A band is, literally, a living breathing entity. Nowadays, rare is a band that sticks with each other for the long haul. Guns N Roses, Oasis, The Police, Smashing Pumpkins, the list goes on. A band keep on performing with eh same the name, but when the faces change, it often times makes it difficult to maintain the same level affection that curried the initial musical infatuation.
Earlier this year, a friend of mine, and a talented musician, Steve Miller a/k/a “Steville” was asked to play with the band The Secret State. The band seems to have a loyal following (over 400K likes on Facebook), but has in the past year (based on my understanding) undergone a pretty significant personnel overhaul. The band was back in Los Angeles after touring a bit domestically, and set up a semi-acoustic gig at Loaded Hollywood. Knowing how kick-ass my friend, and his music, is, I knew that it was going to be good show.
The Secret State, normally a 6 person, electric band, was paired down to 4 (two acoustic guitars, vocalist and DJ). Their set was short, but impressive. Their original songs were catchy and the arrangements of the two covers they performed (Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done” and Seal’s “Crazy”) were solid. It was an acoustic performance, so it wasn’t as “hard” as they normally are, but it gave me a chance to hear the fine guitar work of my buddy and Joshua Jones.
I liked what I heard. For some reason when I was watching them perform live, I thought to myself that maybe they were a mix of Incubus and Tool with a splash of Filter. Again, it was an acoustic gig, so I may be way off. Check out the video below to make your own comparison. The dude singing lead for the gig, Michael, a recent addition, was a solid vocalist, but from what I’ve heard through the grapevine, it sounds as if the band decided to go in a different direction. C’est la vie d’une bande.
Unfortunately, the Flickr slideshow below is not currently available on mobile devices. If you are on a mobile device, please click THIS LINK to get redirected to the set of photos.
Every year, since 1999, the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro holds a Lobster Festival where families can enjoy mouth watering, freshly cooked Lobster, in a carnival like setting, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I’ve been before, but when I did, I went for the food, and not the entertainment. Not this year. When I saw that Dead Sara was slated to headline the Saturday evening entertainment, I decided that I would head out to San Pedro, eat some lobster, check out some new music, and watch one of the hardest rocking, female fronted bands in music today crush it.
Click through the name of the act below to read my thought, see some pictures and watch some video:
Deap Vally is a Los Angeles based rock band consisting of Lindsey Troy (guitar and vocals) and Julie Edwards (drums and vocals). From what has been written about them, the two met at a crochet class. Their music, however, is anything but pedestrian. Following the path that the The White Stripes and The Black Keys blazed, Deap Vally’s sound is a mix of hard rock and blues … only they do it a little sexier.
Dressed in halter tops and short jean shorts, they took the stage to even more drunken cat calls than the female in the prior act was subject to. The two girls, visually speaking, at least from my vantage point, couldn’t have been more different. Lindsey was petit and blond. Julie was tall and redheaded. They both looked rock and roll, and they proved it. The cat calls stopped as soon as they started playing.
Deap Vally’s setlis.
Raw and gritty, loud and grimy, and filled with attitude, while watching the rocking duo perform, it was hard for me to not oogle. I was particularly fixated on the drummer. With her curly red hair thrashing around her set, and her long leg stomping the high hat, I’ll have to say that a dirty thought may have crossed my mind here and there.
Some may say that Deap Vally’s style of music may have already been done, but that didn’t seem to bother their fans, who made sure that they told all “newbies” before the set that the band was really good.
I liked their set and wouldn’t mind catching them play a smaller, more intimate gig in Los Angeles.
Girl In A Coma. I love this band. Since I first saw them featured on an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly back in November of 2011 , I’ve seen this San Antonio, TX based Indie Rock band, or their lead singer, perform live four times . This year I saw the group perform at the Ink-N-Iron Festival and their lead singer, Nina Diaz, perform a solo set at the Hotel Café the day after. Their performance at the Echoplex on September 12, 2013 makes the cumulative number of times I’ve seen them perform live five.
