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BUY DIGITAL

BUY PHYSICAL

The sun of success never fully smiled down on this staple of the San Francisco music scene but the underappreciated It’s A Beautiful Day still proves to be overwhelming. Between frontman David LaFlamme’s virtuosic electric violin playing (take that Jean-Luc Ponty!) and vocalist Pattie Santos’ soaring pipes, this was a band that could rival Big Brother and the Holding Company and Jefferson Airplane when it came to creativity, trippiness and utmost originality.

Even without a record contract to their name at the time of this live gig at the Fillmore West, the group commands the stage with tunes that seem to stretch to the skies. “Love For You” and “Time Is” carry with them unbridled passion from all band members involved. “White Bird” and “Girl With No Eyes,” meanwhile, are marinated with glorious psychedelia and apparent Eastern influences.

An accompanying 40 minute DVD is worth watching as well, especially since you get to see firsthand how LaFlamme’s artistic joy flows through his violin bow.

From the sound of it, it’s clear one could never try to pigeonhole this band to any conventional music genre. That’s why it’s best to just let the sounds of awesomeness they produce fill your ears here.

– Ira Kantor