Review – Page 7 – #DKLPHOTOS

Geographer | First City Festival | 8/24/14 [PHOTOS]

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

THE ACT: Geographer | Facebook | Twitter

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE:

THOUGHTS: The only scheduling conflict for the entire festival for me was between Geographer’s set and The Naked And Famous’ set. Geographer started at 7pm and TNAF started at 7:25, and being approved for a photo pass, I was instructed to be at the media tent 15 minutes prior to main stage acts taking the stage to be led into the main stage photo pit. I decided to gamble a bit. After all, was I going to miss catching a band that I was into? They use a freakin’ upright, electric bass! How cool is that? <- Yes, I’m a music nerd. Luckily, Geographer’s set started on time, and they started their set with the songs that got me into them to begin with. I pushed the time limit, and left their set at 7:20, running across the fairgrounds to get to the media tent right when TNAF was supposed to start. Apparently, the photographers had already been led into the pit, but the production manager was cool enough to take me into the pit even though I had missed my deadline. Thanks, Joan!

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

September 11, 2014September 11, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: brian ostreicher, concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, Concert Photos. Concert Photo, concert pic, concert pics, concert review, concert video, Concert videos, First City Fest, First City Fest 2014, First City Festival, First City Festival 2014, geographer, Live Music, mike deni, nathan blaz, photo, photos, pic, pictures, Review, set list, setlist, video Leave a comment

Lo-Fang | First City Festival | 8/24/14 [PHOTOS]

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

THE ACT: Lo-Fang | Facebook | Twitter

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE:

THOUGHTS: A few months ago, I was at a local record store, Origami Vinyl, shopping for new wax. On display were autographed copies of a new LP by an artist I hadn’t heard of before. It’s was Lo-Fang’s debut album “Blue Film” … and I opted not to purchase the disc. Noticing that he was scheduled to perform at First City, I decided to check his set out. After the first song, I regretted not purchasing the album. Matthew Hemeriein is Lo-Fang and his music is a soothing concoction of R&B and synth pop that is just about as seductive as music can get. A skilled multi-instrumentalist (violin and guitar) with a falsetto that that is steady and silky, in addition to the fact the the dude is, as one female photographer stated, “pretty damn good-looking” make his audience, largely female, swoon with every beat.

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

September 11, 2014September 11, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, Concert Photos. Concert Photo, concert pic, concert pics, concert review, concert video, Concert videos, First City Fest, First City Fest 2014, First City Festival, First City Festival 2014, Live Music, Matthew Hemerlein, Origami Vinyl, photo, photos, pic, pictures, Review, video Leave a comment

Future Islands | First City Festival | 8/24/14 [PHOTOS]

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

THE ACT: Future Islands | Facebook | Twitter

INSTAGRAM VIDEOS: CLICK HERE

SOUNDS LIKE:

THOUGHTS: To think that I almost missed out on seeing Future Islands perform at Coachella 2014. If it wasn’t for their lead singer, Sam Herring, convincing me to check them out, I would have missed out on music that I have perched high on my “best of the year” lists. When I found out they were performing at First City Festival, I urged all of my friends who were also attending to check them out. They, like me, were amazed by what they saw and heard. I think part of what makes Future Islands’ live performance so powerful to witness is the emotive stage presence of Mr. Herring. Every movement … every gesture … it all speaks to something, and it’s truly a revelation to witness. I suppose that why most of my shots of the band were of Sam. It really couldn’t be helped. I suppose that I should have bust out a wider angled lens to capture the entire band … hopefully, I’ll get a chance to do that in the future when they get back to Los Angeles for another gig.

Future Islands | First City Festival 2014

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

September 10, 2014September 10, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, Concert Photos. Concert Photo, concert pic, concert pics, concert review, concert video, Concert videos, Electronic Pop, First City Fest, First City Fest 2014, First City Festival, First City Festival 2014, Future Islands, Gerrit Welmers, indie pop, Live Music, Maryland, Midi Matilda, New Wave, photo, photos, pic, pictures, power pop, Review, Samuel Herring, set list, setlist, Synthesizer, synthpop, video, William Cashion Leave a comment

My Love Letter To First City Festival

Dear First City Festival,

I think I love you. Please don’t change.

