Old-Fashioned Volta.
by Teleka on 7/14/09Ventura Theatre - VenturaRating: 5 out of 5Although the two now-gone members will be missed, especially Adrian's saxophone on songs where he was prominent, the lineup reminded me of good 'ol classic Mars Volta from their early years, with just five and later, six members. This isn't an album review, but it must be noted that their previous album, "The Bedlam In Goliath," contained more, shall we call it noise? than previous albums and their new album "Octahedron" went in a completely opposite direction. The setlist was heavy with new songs, as five of them were performed, but altogether it was a good mix of songs from the band's catalog. Omar, surprisingly, was on backing vocals most of the night and, unsurprisingly, Cedric was up to his regular antics what with detuning Omar's guitar whenever he got near and making fun of him as well, comparing Omar, along with his bandmate brother Marcel, to what he likened "Former Disney-Children turned Dictator." Midway through the set Cedric gave a speech before performing Ilyena, calling out all the people that ridicule others for going in different directions with their music and that people should not hate, nor make fun of, people for what they create when they have put their entire heart into it and have worked so hard to get where they are now. Without mentioning themselves, we know it is the Volta who is getting what can be called a backlash for the changes in their recent recordings, but change is what they're about and it's what makes them "Classic" Mars Volta. It's what keeps us coming to their performances such as this one.