For More Echo Park Rising 2017 Coverage Click Here!
Echo Park, CA- “Echo Park Rising is a neighborhood event in it’s 7th year that focuses on the music, creativity, diversity and small businesses of Echo Park. There are multiple stages and activities throughout the weekend located on the main routes of Sunset Blvd, Glendale Blvd, Alvarado Avenue, Echo Park Avenue and beyond.” The joy I get from attending this annual, local musical showcase is twofold: (1) I get to see some local acts that have caught my eye rock for free and (2) I get to take fliers on certain bands to see/hear what they’re all about and hopefully add them to my list of local acts to keep and eye on.
At the start of the year, I got an email from a contributor letting me know that he’d be covering a gig at the Echoplex by a newly formed band named Holy Wars. Once I received his copy, I was intrigued. The review spoke highly of the band’s “vibrant music” and lead singer Katherine Pawlak’s magnetic physical performance.
That was back in early February.
Since then, I have been meaning to see this band live. I had been listening to their music on a pretty regular basis (“I Can’t Feel A Thing” has gotten plenty of listens from my desk), but for some reason or another I could never seem to fit them into my schedule.
When I went through the line-up and schedule for Echo Park Rising, and saw their name on the list, I immediately reserved that part of the day to make sure I caught them perform, even blocking out a good 30 minutes before their set to make sure I had time to get to the venue and set up shop to snap some pics. I’m pretty much on board with my contributor’s general assessment of music, and based on his review, my expectations of Holy Wars was high. Holy Wars exceeded them.
If you like their music, you’ll love them live. Ms. Pawlak is a pint sized force of nature on stage. Whether snarling from the stage, or jumping into the audience to dance with fans, she commands an audience’s attention with her undeniable charisma.
Though the focus is on Ms. Pawlak, her band’s playing is also worth noting. The look of intensity on co-founder Nicholas’ face as he shred through the bridge to “Orphan” (I think) was pretty damn … well … intense. On one knee, his snarl rivaled his counterpart’s.
While their music generally has a “dark” feel to it, their live performance exuded an unbridled joy seemingly based on giving the audience a little bit of their souls for those thirty minutes. And those 30 thirty minutes? Way too short … and I’ve still got them only my list of bands to see because they were that damn good.
Follow Holy Wars on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For More Echo Park Rising 2017 Coverage Click Here!
LIVE CLIPS
Holy Wars 8/20/17 at The Lost Lot for Echo Park Rising. pic.twitter.com/FYH6W09VsA
— Derrick K. Lee (@methodman13) September 12, 2017
Holy Wars 8/20/17 at The Lost Lot for Echo Park Rising. Thoughts and photo gallery coming soon. pic.twitter.com/EELXFqkdk3
— Derrick K. Lee (@methodman13) September 12, 2017
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