Bathtub Explosion

Nike / Filter Present: NIKE BE TRUE FAMILY REUNION 2008 w/ Cool Kids & NO AGE, 6/1/08

2008-06-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

What a fucking fun day! I drove with my sister to a random parking lot on Laurel and Sunset Blvd. just before 2 PM, where a shuttle bus took us for at least a 15 minute ride up into the Hollywood hills. We arrived at a giant gate that was the entrance to the most amazing mansion that felt like it was on the top of the world. The view was incredible and I could not spot anywhere else that was higher than us.

There were two giant inflatable slip 'n slides, a dunk tank (where you could win free Nike dunks if you knocked the big black guy in the water), tether ball, delicious BBQ that consisted of veggie patties, BBQ chicken, BBQ beef sliders, BBQ baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw, etc. and to drink there was iced tubs of various soda and mini Fiji water bottles. There were also two bars serving up Belvedere vodka mixed drinks and some type of expensive rum (that I hadn't heard of nor do I remember) and mojitos. The bartenders were smoking hot and super friendly with the crowd.

First up on stage was a hip hop orchestra conducted by Double G. Now I would definitely not consider myself a fan of hip hop or rap, but these guys were really good and it was pretty amazing to see an actual orchestra conducting hip hop instrumentals on stage. There were flutes, trompones, trumpets, bass, saxophone, keyboards, etc. They sounded terrific and even toyed with some jazzy sounds as well. I was really blown away.

Next up were Chicago's "The Cool Kids" who have been getting a decent amount of buzz lately. They looked young. I bumped into Mapi of KXLU radio, and she told me one of them were only 20 years old. Cool Kids consists of two rappers and a dj behind the table in the background. I think they sounded okay, but again, i am not a hip hop fan, so if you are, please check them out!

About 30 minutes after Cool Kids, No Age took the stage. They had just been picked up from LAX after returning from Dublin. Guitarist Randy Randall wore an Atlas Sound t-shirt (if you like Deerhunter check them out, they're fronted by singer Brad Cox). Drummer/singer Dean Spunt sported a walking cane, which he explained to the crowd he acquired after injuring himself when trying to sneak into a children's bathroom at a show in Germany, because they charge people to use the restrooms there. Maybe he should change his name to Dean Cane. Haha. Get it?

Anyway, they played a set that didn't change much from when I saw them open for the Liars at the El Rey a couple months ago, although this time, the crowd was a much more tame. They also played a few tracks off the more melodic and rhythmic new album "Nouns". A lot of people were there for the hip hop stuff so they left when all that was done, but I spotted a small group of The Smell regulars who were there to support Dean and Randy, and everyone was soaking up the rays and enjoying there drinks in the mid 70 degree ridiculously comfortable and clear sunny weather. They ended right around 6 PM and the crowd cleared slowly thereafter.

Be sure to catch No Age next Sunday, June 8th, with breakfast at The Smell with Mika Miko and Abe Vigoda! It's only $5, and they're going to have pancakes! Please join me and don't be afraid to stop by and say hi! The syrupy madness starts at 11 AM.

NO AGE - TEEN CREEPS live @ BE TRUE:

Pray to Jesus and Mary...

WAKE THE FUCK UP!!!

Random + Crowd Pics...

Stay tuned for Double G + Hip Hop Orchestra vids, No Age live video, and The Cool Kids pics!

The Little Pieces / The Voyeurs @ Mariposa Cafe, 5/23/08

2008-05-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

When you're invited to go watch a buddy's band play and they know you do show reviews, the initial anxiety can be a tricky thing to defeat. Regardless of who the people are, the first thoughts I have are "Will I like them?" followed by "Fuck. If I'm not into them, they're going to bug me about it for weeks and I'm just going to have to tell them I wasn't into them!"

Well, I'll tell you one thing, I am NOT one to give false compliments. I'm either positively honest, negatively critical, or hush hush. When it comes to a friend's band, I'd honestly rather skip the entire blog review rather than complain about me not enjoying their performance.

Thankfully, I did not have to worry about that with The Little Pieces @ Mariposa Cafe on Friday night (which had a similar feel and laid back atmosphere of San Pedro's Sacred Grounds, RIP). I already had a copious amount of enthusiasm since I already caught them a couple months ago at Charlie O's in downtown LA (see embedded videos below from that performance). Also, knowing that this group is fronted by none other than John Giovanni Boskovich, who is the best local guitarist I know, did not hurt either.

Immediately I spotted the genre and artist influences. I'd say that post-punk and old school 70's New York punk are probably the biggest influences. I've seen Stephen Malkmus twice and I'd say there's hints of his sound in the guitar licks and vocal stylings as well, but mostly, I really hear a good amount of Television's Tom Verlaine (and Patti Smith, a necessary comparison by association) and The Rapture's Luke Jenner in his vocals.

Bassist Alex Rubio and drummer Donovan provide incredible balance to John's guitar, most notably on the solo for the track "Periphery of Pop", where a stomped out bass line really carries us through the solo while we stomp our feet and bob our heads in the crowd.

J. Giovanni handles the switch from really incredible rhythm intro guitar into verses, choruses, bridges, and solos. A lot of bands utilize more than one guitarist to handle this task, but this guy's got all the talent needed in just one package. (It's no wonder he's been in multiple bands and teaches guitar on the side.)

He plays through a sunburst brown Fender Jazzmaster which already gained him a bunch of points in my book, and has it plugged through just a few pedals and into a 70s silverface Fender Twin! This amp produces those sweet sweet "hot knife-through-butter" reverby rhythms and solos that sound like you're listening to a band play in a grand cathedral from down the hall. This is the kind of heavenly sound where when you hear it, you look around the room until you spot someone else in complete awe who understands the importance of tone. At this split second, you both smile and nod heads in unison, for at this moment in time, you have made the connection of the mutual realization of amazement, and you realize you have stumbled upon something great before it hits the fan.

I am already hooked, and you will be too. Go check out The Little Pieces at Three Clubs on June 5th, and a private birthday show at Babe's Warehouse Long Beach on June 6th.

Additional pics from a backyard show at Chris Bautista's House on 5/26/08, Memorial Day:

Live videos of The Little Pieces at Charlie O's on 4/18/08:

Here is a cover they did of The Beat's "Rock and Roll Girl":

Periphery of Pop:

Sweet Little Friend:

The Voyeurs, who are still just a few months into their infancy (but years deep in experience) opened for The Little Pieces tonight. They have been reduced to just two members (singer/Nordist/guitarist Jon Hylander and drummer Sean Johnson). To be 100% honest with you, my friend Sean and I both agreed that they actually benefited from the simplicity of just two members. They are not far off from what they used to be, only now, there is more of a focus on the keys and drums, with guitar occasionally taking over. They covered The Kinks' "Sunny Afternoon", which was pretty awesome, being as it is one of my top three favorite Kinks' songs! At this performance, I also noticed something not realized before: a similarity in sound to Philadelphia's incredible Man Man, one of my favorite live bands of all time!!! Rock on Hylander and Johnson, rock on! (PLEASE NOTE: This wasn't my first time catching The Voyeurs; I know this is a little backwards since they in fact opened, but my emphasis in this review is on The Little Pieces because I just reviewed The Voyeurs recently.)

The Voyeurs @ Comic Bug, Manhattan Beach, 3/21/08

2008-03-21T23:49:00.000-07:00

Rockin'? Absolutely. Poppy? For sure. Catchy? Hell yes. South Bay music giants John Hylander (lead vocals, keys, guitar), his cousin Joe Hylander (guitar), Jesse Hoffman (bass), and Sean Johnson (drums) make up the quintet "The Voyeurs", which includes 3/4 of "E>K>U>K" (which was forced to disengage after Raymond left the band).

The Voyeurs are here to serve you up generous garage sized pop portions of harmonious crunch and just enough Big Muff to leave you wanting more. They play short shows because they are still a fresh new band. How do they differ from E>K>U>K? Well, they're less jangly, less explosive, and more mature. The vocal harmonies are much more up front, there's more balance between uppers and downers, there's more of a folky psych loungey vibe on some tracks, and they sort of have that 60s British Invasion sound. Think The Kinks and The Zombies. Also, I don't recall keyboards or acoustic guitars on many or any E>K>U>K songs.

This band definitely has a lot more early 20's talent than most bands in the South Bay (not that there's many to choose from). Sean Johnson (the only great local drummer that I know besides Maxwell Demon's Martin Avelar) pounds through each song with extreme energy, and his facial expressions and arching eyebrows definitely make drumming look exciting as hell. It's no wonder he's been in so many great bands since the days of high school: local surf giants from the past "From", "E>K>U>K", and currently, the jazzy Zappaesque "Vaudeville". Now, I'm not going to lie, I don't know much about drums, but I do know that in some bands, the drummer goes completely unnoticed and serves little help to the band besides being a human metronome. Not Sean Johnson. When you're good, you're good...this guy is fucking incredible.

John Hylander, the local recording engineer mastermind, plays the Nord Electro 2 keyboard, which adds a great subtle psychedelic pop touch to their tunes, and you know what? I realized something was never evident in the past...his vocals actually sound a great deal like Dave Grohl's, especially when the choruses kick in. And Joe Hylander kinda looks like Kurt Cobain, too! I'm sure these guys are grateful there's no Novoselic lookalike in the mix.

