Courtesy of Maclay Heriot

On a chilly Friday night, attendees lined up outside of Santa Barbara’s SOhO Restaurant & Music Club to see a psychedelic rock band: Babe Rainbow. Known for taking inspiration from 1960s rock and surf music, someone first hearing their music might mistake it for a top hit from 50 years ago.

With vintage covers and a vintage sound, Babe Rainbow sounds like the real deal. Their band members even look the part, rocking blonde shoulder-length hair and beards. It’s safe to say that they are the epitome of rock and roll music — even in ways that aren’t so good.

Oct. 18 was an exciting night for SOhO, as they welcomed the band alongside two opening acts: Very Nice Person and Camille Jansen.

Made up of brother duo Skyler and Davis Diamond, Very Nice Person is an electronic music duo, and despite their sound being vibrant and hyper, their set was anything but. As the clock struck 9 p.m., the two walked on stage and immediately started to play, a common choice for many musicians; however, as the first opener, it was an awkward start to a set, and continued as such.

While the music itself was dreamy, and had a strong energy to generate excitement from a crowd, their stage presence was rather lackluster. Perhaps it was the lack of talking in between songs, or the constant staring down at the DJ board. Nothing about their performance necessarily drew a crowd in, and most of the attendees there surrounded the bar rather than the stage. But, as they were the set that started just an hour after doors open, it is difficult to pinpoint this as the fault of the duo, or the fault of it being early.

After their 45-minute set ended, Jansen took the stage, garnering a crowd to the stage as she sang. Though ethereal, Jansen evidently had troubles singing notes that were strenuous. It wasn’t hard on the ears, but there was struggle apparent in some moments of singing. Once her set was over, there was no goodbye to insinuate of the act being complete, so she and her band members walked off the stage.

Finally, as Babe Rainbow took the stage, the background pews on the stage became a moving rainbow projection — something reminiscent of their album covers. As the band appeared on the stage, their energy seamlessly merged with the vibes the stage presented.

They played their first song of their set: “Super Ego,” a groovy and liftful tune that quickly caught the attention of the concertgoers; rightly so, as their stage presence was immaculate. Jokes were thrown around by the main singer Angus Dowling, who said things like “too much of a good thing is wonderful” and “we’re probably going to bed soon, we’re super cool!”

As Dowling lit cigarettes on the stage, they radiated a picture similar to the rock-and-roll culture of the 1970s: charismatic, confident and inebriated. But like true rock-and-roll stars, there is a double-edged sword in their ambiance — while eccentric, there was a lack of quality in the performance.

A SOhO employee, who requested to be anonymous, recounted the experience. “They were cool, but not my favorite set I’ve ever seen. I found it sometimes difficult to understand what the singer was singing, what the lyrics were, but I think that’s kind of like part of their vibe is to just kind of be goofy,” they said. “They just were not playing tight, like they just seemed kind of disjointed.”

Disjointed is precisely the word to describe their performance. Dowling was more so mumbling the lyrics than singing, and even the other band members — who played in unison — sounded flat in comparison to the studio recordings on their song.

In spite of their sound, an energy was radiating off the band to the crowd, who seemed to enjoy every moment of the set, and vice versa. Dolwing called Jansen back on stage to perform duets to “Peach Blossom Boogy” and “LONG LIVE THE WILDERNESS,” which were a good combination of Dowling and Jansen’s voices. Jansen even had a tambourine to play alongside the band. It was something reminiscent of a band session during the 1960s, with the performance emulating a sense of passion for what they did — but lacked clarity and quality within their set.

During the last song, Dowling called for Jansen to appear on stage for a final time, but she did not appear. It’s hard to say whether or not it was planned for Jansen to perform with Babe Rainbow for their final act, or if it was an impromptu decision by Dowling.

Evidently, Babe Rainbow at SOhO was a great night to mingle with fellow music lovers, enjoy the ambiance that the venue has to offer and listen to an eclectic group of musicians take the stage. However, when faced with the option between seeing them live again or listening to them on Spotify — I unfortunately have to go with the latter.