Last year, I attended over half a dozen concerts that were organized by Red Bull Sound Select for their month long “30 Days In L.A.” initiative, and I have to admit that each of the shows I attended was extremely well curated. With the new year, I’ve got new expectations, and since Red Bull Sound Select knocked it out of the park last year, and since Amoeba Music, the world’s largest independent record store, was curating the talent for the evening, my expectations were high.
“Welcome to the craziest fucking night of your entire fucking life,” Dave Grohl shouted to his fans as the Foo Fighters took the rotating circular stage in the middle of The Forum. And just like that … on a cold, rainy Southern California evening in January … the sold out crowd of 17,000 fans were treated to what may very well be the one of the best concerts that Los Angeles will have the pleasure of hosting for 2015.
Written By: E. Flinn
A lot has changed in the 36 years since Cat Stevens last toured the U.S. He left his western life behind, he changed his name to Yusuf Islam, and he converted to Islam. But one thing has not, and that is the universality and timelessness of his sound. Tens of thousands of artists have come and gone since Cat Stevens first came on the scene in the late 60s, most struggling to keep their relevance mere months after a song’s release. Meanwhile, he purposely moved further and further away from his life as a superstar, all the while continuing to inspire generation after generation around the globe. Continue reading
Written By: M. Sloves | Photos By: Derrick K. Lee
Prologue:
Sometimes you hear people wax poetic about the abundance of vinyl that surrounded them growing up. How their unconsciously cool parents shaped the future of their musical minds with shelves full of Coltrane, Miles Davis, Dylan, Mozart, The Stones: anything and everything rad from the last century of recorded music. I always shake my head and think, “damn … lucky fucks.” Continue reading
THOUGHTS (Excerpted from M. Sloves’ terrifically written concert review that you can read by CLICKING HERE!):
“Straight out of the gates, front men Zach Chance and Jonathan Clay hit the crowd with a tight, well-groomed honky-tonk anthem. Looking like Bo and Luke Duke, working the stage like the gearshift on the General Lee, these hombres have a lot of style and whole lot of swagger […]. Continue reading
THOUGHTS (Excerpted from M. Sloves’ terrifically written concert review that you can read by CLICKING HERE!):
“Her South Carolina accent makes her sound a helluva lot older than she looks. It’s a little raspy but not in a French/Israeli “I’ve been smoking since I was 8 years old” kinda way. Nikki probably sounded like this straight out of the womb. Lends her a certain gravitas that plays well off the current of thick heavy drumbeats that connect her grittier rock moments to her slower country vibes.
THOUGHTS (Excerpted from M. Sloves’ terrifically written concert review that you can read by CLICKING HERE!):
“[Pete is] clearly a charming guy and extremely talented. I think he falls into that category of “musician’s musician” – the guy that pro jocks want around when they’re at a recording studio or a house party because he can jump in on any song without a lot of ego stroking or maintenance costs. Continue reading
I’ve been to a lot of shows and I’ve met a lot of cool people in 2014, but one of the coolest persons I’ve met is a woman who I’ll call Ms. Rose. We both work in the music industry, and it just happened to work out that whenever either of us had an extra ticket for a show, the other just happened to be available to go. Well, the ball’s in my court now as she, thankfully, invited me to check out night one of KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas concert at The Fabulous Forum. Continue reading
To Check Out Other Bands We Caught During Red Bull Sound Selects “30 Days In LA” CLICK HERE
THE ACT: Chet Faker | Facebook | Twitter
SOUNDS LIKE:
THOUGHTS:
Chet Faker. Girls love him. Guys wish they could write music like him.
I saw Chet Faker earlier this year at The Roxy. Musically, there is no question that Nicholas James Murphy a/k/a “Chet Faker” has the musical goods. His sound (soulful, downtempo electronica) is baby-making music, plain and simple. It’s still early in his career (he’s only released one full length album, “Built On Glass” and a couple of extended plays) so it’ll be interesting to see how his sound develops going forward.
What I was more interested in observing this time around was his actual stage performance. At the Roxy, Chet Faker spent the length of the performance behind his keyboards under dim lights. On a couple of songs, additional musicians took the stage to perform as part of a backing band. This time around, with Red Bull as the sponsor of the event (and presumably a bigger budget), that his stage performance could have bit could a bit … more. The lighting at Mack Sennett Studios was definitely a step up from The Roxy’s lights, but on the large stage, it was again Chet behind his keyboards.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love his music. I even brought my LP copy of “Built On Glass” just in case I could catch him for an autograph. But truly memorable musical performances are not only auditory; there has to be a visual component to it as well … for me, it takes both aspects to make a show complete. Chet looked so isolated on the large stage. I was really hoping that he could have hired a backing band play his arrangements, or at least a some video screens to actually see what he was doing at the keyboard consoles. I mean, you can see moving around behind his instruments, but it would have been so much more effective if there were more “action” on stage. I mean, take Flying Lotus, for example. Flying Lotus performs behind his consoles, but he’s got an elaborate laser/lighting show going on around him simultaneously.
I’m not suggesting that Chet Faker needs some intricate laser light show. I just wish I could have seen what his hands were doing. There musicality and artisanship in watching a professional maneuver a drum machine and keyboards. It would have been nice to see the action on the keys.
SETLIST (unconfirmed)
VIDEO:
PHOTOS:
To Check Out Other Bands We Caught During Red Bull Sound Selects “30 Days In LA” CLICK HERE
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