Crumb Brings Psych-Rock to Orange County
Review and photos by Sophia Fascenelli
Crumb on stage (Photo: Sophia Fascenelli)
Psychedelic rockers, Crumb, sold out The Observatory on May 7, 2023, on their “Ice Melts” tour.
Formed in Boston, MA, the quartet, Crumb, sold out their first show in Orange County. Members Lila Ramai (guitar/vocals), Jesse Brotter (bass), Bri Aronow (synthesizers/keyboard), and Jonathan Gilad (drums) founded their band in 2016 when they met during college at Tufts University. Touring their second studio album, Ice Melt, released in April of 2021, Crumb brought a dark-loungey psychedelic sound into the atmosphere. The band describes this album as, “Ice sculptures melting into a glistening puddle.”
Trio, Automatic opened the night for Crumb with their post-punk motifs. The stage presence between Izzy Glaudini (synths/lead vocals), Lola Dompé (drums/vocals), and Halle Saxon (bass) each balanced their performing energies with one another. Glaudini hit the stage with a space-inspired outfit that fit the vibe for the night. The band started the night rocking out with a very supportive crowd. During Automatics performance, the crowd was dancing and moshing to their low synth-rock beats. It is always impressive to see a drummer play and sing, which is exactly what Dompé did.
Automatic performing (Photos: Sophia Fascenelli)
Crumb appeared on stage shortly after, opening with their song, Nina – which is off their first studio album Jinx. The band's on-stage visuals hit the aesthetic of the band, psychedelic and hypnotizing. The visuals, which mesmerized the crowd, included giant shadows forming and several reflective metallic flowers that opened and closed with different colors throughout the night.
Ramai mentioned it was the band's first time in Orange County, and we sold them out, not bad for a town like OC. During the middle of the set, keyboardist, Aronow, busted out an impressive saxophone solo that got an immediate applause from the crowd. The band played their two newest released songs, Dust Bunny, Crushxd – plus a new song with no name or release date, which Ramai jokingly labeled as untitled.mp3. They performed their other hit, Balloon, and closed out with fan favorite, Locket.
Crumb brought a mellow vibe and great stage presence to The Observatory for a Sunday night. With a jammed-pack setlist, Crumb played the best of their discography leaving Orange County wanting more.
Crumb (Photos: Sophia Fascenelli)