filter magazine – #DKLPHOTOS

FYF FEST | L.A. State Historic Park | August 24 and 25, 2013 (Mikal Cronin, Charles Bradley, The Breeders, Devendra Banhart, The Locust, Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Orwells, Pional, How To Dress Well, No Age, !!! (ChkChkChk), Shlohmo, MGMT, Solange, and Holy Ghost!)

Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz Band |Burton W. Chace Park | August 17, 2013

The National | Jimmy Kimmel Live | August 12, 2013

Hanni El Khatib | Twilight Concert Series | August 8, 2013

Hiatus Kaiyote | The Bootleg Theater | July 31, 2013

Geographer | Getty Center | July 27, 2013

Tijuana Tears | The Virgil | July 24, 2013

Savages | El Rey Theatre | July 23, 2013

Alabama Shakes | Hollywood Palladium | July 17th, 2013

Rodrigo y Gabriela | Hollywood Bowl | July 14, 2013

Young, Gifted & Nina: A Tribute to Nina Simone | California Plaza | July 5, 2013

BET Experience | R. Kelly, New Edition & The Jacksons | Staples Center | 6/30/13

BET Experience | Snoop, Kendrick Lamar & J.Cole | Staples Center | 6/29/13

BET Experience | Beyonce | Staples Center | 6/28/13

Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters | Shrine Auditorium | June 26th, 2013

Nina Diaz | Hotel Café | June 9th, 2013

Ink-N-Iron Festival | Queen Mary | June 8, 2013 (Girl in a Coma, Hopeless Jack & the Handsome Devil, Kaleigh Baker, The Fleshtones, Dead Kennedys and Iggy and the Stooges)

Illumination Road | The Roxy | June 4, 2013

Make Music Pasadena 2013 | June 1, 2013 (The Record Company, The Peach Kings, YACHT, Robert DeLong, Youngblood Hawke, Haunted Summer and The Likes of Us)

A Night For Jolie; A Night To Remember | Henson Recording Studios | May 31, 2013

Hanni El Khatib and The Black Angels | Mayan Theater | 5/21/13

What Made Milwaukee Famous | Central SAPC | 5/19/13

Dead Sara | El Rey Theater | May 9, 2013

New Build and No Ceremony/// | First Unitarian Church | April 27, 2013

Coachella 2013 | April 12-14 | Friday (Of Monsters and Men, Passion Pit, Palma Violets, Modest Mouse, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Jurassic 5, Stone Roses and How To Destroy Angels)

Coachella 2013 | April 12-14 | Saturday (Ben Howard, Pucifer, Violent Femmes, Grizzly Bear, Postal Service, Franz Ferdinand and Phoenix)

Coachella 2013 | April 12-14 | Sunday (Alex Clare, Rodriguez, Vampire Weekend, Nick Cave, Wu-Tang Clan and Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Toddchella | Part I | Tijuana Tears

