Metronomy | The Fonda Theatre | 6/17/14 [PHOTOS & VIDEO]

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When it comes to buying music, I’m old school. I like to sift through racks of CDs or vinyl records to discover music. As a vinyl collector/lover, I often find myself spending hours at local record stores looking for new albums to add to my collection.

One Saturday, I was over at Origami Vinyl to purchase concert tickets to see The War On Drugs. As per usual, I got sidetracked and started looking at some of the records that were on display.

Then, as if it were pulled from the scene in “High Fidelity” where John Cusack’s character plays the Beta Band single “Dry The Rain”, some music started playing out of the store speakers that caught my attention.Neil Schield, the owner of the echo park record store, was manning the register when I asked what album it was. He told me it was the Beta … Metronomy, and that he was spinning their latest album, “Love Letters”. I left the store two of Metronomy’s albums, and I’ll have to say that “Love Letters” is on my list of favorite albums of 2014 (so far). I had to get a ticket for their show at the Fonda when I found out about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppJAkN4m9bY

Yup. It kinda happened just like that.

When the English band (Anna Prior, Gabriel Stebbing, Joseph Mount and Oscar Cash) too the stage, the audience erupted with an enthusiastic cheer. The men, dressed in their matching white suits, and the female drummer, in a similar white matching ensemble, jumped into a set of breezy synth pop that had the sold-out crowd dancing where space permitted.

Their music was extremely polished and on point. The mix at the Fonda was excellent, and the great sound of the venue definitely enhanced the band’s live performance. The played with joy and vigor, and it was clearly self evident with the steady smiles on their faces. They noted that this was their last performance on this particular tour and emphasized how much they were pleased to be playing the last gig of their current tour in Los Angeles.

I roamed the venue during their set to get an idea of whether their energy transferred up into the balcony. It did. Even in the balcony, fans were dancing the the isles. Even I couldn’t resist shaking my booting when I wasn’t trying to find a shot.

Metronomy is back in the United States for more touring in September and are back in Los Angeles October 21st at the Regent Theatre. I suggest you follow them on Facebook to know when they are back in your neck of the woods.


Getting a photo pass only allows photographers to take pictures during the first 3 songs of each set. I wish I had more time to take more pictures of Metronomy. Their stage set up allowed for great lighting at certain moments. I wish I had noticed the lighting patterns earlier. Oh well. Enjoy the pictures!

Cloud Control | The Fonda Theatre | 6/17/14 [PHOTOS]

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Opening for Metronomy at The Fonda Theatre was an award-winning indie alternative rock band from Australia: Cloud Control.  This Aussie quartet consisting of Alister Wright, Heidi Lenffer, Ulrigh Lenffer and Jeremy Kelshaw, released their first album, “Bliss Release” to great regional praise. So much critical adoration, in fact, their debut was nominated for two ARIA awards in 2010 for Best Rock Album and Breakthrough Artist, and was the winner of the 6th annual Australian Music Prize, among other accolades. They released their sophomore album, “Cloud Control”, on September 17, 2013, and had been supporting its release with international tours.

As this was my introduction to their music, I went in with open ears and came out a fan. Their performance was solid and their music was rather good. I could definitely understand why they are popular in Australia. Their music definitely has a psychedelic vibe, but it’s more Tame Impala than The Dandy Warhols. Their set had both upbeat dance numbers and mellow “chill-out” cuts, and I found that it was a great setlist. So great, that I even purchased a copy of the their newest album on wax (and got it signed!) after the show.

I always find it interesting when  bands have great support in their home countries, but take a while to break out in other territories. I spoke briefly with Heidi (the keyboardist and vocalist) and asked her what her thoughts were about that point. She exclaimed that that’s exactly what they were aiming to impact during this last round international tour dates. She explained that she hoped that touring with Metronomy and sneaking in festival and other performance dates earned them new ears and fans.

I hope it worked for them. Hey, at least it worked for me. Follow them on Twitter (@Cloud_Control) or Facebook (CloudController) and make sure you catch them when they are in your neck of the woods.

The setlist for their performance is below:

  1. Dojo Rising
  2. The Smoke
  3. Moon Rabbit
  4. Promises
  5. Gold Canary
  6. Nothing In The Water
  7. Scar

I wasn’t able to find any video clips of their performance online, so enjoy a playlist from their Souncloud account below.

The lighting for their set was rather dim, so I had to set my ISO higher than normal. Still think I took a couple decent pics though.

FEA | AMPLYFi | 6/13/14 [PICS & VID]

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FEA (pronounced FAY-ah)  is the feminine form of the Spanish word for “ugly”. It’s also the name of a Riot Grrrl, side project of some bad ass rockers from Texas.

