Citrus College student Shane Malins’ band Fortune Boy performed on April 1 at American Legion in Pomona.
The venue was small and the acoustics were not as good as it could have been, though it was as expected for an upcoming band.
Fortune Boy did not perform on a stage, giving the crowd an up-close look of the performance. The crowd, however, was calm for this show.
Malins and Fortune Boy started off with a slow instrumental which transitioned into a fast-paced riff. Fortune Boy had a professional stage presence. The band played with great poise, for a group who only began playing concerts less than a year ago.
Nicholas Pedroza played outstanding on the drums. During the set, Pedroza was in sync and performed to the best he of his abilities. He stood during the performance, never missing a beat.
The instrumentals by Joel LoGiudice, Dominic Rivera and Malins sounded exceptional. Malins’ and Rivera’s fast-paced guitar solos got the crowd moving their feet. Malins’ voice was sometimes difficult to hear from the acoustics of the venue.
The sound of the amplifiers were turned up as high as possible. Distortion was a sound echoing off the walls. This sound is what a typical underground concert is going to sound like. The distorted sound worked better for the band.
The set lasted for about 45 minutes. Fortune Boy played a new song they had just released on March 31. The crowd in the room were the first to hear the song “Ooch Ooch” live. It was surprise, hearing a new song live before everyone else not in attendance.
“Andrea,” one of the band’s more well-known songs, was one of the last songs of the evening. Fortune Boy had more of a climactic scene, pausing before change-ups in songs.
The band finished with a strong outro, putting lots of energy into their last song. The whole room applauded.
Fortune Boy is a band that has the potential to play in bigger venues in the future. They played the best show they could have played and are recommended to see perform live.
