Tag: set list

Falling In Reverse & Escape The Fate | The Wiltern | 1/15/14

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How do you get me to go to a show for a band that I know nothing about? Offer me a free ticket.

The buddy of mine who went to the Nine Inch Nails concert with me last year gave me a call and invited me to see a band that he enjoyed listening to named Falling In Reverse. The band’s name rang a bell, so I looked them up online and came across the name of their lead singer, Ronnie Radke. I vaguely recalled reading some article in a music trade magazine about him starting his career up again, but that was years ago. The more research I did, I found out that in 2011 Ronnie had been named one of Revolver Magazine’s “Greatest Living Rock Stars” and in 2012 was on the shortlist both Kerrang’s “50 Greatest Rock Stars in the World Today”, “Villain of the Year” and “Hero of the Year”. I also read about his work in Escape The Fate, his issues with drug addiction, the family tragedy he went through, and his incarceration. Yeah, I had to see this guy perform live.

My buddy and I got to The Wiltern in time to see Escape The Fate, now fronted by Craig Mabbitt. Truth be told, the set was a little bit of a let down. For the first half of the set, technical issues seemed to plague the Mabbitt’s  microphone as his vocals were hardly audible. It was a shame, as the band seemed on point and heavy. Truth be told though, it really didn’t seem to matter too much as a good portion of the crowd sang along with most of the songs. It was a set that could have been better, but I’ll chalk the deficiencies up to the sound problems.

Thankfully, the sound for Falling In Reverse was just fine.

The crowd’s energy was electric, and they were screaming and singing louder than they had for Escape The Fate.  The music was more “friendly” than that of Escape The Fate’s insofar as it felt and sound like Falling In Reverse’s music had more catchy pop-hooks. “Good Girls, Bad Guys”, “Bad Girls Club” and “The Drug In Me Is You” are all solid, fun songs that had me shaking my groove thing with the twenty somethings standing around me.

Ronnie Radke commanded the stage with his presence, using his seemingly boundless energy to stride across the stage throughout the evening. In between songs he would address the audience, revealing both his goofy and humble side; reflecting on the weight he has gained since his career started grabbing at his non-existent fat during the following song, and thanking the audience for hanging in there with him through his tough times and being there, at The Wiltern, for the evening. All the accolades he received that I read about online … yeah, I can see why he got them. He’s a terrific performer and he sounded good.

I’ll be honest with you, I probably wouldn’t have known about, or gone to see, Falling In Reverse without my buddy inviting me.  I’m still on the fence as to whether I’d buy their latest CD, but I’m leaning towards yes because it’s really fun guilty pleasure, rock and roll music that I wouldn’t mind having shuffled into my iTunes playlist while I’m driving around town now and again. But I know for sure that if my friend were to invite me to another of their gigs, I’d gladly go.

Falling In Reverse Setlist:

  1. Rolling Stone
  2. I’m Not a Vampire
  3. Fashionably Late
  4. Champion
  5. Sink or Swim
  6. Goodbye Graceful
  7. Bad Girls Club
  8. Born To Lead
  9. Self-Destruct Personality (new song)
  10. Good Girls, Bad Guys
  11. Tragic Magic
  12. Raised By Wolves
  13. Alone
  14. The Drug In Me Is You
  15. Not Good Enough For The Truth In Cliche (with Escape The Fate)
  16. Situations (with Escape The Fate)

 

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.

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Laura Mvula | The Orpheum Theatre | 10/31/13

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Earlier this year, I hit a little bit of a rough patch. It was one of those times when life just didn’t seem to go my way. My loving dog of 13 years, Samson, passed away while I was out of state, I was having some personal issues I was dealing with, and the icing on the proverbial cake was that a show I had planned on attending months in advance was rescheduled such that I couldn’t attend.

The show that I missed was Laura Mvula at the Bootleg Theater in April. If you’ve been following my blog this year, you probably saw my first post about her music back in January. I followed that post up with additional posts in February and March because I was so excited by her sophisticated sound. As fate would have it, Laura Mvula ended up scheduling another show in Los Angeles, which was a breathtaking performance at the El Rey Theatre in September. It appeared as if the music gods were throwing me a bone.

I had purchased tickets for Iron & Wine back in June, and at that time there was no opening act listed. It was almost an afterthought, since I had been wanting to see Iron & Wine live for years. About a week or two before the Halloween Eve concert, Laura Mvula posted on Facebook that she would be opening for Iron & Wine on a series of west coast dates. Needless to say, I was enthralled. At this point, I thought the music gods were serving me a t-bone.

