Tag: pop rock

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

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

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HAIM | Coachella | 4/11/14 (PHOTOS)

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My guilty pleasure? Wholesome pop-rock that sounds like it could have come from the mid to late 80s. That’s why I decided to check out HAIM’s set at Coachella. Having heard a lot about their music, I’ve been wanting to purchase their debut LP “Days Are Gone” for a while now, only to resist the temptation because it seemed like every time I was at the record store, there were girls half my age hanging out by that section of the record rack.

Early technical difficulties aside, their set exhibited a clean, upbeat rock-pop sound. They also spent a good 5 minutes doing what I believe was an impromptu jam which flexed their chops as musicians that could shred with the best of them. That earned my respect.

I was impressed, and I certainly wouldn’t mind catching them perform in a more intimate venue at some point in the future. I guess I’ll just have to suck up my machismo for now, pick up the album the next time I’m out buying records.

HAIM Setlist Coachella Festival 2014 2014, Days Are Gone

Note: Let Me Go was on the setlist, but wasn’t played due to time constraints

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

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Scars on 45 | Hotel Cafe | 2/28/14 (Photos)

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Scars on 45, a band from England, happened to be playing an early set at the Hotel Cafe when I went there to catch another band play. I hadn’t heard of them before, but for an early 8pm set, they definitely had the room packed with their fans.

Currently signed to o Atlantic Records’ Chop Shop Records label, Scars on 45 achieved some success when their single “Heart On Fire” was featured on the season 8 soundtrack to the popular television show , Grey’s Anatomy. They released an album in 2012, which Amazon.com ranked as number 7 out of 50 “Best Albums of 2012”.

They played a solid set and their adult contemporary, pop-rock sound reminded me a bit of Fleetwood Mac. Towards the end of their set, after thanking the appreciative crowd, they recalled a bit of the band’s recent history, finishing with a smile that they were all back where they were when they began, working on music in the same small room they started off in.

I wasn’t able to get any video of them performing, but I’ve included their hit “Heart On Fire” below, and the only photos I could take at the venue with my point and shoot (I should have brought my DSLR!) are of the vocalists of the band (Danny Bemrose and Aimee Driver). Enjoy.

Unfortunately, the Flickr slideshow below is not available on mobile devises. If you are on a mobile device, please click THIS LINK, to get redirected to the set of photos. If the slide show below isn’t working, then Flickr has disabled their embed option for WordPress, which totally BLOWS! If you can see the slide show below, hooray!

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Biffy Clyro | El Rey Theatre | 2/14/14

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What band in Europe is big enough to headline over Nine Inch Nails at the  world’s oldest music festival in 2013? Biffy Clyro. Never heard of them? Well, you should.

Formed back in 1995 in Kilmarnock, Scotland, Biffy Clyro has released 6 albums, and sold over 1.1 millions copies of their albums in the United Kingdom. Back in the United Kingdrom, they sell out venues as large as the Staples Center which seats 20,000. On Valentine’s day, they played a venue with a capacity of 771; but they rocked it like it was an arena show.

Waiting for the band to take the stage, I noticed a couple standing in front of me wearing home made shirts that had the words “MON THE BIFFY” emblazoned on the back. I asked them about the shirts, and as soon as they started explaining the meaning of the phrase (a popular saying originated by fans which essentially is short for “C’mon Biffy Clyro”), I noticed their thick European accents.

As it turns out, they were loyal fans from Scotland who decided to follow the band to the states to catch their gigs. They are engaged to get married, and as it turns out they actually met at a Biffy Clyro show. I told them that this was my first time I watching the band perform live, and they assured me that it would not disappoint. They were right.

When the lights of the venue dimmed, and Sister Sledge’s song “We Are Family” (a song that the band plays before every live show) pumped through the house speakers, the audience erupted in cheers. The band took the stage, and immediately exploded into their set with such a fierce energy that it was quite exhilarating to watch. It was almost as if they were playing to prove to those in attendance that they were a band that needed to be noticed. And I noticed.

The band consists of  five players (with Simon Neil on lead vocals and guitar, James Johnston on bass and vocals, and Ben Johnston on drums in the forefront,  and Mike Vennart on additional guitar and Richard Ingram on keyboard in the shadows), and their sound was full, lush and expertly played. Both Simon and James demonstrated their masterful showmanship using the entire stage, and engaging all parts of the audience throughout the set. These guys know how to put on a live show and their repertoire was filled with raucous, pop-friendly, crowd pleasing anthems. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are performing in venues bigger than the El Rey the next time they visit Los Angeles. Not at all.

