White Denim, Caught A Ghost visit The Satellite in LA

Judging by their stage presence, LA-based Caught A Ghost does not plan on remaining unknown for long. Changing their cutesy name would help, but succeeding on their merits alone will not be difficult. They play a wonderfully satisfying soulful electro-indie-rock that is fully mature despite the recent formation of the band. At times vocalist Jesse Nolan sounds like The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach (soul-influenced Black Keys, not the bluesy stuff), but that’s where comparisons to other bands must end. Out of nowhere, a motown-esque horn section comes blasting through the thick bassline and edgy drums. Even Nolan gets in on the instrumental mashup. Instead of just standing there onstage in between verses, he pounds on a drum with reckless abandon to anchor his band’s overflowing sound.

Unlike most subdued, too-cool-for-excitement indie rockers, Caught A Ghost positively relish the adrenaline rush of performing in front of an audience. Before launching into “Get Louder”, Nolan quipped, “I know we’re in Silverlake, but could you guys, like, loosen up a bit? Pretend you’ve had more drinks?” Driving synth lines, delicate melodies, a genuinely charming frontman—this band is every flavor of infectious. When Nolan asked the sound man if they had time for one more song, every member of the audience shouted “Yes!”

Caught A Ghost was a delightfully unexpected treat, but most of us were there to see White Denim. Some, like myself, went to the show solely because a friend from Austin, TX insisted that an opportunity to see White Denim cannot in good conscience be passed up. They started slowly, getting the quieter, more intricate stuff like “Syncn” out of the way before displaying the raucous psychedelic Southern rock-tinged and utterly unique sound that has given them a mythical reputation on the indie-rock circuit.

These guys have been playing together for years now, and it shows. Every member of the band is not just proficient but excellent with their respective instrument. Guitarist Austin Jenkins is completely comfortable improvising solos, and he received rounds of applause mid-song for his efforts. It’s actually quite refreshing to witness musicians of this caliber in such an intimate setting as The Satellite. They have in common with Caught A Ghost a pure love for performing, and Jenkins regularly broke into a broad grin as he traded solos with frontman James Petralli. But in spite of this rock godliness, the members of White Denim display an unassuming nerdiness that makes their genre-bending rock all the more appealing.

White Denim has yet to become a sensation because they have not found a producer capable of bottling their live energy. This is the reason a White Denim show is such a coveted experience. The recorded version of “River to Consider” is catchy, but live it’s positively electrifying. “I Start to Run”, one of their most popular tracks, sounded decent on 2009’s Fits, but the live version will melt your face off. Regardless of this disparity, most of White Denim’s recorded work is excellent and improves with every release. (2011’s D garnered considerable attention from rock critics.) It won’t be much longer before White Denim is selling out larger venues and the type of experience fans enjoyed last Saturday at The Satellite is the stuff of legend.