It was during my college years when Destiny’s Child released their first album. At the time, I was more invested in learning (and buying) R&B music from Motown’s “Golden Age”, I didn’t pay too much attention to that album, even though it had tracks produced by Wyclef Jean and Jermaine Dupri (big time producers at the time). After I had graduated from undergrad, they released their second album, “The Writing’s on the Wall”, and you really couldn’t avoid them.
With songs like “Bills, Bills, Bills”, “Bug A Boo” and “Say My Name” on constant rotation on terrestrial radio (I don’t think digital radio existed at the time), and with their videos consistently on Total Request Live on MTV (back when they still played music videos), their music was hard too miss. I liked their sound, but truth be told, I suffered from, at the time, what I call “SGS” (Stubborn Guy Syndrome). After all, Destiny’s Childs songs tended to be anthems for women’s independence and solidarity. It may have also been more difficult for me to enjoy their music when dates (at least one that I can remember) actually sang to me the hook of “Bills, Bills, Bills”. I seem to recall the dates with that particular person ending that night. But if there was one thing I could take away from that album, it was that Beyonce was the group’s focal point and so long as she was focus of the group, they would have a healthy career making records.
Three albums after “The Writing’s on the Wall” (which includes a holiday album), and with a slew of other hits including “Bootylicious”, “Survivor”, “Say My Name”, etc., the group disbanded and each member embarked on their solo careers. Each member of Destiny’s child has had success as a solo artist, but Beyonce’s success casts a very large shadow by comparison.
Beyonce’s first notable foray into her solo career was a feature on her husband’s, Jay-Z’s, “’03 Bonnie & Clyde”. As a quick aside, one cure for SGS is a feature on an extremely hot rappers, huge, summer, single. And four-studio albums later, Beyonce has created an empire and fan base that matches her partner’s. Time passes, and we (hopefully) become more the wiser. I finally bought my first Beyonce CD in 2011 after hearing the song “1+1” on the radio during a late night drive.
I wasn’t expecting to get a pass to see Beyonce for her BET Experience “Mrs. Carter Show World Tour” concert on June 28th, 2013. I had a feeling that I’d get a ticket for the Snoop show on Saturday, but I when I was informed that a ticket would be held for me, I willingly decided to become a member of the “Bey-Hive”.
Beyonce works hard for her fans, and her show was sensational. It’s interesting to note that all of her band members and performers were women, except for two male dancers known as Les Twins. Having been on tour internationally for over a month, her team was more than ready to wow their first States-side audience. Beyonce first acknowledged the audience after “Till The End of Time” when she told the Staples audience that she was, “looking forward to bringing this show to America.” Well… she did … with the lighting, pyrotechnics, choreography, staging, costume changes, set changes, video interludes … Beyonce was definitely ready for America.
My highlight, and low light, of the evening was when Beyonce started singing “1+1”, the song that made me buy her album “4”, sensually writhing on a grand piano. As a fan of music, I started to sing along with her and audience. As a music fan who thinks he knows more about music than he really does, sang the wrong lyrics to my friend who was standing next to me. Yeah, she got a nice laugh out of my embarrassing, mistake. I refrained from singing anything the rest of the night. After all, I think that the Bey-Hive had that on lock regardless. But to top the beautiful singing, Beyonce got strapped into a harness and “flew” to the center of the venue, two rows away from me and my friends, WHILE singing. Amazing.
Another aside, I recently purchased a new camera that I used for the show. Ironically, the worst pictures that I took were when Beyonce was right in front of me. Go figure.
While at the center of the Staples Center she sang a few more songs, then gave thanks to Michelle and Kelly who I assume were in the audience. Everybody was looking around as you could feel the anticipation of surprise reunion, but alas, Beyonce sang “Survivor” before flying back to the main stage to close her set with big hits “Crazy in Love” and “Single Ladies.” She encored with a brief tribute to Whitney Houston (“I Will Always Love You”) and closed with “Halo”.
Beyonce’s show was a big-budget, theatrical experience that was truly inspiring and on a grander scale than any concert that I have ever attended. Ticket prices for the show, especially where I was sitting, cost a pretty penny, but I can assure you Mrs. Carter puts on a show that makes it worth it. If you were going to spend big bucks to see Mrs. Carter do her thing, I wouldn’t hate on that at all. And since I’m no longer suffering from SGS, I could be persuaded to see her perform again when she’s back in Los Angeles.
The first time I ever heard a Led Zeppelin song was freshman year of college. After procrastinating till the last minute, I was up late pulling an all-nighter writing a paper for a class. At 5 or 6 in the morning, as the sunrise was creeping over the cold, frozen, Ithaca landscape, I was listening to the radio when all of a sudden a peppy, spirited, guitar lick caught my attention. I kept writing, but had to take break to listen to the lyrics. It seemed to be about a guy waiting for a his lover. It appears that he’s been stood up, but then you find out that he was waiting “on the wrong block” and thus is the “Fool In The Rain” (the title of the song). I thought that song was a light hearted, terrific, pick-me-up a bleary eyed writer, but more than the song, and being a singer in college, I was taken aback by the voice behind it.
After turning in my paper, I decided to walk to the used CD shop that was, at the time, in the heart of College Town- sadly, it’s no longer there- and I bought “Led Zeppelin II”, “Houses of the Holy” and “In Through The Out Door” with the money I had made pouring beers from a keg at frat parties. My interest and education in classic rock started with those three CDs, and Robert Plant immediately became my standard response to the question, “Who is the greatest rock vocalist of all time?”
I have a bucket list of acts that I want to see in concert. Led Zeppelin is on that list. Though there is/was speculation that the band would come back together for a reunion tour- with Jason Bonham taking the place of his lat father’s place on drums- it seems that the odds of that happening are dwindling. When I received an email notice that Robert Plant was performing at the Shrine- that you, Internets!- I jumped at getting tickets.
I got to the Shrine but had to wait for my guest to arrive before going inside. While I was waiting, I asked around to see if cameras were allowed into the venue. Unfortunately, they were not. Nuts. I had just purchased a new “pocket-sized” camera and was looking forward to breaking it in with a legend. I guess that that will have to wait for the next show.
When my guest arrived, we entered the architecturally, stunning venue- a Los Angeles landmark- during Grace Potter and the Nocturnals set. I wasn’t too familiar with their music, but for some reason I had the unfounded perception of them being mostly a blues band. It turns out my preconceived notions were quite wrong. Grace Potter is rock and roll, and she and her band carried themselves as such. Grace Potter can sing. I was impressed with her vocal ability, and even whispered to my guest that her voice and vocal stylings reminded me of Janis Joplin. I was duly impressed. They closed out their set with a vigorous, group drum solo that got the crowds adrenaline pumping.
With the audience already riled up, the crowd was ready for the main act.
When the lights went low a little past a quarter after 9, a gentle guitar solo welcomed the crowd. “It’s good to have you back again,” Robert plant sang (“Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You”), and the crowd wild.
It was a solid set. I anticipated the order of the songs having looked up the set lists from his other recent concerts. As with a majority of the audience, I was looking forward to those Led Zeppelin tunes that I love so much. I wasn’t expecting much, if any, variations from the set list, but what impressed- and even surprised- me was the way he took those songs that I knew and “flipped” them. It’s one thing to do a faithful cover, which he did on “Going to California”, but its was quite inspiring to see him “remix” some of those classics by incorporating other musical elements. A splash of blues here, world music there, and even techno (it should be noted that the keyboard player is/was the keyboard player for Massive Attack). And though you know that the band is well-oiled and rehearsed machine, it almost felt like the venue was their laboratory to create new sounds, and the audience was their muse.
The repertoire not only spanned Led Zeppelin hits, but also songs from his solo catalog (“In the Mood) and covers (Howl in’ Wolf’s “Spoonful”).
Babe I’m Gonna Leave You
In The Mood
Tin Pan Valley
Spoonful
Black Dog
Another Tribe
Going To California
The Enchanter
Please Read The Letter
Friends
Funny In My Mind (I Believe I’m Fixin’ To Die)
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Whole Lotta Love
Encore:
Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down
Rock And Roll
Perhaps the poignant moment of the show came toward the end when Robert Plant seemed to look into himself and addressed the audience stating, more or less, the following, “It’s been a long road. One year turns into another. 40 years ago tonight I was in Long Beach with my other band.”