I know we haven’t known each other very long. In fact … I only met you last week … but that one glorious weekend was all it took to make me want to get to know you better. Continue reading →

August 30, 2014January 27, 2015 by dklee13 Categories: Concerts, Opinion, Pictorials | VideosTags: Candid Photos, Festival Photos, First City Fest, First City Fest 2014, First City Festival, First City Festival 2014, Love Letter To First City Festival, photos, Review Leave a comment

The Record Company | Echo Park Rising | 8/17/14

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At Echo Park Rising, CLICK HERE.

THE ACT: The Record Company | Facebook | Twitter | Website

SOUNDS LIKE:

THOUGHTS: The Record Company. Seeing them perform at Echo Park Rising marks the 5th time I’ve seen them live the past year and a half. Needless to say, I’m a fan of their sound. You can read my thoughts about them here, and here, and here … and … here. A week after Echo Park Rising, I was at First City Festival when another photographer stopped to compliment The Record Company t-shirt I was wearing and agreed that they were a hell of a band. If you are a fan of blues rock, you should probably check them out.

To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At Echo Park Rising, CLICK HERE.

August 28, 2014August 28, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: alex stiff, blues, blues rock, chris voss, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert pics, Echo Park Rising, echoplex, feels so good, Marc Cazorla, photos, Pics Pictures, Review, rock and roll, the echoplex, The Record Company, video 2 Comments

The Zombies | Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | 8/21/14 [PHOTOS]

CLICK HERE to check out other acts performing a Twilight Concert at the Santa Monica Pier!

When I was approved to shoot The Zombies at the Santa Monica Pier, I was giddy. Being a supreme music dweeb, I was fully aware of their impact in popular music. Their sound basically redefined rock music.

I’d try to wax poetic about how amazingly (and truthfully, surprisingly) they performed on the summer eve, but Bob Lefsetz, a noted music writer, already wrote everything, and more, that I would have not so eloquently put pen to pad. CLICK HERE to read his stellar review.

The fact that two of the original members, Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent, both 69, are still in prime form was wonderful to witness. If you weren’t there, you missed out on a legendary performance, or legendary music, by legends. Your loss.

CLICK HERE to check out a collection of Instagram videos of some of the songs The Zombies performed at this concert.

CLICK HERE to check out other acts performing a Twilight Concert at the Santa Monica Pier!

August 27, 2014August 28, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: 30th Anniversary, classic rock, Colin Blunstone, concert, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, Concert Photos. Concert Photo, concert pic, Concert Preview, concert review, concert series, concert video, Free Concert, house music, Live Music, los angeles, Psych Rock, Psychadelic Music, Psychadelic Rock, Review, Rod Argent, santa monica, santa monica pier, set list, setlist, singer songwriter, Summer Concert, Summer Concert Series, Sydney, The Zombies, twilight concert, Twilight Concerts, video Leave a comment

Jagwar Ma | Twilight Concert | Santa Monica Pier | 8/7/14 [PHOTOS & REVIEW]

CLICK HERE to check out other acts performing a Twilight Concert at the Santa Monica Pier!

In conjunction with G’Day USA, the Twilight Concert series presented “Australia Rocks The Pier”.

The headliner for the evening was the killer Australian band Jagwar Ma. I first got to see them perform at Coachella, and after my time in the photo pit expired, I made it a point to keep up with their music because I was duly impressed.

When I found out that they were scheduled to perform at the Santa Monica Pier, I circled the date in my calendar. Seriously … I was pumped to see a full set. In fact, being a music dweeb, I even lugged my LP of “Howlin” (their debut album) to the pier on the off chance that I could get some of the fellas to sign it.

Their set was terrific. They basically played their entire album (excluding “Did You Have To” and “Backwards Berlin”), and even threw in a couple covers. I was especially impressed with their cover of Nirvana’s “All Apologies”. It was unexpected, but truly great to hear.

Follow Jagwar Ma on Facebook by CLICKING HERE

CLICK HERE to check out other acts performing a Twilight Concert at the Santa Monica Pier!

