Tag: indie pop

The Slightlys | Twilight Concert | Santa Monica Pier | 7/31/14 [PHOTOS & REVIEW]

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Opening for De Lux and Omar Souleyman was a local band named The Slightlys. Performing in a local “battle of the bands” contest, they won their right to play the pier after weeks of competition.

This preteen band (the oldest member of the band is only 18) took the stage and put on a very impressive show. Their sound was clean and their stage presence was impressive. If they had jitters, it wasn’t noticeable. I was particularly impressed with the catchy hooks of several of their songs. Their music reminded me a little bit of mix of Fall Out Boy and Jellyfish.

Whoever picked them as the winner of the competition picked well. Only time will tell if this band will stick together to record and play more music, after all, it’s tough to keep a band together especially when college is around the corned. Hopefully, they keep making music and developing their sound.

Follow The Slightlys on Facebook by CLICKING HERE.

I had a couple chances to take some actions shots, but I was woefully unprepared as I think I set my aperture too wide and parts of the action in the pics were too blurry. Oh well, you live and you learn.

 

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Cults | Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | 7/10/14 [PHOTOS & REVIEW]

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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 a collection of Instagram videos of most, if not all, of the songs Cults performed at this concert.

CLICK HERE to check out other acts performing a Twilight Concert at the Santa Monica Pier!

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Cults | Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | 7/10/14 [INSTAGRAM VIDS]

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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.

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Glass Battles | Los Globos | 5/24/14

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I don’t do it as much as I used to, but I’ve always enjoyed going out to check out bands for the first time at venues I’ve never been to. An Instagram friend let me know of an independent artist showcase she was putting together through her company Badd Lemonade at Los Globos in Silverlake, and I decided to check out some new music.

The first band I saw perform was a band called Glass Battles, a five piece band indie pop band whose synch-rock sound is definitely conducive to movement on the dance floor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkSFVyKPLUA

The show at Los Globos was their first show in Los Angeles this year, and they were appreciative to be back rocking their hometown. Their next Los Angeles performance is Sunday June 8th at the LA PRIDE festival in West Hollywood. Follow them on Facebook to keep up with their other performances.

Los Globos is a pretty cool venue, but I found it terribly hard to snap good pics with their low and frenetic lighting. Proof that I’ll have to save up a couple of Gs to invest in some quality lens.

 

 

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Lana Del Rey | Coachella | 4/13/14 (PHOTOS)

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Lana Del Rey’s fans are some of the most dedicated and passionate fans that I have ever met. Prior to her set, I chatted with several of them who were up at the very front of the barricade, with at least ten thousand other festival goers behind them. I asked them how long they waited where they were standing, and one of them said at least an two hours, having made their way up to the front during the prior act’s (Neutral Milk Hotel) set.

I scanned the line of fans at the railing (the greater majority of whom were young women … some of them probably girls) and most of them had their eyes fixated on the stage, as if they wanted to catch a glimpse of their songstress before the show began. One girl, standing between two friends who were having an animated conversation, was standing there quietly, when I noticed – no joke – her eyes well up with tears. Her friends paid no attention to her, but I sure noticed the tear that fell before she wiped her eyes with her left hand.

Almost on cue, security was called over to another side of the barricade as a girl was lifted from the crowd, apparently having passed out among the masses. Then another. I could feel the anticipation of the audience and its weight was palpable.

When the lights dimmed, the audience erupted. The music for “Cola” started playing, the shrieks got louder. When Lana took the stage, I was grateful I had invested in a pair of high quality earplugs. It was that loud. The payoff for the fans who had waited patiently for their siren to take the stage were rewarded when Lana made her way past the photo pitt to give out hugs to a lucky few.

Another highlight for her fans was the premier live performance of the first single off of her forthcoming, Dan Auerbach produced, album: “West Coast”.

Lana Del Rey Setlist Coachella Festival 2014 2014, 2014 Tour

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The 1975 | Coachella | 4/13/14 (PHOTOS)

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Earlier this year, I heard a little buzz about an indie-rock band from Manchester, UK called The 1975. I really didn’t know much about their music, but a lot of my female friends on Facebook had posted about them, so I decided to check out their set to see what they were all about.

I didn’t know much about their music, so I kind of assumed that it would be something akin to music of that era like Queen or Led Zeppelin (considering that they were from the UK and they were called The 1975). Rather, it was more like the pop-rock of HAIM. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of 80’s influenced, indie rock, I suppose I was just anticipating, although a bit unfounded, something a little harder of an edge.

I liked their music. With the support and push of their label. I don’t think this band will have a problem breaking into the american, mainstream market. The tunes are catchy and consumer-friendly, and the lead singer, based on a female friend’s opinion, is “a good looking, if not waif, guy” … and I’m assuming that most of the crowd would have agreed as they seemed to be mostly female (you should click the instagram video below … It’s not surprising that there is a girl yelling, “I love you, Matty,” at the end).

I liked their music. If you like bands like HAIM, CHVRCHES or Vampire Weekend, you should look into The 1975.