Jesse Hoffman and Joe Hylander of the mindblowing "Fragments of an Imagination" (formerly known as "JH and the Squares" both stand near each other as if channeling

each other's confidence and statute skills on bass and guitar; they may be the youngest in the band, but that doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing. They both make their tasks look extremely easy. I've seen these guys improvise jamming before, and they definitely know their shit.

Stay tuned for these guys...they all have the skills to backup success, the friendly personalities to keep you hanging out after the show is done, and a dedicated local fanbase. Keep the scene alive, and go check them out at Charlie O's in downtown LA on May 8th, Mariposa Cafe in LA on May 17th, All Star Lanes on June 29th, and the 4th of July at

Mr. T's Bowl in Highland Park! They will be sharing the stages with The Henry Clay People, The Rolling Blackouts, and The Monolators!

The Voyeurs - Things That People Say, 3/21/08

Neon Neon @ The Viper Room, 3/18/08

2008-03-19T02:00:00.000-07:00

Neon Neon is a collaboration between Gruff Rhys (frontman of Super Furry Animals) and musician/producer Boom Bip. They are probably the most convincing 80's throwback band I have seen, and they sound just amazing live. Full and fat synths, keytars, cowbells, double necked bass and guitars...they've definitely got the instrumentation down.

Neon Neon got everyone (yes, EVERYONE!) shaking their hips and bobbing their heads this St. Patty's day at the Viper Room. They played tracks off their debut Stainless Style, including "I Told Her On Alderaan", "I Lust U", "Belfast", and "Raquel".

The biggest surprise of the night was the amazingly entertaining and overweight Har Mar Superstar, who raps on a couple album tracks, but I had no clue he'd actually be touring with them. He sweated the night away with his performance of "Sweat Shop" where he apparently freestyled most of the song because the lyrics weren't the same on the album.

Outside the Viper Room were a couple DeLorean's, just chilling. They had to be on tour with Neon Neon because people were taking pictures in them and they were open to the public.

Go catch Neon Neon while you still can; the two frontmen are extremely busy with other main projects, and this band may not be around for long.

I couldn't help but go crazy with the effects on this one:

Beach House @ Echoplex, 3/13/08

2008-03-14T02:04:00.000-07:00

This show was originally scheduled for The Echo, but when they pushed the early show from 6:30 to 8:30, and then realized the amount of people that were in line, they moved it downstairs (literally) to the Echoplex.

Balitmore's Beach House is consisted of singer/keyboardist Victoria Legrand, and guitarist Alex Scally (who has only been playing guitar for 4 years, when the band formed!). Together they craft tranquilizing tunes and melancholy melodies that have been known to produce an opiate like effect on listeners. This ain't your Friday night jamz (don't click on that, and don't say I didn't warn you!); these are downer songs...but everyone needs a downer sometimes, right?

The Echoplex filled up with a room full of scenester zombies, who didn't talk much, didn't move much, hell, I don't even know if they were breathing. But that's the way it goes when you're the living dead, I suppose.

They opened with album opener "Wedding Bell" off their amazing recently released sophomore LP Devotion. WOW! This isn't shoegaze, I don't understand why they needed the volume so damn high! It did not help their sound at all!

They went on to play tracks such as "You Came to Me", "Apple Orchard", and Devotion's first single "Gila", which is indie's answer to that really fucking Rihanna song "Umbrella". God I hate that shit so much.

Highlight of the night? Answer: THE DAILY DOUBLE! What is: a very drowsy cover of Daniel Johnston's "Some Things Last"!

Beach House sounded just as good live as on their two albums, which I absolutely fucking love, by the way, and highly recommend going to pick them up RIGHT NOW! I would not rush to see them at a standing venue again, however, as this is music best suited for mopy midnight mattress melt-aways (what a great band name!). They are about to embark upon a large European tour with some Washington's finest Fleet Foxes, one of my favorite new artists of the year!!!

Beach House - Gila

The Ting Tings @ Rec Center Studio, 3/11/08

2008-03-12T02:03:00.000-07:00

The Ting Tings are a serious Myspace buzz band. They hail from Salford, Northwest UK, and have been hitting the hipster shit fan like crazy lately (with over 350,000 hits to their song "That's Not My Name" . They follow in the footsteps of other British female-fronted hip-hop dance artists (Lady Sovereign comes to mind). But Lady Sovereign tries too hard, and she has anxiety attacks on stage. Not The Ting Tings' frontgirl Katie White.

The entire show, she exuberated copious amounts of sass and energy in her music. She's very skinny and small, but it doesn't mean she can't take charge with arms flailing, a sharp tongue, and a serious talent for some mean and poppy dance rhythm guitar (à la Modest Mouse's Float On on a couple songs).

The songs I heard on Myspace before the show didn't catch my ear that much, but live, the Ting Tings put on a really tight show with a great pop. And now after going back to hear some of their tracks again, they really grew on me.

They opened with the dancey "Great DJ" and played only 7 songs total the entire night. Too bad the set was so damn short. It's hard to judge a band that is still in such an early stage of infancy, but once these guys come out with a new album, I'm sure they'll be huge.

I also highly recommend the Rec Center Studio in Echo Park. It's literally a block or two from the Echo (with free parking in the same lot), and is a very cool and modern artsy spot with a ultra chic and refreshing vibe.

Sarah White was super friendly outside the Rec Center after the show. She talked with fans about how happy she was to be in LA, received many compliments on her performance, and hung out for a while.

5/8/08: The Ting Tings' Shut up and Let Me Go was recently featured in a new iPod commercial:

The Raveonettes / Be Your Own Pet @ the El Rey Theatre, 3/4/08

2008-03-05T02:06:00.000-08:00

Nashville four-piece rockers Be Your Own Pet opened for The Raveonettes tonight. I had previously seen them at the Troubadour a year or two ago around the time their first album came out, and they were good for what they are. I honestly cannot say I am a huge fan. I do appreciate their youth and raw energy and all that stuff, but there are just too many bands out there today, and I've been to too many amazing shows in the past year for these guys to leave much of a mark in my memory.

However, their new album Get Awkward just came out and it's been getting pretty good reviews. Also, it doesn't hurt that they were discovered by Thurston Moore and are under his Ecstatic Peace label...so check them out! They sing songs about high school crushes, popping pills, food fights, taking it in the ass, and sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll! Very original lyrics.

Danish duo The Raveonettes are so rad live. I previously saw them at Spaceland last year, and they have so many new amazing songs since then. It was really great to be able to catch them at such a small and intimate venue like that, but a band with such a fucking huge sound really feels at home at the El Rey.

Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo (with a fresh haircut) came out to a full house at the El Rey, and true to form, they were of very few words, extremely sexy and stylish, and confident as hell. Some uber Euro chick with a short haircut joined them, standing up the entire time, and pounding on two electronically altered snares. They opened up with "Hallucinations", and continued with more tracks off their newborn baby Lust Lust Lust.

I have to point out that the lighting at this show was among the best I have ever seen in my life. I will not soon forget the transitional shifts from blue to green to violet. I'm no expert in stage lighting, but I do know that they definitely put a lot into their lighting. It really makes for a hypnotizing show.

Lust Lust Lust is hands down (my pants) one of my favorite albums of the past 12 months. It's their heaviest, loudest, and lustiest album yet. These songs transfer to the stage amazingly, and it doesn't hurt that they look so damn good on stage.

The Raveonette's setlist:

Hallucinations

Dead Sound

That Great Love Sound

Let's Rave On

Lust

Red Tan

Love In A Trashcan

Expelled From Love

Attack of the Ghost Riders

You Want The Candy

Black Satin

Blush

French Disko

Aly, Walk With Me

Here are a few videos I managed to capture at the El Rey:

Lust:

Let's Rave On:

Dead Sound:

Love in a Trashcan:

The Magnetic Fields @ The Henry Fonda Theatre, 3/3/08

2008-03-04T02:03:00.000-08:00

I arrived to the Henry Fonda much too early only to discover rows of high school graduation white plastic foldout chairs covering the floor, with people scattered scarcely watching the overly dramatic and annoying theatrics of “Interstellar Radio Company” performing an inappropriately whimsical and jubilant seated musical version Edgar Allan Poe’s “Tell-Tale Heart”. It looked and sounded like they were voicing and scoring a really bad Disney movie. That stuff really bothers me, I’m sorry. I just always hated the overly enthusiastic drama kids from high school; the ones who were always so loud and whimsical and in your face that you wanted to kick them in theirs, and this reminded me of just that. What a disgrace this was to Edgar Allan Poe.

When they were done, Magnetic Fields played an entirely acoustic set. No percussions. Claudia Gonson played piano, John Woo strummed the acoustic guitar, Sam Davol was on cello, and Stephin Merrit was on a bouzouki. This show was in support of their latest LP “Distortion”, yet the show didn’t have any distortion to speak of. How terribly ironic. They honestly sounded great for what it was but when you’re in the mood for the full and lush and occasionally abrasive everchanging sound of their albums, you don’t want to hear the stripped down versions of all night. And if you’re going to play an acoustic set you should fucking advertise it. Ultimately upsetting. I went to the patio upstairs and watched the concert projected onto the wall from a couch while I drank more than I usually do at a show to help numb the pain of disappointment.