Toddchella | Part II | The Record Company

Toddchella | Part III | We Were Indians

The Weeks | Three Clubs | 3/29/13

Nik Kai | 12 Year Old Guitar Prodigy | The Future of Shredding

The Night Hiatus Kaiyote Blew My Mind At The Del Monte Speakeasy 3/23/13

Jose James | The Del Monte Speakeasy | 3/13/13

Morrissey | Staples Center | 3/1/13

Orange Tulip Conspiracy |El Cid | 2/22/13

Soundgarden | The Wiltern | 2/16/13

The Robert Glasper Experiment | The Roxy | 2/8/13

Social Distortion | The House of Blues (Sunset) | 01/26/13

December 31, 2013January 15, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: !!!, 2013, 2013 concerts, 2013 Lobster Festival, alabama shakes, alex clare, allen stone, Aloe Blacc, and the, bass drum of death, ben harper, ben howard, BET Experience, beyonce, blake mills, bombino, Burton W. Chace Park, charles bradley, ChkChkChk, coachella, concert, concerts, culture collide, Dam-Funk, dead kennedys, dead sara, Deap Vally, deerhunter, Depeche Mode, devendra banhart, Dustbowl Revival, Echo Park, echoplex, el rey theatre, Expressions, filter magazine, fiona apple, first unitarian church, Franz Ferdinand, FYF 2013, fyf fest, Gemini Club, geographer, Getty Center, girl in a coma, Great White Buffalo, Grizzly Bear, Handsome devil, Hanni El Khatib, Haunted Summer, Hiatus Kaiyote, hollywood bowl, hollywood palladium, holy ghost!, Hopeless jack, Hopeless Jack & The Handsome devil, How To Destroy Angels, how to dress well, iggy and the stooges, illumination road, ink & iron, ink and iron, Ink-N-Iron, iron & wine, iron and wine, iza, J. Cole, Jacco Gardner, jimmy kimmel live, Joses James, jurassic 5, Kaleigh Baker, Kendrick Lamar, Laura Mvula, lee fields, Loaded Hollywood, Lobster Festival, los angeles sports arena, M83, Maceo Parker, Make Music Pasadena, Make Music Pasadena 2013, Maya Vik, medicine, mgmt, Mikal cronin, Modest Mouse, morrissey, Moses Sumney, Myron & E, new build, New Edition, Nice Cave, Nightmare & The Cat, nina diaz, Nine Inch Nails, no age, no ceremony///, of monsters and men, palma violets, Pancho Sanchez, passion pit, peal jam, Phantogram, phoenix, pictures, pional, Postal Service, Pucifer, R. Kelly, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Review, robert delong, robert plant, Rodrigo, rodrigo y gabriela, rodriguez, santa monica pier, savages, Sensational Space Shifters, shlohmo, shy girls, skirball cultural center, snoop, snoop dogg, social distortion, solange, soundgarden, Staples Center, Stevie wonder, stone roses, The Beach Ball Soul Revue, The Black Angeles, the black angels, The Bootleg Theater, the breeders, The Dustbowl Revival, the echoplex, The Fleshtones, The Jacksons, the janksn, The Likes of Us, the national, The Orpheum Theatre, the orwells, The peach kings, The Record Company, The Robert Glasper, The Robert Glasper Experiment, the roxy, the satellite, the secret state, The Section Quartet, The Virgil, the weeks, the yeah yeah yeahs, Thundercat, tijuana panthers, Tijuana Tears, tiny ruins, Trombone Shorty, tv on the radio, twilight concert series, Vampire Weekend, video, Violent Femmes, walt disney concert hall, Wooster, wu-tang clan, Yacht, Yacht band, yeah yeah yeahs, Youngblood Hawke, YYY Leave a comment

Gemini Club | Culture Collide | 10/11/13

Click here to check out the other bands that I saw perform at Culture Collide 2013

Gemini Club is a four-piece indie-electronic band from Chicago, Illinois that have been earning a lot of praise recently opening for the likes of Chromeo, Two Door Cinema Club and Chateau Marmont. When I was doing research to decide which bands I wanted to see perform at Culture Collide, I found a couple videos of this band’s live performance and I was immediately interested. Though the band’s stage set-up was flanked by two stacks of keyboards, Gemini Club’s live music isn’t preprogrammed. Centered around a drummer, the electronic dance music is a live as live can be. Taking full advantage of MIDI, who says a laptop isn’t an instrument?

I was new to their music, so I wasn’t too familiar with the lyrics of their music, but in this particular instance, I was more focused on their vibe and sound, dancing and grooving to their tunes. Phoenix, Simian Mobile Disco, Hot Chip, Two Door Cinema Club … Gemini Club’s music is on par with the bands listed. Though the set was cut a little short due to set times running late at the venue, their set was filled with the kind of energy that only a confident band with devoted fans could evoke.

There are a lot of electronic bands flooding the music market these days. Gemini Club is an independent band that lacks the backing of a major so it’s their live performance and the word of mouth circulated by their fans that’ll get them noticed in the marketplace. Their live show is solid, and it’s my opinion that if they keep touring relentlessly, they’ll be able to lock in fans for the long haul. Follow them on Facebook, and check out their music. You may want to check them out when they are in your neck of the woods.

