Every year, since 1999, the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro holds a Lobster Festival where families can enjoy mouth watering, freshly cooked Lobster, in a carnival like setting, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I’ve been before, but when I did, I went for the food, and not the entertainment. Not this year. When I saw that Dead Sara was slated to headline the Saturday evening entertainment, I decided that I would head out to San Pedro, eat some lobster, check out some new music, and watch one of the hardest rocking, female fronted bands in music today crush it.
Click through the name of the act below to read my thought, see some pictures and watch some video:
My parents raised me on classical music, and having spent years learning how to play the piano and violin, and playing in a my high school’s orchestra, I have a great appreciation for orchestral music and sounds. The Section Quartet is a Los Angeles based band consisting of a cello (Richard Dodd), viola (Lauren Chipman) and two violins (Eric Gorfain and Daphne Chen). They have been performing since 1998 and their music consists of covers of popular rock songs.
Their music served as the perfect soundtrack for the late afternoon at the port, with patrons of the festival, sprawled out on blankets on the lawn in front of the stage, soaking up with last bits of sunlight as the sun set into the Pacific; their stomachs working to digest all of the Lobster consumed. Their classical renditions of popular rock songs the band performed was fun to listen too and was a good appetizer for what was to come the rest of the evening.
The Section Quartet/ (c) Derrick K. Lee, Esq.The Section Quartet/ (c) Derrick K. Lee, Esq.The Section Quartet/ (c) Derrick K. Lee, Esq.The Section Quartet/ (c) Derrick K. Lee, Esq.
Brothers Sam and Django Stewart are legacy in the music industry. After all, their father is Dave Stewart. You know … Half of that really popular band known as the Eurythmics? Yeah. I’d put some money on it that they have music in their blood.
It was the first time I had heard of the band, so I had no expectations or preconceived notions about their music. When doing some research on the band, I read reviews that stated that “’the Cold War Kids with the ambition and control of Arcade Fire’ Nightmare & The Cat is all we love about indie rock: Rough and ready drive with a blues edge.” Hmm…. The band was greeted warmly to the stage, with their female member receiving a few cat-calls from the more inebriated members of the audience.
Musically speaking, the band’s sound was quite polished. Each of the songs were very well written, complex even. I could see the Cold War Kids comparison, but I felt that Nightmare’s sound was a bit more polished. I would have said that they were more Muse than Cold War Kids.
They are currently signed to Capitol Records and have released an EP titled “Simple”. Currently on tour with Bastille, throughout September, you can catch them play at one of these venues.
Nightmare & The CatNightmare & The Cat. I’m assuming this is the cat.Nightmare & The Cat. The Stewart brothers.Nightmare & The Cat.