Thank you Stephen Merritt for letting me down

The Magnetic Fields performing "I Don't Believe You"

Here is a playlist of GOOD Magnetic Fields songs...the last one "I Die, You Die" is a Gary Numan cover (Which I have included as well!)

I'd have to say the highlight of the night was leaving early to go to Cha Cha Lounge in Silver Lake, where my friend Sean decided to sing Tears For Fears' "Shout" on karaoke. Enjoy!

Holy Fuck, A Place To Bury Strangers, In Waves @ Spaceland, 3/1/08

2008-03-02T02:18:00.000-08:00

I've already reviewed In Waves twice. They are a great band if you love that lush and ethereal atmospheric type sound (which I do!). They played a set as good as ever tonight, and paved the road nicely for the heavy and abrasive sounds of A Place to Bury Strangers. A good and mellow start to the earth shattering noise that would soon be murdering us.

Although I'm a huge fan of all three bands, Brooklyn's A Place To Bury Strangers was the main reason I went to this show, and they came on and just raped the shit out of everyone's eardrums with glassy shards of frozen icepicks. It was as if singer/guitarist Oliver Ackerman was told by the sound guy during soundcheck that the music was too loud so then he turned it up even more. I don't know what the decibel count was but I'll tell you this much: I had makeshift cocktail napkin earplugs and I still felt like I was going deaf. This band has such a huge following lately that none of the hardcore fans even care that they have blood trickling out of their ears and down the sides of their faces. I had previously seen them at the Viper Room in Hollywood with In Waves and Eulogies last year, and I don't remember them being this loud!

They came on to a stage in a room that was completely pitch black. I don't know how the bartenders walked around and served drinks without flashlights because it was really that dark. I saw the strobe lights set up on stage and they weren't using them until a few songs deep into the set. I waited patiently as I new what to expect after seeing them before. Not only does the sound get louder, but I've never in my life seen a band use strobes for such a long period of time. Fog also fills the room, and it gets so thick that it reminded me of the time that the Flaming Lips took a motorcycle on stage and revved it up, filling the room with thick exhaust.

They played most of the songs off their incredible self-titled debut album, including To Fix the Gash in Your Head, I Know I'll See You, and The Ocean. I especially enjoyed In Waves' bassist Tim Gregorio's surprise guest appearance, providing extra vocals for the amazing APTBS song "My Weakness". I did a little research online and found that he also added some vocals on the album as well. If you're a fan of this band, check out my interview with all three members here.

True to form, Oliver went completely violent on his guitar, wrapping the cables around the neck and body, dropping it repeatedly, and dangling it from his fingers like a drunk and possessed puppeteer putting on a show in hell. I have included a video below...epileptics beware!

I'm not sure who this chick is, but she came out and sang with them on one of the songs.

APTBS Setlist:

Next up, Toronto electronic rockers Holy Fuck. Honestly, I don't really have a great memory of them playing because I failed you, as the reader, by drinking at this show. I figured I wasn't driving and I love seeing APTBS so much live that I'd have a few. I do remember them sounding much better and clearer than when I saw them at the Echoplex with Super Furry Animals and Abe Vigoda (not that they were less than perfect then). I was, however, able to snap a picture of one of their gear boards, which is literally a road case flipped upside down and set on top of a cheapo keyboard stand. It actually adds to the show because they have two of these and they are very floppy. I noticed people focusing on the gear setups more than the actual performance, anxiously awaiting an avalanche of keyboards and guitar pedals.

White Denim / Restaurant @ 6th St. Warehouse 2/27/08

2008-02-28T03:00:00.000-08:00

First of all, I've gotta say 6th Street Warehouse is my favorite spot in LA for a show. Better than The Smell because you can drink, the stage is a real fucking halfpipe, and it just feels like a secret underground spot that most people aren't even aware of. I'm not even going to comment further nor give any hyperlink to this amazing spot, but if you've been there you know exactly what I mean.First up, Texas band Restaurant. They remind me a bit of Modest Mouse as well as Aussie band Spiderbait's version of Leadbelly's Black Betty that was a big hit a few years ago. They are self-described as being an "Electro/Country/Punk" band. I'd say that's about right.Restaurant live at 6th St. Warehouse:

Austin rock band White Denim was amazing. This triplet reminds me of The Black Keys but with the addition of a bassist who looks like he's still in high school. They are a bluesy garage rock two piece with some of the greatest guitar playing you're likely to witness today. I don't know what else to say besides these guys are going to be huge. They were recently featured in Rolling Stone's "Breaking Artist" section. Good for them. I met singer/guitarist James Petralli after the show and he's a super nice guy too.

A couple of oddballs spotted at the show:

Check out the numerous White Denim clips I captured from the show below!

Liars / No Age @ The El Rey 2/22/08

2008-02-23T02:00:00.000-08:00

Wow. What a great combo night. No Age and Liars back to back. Much better than sitting at home and watching that Home Improvement marathon that you’ve been wasting your time on. Tivo that shit and go to more shows like this.

Los Angeles minimalist punk revivalists No Age rocked the chandeliers at the El Rey with a scorching set of melody, rhythm, and experimental noise. Guitarist Randy Randall plays chunky repetitive riffs and excellent rhythm guitar on his battered up Gibson SG, which is absolutely fucking perfect for the sound they’re going for. He loops guitar on his Boss RC-20XL and uses plenty of delay on top of that to have a much larger sound than most people can pull off with only two band members. Drummer/Singer Dean Spunt takes charge with a minimalistic stage presence, but thanks the audience and Liars, and tells us it’s good to be back home on the final show of their shared tour with Liars.

The amazing thing about these guys is their charm. They play music that revives a crowd of people that’s identical to what you’d see in old punk documentaries, and they look happy the entire time. They realize they’re hitting it big and are doing what they love and what the fans love, playing great fucking rock ‘n roll music and being true about it. The crowd was extremely into the show and if you shot black and white photos of them, it wouldn’t be so far off from what you’d see in the book and film American Hardcore. This has to be one of the best and most involved crowds you’ll see at a rock show today. Black Lips stirs up a similar crowd behavior.

They played songs such as "Everybody's Down”, “My Life’s Alright Without You” and “Boy Void” from their debut album Weirdo Rippers, followed by a few new tracks off their upcoming LP Nouns, which is set for a May 6th release under Sub-Pop Records. By the sound of it, I expect this album to be a little brighter and have more focus on rhythmic guitar intros…that Randy Randall dude is really getting even better at guitar since I saw them open for Pop Levi back at the Echoplex in June ’07.

I have to say that they closed out their performance in what proved to be the absolute coolest fucking thing I have ever seen a band do to conclude their set. Randy Randall was pounding chords on his guitar, then he looped them together and handed out his guitar into the audience. Everyone put their hands up as if supporting a crowd surfer, and then suddenly the guitar got sucked into the audience like a ship in a sea storm being swallowed by a giant squid amongst the crashing waves. Shit was fucking epic. People were pulling off strings, beating it up, and they ended up completely snapping the neck off the body. Finally, the guitar was handed back to Randy, and he started shaking peoples’ hands and high-fiving everyone,all with a huge smile on his face.

Here is a short clip I captured from their performance of the song "Boy Void":

Here is a playlist of a few good No Age songs including the track Eraser off the upcoming "Nouns" LP. Also included is the Bjork cover "It's Oh So Quiet", followed by her original version:

Next up was the NYC experimental rock band Liars. Frontman Angus Andrew (vocals/bass) seemed really happy to be playing in LA just a couple months after injuring his back , which left him stuck seated on a stool for at least half of the show. Guaranteed he was still taller than you and me combined.

They played songs from all albums, including “Leather Prowler”, “Houseclouds”, “Plaster Casts of Everything”, “Clear Island”, "Freak Out", “Drum and the Uncomfortable Can”, “Pure Unevil”, “Let’s Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack”, and “The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack” (not in that particular order). And just because he had his back injury didn't mean he didn't move around. The entire time he danced awkwardly around stage, almost like I've seen Mick Jagger in videos. I watched nervously as if he was going to topple around on stage, but he stayed erect the entire time. Hey, you! Get your mind out of the gutter!

Please stay tuned for videos from the show...they should be up by the end of this weekend!

The Liars playlist below includes a Crystal Castles remix of "It Fit When I Was a Kid"

Black Lips @ Detroit Bar 2/10/08

2008-02-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

Ok so tonight was similar to last night and they pretty much played the same song selection. What a fucking party! Everyone was wasted off their ass. It was another wild and crazy night!

The main difference was, this club is 21+, and they only allowed girls on stage this time. Smart men. I got on stage and security pulled me down in half a second. My shins still hurt from being smashed against the stage which was only about two feet from off the ground. The band was shooting silly string all over the place all night. Other than that, it was fairly tame, by Black Lips standards. My friend drove us over 40 miles to get to Detroit Bar, but it was damn worth it.

