Live And Direct: Two Nights With Shiloe

Written By: Jim Markunas
(Editor-In-Chief)

See all of our live pictures of Shiloe here.

At the risk of sounding like a band-aid, Shiloe, in my opinion, is one of the best and freshest indie bands in Los Angeles. This is a rarity. I came to L.A. with the misguided notion that every band in town would be awesome, as this is where the majority of mainstream bands come from. I was disheartened to find that a lot of acts in Los Angeles suck just as much as the bands throughout the rest of the country. With that said, I’m always excited to find a new gem. In 2006, this was the After Midnight Project, in late 2009, it’s Shiloe.

With a totally crushable bass player and a drummer that’s ape-shit crazy on stage, Shiloe’s balls-to-the-wall rhythym section is a perfect pairing, or paradigm, to Ken’s subdued-yet-pretty vocals and surf effects-ladden lead guitar. The dichotomy between the thumping bass (Melissa is an exceptional player), the sparkling clean guitar, and drums that sound like Jimmy Chamberlain dueling with U2’s Larry Mullen Jr., makes Shiloe’s music interesting and fun. I also like the banter: Melissa banters with the audience, Ken banters with Melissa, it makes that transitional period between songs less boring. I guess you could say I’m pro-banter.

Anyhow, on Halloween, CWG threw the wildest party ever at the CWG Mansion in the Hollywood Hills. We convinced Shiloe a few weeks in advance to headline the event. They graciously accepted, and history was made.

Fast-forward to 10:00PM on Halloween night; patrons, free-loaders, fans of Shiloe, and people dressed in a variety of costumes (my favorite being the guy in the full Gumby suit), stood in line halfway down the side of the canyon surrounding our mansion. They had come for the gala of a lifetime – a chance to see Shiloe streamed live over the internet for CWG Magazine’s first-ever live concert series, and of course the opportunity to party until 4AM in a giant mansion.

Party-goers as far as the eye could see passed through the mansion’s front door, down three flights of stairs, and out onto the lower balcony (our mansion had 4) for the kegs, full bar, and scheduled performance.

Anticipation grew, as our sound engineer running the live stream fussed over the sound check; he wanted everything to sound perfect, and it did. The audience was half-lit, as the band finally ripped into their opening song; an hour later than scheduled. The stream went off without a hitch, and the crowd exploded, dancing through Shiloe’s whole set. As Shiloe attempted to put their instruments down, a guy dressed in a full Gumby suit grabbed the microphone and demanded the band do an encore. The crown roared in approval. Shiloe put their instruments back on and rocked the crowd for the rowdiest encore in Halloween history.

After a short meet-and-greet with fans, Shiloe packed up, and the crowd funneled back into the mansion for drinks and all-night music from three of L.A.’s best local DJs.

I was so unbelievably blown away by Shiloe’s Halloween performance, I had to go see them at the Troubador the following night. They had the opening slot for Black Gold/Girl in a Coma. I showed up ridiculously early (a rarity for me), and waited in anticipation. People started to trickle into the venue as Shiloe had taken the stage.

“Oh my God, they have a girl bass player!” shouted one of the girls in the front row. Melissa winked at her while strapping on her bass. They opened with the same song as the previous night, as the crowd, previously not knowing what to expect, began to bob their heads to the music. The first song ended and the audience erupted in applause. The venue began to fill up as Shiloe played through their set, making for a very decent turn-out (the best I’ve seen for an opening band in my history of going to L.A. shows)

My one and only complaint about Shiloe’s Troubador show was that there was no encore!

These guys are definitely worth checking out! See the links under the top picture for more info.

Shiloe Live @ The CWG Mansion (Full Set)