Ventura County residents and students alike came out in full support of local music and for relief in Haiti at the 118 West’s “Band Aid for Haiti” on March 12.
The event covered a wide range of genres, which included Cobalt Skies as the opening act, who played a variety of folk rock songs, Nonstop July, whose act featured a roaring cover of “Folsom Prison Blues” to Vengeance for the Fallen, who demolished the stage with dual vocals that put the crowd into a frenzy.
If Only For A Day singer, 19-year-old Moorpark College writing and music major Justin Latorre, admitted that his band had never seen a show this size.
“This was the biggest show we’ve ever done as a band,” said Latorre. “I guess all that anticipation and stuff added to the intensity and urgency of the night.”
The 118 West has only been open for about a year but has already made a name for itself as a place where any genre can come play a show with professional quality lights, production value and stage.
After a solid opening set from Cobalt Skies, the room began to get more crowded for the two-piece band Troutwine, who managed to make a decent amount of noise with only two people.
Nonstop July came next and despite a minor controversy caused by the show’s start time changing from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., they were able to perform what was easily my favorite set of the night. After the first few folkier acts, the night took a decided turn in styles.
The last four acts were all hardcore bands and the crowd responded, with mosh pits breaking out amongst the crowd sporadically. Aces High integrated a bit of classic rock flare into their set. Rituals put on a high-energy show but it seemed to come at a lull in the night so they didn’t really have a large enough crowd to match the energy they had.
The night seemed to be all about Vengeance for the Fallen, who took the stage to the largest crowd of the night, and lived up to their hype with a show that led to multiple circle pits and final song where lead singer, The Lumberjack, pulled as many people as he could on stage with the band.
The set was hard to top, but the closing band If Only For A Day proved to be up to the challenge. Although they didn’t take the stage until past 11 p.m., their highly skilled musicianship and their cover of Thrice’s “Cold Cash and Colder Hearts” made sure that the remaining crowd had a strong way to close an already raucous night.
It was a long, musically varied night but those who stayed throughout were not disappointed.
19-year-old Moorpark College art major Lindsay Golding, has been attending shows at the 118 West since they opened and she found the show to be one of the best she’s seen. “I thought it was a lot of fun and really successful,” she said. “I had so much fun…one of the best local concerts I have ever been to.”
The show has already proven to be successful with over $1100 raised for donation to the Red Cross for Haiti and Chile. Hopefull,y the amount of support shown Friday night can carry over into taking even more action to help Chile and Haiti to rebuild.
