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Live Review: Prohibition Rose — The Key Club, Los Angeles

Rock n' roll hasn't been sexy for awhile.

Let's face it, the sex appeal that the genre once so proudly emanated has all but dissipated in a wake of bad haircuts and guys wearing jeans that have no right to wear in this universe or any other. Thankfully, there's Prohibition Rose.

Last night at the Key Club, they truly brought sexy back to rock music, but they did it in a classy and "classic" fashion. Prohibition Rose are going to be the proverbial "next big thing" to emerge from Los Angeles—start paying attention now, kids.

During the course of their set, the Los Angeles quintet channeled Led Zeppelin, Tool, Fleetwood Mac and Alice In Chains into a sound that's decidedly fresh and fiery. Playing various cuts from their forthcoming Matt Sorum-produced EP, To The Wolves, Prohibition Rose entered the psyche of each and every audience member taking up permanent residency. On "Slippery Slope," sultry front-vixen Emily Belgard snaked around the stage as a big drum beat by Andy Bonura propelled a slow rhythm. Emily sank into the song's hypnotic hook, and Tanner Bean's echo and wah textures transported everything to heavenly heights. Emily's more like a film noir femme fatale than a rock star. Her voice is as deadly as it is inviting, and it showed on a sexy, slow and psychedelic, "Vertigo."

"Come Out Racin'" gave Emily room to shimmer in the darkness, as the band built a vibrantly violent mood around her. Erich and Tanner's fretwork was impenetrable throughout the set. They could seamlessly shift from atmospheric e-bow sounds to crushing jagged bridges. Emily howled as Mia Heldt's bass lines cracked, snapped and broke through the vocal beauty. The rhythms buttressed up this background of distorted power, creating the perfect balance of melody and mayhem.

Prohibition Rose closed out a phenomenal set with "Retrograde." The final track saw the band lock into an undeniable grove, as emotions cascaded through the sounds. No one ever stopped moving on stage, and no eye could turn away.

Prohibition Rose are exactly what the genre needs at the moment, and JT thought he was hot…

—Rick Florino
10.20.09

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