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dklee13
Categories: Concerts, Pictorials | VideosTags: Air and Style, Air+Style, Brian Oblivian, concert photos, Cults, dream pop, Experimental Pop, indie pop, Madeline Follin, Rose Bowl
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Tag: Cults
REVIEW: Shaun White Presents AIR+STYLE | The Rose Bowl | 2/21/15-2/22/15
Los Angeleans, myself included, are a spoiled bunch. With our seemingly perpetual, perfect weather, we aren’t ones who are necessarily fond of inclement weather. In fact, dark clouds in the sky will give pause to many in Los Angeles about whether they’ll even leave the house. But I wasn’t going to let the forecast of bad weather stop me from catching Shaun White’s inaugural Air + Style event at the Rose Bowl. After all, when will you ever get the chance to check out killer bands AND extreme snow sports in Pasadena, California? Continue reading
A Year of Concerts: 2014
Cults | First City Festival | 8/24/14 [PHOTOS]
To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.
THE ACT: Cults | Facebook | Twitter
INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE
SOUNDS LIKE:
THOUGHTS: I’m a big fan of Cults’ music. I saw them earlier this year at the Santa Monica Pier, and was excited to get the chance to shoot them again at First City Festival since I wasn’t completely satisfied with the pics that I had snapped on the pier. There were a few moments of decent lighting, but during the start of their set (the time photographers are allowed into the pit), the lights were heavy on blue, pink and purple … just like the last time I shot them! Oh well … them the breaks. Hopefully, I’ll get a third chance to shoot them. I need some keepers for my collection!
To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.
First City Festival | August 23 & 24, 2014 | Homepage
This is the “Homepage” for the links to all of the blog entries posted about the acts I was able to catch at First City Festival, August 23 and 24, 2014. Below are links to Instagram video posts, photos and some brief thoughts about each band that I was able to enjoy in beautiful Monterey.
To read my “Love Letter” to First City Festival CLICK HERE.
Saturday, August 23th
- Strangers You Know | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- Speedy Ortiz | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- Miniature Tigers | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- CocoRosie | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- Doe Eye | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- How To Dress Well | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- Tokyo Police Club | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- Mr. Little Jeans | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- Phantogram | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- The Stepkids | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- Beck | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
Sunday, August 24th
- Midi Matilda | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- The Men | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- Lake Street Dive | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- Future Islands | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- Lo-Fang | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- Geographer | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- The Naked And Famous | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- Cults | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
- The National | Instagram Videos | Photos and Review
Cults | Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | 7/10/14 [PHOTOS & REVIEW]
CLICK HERE to check out other acts performing a Twilight Concert at the Santa Monica Pier!
Headlining the first concert of the 2014 Twilight Concert Series at the Santa Monica Pier was the lo-fi, psychedelic, indie pop duo Cults. Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivian’s 60’s infused, experimental pop music received great acclaim in 2010 and 2011 with strong reviews by publications like NME and Pitchfork.
I was particularly attracted to their latest album “Static” (released in 2013) as it basically told the story of the duos tumultuous relationship, which ultimately didn’t last. The darkness and somber tones of the music and lyrics of that album, for me, is a great straight listen (meaning, you can press play on the album and not have to fast forward any of the songs).
However tumultuous their break up may have been, it was obvious that any personal antagonism between them had been squashed as there was no tension between the two while performing. In fact, the only tension I could sense was with the person working the mixing board as I could tell Madeline, perhaps, had a difficult time hearing herself. Was it just me, or were there no monitors on stage?
The Cults’ music, especially with their latest release, is quite intricate and layered with sound. And where the recordings delicately balanced the music against the vocals, with the vocals at times just hovering over the music, the mix for their performance had the music slightly overpower the vocals. For example, when the instrumentation was minimal, like on the verses of “So Far”, I could hear Madeline’s vocals just fine. But when there was a swell of music, it often drowned out the vocal performance.
Despite any hiccups with mixing, Cults powered through their set and performed all of their hits from both their first and second albums, and even returned to the stage for an encore. Having grown up in Southern California, they thanked the crowd and expressed their sincere appreciation for being able to perform back in their stomping ground.
