Last Friday’s show at the Funzone in downtown Santa Barbara, co-headlined by indie musician Avi Buffalo and his new project Litronix, was intimate to say the least. Band and audience members alike all gathered together in the extra-room-turned-concert-space in the back of the East Beach Batting Cages, with no stage to separate the ten or so attendees from the performers. Many of the audience members were longtime Avi Buffalo fans, who were ecstatic to hear he was restarting his solo career after experiences with over-controlling managers drove him to announce that he was calling it quits. Additionally, his Santa Barbara show is the only stop on his mini-tour where he was listed to play a solo set. The concert’s small turnout only cemented its status as a memorable niche experience.
First on the bill was Santa Barbara experimental electronic musician Text Back. The event’s Facebook page described Text Back’s musical array as, “A table spread of electronic devices [that] allow him to make beat-driven soundscapes, with sampling and experimental vocals.” Ironically, his music was all prerecorded on his laptop, which he let play on a table while sitting on the floor behind it. I walked in during the middle of his set, and initially had the odd impression that the audience was just silently listening to the venue’s interim experimental ambient music, without looking at their phones or talking to each other. It took me a second to realize it was the middle of his peaceful, contemplative set. The next act, Ventura’s own Bobby Rae, strummed his guitar along to pre-recorded background tracks of his sweet, floaty brand of indie rock, despite a few technical issues with his computer that momentarily slowed down his set. “Again and Again” and “Afternoon” were some definite highlights.
Soon after, Litronix, a band who self-describes their genre of music as “danger,” took the stage. Litronix comprises of L.A. musicians Kevin Litrow on keyboards and vocals, and Avi Buffalo on guitar and keyboards as well. When their set started, almost everyone in the audience was sitting