Back in 2012, I discovered the music of a band from Texas named Girl In A Coma. It was love first listen. The trio consisting of Jenn Alva and sisters Nina and Phanie Diaz steamrolled my ear drums with their brand of San Antonio flavored indie rock.

As Nina Diaz recently recorded her own solo project (and who’ll be Southern California Thursday July 24th at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach and Friday July 25 at Levitt Pavillion in MacArthur Park supporting her latest album), Phanie and Jenn decided to put together a new band, FEA, with singer Theresa Moher and guitarist Aaron Lee Magana. Raw with no frills, FEA’s music puts the punk back into punk rock.

The venue they played at, AMPLYFi, seemed to be the perfect setting for their Riot Grrrl music. It was a small, unassuming venue that seemed to be on par with the “do it yourself” Riot Grrrl mentality of the 90s. Their set was relatively short but it was as aggressive and shredding. They even threw in a little rockabilly flavor covering Wanda Jackson’s “Fujiyama Mama”.

Only time will tell whether Phanie and Jenn keep this musical incarnation going; I’m just glad I got to see them do their thing.

If unadulterated Riot Grrrl punk rock is your cup of tea, I suggest you follow FEA on Facebook by CLICKING HERE.

I’ll have to admit, I had a difficult getting any real quality shots at this venue. I used my DSRL, but lacking true proficiency at adjusting settings to accommodate for the quickly change lighting and the low light, and not having the greatest aperture, I’m thinking I probably could have snapped better pics with my point and shoot. C’est la vie. Practice, practice, practice … I’m hoping, will lead to perfect.

Free Concert Alert | Cults at the Santa Monica Pier | 7/10/14 [Preview]

Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier

CLICK HERE to check out the other acts I plan on checking out this Summer at the Twilight Concert Series at the Santa Monica Pier!

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.

To see the full list of acts performing at the Santa Monica Pier as part of the 20th Annual Twilight Concert series, CLICK HERE.

Check out Cults on Facebook to learn more about them and their music. CLICK HERE to check them out.

CLICK HERE to check out the other acts I plan on checking out this Summer at the Twilight Concert Series at the Santa Monica Pier!

Owenstone| 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 second band I saw perform was a band called Owenstone: a five piece indie rock band hailing from Echo Park, Los Angeles. On their Facebook page, they cite a wide range of musical influences ranging from Radiohead to Kasabian to Queens of the Stone Age to Hot Chip. Whatever their influences, they play solid contemporary rock and roll. Below is the video to the official video of their single “This Face”. I dig their sound.

I’m not the only one who appreciates their sound. Apparently, music coordinators like them as well as apparently their music has been selected to be a part of the “Sharnado 2” motion picture soundtrack. Considering that the first “Sharnado” is a cult film that was viewed over 5 million times worldwide, I’m guessing that this synchronization opp for the band will help the band get some more exposure.

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.

 

 

Dead Sara | The Echo | 5/6/14 (PHOTOS)

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Dead Sara, a Los Angeles based, hard rock band consisting of Emily Armstrong (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, Sean Friday (drums), Siouxsie Medley (lead guitar) and Chris Null (bass guitar), have been in the studio recording music for their highly anticipated sophomore album for the past half year. Having recently finished recording said album, they decided to bless their L.A. fans with three club gigs throughout the month of May (at The Echo 5/6/14, The Bootleg 5/14/14 and the Satellite on 5/21/14). I was lucky enough to snag a ticket (before all three shows sold out) to their gig at their first show of the year at The Echo.

I’m a huge fan of this group. When I heard the opening riffs of “Weatherman” for the first time, it was like love at first listen. When Emily started wailing over the music, I was hooked. I saw them perform twice in 2013 (once at the El Rey Theater and also as the headliner for the Lobster Festival at the Port of Los Angeles). Their live performance solidified my love for this group. They rock, and they rock hard. My passion for this group’s music was enough for me to get “inducted” as a member of “The DEADicated” (a group of die-hard fans that will go to great lengths, and travel great distances- across continents- to see Dead Sara rock).

The day of the show, The DEADicated arrived at the venue at 10:30am to secure their spots up front. I wasn’t there, but if I stopped dating a girl because she didn’t like their music (true story), I feel like I earned a right to be a member of The DEADicated too! LOL.

Their set consisted of music from their debut LP and music from their forthcoming release (“Evil”, “Radio”, “Suicidal”, “Traveling Band”, “Something Good” and “Mr. Mr.” were all performed live for the first time ever! Lucky me!). They performed their cover of Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” and the audience even sang “Happy Birthday” for Emily, as it happened to be her birthday. Emily prefaced the show stating that the new music were still works in progress, and asked that no one video record them until they were performance proof.

