First City Festival – Page 2

The Stepkids | First City Festival | 8/23/14 [PHOTOS]

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THE ACT: The Stepkids | Facebook | Twitter

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE:

THOUGHTS: I got to their set a little late because I wanted to watch as much of Phantogram’s set as I could, but the 20 or so minutes that I got to The Stepkids live was exactly what I was expecting. Funky, Steely Dan-ish, psychedelic soul. Oi. I seriously loved their groove. The way this trio blends elements of jazz, funk and soul is right up my alley. Jeff (guitar) and Dan (bass) were a joy to watch, playing riffs off of each other, and even synchronizing certain moves during songs. When each had a moment to solo, their respective play was a joy to watch, and listen. I wasn’t able to get any decent shots of their drummer, but I’m hoping the next time they are in Los Angeles, I’ll get approved for a photo pass so I can remedy that problem. I’m keeping my ears to the internet for more tour dates, and if you like their vibe, you should too.

The Step Kids | First City Festival 2014

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.

September 7, 2014September 6, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert pic, concert pics, concert review, Dan Edinberg, First City Fest, First City Fest 2014, First City Festival, First City Festival 2014, funk, funk music, Jeff Gitelman, photo, photos, pic, pictures, Step Kids, Stepkids, The Step Kids, The Stepkids, Tim Walsh, video Leave a comment

Phantogram | First City Festival | 8/23/14 [PHOTOS]

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September 6, 2014March 1, 2015 by dklee13 Categories: Concerts, Pictorials | VideosTags: concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert pic, concert pics, concert review, electro pop, electronic, electronic music, First City Fest, First City Fest 2014, First City Festival, First City Festival 2014, hollywood bowl, indie electronic, Joshua Carter, Phantogram, photo, photos, pic, pictures, Sarah Barthel, setlist, synth pop, synthesizers, synthpop, video Leave a comment

Mr. Little Jeans | First City Festival | 8/23/14 [PHOTOS]

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.

THE ACT: Mr. Little Jeans | Facebook | Twitter

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE:

THOUGHTS: Mr. Little Jeans is Monica Birkenes, and of all of the “new” acts I wanted to check out, she was at the top of my list. Having heard her music on KCRW, I immediately compared her sound to that of Lykke Li … and I like Lykke Li. Plus, she named herself after a bit role from Wes Anderson’s movie “Rushmore”, and I like that movie too. Her synth infused, dance-pop music attracted quite a crowd, and she had them eating out of her hands. Though she only one album under her belt, her emotive and upbeat stage presence left the impression on me that as long as she keeps creating music that her fans obviously love, she’ll carve out a nice little career for herself.

Mr. Little Jeans | First City Festival 2014

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.

September 4, 2014September 4, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert pic, concert pics, concert review, First City Fest, First City Fest 2014, First City Festival, First City Festival 2014, Monica Birkenes, Mr. Little Jeans Leave a comment

Tokyo Police Club | First City Festival | 8/23/14 [PHOTOS]

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.

THE ACT: Tokyo Police Club | Facebook | Twitter | Website

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE:

THOUGHTS: I’ve been meaning to check out Tokyo Police Club for the longest time. I’m not sure why I never did … until First City Festival. This indie rock band from Canada is high-energy and fun. Their catchy rock tunes are filled with pop melodies that are easy to remember and sing along with.

Tokyo Police Club | First City Festival 2014

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.

September 4, 2014September 4, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: Cocorosie, concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert pic, concert pics, concert review, David Monks, First City Fest, First City Fest 2014, First City Festival, First City Festival 2014, Graham Wright, Greg Alsop, Josh Hook, Tokyo Police Club Leave a comment

How To Dress Well | First City Festival | 8/23/14 [PHOTOS]

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.

THE ACT: How To Dress Well | Facebook | Twitter

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE:

THOUGHTS: I’m a huge fan of Tom Krell’s (pka “How To Dress Well”) music. How big of a fan? I have all of his albums on vinyl, and his latest release, “What Is This Heart?”, currently sits comfortably as one of my albums of the year. I’ve written about him HERE and HERE so I won’t get into what I think about his music in this post. Just enjoy the pictures.

How To Dress Well | First City Festival 2014

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.

DOE EYE| First City Festival | 8/23/14 [PHOTOS]

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.

