Rainbow Girls Shine at SOhO WORDS + PHOTO BY LEA BOYD
I
t doesn’t matter who they play with, the Rainbow Girls always steal the show. Such was the case on Jan. 23 when
the boot stompin’ all-girls band got feet thumpin’ and pulses racin’ throughout Santa Barbara’s SOhO nightclub.
Having sharpened their performance skills on Santa Barbara’s farmers markets and busking tours through
Europe, the Rainbow Girls are now in their finest form. They rocked SOhO with their charateristic up-tempo folk
sound—fast paced yet approachable, soulful but never sappy, charged with young energy and high intensity lyrics.
But let’s talk about that high energy. Cheyenne Methmann, who contributes her voice and guitar talents, etched
herself deepest into the audience’s memory with her no-holds-barred tap dancing. The bands' drummer blasted the
beat, making herself an unforgettable contributor despite her near invisibility behind the four front women.
Harmonies seem to come with breathing for the Rainbow Girls. Their recordings are good, but their performances
are great. It’s DEEP’s fervent belief that if you haven’t seen them live, you really haven’t lived. (www.sohosb.com)
David Crosby Hometown Special
WORDS + PHOTO BY L. PAUL MANN
D
avid Crosby played a very special concert at the Lobero Theater on Jan. 16, in front of a hometown crowd of Santa
Barbara friends, relatives and long time music fans. The recently renovated Lobero Theater is not only the oldest
continuously running live production theater in California, but has to be one of the best venues to hear live music in
the entire tri-counties area.
This is especially true now that the theater has upgraded to larger seats, bigger restrooms, and relaxed its rules to allow
beverage consumption inside the theater. It was the perfect backdrop for what was billed as a warm up concert for Crosby’s
new mini-tour to promote his first solo project in 20 years—the newly released “Croz” album. Crosby and a team of five
seasoned musicians, including his son, and music collaborator James Raymond on keyboards, played two full sets lasting
nearly three hours into the night. (www.lobero.com)
Funky Jazz Party WORDS + PHOTO BY L. PAUL MANN
N
ew Orleans jazz funk master Trombone Shorty together with his band Orleans Avenue played a dance
infused concert at UCSB’s Campbell Hall. The concert was another sold out event in the UCSB Arts and
Lectures concert series, which has become more popular than ever this season.
The UCSB Arts and Lectures organization was founded back in 1959. The group continues to expand
their cultural outreach program producing over 100 events a year. The organization's stated mission is to
“educate, entertain and inspire.”
The Trombone Shorty concert on Jan. 23 combined all of these lofty goals into a riveting evening of musical
education for Santa Barbara’s young and old. Just like he did, when he played at the same venue a few years
ago, Trombone Shorty invited aspiring local high school musicians to attend the band's rehearsal. Then the
band proceeded to perform a spirited jam session, inviting the young musicians who brought their own
instruments to play with them.
The Grammy Award nominated Trombone Shorty and his band of crack jazz funk rockers then proceeded
to play a nearly two-hour set for the sold out crowd of much older jazz fans in the packed auditorium. (www.
artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu)
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