I was excited to see Una De Luna based on their myspace songs, which enticed me with a host of creative synth and guitar parts on a foundation of solid, grooving drums and bass. An electric sitar in one of their videos promised depth, and female vocals rose above it all with an almost celtic tone. I missed their March show at The Rex, so I jumped at the chance to see them at the Southside's other music hub, Club Cafe.
Una De Luna started as solely a studio project, but went live to promote an independent movie that featured their music. As they freely admit on their website, though they feature "such unusual instruments as sitar and table, Una De Luna is a guitar driven rock band." At the show, the rock band portion transferred, but the instrumental creativity that grabbed my attention online didn't survive the jump to live performance.
The band consisted of bass, drums, electric guitar and singer, with a backing track of synths, drum machines and additional guitars playing along with every song. The combination sounded great in their youtube videos, but came out flat live. All the best guitar parts were relegated to the backing track, and synth lines that dominated their recordings carried no energy without someone actually playing them. I still enjoyed the memorable melodies of "I'm on Fire" and "Lotus," and the band was solid on their instruments, but the prerecorded sounds just kept me thinking "If I asked them, I wonder if they'd let me play synth in the band?" Without a fifth member to add the creative sounds of their recordings in real time, Una De Luna's sound slipped into the oblivion of "just another rock band."
After four songs the singer unexpectedly lost her voice, and they ended with one last number. I wasn't really disappointed to finish my chocolate vodka and Coke and head out, but I left kicking myself for only catching the tail end of the opening band, Violaria. Their post punk sound and soaring, atmospheric guitar tones (Think The Edge on "Unforgettable Fire") left me wishing for more. Much more. I hope to get a review posted once I get the chance to see them play again. Check them out yourself!
I'm still enjoying Una De Luna's songs on myspace, and I would recommend buying their album Conspiracy, which is available on iTunes. I'm proud to have such creative sounds coming out of Pittsburgh, but personally I'll pass on any future opportunities to see them live.
