This was the first show by Orange County’s best kept secret the
Arrogants in 17 months. The female-fronted indie pop band made their
much anticipated return to the Hub, a small outdoor venue near the
Metrolink station which the Arrogants played regularly between 1998 and
2000. The Arrogants played 12 songs from their 1999/2000 EP Your Simple
Beauty on the respected indie label Shelflife as well as their soon to be released
Nobody’s Cool. Highlights were their delightfully rockier song
“Lovesick” and new song “The Incurables.” Their live sound is a bit
heavier than on record, which leans towards more mellow acoustic pop
songs like “Costa Rica.”
This band has a lot to be proud of: the sweet vocals of singer Jana
Wittren (not unlike their biggest influence, the Sundays or the Red
House Painters) complemented by delicate instrumentation of the McFerson
brothers, Jayd on guitar, Jeff on keyboards, and Jon on bass. In person, the
Arrogants are very warm, funny, and personable, not at all arrogant.
They even stayed around after the show selling band T-shirts of many
different colors and designs for only $5. Super friendly and nice is
what the Arrogants are all about, they even brought Ding Dongs and
delicious chocolate chip cookies for the packed audience.
Shelflife-labelmate The River was a French man named Fabrice with a
delightfully wispy vocals very reminiscent of Belle and Sebastian and
distinctive synthesized and acoustic melodies, which ranged from disco
and electronica to mellow indie pop. One of the best songs was a duet
which featured Fabrice on acoustic guitar singing with Jana of the
Arrogants. Another treat was the River’s acoustic cover of the Arrogants
song “Lovesick.”
Openers Summer Shorts were an impressive four person emo-punk rock
group. They played a half hour of catchy melodic punk songs that
involved occasional switching off of instruments and vocal leads. For a
genre that is becoming all too common, their music was actually very
good. Their half hour set was full of exciting pop hooks and noisy
guitars, a nice start to an excellent showcase of local and
international musical talent.