I got to the venue early enough to catch the girls hanging out and spent a few minutes chatting with Phanie (the drummer). She told me about the band’s plans to start recording tracks for their next album after they wrap up their current tour and our mutual, and random (she’s the only friend of mine on Facebook who “likes” them), interest in the indie rock band, Screaming Females.
There was a lot going on in Los Angeles on September 12, 2013 (ie. Pixies playing the El Rey, Dave Stewart & Friends at the Troubadour, Jimmy Cliff’s free concert on the Santa Monica Pier, and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon playing in her new band Body/Head right upstairs in the Echo, etc.) but GIAC’s dedicated fans still showed up in numbers. I met up with another die-hard GIAC fan (who brought his daughter to the show) and he pointed out a fan who was in the military and was to ship out the next day to the middle east. GIAC’s fan loyalty has no bounds.
The girls rocked their set. Rather than go on in this entry about how awesome their performance was (which I’ve written about before here and here), just know that they deliver live, and if you are into their music, you will not be disappointed with their live show.
My autographed LP amongst the band’s merchandise.
After they finished their set, I lingered a bit to get them to sign my 2013 Record Store Day, limited edition, blue vinyl copy of their first album “Both Before I’m Gone”. Apparently, I must have been the last person who left the venue since the valet mysteriously disappeared with my keys. While waiting for my keys, I waited outside while the girls were loading up their van. Being as cool as they are, and after I had retrieved my keys, they snapped a picture with me before I took off.
Girl in a Coma are performing throughout the west and midwest through November. Follow them on Facebook or Twitter to know when they are in your neck of the woods. In the meantime, you can check out the pictures and video highlights I took at the gig I went to. Unfortunately, from where I was standing I couldn’t get many decent shots of Jenn (bassist) or Phanie performing, but I doubt people are going to mind the excess number of pictures of Nina. Enjoy!
Setlist, as provided by the drummer, Phanie Diaz:
Say
One Eyed Fool
Control
Adjust
Slaughter Ln
Si Una Vez
She Had A Plan
Ven Cerca
El Monte
Sly
Smart
Little Red Riding Hood (cover of Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs version)
Here is Now
Invisible
Encore: Their Cell (acoustic)
Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13Girl in a Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13.Nina Diaz of Girl in a Comat at the Echoplex 9/12/13Nina Diaz of Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13Jenn Alva of Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13Nina and Phanie Diaz of Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13Nina Diaz of Girl in a Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13.Nina Diaz of Girl in a Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13.Jenn Alva Girl In A Coma hanging with fans after their at the Echoplex 9/12/13Phanie Diaz of Girl In A Coma autographing a fan’s LP (FYI, this fan used to drum for the Beastie Boys back in the day) after their at the Echoplex 9/12/13Me and the gals of Girl in a Coma after their set at the Echoplex 9/12/13
To check out pictures of other bands I was able to catch at the festival, CLICK HERE.
Kim Deal of The Breeders
Since I was already up at the front of the stage for Charles Bradley, I decided to stay put for the next band to grace the main stage: The Breeders. The Breeders were very popular during my high school days in the early 90s, but truth be told, during that time my alternative rock tastes leaned more toward Nirvana , Nine Inch Nails and Pearl Jam. Don’t get me wrong, I liked The Breeders’ music a lot, I mean who can resist their hit “Cannonball”, but I think adolescent guys being adolescent guys, I was a little hesitant to hold a torch for a band that my younger sister was really into.
Knowing that the band would be playing their second album, “Last Splash”, in its entirety (which album, by the way, is celebrating its 20 anniversary, and was reissued as a “deluxe edition”, this year …. Yowza!!!), I was looking foward to hearing “Cannonball”, which I knew was the second track on the album. Because I wanted to also check out another artist whose set overlapped with The Breeders, I planned on catching at least half of their set before maneuvering away from the crowd … And a big crowd it was.
The massive crowd for The Breeders
Their fans came out in droves and cheered like mad when they took the stage to set up their equipment. The album’s original lineup was on stage: vocalists/guitarists Kim and Kelley Deal, bassist Josephine Wiggs and Drummer Jim MacPherson. There was an additional band member on stage, but I didn’t recognize who she was. I couldn’t get any photos of Jim MacPherson since I didn’t have a good angle.
