Lo-Fang | First City Festival | 8/24/14 [PHOTOS]

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

THE ACT: Lo-Fang | Facebook | Twitter

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE: 

THOUGHTS: A few months ago, I was at a local record store, Origami Vinyl, shopping for new wax. On display were autographed copies of a new LP by an artist I hadn’t heard of before. It’s was Lo-Fang’s debut album “Blue Film” … and I opted not to purchase the disc. Noticing that he was scheduled to perform at First City, I decided to check his set out. After the first song, I regretted not purchasing the album. Matthew Hemeriein is Lo-Fang and his music is a soothing concoction of R&B and synth pop that is just about as seductive as music can get. A skilled multi-instrumentalist (violin and guitar) with a falsetto that that is steady and silky, in addition to the fact the the dude is, as one female photographer stated, “pretty damn good-looking” make his audience, largely female, swoon with every beat.

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

Future Islands | First City Festival | 8/24/14 [PHOTOS]

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

THE ACT: Future Islands | Facebook | Twitter

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE: 

THOUGHTS: To think that I almost missed out on seeing Future Islands perform at Coachella 2014. If it wasn’t for their lead singer, Sam Herring, convincing me to check them out, I would have missed out on music that I have perched high on my “best of the year” lists. When I found out they were performing at First City Festival, I urged all of my friends who were also attending to check them out. They, like me, were amazed by what they saw and heard. I think part of what makes Future Islands’ live performance so powerful to witness is the emotive stage presence of Mr. Herring. Every movement … every gesture … it all speaks to something, and it’s truly a revelation to witness. I suppose that why most of my shots of the band were of Sam. It really couldn’t be helped. I suppose that I should have bust out a wider angled lens to capture the entire band … hopefully, I’ll get a chance to do that in the future when they get back to Los Angeles for another gig.

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

OK Go | Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | 9/4/14 [PHOTOS]

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

I’ve always been a fan of OK Go. Their cheery, campy music (and music videos) have always been put me in a good mood. With their next album, “Hungry Ghosts”, due out this October, they have been making the rounds touring the United States throughout the Sumer  and will continue touring through October. I’m certainly glad they decided to perform for the Twilight Concert Series.

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It was my first time watching them perform live, and though there’d be no blasts of confetti and streamers into the audience for the show (they would have been fined by the city of Santa Monica for pier clean-up), I learned one thing. OK Go’s live show is, capital “F”, Fun.

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With their music leading the Fun movement, they fully interacted with the audience, telling stories (like how they came up with the band’s name), doing an impromptu number from the musical “Les Miserables”, recording audience sounds to incorporate into a song they were going to perform and even venturing into the audience to perform. So … friggin … fun.

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I really hope that their next album performs well. Shunning the big, corporate machine that is the major record labels, they decided to record the album on their own. I’ve only heard the singles they’ve released and the songs that they performed at the pier, but I’m thinking … as long as they keep winning fans over with their live performance, they’ll be just fine.

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I couldn’t find a setlist of OK Go’s performance, but you can check out video clips of most of the band’s set by CLICKING HERE to check out a collection of Instagram videos that have been compiled.

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

Allah-Las| Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | 9/4/14 [PHOTOS]

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

I caught the Allah-Las live a few weeks ago when they took the stage at Echo Park Rising but I wasn’t able to watch their entire set as I had to run to another venue to photograph another band playing. Though I only caught half of their set at Echo Park Rising, I knew that I’d get my chance to watch an entire set when they opened up for OK Go at the Santa Monica Pier.

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Love this band’s laid-back vibe. You can get a sense of their sound by CLICKING HERE to check out a collection of Instagram videos of some of the songs Allah-Las performed at this concert.

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I was quite pleased with the photos I snapped for this gig. My shots from Echo Park Rising were a bit purple saturated with the dark stage lighting (which definitely added to the band’s overall vibe, but didn’t help my cause to snap clear photos), but at the Santa Monica Pier they performed against the sun setting into the ocean, which made my shots better. I hope you enjoy them!

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

Lee “Scratch” Perry | Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | 8/28/14 [PHOTOS]

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

Lee “Scratch” Perry. The Upsetter. A Grammy award winning, seminal Jamaican reggae producer whose innovative production techniques redefined reggae music as we know it. And he graced the stage with the Subatomic Sound System at the Santa Monica Pier for the Twilight Concert Series. Wow.

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At 78 years old, I was impressed with how spry and energetic the Upsetter was. Performing some classic reggae tunes (i.e. “Sun Is Shining”) and doing his best to jump around the stage (literally), he got the crowd feeling irie. If the weed in the air was any indication, the crowd was definitely plenty irie. lol.