I would say that the highlight(s) of the evening was when the audience, who were all much better versed in the band’s music than I, sang along and Neil let the crowd do the singing. Being in the audience, engulfed in the sound of voices all around singing (rather well I may add) music unfamiliar to me, sent shivers down my spine. I hope that the next time I see the band perform live, I’ll be singing along with them.

  1. Different People
  2. That Golden Rule
  3. Who’s Got a Match?
  4. Sounds Like Balloons
  5. Biblical
  6. God & Satan
  7. Glitter and Trauma
  8. Bubbles
  9.  Spanish Radio
  10. Folding Stars
  11. Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies
  12. 57
  13. Many of Horror
  14. Modern Magic Formula
  15. Black Chandelier
  16. Woo Woo
  17. The Captain

Encore:

  1. Opposite
  2. Stingin’ Belle
  3. Mountains

Unfortunately, the Flickr slideshow below is not currently available on mobile devices. If you are on a mobile device, please click THIS LINKto get redirected to the set of photos.

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The Janks | The Satellite | 11/15/13

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New Years is around the corner, and I already have a band on my list to catch live in 2014. They’re called The Janks, and they’re pretty damn good live.

Setlist
Setlist

Fronted by the brothers Zmed (Zachary and Dylan), this band’s music touches on elements of blues, folk and classic rock. I wasn’t familiar with their music at all when I saw them take the stage at The Satellite, but their well-polished sound and their playfully confident stage presence pulled me in and kept my attention throughout, causing me to head over to the merch table after their set to by their album “Hands of Time”, which you – by the grace of the blogging gods – can check out for free in the embedded Soundcloud player below.

Their music is an eclectic kind of pop music. I’d even venture to to say that their music, at least the music I heard on “Hands of Time”, is reminiscent of the band Jellyfish (a band whose music I absolutely love, by the way) with more folk and blues sensibilities, but what do I know. They didn’t have their latest album, “Meet the Janks”, available for purchase at the gig, so that’s something I’ll need to pick up, but all I know is that I’ll be keeping an eye out for their next EP which they are currently recording, and catching them live the next time I get a chance.

Below is some video from their set, but do yourself a favor and check them out live. If you need a wingman, hit me up. I’m down.

Photos of the show are posted below, but if you want to see them as a large, higher quality  slideshow on FLICKR, click THIS LINK.

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

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A band is, literally, a living breathing entity. Nowadays, rare is a band that sticks with each other for the long haul. Guns N Roses, Oasis, The Police, Smashing Pumpkins, the list goes on. A band keep on performing with eh same the name, but when the faces change, it often times makes it difficult to maintain the same level affection that curried the initial musical infatuation.

Earlier this year, a friend of mine, and a talented musician, Steve Miller a/k/a “Steville” was asked  to play with the band The Secret State. The band seems to have a loyal following (over 400K likes on Facebook), but has in the past year (based on my understanding) undergone a pretty significant personnel overhaul. The band was back in Los Angeles after touring a bit domestically, and set up a semi-acoustic gig at Loaded Hollywood. Knowing how kick-ass my friend, and his music, is, I knew that it was going to be good show.

The Secret State, normally a 6 person, electric band, was paired down to 4 (two acoustic guitars, vocalist and DJ). Their set was short, but impressive. Their original songs were catchy and the arrangements of the two covers they performed (Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done” and Seal’s “Crazy”) were solid. It was an acoustic performance, so it wasn’t as “hard” as they normally are, but it gave me a chance to hear the fine guitar work of my buddy and Joshua Jones.

I liked what I heard.  For some reason when I was watching them perform live, I thought to myself that maybe they were a mix of Incubus and Tool with a splash of Filter. Again, it was an acoustic gig, so I may be way off. Check out the video below to make your own comparison. The dude singing lead for the gig, Michael, a recent addition, was a solid vocalist, but from what I’ve heard through the grapevine, it sounds as if the band decided to go in a different direction. C’est la vie d’une bande.

Unfortunately, the Flickr slideshow below is not currently available on mobile devices. If you are on a mobile device, please click THIS LINK to get redirected to the set of photos.

 

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