Concert Review: Goolsby, Lavola, and the Clementines at Propaganda, June 9

Photo by Chris Bellus

Goolsby's Paul Simundich

​AEG Showcase for Silversun Pickups Concert
With Goolsby, Lavola, and the Clementines
Propaganda, Lake Worth
Wednesday, June 9

View a slideshow from the concert here.

Always a good sign when you and your photographer are arguing the merits of which band was the best at the end of a concert. Wednesday's showcase of local talent at Propaganda was set up to impress AEG reps in the building and send one burgeoning indie-rock group to play a side stage prior to next week's Silversun Pickups/Against Me!/The Henry Clay People show June 16 at Sunset Cove Amphitheater in Boca Raton.

The night's choices: the Clementines, Goolsby, and Lavola (a member of Guy Harvey was ill, which cut the bill short), and once the Honeycomb announces the results today, we'll post it too and it's LAVOLA! If you ask the aforementioned photographer who dominated, West Palm Beach's atmospheric rockers Lavola took the night. However, someone texted me, "is Goolsby killing it?" and I replied, "it's a carcass."

The case for Boca Raton's Goolsby comes from singer/guitarist Paul Simundich's elastic smiles, his ability to make his upper body rock back and forth, and a batch of songs that rise above the typical fold with their inventive jazz chords. Earlier this week, County Grind mentioned the band's youthful enthusiasm on songs like "Wild Once," which turns any person within a 100-foot radius into a singing fool during the "whoa-oh-oh" bridge. With Blond Fuzz (formerly Stonefox) drummer Jeff Rose crushing the cowbell, bassist Oz Del Castillo harmonizing, and guitarist Matt Salcito turning his fingers into gymnasts on his fretboard, it was a difficult task deciding what to watch.

Lavola turns monumental on every song -- as a result, a lot of women moved up to the front to hear them. Singer/guitarist Julian Cires makes it clear that he's working up there, and it's not long before his green buttoned-down shirt is completely engulfed in sweat. In addition to Cires' impressive vocal range, the guy has a wealth of effects pedals at the ready -- the sounds coming out of both of his instruments constantly evolve. Moody, prog-influenced tracks like "Leaving Paris" hang around long enough to make an impression.

Although the Clementines have an extremely clean and robust pop sound, I was tempted to go up to the stage and shake them loose. Either more theatrics or really own that hardened, pensive exterior, guys! Stiffness aside, Andrew Marr and mustached Dylan Smart both can sing, and positivity reverberated out of every song. Marr sang "everything will be OK" and looked like he meant it.