Funeral Party is a band that makes rock music that sounds like it’s supposed to. The drums are fun and exciting, the vocals alternatively scream and swoon and the guitar melts your face at just the right temperature. The entire set radiated an energy that no amount of practice can teach.

Rarely does a crowd pay so much attention to an opening act on a three band night, but it’s hard to look away from a group that’s having that much fun. Lightly painted up for Dia de los Muertos, singer Chad Elliott had a great repertoire with the audience. He made sure everyone knew that the band hailed “from here, this town”.

Funeral Party is a five piece touring band, the standard four and a synthesizer. The synth, as it so often doesn’t, felt like it was a part of the band rather then it’s center. There was spectacular percussion all night, including generous helpings of cowbells, sleigh bells and tambourines.

The band played singles ‘Carwars’ and ‘Where Did it go Wrong’ to general crowd approval. Perhaps the most memorable song was the finale, Funeral Party’s anthem ‘NYC Moves To The Sound of LA’, a song about the recursive nature of popular music, specifically from the West coast eastwards. Elliott introduced it a little tongue-in-cheek poetically, guitarist James Torres dedicated it to his father who was in attendance, and the audience loved every second of it.

Los Angeles scores another win here. Truly, if Funeral Party represents the state of LA’s rock-and-roll, then there is nothing to worry about. The band has come a long way from their humble beginnings in East LA’s Whittier. When this west coast leg of their tour ends, they’re off to play the UK, and not for the first time. This is a good thing. This is one of the bands that should be representing us around the world.

Matt Taylor / Contributing Reporter