THE ACT: DOE EYE | Facebook | Website

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE:

THOUGHTS: When deciding which acts I was going to check out, I trolled Facebook to see which artists had similar tastes that I did. I noticed that DOE EYE was a fan of How To Dress Well, so I decided to check out the first 15-20 minutes of her set before heading over to see … How To Dress Well. A little ironic, huh? DOE EYE is Maryam Qudus’ recording project, and her music is a blend of ethereal soundscapes and heavy rhythmic tempos. She was scheduled to play a 35 minutes set, but I could only stay for the several songs. I wish I could have stayed for her complete set to get a full sense of what her music and style were all about, but I guess she can blame it on Tom (aka How To Dress Well).

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.

September 4, 2014September 4, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert pic, concert pics, concert review, Doe Eye, First City Fest, First City Fest 2014, First City Festival, First City Festival 2014, Maryam Qudus Leave a comment

CocoRosie| First City Festival | 8/23/14 [PHOTOS]

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.

THE ACT: Cocorosie | Facebook | Twitter

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE:

THOUGHTS: Bianca and Sierra Casady are CocoRosie. Their music has been called “freak folk”, “folk-tronic” and “hip-hopera” … but whatever you want to call it, you can’t deny that it’s sublime. Currently based in Paris, France, I believe that this performance at First City Festival was one of the first concerts that they have performed in the United States since November of 2013, and even as the first act to hit the Main Stage of the festival, they drew a sizable crowd for their 2:30 set times. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one interested in seeing them perform their intriguing style of music. I left their performance in awe of their unique sound, and tried to sum it in my head. A mix of Bjork, Fiona Apple, Grimes … I don’t know how to describe it. It was CocoRosie.

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.

September 3, 2014September 3, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: Bianca Casady, Cocorosie, concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert pic, concert pics, concert review, First City Fest, First City Fest 2014, First City Festival, First City Festival 2014, Sierra Casady Leave a comment

Miniature Tigers | First City Festival | 8/23/14 [PHOTOS]

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.

THE ACT: Miniature Tigers | Facebook | Twitter | Website

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE:

THOUGHTS: I only had a couple songs to listen/watch this band play because I had to show up to the press tent 15 minutes before main stage acts took the stage to be led into the photo pit, but I was immediately drawn to Miniature Tigers bassist. In fact, over half of my photos from what I caught of their set were of the bassist. LOL. My brief encounter with their music left an upbeat, fun impression.

Miniature Tigers | First City Festival 2014

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.

September 3, 2014September 3, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: Algernon Quashie, Brandon Lee, Charlie Brand, concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert pic, concert pics, concert review, First City Fest, First City Fest 2014, First City Festival, First City Festival 2014, Miniature Tigers, Rick Schaier Leave a comment

Speedy Ortiz | First City Festival | 8/23/14 [PHOTOS]

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.

THE ACT: Speedy Ortiz | Facebook | Twitter

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE:

THOUGHTS: Really, really dig this band. I grew up in the 90’s, and their sound took me back to my days listening to the Pixies and Pavement. In fact, when I heard Sadie Dupuis sing for the first time, I thought of Kim Deal singing “Gigantic”. This band has been getting a lot good press recently (part of the reason why I wanted to check them out), and it really is well deserved. Hopefully, they’ll come back to California for some more gigs sooner rather than later.

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At First City Festival, CLICK HERE.

September 3, 2014September 3, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert pic, concert pics, concert review, darl ferm, devin mcknight, First City Fest, First City Fest 2014, First City Festival, First City Festival 2014, mike falcone, sadie dupuis, Speedy Ortiz Leave a comment

Strangers You Know | First City Festival | 8/23/14 [PHOTOS]

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THE ACT: Strangers You Know | Facebook | Twitter | Website

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE:

THOUGHTS: The first band I got to catch was a young group of fellas called Strangers You Know. For the earliest set in the day, I was quite surprised that they had pulled a decent sized crowd (which consisted of mostly young girls). With solid pop-laced, indie-rock melodies and a confident swagger that impressed me and good looks (which I’m assuming impressed their young female crowd), I was glad that I got to the festival grounds early to catch some music that I was unfamiliar with. If these guys have been writing their music, they’re off to a good start. I’m interested to hear more from them.