Photo: Anthony Deeying
Thursday night in downtown Las Vegas, emerging San Francisco rock band The Soft White Sixties played through a 45-minute set to a crowd of people who most of which were unaware a show was going to take place.
In a nice backyard area of the Gold Spike Casino, only a handful of those gathered were aware of the band. Knowledgable fans got what they wanted as the band played through songs from their debut EP as well as their recent release Get Right. Those just looking to kill some time and relax after an eventful opening day of college basketball’s March Madness were pleasantly surprise by the charismatic foursome that have begun to make a good name for themselves in Northern California and are looking to further that following along the west coast.
An appearance at last year’s SXSW has definitely helped pave the way to future success, and if the band’s live show is any indication of where they are headed, good things are around the corner.
Lead singer Octavio Genera has a certain “it factor”, that quality that you want to see from a frontman. Though the gig was small, Genera sang as though he was playing to a packed house at a bigger venue.
At one point in the gig, a passionate and dedicated (also drunk) fan stormed the “stage”, which was nothing but laid down artificial grass you would see at a putt-putt golf course. Genera dealt with the fan well as to not embarrass him for his behavior, sharing the microphone for the chorus at one point while also backing up a bit. When the fan got a bit over the top and tried grabbing his own microphone, Genera smoothly grabbed it before anything could happen.
As far as the sound of the band, they have that 1960s or 1970s straight rock n roll vibe that there isn’t enough of these days. The songs from the new album they played sounded like it had a bit more production behind them while still maintaining the edge that caught people’s attention on their debut EP.
The Soft White Sixties are an enjoyable band worth seeing on their way up. It’s only a matter of time until they really blow up.
Words: Mark E. Ortega
