“The End Of The Road” | Queens of the Stone Age & The Kills | The Forum | 10/31/14 [Photos, Setlists & Video]

As much as I enjoy getting drunk at a bar and ogling scantily clad women dressed slutty with a purpose, I was debating my plans for Halloween this year. I was hoping for something different; something memorable. Thankfully, a friend (who, by the way, may just be too cool for me), offered me her extra ticket to see Queens of the Stone Ages’s final concert of their “Like Clockwork” torn at The Forum, featuring The Kills, JD McPherephon and Nick Oliveri. Um, seriously? Um, how cool are my friends?

Costumes were encouraged, so I glued on two prosthetic horns, donned black, and carried around a zombie baby in a baby carrier. My friend was coming from another event across town, so me and my zombie baby waited patiently for her to arrive. There were some terrific costumes, and my “baby” definitely started some conversations. When my friend arrived, I made a b-line straight to the merchandise booth to see if there was any exclusive merchandise left. I was bummed to discover that I had missed out on limited edition event posters.

By the time I made my way back to the seats, The Kills had just started their set. Allison Mosshart is such a bad ass front-woman. She sings in the Dead Whether as “Baby Ruthless”.  She is known as “VV” in The Kills

Having the The Kills perform this year was a treat. The last album that they released was in 2011, “Blood Pressures”. They’ve been touring a bit this year, so one can only hope that new material is around the corner. I thought that the sound could have been better mixed for their set, but it was still a thrill to watch them rock the stage.

(No photos pass for this concert- I tried-  so all of the pictures were snapped with my trusty point and shoot Sony CybershotG)

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In between sets, the Suicide Girls provided some risqué entertainment for crowd.

I missed out on watching the Queens of the Stone Age’s set at Coachella this year. I was bummed that I didn’t get approved for the photo pit, and I decided to shoot some artist’s who didn’t have photo pit restrictions.

Touring in support of their most recent album “…Like Clockwork“, the Halloween gig at The Forum would be the final show of the tour. They pulled out all of the stops, performing songs from their entire catalogue.

Josh Homme, dressed as a priest, wailed through QOTSA classic, getting some help from Jake Shears (of Scissor Sisters) for “Keep Your Eyes Peeled” and doing a five songs set with former QOTSA bassist Nick Oliveri for an encore. THIS is much better than getting drunk at bar ogling hot, slutty-dressed chicks.

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The National | First City Festival | 8/24/14 [PHOTOS]

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

THE ACT: The National | Facebook | Twitter

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE: 

SETLIST:

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THOUGHTS: The National. What a great way to end a perfectly sublime music festival. I’ve only seen them perform live once before, and that was a short set for Jimmy Kimmel Live. This time, I got a chance to see them perform an entire set … something I’ve been dying to do for the longest time. It’s taken me about 7 years to see them in all their glory, but it was well worth the wait. Performing music that is beyond heartfelt, with fans singing along all throughout their set, with Matt jumping into the crowd during “Mr. November” singing with the crowd, it was as intimate as a large music festival could get … and I doubt that I’ll ever experience that kind of thing ever again. Amazing.

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

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!

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!

White Lies | Coachella | 4/12/14 (PHOTOS)

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When I googled “White Lies” to check out some of the music videos they had out, I was immediately drawn to their sound. “There Goes Our Love Again” and  “Bigger Than Us” were the first two videos I found, and I quickly put a check mark next to their name to remind me that they were a band that I needed to see perform live at Coachella.

I got to the photo pit in the tent they were performing about 15 minutes before their set was to start, but they had fans already waiting at the railing; several wearing White Lies t-shirts. Though some critics may not fully appreciate their music, it was obvious to me that their fans thought otherwise. Personally, I liked their music. Though they may not be breaking any new barriers with their musical style, what they have recorded and released is something darkly lush and rings familiar … at least to me.

I’m glad I had the opportunity to catch them at the festival. Hopefully, they’ll come through Los Angeles in the future for a club gig. I’d pay to see that.

 

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

Drowners | Coachella | 4/12/14 (PHOTOS)

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The Drowners are a post-punk band from New York City whose music, critics write, is heavily influenced by the Smiths, the Strokes and the Arctic Monkeys. Since I like the Smiths, the Strokes and the Arctic Monkeys, I decided to check out their set at Coachella.

I enjoyed the music in their set as it was catchy and upbeat, and I can imagine them doing well picking up fans through steady touring/gigging. They’ve opened for bands like Arctic MonkeysThe Vaccines and Foals, so I have the feeling that they have a good idea of what they are doing.

I had a bit of a battle with the lighting for their stage show, and I didn’t feel like I was able to capture many clean pics to share, but check ’em out and let me know what you think!

I wasn’t able to find their setlist online, so if any of you Drowners fans know what it was, please let me know in the comments so I can add it to the body of the entry!

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

Yeah Yeah Yeahs | FYF Festival | August 24, 2013

To check out pictures of other bands I was able to catch at the festival, CLICK HERE.

Karen O's mic.
Karen O’s mic.

I’ve already professed my love for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs earlier this year after I saw them at Coachella back in April, so I’m going to limit this entry to pictures that I took at FYF Festival. The band still kicks ass. Karen O is still a rock star.

I got the set list from setlist.fm.

  1. Mosquito
  2. Phenomena
  3. Under the Earth
  4. Rich
  5. Gold Lion (We Will Rock You  Intro)
  6. Zero
  7. Cheated Hearts
  8. Runaway
  9. Despair
  10. Sacrilege
  11. Heads Will Roll
  12. Maps
  13. Date With the Night
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
My favorite pic that I took of Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
My favorite pic that I took of Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Confetti released towards the end of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs set.
Confetti released towards the end of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs set.