CLICK HERE to check out other acts performing a Twilight Concert at the Santa Monica Pier!
Cults | Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | 7/10/14 [INSTAGRAM VIDS]
CLICK HERE to check out other acts performing a Twilight Concert at the Santa Monica Pier!
Below are Instagram clips from most, if not all, of the songs from Cults’ set at the Santa Monica Pier as part of the Twilight Concert Series. Enjoy.
CLICK HERE to check out other acts performing a Twilight Concert at the Santa Monica Pier!
Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | Summer 2014
Whenever I have friends visiting Los Angeles during the summer and they ask me for suggestions, I always recommend attending a concert at the Santa Monica Pier. After all, there isn’t a much better way to spend a summer day/eve, at the beach with a picnic listening to some quality music.
For the past 30 years, the Santa Monica Pier has been hosting an extremely well-curated summer concert series known as the “Twilight Concerts”. This year, their line-up is as impressive as I’ve ever seen it. This year I am planning on attending almost all of the schedule concerts.
Below are the bands that I’ll be checking out, and will be updated with blog posts of previews, Instagram videos and photo pictorials and reviews. If you don’t follow my blog, save this page in a tab to follow my summer at the pier!
JULY 10th
- James Supercave | Preview | Photos and Review
- Cults | Preview | Photos and Review
July 17th
- King | Preview | Photos and Review
- Yuna | Preview | Photos and Review
July 31st
- The Slightlys | Photos and Review
- De Lux | Preview | Photos and Review
- Omar Souleyman | Preview | Photos and Review
August 7th
- Phebe Starr | Photos and Review
- Fascinator | Preview | Photos and Review
- Jagwar Ma | Preview | Photos and Review
August 14th
August 21st
- Mystic Braves | Preview | Photos and Review
- The Zombies | Preview | Photos and Review
August 28th
- Mexico 68 | Preview | Photos and Review
- Lee Scratch Perry | Preview | Photos and Review
September 4th
- Allah-Las | Preview | Photos and Review
- Ok Go | Preview | Photos and Review
September 11th
- King James & The Special Men | Preview | Photos and Review
- Charles Bradley | Preview | Photos and Review
Free Concert Alert | Cults at the Santa Monica Pier | 7/10/14 [Preview]
Whenever I have friends visiting Los Angeles during the summer and they ask me for suggestions, I always recommend attending a concert at the Santa Monica Pier. After all, there isn’t a much better way to spend a summer day/eve, at the beach with a picnic listening to some quality music.
For the past 30 years, the Santa Monica Pier has been hosting an extremely well-curated summer concert series known as the “Twilight Concerts”. This year, their line-up is as impressive as I’ve ever seen it.
On July 10th, the concert series kicks off with a critically acclaimed rock band from New York: Cults. This duo saw their music spread virally when they posted some of their music to their Bandcamp page sometime in 2010. Music publications like Pitchfork and NME have been gushing about their pop-rock sound, which led them to get signed to Columbia Records and releases their first major label, self-titled album. Having released their sophomore album, titled “Static” in late 2013, They have been touring in support of their debut album since, and are going to shine their sunny brand of pop-rock on the pier this coming Thursday. I, for one, am looking forward to checking them out for the first time.
Also performing on the pier, opening for Cults, is the band James Supercave. They are currently supporting their latest release, “The Afternoon EP” and their music is an eclectic mix of electronic pop music. Their lead singer’s voice reminds me of Modest Mouse’s lead singer, Isaac Brock, but their music feels more along the lines of a Passion Pit or Phoenix, with a rougher “rock” edge. As long as traffic doesn’t get the better of me, I hope to catch their set as well.
Check out Cults on Facebook to learn more about them and their music. CLICK HERE to check them out.
Cults| First City Festival | 8/24/14 [INSTAGRAM VIDS]
CLICK HERE to check out other acts I caught at First City Festival 2014!
Below are Instagram clips of some of the songs from Cults’ set at First City Festival 2014. Instagram’s embed settings are, unfortunately, too large for WordPress, but hopefully, you’ll still be able to click through to watch the video clips. Enjoy.
CLICK HERE to check out other acts I caught at First City Festival 2014!