I barely got there in time for the first song of her set. Watching her perform in the beautiful and historic Orpheum Theatre was truly a musical blessing. The fashionably late arriving Los Angeles crowd steadily filed in to their seats during her set, and I could only think to myself that they were fools to miss out on her glorious music. Their loss.

She bantered with the crowd and mentioned that her favorite song was “Let Me Fall” (which, ironically, wasn’t on her debut album)  and her second favorite song was “Flying Without You”. She performed a subdued version of “She” which sent shivers down my spine. After she sang the title track off her debut album, “Sing To The Moon”, and having heard that she had just recently lost out on the prestigious Mercury Prize, I yelled out from my seat, “You deserved the Mercury!”  She giggled and said, “That’s funny.” Really though … she should have won that award.

Though her set was obviously shorter than her concert at the El Rey, it was still filled with the deep musicality and unabashed emotion that makes her music so appealing to me. I eagerly anticipate her sophomore album, and the next time she’s back in the United States to perform for her fans.

Setlist (written down by me during her performance):

  1. “Like the Morning Dew”
  2. “Let Me Fall”
  3. “Flying Without You”
  4. “She”
  5. “Sing to the Moon”
  6. “Father father”
  7. “Green Garden”
  8. “That’s Alright”

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. To see the amazing pictures I took of her at the El Rey, please click here to see that blog entry (trust me, some of the pictures taken were amazing).

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Laura Mvula | El Rey Theatre | 9/17/13

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I remember the day I first heard Laura Mvula sing (January 18th, 2013) because I was so amazed by what I heard that I immediately posted a blog entry about it. I kept an eye (and ear) on her music and would post additional blog entries about some of her other songs (“That’s Alright” and “Jump Right Out”) because I was enthralled with her sound and excited about her debut album “Sing To The Moon”.

Laura Mvula’s music cannot be easily classified, as it is a sound that frankly defies stylistic categorization. As allmusic.com proffers, Laura’s music is “rooted in decades-old forms of gospel, jazz, R&B, and, most deeply, orchestral pop . Almost all of the material is as serious and as refined as it is majestic, with vocal showcases and hushed-belted-hushed-belted dynamics galore.” I agree with the assessment, and would even boil it down simply as classy and sophisticated, orchestral neo-soul music. Some seriously good, grown folk sounds for those who appreciate musicality and message in their music.

I was ecstatic when I found out that Laura was scheduled to perform April 16, 2013 at the Bootleg Theater, and I immediately snapped up tickets. As fate would have it, however, I was asked to speak at my Alma Mater that same week, and to my dismay, I had to give my tickets up. As a small consolation, I received my copy of Laura’s debut on vinyl (a UK export that has an amazing recording of Stevie Wonder’s “Something Out of The Blue”) and for the next few months listened to it whenever I needed to set my mind and soul at ease.

I received a notice (thank you social media!) that Laura was to do another round of touring in the United States with a stop in Los Angeles September 17th, and I agains purchased tickets to her show. This time, though, I made sure I had no conflicting appointments.

Laura’s show was simply amazing. Me and my friends were able to get up to the very front of the venue for the performance, and as fate would have it, Laura’s keyboard was basically in front of us, and thus we were privileged to have Laura performing no more than 5 yards from us for a majority of the show. I could see her every breath and read the emotions on her face with every lyric. It was a beautiful experience. A moving experience. During the most tender part of the concert, when Laura sang “Diamonds” and “Father, Father” back to back, you could feel the audience release a collective sigh following the last note of “Father, Father”. I did not have to look around to know that there were some  in the audience tearing up because … truth be told … I was busy dabbing the corners of my eye as well.

My anticipation for new music from her is at an all time high. My commitment to see her perform live again has been verified. An amazing concert by an amazing artist. Her performance at the El Rey has a spot in my top 10 concert performances of the year. Nuff’ said.

