Ashbury (Cafe Du Nord, 22 July 2005)

Ashbury is a band from Los Angeles whose music is akin to Joy Division and Interpol, with a hint of The Killers (sans the pretty boys). This five-piece band is opening up for The Lovemakers, who has a week long residency at Cafe Du Nord. I arrived early, by show standards, at the venue and was surprised to see how full it was.

Ashbury consists of Jesse B. at vocals, Raul Martinez on guitar, Erik Hernandez on synths, Andy Magallon on bass and Greg Fierro banging the drums. As they were playing their first song, I immediately realize Jesse B.'s stoic stage presence. It seems like he is either just standing there looking at the ceiling or the floor after each song. This is not a band thing, since I think it adds to the dynamic of the band.

Another observation is that this band is ridiculously tight -- meaning these guys can rock. Especially Andy Magallon's bass. The bass sound was predominant throughout the night, and it would have been disappointing if I had to hear anything else. Erik's playful and cheerful demeanor on the keyboards was also evident, with several of the ladies around me commenting on his "cute shirt."

"Doubt Remains" was a definite highlight of their set. I was very impressed with the synths and bass, and it is definitely one of the better tracks on their new single. Jesse B.'s voice was so creepy during some of the songs, that if you closed your eyes, you'd swear Ian Curtis never died.

There was a good sized crowd that came in to see Ashbury and Ashbury entertained them from beginning to end with their great instrumentation and conflicting, yet appropriate, stage presences.