Go to the website for the band Julien-K, and among the videos, audio downloads and random photo or two, you'll find the following quote by frontman, Ryan Shuck, regarding the state of the music scene:

"Why is there no band that's really rocking my world?"

Which he follows up with:

"Where are the revolutionaries?"

Taken in context, it was Shuck defining the drive behind the formation of the electronic-punk-rock hybrid, Julien-K. Taken out of context and it becomes a call to arms for every stagnant, pigeon-holed outfit to get off their asses and put some evolved anarchy behind that fist in the air.

And where better to draw that figurative line in the sand than a pre-tour gig at the Roxy to celebrate the release of the band's first full length album, Death to Analog.

The question is - does the band live up to their own mandate?

It's been a long time since there has been a frontman who exudes the type of cool not seen since the early era of a young Bono or Billy Idol. For too long, the Los Angeles music scene has been stacked with garage-ready punk bands that you could just as soon see hanging out with your slacker friends as you could see performing a set at a local club. Not to take anything away from the music of today, but the era of rock idolatry has been replaced with a simple form of genial camaraderie. These were your friends. Your hang-out buddies.

So when the curtain went up and Julien-K sauntered onstage, you were immediately taken in by Shuck's crooning and swaggering cool. From the opening beats by drummer, Elias Andra, in "Death to Analog" to the "no one left to save your soul" lyrics of "Futura," the band reminded the crowd that this is how a live performance was meant to be; something to admire, something to be taken in by and something to remember as a "I was there..." moment.

As "Futura" dissolved into "Someday Soon," Shuck immediately ceased the frantic sounds of the song's opening and effectively swayed the audience to rise up for a journey of emotion and rock enlightenment. There were no cliched punk-forced antics, no lyrical screeching to bludgeon the audience into a submissive stupor, instead you were faced with a confident band of rock masters.

Julien-K has been quoted as saying they wanted to start a movement, a religion of bringing music to that revolutionary peak, and after witnessing the electronic rock of "Kick the Bass" and old school grind of "Look at You," it's easy to see how they plan to accomplish the feat. Twenty minutes into their set, if you hadn't been converted by the energy of the songs that came before, then you surely would have been seduced by the slow, methodical love-making vibe of "Systeme De Sexe." Filled with the promise of an ephemeral embrace that left you longing, "Systeme DE Sexe" is one of those songs designed to follow you long into the night.

Along with Shuck, whether it's the combined finger-work of Amir Derakh, electrifying slice of Brandon Belsky's contributions or Andra's methodically precise beats, Julien-K proved they're not just a band to be admired, but a band to follow. And when Linkin Park's Chester Bennington joined Shuck onstage for "Maestro" and the lyric "everything is different now" spilled into the venuena, the phrase took on a different meaning.

It wasn't just "everything is different now," but "everything WILL be different now." Believe it.

Check out our full set of Julien-K concert photos. - By JOSH HENAMAN - Photos © M'LOU ELKINS