It's Pop, OK
By Bruno Librati-Bucketfull of Brains - Winter 2003

The International Pop Overthrow (IPO) festival, named after a Material Issue song, had just made its sixth appearance in the city of Los Angeles. It ran for two weeks and featured more than 180 artists from around the world. The growing success of IPO has led to festivals in New York and Chicago, and another will take place in Liverpool this October.

It's my second IPO in LA, and last time I was lucky enough to catch BoB favorites like Velvet Crush, The Rubinoos, Jason Falkner, 20/20, Bill Lloyd, The Shazam, Chris von Sneidern and The Shoes, and to discover some great live revelations-The Tearaways, Starbelly, John Faye, the Spanish group Ross, the excellent Rosenbergs, the now defunct Wanderlust, and Mannix.

This time round I only stayed a week in LA, but still managed to see just over a third of the acts appearing. On the first night The Tearaways were excellent. They've got some classic songs like "Nowhere Left To Turn," "Remember," and "Angelyne". They will be making the trip to Liverpool. Ray Paul had a pretty special backing group with Rick Gallego (Jiffipop/Cloud Eleven) and Rick Hromadka (Maple Mars) on guitars. The charming Chris von Sneidern played beautifully crafted pop songs. Steve Barton and The Quarter After played rock/pop and Byrds style respectively. The last group that night was Supremium. I love their albums and their powerful stage energy makes them very special.

The next day saw an acoustic set by Joe and Mike Nolte of The Last, which was ok, and the Twenty Cent Crush show which was too short. I was so impressed by Brian Lovely's Flying Underground that I bought their album there and then from the merchandise table. I was amused by Spookey Ruben, and loved the set by Parthenon Huxley. He and his band were excellent-hard driving guitars, sharp solos and great songs. The retro sound and look of Phamous Phaces seemed a little out of context in the festival, but they played a fab version of "I Am The Walrus". I was lucky enough to attend the acoustic set from Joey Stec and Lee Mallory of soft pop legends The Millennium. Lending real meaning to the 'International' in IPO, the lead singer from Austrian band The See Saw [Stootsie] played a solo set. He had a guttural voice with a strong power pop leaning (he said he'd opened for Mettalica a few days before!). It would have been good if the whole group could have made it.

The "Girls Night Out" at The Derby on Los Feliz Blvd. Was interesting. I'm not especially fond of female pop voices, but the idea of bringing together the best of the pop girls was a good one. The opening act, Beth Thornley, was a revelation. Her songs were as beautiful as her. She has a very good band with an excellent guitar player. I really enjoyed Saucy Monky. They are more indie than pop, and very energetic with two gorgeous singers/guitarists.

I then attended The Rainbow Quartz Night at Fais Do Do. Rainbow Quartz is an independent label devoted to psych/pop. UK group The Contrast, and The Singles, were not bad, not good, just ok. Myracle Brah, a favourite of mine, played as a trio. Andy Bopp may not be the greatest vocalist, but he writes great rock songs ("I'd Rather Be," "Message '78"). Next, the Three-4-Tens from Philadelphia-great sound, good guitars-definitely a group to watch. Look out for their new album coming soon. The Grip Weeds blend power pop, sixties sound and psychedelia together to form something totally new and original, which explains why they are one of the best loved groups of the moment, and a big favourite at the IPO festival. RockFour comes from Tel Aviv, Israel, and are one of the best live groups. I first heard of them courtesy of the Bills (Minus Zero/Stand Out) with their first CD which was sung in Hebrew! It's a real stoner with a psychedelic English sauce (a la Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd), topped off with the Rickenbacker sound of The Byrds. Several albums later, and having performed all over the world, they're just about to record with White Stripes producer Jim Diamond. RockFour have the possibility of a great future. A highlight of the night was The High Dials, from Montreal. Great presence, a rock/pop sound tinted with guitar-driven Byrdsian psychedelia (very much the reference of the day). The quartet put the crowd on its knees! I can't wait to see them again if they come to Europe. Their opus on RQ, A New Devotion, will certainly make my Top 10/Best Of lists at the end of 2003.

Now after a big week of concerts, my only problem that keeps nagging at me as I prepare to go back to work, is not who I have seen, enjoyed, or not, but the ones I missed.