It was a night of firsts at The Echo. First time I had seen either of these budding LA acts on the eve’s bill (Night Terrors of 1927 or Jaymes Young). First time Jaymes Young has played a show live in LA. First time I have seen a celebrity at an indie show (thought this shit happened all the time in LA?). And after leaving The Echo that night, however, I can say that both Jaymes Young and Night Terrors of 1927 have a lot more firsts coming their way (label, tours, releases, successes, etc.).

Jaymes Young is a talent. B3SCI picked up on him early, covering the piano driven “Wondering” and the live performance was just as moving. You could see Jaymes seemed a bit hesitant, and it being his first official show was probably the reason why. However, there was a sense that Young could rely on his strong voice and overall raw talent. Playing from a small cataloge of tracks, Jaymes and the band played smoothly through “Hold You Down”, “Dark Star”, “Fragments” and ended on the brilliant (albeit an odd) cover of Haddaway’s ’93 single “What Is Love”.

Night Terrors of 1927 hit the stage immediately following Jaymes Young. There is a bit of background to this relatively unknown group: Blake Sennett, of the now defunct Rilo Kiley and former leader of the Elected, joined forces with former frontman of the Honorary Title, Jarrod Gorbel, to create this new indie synth pop band. They have only two released tracks, “Dust and Bones” and “Watch The World Go Dark” (both were played live and both sounded incredible). The rest of the set that night was unknown to me, but here are some factors that can be taken away. Night Terrors have a HUGE sound. A sound way to big for The Echo. The band played extremely and should be touring more heavily in the very near future (not known, just assumed). When the album, or EP, comes out, expect other blogs and outlets to immediately jump on the bandwagon. Other than that, Night Terrors of 1927 sound has pop hits written all over it.

I mentioned that a celebrity was at the show and he had to be pointed out to me. Blake Sennett, an indie star already, had a role on Boy Meets World and Salute Your Shorts, known as Blake Soper or Blake Swendson. Though I loved both programs and think Sennett is talented, he wasn’t the celebrity. Tobey Maguire was rocking front row, catching the new sound of both acts.

Reviewed By Brian Litwin

Night Terrors of 1927 (Facebook)

James Young (Facebook)