It's amazing how much awe one band can elicit into a 30-minute set. Ima Robot captivated a mostly unfamiliar audience at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles last week when the band opened for Café Tacvba, a Spanish rock group. While watching the show, it was pretty clear that most of the fans of the headlining act had no idea who Ima Robot were. But after the first song "Pass it On" was played, whispers like "Wow, who are these guys?" and "This stuff sounds really good" began trickling out of the mouths of people around me.

The band made a daring decision to play nothing but new songs from their upcoming album. Most of the time, new material doesn't go over well with fans anticipating familiar hits but the new songs were instantly likeable and sounded amazing live. Alex Ebert's voice soared and he and his bandmates sounded better than ever. By the time the five-song set was over, it just seemed criminally wrong for them to exit stage right. Show highlights included "Floats Away," the beautiful "Sail With Me" and "Ruthless." My expectations for this next album are now sky high. Ima Robot is one of those rare bands that seem to get progressively better with each album, so I have no doubt that we're in for a real treat when the next CD arrives in stores and online.

1:12 PM - 4

God!! HOw did I miss this? Sounds like a great time.

[Edited on 27-8-2008 by Neuwave]