Lucky Dragons/ Pit er Pat/ Dead Western

At night, the BIKO Garage becomes a "House of Noises". Lucky Dragons, Dead Western, and Pit er Pat headlined a night of sounds, experimentation, and energy. The night started off with The Absence of Sound Before the Storm. This local duo brought power and pleasure from the reverb, foot pedals, and laptop computer. Chowger (Justin Chou) held a steady yell through the mix of noise, hip-hop, and bass. Following this was Hecuba, a duo from Los Angeles. Hecuba took the stage with a synthesizer, a snare, and a every energetic vibe. Both musicians brought the crowd to their senses as they took rhythm in spontaneous outbursts of body movements and drum work. Pit er Pat, touring from Chicago, procceded to take the stage. The trio introduced itself with a quick but powerful drum pattern, starting off a jungle trance. With two Dr. Samples synthesizers, the bassist and drummer took this band of instruments into a tunnel of distortion and thunder. The somewhat psychedelic sounds of Pit er Pat led to the erratic sounds and momentum of Lucky Dragons. This Los Angeles trance band took order with scattered objects on the floor, a flute, and a loopy device that is affected by the amount of people who interlock hands, feeding off the energy. This made for an uproar of curiosity and intrigue. Lucky Dragons made up their set of dancing through the crowd and creating repetition of sound through their computer and pedals. Closing the show happened to be Dead Western, taking the stage with red acrylic paint down both of his cheeks. The Sac town acoustic guitarist played a full line up of sullen folk songs with interludes of crowd pleasing jokes, remarks and even just noises. "Yay, for college!!" was a repeated quote of Dead Western. He finished off his set by incorporating an audience assistant to hold his kazoo as he sang his last song. The music ends, but the crowds still linger talk to the touring bands and buy merchandise. These free shows in Isla Vista are brought together by SBDIY (Santa Barbara Do It Yourself). For more info on free IV shows go to: www.myspace.com/sbdiy