BEING THERE: Twin Peaks @ Union Transfer

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Photo by DYLAN LONG

Chicagoan indie rockers Twin Peaks and openers together PANGEA and Golden Daze showed up at Union Transfer and they brought with them good times in the form of luscious and high-energy rock n’ roll. Having seen Twin Peaks open up for surf rockers Wavves before, I can personally attest to how solid of a group they are. With a mixture of power pop and jangle rock with some seriously rockin’ harmonies, it’s good stuff, plain and simple. LA-based Golden Daze, a six piece band with count ‘em four guitarists, was first up and nothing short of solid. The four guitarists wove into each other’s sounds in dreamy fashion, while propped up by drums, keys and delicate lead vocals. While slow-paced songs don’t usually evoke much physical enthusiasm from a crowd, it was obvious that Golden Daze were well-received as heads were bobbing for the entirety of their set.

Next up were arguably the wildest band of the night: together PANGEA. With three full-length albums out already, these Los Angelenos had a full arsenal of tunes at the ready. They kicked it up several notches with much faster tunes full of loud and frenetic riffs, which sent the crowd into a total frenzy. Pits opened us instantly, and within the first two minutes we had our first crowd surfers of the evening. Things had quickly evolved as together PANGEA kicked it into full gear with tunes like “Sick Shit” and “Too Drunk To Cum,” sparking a ton of energy that had been waiting to be tapped into. The crowd of millennials and Gen Z’s bopped and moshed to their heart’s content as the drummer for the band kept insanely good tempo at some pretty high speeds, with little to no breaks from the madness. I couldn’t help but be genuinely impressed by the quality of their musicianship, especially drummer Erik Jimenez. They closed with “Snakedog,” a personal favorite of mine, and you can bet yer ass I was right at the center of the pit with my buddy Christian freaking out.

The energy in the crowd had peaked during together PANGEA’s wild 45 minutes, and now kids were powering down and catching their breath as Twin Peaks took the stage.  However, there was plenty left in the tank as they eased into some of their catchiest tunes, “Walk To The One You Love” and “Making Breakfast,” which kept the crowd stirring. Twin Peaks bring a simple sound to the table, nothing complicated. It gets you moving, not too fast and not too slow. Their upbeat melodies and harmonies had everyone in the crowd dancing and smiling, making friends and singing along, arm in arm. The energy was positive, and boy was that shit refreshing in a time like today’s. After their bigger hits, the group mellowed out with some calmer and sleepier tunes like “Stain”, “Have You Ever” and “Wanted You.”  Many in the crowd were worn out by the time they began playing their more relaxed tunes, myself included. All in all, having a band that’s twice as fast be the opener for a more laid-back headliner was a dubious move. But, by the end of the night myself and my friends had gotten our proper dosage of indie rawk, and walked out satisfied with a good time in the books.?— DYLAN LONG