Setlist:

  1. Like The Morning Dew
  2. Let Me Fall (not in the album)
  3. Flying Without You
  4. She
  5. Is There Anybody Out There?/ One Love (Bob Marley& The Wailers cover)
  6. Sing to the Moon
  7. Diamonds
  8. Father, Father
  9. Green Garden
  10. That’s Alright
  11. Make Me Lovely (Encore)
Laura Mvula at the El Rey Theatre 9/17/13
Laura Mvula at the El Rey Theatre 9/17/13
Laura Mvula at the El Rey Theatre 9/17/13
Laura Mvula at the El Rey Theatre 9/17/13
Laura Mvula at the El Rey Theatre 9/17/13
Laura Mvula at the El Rey Theatre 9/17/13
Laura Mvula at the El Rey Theatre 9/17/13
Laura Mvula at the El Rey Theatre 9/17/13
Laura Mvula at the El Rey Theatre 9/17/13
Laura Mvula at the El Rey Theatre 9/17/13
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Girl in a Coma | The Echoplex | September 12, 2013

Girl in a Coma at the Echoplex.
Girl in a Coma at the Echoplex.

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 mercy.
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:

  1. Say
  2. One Eyed Fool
  3. Control
  4. Adjust
  5. Slaughter Ln
  6. Si Una Vez
  7. She Had A Plan
  8. Ven Cerca
  9. El Monte
  10. Sly
  11. Smart
  12. Little Red Riding Hood (cover of Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs version)
  13. Here is Now
  14. Invisible
  15. Encore: Their Cell (acoustic)
GIAC
Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13
Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13
Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13
Girl in a Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13.
Girl in a Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13.
Nina Diaz of Girl in a Comat at the Echoplex 9/12/13
Nina Diaz of Girl in a Comat at the Echoplex 9/12/13
Nina 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 of Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13
Jenn Alva of Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13
Nina and Phanie Diaz of Girl In A Coma at the Echoplex 9/12/13
Nina and Phanie 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.
Nina 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.
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 9/12/13
Jenn Alva Girl In A Coma hanging with fans after their at the Echoplex 9/12/13
Phanie 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 9/12/13
Phanie 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 9/12/13
Me and the gals of Girl in a Coma after their set at the Echoplex 9/12/13
Me and the gals of Girl in a Coma after their set at the Echoplex 9/12/13
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Yeah Yeah Yeahs | FYF Festival | August 24, 2013

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

Karen O's mic.
Karen O’s mic.

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

I got the set list from setlist.fm.

  1. Mosquito
  2. Phenomena
  3. Under the Earth
  4. Rich
  5. Gold Lion (We Will Rock You  Intro)
  6. Zero
  7. Cheated Hearts
  8. Runaway
  9. Despair
  10. Sacrilege
  11. Heads Will Roll
  12. Maps
  13. Date With the Night
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
My favorite pic that I took of Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
My favorite pic that I took of Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Confetti released towards the end of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs set.
Confetti released towards the end of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs set.
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TV On The Radio | FYF Festival | August 24, 2013

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

Tunde Adepimpe of TV on the Radio.
Tunde Adepimpe of TV on the Radio.

TV on the Radio is a critically acclaimed, Brooklyn based rock group which formed in 2001. I’ll be honest with you, I wasn’t too familiar with the band’s repertoire.  It probably has something to do with the fact that their first album came out while I was in law school. I was pretty much out touch with everything for those three years of my life.

Playing catch up before the festival, I spent time with their 4th studio album “Dear Science” and watched some of the videos (“Wolf Like Me” and “Will Do”) that popped up on the top of the list when I googled them. It was hard rocking, complex music. It’s very hard to describe. Their music is an amalgam of styles that seems to mesh together seamlessly. Having worked with members of Yeah Yeah Yeahs on other projects, it was actually quite fitting to have them in the slot right before YYYs.

Their crowd at the FYF Festival was impressive and they played a confident set of songs, old and new. They’ve released five albums and five Eps. I’m going to have to do some more listening and pick up some of their albums. Any suggestions?

Set list sourced from setlist.fm:

  1. Young Liars
  2. Golden Age
  3. Dancing Choose
  4. Blues From Down Here
  5. Million Miles
  6. Mercy
  7. Repetition
  8. Wolf Like Me
  9. Forgotten
  10. Starting at the Sun
Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio.
Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio.
Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio.
Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio.
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Deerhunter | FYF Festival | August 24, 2013

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

Leaving The Locust, I headed back  to the main stage to meet up with some friends and to get a good spot for both TV on the Radio and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Performing on the main stage, as I was walking toward it, was an experimental noise rock band from Atlanta, Georgia: Deerhunter.

