Matthew Houck, a native of Athens, Georgia, is Phosphorescent. His music can be described as indie country and it has drawn favorable comparisons to Bob Dylan, with publications like the London Evening Standard declaring him “the most significant American in his field since Kurt Cobain” (source: Allmusic.com).
His last album, “Muchaco”, was released in 2013 was critically well received and perhaps a bit more experimental than his earlier output. Americana sounds incorporating electronic instrumentation doesn’t necessarily seem to a logical fit, but it works. Backed by a full band, the instrumentation didn’t obscure the singer’s voice, which can be described as “soulful folksy” and seemed to inflect a deep rooted emotional history of life spattered with hardship.
I’ve read that his songwriting, especially his lyrics, is superb. Since I was consumed with adjusting settings on my camera throughout his performance, I frankly couldn’t focus on the stories being sung. But based on what I heard, I’ve definitely earmarked his music to listen to in the future.
Kyle Field is Little Wings. He’s been called a “musician’s musician” and his music has influenced a lot of popular artists (i.e. Feist’s named her film, Look At What The Light Did Now, after a Little Wings song). Continue reading →
I’m a sucker for new R&B music. When I heard KCRW play Shy Girls’ Shy Girls’ “Voyeur’s Gaze” on Morning Becomes Eclectic in 2013, I was hooked. When I saw that they were opening for a band named Phosphorescent, I immediately bought a ticket. I had no idea about the headlining act, but that didn’t matter. It had been close to a year since I saw them perform, and I was jonesing to see them perform again.
The performance was short, but it was everything that I anticipated: smooth vocals over a tight knit band playing music with an 80s and early 90s R&B vibe.
The first two times I saw Shy Girls perform live, they didn’t play the song that hooked me in the first place, “Voyeur’s Gaze”. When I had asked them about why didn’t perform that song since it was the song that KCRW decided to spin, they indicated that the arrangement was a bit too complex for them to play live. They remedied the omission this time around and it was, to my complete satisfaction, performed as a song in the middle of their set.
Apparently, I was the only one in the audience excited to hear the tune. Instinctually, I yelped out a very audible, “Yes,” when the opening vocals and keyboard chord progression were played. I got a few giggles from some of the audience members around me, and under my breath, but audible, I felt it necessary to qualify my blurt with, “Can’t help it, it’s my favorite song of theirs.”
I soon realized that the crowd wasn’t here to listen to Shy Girls smooth R&B jams. I further deduced that headlining act’s style of music was at the opposite side of the spectrum because if the audience wasn’t feeling what Shy Girls was putting forth on stage that night … well, they were here for something else.
And it’s a bit of a shame. Shy Girls is a Red Bull Sound Select artist. I would have thought that Red Bull, the host of the concert series, could have done a better job at procuring a line-up that was more consistent. I went to the Chet Faker 30 Days In LA show later in the month, and I can easily say that Shy Girls would have KILLED IT if they were one of the opening acts for that evening’s music. In fact, switching James Supercave from the Chet Faker night, with Shy Girls would have been my choice.
The highlight of the evening was when Shy Girls’ covered Brandy’s “Sittin’ Up In My Room” (a demo recording of which is above). It was simple and sublime. It was a performance of an R&B classic that anybody with an inkling of appreciation for type of R&B music would have loved. I just wish more people could have truly appreciated it.
VIDEOS:The Instagram videos that I uploaded somehow got corrupted. 😦
There’s one small problem with going to see Boston in 2014: namely, their lead singer died in 2007. Of course, I didn’t actually realize that until after the show. Something had seemed a bit off – and the lead singer certainly didn’t look quite right – but I’d figured he’d ditched his 70s hair and gone for a more modern style. I suppose that’s what happens when you go to see bands whose music you like but whose career you don’t actually follow that closely.
Boston brought outer space into the Forum. (Boston in concert at the Forum.)
Stage design by Google Earth or NASA? (Boston in concert at the Forum.)
The space theme continued. (Boston in concert at the Forum.)
The opening act was Cheap Trick, which seems to have created a niche supporting bigger 80s bands. They’ve been on enough tours that I’m fairly certain that I’ve accidentally seen them more times than my favorite groups. Only one member seemed ready to rock – the rest looked like they’d come ready to play bocce and sort of shuffled around. You have to give Cheap Trick credit for longevity, but they certainly fall in the category of Bands Who Are Way Past Their Prime.
Between the two sets, this show featured one of the odder moments I’ve seen at a concert. Members of Boston came out on the stage, flanked by fez-wearing Shriners, and made a pitch for two of their favorite charities. They’d apparently sent Shriners all over the Forum to sell copies of their Greatest Hits cds as well as raffle tickets for a signed guitar, with the proceeds going to the Shriners and to Sea Shepherd.