Black Lips @ Glass House 2/9/08

2008-02-10T14:39:00.000-08:00

Wow. I don't even know where to start. What a great fucking venue for the Black Lips to play at! The music was loud as hell, they looked like they were having more fun than ever, and the crowd was absolutely out of fucking control. Non-stop pit action. I got hit in the eye with someone's head, and fell on my back at least 3 times. The crowd at a Black Lips show is usually more wild than any show I've ever been to.

When they were setting up stage, a young Mexican girl in front of me screamed out and asked singer/guitarist Cole Alexander if she could have some of his beer. He shrugged and gave her his Tecate and kept on walking. She didn't look a day over 18. Ahahahaha. She later ended up being the first person to jump on stage, and rocked out with the band for a couple songs.

This started a trend of people constantly going on stage, and Black Lips were super cool about it because they don't get mad and they seem to really like the chaos of it all. One short bald guy jumped on stage, screamed, ripped his t-shirt off right down the middle, and then did a front flip into the crowd. All that happened in less than 4 seconds. And after the band was done with the show, grillz guitarist Ian Saint Pé asked the crowd "Who's not old enough to drink?" and everyone yelled and he gave his drink to a young girl up front. Classic.

And that is what a Black Lips show is like.

Songs played throughout the night (not in this order):

Hippie, Hippie, Hoorah
Buried Alive
Dirty Hands
Cold Hands
O Katrina
Veni Vidi Vici
Boomerang
Bad Kids
Sea of Blasphemy
Not a Problem

The Black Lips are the most fun live band I've ever seen, and the Glass House is a blast in itself (even if I have to drive 45 miles to get there). If you haven't seen them yet, you're missing out! I already bought tickets to see them again at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa tonight. I've never seen a band two nights in a row until now, so stay tuned for yet another Black Lips review!

Super Furry Animals with Abe Vigoda, Holy Fuck @ Echoplex 2/8/08

2008-02-09T18:45:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately I missed most of Abe Vigoda's set at the Echoplex last night. I did however catch a couple songs, and I was really into it! They sounded better than ever!!! I'm so glad to see these guys doing so good. They're really nice and down to earth, and have been playing local shows forever at everywhere from the Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach to The Smell for quite some time now. Be sure to check them out at this year's SXSW! and at The Smell on March 25th.

Abe Vigoda:

"HOLY FUCK!" people started screamed from the audience. "HOLY FUCK!" "HOLY FUCK, it's hot in here!" I yelled before the band went on. I felt like I was at fucking Coachella, although there was no occasional breeze.

Toronto electronic group Holy Fuck, which has been heralded for performing live shows without the use of computers or pre-recorded backing tracks were up next. These guys fucked everyone in the face with their loud and nonstop electronic blasts of melodic noisy beats.

With two tables full of all miscellaneous guitar pedals, effects, and electronic gadgets looped to various cheap keyboards (which they switched rapidly through the night), they look like mad scientists who have been staying up all night in their labs, drinking lots of coffee and tweaking everything within arms reach and shuffling and experimenting with things.

They played songs such as The Pulse, Royal Gregory (my favorite), Frenchy's, Super Inuit, and Lovely Allen.

Holy Fuck:

I was fortunate enough to catch Welsh band Super Furry Animals at a venue like the Echoplex where I was able to get right up front. This band sounded big enough to play the fucking Dodger Stadium. They opened with psychedelic electronic experimentation of Slow Life where after a couple minutes of buildup, frontman Gruff Rhys walked out on stage with an oversized full face red Power Ranger helmet on his head. This was such a funny and memorable moment in live music history, similar to when Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips walked in the giant bubble at Coachella 2004.

Throughout the night, they played a handful of hits such as Rings Around the World, Golden Retriever, Receptable for the Respectable, Into the Night, Juxtapozed With U, The Gift That Keeps Giving, Run-Away, etc. One thing I really noticed was how the singer made lots of eye contact with the audience and seemed very friendly and super happy to be playing for all of us.

My favorite moments of the night was during the heavy guitar explosion at the end of Receptable when Gruff Rhys, Gibson Goldtop guitarist Huw Bunford, and other unidentified guitarist all ran to center stage where they clashed guitar necks like Star Wars characters clanging light sabers. Too bad I failed to capture this moment on film; I was too far away getting water since it was so fucking hot at the Echoplex. Anyway, this was so fucking cool, and it reminded me of when Sonic Youth did the same thing at the Greek Theatre in 2007 when they played Daydream Nation in it's entirety.

SFA sounded amazing live and it was a show I won't soon forget. I can't fucking wait until they play again. Hopefully next time it's at the Greek where it's not all hot and cramped.

Super Furry Animals:

Blood on the Wall, Afternoons @ Spaceland 2/7/08

2008-02-08T01:50:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you go to a show only to discover an opening band that is actually better than the headliner. Tonight was one of those nights. Rock septet Afternoons really did steal the show! They may be hard to google, but thankfully they're easy on the ears. Live, they reminded me of the first time I ever heard Arcade Fire and Mercury Rev. There were horns, incredible male/female harmonizing, an amazing presence of joy...music that just makes you smile. The presence of female "Tiki Room"/Opera vocalist Claire McKeown really makes their music complete, and that part especially brought Mercury Rev's haunting saw harp whistling sound effects to mind.

They do it incredibly well, and none of them seem uptight or stuck up. Must be because they are still unsigned! Hopefully not for long with such talent. Please go to their myspace page and check out the songs "Line 'Em Up" and "Say Yes".

Be sure to catch these guys at The Echo with The Duke Spirit on March 5th.

It's already a known fact that headliners Blood on the Wall sound like Pixies, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, so I'm not going to bother mentioning it. Oops. This is crunchy and loud 80s-early 90s college revival rock.

Philip Seymour Hoffman lookalike Brad Shanks and Courtney Shanks share the stage as brother and sister vocalists, with a drummer whose name I am unsure of because it wasn't the same guy that I saw when researching them online. Live, I wasn't really that into it. Not that they weren't incredible at reproducing the album sound onstage, but this is music that you should probably be listening to for at least a month before seeing live, and I'll admit I just got into them and hadn't listened to them much yet.

Well I'm listening to all three of their albums while posting this, and they're finally sinking in. Give this Brooklyn three-piece chicken dinner a taste. It may be greasy and taste just like something you've been eating for years, but that doesn't mean you won't still love the taste.

Midnight Movies, Dead Meadow @ Echoplex, 2/5/08

2008-02-06T21:45:00.000-08:00

Midnight Movies were better than ever at the Echoplex on Tuesday night. Too bad the sound wasn’t. The vocals were just not loud enough and some of the distorted sounds clashed with each other, but I blame it on the sound guy and not them; I’ve seen them a few times and they’ve always sounded stellar.

Bearded guitarist Larry Schemel wore all black as usual and sounded better than ever with loud shrieking power and the sharpest playing I’ve seen from him. The beautiful Gena Olivier displayed more vivacity and confidence than ever as well, stomping and dancing around on-stage and exuberating a definite boost in energy.

They fully utilized the large backing wall with projections of psychedelic kaleidoscope-like visions which also combined real time live video of the Ms. Olivier singing. I was expecting them to do a cover of Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit, as they looked and sounded similar to 60s flowerpower acid tripping music on Tuesday night.

The vocals weren’t loud enough, and neither was drummer Sandra Vu's flute on the breathtakingly beautiful "Mes Rêves De Satin (Nights in White Satin)", where singer/keyboardist Gena Olivier gives up front position to Sandra to take over on drums, yet still sings. A cool jazzy flute solo really moves the song along but gets washed away when the song gets really heavy and chaotic with distorted guitars and banging drums. This song is virtually perfect as a bonus track on their latest album Lion the Girl.

The grand finale was a new track titled "Should Have Known" which featured duel drummers Sandra Vu on the main set and Gena standing and pounding on a bass drum. It was an amazing way to close out the shows…I don’t remember Gena ever rocking out that hard since they got mummified and opened for Ladytron at the El Rey on Halloween 2006!

I see good things coming for the band as are slowly changing their live performance…stay tuned for their next EP "Nights EP" featuring "Should Have Known", scheduled for a digital release of March 11th.

Here is Midnight Movies' set list of the night:

1. Parallel Paramour
2. Coral Den
3. Persimmon Tree
4. Wolf
5. Mes Rêves De Satin (Nights in White Satin)
6. Lion Song
7. Souvenirs
8. Should Have Known

I barely started listening to Matador Record's Dead Meadow a week before the show. They are a pretty good band; I enjoyed some tracks on their albums, but I feel like they’d be much better if they cut out all the filler songs that sound the same and maybe had just released two albums instead of five.

They went on stage after making us wait a little too long and jammed out with what they’re good at and what they’re known to do--slow and sludgy, psychedelic, bluesy, stoner rock. Similar in sound to The Black Keys, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Brian Jonestown Massacre, but not as distinctive or engaging. Singer/guitarist Jason Simon shreds the shit out his Telecaster, and he pumped out jams mostly from the fresh new LP Old Growth all while making it look all too easy.

All in all, the vocals aren’t distinctive enough, nor do they sound that memorable, and the band is pretty good but didn't really stand out that much, although Jason Simon's guitar tone is definitely something to be envied. Two words--“Big Muff”.

HEALTH Interview

2008-02-03T22:24:00.001-08:00

Here is an interview with the bassist John Famiglietti of the band HEALTH.

