La La Lush, a band of recent alumni, recently performed at The Bowery Ballroom, bringing new music — its self-titled EP — to a crowd of familiar faces in a city the band calls home.
Prior to La La Lush’s set, The Liza Colby Sound and Reserve for Rondee performed. The lead singer of Liza Colby Sound performed her whole set in a hot pink leotard with an excessive amount of fringe. The group’s sound was a more old-style rock, and it sounded good, but the band’s bizarre stage presence and the lead singer’s alarming outfit distracted from the set.
Reserve for Rondee served as a transition from hard rock to pop rock, but again, the strange stage antics distracted from the set. The lead singer, in a black button-down and acid-wash jeans, danced wildly and at one point jumped of the stage to run to the back of the hall and jump on the bar. Midway through the set, he needed to take a breather and called a random audience member up to sing a song while he sat down on stage.
People did not really arrive until closer to 10 p.m., so many missed the crazy and comical first half of the night. Fans went wild when the band finally took the stage at 11 p.m., and the energy remained high throughout their hour-long set.
La La Lush has long been dominant on Fordham’s local scene, having opened Spring Weekend last year during the band members’ senior year, but now a wider audience is getting to enjoy the band’s eclectic sound. The band has been touring in the Boston and Philadelphia areas, as well as playing more shows here in the city..
Their set felt like a bit of a homecoming for the band. They seemed to know a lot of people in the crowd, and thanked the audience for all of its support several times. All of the members seemed very much at home in the limelight, and it was clear that they had honed a tight set over the last few months. Their confidence translated into a brash and engaging set.
Stephen Federowicz proved to be one of the more versatile members of the band, moving from keys to percussion, even taking to the microphone for rapping and lead vocals. Sporting a hoodie and a grin, he infused some fun into the otherwise focused quintet.
Leea Borst, the lead singer, delivered each song with her strong vocal chords, screaming at times, shouting at others, giving each song a kind of rough demeanor.
As usual, guitarist Stephen Scarola brought attitude and technique to each song, adding a dose of something special to each track the group played, which rounded out at about a dozen songs.
The band played a number of tracks from its self-produced debut album, including “Sentinel” and “Harbingers,” which were brought to life alongside the bands antics as they jumped around the stage, all while interacting with their stage-hugging fans.
La La Lush also unveiled a few new tracks off their new EP, including “O.W.L” and “Fever,” which caused the crowd to move and shake more than usual. It was clear that the band’s production value had gotten slicker and more refined on the EP as compared to the LP. The band’s closer, “Don’t Touch (That Water)” was a sweet ending to the set; the kind of ending that makes the audience wish they could rewind the show back to the beginning, just to account for any small moments they might have missed.
Joseph Vitale and Katie Nolan are Managing Editor and Copy Chief at The Fordham Ram.
