Material: This Argentinian band is no stranger to the epitome of rock & roll, especially when it comes down to the shredding guitar solos between Burton Car and Dohko Lujuria. Though faced with some minor technical difficulties at first, they made it through an eight-song set-list of complete headbangers, including songs like “Feel” and “Electricity.” Lujuria has the spirit of Led Zeppelin mixed with a little bit of Incubus in their sound, yet they’re an entirely new take on how we listen to heavy rock music. With a mixture of English and Spanish in their lyricism, they prove that this genre of music is universal and can be celebrated by everyone who’s a fan of rock & roll. Lujuria made me wish I could understand Spanish to fully enjoy every song they performed.
Musicianship: The band is composed of solid rock musicians, each playing a role in tying together Lujuria for that perfect rock & roll sound. “Lucifer” highlighted the band’s drummer, Charles Monroe, for his tight and consistent playing, underlying a great bassline provided by Franco Gravante. Something that reoccurred throughout the band’s set-list was the lack of vocal exploration. Singing a mix of Spanish and English gives Lujuria a great dynamic and shows a strong versatility in switching back and forth between these languages; however, I do think it would do this band wonders if they experimented with more harmonies.
Performance: “Are you ready for rock & roll?” was the question posed for the night by lead vocalist Dohko Lujuria. For such a small stage, the band made great use of it, walking around and engaging a lot of the audience. Their glam-rock-esque shredding did stay steady throughout the night, wrapping up their performance with song “Colmillo” accompanied by a lot of head-bashing. Other songs made for a softer and slower performance, but this did not detract from Lujuria’s essence.
Summary: Lujuria’s bi-lingual rock & roll presentation will not disappoint anyone who’s into a heavy rock & roll sound. Their bad-ass musicianship will make you want to pick up an instrument, learn some Spanish, and try to join the band. I recommend taking the time to catch these guys live.
Venue: The Mint, Los Angeles, CA
Contact: [email protected]
Web: facebook.com/lujuriarock
The Players: Burton Car, guitar; Dohko Lujuria, vocals, guitar; Franco Gravante, bass; Charles Monroe, drums.