B-Ex: There's been lots of experimental noise rock bands that come and go but never really make it. What makes you so special?

//JOHN: Wait...we made it?? I think a big difference between us and other similar bands is the tempo, we play a lot faster than the average abrasive group, but um I don't really know. We dont think of ourselves as niche artists and that has influenced a lot of the way we are presented to the music world at large and maybe that perceptual shift makes it special...I have no idea.

B-Ex: You guys have been getting a shit-ton of buzz lately and all the Smell kids fucking love you. Have you considered filming a live DVD at the venue where you recorded your self-titled debut LP? If not, can you please consider it? Pretty please?

//JOHN: Havent thought of it yet....Might be really cool if we could limit the number of people and do it on the floor in front of the stage, still my favorite place to play.

B-Ex: I'm not going to ask you guys why you chose the name HEALTH because I'm sure that everybody already asks you that. I've read in various places that "Medicine" was already taken, and you wanted an everyday type of a name. What I will ask, though, is have you tried to google HEALTH before? People with short attention spans may get sidetracked looking for rash remedies on WebMD.

//JOHN: Yeah we get fucked on google and file sharing networks etc. If we had thought of that at the time, we should have given the album a title so its easier to download, cuz the downloading kids arent gonna buy the album no matter what, and might not take the time to find it on whatever file sharing network.

B-Ex: I just saw you open for Autolux at the El Rey. Quite frankly, I was more into you guys, and I've been a fan of Autolux longer than you've been around. If you could tour with any band that you've never met nor played with, who would it be?

//JOHN: Animal Collective

B-Ex: Can you please recommend another up-and-coming Los Angeles local band that I need to see live before I die?

//JOHN: Captain Ahab. A two-man rave party. Amazing tunes too, the music is great and the live show is insane, kids going crazy dancing jumping, taking their clothes off (literally) and getting on each others shoulders, sweat, sweat, sweat dripping off. Hype man Jim,
running through the audience in a speedo and soaking wet individually grabbing and humping anyone he comes into contact with, while Jonathan singing like a rock god over catchy rave music.

B-Ex: Your album is very visual and chaotic. As I mentioned in my review, the track "Triceratops" sounds like the soundtrack to a hellish post-apocalyptic video game themed rollercoaster with dinosaur shaped oscillating sprinkler-heads that shoot liquid acid onto the
screaming passengers. What kind of imagery does your music give you?.

//JOHN: Thats some crazy shit son.

B-Ex: What instrument(s) that you've never recorded with would you like to use in your next album (that is, of course, my fingers-crossed assumption that you guys want to make another one!)

//JOHN: That super amazing noise generator thing on youtube that costs millions of dollars. Synths.

B-Ex: Is their anyone you would love to collaborate with in your next recording? If so, who?

//JOHN: Musically, Johnny Jewel, Pictureplane, and Dan Deacon. Recording wise, an amazing engineer.

B-Ex: Favorite spot you've played only once:

//JOHN: A tie between Heco's in Oakland and Rhinoceropolis in Denver. Both are amazing diy venues of the perfect size and amazing show culture. Its like if the il Corral was a franchise you would open in different cities, sans rope swing.

B-Ex: Last great movie you've seen:

//JOHN: There Will Be Blood.

B-Ex: Thanks for your time man!

Autolux, HEALTH @ El Rey, 2/1/08

2008-02-02T01:56:00.000-08:00

HEALTH is an experimental noise rock band from Los Angeles. I saw them open for Autolux at the El Rey Theatre Friday night. They are really great live, and even better than the album! I personally wished that they were a little louder (there's really no other way to hear their debut self-titled LP than at full volume!) but nonetheless they were still damn entertaining. I also missed some of the video game sounding effects on "Triceratops", but the absence of them didn't effect their incredible, adrenaline pumping experience that much. On the album, this song sounds like the soundtrack to a post-apocalyptic video game themed rollercoaster with dinosaur-head shaped oscillating sprinklers that shoot liquid acid onto the screaming passengers.

The singer/guitarist had a T-shirt that read in all caps "I DON'T GIVE A FUCK" and I guess you could say that this music can fit your mood when you feel the same way. It's loud, abrasive yet fluid, mechanical, aggressive, spontaneous...very similar to Boredoms, or a more raw and stripped down Battles. The drummer really beats the demons out of those drums, and everyone in the band has so much energy and is hopping around so damn much that I was having Pokemon Snap flashbacks while taking pics. I felt like these guys were on stage for about 30 minutes, close to the length of their album. I can't wait to see them at The Smell (where they recorded their album and have been playing live shows at forever)! Please make sure to catch them there on 4/20 (uh oh)!

Okay, so it's about fucking time I got to see Autolux. They've played at so many festivals where I missed them, and after seeing them live, I wish I had caught them all the previous times before. Although the songs do stick to the same structure as on the album, they are a lot heavier, louder, and more shoegazy on stage! I think that their only current LP, Future Perfect, would have highly benefited from, oh, let's say, Steve Albini's production, because it's a little too polished, in my opinion.

Singer/bassist Eugene Goreshter looked like he was having a great time up there because he had a permanent mischievous Joker grin. He sang with a confident ease...Drummer Carla Azar looks very similar to Karen O and has a super cool transparent drumset. I love it when the drummer sings on some of the songs, and she does a fine job of doing it. She was sporting a metallic-silver looking leotard kind of thing (i don't know what the hell you'd call it) and a loose fitting silver top, which matched up well with guitarist Greg Edwards' Gibson SG, which was covered in what appeared to be aluminum foil, as did Eugene's Fender Bass.

They ripped through a handful of hits off Future Perfect, such as Turnstile Blues and Blanket, and a few new songs that I haven't heard yet. We'll all hear the new songs soon enough on the upcoming album which is scheduled for a non-specified release date this year.

All in all, they sound incredible live, but I would have liked to see a little more energy on stage. At least some feet stomping or something, but I guess shoegaze didn't get the name from them tapdancing on stage, haha.

Spotted at the Show: Pixies' guitarist Joey Santiago!

In Waves @ Silverlake Lounge, 1/28/08

2008-01-29T13:04:00.000-08:00

I fucking love this band. If I could describe them in one word, it would be "sprawling". With a tsunami of post-punk revival bands flooding the music scene, for some damn reason, In Waves really rise above and drown the whole lot of them. They'll drown you in their music, too. Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen are definitely recalled in their sound, but who isn't these days? Where this band stands out and totally kills the most recent wannabe acts (I won't say any names) is in their deeply lush and organic soundscapes.

A band like this, in my opinion, has too big of a presence for a small venue like Silverlake Lounge. I saw them play with A Place to Bury Strangers at the Viper Room on December 3rd (check my review on that show as well!), and I thought the same thing. But that doesn't mean they don't sound fucking HUGE.

On this particular night, In Waves barely tested their instruments and just started playing suddenly. No unnecessary long intro jamming sessions. Just pure immediate bliss. Dreamy ambient music, and from only three musicians! The vocals echoed with a deep lush reverb as if they were sung by frontman Jimmy Vincent in a giant empty church. Drummer Dean Cooper fucking pounds the shit out of the drums, and the bassist Tim Gregorio especially thumps through well structured basslines and rocks out more than most bassists I've seen in recent times. Dancing, moving around, and stomping his feet without looking awkward or out of place.

Not only are they great on stage, but Jimmy Vincent is a very nice guy. When I gave him a $20 bill to buy a demo, he said he didn't have change, and when I said I'd come back with it, he insisted on me taking the CD for free. I know how hard it is to make it in today's music scene. Excessive touring to get your name out there can be very tough, not to mention the very little money that bands actually make when playing many smaller shows...not trying to brag, but of course I came back with the money. After all, I started this blog with the primary focus of helping to promote the music scene, not to take from them.

On a closing note, some bands struggle live and have too many damn people on stage. Some peer into the audience to see if people actually give a damn. These guys don't seem to worry about that, and I don't think they have to. Not all bands have got it. In Waves do.

White Williams @ the Echo, 1/27/08

2008-01-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

White Williams played the Part Time Punks night last night at the Echo. According to parttimepunks.com, "PART TIME PUNKS is a club that takes over noted Echo Park live music venue, The Echo on 1822 Sunset, every Sunday night. The night focuses heavily on obscure and classic music coming out of America, the UK and Europe in 1978 to the present: Punk, Post-punk, Punk-funk, New Wave, No Wave, Hardcore, Indie-Pop, Twee, Grunge, Electro, Minimal-Synth, Shoegaze, Baggy."

Okay, so I don't really get it either. Seemed like yet another night at the Echo. There always seems to be bands playing one of those genres anyway, but whatever. Everybody wants their name on something I guess.

White Williams is the name for the music project of 23-year old Cleveland-based musician Joe Williams. His debut LP Smoke is as good as it gets for slower tempo dance music. He plays live with bassist Tyler and guitarist Hayes O Crypt. Tyler plays a black Fender Musicmaster and O Crypt plays an awesome white Japanese Fender Mustang, and he's pretty damn good at it too. It's a sharp yet non-piercing sound he's got setup, and he's got the riffs down very fucking tightly.

