GALLERY: Crumb
SANTA CRUZ, CA | MAY 10, 2023 | BY ITALIE PENALOZA
Brooklyn-native psychedelic rock band Crumb took off on their spring tour of the West Coast at the end of April, performing at sold-out venues along the Golden State, making their debut at the Catalys, Santa Cruz’s famed concert venue. They moved on from playing local restaurant venues to a sold-out crowd, bringing their psychedelic indie rock to the picturesque beach town.
The night started off with an outstanding performance from LA-based trio Automatic, who joined Crumb for their string of spring shows. Playing woozy rock, the opening band prepped the scene for Crumb’s headlining performance. As stagehands set up for Crumb, the stage was rapidly transformed into a dreamy garden scene with kinetic flower sculptures surrounding the band’s instruments. While waiting for the band, fans quickly grew excited and even started a fan chant calling for Crumb to take the stage.
Shortly after, the house lights went down and a colorful illumination of the stage took their place, reflecting off the flower sculptures and creating trippy visuals. Crumb opened the show with “Nina” from Jinx, their first album and dived into a balanced ratio of hits from the band’s current two projects.
Their performance was filled with perfectly distorted guitar, bouncy keys, and bright drums. Vocalist Lila Ramani’s woozy vocals and distorted mic effects added a unique touch to the live version of their songs. They even included extended dance-electro intros for songs like “Fall Down,” surprising the crowd and making them move. Attendees were even gifted a saxophone solo by Bri Aronow, the band’s keyboardist.
Midway through the show Ramani spoke to the crowd for the first time, getting a temperature check by asking, “How are you doing Santa Cruz?” Received by cheers, the band continued on into the rest of the songs on their setlist. Among them were the new tracks “Dust Bunny” and “Crushxd,” which are the band’s first release in two years.
Should ever Crumb return to the Santa Cruz area, I’m sure they will be met with the same excitement and energy from this tour’s sold-out audience. The band will be finishing up their tour in Salt Lake City, and when they do, we hope to hear even more new music!
