Automatic at The Lilypad, 10/18/22
When I was greeted with a bold “SORRY, WE ARE SOLD OUT” sign taped across the doors of The Lilypad, I knew I was in for a treat. Los Angeles post-punk trio Automatic was headlining the night, with Massachusetts native band Landowner opening for them. I was surprised by the amount of people that showed up for the show, especially on a Tuesday night. There was a beautiful mix of generations packed tightly in the small space. Older couples intertwined within millennials, who were amongst college students, the occasional grade schooler making an appearance in the crowd. It made me very happy to see that people are willing to go out on any day of the week to support the music they enjoy.
Landowner started to perform shortly after I arrived, so I dove head first into the music for the night. They are such an interesting band; their music spans across many genres, making it hard to put it into words. For most of their set, they performed their more upbeat music, which could be categorized as punk rock mixed with intense spoken word lyrics, containing a lot of changes throughout each song. What really got me moving during their set was the acute sound of their bass–most of their songs started with a very energetic bassline which was hard to avoid. They did a great job warming up the crowd for the main performers of the night.
As Landowner started tearing down their setup, I could feel the anticipation building up as the crowd waited for Automatic to start. It took them a little longer than expected to get ready, but the crowd remained excited to see them perform. The size of The Lilypad makes it hard to create a divide between the audience and the artist, but that is why I love going there. It gives you a more intimate experience with the music and the musicians themselves. At bigger shows hosted at much bigger venues, the stage is elevated so much that the artists seem so distant. The intimacy of The Lilypad doesn’t make the band seem like these unattainable beings; it feels like they are actual people who simply enjoy making music and want to share that for their audiences, and that’s the way it's supposed to be.
Around 20 minutes after their expected start time, Automatic was finally ready to start performing. Without an introduction, they dove right into the music. They started their set with their song “I Love You, Fine”, which was the perfect song to start with. Little by little, each instrument was introduced. First the bass, then the synths, and finally the drums, unifying their sound.
Their music is completely entrancing. There was no escaping it, they had me under their grasp, not that I wanted to escape. For the entire night, I thought to myself how their music doesn’t belong in the 21st century. It’s almost as if they time traveled from the early 1980’s and started making music in 2022, incorporating new sounds and compositions, making them one of the more unique bands to be around these days. I haven’t heard anything like them in the past years. Their music transcends time.
With a perfectly curated set, the retro-futuristic punk trio performed songs from both of their albums Signal (2019), and Excess (2022). Mixing sounds from 80’s bands like L7, The Runaways, and especially The Go-Go’s is what makes Automatic such a special band in this day and age. As they reached the end of the night, they progressively played their more well known songs, which greatly resonated with the crowd. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful night of live music.