White Williams is young and small and skinny. His haircut is totally 80's Gahan. At the Echo, he wore a thrift store jacket that looked like he picked it with his eyes closed, a black vest, skinny jeans, and ultra-padded and overly gaudy high-top black sneakers. Anyway, he walked out onto the stage just after 11 PM...he had a mixing board and too many knobs to adjust and a MacBook on one table, and a keyboard that I didn't recognize right across from it. Also, to my surprise, he had a Hohner 32-key melodica (yes I counted in the pictures), which he used on many of the songs! Fucking rad! I was in San Francisco just last week and was looking to buy one until my sister told me I could have hers.

The guitarist and bassist both serve the band well and fit perfectly with the electronics coming from Joe, who goes back and forth from the keys to the controls to the drum beats inside his MacBook to melodica to vocals. He's a smooth operator; he doesn't freeze up, he doesn't fall down, and he doesn't fuck up. He glides effortlessly from instrument to instrument, and rarely makes eye contact with the audience while he steps through his songs. But the lack of eye contact is not one of shyness, instead, it appears to be one of confidence and carelessness; you'd swear he's been doing this for decades. He loosely wraps the mic cord around his hand to prevent himself from tripping over it while he slowly dances through his loungy beats.

There was a petite little brunette in the audience, maybe 21. She was walking around the Echo picking up mostly empty drinks that people had left behind and drinking them down in a hurry. I think in the 15 minutes that she was scourging the stage and bar for leftover icy ass-sips, she MAYBE got a whole drink down her throat. Maybe. Maybe next time the guy she was with could've just bought her a fucking drink, for god's sakes. Making out with that chick must be real delicious. Anyway, point being, she was dancing like crazy, front row, to my side, arms flailing to the point of almost hitting people. Totally into the show, and believe me, this didn't go unnoticed. Joe Williams put the microphone up to her screaming mouth, and turned some knobs to twist her voice up with delay. Didn't really work in the song, but fun nonetheless.

I really liked White Williams live. It was a fun show! I didn't find myself waiting for the next song, and I recognized every album track after only listening to the album a handful of times. It's great fucking music. Think Beck, Hot Chip, and Devo but with a more warm and chill foggy vibe. The only thing I would've added to this show was maybe a fog machine and some colored light beams.

I only paid $10 to get in but I highly recommend seeing him live even if it costs more. Don't trust your instinct, trust mine. Who the fuck am I? Just another blogger. But if you like the bands I listed as sounding similar in style, check out Smoke ASAP. I get the feeling White Williams is going to be huge.

Set List:

1. INTRO
2. HEADLINES
3. IN THE CLUB
4. VIOLATOR
5. NEW VIOLENCE
6. FLEETWOOD CRACK
7. GOING DOWN
8. SHADOW
9. ROUTE TO PALM

Spotted at the show:
Tim Presley of Darker My Love/The Fall
Matt Popieluch, lead singer of Foreign Born

A Place to Bury Strangers Interview

2008-01-27T16:45:00.000-08:00

Here is a brief interview that I conducted with A Place To Bury Strangers' singer Oliver Ackermann, bassist Jono MOFO and drummer Jay Space.

B-Ex: There's been lots of shoegaze bands out there in the past 20 years…what makes you guys so special?

Oliver: We are not so special as far as I can tell, we are just doing what we do. I was not anybody else in any of those bands so I couldn't tell you how their experience was different.

Jono: We're not a shoegaze band. That's what makes us special.

Jay: if you listen to those older bands and then listen to us you can see we're louder and more ferocious!

B-Ex: " A Place To Bury Strangers". What an amazing name. Where do you think the best place would be to bury a stranger?

Oliver: Thanks, it all depends on your thrill, maybe in their own backyard.

B-Ex: The album has a real timeless sound. How long did it take to record, and did you guys use any impractical recording techniques?

Jono: You'd have to ask Oliver.

Jay: again that's a question for oliver.

Oliver: It was recorded over the past few years and is just a collection of songs, it was not intended to be released as a record. To others there would seem to be lots of impractical recording techniques but we are just trying to get the best sounds. Amps were put in the oven, down the hall, 2 faced together, ran through bad speakers etc. Microphones were sometimes crappy, had spoons taped on them, caught sounds reflected off of cymbals, stuck on speaker magnets, headphones as mics and just about anything else that seemed like it got a good sound. It is just a lot of experimentation and then decisions based upon how well different ideas worked.

B-Ex: Nice! I like the idea of using headphones as microphones. I once placed some cheap earphones into a piano at my church when I was growing up. The results were haunting. Sounds like music from a machine that is picking up interference from ghosts...

Oliver: I know what you mean about getting some creepy sounds in church, there is something even about the atmosphere, maybe ghosts?

B-Ex: Who would you cite as your most unlikely influence? To clarify, who has been a big influence in your music that wouldn't be obvious to listeners?

Oliver: Six Finger Satellite?

Jono: Adam Clayton. Linear basslines.

Jay: dead ho... you'll see...

B-Ex: What has been your favorite city touring in, and why?

Oliver: I like the Midwest and small towns but it is hard to say, I just like to travel around and see lots of different places.

Jono: Chicago is nice. It's kind of in the middle of nowhere. It's big, beautiful and lots of fun. And of course there's LA. I find it very exotic. Sun, mountains, palm trees. And a lot of good friends.

Jay: L.A. has always been a place i love to go to because we have so many friends there... also Philadelphia cause that's where i'm from.

B-Ex: Tell me, what newer band should I be listening to right now? Something that rocks as much as you guys do.

Oliver: The Vandelles, Ceremony, Ringo Deathstarr.

Jono: Holy Fuck.

Jay: My best friend, Holy Fuck, and wait for the new Secret Machines' record it's wicked... also Ripcord they are the shit!!!

B-Ex: What is the last great movie you saw?

Oliver: I saw Vertigo last night, very good.

B-Ex: Nice. I recently saw North By Northwest for the first time and it was great. Hitchcock has so many fucking great movies it's hard to keep up. They're all so funny to me because the characters are sometimes so ridiculous and over-the-top...

If any, who was your biggest celebrity crush growing up?

Oliver: Madonna

B-Ex: Are you a fan of horror films?

Oliver: Sure, I like all kinds of movies, if it is good why not watch.

B-Ex: What is your biggest pet peeve about people?

Oliver: When people are stubborn and can't change their mind.

B-Ex: Can you guys PLEASE make a live DVD? The December 3rd Viper Room show was fucking epic! The strobe lights especially almost made me shit my pants.

Jono: We're making a live record. Will that do for now? Maybe we can distribute it with a free strobe light.

Jay: We're working on a live beta max first.

B-Ex: Thank you so much for allowing me to take up your time. Is there anything else you'd like to say to our readers? Something inspirational, haha.

Oliver: Do what you love.

Jono: God is a vengeful fuck. Seek solace elsewhere.

Jay: Jono is dead... seek inspiration elsewhere!!!

A Place To Bury Strangers, In Waves @ The Viper Room, 12/3/07

2007-12-03T11:59:00.000-08:00

I just saw psychedelic noise 3-piece A Place to Bury Strangers at The Viper Room. HOLY SHIT alert. If you like shoegaze, check out these guys. So far I've gotten a handful of people into them, and I'm glad to spread the word. Dare I say it, these guys were better live than Jesus and Mary Chain at Coachella 2007. Yup, that's right. Their music is heavier than a ton of bricks being dropped through a glass house full of revved up tractors. Find any two consecutive radio stations. Now tune into the static that is in between them, and mic that up to a board full of Big Muffs and into a stack of Twin Reverbs all turned up to 10. Now add strobe lights. That is what it is to see A Place To Bury Strangers live.

I was fortunate enough to chat with the incredibly modest and friendly frontman Oliver Ackermann outside the venue, and I thanked him for putting on THE BEST small show I've seen all year. He was incredibly kind, and told me if I liked them, then I should check out "Ringo Deathstarr". That I did, and they sound even more like Jesus and Mary Chain. In a world where nothing is original anymore, I definitely do not mind an overabundance of bands that sound like the kings of shoegaze.

Post-punky. Dreamy. Lush. Ethereal. Atmospheric. Haunting. These are just a few of the words that come to mind when witnessing headliners In Waves. What beautiful music this Echo Park band creates. The vocals recall the soft melancholy of Cass McCombs. I can't fucking wait for them to come out with an LP. Soon enough. May I recommend the song "Too Much Vision" as a starting point.

Spotted at the show: Lukas Haas.

Maxwell Demon @ Bad Dog Ale House, 11/30/07

2007-11-30T11:59:00.000-08:00

Maxwell Demon rocked the fucking walls off at Bad Dog Ale House tonight in El Segundo and frontman Raymond had a lot more energy than I've seen in a while. It reminded me of the good old days years ago when they'd play clubs like 705 and Westchester Sports Bar and Grill. I fucking love this band; they're by far my favorite South Bay local act of the last 5 years.

In a great finale to the show, Raymond jumped up to rip down a Coors Light banner. A bartender chick who wasn't too happy about this immediately rushed over to scold him, but don't think he cared nor will he remember it, haha.