Brandford Cox of Deerhunter at FYF Fest 2013
Brandford Cox of Deerhunter at FYF Fest 2013

I wasn’t familiar with the band, but from where I was, and what I could hear, it came off pretty good. I’ll have to admit, I was a little thrown off as I thought the lead singer was a woman. After all, he was wearing a dress and a wig, and his voice was kinda Yoko Ono-ish. It was more shocking than anything when he tore off the wig half way into the set, and for a minute there I was lost in my own confusion.

Though I arrived midway through their set, I could tell that the music hit on elements of alternative, punk and  shoe gazing. I was starting to get into it by the time their set came to a close, but before I knew it, Bradford Cox (the lead singer) put his wig back on, picked up a purse from the ground, and walked off stage.

The set list from setlist.fm:

  1. Cover Me (Slowly)
  2. Agoraphobia
  3. Neon Junkyard
  4. Don’t Cry
  5. Rivival
  6. Desire Lines
  7. Blue Agent
  8. Rainwater Cassette Exchange
  9. Nothing Ever Happened
  10. Sleepwalking
  11. Back to the Middle
  12. Monomania
Brandford Cox of Deerhunter at FYF Fest 2013
Brandford Cox of Deerhunter at FYF Fest 2013
Brandford Cox of Deerhunter at FYF Fest 2013 shredding behind the back.
Brandford Cox of Deerhunter at FYF Fest 2013 shredding behind the back.
Brandford Cox of Deerhunter at FYF Fest 2013
Brandford Cox of Deerhunter at FYF Fest 2013
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The Breeders | FYF Festival | August 24, 2013

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

Kelley Deal of The Breeders
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.

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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.

Setlist (pulled from setlistfm.com):

  1. Shocker In Gloomtown (Guided by Voices cover)
  2. New Year
  3. Cannonball
  4. Invisible Man
  5. No Aloha
  6. Roi
  7. Do You Love Me Now?
  8. Flipside
  9. I Just Wanna Get Along
  10. Mad Lucas
  11. Divine Hammer
  12. S.O.S.
  13. Hag
  14. Saints (with Bradford Cox)
  15. Drivin’ on 9 (Ed Redeeming Qualities cover)
  16. Roi (Reprise)
  17. Fortunately Gone
Josephine Wigg of The Breeders
Josephine Wigg of The Breeders
Kim Deal of The Breeders
Kelley Deal of The Breeders
Kim Deal of The Breeders
Kim Deal of The Breeders
The Keyboardist for The Breeders
The Keyboardist for The Breeders
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Kim Deal of The Breeders
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Kelley Deal of The Breeders

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The National | Jimmy Kimmel Live | August 12, 2013

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The National has been around for a while, since the late 90s, releasing the first full length album in 2001, but I really didn’t start listening to them until their album “Boxer” (which is still my favorite The National album), which was released in 2007. Since then, I’ve been high on their music and their melodramatic, punk, indie rock sound. They released “Trouble Will Find Me” in 2013, and I was really hoping to get tickets to see them perform live, having heard that it was a great show to catch. I knew that they were schedule to perform two concerts in Los Angeles, at The Greek and the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, but as fate would have it tickets had sold out before I had the chance to purchase them. Scouring the web for tickets through sites like Stubhub and Barry Tickets, tickets, even for the nosebleed seats, were in the triple digits, and a little more that I wanted to spend.

Fast forward to the Saturday eve they were playing at The Greek, I was having drinks at my watering hole, when a couple sitting next to me starting talking about the tickets they had for the Sunday show at the cemetery. I was about to lament about the fact that I didn’t get tickets, when a friend of mine, who I have been having drinks with for years at the bar, mentioned that The National was the featured artist for Jimmy Kimmel Live, August 12, and would be performing a mini-concert as part of Jimmy Kimmel’s summer concert series.

I jokingly asked if he could sneak me in, and to my surprise he said that he worked on set for the late night talk show, and offered that if I wanted to go, even though tickets were no longer available, he would sneak me in for the concert. How ironic that after 10 years of seeing him, and having drinking with him, in the bar I only now discovered what he did for a living… I took him up on the offer.

Having negotiating a $20 parking fee to $10 in Hollywood, I walked over to the alley he told me that he would meet me at. Without having to go through security, he led me to the concert area and left me to devices. Unaware that I wasn’t allowed to bring a camera into the concert area, I was able to take a few pictures with my camera before security told me to put it away.

