We meandered down to Muddy Waters at the last minute on Friday and were rewarded with a pleasant surprise and some promise. The surprise was catching Evan Koga’s opening set.  Koga was last seen at Muddy Waters and Soho in the up-and-coming LA band, Chief, which has unfortunately disbanded. With his forceful Dylan/Pettyisms and deft electric guitar jangle and playing, Koga continues to show great potential.  Evan told us he’s putting the finishing touches on an EP, which should be released near-term.  We look forward to it.

The promise of the evening was shown by LA band, Milo Greene.  As you can see in the video below of them performing their popular song, 1957, this green young band crafts interesting songs and delivers them with energetic aplomb.  They will have to take care not to become too “slick” in the future, but if they keep evolving and progressing as songwriters and performers, resist the mainstream and manage to eclipse their influences, they will have a bright future ahead of them.  After 1957 check the band performing the set-closer at Muddy, a great and driving cover of Sufjan Stevens’ majestic Chicago.  And after, check out the band performing an unplugged set for NPR.