Flickerstick rocks House of Blues

By Antero Garcia
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Rising from the dredges of winning a reality TV show ““ on
cable no less ““ the band Flickerstick not only managed to
stay together, but also to put on a hell of a concert.

After reigning supreme as the underdog on the VH1 television
series “Bands on the Run,” quintet rockers Flickerstick
played to a crowded House of Blues on Sunset on Wednesday.

As the quilted curtain that enveloped the stage of the House of
Blues fluttered with pacing techies frantically checking equipment,
fans anxiously awaiting the appearance of Flickerstick were greeted
with a treat of yester-year pop culture. The theme song to the
infamous movie “Wily Wonka” echoed through the club as
giddy teenage girls bounced back and fourth in anticipation.

While the song was humorous, it also created the only lull in
the evening’s intensity. Instead of playing simply a snippet
of the track, a full-fledged five minutes were dedicated to the
rather cheesy Gene Wilder ditty.

After the overly long song ended, the curtains parted as rays of
light and sound seeped onto the audience.

Playing songs off of its recent release “Welcoming Home
the Astronauts,” Flickerstick appeared pleased as the
majority of the crowd sang along with lead vocalist Brandin
Lea.

If Flickerstick learned anything from its cable television
shindig, it’s stage presence.

Prowling the stage adorned in a denim jacket and a dignified
ascot, singer Lea looked like a bastard son of Rod Stewart and
Buckcherry’s Joshua Todd, and possessed stage mannerisms
reminiscent of Scott Weiland and Mick Jagger. The rest of the band
also had enough flash to keep the audience enthralled.

With arguments between the band members running rampant
throughout the T.V. season, perhaps the reason the majority of VH1
fans tuned into the weekly show was simply to see if Flickerstick
would break up in any given episode. Wednesday night, Flickerstick
did not disappoint these fascinated voyeurs. Tension was easily
apparent between Lea and guitarist Rex Ewing, who snapped at the
vocalist for giving the audience an unnecessary
“disclaimer” when preparing to sing a new song.

Other performance highlights from the evening included an
energetic version of the group’s song “Lift,” the
spacey track that opens the band’s debut album and sounds
suspiciously similar to the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky
with Diamonds.”

The band also sang an awesome cover of the hit song “Fade
Into You,” by Mazzy Star. For all of the trivia savants, this
is the same song the band rehearsed during an episode of
“Bands on the Run.”

Opening quintet Phantom Planet seemed torn between committing
itself to being a power punk outfit or to sticking to alt-rock.
While the group did an adequate job as an opener, it will find a
larger spectrum of success once it finds the direction it’s
going to take.

Overall, the evening was a good taste of reality for fans of
musical reality television.