I wasn’t alive 40 years ago, but I can only imagine what it could have been like. He may not be able to move around on stage like he did 40 years ago, but his musicality, and his voice, still hold true. Bucket list material. ‘Nuff said.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Nina Diaz’s solo gig at Hotel Café. I’ve been a fan of the band that she fronts, Girl In A Coma , for several years now and having seen them perform live three times (including the day before at the Ink-N-Iron Festival , I guess I kind of assumed that she would be doing acoustic covers of their recordings from the past four albums. It wasn’t that. It was so much better.
Before delving into her set, let me first get this out of the way: I’m in love with Nina’s voice. She is a tour de force. She can sing with sultry inflection or belt out punk choruses, and she does it with what seems to be the greatest of ease. I’m a grown ass man, but I’ll have to admit, after listening to songs like “Adjust”, “Smart” and “So” off of Girl In Coma’s album “Exits and All the Rest” , I fell in love with Nina’s voice like I did back in middle school when I heard Mariah Carey’s “Vision of Love” and “I Don’t Wanna Cry”. It’s comparing apple to oranges- their vocal styles are completely different- but I think that you get the picture.
Autographed poster. I had two pens. You’ll notice that she signed it with both. LOL.
Nina’s set consisted of material that I’d never heard before. With just her voice, her guitar and a set of loop-pedals, she delivered a powerfully emotional set that really was something truly breathtaking to behold. Through her new songs, it felt as if she was telling the sold-out audience of 140 patrons about what she had been going through in her life. Yes, the songs were heavy- delivered with either pent up, fierce fury, or gentle, thoughtful, longing- but Nina engaged the audience in between her songs with playful banter to relieve any tensions her lyrics may have imparted.
Before the third song, she dedicated it to the Spurs, and wanted us to imagine the Spurs wearing nothing but spurs. After another song, she explained that song and the lyrics “Do you really love me the way you say you do?” is actually about Karma… a very nice prostitute who’ll give you everything you deserve. She even made some lighthearted confessions about the music she had written, admitting when she used the same chord progressions on two separate songs.
But there is no getting around the heaviness of music. She wrote a song about those who go through bad stuff in life and keep it all in. She wrote an empowerment song about not knowing what kind of person you truly are until you go through a bad break up (“Fall In Love”). She wrote another song that I think she called a “wedding singer song” about her ex- who she made a subtle jab at by calling him a dick … okay, maybe not that subtle- that had the defiant lyrics, “One last kiss, one that you’ll never miss […] all he seems to care about is friends, fame, name [.]”
Perhaps the most heartbreaking song she sang was the song she dedicated to her father, “Mortician’s Musician” (in case you didn’t know, or couldn’t tell, her father is a mortician). I had shivers run down my spine, and goose bumps pop up on my arm, when she sang the lyrics, “I’m not a fool for writing songs, I’m a fool for trying to get you to sing along.” <sob> I desperately want to hear that song again.
She closed her set with a cover of the INXS song “Never Tear Us Apart”- very apropos- but the audience wouldn’t let her leave the stage that easily. She agreed to sing one more song, and advised the audience that she hadn’t planned on singing a Girl In A Coma song, but ended up performing “El Monte” to close out the evening.
Afterwards, I met up with a friend I had invited to the show. The first thing she said to me was that it was the first time, in a long time, that a singer has ever made her laugh and cry at a concert. It went without saying. We experienced something magical that night.
I grabbed the set list from the stage, and went to the merchandise booth to say, “Hi,” to Phanie (drums for Girl in a Coma) and Jenn (bass for Girl In A Coma). I waited for Nina and got her to autograph the set list and the poster that I had ganked from the wall (just so you don’t think I’m a clepto, I asked the bouncer if I could first!). I chatted with some of her friends while her fans greeted her. Sneaking in during a lull, I bid my adieu and head off.
Clockwise, upper left: Me and Nina, Nina and the autographed set-list (again, signed with both pens. hehehe).
On the 45-minute drive home, I tried to put into context what I had experienced. I’ve been to a lot of amazing shows this year, but this one was different. I got emotionally involved at this show. And as cheese-ball as it may sound, with Nina sharing bits and pieces of her life, I had become emotionally invested in Nina’s story. In the intimate, dimly-lit venue, for the first time, I felt her frustrations, pain, heartache, longing, revival, strength … the gamut of emotions cover the spectrum. The fact that she performed alone on stage also added a certain gravitas and intimacy with her outpouring of personal history. It almost felt like she was confiding in us.
I plugged my phone into the car stereo and began playing the video clips I had taken. When the clip of “For You” started playing I started thinking of Jeff Buckley’s “Live in Sin-e” recordings. When you get me thinking about one my all-time favorite recordings, you’ve left an impression. Nina left an impression. Whether these new songs are recorded with Girl In A Coma, or whether she puts it out as solo material, people need to hear this music. If Nina ever has a solo gig in your neighborhood, you’d be a fool not to go. Puro heart. Puro rock and roll.
Below, I’ve included several snippets from the show. My only regret is that I wish I had taken more footage.
UPDATE: 11/14/13: God bless the soul who recorded Nina’s entire set and posted it to Youtube. Now you can watch her amazing solo gig in its entirety.
I don’t have any tattoos and I don’t know much about cars. I’ve always tossed around the idea of getting a tattoo, and it’s still a possibility at some point, but I’ll just put in a pin in it for now. That being said, I attended the Day 2 of the Ink-N-Iron Festival, and joined the party to celebrate some seriously good music.
It was my first time attending the yearly event, and I have to give the organizers some serious props for making it a day that I’ll remember. Beautiful cars. Beautiful tattoos. Women in corsets and otherwise dressed up in pin-up outfits. It was clean. It was family friendly. It wasn’t too crowded. Very nicely done.
I drove to Long Beach from West Los Angeles, and I was slightly worried that I’d arrive a little late to catch the first band I wanted to see perform: Girl In A Coma . I’ve been following this band for a few years now, and I always go out of my way to catch them perform whenever they come to town. I remember when I first heard their music. It was sometime November 2011 when I was up late watching TV. I had “Last Call with Carson Daly” on, and they were the featured artists for the episode. Their music snippets piqued my interest and I Googled their music. Boom. Instant fan. You can check out the feature that I watched here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/302589 .
Thankfully, the Los Angeles traffic gods saw it in their good graces to get me to the Queen Mary on time.
It was an early afternoon 2:00pm set, and I joined their other fans up against the general admittance railing as they finished sound checking. Even with a few technical difficulties, it was a solid set. They played songs from all four of their full-length albums ( “Both Before I’m Gone” , “Trio BC” , “Adventures In Coverland” , and “Exits and All the Rest”.
Before closing their set, Nina announced that the band was planning on starting recording for their new album at the end of the year. It sounded like they closed their set with new songs, and when I got the set-list from Phanie (drums) the following night when I went to Nina’s solo gig at the Hotel Café (which was amazing, by the way, and which you can read about by clicking this link… do it!) it looks like their last two songs were new. The video clips I took with my phone don’t do the band justice- I need to buy a good camera that takes good video/audio clips… any suggestions? They are my favorite all-girl rock band.
The only criticism I had with the festival was that since it was so early in the day, the organizers should have let their fans into the VIP viewing area to watch the set. Other than that, no complaint.
Intro
Say
One Eyed fool
Adjust
Slaughter Ln
Si Una Vez
She had a plan
Joanie in the city
Safe
Invisible
I planned on visiting them at the artist merchandise booth to say, “Hi,” but having noticed that all of their other fans I was standing with announced that they were going to head over, I decided to hang back and walk around the festival grounds. I’m sure glad I did.
There was a band named Hopeless Jack & The Handsome Devil that also had a 2:00pm set time. I wasn’t planning on checking them out, and only stumbled upon their set when I decided to check out some cars at the Tiki-Drive-In Stage. As soon as I was within earshot of their music, I thought to myself, “Screw the cars, I need to see who the fuck is playing right now”.
It was raw, heavy, lo-fi, blues, garage rock. Two guys, one drummer and one guitarist. I hate comparing artists to other artists, but if I had to, I’d say they were The Black Keys, high on adrenaline, and drunk on whiskey. Simply based on what I was able to catch, which was only the last couple songs of their set, I was hooked. If you see the video below, there was some photo shoot going on, and for a minute, I didn’t want to get in the way. I stopped the video when I noticed another photographer up at the front of the stage. I walked through the photo shoot, and was able to snap a few cool shoots of the band with my phone.
When they finished their set, I had to catch them to buy whatever music they had. I purchased one of their CDs and their newly pressed 7’’ single of “Firefly” and “Pack My Bags”. The drummer, “Smilin’ Pete”, was the first to greet those who wanted to meet the band. I wanted to get the guys to sign the vinyl that I purchased, and I asked him whether “Hopeless Jack” would be coming out. Smilin’ Pete assured me that Hopeless Jack would be coming out in a minute. He explained that Jack’s music come from and is written from a deep, dark place and he always needs a minute to unwind after a set. Completely understandable.
