Burgerama served up a variety platter at Terminal West

Six bands that played Terminal West as part of Burgerama’s Caravan of Stars proved that all garage rockers do not sound the same.

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  • Bobby Moore
  • Together Pangea, featuring bassist Danny Bengston, stole the show with its punk and country rock inspired take on garage-pop.

Burger Records is perhaps best known for facilitating garage and punk acts through limited-run cassette tapes, but the Fullerton, Cali-based boutique and label has gone the extra mile by putting some of its younger acts on the road. For the Burgerama Caravan of Stars’ stop at Terminal West on Oct. 8, six of those bands brought a modern twist on the catchier sounds coming from their record collections to the stage.


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  • Bobby Moore
  • Atlanta’s Curtis Harding hit the road with the Caravan following its Atlanta stop.


Among the variety of acts on stage was local musician and former Cee-Lo Green collaborator Curtis Harding (Night Sun), who added a soulful twist to modern garage-pop. It was Harding’s first appearance on the tour, which continues through Oct. 16, replacing Habibi, who opened Tuesday night’s show, which began around 7:30 p.m.

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  • Bobby Moore
  • Cosmonauts brought a chill vibe that set the mood for the Growlers.


From the Moog-driven vibes of Gap Dream or the feedback-embracing jams to the Cosmonauts, bands continued bringing a modern take on the garage-pop sounds that Burger embraces.

The nicest surprise was Together Pangea. Though one member’s jokes about his hometown Dodgers eliminating the Braves from the playoffs the previous night were met by crickets, the crowd was more responsive once the band started tearing through a set of songs that mixed the energy and brevity of the Ramones with riffs inspired by the West Coast’s rich and psychedelic country rock past.
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Most of the crowd was there to see the Growlers, led by the golden throat and charismatic stage presence of diminutive frontman Brooks Nielsen. Some of band’s mellower takes on 1960’s folk, accented by traces of surf rock, evoked the slick sounds of Gringo Star, and because of Nielsen’s vocals, Deer Tick.