TODAY SATURDAY 7/23 – BLOOMFEST RETURNS TO DOWNTOWN
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Go to http://bloomfestla.com for more info
OUT TO SEE: ROCK N’ ROLL GLAMOUR SHOW AT THE TROUBADOUR
It was off to the Troubadour to catch a couple favorite bands: Eastern Conference Champions and Gliss. And along the way I caught Ruby Friedman Orchestra. It was a free night hosted by Rock ‘N Roll Glamour Show.
First up was the search for free parking. I tried my normal side streets, but didn’t come up with anything. I continued farther and farther east until I found myself all the way on La Cienega. If you know where that is, you know that it is considered one lovely hike from there to the Troubadour. It was so far that I almost considered the virtues of taking Bus Number 4 to the Troubadour. It was so far away, I swear I passed by three retailers with the name Palm or Palms. On my way back to my car, I counted only two such establishments plus a fortune teller who had “palm reader” painted on the window, but I swear there was a third with Palm in its name – maybe I drove past it versus walking past it.
I did get to the Troubadour with plenty of time to spare; however, I learned that my friends had all found better parking spaces. Perhaps I should practice more patience regarding circling around the neighborhood.
Eastern Conference Champions kicked off the night. You know ECC knocked it out of the park when you look over and see a 10-year old girl with the biggest smile, a smile that she held throughout the set. I know how she felt, because when I first caught Eastern Conference Champions in early 2010 I explained their set as a religious experience. That is perhaps over the top, but seeing is believing. And so when Sunset Junction 2010 came around, I convinced a handful of friends to make sure they arrived at Sunset Junction early enough on a Saturday to catch their set. Creating converts is a wonderful experience. In fact, I created stronger converts than myself. When they played Spaceland for their residency, I believe I went to two of their nights. My friends went to three or four of the nights.
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Ruby Friedman Orchestra was up next. As a friend mentioned to me, her voice has the sound that one might hear from a ghost (that was meant in a positive light, if you were wondering). Another friend mentioned that I should look at her shoes, because those were the tallest platforms around and how could she possibly move without tumbling over. And Ruby Friedman had the quote of the night, “I have two requests. Does anyone have a towel or tissue? And can I have a new microphone stand, this one broke? . . . Now no more pictures. My make-up is like I just woke up in the morning.” And surprise surprise, my friend Jodie from The Shakers showed up as a back-up vocalist for three of the songs. After the set, Jodie was surrounded by folks saying how awesome she sounded on stage.
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In between Ruby Friedman Orchestra and Gliss, was an interesting modeling/playful fashion runway presentation by Flame Angel Design. Hot women with men battling for their affection, ending in a gunfight brawl.
And next up was Gliss. I love this band. This was only the second time I saw this band. I first saw them at Silverlake Lounge and fell in love. When they were scheduled to play in Pomona, I was greatly disappointed that I had a conflicting appointment. In the end though, they had to cancel their set so I didn’t miss anything. Honestly, who cared if I walked farther than any normal Angeleno would walk. I love their ambient vocals. I love how they switch between instruments. And I love their song ‘Morning Light.’ I’m not even sure if it is a love song or a song of despair, but who cares:
Sitting next to me
Nobody could sympathize
Only in my dreams
Everything comes to life
In your heart
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All in all, a lovely Sunday night at the Troubadour that ended for me with Gliss singing Peter, Paul and Mary’s “500 Miles.”
Final thought. During Ruby Friedman Orchestra’s set, a random thought passed through my head while seeing at least a half dozen photographers along the stage, There are simply too many of us Los Angeles music bloggers. Maybe they weren’t music bloggers, but just photographers for the band, club or the host; either way, how do you distinguish yourself from the crowd
OUT TO SEE: A YEAR IN PHOTOS (LOCAL MUSIC EDITION PART 3: JULY – SEPTEMBER)
JULY
Row 1: Nico Vega, Sweethead, The Shakers
Row 2: Pu$$y Cow, Pu$$y Cow, Dead Country
Row 3: Rob Z Program/Z/Schnee and the Bleeding Livers, Stab City, Walking Sleep
Row 4: Spider Problem, Spider Problem, Kissing Cousins
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AUGUST
Row 1: Eastern Conference Champions, Pollyn, Thee Hundred Days
Row 2: Tomorrow’s Tulips, The Dollyrots, The Dollyrots
Row 3: Captain Danger, Lucy Schwartz, Lucy Schwartz (Mona Tavakoli and Lucy’s Father as support band)
Row 4: Vanaprasta, Gliss, Red Cortez
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SEPTEMBER
Row 1: Pity Party
Row 2: Best Coast, The Mo Odds, The Slow Death
Row 3: Don Juan y Los Blancos, Local Natives, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Row 4: Amanda Jones and the Sugartits 3, Eastern Conference Champions (ECC), ECC
Row 5: Warpaint, Mad Planet, Mad Planet
SUMMER IS DEFINITELY OVER…
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I hope you all had a wonderful 2010 summer of music. I certainly did.