Unfortunately, the Flickr slideshow below is not currently available on mobile devices. If you are on a mobile device, please click THIS LINK to get redirected to the set of photos.

Click here to check out the other bands that I saw perform at Culture Collide 2013

November 3, 2013 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: alternative dance, chateau marmont, chicago, chromeo, culture collide, culture collide 2013, echoplex, electronic music, filter magazine, Gemini Club, hot chip, illinois, indie electronic, indie rock, phoenix, pop, pop muisc, pop music, tom gavin, two door cinema club 1 Comment

Jacco Gardner | Culture Collide | 10/11/13

Click here to check out the other bands that I saw perform at Culture Collide 2013

I take music reviews with a grain of salt. I do my best to avoid reading them until I’ve already developed my own opinion about the music myself, but when trying to learn about music that I’ve never heard about before, it’s tough not to read an article or two…

When I looked for information about Jacco Gardner, I stumbled on the Pitchfork.com review of Jacco Gardner’s latest release “Cabinet of Curiosities”. In that article, Pitchfork states:

Being compared to such musical luminaries ranging from Brian Wilson to Love is nothing to scoff at. I only listened to a few tracks available on youtube, and decided that I would reserve judgement until I saw him perform live.

Jacco Gardner's setlist. — Jacco Gardner’s setlist.

Gracing the stage at the Echo Park United Methodist Church, he and his full band wistfully played set that was filled with all of those elements that made that Pitchfork reviewer recall the musical, psychedelic pop stylings of Brian Wilson and Love. His arrangements were more complex than I would have expected from a young man in his mid twenties, and his performance was that of a subdued and mature veteran.

I loved his sound. His audience loved his sound. I purchased his LP, and his music sounds incredible on vinyl. It may be tough finding large audiences to fall into his music, but I, for one, am very interested in seeing where he takes it. You can too by following his Facebook account.

Unfortunately, the Flickr slideshow below is not currently available on mobile devices. If you are on a mobile device, please click THIS LINK to get redirected to the set of photos.

Click here to check out the other bands that I saw perform at Culture Collide 2013

November 1, 2013November 1, 2013 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: culture collide, culture collide 2013, filter magazine, Indie Folk, indie rock, Jacco Gardner, Neo-Psychedelia, photo, photographs, photos, pic, pics, pictures, pop, Pop Alternative, setlist, slideshow, video, videos 1 Comment

Medicine | Culture Collide | 10/11/13

Click here to check out the other bands that I saw perform at Culture Collide 2013

Shoegazing is a sub genre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. As per its entry on Wikipedia, “The British music press—particularly NME and Melody Maker—named this style shoegazing because the musicians in these bands stood relatively still during live performances in a detached, introspective, non-confrontational state, hence the idea that they were gazing at their shoes.” One of the biggest UK acts to arise from this musical movement, was My Bloody Valentine (a band that I opted not to see at 2013’s FYF Festival). Pitchfork Media has hailed Medicine as the closest thing to being an American answer to My Bloody Valentine. I had to check them out.

Medicine founder, Brad Laner, is perhaps one of the most accomplished Los Angeles musicians in the indie rock scene. Having played on more than 300 albums, he has worked with the likes of Brian Eno, Savage Republic and Rick Rubin. After over a decade of the band being on hiatus, band members Laner, singer Beth Thompson and drummer Jim Goodall recorded and released the highly regarded album “To The Happy Few” earlier this year.

To be honest, I wasn’t all too familiar with Medicine’s catalog of music. Truth be told, growing up, I wan’t that big of a fan of the “genre” of shoegazing. It was only somewhat recently when I started to get into M83‘s music that I started to look into the genre. But where M83 is more pop-synth rock, Medicine’s brand of shoegazing is massively more psychedelic rock with silky vocals and wall of expert guitar playing and driving drums. It was a great set, and I have money that this set was much more entertaining than the My Bloody Valentine set at FYF Festival, which I heard was plagued with technical difficulties. US-1 : UK-0.

Unfortunately, the Flickr slideshow below is not currently available on mobile devices. If you are on a mobile device, please click THIS LINK to get redirected to the set of photos.

