Thursday, May 26, 2011

Yeasayer @ The Music Box - 5/24/11

Originally, I opted not to buy tickets for Yeasayer at The Music Box the week of Sasquatch but, when Sasquatch released its schedule a couple weeks ago & I found out Yeasayer was going to overlap with The Flaming Lips & Flying Lotus on Sunday (Day #3 of 4) at The Gorge, I suddenly was scouring Craigslist for reasonably priced tickets to either one of Yeasayer's 2 sold out shows in LA. Once again, I lucked out & found a chick who was willing to sell me a pair of tix to the 5/24 show for only $60 which was actually a little LESS than face value! I thanked my new Craigslist friend profusely & told her she will be blessed with good concert karma.
The first & only other time I'd seen Yeasayer before Tuesday night was when they performed with Warpaint at the February 2010 edition of First Fridays at The Natural History Musuem in LA & I thought they were incredible THEN! It didn't even occur to me that the acoustics in The North American Mammal Hall probably weren't nearly as refined as the acoustics in a legitimate live music venue like The Music Box on Hollywood Boulevard (which, by the way, I still prefer to call The Fonda). I also didn't notice a lack of ridiculously sick lighting & dry ice at The Natural History Museum (they had BOTH at The Fonda) but how can you miss something if you never knew it was there in the 1st place?
Yeasayer's entire set last night was top notch. I thought YS was REALLY good the 1st time I saw them in February 2010 but last night just raised Yeasayer to a whole new level in my book. They played all of my favorite songs & the entire audience seriously got their groove on.

Sidenote: I didn't get too much footage from Yeasayer's 5/24 show because there were a lot of other cameras in my shot AND, more importantly, I needed to get MY groove on!

Rome


Friday, May 20, 2011

Trailer for My Morning Jacket Presents: One Big Holiday

My Morning Jacket is 1 of my all-time favorite bands. I've seen them live 4 times already & I'll be seeing them 2 more times this summer (at The Pantages Theater in LA on 6/22 & at my 1st Lollapalooza ever in Chicago in August).

No matter how times I've seen MMJ, they never cease to amaze me in concert. On Day 3 of Coachella 2008, they played the sunset set on the main stage opening for Roger Waters' 2 1/2 hour Dark Side of the Moon extravaganza & they blew me away (1 of the best days in Coachella history). Jim James' voice is even more heavenly live than it is on MMJ's albums. He looks like a lumberjack yet he sings like an angel.

Sidenote: Normally, I download albums off the internet for free. I justify it by telling myself that I'm more than doing my part to support musicians by purchasing thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of concert tickets that I wouldn't be purchasing if I hadn't originally gotten my hands the music for free. It kinda makes sense, right?

In the case of My Morning Jacket's upcoming release of their 6th studio album Circuital, I've actually been inspired to purchase the Limited Deluxe Box! It has all kinds of fun stuff inside but, most importantly, it includes a 30 minute exclusive documentary DVD that was directed by my friend Michael Feld!

The press release begins:

"Louisville, KY, May 19, 2011 - My Morning Jacket Presents: One Big Holiday, a 30-minute documentary DVD, which is being released exclusively as part of My Morning Jacket’s deluxe box set of Circuital, the band’s highly anticipated sixth studio album, on
May 31, 2011.

Executive Produced by former My Morning Jacket drummer Christopher Guetig (2000-2002), and directed by Michael Feld, the documentary One Big Holiday provides a rare behind-the-scenes look at the symbiotic love affair that exists between one of America’s hottest bands, My Morning Jacket, and their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

Beautifully shot in HD, this grassroots film tells a story about the unique relationship between a band, and an emerging American city that has its own distinctive heritage and blossoming indie music scene.

One Big Holiday chronicles the preparations of My Morning Jacket as the band returned to Louisville, KY to play a homecoming concert in the newly opened KFC Yum! Center in October 2010."



Stay tuned for my write-up on the full 30-minute documentary as soon as I get to see it! I'm hoping it's soon! :-)

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi's ROME (Starring Jack White & Norah Jones)

Danger Mouse's collaborations are pure genius!!!

Two Against One (starring the love of my life, Mr. Jack White)


Black (starring Norah Jones)


The album ROME in its ENTIRETY (the way it should ideally be experienced...there's a reason it took Dangermouse 5 years to complete this project)


Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Eastern Conference Champions

I'm REALLY excited to see my favorite new band of the month Eastern Conference Champions at The Hammer Museum on July 7th!

Common Sense


Yuppy Hipster Phuck


Thursday, May 12, 2011

TV on the Radio @ The Music Box - 5/11/11

When I went to see TV on the Radio last night, I thought there might be a slightly somber tone to their set since they just lost their bassist Gerard Smith to lung cancer on April 20th (only 9 days after the 4/11/11 release of their latest album Nine Types of Light). It was actually exactly the opposite. TVOTR must have figured the best way to pay tribute to Smith was by throwing one giant badass dance party & performing some of their oldest & greatest hits.

Their rendition of Young Liars was one my top favorite moments of the evening. Other standout songs included older tracks like Staring at the Sun & Dreams. And I couldn't have been happier to hear A Method & DLZ included in their encore. TVOTR's entire set at The Music Box last night was pure perfection.

