L.A. Witch @ Metropolis - POP Montreal 2016

Presented by Evenko and POP Montreal

The music of L.A. Witch has a prowling, expansive, and gorgeously atmospheric quality that grabs the attention and enters your dreams. One can hear the influence of bands like Mazzy Star, or The Dream Syndicate and Opal from the '80s paisley underground scene in Los Angeles, but L.A. Witch's vibe is stripped down to the bare bones and sexier, with a more intimate grindhouse rocker vibe.

L.A. Witch showed some real bad-ass style at Metropolis last night, doing a short half-hour set and performing pretty much their entire catalogue, which included "Get Lost", "Heart of Darkness", and their latest single "Drive Your Car" (the band's first label release on Black Mass Recordings / Ruined Vibes).

On stage, L.A. Witch has a way about them that is dark and felinesque (right down to the singer/guitarist's leopard print mini dress), which I really dig as a cat owner and honorary member of the glaring. These are some powerful chicks, for sure. I adored the tone and phrasing of Sade Sanchez's voice, Irita Pai's bass was on-point, and drummer Ellie English demonstrated good technical skill and support. L.A. Witch was a good choice as an opening band for The Kills both musically and in attitude, but parts of the performance have me wondering if this tour is starting to get them down a bit.

There were some slight technical difficulties, the guitar was a little obstructed, and the trio seemed aloof and lacking in energy for the majority of their set. The large size of stage at Metropolis was magnified as a result and left the impression that perhaps the band would be better suited to smaller venues consisting solely of devoted fans and members of their coven—but that witch-vibe feeling inside senses L.A. Witch will prove me wrong.

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Stephanie Dee is a writer living in Montreal and she likes to participate in having fun. This is her fifth time covering POP Montreal for CJLO. Be sure to search for our hashtag #CJLOgoesPOP and follow us @CJLO1690AM on Twitter and Instagram for up-to-minute coverage of the POP Montreal.