With a throng of very young fans ready to shake their bodies to every note,

Moving Units nearly crashed and burned on the

South stage. Blame the gremlins. "Sorry," front man Blake Miller told the

crowd after having to restart a song not once but twice, "you’re not supposed to

see the smoke and mirrors."

Yes, for all the Units’ swagger, much of the electronic underpinning of their new

songs — "Hexes for Exes" will be released on Tuesday — comes courtesy of a

laptop. And something was not in sync on this night, so the crowd that filled 1st Street

was left with warts and frustration. It made you nostalgic for a three-piece dance-punk

band that married in-your-face attitude with riffs so sharp you could shave with

them.

There’s little of that on the Units’ new album. Maybe the band’s swagger remains, but

the danger is gone.

I will say one thing: "Kids From Orange

County" could probably fill the dancefloor at Cinespace.

Photo: Blake

Miller beckons as the Moving Units start their set (by Kevin Bronson / LAT).