Now, nothing says “militant anti-whaling organization” more than a concert played for an aging audience at the newly-renovated Forum. It’s a venue that seems to be marketing itself these days as the place for Music Old White People Like, with acts like the Eagles. (A fairly big shift after many years of increased disrepair, during which it mostly hosted concerts by rock bands whose audiences were more likely to trash the place.) I also have a soft spot in my heart for the Forum after years of Laker games plus my first concert, which featured the rockin’ stylings of one Neil Diamond. Anyway, a quick glance at their tour dates showed that they did a lot of their shows at tribal casinos, and maybe a raffle seems to fit in more at a venue that’s already primarily devoted to gambling.
We decided that it couldn’t hurt to have a cd, so we set off to find the nearest Shriner. It turns out that in spite of the sparkly red fezes, they’re surprisingly hard to spot in an area full of red seats. By the time we cornered one, he had sold all of his raffle tickets, but we managed to snag a cd. My companion threatened to listen to it on a loop all summer, though I politely declined her offer.
On screen: view from a cockpit. On stage: was that thing a gong? A giant steering wheel? Frisbee? (Boston in concert at the Forum.)
Soon, Boston took the stage with a set that covered their greatest hits and made the audience happy. Though I enjoyed the night overall, the tech did distract me a bit from the performance. The screens in the background looked like cockpit windows, and it turned out that their stage designers had taken the space theme of the Boston cover art a bit too seriously. Every video swooped through the air for the duration of the show, soaring through clouds, constellations, and images of Earth in space. It had more in common with Disney’s Soarin’ Over California ride than with your average concert video. By the end, I was a little queasy and wished I’d taken some Dramamine. At other
Boston brought the roller rink flashbacks. Everybody free skate! (Boston in concert at the Forum.)
points, the lighting looked like it had come straight out of a roller rink circa 1985. They’d also taken pains to light the venue ceiling with sparkly moving constellations so that it seemed like the night sky was above us. Considering that the number of stars you can normally see in the Los Angeles sky is somewhere south of 20, it felt as unreal as the flying videos. Still, I found myself staring at the ceiling, checking out the stars like I was a cat fascinated by a laser pointer.
The music sounded great, real lead singer or no, as they rolled out the songs my sister had introduced me to as a kid. The only off note was the inclusion of a guest performance by Siobhan Magnus from American Idol; she seemed out of place, and we couldn’t figure out the point of including her in the tour. While music purists can debate the value of seeing bands in their “real” format, I’m not that kind of fan. A friend once teased me for going to see shows like an Everclear concert with so few remaining original members that he nicknamed it “Frankenclear,” but I’m more interested in the overall sound and the live experience. In this case, the venue was great, the production was just wacky enough to be entertaining and memorable, and the band put on a fun show. In terms of value for price, Boston put on one of the better concerts I’ve attended this year.
For the past several years, Adidas Originals and Cashmere Agency has hosted an annual, private artist showcase titled “Respect The West”. This year it was held at The Well in downtown Los Angeles on 11/22/14, and featured the performances of YG, Hit-Boy, Audio Push, Nipsey Hussle, BJ The Chicago Kid, Thurz, R.J., and Raven Felix. The evening was hosted by Fuzzy Fantab and Rikki Martinez and was one of the better hip-hop shows I have seen in a while because it had a veritable vibe compared to most shows. It was a fantastically organized and designed event! It was authentic hip-hop in an unaffected setting, a tight designer sneakers exhibition and a chill crowd past the ropes.
The Respect The West showcase was held in conjunction with Adidas Originals’ pop-up store, at the same location, giving shoe hawks the opportunity to check out adidas new line of ZXFLUX shoes with the aptly titled exhibit “The ZXFLUX Experience”. Our favorite shoe? The LA ZXFLUX Clippers design (editors note: The founder of MusicOfMyMind14 is a longtime, diehard Cippers fan…).
On this Downtown LA night, guests were lined up down the block to walk through the double glass doors with the Adidas logo at The Well. On other side of the glass doors you entered into a mahogany paneled exhibition room with white benches accenting the concrete floor and the ZX Flux line on display on the walls – dope sneakers! From the exhibition, down a short hallway, it changed from mahogany and white to an intimate warehouse music venue.
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I arrived during sound check to see a complete, but refreshingly unpretentious stage, white brick walls that looked like they had stories to tell, a concrete floor and double white steel doors to the outside.
