A Year of Concerts: 2014

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Yusuf Islam / Cat Stevens | “Peace Train … Late Again” Tour | Nokia Theatre L.A. Live | 12/14/14 [Concert Review & Photos]

Yusuf Islam / Cat Stevens | “Peace Train … Late Again” Tour | Nokia Theatre L.A. Live | 12/14/14 [Setlist & Video Clips]

Jamestown Revival, Nikki Lane & Pete Molinari | The Troubadour | 11/30/14 [Concert Review]

Jamestown Revival | The Troubadour | 11/30/14 [Photos and Video]

Nikki Lane | The Troubadour | 11/30/14 [Photos and Video]

Pete Molinari | The Troubadour | 11/30/14 [Photos and Video] Continue reading

Geographer | First City Festival | 8/24/14 [PHOTOS]

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

THE ACT: Geographer | Facebook Twitter

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE: 

THOUGHTS: The only scheduling conflict for the entire festival for me was between Geographer’s set and The Naked And Famous’ set. Geographer started at 7pm and TNAF started at 7:25, and being  approved for a photo pass, I was instructed to be at the media tent 15 minutes prior to main stage acts taking the stage to be led into the main stage photo pit. I decided to gamble a bit. After all, was I going to miss catching a band that I was into? They use a freakin’ upright, electric bass! How cool is that? <- Yes, I’m a music nerd. Luckily, Geographer’s set started on time, and they started their set with the songs that got me into them to begin with. I pushed the time limit, and left their set at 7:20, running across the fairgrounds to get to the media tent right when TNAF was supposed to start. Apparently, the photographers had already been led into the pit, but the production manager was cool enough to take me into the pit even though I had missed my deadline. Thanks, Joan!

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

Sunday, August 24th

A Year of Concerts: 2013

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Listed chronologically, the most recent show first.

Stevie Wonder | Songs In The Key Of Life | Nokia Theatre L.A. Live | 12/21/13

Shy Girls | The Spare Room and Bootleg Bar | 12/12/13 and 12/13/13

Snoopzilla and Dam Funk “7 Days Of Funk” Record Release Party | Los Angeles Exchange | 12/10/13

Thundercat | The Echoplex | 12/05/13

Moses Sumney | The Echoplex | 12/05/13

Pearl Jam | Los Angeles Sports Arena | Nov. 23-24, 2013

Ben Harper | Walt Disney Concert Hall | 11/18/13

The Record Company | The Satellite | 11/15/13

The Janks | The Satellite | 11/15/13

Nine Inch Nails | Staples Center | 11/08/13

Iron & Wine | The Orpheum Theatre | 10/31/13

Laura Mvula | The Orpheum Theatre | 10/31/13

Hiatus Kaiyote | Skirball Cultural Center | 10/30/13

Moses Sumney | Skirball Cultural Center | 10/30/13

Hanni El Khatib| El Rey Theatre| 10/25/13

Bass Drum of Death | El Rey Theatre | 10/25/13

Tijuana Panthers | El Rey Theatre| 10/25/13

The Secret State | Loaded Hollywood | 10/13/13

Filter Magazine’s Culture Collide 2013 | Echo Park | 11/10/13 – 11/11/13  (Wooster, Tiny Ruins, Maya Vik, Iza, Medicine, Jacco Gardner, Gemini Club and Great White Buffalo)

Fiona Apple and Blake Mills | Walt Disney Concert Hall | 10/7/13

Depeche Mode | Staples Center | 9/29/13

M83, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Phantogram | Hollywood Bowl | 9/22/13

The Beach Ball Festival: Soul Revue | Santa Monica Pier | September 21, 2013 (Myron & E, Lee Fields and the Expressions, Maceo Parker, Allen Stone and Aloe Blacc)

Laura Mvula | El Rey Theatre | 9/17/13

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Lobster Festival | Port of Los Angeles | September 14, 2013 (The Section Quartet, Nightmare & The Cat, Deap Vally, Dead Sara)

Girl in a Coma | The Echoplex | September 12, 2013

Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue | Twilight Concert Series | August 29, 2013

The Dustbowl Revival | Twilight Concert Series | August 29, 2013

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

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Geographer | Getty Center | July 27, 2013

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Mike Deni of Geographer at the Getty

Earlier this year, a friend of mine from elementary school, Yoko, sent me a message on Facebook that I should check out a band play at The Echo called Geographer. A lot of friends and associates suggest bands for me to check out, and my obsessio …. curiosity about new music usually gets me to at least look the band up, but I’ve consistently seen this friend at random shows I’ve attended over the past few years, so her suggestion didn’t go unnoticed. I listened to the music, liked it, and wanted to see the band perform, but as fate would have it, tickets had already sold out. I messaged her back and she messaged me that she would give me a heads up the next time the band was scheduled to be in Los Angeles.

