Operators showcase new material at The Echo inciting total movement across the dance floor

Operators played a triumphant show at the The Echo on Thursday night. Coming off of a stint opening for Future Islands, The Echo was the first Los Angeles headlining show of Dan Boeckner’s newest creative outlet.

PARIS opened the show with a strong set. The band is still finding it’s voice musically, but they performed like there were way more than the handful of patrons lining the walls of the Echo. They were stoked.

Next up were Thee Rain Cats. Strange band name, yes; but in the SEO age one is probably better off. They most immediately reminded me of The Strokes and subsequent listens their EP on Bandcamp have proven that comparison slightly, but not totally, off. They had great energy on stage and I am excited to see where this project goes.

Considering the brevity of the Operators’ new EP 1 I was curious as to how Boeckner and Co. would fill out their set. Would they have long extended jams? Or maybe they would dip into Boeckner’s prodigious career for material? Would we hear some Wolf Parade songs? Or maybe a Divine Fits remix?(!?) The answer was much better than I could have hoped; most of their set was a showcase of tracks that haven’t yet seen the light of Soundcloud.

The new material, presumably to be released on Operators’ upcoming full length, was strong and adventurous. The band was truly invigorated to be playing new songs to a crowd of bobbing heads and swaying bodies as opposed to a sea of cell phones.

It was sort of a surprise actually; L.A. is notoriously guilty of crowd phone pollution. But I chalk it up to the music being intoxicating, as well as the bands engaging performance. The jittering and spastic form of Dan’s performance is something he mastered two bands ago, and has continuously refreshed through new projects. Bandmates Sam and Dejovka somehow keep in stride with his great energy.

Get excited for Operators’ next record. If Thursday night’s performance is any indication, then we hhaven’teven scratched the surface of what Boeckner’s newest brainchild has in store.

Show Review: Ziv Biton

Photography: Wes Marsala

Operators