When Jack came out, Pete introduced us and I told them that though I was only able to catch the end of their set, what I did hear (and saw) really impressed me and got my blood moving. They both autographed my vinyl and snapped a pic. Both guys were really humble and unassuming. I’ve been listening to their CD “Shallow Hears – Shallow Graves” and spinning their 7’’ Single non-stop since that weekend. I’m hoping they come back to the Los Angeles area for a gig so I can catch an entire set.
Afterwards, I head back to the main stage merchandise booth and the gals from Girl In A Coma were still taking pictures and signing autographs. I dropped by to say, “Hello,” and also to let them know I would be showing up the next day for Nina’s solo gig (which was amazing, by the way… wait, I said that already, didn’t I….), snapped a pic, then continued on with my day.
I checked out some of the vendors and marveled at some of the tattoos getting done. I hopped into an Ink-N-Iron photobooth that was free (very cool!) and walked onto the boat to explore the Queen Mary. It was getting closer to 5:00pm, and since I was already inside the boat, I realized that my musical choice was made for me: Kaleigh Baker it was.
I got up to the front of the stage and as the band was sound-checking, I had a brief conversation with a gentleman, probably in his late 50s-early 60s who asked me about Kaleigh’s music. We talked deep soul and early punk, and he suggested that I check out The Fleshtones. I suggested he stick around for Kaleigh Baker. We took each other’s advice.
Kaleigh Baker can sing. Her voice and vocal ability is unreal. The way she emotes the lyrics, and controls her voice to express the lyrics of her music is truly, in my opinon, on par with some of the leading female singers of our time. Sure, my comparison may be a little premature- after all, I only have this one set and her newest EP, “The Weight of It All”, to base it on, but I’m willing to put it out there. She’s got the type of voice that makes you FEEL something. The way it lilts. The way it crescendos. The way it belts. I can’t wait for her to record more music so I can see which direction she takes it.
I was able to catch up with her and some of her band mates after the set. Like the gals in Girl In A Coma, the guys in Hopeless Jack & The Handsome Devil, everybody in Kaleigh’s band, including Kaleigh, was extremely humble and appreciative. I had a weird moment of deja-vu when I was introduced to the guitar and bass players, as for some reason I felt like I’d met or seen them before. No … I wasn’t drunk. It was a sober day for me. And no, pretty certain that we had never crossed paths before. I bought a copy of Kaleigh’s latest EP from the keyboardist/horn player of the band (who I didn’t get a picture with, but was really accommodating with me asking a bunch of questions) and had Kaleigh sign it. Black Joe Lewis who? … lol.
Again, my iPhone video doesn’t do Kaleigh justice. Try Googling her. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
At that point, my phone was pretty much dead. I stayed in the boat to charge my phone. JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound were taking the stage, and as much I wanted to check his band out, I was relegated to sitting next to an outlet to charge my phone up. It took his entire set for my phone to fully charge, but from what I was able to hear, it sounded pretty good. It was funky, indie soul. From what I could hear, it almost sounded like they had Niles Rogers sit in with them for a song. Perhaps the unexpected surprise was when the band did a soulful/funked-up version of Blackstreet’s “No Diggitiy”.
My friends who were coming to the festival texted me that they were almost at there. I texted them back and told them I was going to grab a bite to eat, and kick it for them. When they arrived, and at the suggestion of the gentleman who I spoke with before Kaleigh Baker’s set, I suggested that we check out The Fleshtones.
The Fleshtones were one of the original punks bands. Like the Ramones, the Fleshtones came out of Queens. Though I wasn’t too familiar with their repertoire, when it comes to being able to catch one of the “original” bands of a particular genre of music, you simply can’t pass it up. They certainly drew a decent crowd, and played some songs that I actually really enjoyed.
One of the highlights of the set was when the one of members made reference to The Dirtbombs- who were actually influenced by The Fleshtones-playing the main stage. One of the members of the Fleshtones addressed the audience, “Why aren’t we watching the Dirtbombs? […] You want quality! […] You got quality right here!” It was a fun set, and I’m glad I checked it out.
In between the Fleshtones and The Dead Kennedys, my friends and I decided to check out the featured auto exhibit. I haven’t been into cars, but I’ll have to admit, I was impressed.
I’ll admit that I don’t know much about the Dead Kennedys music. In fact, the most I knew about the band was while in law school reading about the obscenity case against the artwork for their third album “Frankenchrist” Some of the songs sounded familiar, but I really felt like the levels were a bit off. Not enough vocals, maybe?
My friends wanted to see the next main stage act, Rocket From The Crypt , another band that I was not all to familiar with. They were quite popular when I was in high school, but I was kind of going through a Boyz II Men/Jodeci phase back then. My phone was running out of juice again, so I opted to head back into the boat to charge up before Iggy and the Stooges.
Iggy and the Stooges were schedule to open for Morrissey’s concert back in November last year, and I was really hoping to see them back then. Unfortunately, Morrissey had some medical issues come up and that November show was rescheduled for the March, with Patti Smith replacing Iggy as the opening act. Patti Smith was good, but she isn’t Iggy.
Iggy and the Stooges were awesome. I tried looking for their set list online, but I couldn’t find one. It didn’t matter though. It was seriously a “best of” set, with a couple songs off their newest album. “Raw Power”, “Fun House”, “Penetration”, “I Wanna Be Your Dog”. They did them all.
From the opening note, where I was standing, pictures and video shots were virtually impossible to take as a mosh pit had formed. During “Fun House”, Iggy started pulling up people from the crowd to dance on stage. It was a mad house on stage, and I pitied the stage-hand who had to make sure that women on stage didn’t molest Iggy while he was performing. A potential shit-storm turned into a raucous party.
Watching Iggy hump the speaker, throw his water bottles into the audience, and dance about on stage, was rock-and-roll incarnate. After most of the set, I needed to escape the crowd to find my friends. I bumped into Kaleigh’s band-mates on the edges of the crowd. They were equally impressed with Iggy’s stage performance.
When the set ended, my friends left to catch a shuttle back to their parking structure. I opted to hang out for a minute to decompress. It was a full day for hard hitting, musical goodness. The one day pass was definitely worth the price of admittance, and depending on who’s on the bill next year, odds are I will be attending again.
What do I love more than music festivals? FREE music festivals. Every summer, since 2008, the city of Pasadena transforms Old Town Pasadena into into a bevy of performance venues. Although this year was my first time attending, it is definitely a summer concert experience that I’m sure I will attend for years to come.
Not only is it an opportunity to discover new music, but it’s also a way to put a finger on the pulse of Los Angeles’s local music scene. I can walk over to one band’s stage, and if it’s not to my liking, on to the next … and did I mention that it’s also FREE? Okay, that’s enough of that…
I created a little schedule of the bands I was interested in checking out. It turned out the first band on my list for the day was a band that I already knew about: The Record Company You can read about the first time I heard their music (and check out live video clips and music links) by clicking here. Coming from the west side, the trek out to Pasadena took a little longer than anticipated. Luckily, I was able to catch the last 4 songs of their set.
It was the middle of the day, but they drew in a very, very impressive crowd. I asked the person next to me if they had heard of the band before, and she said that it just sounded good. She was right. Confidently commanding the main stage of the festival, they took their hard-rocking blues and set what seemed to be a very high standard for the rest of the acts that would follow.
Near the end of the set, lead singer, Chris Vos, abandoned the microphone and sang his call to the audience, “I feel good”, to which the audience more than happily obliged to respond with their own “I feel good”. I saw him do something similar at a more intimate venue, but this was more impressive as the crowd was significantly larger than the private affair I saw them at before. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, these guys have some serious potential. Not only can they rock the stage, but they can engage the audience to join in on the raucous good time.
It gets particularly warm in the Summertime in Pasadena, and I realized that my wearing a black polo shirt was probably not the smartest idea. I stepped into a Vans store, and bought a tank-top for $20. Meh.
I dropped by the artist merchandise booth to say hi to the guys in The Record Company. Though I had already downloaded their music online, I picked up a copy of their CD “Superdead”. The fellas were cool enough to sign it for autographs.
The Record Company jamming and posing with the CD I asked them to sign.
