Folk, Punk, Rock, Fun All Part of Poptopia’s Entertaining Mix

Poptopia began five years ago as a festival promoting the small, sometimes silly but often vibrant neo-pop scene then emerging in Los Angeles. At this year’s event, which opened Tuesday at the Troubadour, organizers have wisely expanded Poptopia to include a broader range of “pop” sounds.

Poptopia’s soul remains rooted in the immortal song craft of Brian Wilson and the Beatles, but fans on Tuesday were treated to music ranging from punk to folk to rock jams.

Most commanding was headliner Jason Falkner, who spent much of his time on stage alone strumming either an electric or acoustic guitar, creating music that was moving and loaded with infectious pop hooks. He was joined briefly by a full band, which was hardly necessary. His material is strong enough to soar alone.

An early high point in Tuesday’s show came from Tsar, which played driving, glam-flavored rock while singer Jeff Whelan shouted crackpot asides (“The politics of failure has failed!”). The sound was bubbly and somehow edgy, like a blend of Ziggy Stardust and the Banana Splits.

The band Eagle made big guitar rock that was far from the sort of pop that Poptopia was originally designed to showcase. The loud, free-form jams were less about songwriting than expressive playing. And Beachwood Sparks spent its 20-minute set floating between the dreamy (good) and dreary (bad). But the quartet rose above its Grateful Dead-like groove rock with sudden, well-timed passages of fiery, psychedelic guitar work.

Those few fans who stuck around for Touli’s 1 a.m. set were treated to a blast of high-energy pop-punk--part Ramones, part Runaways--and some of the most enjoyable moments of the night. Like much of pop music itself, it was formulaic but fun.

* Poptopia continues through Sunday at several area clubs. Information: (323) 860-9863 and https://www.poptopia.com.