Click here to check out the other bands that I saw perform at Culture Collide 2013

October 29, 2013 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: beth thompson, brad laner, culture collide, culture collide 2013, filter magazine, fyf festival, jim goodall, M83, medicine, medicine band, My Bloody Valentine, photos, pic, pics, pictures, shoegazing, slideshow, to the happy few, vide, video Leave a comment

Iza | Culture Collide | 10/10/13

Click here to check out the other bands that I saw perform at Culture Collide 2013

Earlier this year (2013), Snoop threw up some beats he had cobbled together onto his Soundcloud account, giving other musicians on Soundcloud the opportunity to record melodies and lyrics on top of them for fun. It so happened that an amazingly unique vocalist from Poland caught Snoop’s ear. Her name was Iza Lach p/k/a “Iza” and Snoop decided to scoop up this hidden jewel of a talent before anybody else could releasing several EPs executed produced by Snoop (as Berhane Sound System) and released under Snoop’s wife’s imprint label “Boss Lady Entertainment”.

When I heard the tracks she had recorded, I got excited. Like, being a kid and finding the toy in the cereal box kind of excited. Iza’s voice and vocal technique is so unique that I couldn’t really compare it to anything that I’ve heard before … and I listen to a lot of music. Maybe a souled out Portishead with a Sade vibe? I don’t know. All I know was that I wanted to hear more.

When management told me that she would be performing in Los Angeles, I knew that I had to buy a ticket. She performed three sets at Culture Collide, but unfortunately I was only able to attend her first one on Thursday as I was already attending a friend’s wedding on the Saturday she was scheduled to perform twice.

The performance I attended was in a small lounge of a restaurant, and it couldn’t have been a more perfect setting to watch her perform live for the first time. Backed by a full band (drums, guitar, bass and Iza playing keys), the music filled the intimate setting, drowning out the drunken chatter of the guys hitting on girls at the bar.

Iza's setlist at the first of three of her scheduled performances at Culture Collide. — Iza’s setlist at the first of three of her scheduled performances at Culture Collide.

She played songs that I was familiar with, and also sang some songs that I didn’t remember hearing before. But the part of the performance that really impressed me was when Iza shed her coy and seductive sound and rocked out the refrain of a song. It was unexpected, but pleasantly surprising. I loved it.

I probably would have loved watching her performance that was scheduled in the church venue, but c’est la vie. One can only hope that she gets to perform in Los Angeles sooner rather than later.

To check out some of Iza’s music, check out her Bandcamp page. Support independent music!

Unfortunately, the Flickr slideshow below is not currently available on mobile devices. If you are on a mobile device, please click THIS LINK to get redirected to the set of photos.

Click here to check out the other bands that I saw perform at Culture Collide 2013

October 25, 2013November 3, 2013 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: 360, april fools, boss lady entertainment, culture collide, culture collide 2013, filter magazine, iza, Iza Lach, luck ones, new music, no ordinary love, pain killer, performance, performances, photographs, pic, pics, pictures, poland, pop, pop music, questions, setlist, slice, slideshow, soul, soul music, video, video clips, you and i 2 Comments

Filter Magazine’s Culture Collide 2013 | Echo Park | 11/10/13 – 11/11/13

This year (2013), Snoop’s wife’s company, Boss Lady Entertainment, signed an artist from Poland named Iza Lach. I’m a huge fan of her sound/voice, so when I found out that she was slotted to perform several sets during Filter Magazine’s Culture Collide music festival, I was giddy. I was even more giddy when I saw the impressive number of foreign bands set to perform. I had a wedding in Santa Barbara to attend Saturday, October 12th, so I’d have to miss out on The Ravonettes, Alice Russell, Rhye, King Khan & The Shrings, and a handful of other lesser known acts, but I still managed to get a press pass (my first of the year!) to check out some of the bands playing Thursday and Friday.

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Now, there are a lot a music festivals that go on throughout the year, all across the United States, but the Culture Collide festival is particularly unique in that it’s an extremely affordable way to see different kinds of bands from all over the world- 24 countries (including the United States) were represented this year. I sat next to a couple for Jacco Gardner who echoed that sentiment by telling me that they, “go to this festival every year. It’s only $30, and to get to hear great music from places I know I’ll never get to go? It’s totally worth it.”