I actually happened to capture 2 of the more mellow songs below but I was too busy dancing my ass off to worry about taking videos & photos the rest of the time.

Province


A Method


Nine Types of Light (THE MOVIE)


Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Ghostland Observatory @ Club Nokia - 5/8/11 = The Trinity of AMAZINGNESS!!!

I took my oh-so-fabulous roommate (& occasional guest blogger) Stephanie to Ghostland Observatory at Club Nokia for her birthday & my Coachella camping friend Scott made the wise decision to join us. We partied hard for a Sunday night & I was utterly exhausted all day Monday but, boy, was it worth it! 

Ghostland Observatory puts on one HELL of a show! Their lasers are seriously unbelievable!!! And front man Aaron Behrens' dance moves cannot be beat. I think the videos & photos below pretty much speak for themselves.

Mmmmm....lasers :-)





Saturday, May 7, 2011

JUNIP @ El Rey Theatre - 5/6/11

Jose Gonzalez has a beautiful voice & is extremely impressive as a solo artist but, when you give him a full band, he's simply breathtaking :-)

Howl


Without You


Tide



Thursday, May 5, 2011

Chris Cornell @ The Ford Amphitheater- 5/4/2011

For the second time in my life I was able to let Chris Cornell’s rich voice wash over me.  He sang to us, he sang to the trees and he sang to the heavens.  He can’t help but belt out hit after hit which have carried me with emotion for so long, and I even discovered some great songs I had no idea existed from his 20+ year career span!

From Sound Garden to Temple of the Dog to Audioslave and everything in between he was able to overwhelm me with those vocals and six guitars (yes, I got teary-eyed about 3 times)!

He opened his set with Redemption Song and did a couple other covers throughout the show (Led Zep & Lennon).  Highlights for me were definitely Like a Stone, Can’t Change Me, Call me a Dog, Sunshower, Say Hello to Heaven and Fell on Black Days.  I was left wanting more since he didn’t play What You Are… but understandable, that would be one of the songs that need a badass band to truly rock the fuck out.

The Ford Amphitheater is just intimate enough to let you lose yourself in those lyrics and beautiful melodies.  You can gaze up at the starry night as you sway along or just close your eyes and let the sound engulf you as I did.  This venue is nestled in the Hollywood Hills, just northeast of the Hollywood Bowl on Cahuenga Blvd.  It doesn’t fit a whole lot of people (perhaps 1500?) but it was absolutely fitting for Cornell’s acoustic, one-man-act.

He will FOREVER be one of my favorites and I’m sure in time, one of the greats (if not already)!!

Unfortunately, they are SUPER STRICT about cameras, so no footage (Lauren would have gave them a piece of her mind!!) but honestly, it was more of a personal thing for me anyway- it’s that good.

Try to catch the next show, May 5th, 2011- 8pm. $40 bucks is SO worth it!

Signing off for Lauren, her roommate Stephanie ;)







tUnE-yArDs

I had NO clue who tUnE-yArDs (aka Merrill Garbus) was when I saw her open for Atlas Sound at The Natural History Museum in Los Angeles back in January 2010 & now I consider myself one of her biggest fans. LISTEN, WATCH & FIND OUT WHY!!!

Real Live Flesh (4AD Sessions)


Hatari (MY footage from Sasquatch 2010!!!)


Bizness (official video for the 1st single off tUnE-yArDs' brand new album w h o k i l l)


Powa (my FAVE track off w h o k i l l)

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

LeSands, The Chain Gang of 1974, White Arrows & Vanaprasta @ The Bootleg Theater - 5/2/11

It's 2am on a Monday night/Tuesday morning & I'm totally exhausted yet I still can't help but be sitting here on my futon uploading all of my videos from tonight's KICK ASS show at The Bootleg Theater in Hollywood. I went to The Bootleg tonight planning on staying out NO late than 11:30pm so I'd at least be able to catch a few Vanaprasta songs when they played the 4th & final set of the evening but, unfortunately/fortunately for me, I just couldn't pull myself away until the entire show was over & I was gently nudged out the door by a kind-hearted, big bouncer.

Even though I'd never heard of them before, I'm so grateful I was able to catch the last few songs of LeSands set! The Chain Gang of 1974 is now on my MUST SEE list for Lollapalooza in Chicago. Their energy is downright contagious. I plan on seeing White Arrows again (for my 2nd time ever) next Monday as they continue their May residency at The Bootleg. They put on SUCH a fun show! You know a band is doing something right when you absolutely can't stop dancing!

And, last, but most certainly not least, although I'd never seen a Vanaprasta show before tonight, I'd kinda considered myself somewhat of an uneducated fan for a long time. I'm now fully educated & I'm in love. Vanaprasta ROCKS...hard :-)


LeSands



The Chain Gang of 1974



The Chain Gang of 1974



White Arrows



Vanaprasta



Vanaprasta

Monday, May 2, 2011

DJ PZB @ El Cid - 5/1/11

Can we please make Sunday Funday electronica with DJ PZB on El Cid's AWESOME patio a regular thing? Yesterday was SOOO much fun!!!