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The National played 5 songs, but at the end of the day, it was better than never having seen them at all. Looking at the set lists for their shows at the Greek and Hollywood Forever, I was still envious that I wasn’t able to get those tickets, but beggars can’t be choosers, and I was extremely grateful that I have friends willing to hook me up every once and a while. The set list for Jimmy Kimmel was as follows:

  1. Graceless
  2. This is the Last Time
  3. Don’t Swallow The Cap
  4. Sea Of Love
  5. Pink Rabbits

 

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Savages | El Rey Theatre | July 23, 2013

Savages | El Rey 2013

I wanted to catch Savages‘ set at Coachella in 2013. From what little I knew about them at the time, they were an all-female, loud, punk band based out of the United Kingdom. They didn’t have a lot of music out, but from what I was able to hear and watch online, they definitely piqued my curiosity. As fate would have it, I wasn’t able to get to the festival grounds in time and they became one of the many bands that I had to add to the list of band casualties.

But as fate would also have it, a few months later, a buddy of mine emailed me letting me know he had a couple of extra tickets to catch them at the El Rey, July 23, 2013. By that time, tickets for both of their shows had already sold out, so I jumped at the opportunity.

When I got to the venue, the opening act was already onstage performing: Johnny Hostile. Johnny Hostile is a co-founder, along with Savages lead singer Jehnny Beth, of Pop Noire Records and one of the producers of of Savages’ debut album Silence Yourself.

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Alone on stage, accompanied for the most part only by a drum machine and guitar pedals, he set the mood right for what was to come. His music was moody, ethereal and heavy. Part synth-pop and part punk, with industrial drums. His set was accented with special appearances by Gemma Thompson (Savages’ guitarist) and Jehnny Beth for various songs. It was truly a perfect appetizer to the main entree of Savages. I ended up purchasing his 7” single that was for sale, and even got him to autograph it after the show. I would have taken a picture of it, but I can’t find it at the moment as it’s lost in my vinyl stack that need to be organized (and listened to).

Dressed in their trademark all black, Savages took the stage to a rousing and wild applause. I was up front about three rows from the stage. I kept my fingers crossed that a crazy mosh pit wouldn’t ensue like the last concert at the El Rey I attended, but as fate would have it, they played their most popular, and aggressive songs first. Yup, there was a mosh pit. I really wanted to get some video of “City’s Full” and “Shut Up”, but I wasn’t going to take a chance at having my camera knocked out of my hand.

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Savages are about as intense as a band can get. Jehnny Beth sets the mood with her deep stare that almost makes you nervous to watch her. It’s a threatening stare that intimidates and fits the music that the band creates. Her stage presence is almost menacing, but that only adds to the effectiveness of the show.  Ayse Hassan was steady on bass, and Fay Milton was relentless on drums, but I was particularly impressed with the playing of Gemma Thompson. Gemma Thompson was absorbed in her guitar play, creating her own “wall of sound”. Amazing.

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DSC02214Drenched in sweat after the fourth song, I had to leave the front to get some air and dry off. As I pushed my way through the crowd, I noticed that Jehnny was wearing pink pumps. With their all-black apparel, the brightness of the shoes caught me a little off guard but at the same time screamed “punk”. Yup, I had to take a picture of her shoes. I do not have a shoe fetish.

With only one album under their belt, their set was relatively short, but powerful. The set list for the show was a follows:

  1. City’s Full
  2. I Am Here
  3. Shut Up
  4. Give Me A Gun
  5. Strife
  6. Waiting for a Sign
  7. Flying to Berlin
  8. No Face
  9. She Will
  10. Hit Me
  11. Husbands
  12. Fuckers (new song)

When the set ended, I met up with my friend and we both shared our excitement for the show we just witnessed. I hung out front for a minute in case any of the players from the evening popped out to greet fans, and lucky enough I was able to get Johnny Hostile, Gemma Thompson, and Jehnny Beth to sign their respective vinyl releases. I was able to get a picture with Gemma, but was thwarted in my efforts to get a picture with Jehnny as another fan scared her away. I swear that Gemma was all smiles before the picture was taken. Savages sure do take their image very seriously.

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I had a brief conversation with Johnny Hostile and I noticed that he had an accent. Slightly confused as I thought the band was UK based, he explained that both he and Jehnny were originally from France. Having studied French growing up, and never having the opportunity to use it, I started a conversation in my broken French and concluded the conversation by saying that Gemma was “tres jolie”. He told me that he would tell her that. Please do, Johnny. Please do.

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