Mano Y Mano Productions’ Thursday night free concert series at the UCR Barn has had some incredible bands come through this season. Capacity crowds packed the dance floor for acts like Marlon Funaki and La Lom. Well, Summer is here, and the students are packing up. This Thursday, May 30, will be the last of the shows until Fall, and The Barn is ending the season with a bang.
3LH is bringing their kinda surfy, kinda punky garage rock from OC to UCR as headliners for the evening. The Vlasicsare opening the night with their jangly lo-fi warble all the way from the South Bay. Neither of these bands should be missed. What the Barn is doing for no cover charge is a ‘Christmas’ every week type of gift that we should receive as pure magnanimity.
If it were only those bands and a warm Spring evening with reasonably priced beverages and a better-than-average food selection, you’d be crazy to stay at home. That, however, is not the case.
The meat in this rock n’ roll sandwich is a rare performance of Riverside’s Vicky and the Vengents. Vicky Tafoya is big time at the moment. She is the cream of the crop in the It Sound Souldies scene and stays busy with her band, the Big Beat. Vicky is a true talent, and her soulful voice and powerful stage presence make any time she performs a must-see event.
I don’t know if Vicky considers what she does with the Vengents an alter ego or just another reason to perform. The Vengents has Tafoya trading fancy dresses for a leather jacket and stripes and is a garage rock master class, equal parts bubblegum and Bring It On.
