Bay Area based Club Sandwich is an all ages show collective which focuses on bringing together under-the-radar national acts with the best local talent. This time around they joined forces with Ground Control Touring to bring Blank Dogs, Cosmetics, and The Soft Moon to 21Grand in Oakland.

When it comes to contemporary dark synth punk Blank Dogs come with it. With upcoming releases on Captured Tracks and In The Red Records, Mike Sniper and company have just opened up the West Coast wing of their national tour, accompanying them on the west coast are the Cosmetics, a 3 piece group which makes moody dance songs.

The openers were a San Francisco band called The Soft Moon, they put on an amazing set that was not only musically pleasing but visually as well with stunning projections behind them. There were 2 synth/keyboard players, a powerful and talented drummer, and a Guitar Player. All had amazing stage presence and  rock n’ roll style.

I was let down when they took the projector down after TSM set and a long delay of game due to having issues with the monitor speakers, which made the Cosmetics leave stage mid set. After some Boo’s and heckling from the crowd they came back on and played their single Soft Skin and redeemed themselves. Kudos for them apologizing for the tantrum when the show was over too.

By the time Blank Dogs hit the stage the crowd was thinning out, I figured most people got there on foot or bike because there was plenty of parking when we arrived. Blank Dogs came with it. Switching from a live drummer to MPC based drums, gave them a more electronic feel, but the guitars and vocals kept them true to their punk rock roots. They sounded a little too drunk at times but held it together for the most part.

All in all a good show minus the sound issues. 21grand is hands down one of my favorite venues in Oakland, go there when you have a chance.

This is video footage of what the scene was like before and during the Cosmetics set.

Be sure to check out..

21grand

Captured Tracks

In the Red