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I do have to admit, I was a little surprised with some of what he was singing/speaking towards the end of the set. He spent several minutes singing about how much he “loves white pussy”. I wasn’t sure where it came from, but he was preaching it to the crowd. He also mentioned how much he loved the white man for “paying his bills.” I saw a few confused faces in the crowd.

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Perhaps, his biggest “rant” came at the very end where repeatedly insisted that “hip-hop was dead, reggae is live.” Perhaps, making reggae loving hip-hop heads in the crowd a bit uncomfortable. Well, they don’t call him The Upsetter for nothing.

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I couldn’t find a setlist online, but you can CLICK HERE to check out a collection of Instagram Videos of Lee “Scratch” Perry and Subatomic Sound System performing.

 

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

The Zombies | Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | 8/21/14 [PHOTOS]

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

When I was approved to shoot The Zombies at the Santa Monica Pier, I was giddy. Being a supreme music dweeb, I was fully aware of their impact in popular music. Their sound basically redefined rock music.

I’d try to wax poetic about how amazingly (and truthfully, surprisingly) they performed on the summer eve, but Bob Lefsetz, a noted music writer, already wrote everything, and more, that I would have not so eloquently put pen to pad. CLICK HERE to read his stellar review.

The fact that two of the original members, Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent, both 69, are still in prime form was wonderful to witness. If you weren’t there, you missed out on a legendary performance, or legendary music, by legends. Your loss.

CLICK HERE to check out a collection of Instagram videos of some of the songs The Zombies performed at this concert.

The Zombies | Twilight Concert | Setlist

 

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

Jagwar Ma | Twilight Concert | Santa Monica Pier | 8/7/14 [PHOTOS & REVIEW]

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

In conjunction with G’Day USA, the Twilight Concert series presented “Australia Rocks The Pier”.

The headliner for the evening was the killer Australian band Jagwar Ma. I first got to see them perform at Coachella, and after my time in the photo pit expired, I made it a point to keep up with their music because I was duly impressed.

When I found out that they were scheduled to perform at the Santa Monica Pier, I circled the date in my calendar. Seriously … I was pumped to see a full set. In fact, being a music dweeb, I even lugged my LP of “Howlin” (their debut album) to the pier on the off chance that I could get some of the fellas to sign it.

Their set was terrific. They basically played their entire album (excluding “Did You Have To” and “Backwards Berlin”), and even threw in a couple covers. I was especially impressed with their cover of Nirvana’s “All Apologies”. It was unexpected, but truly great to hear.

Follow Jagwar Ma on Facebook by CLICKING HERE

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

LiV Warfield | BET Experience: Centric Certified | 6/29/14 [PHOTOS]

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

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On the second day of the BET Experience at L.A. Live, I decided to watch the various acts performing on the main stage of the convention center. Each of the acts performed short sets to give the audience a sampling of what their music was all about.

The first act I was able to catch was LiV Warfield, a powerful R&B vocalist and member of Prince’s New Power Generation. Prince is high on LiV, and the public should be too.

Passionate, soulful and dynamic, her live performance is one that engages the audience and gives everyone a serious case of happy feet. It certainly didn’t hurt that she was supported by a first class band (with Prince’s NPG Hornz).

I was duly impressed with her set, and I highly recommend catching her perform live when she is in your town.

Like her Facebook page by CLICKING HERE to keep updated on her touring.

Setlist:

  1. The Unexpected
  2. NotGVNGUP
  3. Soul Lifted
  4. Why Do You Lie
  5. Black Bird

CLICK HERE to check out a collection of Instagram videos of most, if not all, of the songs LiV Warfield performed at this concert.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE

Yuna | Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | 7/17/14 [PHOTOS & REVIEW]


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

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

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James Supercave is a five piece alternative rock band based out of Los Angeles. I made an effort to beat L.A. traffic to make it up to the pier in time to catch their set. After all, if KCRW’s Jason Bentley listed this band as on of the top “5 LA Musicians to watch in 2014”, I wanted to see/hear what the rave was all about.

Insofar as they’ve only release one EP, their setlist wasn’t too long, but each of their tunes provided an impressive punch.  Their sound is hard to describe. Maybe a more pop inclined Modest Mouse that utilized more electronic elements? Maybe a sprinkle of The Flaming Lips?

Maybe its a disservice to try to compare them to another musical act. After all, they are a new band and still have room to develop and expand upon their sound. All I know is that I really enjoyed what I heard. The music was breezy and eclectic. A very appropriate sound to open a summer of music on the Santa Monica Pier.

CLICK HERE to check out a collection of Instagram videos of most, if not all, of the songs James Supercave performed at this concert.

I found two videos on Youtube from their performance that you can watch below:

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