Next on my list was YACHT. I was looking forward to checking this band out since a lot of my friends seemed to like their music… at least, that’s what Facebook seems to be telling me. I had a good spot for their set and settled in to watch. Their set was fun and energetic, but for some reason I couldn’t get into the set. For me, their electronic/house sound felt a little anticlimactic after watching The Record Company. Also, I just didn’t feel that there was enough for me in terms of melody and lyrics. Their songs felt a bit repetitive. That’s just me though. I would assume that the huge crowd bouncing to the beat would have disagreed with me.
I met up with some friends during YACHT’s set for a brief moment, but as I usually do at Festivals, I left pack and did my own thing. I’m a loner, Dottie…. a rebel.
I visited a couple merchandise booths and picked up a water, then went back to the main stage check out The New Limb, but as I got settled I noticed that my music notebook was missing. Oi. I spent the next 35-45 minutes retracing my steps. I missed The New Limb, but I found my notebook. Ironically, I had left it at the KCRW booth (one of the main sponsors of the event) when I was signing up for a ticket give away. That was ironic.
I got a text from my friends that they were going to head to Robert Delong (who was also on my list, but I opted to check out The Peach Kings. I had enjoyed listening to their music from their website, and liked what I thought was a catchy, female fronted band that sang sexy, blues influenced music. Really, their EP “Handsome Moves” is pretty sexy.
Unfortunately, my high expectations may have spoiled the impression that they gave me … my expectations and the heat. The live show felt more psychedelic than blues, and having had my fill of psychadelice rock a few weeks ago, I opted to leave their set early and try to catch up with my friends at Robert DeLong.
It was a few blocks away, which in the 90 degree heat was barely bearable with my $20 tank-top, and as I was approaching the performance venue, The Playhouse Stage, I could start hearing Robert DeLong’s set. It sounded relatively good, but then I started noticing that his vocals were really quite flat. Honestly, I was kind of regretting my decision to walk the few blocks over, but I decided to carry on.
When I got there, I felt like I was in a club. People were jumping around and surfing the crowd. It was an enthusiastic crowd, but all I could really focus on were his vocals, which seemed consistently flat. I could understand that, though. The unbearable heat probably played a part in that. Probably the highlight of the set, for me at least, came towards the end when Robert DeLong mixed in a vocal stem from the Talking Heads recording “Once In A Lifetime”. I thought it was clever and I enjoyed it. I also thought that 95% of the crowd probably didn’t know who the Talking Heads were.
When his set ended, Robert announced that he’d be selling merchandise next to the stage, where I was standing, and added, “Over there, where I’ll be touching you and taking pictures with you. It’ll be nice.” <shiver>.
Since I was already at the Playhouse Stage, I decided that I would kick it there to check out Tanlines, a band that I briefly saw perform (about a song and a half) at Coachella when I was there this year. Tanline were supposed to get on at 5:45pm, but the heat probably messed with their equipment (I heard that this also happened to Robert DeLong as well), and they took the stage over 15 minutes past their start time. The sound for the first two songs was terrible, which was no fault of their own (unless they used their own sound guy), and I decided to leave. That’s a perk of going to a music festival. You’re free to move on.
Top clockwise: YACHT, Robert DeLong (touching and taking pictures with his fans) and The Peach Kings.
Since I had left Tanlines’ set, I decided to head back to the Main Stage to catch Youngblood Hawke. The crowd for their performance was massive, and I was relegated to the very back. They were the last band to perform on the Main Stage. Their brand of alternative-new wave-electronic rock seemed to bring with it a loyal following. Their stage presence (at least from what I could see from where I was standing) was solid. You could see the members of the band using the entire width of the stage, frenetically pounding away at drums that seemed to be set up everywhere.
Though I had heard of them, I wasn’t too familiar with their music. Watching them perform, I really couldn’t get a grasp of what they were all about. For a minute, they sound like Franz Ferdinand, the next they sounded like Rusted Root (at least the percussive elements did), and towards the end it turned very bubblegum pop, almost like a of Monsters and Men, but with an edge. I’m over of Monsters and Men, and I decided to keep walking.
I decided to head up to the Levitt Pavilion, a quaint little outdoor performance amphitheater located on the top of a lawned hill in the center of Old Town Pasadena to check out Haunted Summer. They were still sound checking as their start time passed (7:00pm), but I comfortably grabbed some space on the lawn and stretched my legs out. I did want to catch a few songs before heading off to catch the final band on my list at 7:30pm.
Their sound check was fun. They jammed out to a little Jackson5 (“I Want You Back”) but I knew that that wasn’t going to be the sound of their music. The lead singer asked for more reverb all around stating, “As much reverb as you can. Take us into space.”
They started their set with a song called “1996”. It was very ethereal, and if I weren’t sitting up front, I would have just lay on the grass and closed my eyes. Their music is particularly effects heavy, which in a live setting may take away a bit from the vocals, but I don’t really think that the vocals are necessarily the focus of this band’s music. I enjoyed it and wish I didn’t have to leave their set so early. I couldn’t embed their playlist here, but check them out on Facebook or Reverb Nation.
The last band, and probably the least known band, I wanted to see was a band called The Likes of Us. They were set to perform in a wine bistro (I’ve omitted the name, cause I’m a nice guy). I got there, and, already feeling a little out-of-place wearing a Van’s tank-top in a wine-bistro, the host of the restaurant told me that I couldn’t come in to just see the band, and that I needed to make a reservation for a seat. WTF?! Um, that wasn’t noted in the schedule…
I’m not the confrontational type, so I made a “reservation” and ordered a beer. I noticed there was some space near the band, and I asked if I could stand over there, promising that I wouldn’t get in the way of anybody. The answer was no. There was a couple that invited me to sit with them, which I appreciated, and I joined them for a minute. The band started playing, but it was hard for me to hear or see them from where I was sitting. I pulled out my notepad, just to take a few notes from earlier in the day, when I noticed the host glancing at me scribbling in my notebook. I think that I may have intimidated him a bit. I saw this as an opportunity.
After a few songs, I told the nice couple that I would be abandoning them to sneak to a better spot. I went to the bar, and ordered another beer. I took my beer and went where the host told me I couldn’t stand. I kept scribbling in my notebook. I wasn’t bothered. Huzzah!
Starting upper left, clockwise: The Crowd of Youngblood Hawke, The Likes of Us, and Haunted Summer
I like the music that The Likes Of Us perform. Granted, since they were performing in a wine bar, some of their set was covers of jazz and pop standards. But their original tunes, are real keepers. As you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t posted any videos from the day here, and that’s because my phone would have run out of batteries in first few hours. So, I’ve posted a few of their video from youtube here:
Their original tunes are light-hearted and charming. The stylings reminded me of Jason Mraz back in his Live at Java Joe’s days. The lyrics are pure, and the harmonies are simple, and that’s what draws me to their sound. Even in the hustle and bustle of the busy restaurant, they sounded as good live as they did on the recordings I had previously heard.
Since they were playing to a dinner crowd, their set was going to be considerably longer than that of the other performers of the day. I had dinner plans elsewhere, so I had to leave their set early. I caught them between songs, told them I enjoyed what I had heard, and picked up one of their CDs (which they were giving away for free!). As I headed out of the venue, the host and I made eye contact. I thought about apologizing, but I just kind of stared at him as I left the restaurant. I bet he was wondering what I wrote in my notebook…
When it comes to music, it always pays to have an open mind.
A friend of mine posted on Facebook that she had an extra ticket to see The Black Angels at the Mayan Theater. It was a weekday (which is typically a no-go for me due to my typical work load) but I’d always been interested in the Black Angels because of their reputation of being a good psychedelic rock band. Tthe ticket was free, and I had pulled an all-nighter earlier in the week… so I replied to the post, and the ticket was mine.
My friend wanted to make sure we got to the venue in time to catch one of the opening acts, Hanni El Khatib . As we drove to the Mayan, she was telling me about Hanni, and mentioned that Dan Auerbach produced Hanni’s latest album. Whoa…. You mean the The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach? Yup. I was intrigued.
We got to the venue, and we decided to make our way as close to the stage for Hanni’s set. As soon as he took the stage, the crowd started a raucous cheer more fitting for a headliner than an opener. He started his set, and I could immediately feel the raw, garage rock essence of his music that probably drew Dan Auerbach to it. A few songs into the set, and the crowd started to bounce to the blues rhythms of the music. Sure, the music sounded very similar to the Black Keys, but you couldn’t deny his music ability and the way he was able to engage the crowd. The music was good enough, that I didn’t have to know any of the songs to enjoy the set, and that says something.
