“Ladies and Gentlemen, Aimee Allen,” the house DJ announced, “Give Aimee a big welcome!” The house lights went dim, the curtains went up and Aimee got to work. Sporting a blue shirt, red striped tank top (halfway through the show), rolled up jeans, and hair clipped, Aimee didn’t waste anytime and went straight for the gold. Her fiery eyes lit up the stage and when she opened her mouth, the place went silent to listen. She had everyone in her pocket from the start.

Aimee Allen is about to release her highly anticipated album, “A Little Happiness,” on June 9th and it will absolutely be her best effort to date. The album is a dynamically solid album that’s full of honesty, is home made and is definitely well-thought of and well-written. There’s a genuine texture to Aimee’s voice and conviction which makes the album really come alive and deliver on all levels. “A Little Happiness” is the type of record that needs to be heard so pick it up and give it a go, I promise you won’t regret a single minute of it.

“Thank you guys for coming out tonight,” exclaims Aimee, “Let’s go!” Most of the songs that Aimee performed were from her new album. Treating fans to an exclusive preview of new material, Aimee commanded the stage with great authority and strutted around to the music which then in turn encouraged people to get up, dance and have some fun. Aimee’s stage presence was undeniably strong and her confidence emanated from the stage, all the way to the back of the venue. No shoegazing moments here.

The enigmatically beautiful “Save Me” sounded immaculate. From the beginning drop of the guitar work, the song takes on a life of its own. With Aimee’s voice guiding the way, the song materialized into such a powerful song that people were compelled to groove along in a total trance. Aimee won the crowd over with this ditty and loosened up the room quickly. The boisterous “On Vacation” with its reggae overtones swung the crowd some more and put smiles on almost everyone in the room. Notice how I say almost? Yup, I’m referring to the jaded L.A. crowd who actually got the memo by the end of Aimee’s set. Good job Aimee.

Aimee’s beautiful rendition of “Santeria” took center stage as the opening riff filled the room with curiosity. By the time she got to the first chorus, Aimee had the place in her hands, singing along word for word. Aimee truly captured the essence of the song and sung the lyrics straight from the heart. It was a magical moment in her set.

“A Little Happiness” was Aimee’s crowning moment of the night. She seemed overly excited to sing this one and was really in it, eyes closed and all. Probably was the only song where she took it down a bit and just let it all hang out like nobody else was in the room with her. She gleamed bright and mighty at that point.

I also have to give props to the band for also giving it up as well. They had everything under control and as Aimee’s backbone, they did a great job doing what they do. I also like the touch of two backup singers….was not expecting that!

I do have one complaint but it’s pretty selfishly minor. I really wanted to hear “La La Land.” That’s the song that caught my attention first but oh well, I’m sure that song will make its way onto the set at some point so I’m hoping to catch that one live maybe the next time I see her. Takin’ requests Aimee?

The truth about Aimee is that she is a well rounded performer, singer-songwriter. She gives it 110% in everything she does, onstage and off, leaving no doubts why you came to see her perform or why you bought her record. She is completely at one with herself onstage which truly is a spectacle to witness and her sole principle is to give you, the audience, a show worth dropping pennies for.

Aimee’s live performance was nothing short of great. It was vital, fun, and not a dull moment at anytime. The real plus of this is that Aimee sounded exactly the way she does on her record but better and in the flesh. So if you’re wondering next time whether you should come out to check her sounds live, you should, you’d be missing out if you didn’t.

Notable mention:

The Chelsea Girls came out raging. DJ Tuesday and Allison of the Donnas were on fire. Sporting leather, metallic spandex, rockin’ tops and nasty rock n’ roll attitude, The Chelsea Girls gave the crowd a good kick in the ass. DJ Tuesday just looked amazing and commanded the stage with great ascendancy. Allison Robertson, what can I say, awesome fretwork my dear, awesome. In case you didn’t know, The Chelsea Girls are the first-ever female all-star supercovergroup.

Some of the songs they covered were:
-Barracuda by Heart
-Another Thing Comin’ by Judas Priest
-Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love by Van Halen w/Stephen Pearcy Of Ratt
-Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar
-Bang Your Head by Quiet Riot w/ Carlos of Quiet Riot
-Detroit Rock City by KISS
-Welcome To The Jungle by Guns N’ Roses