Below are the bands that I was able to catch (click through the names of the bands to check out the entries that I wrote up). Hopefully this music festival has another go at it next year, as I certainly would attend, with or without a press pass.

Thursday, October 10th:

Wooster (US)
Tiny Ruins (New Zealand)
Maya Vik (Norway)
Iza (Poland)

Friday, October 11th:

Medicine (US)
Jacco Gardner (Netherlands)
Gemini Club (US)
Great White Buffalo (US)

October 22, 2013January 15, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: alternative folk, boss lady entertainment, culture colldie, culture collide 2013, filter magazine, folk, folk music, funk music, Gemini Club, iza, Iza Lach, Jacco Gardner, live concert performance, live confer performance, Maya Vik, photo, photographs, photos, pic, pictures, Review, reviews, setlist, snoop, snoop dogg, tiny ruins, video 1 Comment

Maya Vik | Culture Collide | 11/10/13

Click here to check out the other bands that I saw perform at Culture Collide 2013

I was washing my hands in one of the venues when I noticed the gentlemen next to me washing his hands wearing some really high-end ear plugs. Since I had recently looked into purchasing a pair of quality earplugs, I sparked up a conversation in the men’s room regarding the same.

The dude had a European accent, and after converting Krones to U.S. Dollars, we estimated that his ear plugs were between $800-$1,000. I thanked him for the insight, and applauded him for his dedication to concert going before heading off. Imagine my amusement when I noticed him behind the keys for Maya Vik.

From her Wikipedia page:

Screen Shot 2013-10-22 at 12.38.07 AM

It was a fun, energetic set that really had the small club venue feeling funky. When they covered Ready For The World’s Oh Sheila the small venue got warm and musty with moving bodies. If I could have, I would have attended her gig on Saturday. There’s nothing better to get the funk flowing than a good looking woman, slapping out funky bass-lines.

Unfortunately, the Flickr slideshow below is not currently available on mobile devices. If you are on a mobile device, please click THIS LINK to get redirected to the set of photos.

Click here to check out the other bands that I saw perform at Culture Collide 2013

October 22, 2013October 22, 2013 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: bassist, culture collide, culture collide 2013, filter magazine, funk, Maya Vik, oh shiela, pics, pictures, ready for the world, Review, reviews, video Leave a comment

Tiny Ruins | Culture Collide | 11/10/13

Click here to check out the other bands that I saw perform at Culture Collide 2013

Hollie Fullbrook, a folk singer-songwriter from New Zealand, is Tiny Ruins. She made some waves in 2011 when the BBC Wold Service programme The Strand named her album first full length album one of the top five albums of 2011. With such glowing reviews, I marked it down as a set that I wanted to check out.

It was an intimate set in a modestly sized church. With just her voice and guitar, she filled the churches’ architecture with a soft, mellow, etherial sound. The lighting was subdued and appropriate, and the only criticism I had of the venue was that they didn’t turn-off the buildings fans prior to the start of her performance. A video clip of Hollie performing one of her songs is below, and you’ll note the fan noise in the background.

As it was my first time listening to her music, I wasn’t as committed to her lyrics, for which she is known, so I suppose that I didn’t appreciate the music as much as I possibly could have. When I have some more time, I plan on listening to Some Were Meant For Sea with an open ear. I won’t be able to attend her upcoming gig at the Silverlake Lounge on October 23, but for $8, I definitely think it’s worth the cover.

Unfortunately, the Flickr slideshow below is not currently available on mobile devices. If you are on a mobile device, please click THIS LINK to get redirected to the set of photos.

Click here to check out the other bands that I saw perform at Culture Collide 2013

October 22, 2013October 22, 2013 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: bbc, concert, culture collide, culture collide 2013, filter magazine, folk, folk music, holly fullbrook, new zealand, photo, photographs, photos, pic, pics, pictures, Review, reviews, tiny ruins, video Leave a comment