The Hi Hat: Kat Leon with Naika, Badtooth and Roman the Cartoon

It was a rather diverse music line-up at The Hi Hat on a recent Monday night. Roman the Cartoon opened things up with a sound that was very similar to that of Magic Bronson. What made his set very amusing was that he had two individuals on stage who did some music box spins. Initially, there was an individual dressed in a suit, spinning in circles. Then a second individual came up on stage, in a mask that had one thinking of Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut.

Roman the Cartoon

Next up was Naika. Interestingly, Marley from The Colour Coast was in the audience. Why was this interesting? Well, the sounds of The Colour Coast and Naika are very similar with some tropical vibes. Naika mentioned that she is Haitian. She was also very personable, telling us how she came out to California after finishing college and had a mental meltdown due to the stress of being an adult. An experience that many feel throughout adulthood.

Naika

Kat Leon was the main attraction for the night. This was advertised as a one time event. A solid crowd showed up for this event. She mentioned that the 7 song set was inspired by a love of movies (well, one song was also a Radiohead cover, Exit Music). She was backed by six musicians, which included Holy War's Nick on keys and Dolly from Doctrin on vocals.

Closing out the night was Badtooth. So we went to heavy r'nb/rock beats of Roman the Cartoon to the Haitian sounds of Naika to the movie inspired rock tunes of Kat Leon. Badtooth ended the night with goth sounds played under the bath of red lights. At times, the band disappeared into the glow of the red lights while their music pierced it.

Badtooth