Without greeting the crowd, they opened with a Guided by Voices cover of “Shocker In Gloomtown”. Afterwards, Kim Deal greeted the massive crowd and expressed the band’s gratitude for being able to perform at the festival, and with that they jumped into playing “Last Splash”. They played the album in order, so I got to hear “Cannonball”. I didn’t get to hear their other big singles (“Saints” and “Divine Hammer”), as I left after about 4 or 5 more songs, but I got what I needed to satisfy my music craving. I made a note that I was amused with how in between songs Kelley or Kim would gleefully point out that they were using some of the same musical instruments that were used for the original recordings. If that isn’t being faithful to the original album, I don’t know what it is. As I left my spot from the front of the stage, the girls behind me squealed with delight beholding their newly, unobstructed view.
As I was walking to the next band on my list, I swear could hear The Breeders sing the lyrics “Come back to me right now”. I kept walking, but I did stop to pause for a second to think about it.
Josephine Wigg of The BreedersKelley Deal of The BreedersKim Deal of The BreedersThe Keyboardist for The BreedersKim Deal of The BreedersKelley Deal of The Breeders
For the past 29 years, the Santa Monica Pier has been hosting amazing free concerts during the summer season. The line up for this year’s Twilight Concert Series is particularly outstanding. From Meshell Ngegeocello and the Record Company to Jimmy Cliff to Trombone Shorty, it would simply be a shame if you lived in the area and didn’t make it out to at least one of the free shows. The first show I was able to attend this summer was Hanni El Khatib.
Bombino’s music is proof that music, regardless of genre, is universal. Bombino’s music is steeped with the native rhythms of his homeland. Over the years, Bombino has worked with and been influenced by a number of tremendous musicians like Keith Richards and Charlie Watts. Most recently, he travelled to Nashville to record an album under the production eye of The Black Key’s Dan Auerbach, “Nomad”. With his native rhythms meshing seamlessly with deep south, blues rock, Bombino has become, relatively quickly, the talk of the “blues rock” town. Call it what you want- rock and roll, worldbeat, afro-pop, desert blues, blues rock- it’s still good music. Though I wish I could have understood all of the lyrics sung, the music, in and of itself, was trance like and intoxicating. Bombino was certainly the perfect appetizer for the edgier blues rock that would follow.
The crowd had swelled to what seemed to be maximum capacity by the time Hanni El Khatib took the stage. He had just come back from touring internationally, so I was expecting a polished set and sound, and I was not disappointed. It was a raucous, rock and roll set that had the audience moving to the music, singing along with all of the popular songs. I didn’t know the name of every dong of the entire set, but I remember that Hanni performed “Nobody Move”, “Low”, “You Rascal You”, “Loved One”, “Penny”, “Fuck It You Win” and a new song I think is titled “Dangerous” or “Dangerous To Love” (which is the last snippet on the video clip below). He even covered a Cramps song, the name of which I can’t recall at the moment. A terrific set and worth the commute and $2 I paid for parking.
Hanni El Khatib is starting up a national tour supporting his latest album, “Head In The Dirt”, also produced by Dan Auerbach. I joked with friends afterwards while hanging out at Chez Jays (a dive bar which I just found out is a designated Santa Monica historic landmark and a perfect place to grab a beer after a blues concert) that the concert could have been dubbed “Dan Auerbach presents Blues at the Beach”. I’m planning on attending his upcoming gig in October at the El Rey, and if The Black Keys and blues rock is your thing, I highly recommend getting a ticket to check Hanni shred the stage.
Follow Hanni El Khatib on Facebook or follow him on Twitter for updates so you can catch him in action when he’s in your neck of the woods.
These 12-14 year olds are in a band called Breaking27, and they give me hope in the future of rock-and-roll. I’ve only seen this video, but it’s enough for me to proclaim that I’d actually pay a cover to see these kids play … covers. Let’s hope they keep it up. In my opinion, the skies the limit.
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 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.
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 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.
#DKLPHOTOS 