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I had a lot of what I thought were false expectations for my first show in LA. I imagined some Hollywood celeb, let’s say the dude from The Notebook, floating around in the crowd in a leather jacket and seeming to know almost everyone, occasionally taking a break from nodding along to the music to take a picture with an adoring fan. Turns out those expectations weren’t so far off. Turns out Ryan Gosling is a fan of Eskimohunter. Turns out LA is a lot like what I imagined it would be.

We arrived at Tarfest @ El Rey Theater Saturday night just in time to catch a glimpse of The Polyamorous Affair’s elaborate costumes and stage set-up that complimented their elaborate electro tunes. It wasn’t enough to make a fair assessment, and I’ll avoid the unfair one that I’m leaning towards.

The aforementioned Eskimohunter was up next, and their brand of heavy, mid 90’s fuzzrock was somewhat endearing. There were no memorable melodies to make a lasting impression, but their loud, pounding instrumentals got everyone’s attention nonetheless. A white curtain projector (which was positioned in front of the band) served as a good visualizer, but mostly separated them from the audience. A group behind me chanted, “take down the curtain,” after the bassist moved his portion aside. The rest never came down.

The Deadly Syndrome, signed to Dim Mak Records and still going off the strength of their 2007 debut, The Ortolan, had a loyal local following who stuck around for their 11 something start. Price of admission included a free pair of 3-D glasses – good for viewing the 3-D video playing behind the band through-out the duration of their set.

The LA based band wasted no time going into their recent soundtrack feature (and Poproks Songoftheday circa Tuesday), the piano heavy “I Hope I Become a Ghost,” which was met with an enthusiastic round of cheers. Lead singer Christopher Richard’s stage presence changed drastically without the bass guitar in front of him, but the majority of the rest of the band’s set was guitar oriented.

They played a few new tracks, as well as a rather predictable, yet still enjoyable cover of The Pixies’ “Where is My Mind?” Shortly after delivering my favorite lyric of the night (“Why don’t you just fuck off and die”), 4 members of the band gathered around the drums and pounded along to what sounded like a grand finale. Richard explained afterward that they “don’t close with that one anymore,” but I decided to act as if they did.

While Deadly Syndrome seem to have spent the last 2 years on the cusp of buzzband status (there was even a Zune commercial mixed in there somewhere), they haven’t completely broken out of the “local band” mold. Though it does fit them nicely, their stage presence exudes something bigger, and with a label like Dim Mak and a new record on the way, it could be time for Deadly Syndrome to finally break out of the buzz. Ryan Gosling roaming around at their shows doesn’t hurt either.

So LA.