José González, Cass McCombs @ Henry Fonda Theatre, 11/27/07

2007-11-27T23:59:00.000-08:00

Cass McCombs opened for José González tonight at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. It was a good show, but I'm pissed at the audience as usual for being too fucking stupid and loud during the opening set. Cass McCombs was playing acoustic and a handful of dumb bitches up front were being too loud the entire time. People were shushing them and telling them to be quiet, but they must've been fucking drunk for the first time in their pathetic young lip gloss covered lives, because they laughed and kept talking.

Anyway, Cass McCombs didn't play "Equinox" so I was pretty disappointed. I was really surprised to see bearded bassist Rob Barbato (of Los Angeles psychedelic shoegaze band Darker My Love and more recently of the legendary The Fall) at this show...he was playing bass for Cass McCombs. I also read that he played theremin on the album. Pretty interesting stuff!

Swede Jose Gonzales, who is mostly known for his folk cover of The Knife's electronic Heartbeats, performed an incredible solo acoustic set, with a spotlight shining down on him the entire time. The entire Henry Fonda crowd was respectfully silent. A moving experience, but maybe more of them should've had some respect for the opener that I went to see.

The Hives @ The Avalon, 11/7/07

2007-11-08T15:45:00.000-08:00

The Hives played at the Avalon tonight in Hollywood, supporting their more-of-the-same-but-good new album, The Black and White Album . These Swedes rock hard (as most of them do) and were extremely tight and poppy as expected. Everyone in that band must have been hyped up on a Costco crate of Pixie Stix or something because those guys are nuts!

The Hives are known for being completely wild, and saying very ridiculous, nonsensical and seemingly cocky and arrogant things between songs. At one point, frontman Howlin' Pelle Almqvist wanted everyone to applaud louder and louder and he wasn't satisfied so he said "don't make me come down there and set the rest of the city on fire Los Angeles!" What a low blow! He's referring to all the fires in Malibu. The crowd "oooed" and "booed", then the singer was silent for a minute, and then said "ah fuck you guys!" and they kept rocking. Hahahaha, crazy Swede.

Highlight of the show for sure: in the middle of the song "You Dress Up For Armageddon", right after the line "who is the man with the microphone? Today he is here but tomorrow he is gone" the entire band froze exactly like wax figures for about 30 seconds. Silence. Then the crowd applauded louder and louder, until Pelle Almqvist broke the stillness with a smile, and then two seconds later the band continued with "but I disagree!!!" Awesome. And lucky you, bathtubexplosion blog reader! I have a clip of this below!

Only real letdown of the night was, I didn't know it was a fucking KROQ show! Yes, KROQ! The same idiots who fucked up radio with all the same shitty bands. Seen the "I Am KROQ" billboards? Incubus, Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters...get over them already, FUCK! These shows are always filled with a bunch of kids and idiots. There was a loud fat Mexican chick in front of me the whole show who kept crashing into people, and a bunch of high school kids who smuggled in beer cans and were obviously drunk for the first or second time because they acted like fucking fools and talked too loud in my face. I wanted to smash heads. But that's the price you pay to get up close and take sweet ass pictures!

Yo La Tengo @ MOCA, La Jolla, 11/5/07

2007-11-07T00:51:00.001-08:00

Oh how I love driving all the way to San Diego on a whim. I did it recently to purchase a white maple necked Eric Clapton Strat, and I did it Sunday night to go see Yo La Tengo do an acoustic set at the MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Arts) in La Jolla. This show was sold out so I posted an ad on Craigslist and luckily enough I found a seller who sold me two tickets for face value of $25 each. What a fucking deal.

I drove all the way to La Jolla from Los Angeles and arrived at a very nice area in La Jolla with upscale shopping centers and plenty of coffee shops and restaurants. I had learned earlier in the week that Yo La Tengo were touring and playing special intimate acoustic sets which included audience Q&A's in between songs! I wasn't sure how well their feedback heavy sound would transfer to acoustic performances, but they sounded fucking fantastic!

They performed mellower versions of songs throughout their career (for an audience of almost 500), such as Autumn Sweater, Stockholm Syndrome, Griselda, and Mr. Tough. While many of the songs were sung so mellowly you'd swear you were having a flashback to a Simon and Garfunkel concert, some of them really picked it up with Ira Kaplan breaking out into Proco Rat distorted acoustic guitar solos. Very similar to the guitar in Tom Waits' Hoist That Rag! And his head-bowed-down-on-and-rocking-back-and-forth stage stance is very similar to Mr. Waits as well. Badass! This guy can really switch between soft guitar to fucking heavy fast shit--very similar to Thurston Moore's guitar playing.

The highlight of the night was definitely when I yelled out to Ira: "The song The Room Got Heavy relies so heavily on bongo drums and organ--is it even humanly possible to transfer such a song to a live acoustic set?" Mr. Kaplan smirked, and said "I don't know if that's ever even been done...is this a dare?" and they played a fucking awesome acoustic version that found simple amplified acoustic riffs opening the song, which eventually turned into some heavily distorted power chord shifts to finish off the climactic organ solo from the original version on I am Not Afraid of You And I Will Beat Your Ass.

This was one of the best shows I have been to all year. I won't soon forget the Ira Kaplan's between song commentary and soft spoken words of benevolence. He really seems like a nice guy, and handled the transition from "song--to audience question--to song (related to the audience question) very smoothly!

Thurston Moore @ Echoplex, 10/30/07

2007-11-06T23:50:00.000-08:00

I met up with J. Giovanni and B. and B. Hart tonight for the soothing sounds of Thurston Moore's new "Trees Outside the Academy" tour. I have already heard many die hard Sonic Youth fan's, such as (Raymond of locals E>K>U>K and Maxwell Demon) say that Trees Outside the Academy was everything that Sonic Youth's Rather Ripped should have been. Relying heavily on acoustic guitars and stringed arrangements, this warm and lush album transfers excellently to the stage live.

I worked my way to the front of the hardly packed Echoplex and waited through one of the shittiest 27 minutes of my young adult life. Scores (featuring Heather Leigh Murray and Christina Carter who sings on a couple tracks on Trees Outside the Academy) opened for Thurston, and regrettably so. This female duo on electric slide guitar and lap steel started the night with a whole bunch of high pitched howlin'. This is obviously music from the soul, but maybe it's left better kept in the soul rather than in the ears of the audience, who seemed squeamish the entire time. Scores sounded like a gang of ghosts raping a pregnant lesbian wolf bitch while riding the Matterhorn at Disneyland and listening to Cocteau Twins. And don't get me wrong, I love Cocteau Twins. This duo was a bunch of bullshit in my honest opinion (which you're going to get whether you like it or not; you're reading this.) Seriously, it was just two older chicks howling for at least half an hour and playing some slow and droney guitars. The music DID NOT CHANGE the entire time. So fucking repetitive I wanted to walk on stage on start peeing on their faces so they would fucking leave already. If there was talent on stage, I didn't see it, and neither did the handful of people from the audience who walked away during their set.

Finally the cacophonous cries for mother's milk ended and the man, the legend, Mr. Thurston Moore came on stage! He came out calm and cool, and mentioned something of having a Halloween mask. He asked if we wanted to see it. Of course we did! The audience cheered and screamed. He went backstage, and came back with the corniest skull mask I have ever seen. Then he jumped into the audience and got on his back and began having what appeared to be a violent fake seizure of some sort. He growled and he hissed for a minute, then got back on stage. I don't know for sure, but I think I was the only one who was amused by this. I didn't know he'd be so playful and geekily down to earth. The audience was pretty silent.

He ripped through a tight acoustic set composed entirely of songs from his new album, and then came back with an encore that consisted of a couple songs from Psychic Hearts, the highlights being Queen Bee and Her Pals and the title track which were the only songs he switched to a Jazzmaster for. And Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley (surprise!) beat the hell out of the drums the whole time. Rock on!

JH and the Squares, Vaudeville, Abe Vigoda, and Mika Miko @ Comic Bug, 10/28/07

2007-10-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

Comic Bug in Redondo Beach hosted a show last night which included the lineup of South Bay locals JH and the Squares and Vaudeville, following LA underground music scene giants Abe Vigoda and Mika Miko. Around 100 people showed up for what promised to be quite the entertaining night.

Check THIS link for more pics from both the Comic Bug show and the big after party at the Vermont House behind Vermont Shoes on Vermont Blvd.

JH and the Squares:

Joe Hylander is a busy man. When not touring with locals E>K>U>K, he's practicing and writing songs alongside fellow local man Jesse Hoffman of two-piece chicken dinner OHHOME! When these brilliantly creative forces combine, they make up JH and the Squares. Or, JH and the Motherfucking Squares!!! as I like to call them. Joe Hylander's vocals bear an uncanny resemblance to Elliott Smith's, and Jesse's stage presence is one of a statute confidence.

These guys are definitely coming to rock your world into a million tiny pieces (not to be confused with the shitty book that Oprah endorsed). If you were a toilet seat they would stomp you in half with a steel-toe boot. If you were a house of mirrors they'd blast through you with an AK-47. If you were a field of daisies they would run you over with a motherfucking John Deere. And if you were Steve Buscemi, they'd chop you up into tiny pieces and stuff your leg into a woodchipper with your socks still on. Yes. They rock that hard. And they're great guys, too!

These are some badass motherfuckers.

