Directly off the bustling Interstate 5 freeway, sandwiched between a car dealership and outlet strip mall is a local concert venue – the Chain Reaction.
With band t-shirts and stickers plastered all across the walls, “The Chain,” as it is known locally, definitely provides an atmosphere for a variety of bands to showcase their talent. Although the maximum capacity of the building is 250 people, there is more than enough space for a good sized concert.
Thursday night, local Los Angeles talent, A Smile from the Trenches, kicked off the evening’s event with a few songs and even fewer fans. Energy was low in the crown and just so-so onstage.
Up next was Flight 409, an alternative rock band hailing from Fresno. Their four-song set was well done, band energy was high and their cover of “Don’t Stop Believin’” (originally done by Journey) brought a good 20 more people to the floor and inspired a good bit of singing.
Mashed between the two opening acts and the two better-known bands, Against the Ropes, a local Orange County band played with an interesting mix of quick beats, up-tempo music. Problem was, the lead singer, Kevin Williams, kept his eyes closed for most of the concert, had little to no energy, and had a voice reminiscent of a boy band your little brother would enjoy. Despite this, Against the Ropes did fairly well for (what looked like) one of their first times in concert.
Juxtaposed with this performance, long time concert veterans A Thorn for Every Heart took the stage with energy not yet seen by the ever increasing crowd. Beginning with a song from their original album (released in 2004), ATFEH ran three songs together without pausing to come up for air. Anchored by the high energy, electrifying stage presence and amazing vocal range of Kelvin Cruz, ATFEH put on a great set and definitely gave the people a show.
Finishing the concert was headliner Eudora, a quick tempo’d rock band from Orange County. Just coming off the release of their debut full-length album “The Silent Years,” Eudora came prepared to play a good eight or nine-song set with each song sounding fresh, clean and distinctly different from the previous.
The crowd was into it, I was into it, and overall, the combination of fun, local bands, and great performances by both A Thorn for Every Heart and Eudora made the show worthwhile and easily worth the $10 cover fee. I mean come on – good music, cool venue, and a rockin’ concert on a Thursday night – could life get any better?
