Anita and the Yanks: A Novel Experience in Irish Rock
By Terry Miller
Published: Monday, May 10th, 2010
By Terry Miller
When I sauntered into Novel Café on Friday last, I wasn’t really sure what to expect other than some good (hopefully) traditional Irish rock music a friend had recently recommended.
“You have just got to hear them,” my friend Dave Peterson exclaimed somewhat passionately while chatting at one our favorite speakeasies, Brits Pub on Colorado Blvd. “Anita and the Yanks… I think they are going to be big!” he said.
Anita and the Yanks is an Irish rock band that has been performing in and around Los Angeles since 2008. They recently garnered cast-iron attention in Pasadena when they performed at newly popular – The Novel Café on Colorado as well as other locations in and around greater Los Angeles.
Now, being from that part of that world myself, I was intrigued. I always love to hear fellow musicians from across the pond do well here. And when the music is an amalgamation of traditional and modern, well then I’m hooked. Throw in a pint of Guinness or good English ale and I’m there – probably for a while!
When I entered the new comfortable cafe, the band was doing a cover of the Cranberries’ “Do you have to Let in Linger”, a song I’ve always loved. Perhaps I was just transfixed by the energy of the band crammed into Novel’s relatively tiny space, but I think Anita sang it considerably better that Dolores, just don’t tell her I said that.
Although widely associated with alternative rock, the Cranberries sound incorporated indie, indie pop, rock, post-punk, Irish folk and pop rock elements much like Anita and the Yanks.
The Cranberries rose to international fame in the 1990s with their debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? I’m Thinking Anita and the Yanks could possibly do it too!
Apparently influenced by that Irish rock band originally hailing from Limerick, England in1989 under the name “The Cranberry Saw Us”, Anita and the Yanks also go in numerous other directions with clever lyrics and innovative musicianship.
The Novel audience, an eclectic group of individuals, was highly attentive and entertained by the music. That sort of enjoyment on the part of an audience is something I don’t see enough of locally. All too frequently the laughter and chatter, clanging of beer glasses and loud conversation overtake the nuances of a band. Not so here at Novel. Each guest seemed attentive and deferential of the talent and hard work that goes into creating music and such a performance.
While the vocals and harmonies are very stout and appealing, they could be a bit louder in the mix, methinks. Again, though, it probably is the positioning of the band near the door that interfered with the sound system a bit.
With their unique blend of contemporary and traditional Irish influenced melodies, the music transcends those boundaries and reaches even the casual observer. The striking, red-headed Mansfield immediately grabs you with her gentle confidence and formidable playing – albeit with beautiful Martin six string. Mansfield’s music effortlessly melted into the collective consciousness of the crowd at Novel Café and transported at least one listener to another, perhaps simpler time.
Bryan Dobbs’s rare mandolin countermelodies support the rhythm section and create a unique sound really worth listening to in this sea of mundane musical mediocrity elsewhere.
Ryan Dean and Jimmy Murphy, drums and bass respectively, provide a gentle but enormously solid foundation for Bryan Dobbs and Anita Mansfield to go into some improvisational middle eighths, all the while performing flawlessly together.
Sold yet? Thought so. Here are some details on how to catch up with the Yanks.
Catch Anita Thurs May 13, 7:30 p.m. at the Novel Cafe located at 3760 Wilshire Blvd. Friday May 14 they’ll be at The Irish Times at 3267 Motor Ave in Los Angeles. May 20 they’ll be playing at at Novel on Wilshire again.
The next date at Novel in Pasadena is May 21 at 6:30 p.m. While not always playing as a full band, you’ll be delighted with the sound of Anita and one Yank! Unfortunately, on the night I visited, the violin player Rachel Grace, was not playing. She is, by all accounts, a terrific addition to Anita’s already stellar line-up.
Novel Café also serves a terrific selection of gourmet meals from breakfast omelets to garden fresh salads such as the very popular Warm Goat Cheese Salad. Novel is located at 1713 East Colorado Blvd., in Pasadena. Call (626) 683-3309 for information.
Oh, and by the way, this is one of the few places you can see great live music without a cover charge.
Musicians Anita and the Yanks perform twice a month at Novel Café in Pasadena. – Photos by Terry Miller
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