Dead Sara
Mandalay Bay – March 17, 2013
Review by Sylvia
 
The first time I heard Dead Sara was an early Saturday morning on my way to the station. I thought, “What band is this? What is the name of that song?” The song was called “Weatherman,” their first single off their self-titled album.

Their performances are just as raw as the music. Their television debut on Jimmy Kimmel showed that they are an energetic live band that gives it their all with vocalist, Emily Armstrong, unafraid to jump off a speaker during the climax of “Weatherman.” They have toured with Bush, Chevelle, Offspring, and recently they have opened for the band Muse (whom I am a huge fan of but that’s a rather long story that I’ll save for another day). I caught up with them at the restaurant, Crossroads, inside the Mandalay Bay. I was curious to know what advice they had taken from these musicians while touring with them, so I asked them what have they learned as a –relatively— new band?

“Just keep going,” Emily responded, “they all seem to commend us … [we] kind of watch and see what they do; it’s not something that they can tell us.”

They’re a humble group and somewhat shy. Though I have heard and seen that shyness is not the case when it came to performing. I was definitely looking forward to seeing this band from Los Angeles as the opening act.

The stage was simple; however, the simplicity allowed the audience to see and appreciate their talent. No distractions from flashy lights or giant screens. They kicked things off with “Sorry for it All.” It’s a slow kind of song that starts with Siouxsie Medley on guitar then Emily Armstrong comes in. The crowd was silent and watched as the song picked up little by little. As soon as she belted out a few notes, the crowd started cheering. Armstrong has a way of getting attention with her voice because it has a unique sound (hey, it captured the attention of Grace Slick from Jefferson Airplane). It’s not only the voice, though; it’s the whole package that Dead Sara is able to deliver that makes the audience listen and take notice.

Their set wasn’t too long. Either that or I just wanted to see more from this band. I was hoping they would play “Monumental Holiday,” which has a very Nirvana-feel to it —think “Breed”— ,but “Lemon Scent” sufficed. The last song of the night was “Weatherman” to which Armstrong thanked her family, friends, and the crowd for attending before she jumped off the speaker.

Each song was performed with intensity, passion, a bit of angst, and plenty of headbanging. They’re a straight up rock and roll band that is sure to have continued success. So, if ever there is an opportunity to see Dead Sara – do it.

Oh, and if you’re on Twitter … follow them @deadsara. They started using the hashtag #ShitSeanSays, which follows random quotes from drummer Sean Friday. So far, I have enjoyed “If mosquitos had a language it would be Spanish.” Friday explains that,  

“[I] used to watch funny videos … and I remember seeing one when I was, like, 18, and there [were] mosquitos and they had Spanish voices.”

Random but entertaining.