Los Angeles, CA - Viper Room 12-22-00
Sunna Strike Sunset (from virginmega.com)
So it's a Friday night in Los Angeles, on Sunset Blvd. no less, and the usual stampede of stiletto heals and glossy black shoes strutting down the lit aisle of style is missing. The culprit behind the vacancy? Santa. Seems even the biggest of scenesters gave in to the holiday spirit to stay home last Fri (12/22) before Christmas, leaving one darkened Viper Room lacking it's usual around-the-corner line of antsy club goers yearning to enter it's doorway.
Too bad for those who did chuck the night out for eggnog at home, but thanks for leaving room to move for those of us who stuck around to see Astralwerks rockers Sunna.
Led by singer Jon Harris, Sunna imported their feverish, multifaceted rock from London to the Westside. With Aussie bassist Shane Goodwin sportin' his surfer style shoeless, the ensemble took to stage with a welcome rock attitude that's confident but natural. Performing songs off their debut album, One Minute Science, the emerging band supplied a brief sample of their cerebral rock energy that sways from fierce aggression to somber intensity.
Kicking off with the first song on the album, "I'm Not Trading," drummer Richie Mills led the band's pummeling sound with driving force. Despite an initially mellow crowd that hung distant from the stage, the show only picked up with each number. Streaming into the hazier, more atmospheric "Grape," Harris' poetics drifted throughout the venue, although the dramatics of the record didn't come to life with the same enveloping energy. However, the later "7%" did capitalize more fully on Sunna's subtle melodies and entrenching lyrics. Highlighting the band's versatility, "Insanity Pulse" appropriately pulsed the crowd with harsher vocals against grinding guitar and DJ beats.
The 40-minute gig closed out with "One Conditioning," a track that pulled together the two contrasting faces of Sunna. At first chiming sweet and delicate, the song then built into heavy bass undertones reminiscent of a Nine Inch Nails darkness.
So both the band and audience weren't riled to optimum fervor, but the show still maintained an enthused crowd, whose unwavering attention was cast on the group's diverse, rare-in-today's-scene rock.
- Linda Koffman (virginmega.com)