and excitement could be clearly seen on everybody's face. From the opening drum beat of "No Werewolf" (originally recorded by surf legends The Frantics), the crowd shimmied and twisted, demonstrating nothing but unconditional love for the Los Angeles headliners and their catalogue of timeless surf-inspired tunes. A background projection filmed from the dashboard of a car snaking it's way through desert roads, dusty California towns and coastal highways brought all those winter daydreams to life, that journey I had dreamt about embarking on was playing out in front of me, soundtracked by one of my favourite bands in recent memory.

Older songs took on more muscular, and dare I say psychedelic, forms mixing in and occupying even footing with the newer material, evidence that since we last saw The Allah-Las in 2012 opening for The Black Angels, that they have clearly polished their musical chops, or perhaps have found a greater confidence in performing live. By the second song "Busman's Holiday", it seemed as though frontman Miles Michaud realized he was looking out to a very enthusiastic crowd, and the band threw back as much love to the audience as they were themselves receiving. Pedrum Siadatian's lead guitar and solos on songs such as "Sacred Sands", "Follow You Down", and "Artifact" were anticipated by the audience, before a single note was played, with joyous applause. Siadatian's execution was so fluid that you'd think he was somehow connected to the ocean at the time. 

To say that the band is an entirely different entity live than on record would be an understatement. An auxiliary member was brought along to add bongo and various other percussion and sounds into the mix. This addition resulted in "Ferus Gallery" being transformed from a xylophone-inflected loungey instrumental into a tribal surf exorcism. Musical dynamics were shifted into more robust arrangements, dirtier fuzzier tones stretching the songs into longer versions than those found on record. It was the perfect live experience for anyone who has played the band's two records to death (cough, cough).

Miles Michaud's voice was in fine form and his excitement could not be ignored as he constantly told the crowd how pleased and overwhelmed the band was to the audience's reception, reminding us that they would indeed be back as soon as they could. Anyone witnessing the band for the first time might have been surprised that all four members took lead vocals at some point throughout the night. Bassist Spencer Dunham slowed things down and gave the crowd a chance to catch their breath on "Vis a Vis". Pedrum Siadatian took lead on Worship the Sun's "501-415", Drummer and percussionist Matthew Correia stepped out from his drum kit, allowing Miles to take his place while he shook maracas and took vocal duties on "Long Journey". Once back on the drums, Correia belted out a rollicking cover of The Human Expression's 1966 song, "Calm Me Down", almost bringing the house down in the process. 

Playing almost every song from the band's two albums meant that no fan left unfulfilled. I was particularly ecstatic to witness the best performance of "Sandy" and "Catalina" from the debut album that I have ever seen. The encore was only one song, but the band welcomed Tashaki Miyaki onstage to ensure that Worship The Sun's first single "Every Girl" became a party closer. For two hours on a cold winter night The Allah-Las took me down to the coast and left me in the desert and provided me with the perfect soundtrack for the trip I had played through my mind a thousand times, the only thing missing was the feel of the ocean and a sun tan.

--"Oncle Ian" Macpherson hosts The Go-Go Radio Magic Show every Friday at 6 PM on CJLO. Tune in, turn on, freak out!