speed of dark » Willoughby at the Fox Theater

Los Angeles band Willoughby opened for Band of Horses last Saturday at the Fox Theater in Pomona, which has been restored to its original art-deco splendor after being closed in 2002. This little Inland Empire city can be proud of bringing a new mid-size venue onboard beside other beautifully-restored theaters of the L.A. area like the Wiltern, the El Rey, and the Avalon. In the few months since its re-opening, the Fox has hosted Wilco and next week will have Ween and L.A. natives Airborne Toxic Event.

Gus Seyffert (above) is the guy who write, plays, and recorded all of Willoughby’s songs, but for this show he was backed onstage with an able band that included friends Charlie Wadhams, below, (who has solo recordings of his own) on guitar and Mike Green on drums.

Willoughby’s sound is wistful and gentle pop-rock that reminds me of mid-60’s Zombies, late-60s Beatles, Elliot Smith, and for a more recent likeness, Luke Temple’s solo work before Here We Go Magic. I don’t know their songs well enough to have gotten a complete setlist, but the set included several from Willoughby’s 2008 debut release, I Know What You Are Up To. The ones I didn’t know will probably appear on their sophomore release, which is in the works. I recognized:

Intentions
Frankenstein
I Know What You’re Up To
Story

Willoughby ended their set with a tense and searing version of their cover of John Lennon’s “I’m Losing You” (from Double Fantasy). It appears on I Know What You Are Up To, but the album version pales next to what they do with it live.

Download “Center of Sleep (live)” at RCRDLBL