Fast forward about 4 months, and I get another message from my friend that Geographer was playing a free concert at the Getty as part of the “Saturdays off the 405” summer series. It had been a while since I had attended a show at the Getty, and I was excited at the chance of checking them out at that beautiful venue. Reading a review about how the wait in line to park at the museum for these concerts sometimes takes upwards of an hour and a half, I bought a sandwich and head over early, hours before the the scheduled set time. My planning didn’t really go as planned, and the cars waiting to park were already lined up and down Sepulveda. So I waited patiently.

After 5 minutes sitting in traffic, I texted Yoko to see where she and her friend were at. She texted me back saying that they were parking.

After 15 minutes sitting in traffic, since I hadn’t seen Yoko in a while,  I checked out her Facebook page. I knew she had gotten married in the past year, so I figured now would be a good time to learn her new last name.

After 30 minutes sitting in traffic … I was still sitting in traffic.

After 45 Minutes sitting in traffic, I decided to look up the band to get more info about their history. The lead singer’s name was Mike Deni. The cellist’s name was Nathan Blaz. The Drummer’s name was Brian Ostreicher … wait a minute. That name sounded familiar. I went back to Yoko’s Facebook page to confirm- even though I had just commit it to memory- that her married name was Ostreicher. HAHAHA. What I love about the whole situation was that Yoko never tried to get me to check out the band based on her literal “relationship” to them. For that, she gets perpetual music, brownie points.

KCRW DJ Mario Cotto
KCRW DJ Mario Cotto Warming Up The Crowd

After waiting an hour, I finally pulled into the lot to park my car. I took the tram up to the museum, found a spot, and ate my sandwich while looking over the scenic views of Los Angeles from the Getty, and afterwards found to a spot stage right while Mario Cotto, a KCRW DJ was spinning tunes. Yoko met up with me, and we caught up a little. She told me that she would be working the merchandise table, and I told her that I would meet up with her again after the band wrapped up.

Geographer is an eclectic electro-indie pop group and their music reminded me a bit of Passion Pit, MGMT, Animal Collective and Erasure all rolled up into a unique trio. I was particularly taken with Nathan Blaz on the electric cello. It was the first time I’ve seen an electric cello used effectively in a band, and its sound was lush, adding rich layers to the electronic arrangements. I imagined what it would sound like if Nathan had a chance to have a session with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. I’m sure that would be something.

Together with Mike Deni’s gentle vocals and Brian Ostreicher’s surging drumming, the music bounced off the high stone walls and glass windows of the Getty and created a wonderful musical experience for those in attendance, despite the long wait to park. LOL.

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Mike Deni of Geographer
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Nathan Blaz of Geographer
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Brian Ostreicher of Geographer

IMG_2352I texted Yoko and asked her to set an LP aside for me when the set ended. Before meeting up with her, I caught up with another friend to say, “Hi.” It was all for the better as the merchandise line was incredibly long, and seemingly never ending. When the line died down, I head over to say my hellos. Yoko pulled out the LP I asked her to save, and we chatted and caught up some more. Speaking with the guards/ushers, they told me that I could hang out for a minute, and I had a chance to get the guys to autograph my LP. Yoko took a picture of me with the guys, but I seemed to have accidentally deleted it. All good though. I think I’ll be able to get another picture with the fellas when they’re back in Los Angeles later in the year. After all, I did grow up with the drummer’s wife … LOL.

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Mike Deni of Geographer
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Nathan Blaz of Geographer
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Brian Ostreicher of Geographer

SET LIST:

  1. Paris
  2. Life of Crime
  3. The Dream Has Faded
  4. Night Winds
  5. Kaleidoscope
  6. Verona
  7. Blinders
  8. Kites
  9. Lover’s Game
  10. The Boulder
  11. Shell Beach
  12. Can’t You Wait (Encore)
  13. Original Sin (Encore)

Geographer | 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 Geographer’s 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!