The first I learned of She Wants Revenge was by joining some friends to see a local show when I lived in Austin, Texas during ACL Live @ The Moody Theatre in 2012. I didn’t entirely know what type of music scene I was getting myself into. The music was something out of a movie.

Since their sound is so unique, it’s challenging to describe it. You’ll hear a mix of The Cure, New Order and Nine Inch Nails or a Depeche Mode sound. When I find myself explaining the sound, I say it’s something of a low and ominous toned David Bowie type of sound, long and strung out with an electronic rush and edge somewhat familiar of The Killers. It’s different and it’s weird yet it’s memorizing.

Fast forward to present time to their sold out show in Santa Ana at The Observatory. I had the chance to talk to longtime fans of the band and front row barricaders, Stephanie and Carlos from Riverside, CA. When talking to Carlos about how long they’ve been listening to SWA he had to do a bit of recounting in his head and had a bit of a “damn!” moment when realizing that they’ve been listening for 10+ years. They talked about how random the band can be, coming out with a new song or an album and then be silent for a while. The next thing you know they’re coming to town for a live show. While it’s not consistent it creates a lot of excitement for them and they have no problem with that whatsoever.

Starting off the night were the Warbly Jets. I felt like a time machine took me to the 60s with a mix of fashion you’d see from past bands like the Stones, Jimi & Zeppelin. It was a nice surprise and a ton of fun to photograph. Each instrumental and electronic sound complimented one another but personally, I could have used some more vocals. By more I mean volume. Crank that shit! Regardless it was a killer set and a treat to hear the famous, Spider Man approved song “Alive” (for all you who don’t game, this song played as an intro theme song to the newest Spider Man PS4 game) and the newly released song “Propaganda”. While this LA based band have not been around for too long, I see a bright future for these guys and expect to see some new bangers to come through soon enough.

She Wants Revenge then took the stage but not like you’d expect. No dark stage starting a roaring crowd as they appear from the shadows. It was actually Justin and Adam themselves casually setting up the stage, tuning and all. It was a change of pace and you didn’t really know when they’d actually start playing. Is this a sound check or is this for real... I was expecting a change of lighting but then it happened, and they didn’t disappoint. The red, morbid & low-dimmed show went on. She Wants Revenge started the night with “Killing Time” setting off the moody and gothic vibes they’re known for. As they made it through the setlist, the crowd go-getters were “These Things” and newest single “BIG LOVE”.

Both floors were packed. The floors and walls rattled with every strum on the bass. I felt like I was in the heart of a giant. After halfway through the set they started to engage with the crowd a little. Any SWR fan knows that it’s more than normal to not ever hear much during a performance, so when they do hear Justin or Adam talk out, the crowd is all ears. Adam announced that they’ve “began to plan some new shit” that they’re excited for and I think it’s safe to say that SWR fans are more than ready to get their ears on some new SWR music.

The show ended on the moment we all looked forward. “Tear You Apart”. The song that brought most of us together that night. While the bass started to hit its rhythm and just before Justin could even start singing, he called everyone out by saying “I know it’s hard to put on your story and clap at the same time but you’re gonna have to do better than that”. Preach it brother. This put everyone in their place and we all rocked out to their last song of the night.

Hands down a fantastic show where both bands came to give us what we all went there for. Looking forward to what new jams they have coming our way.

From behind the lens. -Alyssa Mize

SETLIST

• Killing Time
• Take The World
• These Things
• Reasons
• Big Love
• Little Stars
• Written
• This Is The End
• Fix It All
• Suck It Up
• Broken Girl
• Sign Your Name (Cover)
• Red Flags
• Maybe She’s Right
• Out Of Control
• Tear You Apart