During his set, I noticed that the merchandise table (which was oddly located close to the stage, stage left, on a separate, elevated space) was uninhabited, save but the merchants sitting at the tables. I made my way to the tables and found myself away from the crowd, in a space that was really all my own. If there was a VIP section, that would area have been it. LOL.
After Hanni’s set had ended, I decided to purchase a couple LPs. Since I was a little short on cash, I opted to pick up his debut album “Will The Guns Come Out” and a limited edition 7’’ single, with a hand-screented cover, of “Skinny Little Girl/Pay No Mind”. My friend, and her friends, joined me at the merchandise table and after making our purchases, and lollygagging a bit, Hanni dropped by the table to say hello to his fans. Yup. Me being the music dork, I got a picture and had him sign the 7’’ single … with a ball point pen (damn those bouncers for throwing away my permanent marker! Next time it goes in the shoe!) I asked him when he was planning on performing again in Los Angeles, and he told me that he was touring in Europe, and was looking to have gigs at the El Rey and on the Santa Monica Pier for the summer concert series. I am definitely going to check him out again.
After such an exhilarating set from Hanni El Khatib, my expectations for The Black Angels was slightly mixed. Blues/garage rock followed by psychedelic rock? Seems like an odd mix, no? I followed my friend upstairs to the balcony seats when the Black Angels started their set. We waited in line at the upstairs bar for what seemed like forever to get a bottle of water (yup, I was the designated driver), and the band had already started when we found a spot to sit.
The balcony at the Mayan is interesting in that it has a little “patio” area that seemed to serve as a mini dance floor. As soon as the Black Angels started their set, people immediately began to dance, swaying back and forth … dancing like those people I used to watch in those Woodstock documentaries.
The music was good, but it honestly felt like a little bit of a let-down after Hanni El Khatib’s powerful set. I’m a huge fan of Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, etc., but this music didn’t leave as big of an impression on me as I thought it would. Maybe I needed a few drinks or “something” to help me enjoy the music more. Again, it sounded good … it just didn’t hit the spot for me.
I spent most of The Black Angels set people watching with my friends. We noticed a lot of tattoos. Hot chicks with tattoos. A lot of dancing bodies. A lot of dudes sitting around us with their eyes closed “twitching” around and bobbing their heads. People young and old. A diverse and amusing crowd.
We left the venue as soon as the Black Angels started their encore, and though I hardly ever leave shows early, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. The Black Angels were good, but if I wasn’t shrooming or on something, it was really just background music to me. The highlight of the evening for me was the music I wasn’t even expecting. If it wasn’t for my curiousity about The Black Angels, I would never have discovered the music of Hanni El Khatib.
It’s hard to get friends to check out new bands … on a Sunday. LOL.
Years ago, a buddy of mine introduced me to a band named What Made Milwaukee Famous (“WMMFamous”). He played me a song call “Cheap Wine” and I was hooked. I tried following the band, but it didn’t seem that they were particularly active. I chalked them up as a casualty of the music industry, and figured I’d only hear their tracks when they popped up in my iTunes playlist.
I thought it was a shame, because their music was really good (I’m a huge fan of their second album “What Doesn’t Kill Us”) and it seemed that they were making good progress with getting their music out there to the masses. After all, they were one of the few unsigned acts to ever play Austin City Limits, supported the Smashing Pumpkins and Franz Ferdinand, and they had a deal with Barsuk Records (home of Death Cab for Cutie, Ra Ra Riot, etc.).
One day, I got a notice about WMMFamous playing a local bar in Santa Monica, and I jumped at getting some tickets. Their gig was on a Sunday, so I knew it’d be a tough sell, but I tried spreading the word. Unfortunately, no one wanted to come out. Their loss.
After running some errands during the day, I got to the venue early. Central SAPC is a lot nicer than it’s predecessor, 14 Below. I was one of the first people to get there, and relaxed on a couch in the performance room. The couches were comfy, and the music the bar was playing was good. I could have taken a nap. Hung out with the staff for a minute, and they were very accommodating.
The first act that played was band named Only You, fronted by a singer named Rachel Fannan. It was a refreshing sound, a kind of modernized throw back to Americana. Kinda like Roy Orbison if his music was sung by Fiona Apple. I enjoyed Only You and “liked” Rachel’s Facebook fan page. It’ll be interesting to watch how her band’s music develops.
After Only You, WMMFamous began setting up. I started to get anxious. The band was able to pull in a modest crowd considering it was a Sunday. It certainly wasn’t empty, but I was able to get a nice spot up front with a stool. The band started the set, and I was both happy and sad. Happy that I was there enjoying their music, and sad that I couldn’t recruit people to the show.
People have compared WMMFamous to bands like Spoon and the Wrens, but I think those comparisons are really just based on the fact that they are all indie-rock bands. Granted, my own real perspective of WMMFamous was their album “What Doesn’t Kill Us”, but that album is musically, in my opinion, wonderfully complex. There are elements from different types of musical genres that permeate that record, and though some critics may have criticized it, I loved it. It’s high production value, catchy melodies, and general feel-good mood get my thumbs up. Plus the lead singer (Michael Kingcaid) is solid. If I had to describe them, I’d want to say that they were kind of like Jellyfish, if Jellyfish grew up in Austen. That’s just what I’m thinking…
The set was excellent. Musically, and vocally, the band hit all of the songs that I was a fan of. Michael’s voice sounded as good live, as it did on the album, and that was impressive. Because of the intimate nature of the venue, Michael was able to banter with the audience. He told us how the band loves it in Los Angeles, and wants to head out here more often, if not permanently. He acknowledged that there were long-time fans in audience, and dedicated some of the “oldies” to us. He told us about all of the shit that happened on the way to Los Angeles, like the tire blowing out on the highway. I yelled, “It’s rock and roll”. He replied, “It would have been rock and roll if we just left it busted,” then laughed.
After their set, the band hit the bar and the merchandise table. I picked up the first, and most recent albums to round out my collection, and also picked up some very cool vinyl singles. Each of the covers was a hand cut, glued, made and numbered, and the vinyl itself was actually not vinyl at all.
I spoke with Michael briefly and asked him why the band hadn’t released any music in a while, and he gave me the break down. Not going to air it out here, and someone’s probably already written about it (And I was right … click here to read an article of the tough road Michael Kingcaid has been on), but needless to say, life can get tough. He was a real congenial dude, and he told me that the band plans on coming back out to Los Angeles for future gigs. I sure hope so. Maybe it’ll be on a Friday or Saturday, and it’ll be an easier sell to my friends…
Michael Kingcaid. Lead Singer and founder of What Made Milwaukee Famous
I can’t remember the last time I was in a mosh pit. In fact… if I’m remembering correctly … the last true mosh pit I was in was for a Let’s Go Bowling show back, back, back in the day. Like… back in my ska days when I used to wear khakis with suspenders, a wife beater and my Doc Martins. On May 9, 2013, I went to see Dead Sara, and for the first time in forever, I found myself reliving my youthful abandon, smack dab in what was perhaps one of the most intense concert experiences I’ve had in a while.
Sometime last year, driving in my car, I heard a hard, rocking song with some bad-ass female vocals on the radio called “Weatherman”. After the song ended, the disc jockey said that the name of the band was Dead Sara. I hardly listen to terrestrial radio these days, but god bless the ways of old, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have heard about the band.
Later that week, before a blind date, I went to Amoeba Records to pick up a copy of their self-titled, debut, full-length album. The chick I was with was a musician who was into hard, classic rock, so I decided to play the album for her on our way to dinner to she what she thought.
The album was very, very good. It was so much more intense than other female fronted rock bands that have been releasing albums recently. It’s a no holds barred album. Intense power rock but at the same time extremely vulnerable. The lead singer’s (Emily Armstrong) voice is filled with such strength and passion (plus it sounds pretty!) which contrasts the steady lead guitar riffs of Siouxsie Medley, and made me recall another female rock duo … Heart, anyone? But Dead Sara’s rock is much more blistering than Heart’s. It’s the kind of music that boils the adrenaline in the veins … even with the vulnerable sensitive songs.
About half way through the album, my date suggested that she wasn’t feeling the music as much as I was, and that kind of put a damper on the date, because …. Well … I’m a music snob, and I didn’t understand why she didn’t like the album as much as I did. I told her that I’d call her sometime … I didn’t.
When I got home from the date, I went online to see when they’d be performing. I assumed, since they are Los Angeles based, they would be playing some gigs locally. But when I logged on to their website, there were a bunch of dates having them open up for Muse at large venues (in Los Angeles, The Staples Center). Muse? Seriously?