The 1975 Setlist Coachella Festival 2014 2014

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Future Islands | Coachella | 4/12/14 (PHOTOS)

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If Woodkid was the surprise set of my Friday, Future Islands was the surprise set of my Saturday.

Between catching White Lies and Banks, I took a pit stop in the media tent of the festival. While there, I noticed Samuel Herring, lead singer of Future Islands, hanging out after an interview. For some reason, perhaps due to the little sleep I had the two nights before, I went up to Samuel and apologized for missing his band’s set on Friday. Problem was, they were performing later that evening. D’oh!!!! He politely corrected me, and encouraged me to go check them out. I was a bit too embarrassed to show him that I had actually circled their set in my festival booklet, and opted to assure him that I would while asking for a selfie, which he graciously obliged.

As an aside, in those few minutes chatting with Sam Herring, I got the impression that he was one of the most humble and easy going dudes on the planet. Total bonus points in the “cool” column.

When the band took the stage and started performing, I was blown away. I had seen videos of them perform live online, but there’s nothing like watching Sam Herring rock the stage in the flesh. He performs with such a passion, you can’t helped but get hypnotized by him. His facial expressions, body language, even hand gestures all served the purpose to help tell the stories he was singing.

To put it bluntly, I fucking loved it. On record store day, I actually looked for their LP to buy. It was apparently sold out, so I ended up buying their album on cassette instead. It was the second cassette I’ve purchased in the past 15 years (the other being a copy of The Pharcyde’s  “Bizarre Ride To Tha Pharcyde”). I’ve played that cassette at least a half a dozen times since, and each time I think about their performance at Coachella.

If you enjoy bands like War On Drugs, Phantogram or St. Vincent, you should check out Future Islands. If you have the opportunity to see them live in a club venue, do it.

Future Islands Setlist Coachella Festival 2014 2014

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City and Colour | Coachella | 4/12/14 (PHOTOS)

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Though I hated having to leave CHVRCHES‘ set early, there was another band taking the Main Stage that I didn’t want to miss: City and Colour.  City and Colour is the acoustic/folk stage name of Canadian singer-songwriter Dallas Green, who previously was the lead guitarist and vocalist of the post-hardcore band Alexisonfire. As an aside, did you know that the name City and Colour is derived from Dallas (City) Green’s (Colour) name?

Truth be told, I wasn’t all too familiar with City and Colour’s discography, but having done a bit of research before attending the festival, I discovered that he had released 4 studio albums, 3 of which landing in the top 3 (two hitting number 1) of the Canadian Albums Chart, with his latest 2013 effort, “The Hurry and the Harm“, peaking at number 16 on the Billboard 200.

The music’s gentle grace swept over the crowd that had gathered for his set, and was given a much needed reprieve from the craziness of the past 24 Coachella hours. Truthfully, it was a the perfect set, at the perfect time. It reminded me of the time I saw Andrew Bird’s midday Coachella set in 2012; how the music enveloped me really put my mind at ease.

Dallas Green heads back up to Canada for a series of performance, but I recommend checking out City and Colour when he stops by in your town. Well worth it.

 

City and Colour Setlist Coachella Festival 2014 2014

 

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Grouplove | Coachella | 4/11/14 (PHOTOS)

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I knew that Grouplove’s music was fun, but I had no idea I’d be having so much fun taking pictures of them while they were performing. The energy that they emit from the stage while performing induced everybody, myself included, to jump and dance around, even in the sweltering desert heat. The expressiveness on their faces, and in their actions, while performing songs in the their set was really a pleasure to shoot. Hopefully, I’ve been able to capture some of that contagious energy in a few of my pics.

As a side note, after looking at their set list (below) I noticed that they covered both an A$AP Rocky and a Beyonce songs. Both artists, by the way, made special guest appearances over the weekend. Hmm … if you happen to be at Coachlla during week 2, and you happen to catch Grouplove’s set, keep an ear out to hear what songs they cover in their set. Maybe they know something we don’t know… just saying’…

 

Grouplove Setlist Coachella Festival 2014 2014, Spreading Rumours

 

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Dum Dum Girls | Coachella | 4/11/14 (PHOTOS)

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     I’m a fan of Dee Dee Penny (nee Kristin Welchez) and her sound. Based on some of her more recent work (like “Too True To Be Good” and “Coming Down”), her voice and style reminds me of some of the female rock-pop fronted bands I grew up with (off the top of my head, maybe an amalgam of Lucious Jackson, Siouxsie Sioux and Mazzy Star).
     When the band took to the stage, wearing their trademark black, Dee Dee brought a little “shock and awe” wearing a sheer top with strategically placed pasties. The band launched into their 12 song, 45 minute set under in the sweltering desert sun, but didn’t let the heat hold them down, bringing it instead. I enjoyed what I heard and I plan on keeping tabs on the band’s music to see how it develops from here.

Dum Dum Girls Setlist Coachella Festival 2014 2014

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