Warpaint mesmerizes, SWIMM and Gardens & Villa surprise on first night of Love You Down III

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Warpaint at the Echo, Feb. 7, 2019. Photo by Zane Roessell

“Happy anniversary,” Warpaint said, introducing their headlining set Thursday night at the Echoplex.

It was happy, indeed. The L.A. quartet, celebrating 15 years, played an hour-plus of intoxicating music, including a “world premiere,” as a room full of longtime fans pulsed and swayed, intensely seeking the less inscrutable places in Warpaint’s art-rock and mesmerized by the big moments. After a decade and a half, the band of Emily Kokal, Theresa Wayman, Jenny Lee Lindberg and Stella Mozgawa (who’s been with the other three for 10 of those years) is elusive as ever.

The occasion was Night 1 of the Love You Down III festival, an event founded by co-headliners SWIMM and this year co-presented by Jennylee. It was a neighborhood-y affair (it continues tonight) that, besides two nights of the headliners, offers the full Warpaint Talent Show — sets from Lindberg’s Jennylee, Wayman’s TT, Beef (the new collab between Mozgawa and Boom Bip) and Deafmute & Kokal.

Early arrivals on Thursday were treated to riveting opening sets in the Echoplex from Deafmute (with new songs) and their ghosts-in-the-machines indie-rock and Jennylee, whose bass-driven excursions felt like the Knife doing Fugazi (whom she in fact covered during her set). Upstairs at the Echo, rock trio Goldensuns played a batch of groove-heavy new songs along with some of their 2016 EP “Give It Up.”

The biggest revelations of the night, though, were SWIMM and Gardens & Villa. Led by Chris Hess (wearing a cutoff KAEPERNICK sweatshirt), the former’s sound coalesced into an explosive set with an added bit of dynamite when Lauren Ruth Ward stepped onstage for a guest appearance. (Don’t miss that if you’re going tonight.) SWIMM also sprinkled in two new songs along with recent singles and tunes dating back to their “Beverly Hells” album.

Gardens & Villa had some new songs up their sleeves, too, and having not played much locally in the past two years, they were new to many in the crowd. So when frontman Chris Lynch busted out his wood flute, the crowd’s attention perked up. They did not disappoint.

The crowd had waned by the time Facial melted faces with their post-midnight set. It was a Thursday night, after all.

Photos by Zane Roessell