I’m not a Muse fan. They were hyped as a headliner for Coachella one year, but when I saw them perform then, it was soooo not my thing, that I left to catch another act. Muse’s single, at the time, was “Madness” and that song reminded me of Savage Garden. Nope. As much as I wanted to see Dead Sara perform, I wasn’t going to buy a ticket for Muse to see them do a short opening set from the rafters of the Staples Center. “C’est la vie,” I thought. Maybe some other time. I followed their Facebook page, and life went on.
Months later, I get a Facebook “notification” that Dead Sara was playing the El Rey theater. Now, THAT was more my speed. Immediately, I got online and purchased tickets. Glad I did it that day, as tickets for the show sold out. From then, I waited.
It was my buddy’s Steve’s birthday, so I invited him to join me for the show. He was coming from rehearsing for a gig (opening for Motorhead at Nokia Live!!), so I told him that I would either be outside hanging out or waiting in line for merchandise. While I was outside in the patio area, I noticed someone who looked vaguely familiar. Holy shit. It was Siouxsie and … what’s his name … uhh … the drummer … lol. Unfortunately, I didn’t know the drummers name (it’s Sean Friday), but they didn’t seemed bothered by it. I told them how long I had waited to see them perform, and they were cool enough to let me snap a group shot to post on Instagram.
I left them alone to handle their business, and I went over to the merch line to pick up a limited edition 7’’ release of their newest single “Lemon Scent”. I’m glad I got in line early for merchandise, as the line for merch was LONG. So long, that I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to get the vinyl treasure I wanted. My buddy met me in line, and after purchasing the merch and as soon as the prior act had finished their set, we decided to try to get as close up front as we could. We got about 5-7 rows from the front, and we waited. Every minute we waited, we could feel the crowd slowly pushing up against our backs. That was sign. A sign that it was about to get pretty nuts.
Found this pic online. So Badass. (c) Brian Bowen Smith (@brianbowensmith)
When the band took the stage, they started the set with a mellow song called “Sorry For It All”. After that, fireworks. Dead Sara lit the fuse with “Test My Patience” and that fire burned scalding through “I Said You Were Lucky”. I know how that fire burned. I was in the middle of the mosh pit as soon as it erupted. For 15-20 minutes straight, I was lost in aggressive moshing. My “technique” for fending off people that were going really crazy came back to me, and I was able to float around an area with a radius of about 3 feet.
Thank god, Dead Sara broke up the intensity with “Face to Face”. After that three song stint of mosh songs, my shirt was drenched with sweat and I’m sure I got a few bruises along the way. I assessed what other really hard songs would lead to moshing, and I could only think of “Weatherman” so I stayed where I was, figuring that I would make my way towards the edges later in their set. By the way, I had no idea where my buddy was. I guess he couldn’t hang. Lol.
Dead Sara’s album is good. Watching them perform is better. I spent my time in awe of Emily’s live vocals and the connection the whole band had with the audience. The performance reached a high point when Emily absolutely DESTROYED her guitar on stage. It totally felt right. From there, the band went on to perform Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name Of”. If Zac and Emily squared off, I’d put my money on Emily.
After the set, my buddy and kicked it a while afterwards. He actually knew some people there and was shooting the shit. Me, I was waiting to see if a bid I placed on a one-of-kind autographed, painted, concert poster won out. It didn’t.
When we were kicked out of the El Rey, we hung out in front just to decompress. Sean and Chris Null (the bassist) were moving equipment, and- being always prepared- I asked them to sign the LP and the poster I had picked up. Since I had two signatures, I had to wait for Emily and Siouxsie, right? Patience pays off, as they soon followed, and I was able to snag signatures from the entire band. If you want to check out some other music treasure of mine, click through on this link.
If anything, watching Dead Sara at the El Rey proved three things in my eyes: (i) I fall in infatuation to easily with chicks who can shred an axe, (ii) Dead Sara is a female-fronted rock band that can melt your face off, and kick you in the ass, and is here to stay, and (iii) yes, you need to see them live … just make sure you invite me to come with.
Set list is below. My video clips from the show are below as well.
Sorry for It All
Test on My Patience
Monumental Holiday
I Said You Were Lucky
Face to Face
Dear Love
Feeling Empty
Whispers & Ashes
Lemon Scent
Killing in the Name (Rage Against the Machine cover) (Freedom Outro)
Encore
Blue Was the Feeling For You
Weatherman
This is the first version of their concert tour poster opening for Muse. Four additional dates were added to this version. The poster is on thick paper stock, perhaps archival paper.
This is a three part blog entry. The link to the following day is at the bottom of the page.Oh, Coachella, how I’ve missed you. Though many expressed dissatisfaction with the line-up, I was ecstatic. In fact, I had circled more bands on the schedule than I could have possibly seen, so I was actually setting myself up with being disappointed based on the fact that I wouldn’t be able to see all of the acts I wanted to see. Kind of ironic now that I think about it…
I had work to finish up that Friday morning, so I knew that I was bound to miss a handful of acts that day. I picked up a friend in Santa Monica, and we began out trek out to the desert. I had prepared an iTunes playlist of all of the music of the bands I wanted to see, so our drive would at least have a good soundtrack.
As we got closer to venue, driving on the freeway, I started noticing billboards advertising the release dates of albums from bands performing at Coachella. I nearly swerved out of my lane when I saw a billboard for Daft Punks album release date. Umm … they weren’t scheduled to perform at Coachella… I told my friend that either this was an omen of a surprise set by one of the most demanded bands for Coachella, or it was the ultimate tease …
When we had parked and picked up our passes, we joined the mass of people on the festival grounds. Unfortunately, I had already missed the French turntable group C2C and the British rock quartet Alt-J, so I made my way to the Outdoor Stage to catch a few tunes by Of Monsters and Men. I have their album, and I their music, but at that time, I just wasn’t in the mood to listen mellow indie folk/pop. I think I was just a little too restless due to the long car ride. I’m thinking that Of Monsters and Men would have been the perfect band to see on a lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Not Friday. Plus, I was way in the back, standing, when I would have much preferred laying on the lawn somewhere.
I listened to a few songs then decided to make my way to the merchandise booth. I brought a poster tube with me since last year I picked up a dope, limited edition, Black Keys, Coachella poster. Unfortunately, it appears, Coachella didn’t allow for bands to sell their personalized Coachella posters. That was a disappointment.
All of sudden I heard Passion Pit start playing “Carried Away” and I looked down at my watch. Doh! I had already seen Passion Pit at the Hollywood Bowl, and they were terrific, so I had to kick myself in the rear for not paying attention to the time to be there when they started.
As I walked toward the Main Stage area, they were wrapping up their second song, I decided to video record what was going on while I walked toward the stage. It was quite uplifting. Passion Pit’s music has always had an airy and energetic quality to it, and it always seems to make people dance. When I took a look at the video later in the evening, the one thing I could notice was all of the random people frolicking across the lawn. That made me happy.
Carried Away
The Reeling
Love Is Greed
I’ll Be Alright
It’s Not My Fault, I’m Happy
Constant Conversations
Talk a Walk
Cry Like A Ghost
Sleepyhead
Little Secrets
Having learned my lesson by missing the opening of their set, I decided to leave Passion Pit early to go see a relatively new band that I was particularly keen on: Palma Violets.
A mix of garage and psychedelic rock, these guys had quite a following in England. I got to the stage early enough to get pretty close to the front. That being said, I was keeping my fingers crossed that they had a good live show, otherwise I knew it was going to be tough fighting my way out of the tent to find something better. They did not disappoint. They were good, loud Brit Rock. They sounded live, like they sound on their records, and performed with the kind of swagger that becomes rock-and-roll. Can’t get much better than that. What I particularly liked about this band was that their two guitarists had two quite distinct vocal styles. The bassist was more Clash. The guitarist was more Doors. Check out the two video and see if you kind of agree with me.
Johnny Bagga Donuts
Rattlesnake Highway
All the Garden Birds
Tom the Drum
Chicken Dippers
Best of Friends
Step Up for the Cool Cats
Last of the Summer Wine
We Found Love
14
Brand New Song
After Palma Violet’s set ended, I made a b-line to get as close as I could to the front for Modest Mouse . Apparently, everybody else had the same idea.
The crowd for Modest Mouse was a lot younger than I had expected. I remember buying their albums back in the mid 90’s, so I was taken aback that I was standing in a crowd of kids in their early 20s. It was super crowded, squeezed into space like a pack of sardines. The set started a little rough, but I think that had more to do with the sound levels not being mixed properly.
