Benvenue @ The Joint This Friday April 2nd!

If I wasn't gonna be in San Diego Friday night, I'd definitely go to The Joint. If YOU aren't gonna be in San Diego Friday night, GO TO THE JOINT!

Phish Fest 8 in 3D!!!

I can't wait to relive one of the best weekends ever!

Modern Drift by Efterklang

The Muddy Reds THIS FRIDAY @ Cock N Bull in Santa Monica

Hike up your skirts, throw on your dancin' shoes & boogie on over to Cock N Bull this Friday night!

The Muddy Reds @ El Cid on Sunset Boulevard - 3/23/10

ODDSAC Screening @ The ArcLight in Hollywood - 3/22/10

Last night, while I was sitting inside the Hollywood ArcLight’s Cinerama Dome waiting for ODDSAC (the new visual album by Animal Collective & director Danny Perez) to begin, I laughed when I overheard one usher say to another usher, “This is a weird event, man.” I couldn't have put it better myself.

I went into the screening of ODDSAC with no idea what to expect & the great thing about that is, if you don't really know what to expect, you can never be too disappointed. Luckily, I was far from disappointed. ODDSAC blew my mind! Animal Collective's unique & original music combined with Danny Perez's super intense imagery made me feel as though I was hypnotized for 54 minutes.

After the film, Danny Perez & 3 of the 4 members of Animal Collective (Noah Lennox a.k.a. Panda Bear was the only one missing) conducted a 20 minute Q&A session that was extremely interesting. It was really cool hearing the artists go into detail about how this psychdelic visual album came to be. Sometimes the music came before the imagery &, other times, the imagery came before the music. It took 4 years for Perez & Animal Collective to finish making ODDSAC. They say the name of the movie stemmed from a joke they had about an oddly shaped sack of candy but they also just liked how the 6 letters looked together all in caps so, if you're searching for a deeper meaning in the title, you're probably not going to find it.

On my way out of the ArcLight, I managed to run up to Animal Collective & say hello to Brian Weitz a.k.a. Geologist. I told him I've seen Animal Collective live twice & can't wait to see them again. I also gave him one of my blog business cards & let him know I'd be blogging about how much I loved the movie. I'm sure he'll check it out :-)

I can't guarantee that everyone who sees ODDSAC will enjoy it as much as I did but, if you like Animal Collective &/or you're just open to weird, new things, it's definitely worth watching.

http://www.oddsac.com/

Venice Beach Drum Circle - 3/21/10

Just hippies being hippies...

The 1st Single Off the New Black Keys Album! YAY!

TIGHTEN UP

The Ecstatic by Mos Def

Mos Def is one of my all-time favorite hip hop artists & here are 2 of my favorite tracks from his latest album The Ecstatic:

1 - Auditorium featuring Slick Rick (produced by Madlib)

2 - Quiet Dog Bite Hard

The Ghost Inside by Broken Bells

3D laser light show on top of a Downtown Los Angeles Rooftop on March 4th 2010. I wasn't at this event but sure wish I had been! I've got a big thing for the new Broken Bells album & an even bigger thing for lasers.

The Muddy Reds @ Skinny's Lounge in North Hollywood - 3/17/10

$3 cover + $2 green beers + $5 Irish car bombs + 5 Muddy Reds = An unreasonably affordable & fun St. Patrick's Day celebration

The Pointer Sisters @ The Center for the Performing Arts in San Jose - 3/13/10

After spending the entire weekend of March 6th singing along to multiple Huey Lewis & The News albums in anticipation of Huey's performance at the 44th Annual Golden Circle black tie charity event in San Jose, my father Frank & I were probably the two most disappointed people to learn that Huey canceled his show (due to "illness") only 48 short hours before the event was set to begin.

I grew up on Huey Lewis' music. My dad has been a huge Huey fan for as long as I can remember. Huey's music was always what we listened to together when we had to compromise between my desire to listen to Paula Abdul & my dad's desire to listen to baseball games on the radio. Huey's hits included such classic tracks as The Power of Love, Hip to Be Square, The Heart of Rock 'N Roll, I Want a New Drug & Workin' for a Livin'. I have always loved Huey Lewis but now I love him a little bit less. It was NOT cool to bail on Golden Circle &, even more importantly, it was not cool to bail on my dad.

Santa Clara University's Board of Fellows hosts the annual Golden Circle fundraiser every year &, this year, my father was President of the Board. He was looking forward to March 13, 2010 for almost 2 years & I could not wait to be a part of my dad's big night. It made me extremely proud to witness my father giving the opening speech at the Center for the Performing Arts in front of a crowd of over 1900 people. I've been to many Golden Circle events over the years & never have a seen such an unforgettable start to the evening:

Fortunately, no one was about to let Huey Lewis' flakiness ruin our fabulous evening &, luckily for all the Golden Circle attendees, the beautiful & talented Pointer Sisters were willing to step up to the plate & fill in for Huey at the very last minute. The Pointer Sisters were fun, energetic & oozing charisma on stage. After an awesome rendition of I'm So Excited, the Sisters even managed to get the generally "stiff" older Golden Circle crowd on their feet dancing & singing along to Jump (for My Love).

In the end, I think the Golden Circle crowd enjoyed watching the three healthy Pointer Sisters tear up the stage while belting out all of their unforgettable tunes far more than they would have enjoyed watching a sickly Huey Lewis do a half-ass job all by himself. I know I sure did!

Even Sal Pizarro of the San Jose Mercury News agrees: http://www.mercurynews.com/columns/ci_14679503?nclick_check=1

Sasha @ Ruby Skye in San Francisco

I was planning on spending Friday night relaxing on the couch at my parents' house in San Jose but, when I was given a last minute opportunity to go see Sasha at Ruby Skye in SF & spend the night at The Hyatt in Union Square with a few old UCLA friends, I just couldn't refuse...and I'm SO glad I didn't!

This isn't the best clip but it gives you a glimpse...

All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix

"There must be some kind of way outta here," said the joker to the thief. "There's too much confusion. I can't get no relief."

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day w/The Muddy Reds @ Skinny's Lounge in North Hollywood!

Bad ass, booty-shakin' music for only $3 ON St. Patrick's Day? More of that please!

Plastic Beach by Gorillaz

Featuring guest performance by Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, De La Soul, Lou Reed & more, Gorillaz' much anticipated new album Plastic Beach takes a couple listens but definitely grows on you. I have always wanted to see Gorillaz live & cannot wait for their set on Sunday night at Coachella!

Sound Tribe Sector 9 @ The House of Blues Las Vegas

Weekend trip to Vegas + House of Blues at Mandalay Bay + $20 Sound Tribe Sector 9 show = One bad ass Friday night!