By Greggory Moore
I’ve already written two stories about oto for these pages (and one for the Gazettes), so scroll down for a fuller description (or just go to www.otosound.net or myspace.com/otosound to hear them for yourselves). On this night, it was Hiro (guitar), Boon (drums, guitar), and Tai (xylophone, melodica, percussion); with Rie currently taking on Japan-based Takeshi’s vocals/melodica/percussion (and ably—especially being that this was her first show!), and Chris taking on more percussion duties than ever. They were even joined by an additional guitarist for one number. As always, they were excellent; and the three new songs they played were perfect additions. oto has two shows Saturday (June 9th), an early-afternoon performance at the Long Beach Voices Festival (about which I know nothing), and an 8 p.m. set at Viento y Agua (4007 E. Fourth St.; (562) 434-1182)). These shows are free, and the band sells a four-song sampler for $2. Are you kidding me? Check them out—for them, for yourself.
I don’t know a lot of technical musical terms, so I don’t know if Chase Pagan is a soprano or not, but he’s got a really high voice that he employs with expressiveness and dexterity. He accompanied himself by turns on guitar and a piano-sounding keyboard, playing songs that are accomplished meldings of rock and showtune sensibilities to original effect. I don’t know if that’s a very good sentence, and I know this isn’t a great description. That’s partially because I lack anything to compare Pagan to. I do know Pagan is signed to Militia Group, and that if you go to www.chasepagan.com or myspace.com/chasepagan, you’re likely to hear something new.
{open} awaits you at 2226 E. Fourth St., www.accessopen.com, (562) 499-OPEN.