Last Wednesday night, WFNM hosted their We Found New Music showcase at BackBeat on Sunset inside Hotel Ziggy, and I went to check out young, up-and-coming rocker Devon Thompson (who has now had a couple songs in our New Music Friday weekly playlist).
I arrived in the intimate space on the hotel’s ground floor in the midst of Dawson Fuss‘ set. The young indie artist played a mix of covers with some originals (“Upper Hand” is a particularly catchy number). He was unfortunately plagued with some technical problems, his mic volume cutting out during one song, and during his closing song “Nothing’s Fair”, the world seemed to not want to play fairly with him, as his backing band’s sound blasted so loudly during the harder part of the song that Fuss was completely drowned out. As he attempted to get in the groove and rock out with the band, he seemed uncomfortable, making me wonder if he was new to playing with a full band (or maybe just this band).
The atmosphere of the room changed as Tiana Goss came up next. It seems that a large part of the crowd was there to listen to the former The Voice contestant. While not quite a sound that resonates with me, there was no denying that Goss is an incredible vocalist, and she and her band sounded great playing a breezy brand of R&B/pop along with a cover of “Footsteps in the Dark”. She had some exuberant fans there who screamed and crowded in for pictures with her at the end of her set.
Devon Thompson was up next…though almost wasn’t, as her drummer’s cymbal bag had gone missing, threatening their ability to even play that night. Thankfully it was found in the green room, allowing the show to continue. Having listened to Thompson’s catalog on Spotify, I was expecting a chiller vibe to the set. That would not be the case.
Thompson is clearly a rock and roll girl, bringing a pumped-up sound and raw edge to her songs that often are more shoegaze and mellow on record. Think Joan Jett covering Motorhead. “Soft Like Water” was far from soft, and “So Close” had a fervent, dark energy to it. Her great track “Napoleon” retained its intricacies even in this brasher take on it, and Thompson closed her set with a vicious “Split Ends”.
The Los Angeles native is playing many shows around the city, so if this sounds up your alley check her out sometime. Watch her performance of “So Close” at the top of the page, and stream the recorded version here.
The Indy Review 
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