Tag: NPR

Chet Faker | Mack Sennett Studios | Red Bull Sound Select’s “30 Days In LA” | 11/29/14 [Review & Photos]

To Check Out Other Bands We Caught During Red Bull Sound Selects “30 Days In LA” CLICK HERE

THE ACT: Chet Faker | Facebook | Twitter

SOUNDS LIKE: 

THOUGHTS:

Chet Faker. Girls love him. Guys wish they could write music like him.

I saw Chet Faker earlier this year at The Roxy. Musically, there is no question that Nicholas James Murphy a/k/a “Chet Faker” has the musical goods. His sound (soulful, downtempo electronica) is baby-making music, plain and simple. It’s still early in his career (he’s only released one full length album, “Built On Glass” and a couple of extended plays) so it’ll be interesting to see how his sound develops going forward.

What I was more interested in observing this time around was his actual stage performance. At the Roxy, Chet Faker spent the length of the performance behind his keyboards under dim lights. On a couple of songs, additional musicians took the stage to perform as part of a backing band. This time around, with Red Bull as the sponsor of the event (and presumably  a bigger budget), that his stage performance could have bit could a bit … more. The lighting at Mack Sennett Studios was definitely a step up from The Roxy’s lights, but on the large stage, it was again Chet behind his keyboards.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love his music. I even brought my LP copy of “Built On  Glass” just in case I could catch him for an autograph. But truly memorable  musical performances are not only auditory; there has to be a visual component to it as well … for me, it takes both aspects to make a show complete. Chet looked so isolated on the large stage. I was really hoping that he could have hired a backing band play his arrangements, or at least a some video screens to actually see what he was doing at the keyboard consoles. I mean, you can see moving around behind his instruments, but it would have been so much more effective if there were more “action” on stage. I mean, take Flying Lotus, for example. Flying Lotus performs behind his consoles, but he’s got an elaborate laser/lighting show going on around him simultaneously.

I’m not suggesting that Chet Faker needs some intricate laser light show. I just wish I could have seen what his hands were doing. There musicality and artisanship in watching a professional maneuver a drum machine and keyboards. It would have been nice to see the action on the keys.

SETLIST (unconfirmed)

  1. Blush
  2. 1998
  3. I’m Into You
  4. Terms & Conditions
  5. Intro
  6. Ciggs & Chocolate
  7. On You (with Goldlink)
  8. No Diggity
  9. Drop The Game
  10. To Me
  11. Gold
  12. Talk Is Cheap

VIDEO:

PHOTOS:

 

To Check Out Other Bands We Caught During Red Bull Sound Selects “30 Days In LA” CLICK HERE

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Chet Faker | The Roxy | 5/29/14 [PHOTOS]

IMG_6477

Nicholas Jame Murphy is Chet Faker, and chicks dig him. After hearing a couple of cuts from his latest album “Built on Glass” on NPR- God bless public radio- I scoured the internet to listen to more of his work. I was instantly hooked. To me, his take on electronic music reminded me of James Blake with a more soulful edge. When I heard he was wrapping his U.S. tour with a performance at The Roxy, I jumped at purchasing tickets as soon as they went on sale. Tickets for the show went so fast that The Roxy added scheduled another concert earlier in the week to accommodate the high demand.

Chet Faker is a producer, and his performance was, for the most part, just him, his console and his keyboard. For a couple of songs throughout his set, he brought on additional musicians (a guitarist and drummer) to fill out the sound, but in the dimly lit venue, it was essentially just him and the audience. Some reviews suggest that his performance was perhaps not best suited for a live setting, but I think that sentiment needs a qualifier.

Perhaps if he was performing at the Hollywood Bowl, or a venue whose capacity exceeds 1000, the performance could have used a full band or better stage design (i.e. lighting and effects), but we’re taking about the Roxy Theatre here (an intimate venue whose capacity is only 500), and in my opinion, the intimate setting, coupled with the intimate music, with the artist performing alone to the audience, was completely appropriate, and really the only way Chet should have be introduced to his legion of new fans for the first time. In fact, I thought his cover of Jeff Buckley’s “I Want Someone Badly” (the highlight of the show for me, considering that Jeff Buckley is a major favorite of mine) could have only performed by himself.

Speaking of fans, they were a mix of crazed young females who occasionally screamed, “I want to lick your beard,” to drunk frat boys who were trying to flirt with the girls who were fixated on main act. I could have done with the loud drunk frat boys (ok, maybe not frat boys … but definitely college aged kiddies who had no concept of how to handle their booze)  as I actually had a 5 second stare down to get one of them to shut the hell up during one of the songs, but the show was everything good that I anticipated.

