«Mumiy Troll: From Russia, with love» — Los Angeles Times

Mumiy Troll: From Russia, with love

What was the hottest show in Hollywood Thursday night? Not this at the Avalon, and certainly not this at the Knitting Factory. The toughest ticket to snag on a cold, rainy evening in the ▒hood, surprisingly, was at the Vanguard, where a band called Mumiy Troll played to a packed house of chain-smoking Russians. And tickets were not cheap either (starting at $45).

Over 700 Chloé-clad twentysomethings (you`ve never seen so much leopard-print in your life) are apparently crazy for the Vladivostok foursome, who sounded like a nuclear meltdown of the Bravery, Tom Petty and the Afghan Whigs last night (the band calls their style of music “rockapops■). Mumiy Troll played for more than an hour to the hyper crowd, who stayed well after the band was done around midnight to dance to techno (with no trace of irony… Russians just like to party, mind you).

It seems even Los Angeles is not immune to the trickle-down effect of Moscow`s newfound status as home of the uber wealthy. Londonites and New Yorkers already know all too well the purchasing power of wealthy young Russians. And while Los Angeles` sizable Russian community nightlife scene is still active in West Hollywood and parts of the Valley, it was interesting to see the BMW-and-Prada set (flyers were being passed around all night by this luxury car rental agency) take in what amounts to an average post-grunge act still obsessed with Nirvana east of Highland Avenue. Slick real-estate scions and daughters of billionaire oil barons need to rock out every now and then too, apparently.

–Charlie Amter