Isaac Brock, the lead singer, seemed banter with the crowd for small stretches, perhaps giving the mixing board more time to adjust the levels. Honestly, his banter felt awkward, but after it seemed to do the trick, as the sound definitely picked up. The highlight of the set was when Modest Mouse powered, and jammed, through three songs in row later in their set.
What I loved about Modest Mouse’s set was that it hit popular songs from almost all of the albums in their catalog. Loved that they played “3rd Planet” and “Paper Thin Walls” from “The Moon and Antarctica”.
Dramamine (Life Like Weeds Interpolation)
Ocean Breathes Salty
3rd Planet
Be Brave
Satin in a Coffin
Paper Thin Walls
King Rat
Cowboy Dan
The View
Float On
After Modest Mouse had finished their set, I decided that I would stay where I was and push further up towards the stage. After all, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were next, and since I had never seen them perform live, I decided not to venture to another stage. As people left, I kept meandering as far up as I could get, which was all the way up to the barricade that separated the general admission folk from the VIP folk. I had VIP last year through work, and bought a general admission ticket this year. I’m thinking that I may buy a VIP pass next year. I would have loved to get all the way up front for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
As I waited for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Main Stage screens lit up and a video started playing. Here we go again … Daft Punk music started playing and the Daft Punk helmet lit up the screen … with a message that the album was coming out soon. Then the video vanished. Are you serious? Like, seriously? If Coachella or Daft Punk was a girl, she’d be the most devilish tease that ever lived. At this point, I was kind of over it.
Back to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were my highlight from day one. As soon as Karen O took the stage with a gospel choir, in her white suit, cape and pope hat, to sing “Sacrilege”, I knew we were in for a treat. I sensed it was going to be a dazzling set, and dazzled it did from start to finish.
Karen O is a badass. Period. She rocked that fucking stage. Shoving the mic into her mouth to and going agro on “Pin” was amazing. Watching her strut her stuff all over the stage was the definition of “bad ass”.
She toned it down when she introduced “Maps”, as she should, and told us fans that the song was about love, and it was for us. “Maps” is seriously one of the best songs written in the 2000s, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs killed it for me.
Sacrilege
Rich
Under the Earth
Slave
Zero
Subway
Soft Shock
Pin
Gold Lion
Maps
Heads Will Roll
After the Yeah Yeah Yeahs wrapped up, I started to head over to the Outdoor Stage to see if I could catch any of the Band Of Horses set, unfortunately I got there a little too late as they were thanking the crowd. Before they dove into their last song, the lead singer simply stated, “Take care of each other”. I appreciated that sentiment.
My phone was running out of juice, so I started walking around the festival grounds to find a place to charge it. Last year, when I had a VIP pass, I could just charge my phone at an outlet in the VIP section. This year, however, outlets were a lot harder to come by. They had a “charging station” sponsored by Sony or Samsung or whatever, but the policy was that they took your phone and you came back an hour later to pick it up. Screw that. I went to one of the merchants at the General Store and politely offered 5 bucks to use one of their outlets. They had no problem with that.
After charging my phone, I was stuck with a bit of a dilemma. Jurassic 5 was playing the same time as Blur. I flipped a coin. The coin told me to go see Jurassic 5.
I loved Jurassic 5 back in the day. I do think they kind of jumped the shark a bit when they did that duet with Dave Matthews, but that’s a criticism for another time and place. The group disbanded in 2007, so them converging at Coachella was pretty big news for a Los Angeles, underground, hip-hop head like myself. With all four original MCs, and Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark working their magic, their set was “best of” compilation.
Back 4 U
I Am Somebody
Jayou
Nu-Mark Desk Solo
Hip-Hop History
Break
Monkey Bars
Improvise
Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark Solo
Quality Control
Concrete Schoolyard
Countdown
In the House
Freedom
King Tee
Red hot
A Day at the Races
What’s Golden
This Is (Outro)
I didn’t bother taking any pictures of video since I was far back in the crowd, but that was actually by design, as I new that I wanted to see the Stone Roses. As I left Jurassic 5’s set a little early, and headed towards the Main Stage for the Stone Roses, I noticed that the crowd that was there for Blur had substantially dissipated. I was quite shocked, in fact, that they only pulled a club size crowd for their set.
Me, being the optimist, assured myself that it was simply a generation of concert goers who didn’t know how the Stone Roses music, specifically their self titled debut album, had shaped the history of pop music. I mean come on … “I Wanna Be Adored”, “She Band The Drum”, I Am The Resurrection” …. That whole album was one of the first albums that fused dance, pop, and rock into a brand new sound. The Stone Roses were an indie rock band that shaped and fueled pop music in the 90’s.
But … as they started their set, and Ian Brown took the mic … my optimism turned into a bit of disappointment. It wasn’t as bad as the Shuggie Otis show at the Echoplex that I saw last year, but it was very sad. The band sounded good … The levels seemed all right … it was just that Ian Brown was extremely pitchy. Unfortunately, it was not a performance worthy of closing the Main Stage on the first night, and it seems that the Coachella Festival organizers agreed as Blur and the Stone Roses swapped slots the following weekend.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I got to see the Stone Roses Perform, and I’m glad I got to see them rock some of my favorite songs, but it wasn’t the best way to end the first day of Coachella.
I only caught a few songs from How to Destroy Angels as I wanted to give the Stone Roses another chance. As I walked by the Main Stage again, all I could hear was Ian Brown’s voice missing the notes that I remembered from the album. I decided at that point that I was going to pack it in, head back to the house, and get ready for day two.
All of my friends staying in the house had gotten back in one piece and we talked about the highlights, and lowlights, of the day. We even got treated to a story about a valentine Karen O wrote one of the guests back in high school. I bust out the bottle of cask strength Glenlivet that I had brought with me, and plopped myself onto the couch. The scotch numbed the pain in my aching feet, and with Day 2 was a few hours away, I started to mentally strategize which bands I was going to check out, hoping that each band would live up to expectations.
I woke up Saturday, late morning, and my feet were only slightly aching from the day before. I knew that they would be in some considerable pain later in the day, considering a full day of festival hopping was ahead. I hitched a ride to the festival grounds with some friends and decided to follow them around for a spell since the first band on my schedule that I hadn’t missed yet, Pusifer, wasn’t scheduled an hour or so. I got to the festival grounds too late for Allen Stone, but I had already seen him perform at the Fonda Theater last year, so I didn’t beat myself up about it.
My friend from the United Kingdom wanted to check out Ben Howard so we head to the Outside Stage to catch the set. Since Pucifer was up next on the same stage, I figured that this would be a perfect “set up” to get a good spot for Pucifer.
Ben Howard is an English singer-songwriter who’s had a bit off success across the pond. I was only really familiar with his single “Only Love”, and I told myself that I would listen to his set until “Only Love” then head over to the merchandise booth to make sure that I pick up some of the limited edition releases that were available. As it turns out “Only Love” was the second song in his set.
Oats in the Water
Only Love
The Wolves
Black Flies
The Burren
The Fear
I left my friends for a moment and headed to the Coachella merchandise booth. Photos of my treasure are below. Yes, I did open them up. What good is vinyl if you don’t get to listen to it? I was super content with my purchases. The Palma Violet’s album is autographed. To check out some of my other music treasure, click through this link. Thankfully, the record shop let me keep my merchandise behind their counter until the evening. Didn’t want those treasure to get damaged.
I met up with my friends to grab a beer before Puscifer. Puscifer is a side project of Maynard James Keenan (lead singer of Tool and A Perfect Circle). Though I liked certain songs by Tool and A Perfect Circle (more so A Perfect Circle than Tool) … that got a little confusing … I wanted to check them out because a dear friend of mine told me that girls in her pole dancing class … calm down fellas, you know people do it as a cardio exercise on the regular these days … use Puscifer songs as their music, so it piqued my curiosity. My friends and I pounded some beers and made our way to the stage. Fortunately for us, we got there early enough when was hardly any crowd. Near the front of the stage, we had a pretty damn good view of the stage.
I stood next to a couple that was my age and girl in her early 20s. Tool and A Perfect Circle have a pretty diverse fan base, so I wasn’t necessarily surprised by the age gap. After all, those two bands have won multiple Grammy Awards and have sold over Ten Million records together.
Puscifer did not disappoint. The band entered the stage from a silver trailer-cab sitting on stage and told introduced themselves to the audience to advising us that if we were drinking booze and doing drugs, that we needed salt and sugar and summarily started to throw out packs of Swedish Fish advertising their EP “Donkey Punch the Night” and Vagina Airlines peanuts. Gimmicky? Maybe. Bad-Ass? Definitely.