Nico Vega/Sweethead.
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It was off to see Nico Vega at the Troubadour. I arrived in time to catch the back half of Scarlet Grey. The place was packed. I wasn’t allowed to stay inside the Troubadour for very long; however. A security guard came in after me and motioned me to come back outside. They wanted to check my camera bag and pat me down. When I initially arrived at the Troubadour one individual checked my ticket, the next my driver’s license and the other just let me through. I was wondering why they weren’t checking my camera bag. I guess they were wondering the same thing and decided to chase me down.
The crowd was totally pumped for Nico Vega and it was absolutely thrilling.
Highlights: Aja, lead singer of Nico Vega, going over to the drums and joining in on the beat. For their last song, Aja went swinging around like a crazy woman, her body gyrating in all directions. The crowd was going nuts. And then a g-string ended up next to her. I heard someone next to me ask, “Did she just remove her g-string?” I believed it for a moment, but on afterthought I do believe someone tossed it up on stage. What a crazy set.
As soon as Nico Vega left the stage an awkward moment occurred — in my opinion — more than half the audience left. Why awkward? Because the headlining act, Sweethead, was up next.
I couldn’t help but wonder if Sweethead went on stage irritated that the majority of the crowd had taken off. If so, it didn’t show as they put on a show – though they did have some problems at the beginning. The lead singer’s wireless microphone blew up on her. She had to go with the standard microphone, which didn’t sit well with her. She kept grabbing the cord and swinging it around like a whip. “I am a dog on a leash. I need my wireless. I am chained, tethered.” She was finally able to get her wireless back and off she went to dance with folks in the audience.
Serrina, the lead singer, loves to toss things. She tossed her wireless against the floor after it broke down on her. She tossed some stage equipment. She tossed some water bottles. She tossed a glass of alcohol — after she drank it. She was very careful with the glass of alcohol. Someone brought her a drink and put it on the stage. I was wondering if she’d knock it over, but she was always careful around it. A couple times I saw her looking down at it to make sure she didn’t knock it over. She later took a drink, thanked the guy who gave it to her and then after the set she smashed it. Wild set. Why did folks leave?
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Eastern Conference Champions.
A friend of mine asked me to pick a music night. He wanted to see a band. These sorts of requests make me nervous. I always want to make sure I pick a band that someone is most likely to enjoy. I decided to go with Eastern Conference Champions, who happened to be playing at a place called Spaces 15 Twenty. Now I learned something interesting that night. My friend did some research on the band and saw that they came from Pennsylvania. He then saw a posting from one of his friends in Pennsylvania and decided on a whim to see if his friend had heard of Eastern Conference Champions. And would you know it the guy in Pennsylvania knew the lead singer personally.
Anyways, if anyone doesn’t know, Spaces 15 Twenty is off of Cahuenga. There is an outdoor courtyard and on occasion they showcase bands. They’ve had some good bands there. I had a brief encounter with IO Echo one night while heading off to Hotel Café. I really wish I’d known about that set ahead of time as they’re one of my favorite local bands.
The lead singer of Eastern Conference Champions made a couple of references to the police as helicopters were flying over. Did Spaces 15 Twenty mention to them that sometimes the police come over to shut things down?
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OUT TO SEE: SILVERLAKE JUBILEE PART 2 OF 2
If you missed my Part I, click here to read about Day 1 of Silverlake Jubilee.
Sunday, Day 2
Day 2 at the Silverlake Jubilee started later than Day 1 for me. I had brunch with friends at around 1 p.m. Come around 2:30 p.m., I went home and took a 30 minute nap. I was exhausted from my Saturday activities (once again, see Part I). After my nap, I drove on down to Silverlake Jubilee, parking along Hyperion (this is actually a semi-important point).
Santa Monica Stage
Silverlake Jubilee was on a tighter schedule for day 2 versus day 1. The first band of the afternoon for me was Lilofee. They started their set with an awesome wall of sound.
