Dizzy Balloon
Piedmont Park - Jun 1, 2007
review by lexicon

Ah, young musicians! Yes, the members of Panda may not yet have graduated from high school, but, on this sunny Friday afternoon in the middle of idyllic Piedmont, they delivered tight, succinct pop songs with remarkable confidence.

Playing a stamina-testing 100-plus minutes, they filled out the entire annual Ryan Costello Foundation free concert. (Ryan Costello was a high school classmate of mine who died in a skateboarding accident during the summer after our freshman year. His parents have organized an annual free concert in the park adjoining Piedmont High School ever since.)

My toes nestled in the squishy grass, I was very content listening to Panda deliver song after swift song, taking only a moment to introduce each number as only adolescents can ("Here's one for the adults"), mixing original songs with a motley assortment of covers - Weezer, the Beatles, the Zombies, and Rage Against the Machine (their largest source of inspiration for their first 4 years as a band - ah testosterone!).

Appearing only slightly gawky in their teenage boy fashion, they were comfortable on stage; more importantly, they had fun! And well they should: They are accomplished musicians (Louie Diller's drumming especially stood out to me) churning out catchy pop songs with age-appropriate lyrics ("I'm gonna do it all when I'm older. I won't need nobody's permission"). They even succeeded in motivating a group of high schoolers to dance in broad daylight and in full view of their peers, random adults, and passing cars. Now, that is an accomplishment!

I only hope that, in the future, Panda applies its stage confidence to its set list by weeding out all the covers: It is in its original material that this youthful band really shines.

posted Jun 02, 2007
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