I spent my time trying to find the right camera settings to take decent pics, but leave it to a DEADicated to post up videos  of their older songs from the show. Click through the video and check out other videos of their older songs from the show.

I’m still a newbie at taking concert photos in a venue with tricky lighting, but I think that I was able to snag a few decent shots with my DSLR. If anybody has any suggestions (other than getting a better – more expensive- lens), please chime in below in the comments. Hopefully, the next time I see them perform live, I’ll have it down pat.

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 HAIMCHVRCHES or Vampire Weekend, you should look into The 1975.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT BLOG ENTRIES OF OTHER BANDS I SAW AT COACHELLA!

Fishbone | Coachella | 4/13/14 (PHOTOS)

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After sleeping in to get get some much needed rest after two grueling days of “festivaling”, the first band I went to go see at Coachella on Sunday was Fishbone. Having recently seen Angelo Moore perform as Dr. Madd Vibe at the Troubadour, I knew that it was going to be a high-energy, positive set to kick the day off with.

Under the bright desert sun, Fishbone took to the main stage and played their brand of ska/punk/funk infused alternative rock to a raucous group of early festival arrivals. Angelo Moore’s energy was contagious, his stage presence easily filling the largest stage of the festival. He even abandoned the stage to sing to and greet those in the front of the audience. The definition of a showman.

The band was a well-oiled machine too. Horns, Bass, Keyboards … they all had there moment in the sun (no pun intended), and it was nothing short of wonderful. The third song they played summed up the overall feeling of their set, “Everyday Sunshine”, and from that moment on I knew it was going to be good day. The two highlights of the set, for me at least, were when (i) Angelo, Walter Kibby and John Norwood Fisher (the three founding members of the Fishbone who still play in the band) took center stage to perform, and (ii) when they covered Sublime’s “Date Rape”. Though I had been kicked out of the pit by that time, I felt that if there were another band that had the right to cover that classic tune, it would be Fishbone.

Sunday was off to a great start.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT BLOG ENTRIES OF OTHER BANDS I SAW AT COACHELLA!

Pixies | Coachella | 4/12/14 (PHOTOS)

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When the Pixies were added last-minute to the Coachella line-up, I had a total flashback moment to my pre-pubescent years. I remembered buying a used copy of “Surfer Rosa” at The Wherehouse (remember those?) and being amazed that I was able to purchase a record with a topless woman on the cover.

I knew that Kim Deal was no longer performing with the band, so I knew that “Gigantic” (my favorite song) probably wouldn’t be performed, but I still wanted to catch some of my other favorite tracks sung by Black Francis like “Where Is My Mind”. When I read an article  that Paz Lenchantin was the bassist who they picked up in late 2013, my heart melted. Ummm, can you say high school crush?

When Pixes opened up with “Bone Machine”, I felt that the vocals could have been boosted a bit. I was standing close to a monitor, but it was hard for me to hear Black Francis singing. It really didn’t matter though. I spent most of that song singing along: “You’re looking like you’ve got some sun. Your blistered lips have got a kiss. They taste a bit like everyone”.

Watching three of the original members, and babe Paz, perform really brought my nostalgia into perspective. Though they recorded relatively few albums whose sales were modest, their legacy on rock music in the 90s is unquestionable. You can really their influence in all of the big time bands of that era. Nirvana. The Strokes. Pavement. Radiohead. The Pixies have their fingerprints and influence over all of their music.

The Pixies. Rock legends. Blessed to have been able to see them perform.

 

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT BLOG ENTRIES OF OTHER BANDS I SAW AT COACHELLA!

Julian Casablancas | Coachella | 4/12/14 (PHOTOS)

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After leaving the mellow and sublime sounds of City and Colour, I made the trek across the festival grounds to check out one of the two last minute line-up adds to the festival: Julian Casablancas. Though I was more familiar with his earlier work with The Strokes, I figured catching his new music, with his new backing band The Voidz, would be as loud, fun and dirty as one would expect. I wasn’t disappointed. There was even a moment, when I recording a clip for Instagram, when he almost fell off the stage onto me (see the clip below). That was cool.

The only The Strokes song that he covered was “Ize of the World”, and the rest of the set was filled with new music. The music sounded heavier and more punk than his work with The Strokes, and I didn’t mind that at all. Knowing the caliber of musician that he is (having worked with other artists in the past like Queens of the Stone Age, Eddie Vedder, Danger Mouse and Pharrell), I’m excited to check out his forthcoming album (tentatively titled “Can I VHS you”) and was pleased to have caught his last-minute set.

 

 

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT BLOG ENTRIES OF OTHER BANDS I SAW AT COACHELLA!