Comment: “We’re so excited to play here. We’re half way from Los Angeles and half way from San Francisco.”
Noticed: Lead singer had this female claw motion.
Sunset Stage
Next was a brief encounter with Seasons. I only caught half their set, if that. By missing half of Seasons’ set, I realized that Silverlake Jubilee had Sunday’s schedule tightened up compared to Saturday’s.
Comment: “We’ve got to make sure we’re in tune for our last song.”
Santa Monica Stage
I caught part of Division Day’s set where I heard the lead singer doing the sound check by saying, “Potato. Potato. Potato. Banana. Banana. Banana. Elephant. 
Elephant. Elephant. Potato.”
Noticed: Couldn’t help but notice the yellow shaker used by the drummer. I have no clue why this caught my attention, but it did.
Sunset Stage
Yes, at this point I was spinning with my constant back and forth between the two stages and had to settle down.
I stuck around the Sunset Stage to catch the Monolators’ full set. While standing near the stage, one of the band members kicked an opened Gatorade bottle. Gatorade flew towards the audience and the handful of us near the stage back paddled a couple feet. “I just wanted to add some special effects,” was the comment made afterwards.
Comment: “Does anyone know what a fop tie is?” (more…)
OUT TO SEE: SILVERLAKE JUBILEE PART 1 of 2
About a month before Silverlake Jubilee I started to notice that some of the bands I follow were playing at El Cid under the banner of Silverlake Serenade. After doing some minimal Internet research, I learned that this was all connected to something called Silverlake Jubilee.
I decided to see if my TRAffIK editor/friend could get me on the press list. It wasn’t so much to save the entrance fee, which was only five dollars. Instead, figured it might give me some special access. It did provide some special access, which you can see via the photos that I was able to take in front of the two stages. I also could have interviewed the bands I liked, but (perhaps) unfortunately for you that just isn’t my style; and honestly, I was so busy going this way and that way to catch various bands throughout the two day event that I wouldn’t have had time to interview any of the bands.
I got to Silverlake Jubilee via the metro Red Line on Saturday. This wasn’t so much by design to get myself aligned with the green theme of the event, but just due to where I was on Saturday. It just seemed more convenient; however, it made for one lovely long walk to the press lounge to pick up my press badge. I guess I should have added figuring out not just the metro stop, but a good bus route. I counted it towards my daily exercise regiment.
Side note: I don’t know how many of you take the Blue Line, but I found the following article a standard experience as I take this line whenever I’m heading off to LAX. (This will be referenced again in a future TRAffIK column.)
My first goal once I got to Silverlake Jubilee was to orient myself. I took a quick walk from the Sunset Stage to the Santa Monica stage. And then I decided it was time to catch my first band. I got to Silverlake Jubilee at around 2 p.m., expecting to catch Manhattan Murder Mystery. I’d previously had a close encounter with this band. I went to Echo Curio one night when they were listed on the bill. I showed up too late to catch their set. My 2 p.m. meet-up with them wasn’t meant to be as Silverlake Jubilee had a glitch on it’s first day (ever). Both stages were about an hour behind schedule so I decided to stroll around the food booths and venders. I stopped off to get a smoothie at the Maui Wowi booth. The booth seemed rather popular. I noticed one young lady asking her friend to photograph her with her smoothie, which was topped off with a tropical umbrella. A guy on a bike then coasted up and asked me to take an iPhone photo of him standing next to the smoothie menu. Maybe folks wanted to imagine they were in Hawaii? I have no clue why folks were taking photos
Starting things off at The Sunset Stage
I eventually ended up at the Sunset Stage where I caught a band called Big Whup. The keyboardist/singer uses a stuffed animal with a microphone that comes out through the mouth. I heard the MC call it a unicorn. I thought it looked more like a pink horse. (I did some stalking and her personal myspace page has horses galloping across it.) During their set, I also noticed a rather significant contingent of press out to cover the event. There was probably a group of 8-10 of us that ended up following each other from stage to stage over the weekend.
Noticed: The afternoon was a tad breezy and the keyboardist’s set list flew off the stage at one point. Someone later retrieved it for her, but I could have sworn that she had the set list inked in red down her left arm.
Conversation: Keyboardist, “Who’s on after us?” Scream from the audience, “The Allah Las.” Reply, “The Allalahs?” Response, “No, the Allah Las.” Got it, “Oh, as in Allah!”
El Cid
After Big Whup’s set, I went into El Cid. (more…)