The music was nothing like the sounds of Tool or A Perfect Circle that I had expected. It wasn’t as dark or heavy as Tool or A Perfect Circle, but it was still as hard. Maynard James Keenan sounded like himself, meaning that he didn’t change his vocal delivery or style. If anything, Puscifer was actually sexy as f*ck. I now understood why girls used their music to “work out” to. Erotic chord progressions with pulsing rhythms. “Breathe” was uber sexy. Watching Puscifer perform would actually be the highlight of my Saturday. I enjoyed the band so much, that I actually wish that their set was scheduled for the evening. I think their set would be have been made 10 times more effective with good stage lighting.
A funny highlight of the set was when Maynard walked off stage to being on lounge chairs and a bottle wine. While the band riffed, he set the chairs up and uncorked the wine. From off-stage two gentlemen came on stage to sit on the stage on drink the wine. One of the gentlemen happened to be Giovanni Ribisi. Totally random. Totally rock and roll.
World Up My Ass (Circle Jerks cover)
Dozo
Toma
Dear Brother
Breathe
Balls to the Wall (Accept cover)
Conditions of My Parole
Man Overboard
Telling Ghosts
The Undertaker
Cuntry Boner (Electric Sheep cover)
Once Puscifer’s set had ended, I decided to check out the balance of The Violent Femmesset on the Main Stage. It had already started, but I was hoping that at some point they would sing the song that I used to hear on KROQ back, back, back in the day, “Blister in the Sun” . As it would turn out, the band played, for the first time ever, their self-titled debut album in its entirety, meaning that “Blister in the Sun” was the first song they played. Nutz. Apparently, they hadn’t played together in 6 years, but they still sounded tight. Of course, they ended with “American Music” and that was fine by me.
Blister in the Su
Kiss Off
Please Do Not Go
Add It Up
Confessions
Prove My Love
Promise
To the Kill
Gone Daddy Gone
Good Feeling
Gimme the Car
I Held Her in My Arms
American Music
A band that was on my list to check out was Grizzly Bear, so I left my friends and decided to head off on my own. I had a little time to kill, so I meandered passed some of the performance areas. Portugal the Man was playing, and I really wanted to check them out, but weighing the options of being in the back for Portugal the Man or up front for Grizzly Bear, I decided to go Grizzly Bear.
Major Lazer was wrapping up their set in the tent next to the tent where Grizzly Bear was to perform, and it was a mad house there. I got there 20 minutes early to catch their set and I could feel my feet starting ache. I decided to mark my territory by sitting down where I wanted to stand for the set. It would be my first time every listening to Grizzly Bear, and I have a feeling that it may be my last.
There’s nothing bad about them, but I think the expectations were just a bit too high. A friend of mine had compared them to Sufjan Stevens (and I’m a big Sufjan Stevens fan), so I think you kind of get the sense of what they were up against in my head. This is one of those instances where I wish I had listened to more of their music before deciding on watching their set. It wasn’t a bad set, and they didn’t sound bad or anything … it was just uneventful for me. So uneventful that I’m posting videos and their set list, and I’m not even sure what the songs sound like.
Maybe I’ll give them another go at some point… we’ll see.
Speak in Rounds
Adelma
Sleeping Ute
Yet Again
Knife
On A Neck, On A Spit
Ready, Able
While You Wait For The Others
Two Weeks
Half Gate
Sun In Your Eyes
If there was a band that got a lot of hype for Coachella this year it was The Postal Service. I like The Postal Service. I was looking forward to watch their set. Their only album “Give Up”was basically the best parts of Death Cab for Cutie and Rilo Kiley, and it’s my humble opinion that that album was better than any Death Cab album.
I met up with friends for the set, and was getting settled in, when two buff dudes in tank-tops, wearing sunglasses (at night, mind you), conveniently stood right in front of me. Ok. Big dudes in questionable attire in front of me? I can deal. Big dudes in questionable attire singing along with The Postal Service? I can bear it as long as they could sing in tune. Big dudes in questionable attire singing along with The Postal Service, not quite in tune, and talking in REALLY LOUD VOICES to each other when they weren’t singing along? Exit stage left. At least I got to hear from of their biggest hits before I left. Too bad I couldn’t enjoy the entire set. But, hey! That’s the music festival experience. You win some, you lose some. When you lose, you can just go to another stage and catch a different band. Whew.
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight
We Will Become Silhouettes
Sleeping In
Turn Around
Nothing Better
Clark Gable
This Place Is a Prison
A Tattered Line of String
Such Great Heights
Brand New Colony
My Favorite Picture of the Day
Next on my list was Franz Ferdinand. I remember seeing these guys at Coachella back in 2009. I remembered having a killer time watching them then, so I knew that this was going to be a slam dunk of a set. I was up close, stage left, and I could feel the adrenaline that was sucked from my body at Grizzly Bear and The Postal Service started to flow back in my veins. They played almost all of the old goodies, and I they threw in a few tracks from their upcoming album. If Puscifer was my favorite set of the evening, Franz Ferdinand was an extremely close second. I spent most the set jumping up and down, dancing and singing along. I was extremely pleased with deciding to leave The Postal Service to get a choice spot for Franz Ferdinand.
No You Girls
The Dark of the Matinée
Evil Eye
Do You Want To
Michael
The Blackpool Illuminati
Walk Away
Right Thoughts! Right Words! Right Action!
Take Me Out
Ulysses
What Time Is Can’t Stop Feeling I Feel Love (Can’t Stop Feeling With “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer & “What Time Is Love” by The KLF)
Outsiders (with Drum Jam outro)
Now that Franz Ferdinand was over, there was only one other band left of my list for the evening: Phoenix . I walked by Janelle Monae’s stage, and I like her music, but I had to find myself a decent place to watch Phoenix perform. After all … Daft Pu …. F*ck … I jinxed it, didn’t I?
I got there early enough to talk to some people standing next to me. Turns out Phoenix fans are a lot younger than I thought. This band started making some noise while I was in law school. I actually saw them perform for the first time in 2010 on the Outdoor Stage at Coachella. The kids I was standing to for the Phoenix set were 21. We talked about how old we were, and then I had a revelation that hit me in an awkward way. The girl I was talking to … she was in 3rd grade when 9/11 happened. Now, I’m of the firm belief that “age ain’t nothing but a number” … but that factual piece of information was a bit mind blowing for me. I was in my law schools basement lounge getting ready for a class when 9/11 happened.
Anyways …
Like me, they were “betting” that Daft Punk would make a surprise appearance. Nope. It didn’t happen. Instead, we got R. Kelly. From off stage we heard a voice singing the introduction to “Bump and Grind” when R. Kelly made a “dramatic” entrance to the stage. He then proceeded to perform an interesting mash-up of “Ignition (Remix)” to the music of “1901”, and though I found it quite interesting, it wasn’t the “surprise” I was hoping for. And honestly, it wasn’t the surprise that people around me were hoping for. I could definitely heard a few, “What?!?!” echoes around me.
I could tell that the balloon had popped a bit, but I still wasn’t all that disappointed. After all, I’m still a huge fan of Phoenix, and they still played a killer set. I there was one thing I’m bummed about, it’s that I couldn’t take a good picture of anything because I was standing too far away. C’est la vie.
Entertainment
Lasso
Lisztomania
Long Distance Call
Fences
The Real Thing
Sunskrupt! (a combination of “Love Like a Sunset” and “Bnkrupt!”)
Too Young / Girlfriend
Trying to Be Cool/ Drakkar Noir/ Chloroform
Armistice
1901
Bump and Grind/ Ignition (Remix)/1901/ I’m a Flirt/ Chloroform
Countdown
Rome
Entertainment
With the evening winding down, I met up with my friends, and we traveled back to our lodgings. We spent a better park of the late evening talking again about the highlights and lowlights of the day, when some random folk came through the door. They seemed like well-worn festival goers, clad in their eccentric garb. I really didn’t care to get to know them as I was extremely worn out. I popped in some ear plugs, and passed out on the couch. Day three of Coachella was just a few hours away.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Nina Diaz’s solo gig at Hotel Café. I’ve been a fan of the band that she fronts, 
I checked out some of the vendors and marveled at some of the tattoos getting done. I hopped into an Ink-N-Iron photobooth that was free (very cool!) and walked onto the boat to explore the Queen Mary. It was getting closer to 5:00pm, and since I was already inside the boat, I realized that my musical choice was made for me: Kaleigh Baker it was.
It was my buddy’s Steve’s birthday, so I invited him to join me for the show. He was coming from rehearsing for a gig (
#DKLPHOTOS 