Chinatown Summer Nights: Holy Wars, Blacktop Queen and Gothic Tropic

One of my favorite events during the summer are the monthly Chinatown Summer Nights. I've been going to these nights for a number of years now. I was really anticipating this night as Holy Wars and Gothic Tropic were playing.

I almost missed the start of Holy Wars. I was stuck with my real job 15 - 30 minutes longer than anticipated. I got there with about 5 minutes to spare. This is a band where every song drips with emotion and missing a single song is just too much, in my opinion. I first saw this band about a year ago at Harvard and Stone. At this point, I've seen them a handful of times. And that thrill just never leaves. I noticed on Instagram that someone commented that Kat had that Beetlejuice style going. I don't disagree, but I was also thinking Pris (Daryl Hannah) from Blade Runner.

What I noticed: Nicolos Perez (guitarist) ripped out his guitar strings to end the set and tossed his guitar to the side. He's done this in the past. I'm going to need to remember to capture this moment if he does it again.

What I noticed 2: I wasn't there to see all the bands, but I have to say a lot of photographers showed up for Holy Wars. As one photographer friends said, "They're famous now." 

Holy Wars

Blacktop Queen was the middle band for me. Too many folk were stuck in the beer garden for this set. The lead singer mentioned this when saying something like, "They've put the beer garden fence just far enough away to make things awkward. I'm going to need to make this feel less awkward."

Their music combines styling moves and pop-dance tunes. The band dressed in yellow, making one think for a moment of Stryper. The lead singer put on the stage show with some shifty moves that had his guitar swinging all over the place. Kevin Bronson, who hosted the day, mentioned that if Blacktop Queen didn't sing his favorite "Desert" that he might just need to jump to his death. They held that song to the end and that song does provide those pop-dance hooks. I could see this song being played at dance clubs across America. 

Blacktop Queen

Gothic Tropic is a band I first came across in 2012 at Silverlake Jubilee. I saw them on a side stage, El Cid. After that night, I've always kept them in mind. I should note that that 2012 festival had some awesome bands that are still around currently: Las Cafeteras, FIDLAR, Allah-Las, Robert Delong, The Record Company, Mondo Cozmo (via Eastern Conference Champions).

What did I notice? Okay, I didn't actually notice this until looking through photos shot by other photographers . . . but lead singer Cecilia was playing on a clear, see-through guitar.

Gothic Tropic has this smooth tropical sound off set with the occasional guitar jam.

Gothic Tropic