Chet Faker is scheduled to perform at the sold-out FYF Fest in Los Angeles, August 23rd, and I am able to find- god, willing- a tickets, I’ll be anxious to see how his set then compares to what I saw at The Roxy.

 

Chet Faker Setlist The Roxy, West Hollywood, CA, USA 2014

The photos below were taken with a DSLR camera. As per usual at The Roxy, I found it difficult to get the shots I wanted with the equipment that I have. I’ll master my gear eventually … hopefully … lol.
I could only find one video of Chet Faker’s performance at the Roxy, so I included some other videos of his live performance for your viewing pleasure. If you know of another video clip of Chet Faker performing at The Roxy, please let me know in the comments so I can add it to the post.
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Your Weekly Weekend Music Mix | 6/12/14 [NEWS]

MUSIC INSTA-BABE: Ariana Grande

She’s not even old enough to buy an alcoholic beverage yet, but 20 year old Ariana Grande gets my nod this week for Music’s Insta-Babe. This actress, singer-songwriter and philanthropist is wholesome beauty who’s artistic endeavors has already garnered her many awards: The People’s Choice Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, The American Music Awards Best New Artist Award, NAARM- Music Business Association’s Breakthrough Artist of the Year Awards, and the list goes on. If her very capable vocals don’t impress you enough, maybe her demure and classic looks will win the award of your heart. If have an Instagram account, why don’t you follow her @ArianaGrande

KILLER COVER: Dirty Loops Cover Adele

Dirty Loops is a band from Stockholm, Sweden, consisting of Jonah Nilsson ( vocals and piano), Henrik Linder (bass) and Aaron Mellergårdh (drums) whose “Classic Jazz-Jam” style of play is otherworldly. They are currently touring the U.S. in support of their debut album. Their cover of Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” blew my mind last year, and still does today. If you are into their style of music, you NEED to see them on tour.

DID YOU KNOW THAT …

Speaking of covers, did you George Harrison’s chart topping hit from 1987, “Got My Mind Set On You” was a cover?!?!?  I sure didn’t until Gizmodo let me know. George Harrison’s covered James Ray’s 1963 recording “I’ve Got My Mind Set On You”, and personally, I like the original more. Take a listen to both versions below, and chime in.

WATCH JACK WHITE’S CONCERT AT THE FONDA THEATRE

I wasn’t able to get tickets to either of Jack White’s concerts in Los Angeles, but God bless NPR (National Public Radio) because they taped the show at the Fonda Theatre and have it streaming on their website. If you were as unfortunate as I was, and aren’t able to score tickets to any of the shows he has coming up in the city you live in, CLICK THIS LINK TO WATCH JACK WHITE’S CONCERT AT THE FONDA THEATER IN ITS ENTIRETY!

MUSIC NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

It may have taken over 40 years to get there, but The Ramones’ debut album finally goes gold (sold 500,000 copies). About damn time, if you ask me.

There’s a Kickstarter campaign to win the auction for The Wu-Tang Clan’s latest album. For what you may ask? To destroy it. Kindly silly (and pointless) if you ask me.

Death Grips latest EP (below) “features” Bjork. I dunno … I think I heard her vocals in a few spots here and there. Can you? It’s like an auditory “Where’s Waldo”. LOL.

Chad Smith (drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Will Farrell challenged Lars Ulrich (drummer for Mettallica) to a drum-off challenge … and the battle was accepted!!! This should make for some hilarious television.

Most people aren’t aware that prior to becoming an acclaimed soul/funk singer, Sharon Jones worked as a corrections officer at Rikers Island back in the 90s. Rolling Stone Magazine asked her to weigh in on the authenticity of the new Netflix show “Orange Is The New Black”, and she had some interesting things to say. Personally, I thought this article was a great read.

A band outsmarted Spotify for $20,000 to give their fans free concerts. This was an awesome story. More power to them.

SNOOP AND PSY DOMINATING SOCIAL MEDIA

It was released less than a week ago (June 8, 2014), and as of 6/12/14, Snoop’s and PSY’s video for their collaboration, “Hangover”, already has over 47,000,000 views … 47,000,000 VIEWS, people!!!! Mind Blown. You can criticize the track as much as you want. Criticize K-Pop. Criticize Snoop. Criticize music, generally. Let’s just say, everyone behind this collaboration knew what was up. For better or for worse, this track isn’t going away anytime soon, and Snoop and Psy will reap the rewards (translation = $$$).

UPDATE: 6/13/14: The video now has over 52,000,000 views…

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