August 13, 2014August 13, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: 30th Anniversary, alternative rock, Australia, concert, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, Concert Photos. Concert Photo, concert pic, concert review, concert series, concert video, dance music, electronic, electronic music, Experimental Music, Free Concert, Gabriel Winterfield, house music, Jack Freeman, Jagwar Ma, JagwarMa, Jono Ma, Live Music, los angeles, Psychadelic Music, Review, santa monica, santa monica pier, set list, setlist, singer songwriter, Summer Concert, Summer Concert Series, Sydney, twilight concert, Twilight Concerts, video 1 Comment

Snarky Puppy | The Troubadour | 8/2/14 [PHOTOS]

Ever since Snarky Puppy beat my favorite neo-soul band of 2013, Hiatus Kaiyote for the Best R&B Performance Grammy this year, I had to look them up and figure out who they were.

I’ll admit … the first video clip supporting their release of “Family Dinner- Volume 1”. It was Lalah Hathaway singing a song titled “Something” … and she harmonized with herself… let me say that again … SHE HARMONIZED WITH HERSELF!!!

That video was mind blowing, and I’ll have to admit the music, separate from the mind-blowing vocal gymnastics performed by Lalah, was pretty damn good.

Based out of New York, the band is led by Michael League, a Grammy Award-winning bassist. It’s players are part of collective that features nearly 40 musicians. They affectionately refer to themselves as “The Farm” and for this evening, they had 9 of them play at The Troubadour.

With the 10 players cramped on the stage, their music, which is a fusion of jazz, rock and funk, was loud and funky. I won’t lie, though … if you were hoping for some vocalists to jump onto the stage to join them for a song or two, you would have been disappointed. It was an all instrumental set with only the audience singing along with the chants on a song … the name of which totally escapes me, but you can see the video below.

I’m not one to complain though. When you have that many talented musicians on stage, it’s easy for me to get lost in some robust, Grammy Award winning music.

August 12, 2014August 12, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: Bill Laurance, Bob Lanzetti, Chris Bullock, concert, concert photos, concert pics, Cory Henry, drums, Instrumental Rock, jazz, jazz fusion, jazz music, Jazz-funk, Justin Stanton, Keys, live, Michael League, Mike Maher, Nate Werth, nu jazz, Percussion, performance, progressive rock, Review, Robert "Sput" Searight, Ronald Bruner, saxophone, Shaun Martin, snarky puppy, soul, The Troubadour, trumpet, tweet, video Leave a comment

Nina Diaz | Alex’s Bar | 7/25/14 [PHOTOS]

One of my favorite female rock vocalists is Nina Diaz. Usually the front woman for the punk rock band Girl In A Coma, she’s decided to take a little hiatus from the band to record some music solo. The results are a set of music that is wrought with emotional expressions of melody that act as confessional. Continue reading →

July 28, 2014January 21, 2015 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: acoustic, alex's bar, concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert pic, concert pics, concert review, full set, girl in a coma, hotel cafe, inxs cover, live, mortician's musician, new music, nina diaz, nina diaz acoustic, nina diaz solo, Review, set list, setlist, solo performance, tear us apart, true blood Leave a comment

James Supercave | Twilight Concert Series | Santa Monica Pier | 7/10/14 [PHOTOS & REVIEW]

CLICK HERE to check out other acts performing a Twilight Concert at the Santa Monica Pier!

James Supercave is a five piece alternative rock band based out of Los Angeles. I made an effort to beat L.A. traffic to make it up to the pier in time to catch their set. After all, if KCRW’s Jason Bentley listed this band as on of the top “5 LA Musicians to watch in 2014”, I wanted to see/hear what the rave was all about.

Insofar as they’ve only release one EP, their setlist wasn’t too long, but each of their tunes provided an impressive punch. Their sound is hard to describe. Maybe a more pop inclined Modest Mouse that utilized more electronic elements? Maybe a sprinkle of The Flaming Lips?

Maybe its a disservice to try to compare them to another musical act. After all, they are a new band and still have room to develop and expand upon their sound. All I know is that I really enjoyed what I heard. The music was breezy and eclectic. A very appropriate sound to open a summer of music on the Santa Monica Pier.

CLICK HERE to check out a collection of Instagram videos of most, if not all, of the songs James Supercave performed at this concert.