My favorite spot was right in the front, stage right. From that vantage point, I could see each of the artists getting ready to take the stage. There were only about 5 minute breaks between sets which made the vibe even better because the artists were just being artists, flowing over with natural energy – no over-the-top production, no problem – guests were all in and responsive to the vibe. The bass was loud, the vocals were clear and the rap, and some R&B, was on!
The night’s first performance was Raven Felix, a female MC from The Valley. Raven Felix has clear, rapid rhymes and her beats and vocals range from an ingénue tenor to commanding M.I.A. tones. Her lyrics, “I’m 16 and my sh*t’s clean. . . ” and it’s kind of true. I don’t know what her future holds but I liked her voice, awesome beats and confident performance. Her debut mixed tape is called “Valifornia,” how dope is that? I don’t know what sets her apart from other MCs, but she certainly has personality, a voice and talent and her delivery is clean.
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Raven Felix was followed by RJ. I don’t know too much about him, other than he is an artist signed to YG and DJ Mustard’s record label, Pu$haz Ink. Rj definitely brought serious energy to the stage, jumping on top of the speaker system, getting the crowd hyped.
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Next up was Thurz. Thurz is so unique right now. This rapper throws down lyrics over beats that are funk and disco sounds. I think when his set started, people stopped a beat and turned to see what was going on and then got into the dance vibe. He also reminds me of The Roots, circa, “The Seed,” and his “Right Now” lyrics remind me of growing up in LA, “like the alley near Rosewood and Fairfax.” It’s really cool how he can rap clear, modern, relatable lyrics on an unexpected style of beats – dare I say there is a poet’s attitude in that?
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Wow, ya, Bj The Chicago Kid. I love this artist’s clean, muscular vocals and his classic R&B sound is commanding. When I listen to him do his thing, I don’t even feel time passing. The son of choir directors from Chicago, this kid has collaborated with artist such as Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul. His style is full of Motown sounds with a modern perspective and modern collaborative beats. His voice is big and I don’t think he needed a microphone for this venue. I just wrote this and I’m going to listen to him again right now. “Good Luv’n,” “Real Love Never Dies,” “Go Girl, “Can’t Hold My Liquor.” Are you kidding me!? He’s soooooooo freakin’ goooood!
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Audio Push’s energy in all of their performances is unmatched. I have seen this rap duo twice and this performance was even better than the last one. Oktane and Price are Audio Push and I think style, rap and rhythms are the words I think when I want to describe these artists. They are in the studio now working on their next album and they performed tracks from their up-coming album, including a new track with Wale.
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This is the first time I saw Nipsey Hussle perform- I had even bought tickets once and had to miss the show, so I was looking forward to this one. Nispey is, after all, a prolific, successful and consistent rapper who embodies everything you would expect from the Southern California West Coast hip hop sound, so I had some expectations. He played a short, 3 song set, which was fine but it’s hard for me to really guage his performance based on such a short set. I expected him to want to own the stage, but this being my first time seeing him perform, I really couldn’t get any sense of his personality.
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Hit-Boy brings hits! Polished beats and rap sounds is what this man is about. He’s a sharp producer and he knows what he’s doing. You can tell by his laid back but powerful performance. This night he brought his HS87 crew up on stage to perform, as well, a showcase within a showcase of talent. He has produced for some of the biggest and most successful artists in hip hop and I love that he can perform, too. His performance was smooth and oozed laid back confidence. If you haven’t heard his tracks, listen, he’s so great if you can’t vibe to his sounds, I don’t know what to say.
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YG! Everyone who knows me, knows I love YG, and his performance had the hype I feel for him. He was authentic and he was in the moment with the crowd . . . . or maybe that was me thinking he was talking to me when he asked, “B*tch, who do you love?” Um, you, YG! Seriously, he was in the moment because I was there to witness him bringing the crowd into his rhythm, lyrics and energy. It was so easy to get lost in his performance in this unaffected setting. At times he rapped without beats behind him and that was mad awesome to hear! He performed his hits “My N*gga,” and, “Who Do You Love,“ and more. The YG and DJ Mustard collaboration (My Krazy Life) is about West Coast rap a with mainstream turnt up beats and you could really hear them this night. YG released his debut studio album this year, My Krazy Life, and followed it up with his first movie, a 30 minute short film and soundtrack, Blame it on the Streets, which recently screened at L.A.’s Chinese Theatre. I knew nothing about RJ of Pushaz Ink when he took the stage, but I am glad he took the stage twice. Why? Because I was fascinated by him and because his deep, clear, articulated vocal quality is easy to listen to and I think this quality is good for rap and I think it sets him apart. Even though he can hold his own, I wasn’t sure where he was coming from when he performed. I am going to keep my eye on him so I know better for next time, I would see him again, but would like to know more about him.
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#DKLPHOTOS 