Veteran band delivers with SoCal soul


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Hats off to Rooney: In spite of a barrage of plugs for the band’s newly released record Eureka (the official motto of the Golden State), a set list consisting almost exclusively of songs that could each serve in a pinch as the California anthem and the near-constant waving of a modified version of our state flag by someone stationed alternately onstage or in the standing-room-only crowd, the band’s performance Saturday night at The Music Box at Hollywood’s Henry Fonda Theater somehow managed to never feel more like a gubernatorial campaign rally than a rock concert.

Eureka! · Robert Schwartzman (right) — who once starred opposite Anne Hathaway in 2001’s The Princess Diaries — is now a songwriter, guitarist and vocalist for the quintessentially California rock band Rooney. - Katelynn Whitaker | Summer Trojan

Experimental four-piece Black Gold and Topanga, Calif.-based The Young Veins — a relatively new venture featuring two former members of pop-punk outfit Panic! at the Disco — both opened for Rooney.

Vocalists Eric Ronick and Than Luu led Black Gold through a half-hour set beginning at 7:30 p.m., with bassist Kerry Wayne-James and guitarist Alistair Paxton filling out the group. Ronick’s charisma and evident appreciation for those who turned out early to hear the group play were patently endearing, and only strengthened an already strong set.

Although chief Panic songwriter Ryan Ross also pens the bulk of The Young Veins’ material, the new project represents the first time Ross has acted in the capacity of a frontman since Brendon Urie stepped up from singing backing vocals when Ross fell ill and began fronting Panic! at the Disco. Ross’ onstage banter with two-time bandmate Jon Walker betrays the musicians’ familiarity and made for a comfortable dynamic. Like Pretty. Odd., Panic’s Beatles-inspired final release before the band’s July 2009 schism, The Young Veins’ sound draws inspiration from retro-rock with its laid back rhythm and vaguely peacenik-y lyrics.

Rooney led off with its 2007 hit “When Did Your Heart Go Missing?” and, despite a new album to promote, still honored the top vote-getting fan requests submitted to the band’s website — all things considered, it was a thoroughly egalitarian set, and one that embraced the band’s past rather than gloss over it.

“Holdin’ On” and “I Can’t Get Enough,” both from Eureka (the latter of which is also the first single) were also very well-received.