Vinyl Williams
Lodge Room // Los Angeles, CA // May 24th, 2019
Photos and review by Sara Salari
The last time I got to catch up with Vinyl Williams was at Desert Daze in 2018. I was left completely mesmerized by the accompaniment of visuals to which elevated the mind soothing psychedelic nature of Lionel Williams’ composition. Now more than half a year later, on May 24th, I got to see the principal songwriter, Lionel, as well as the rest of the live band at Lodge Room in Highland Park.
This was a hometown show for Vinyl Williams. Knowing they weren’t going to have to worry too much about the energy coming from the crowd, my expectations for this night were set high.
They opened with “Sanctuary Spells,” the first song from their fourth full length album, titled Opal. The song served as our prompt to remain chill and peaceful while we gave our time to witnessing and hearing everything that was to come from the stage for the next thirty-five minutes.
Just like the order of the album, “Noumena” came on next, getting all of us into the tranquil groove. I admire the way this band rocks out on stage, it’s only when needed and moves are hardly repeated. That is with the exception of that classic strumming the guitar in the air move Lionel kept giving for the duration of the performance, still loved it every time though!
The projections nailed the kaleidoscopic vibes of the music and also made for great photo ops. Vinyl Williams gave the performance I was yearning. Glad I got to catch up with them again in their hometown.
Vinyl Williams will be playing at Lodge Room again on July 27th.
