Photos and review by NOTES FROM VIVACE
LOS ANGELES – Mystic Knights took to the Three Clubs stage to celebrate the release of their sophomore single release “Count.” The five piece band is led by lead singer Chris Cester, a founding member of the Australian band Jet. Their set was filled with a fierce attitude of garage rock music. Their sound was peeled back and allowed to explode with raw intensity.
The crowd loved it, filling up the front of the stage. The band’s intensity was noticed almost immediately. The set had barely begun when the drummer had to toss out his splintered drumstick that was caught by an audience member with the ease of an All Star baseball shortstop. Cester noticed the offstage talent and called out, “That was a good catch.”
One has to give a shoutout to Cester’s tambourine. With his background as the drummer for Jet, the tambourine gave his arms that necessary workout and was like an extension of his body. Well, except for those moments where he decided to toss it to the ground though he inevitably would pick it back up.
The band lets their music do the talking and showed an eagerness to outsource any dead air moments to the crowd. When tuning took a little too long prior to a song, Cester called out to the audience, “Somebody say something funny.” Their songs are rapid fire and at one point a band member could be heard saying, “We’re just blasting through this.” Of course, those short bursts of music allowed members in the audience to dance it out without reaching exhaustion.
As the set came to a conclusion, the band’s intensity showed up once again via Cester’s microphone stand that totally fell apart on him. For the concluding song, he walked off the stage and allowed his band to go on a jam session. That electric conclusion had the crowd worked up and demanding an encore. Cester appeared more than open, but the DJ music popped up and his band members started to break down their equipment, but the crowd’s pleas hit their rocker hearts and they provided a much appreciated encore.