ENJOY THE PICS!

Loungy. Jazzy. Jammy. Psychedelic. Zappa-esque. Local heroes Vaudeville have been around the block and back, with fat catchy bass riffs, great smooth rhythms, and one of the best, if the not the best drummers in town, Sean Johnson (also of E>K>U>K, and formerly of From). If you live in the South Bay and you haven't at least heard of these guys, you're probably not cool. I'm serious. No I'm not. Yes I am.

Caribou @ Troubadour, 10/26/07

2007-10-27T02:44:00.000-07:00

Wow. What can I say? Caribou rocked harder than I thought they would have. The best part about this live performance is that singer/drummer/keyboardist Dan Snaith rocks so hard at drums.

Now I'll come out by saying this: I don't know the slightest thing about drums except there are high hats, low hats, a bass drum, and a snare. I'm a guitarist and a keyboardist. Drums and me don't mix. But I do recognize fucking talent. And Dan Snaith has truckloads of it. His drum skills came as quite a surprise! Many of the songs included dual drum banging performances by Dan and the main drummer (I'm not going to pretend I know his name, nor will I Google that shit because it's fucking late and I'm buzzed).

If you've ever heard the word "Manitoba" then you don't need much else of an explanation about these guys. They're indie electronic 60s sounding sunshine pop.

This guy has nothing to do with Caribou but I spotted him at a Halloween party on Vermont. He looks just like him!

Man Man @ Troubadour, 10/23/07

2007-10-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

I first got into Philadelphia's Man Man when reading about them on Pitchforkmedia early in the year.

I bought the album Six Demon Bag and it was awesome. Then I saw them open for Modest Mouse at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal City Walk after the show was moved from the Greek Theatre due to raging wildfires in the mountains and LA Fire Dept. setting up station there. Let's just say I felt bad for Isaac Brock and Co. ...I left to the Man Man merch booth during a Modest Mouse song to buy their first album, The Man in a Blue Turban With a Face. Equally engaging as the first with more of a children's sing-along vibe.

Man Man is one of the top 5 live bands I have ever seen in my life, and I've gone to Coachella the last four years in a row, along with hundreds of other great shows in Los Angeles. This show was fucking incredible and incredibly fucking packed was the Troubadour.

The place was super fucking hot due to all the damn Southern California wildfires and smoke. Dammit, every time Man Man comes to town, there's a huge array of wildfires. Coincidence? Or maybe they rock so hard that they set the world around them on fire. Last band that did that didn't make it out alive.

Rarely does a band have the kind of energy and chemistry on stage as these manly men do! They sound like a bunch of drunken singing fishermen who broke into a New Orlean's lounge bar and beat the shit out of the jazz band. They sound like a band of twee influenced gypsies wearing pots and pans on their heads while singing Tom Waits' covers and falling down the stairs.

The five or six dudes in Man Man jump up and down with their all white clothing: tank tops and T's, cutoff shorts, sailor shoes and those white Keds that your grandma still wears, and they rock the fucking house down. They pound the shit out their drums, use random items to beat with the drumsticks such as pans and empty oxygen tanks, and most of all, they just look like they are having a great time on stage. Every one of them seems to have at least one drumstick in their hands at any given moment. Keyboards, horns, guitar, bass, xylophones, drums, flute, melodica, drums, etc. I'm surprised they don't have a banjo and an accordion. Maybe on the next album, guys? Please?

Everybody sang along. You could barely find a path to the bathroom and if you did it'd take you five minutes just to get through.

Too bad I didn't show up early enough to take really good pictures. Enjoy.

Anton Corbijn's CONTROL @ Nuart, 10/22/07

2007-10-23T01:18:00.000-07:00

Tonight after getting off of work, I quickly hopped on the 405 N. from El Segundo and began my heavily congested commute to the Nuart on Santa Monica Blvd. to see the Ian Curtis biopic Control.

This movie was hands down one of the best films of the year. Beautifully shot in black and white, music video director Anton Corbijn’s masterpiece presented an emotional impact not seen in many of today’s rockstar biopics (think Gus van Sant’s ultra-shitty Last Days).

I appreciated the subtleties in the character’s personalities and minds, such as Ian Curtis' (Sam Riley) tendency to wander off and focus on the trivial in his sad state of mental and emotional isolation; when called upon by his chemistry teacher, he is completely spaced out while he focuses strictly on the letters "OH" on the chemical chart.

I must say that Sam Riley is one of the best new actors I have seen today. He looks and sounds like Ian Curtis (and resembles Jack White, Johnny Knoxville and Leonardo Dicaprio).

I was born in '84 so I obviously missed Joy Division live (Curtis killed himself in 1980) but from what I've seen in videos, Riley's stage performance was dead on. His voice resembles Ian Curtis' and he has the exact same sort of awkward arm shuffling spasms and dancing while on foot were, in my opinion, almost a way of foreshadowing Curtis' real life complete loss of control when suffering a seizure on the floor.

There are lots of likable people in this movie, and you are really left feeling sorry for more than one of them. This is one of those movies where you can't decide who's side you are on because all of the characters really do have a lot of good in them.

I especially felt bad for Ian Curtis’ wife Deborah (Samantha Morton) who spent most of the movie crying and feeling sorry for herself and her deeply troubled husband, who suffered from epileptic seizures.

A favorite scene of mine was when Ian Curtis' psychiatrist prescribes him an overwhelmingly long list of hard to pronounce medication, and then completely belittles the dire side-effects. It's no wonder the guy was depressed!

I really enjoyed the comical performance from Toby Kebbell as Joy Division tour manager Rob Gretton. Whereas most tour managers are portrayed as greedy assholes, this one seems genuinely caring and friendly to the guys in the band, which was a refreshing take on the usually selfish character. I loved his first scene when he calls the potential Joy Division manager a "das cunt" and tells him he's nobody because nobody has heard of him. And he's also got a great scene where he tries to bribe a random dude to step in and sing a song with the band while Ian Curtis is backstage having an anxiety attack. "I'll give you 20 quid, just go out there!" The guy walks out, starts singing, and is booed off-stage by angry bottle-throwing fans of the real thing. He then walks backstage and asks "Where's my 20 quid?" and Rob Gretton yells "in my fuck-off pocket!" FUCKING CLASSIC!

Freelance journalist Annik Honoré (played by the super sexy Alexandria Maria Lara, who was born in Bucharest, Romania, the same exact city that my father was born in!) ends up being Ian's side dish, and a smoking hot one at that. I put myself in his shoes after he meets her, and I felt his pain and confusion. For an actor to be able to get you to look through his eyes like Sam Riley does in this movie, you've got to give them some serious fucking credit. He's in his early 20s, married too soon, in love too soon, with a newborn child too soon. His wife is a homely homebody who has gained weight naturally through pregnancy, and although he does love her, here comes this young and fresh pretty little thing staring at him with those big brown eyes. What a temptation! Click HERE for a super hot picture of her from the movie.

On the weaker side, TV personality Tony Wilson (Craig Parkinson) may not have been as fucking PHENOMENAL as Steve Coogan in 24 Hour Party People, but the focus was less on him this time around, and Steve Coogan has impossibly big shoes to fill anyway. Craig Parkinson's Tony Wilson did, however, have a funny scene in Control where he signed the band contract in blood. I'll leave it at that.

At 23, the same age when Ian Curtis killed himself, I really have a higher appreciation for Joy Division than ever before. I felt myself relating to him with his relationship struggles, feelings of confusion based on obligatory love and extracurricular lust, and his ultimate overwhelming anxiety and indecisiveness that led to his inevitable downfall. After all, love will tear us apart...

GO SEE CONTROL NOW! Showtimes HERE.

Black Lips @ Echoplex, 10/20/07

2007-10-22T00:49:00.000-07:00

Just a day after missing Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug's main side project Sunset Rubdown at the El Rey (still bummed, I had my ticket, but ended up meeting up with co-workers at Union Cattle in Hermosa Beach for one too many drinks), Black Lips played at the Echoplex.

I arrived there early enough to catch openers The Spits and Pierced Arrows. The Spits, who are known for wearing crazy costumes live, had one of the craziest fucking pits I have been in in a while. These 30-years old or so bald Seattle dudes came out looking like skinhead Klansmen in loose white cotton sheet gowns, ink dots on their foreheads, and the guy on the keys was wearing a big fuzzy sasquatch-esque body suit and a welding helmet (think Homer in the opening credits for the Simpsons.)

They pumped out crunchy and raw power-chord punk that reminded me of Suicidal Tendencies with a synth, and even The Ramones on some tracks. Lots of singing-along, crowd surfing, and just an all out wild crowd. I had no idea this band had such a following!

I pretty much sat out the second band and then I worked my way up front to see Black Lips. Holy cow! I FUCKING LOVED THIS SHOW! I can't get over it! These guys have such a raw sound live. You can hear the crackle in the guitar's reverbed distortion as if someone is punching a Twin Reverb while the pickups are being run on a fading battery (I have an Eric Clapton Strat that uses Lace Sensors, and these active pickups sound exactly the same when the 9-volt is running low).

They really sound like a bunch of high school kids in the 60's getting drunk and singing along to old-school garage punk, and they do it extremely well, with catchy hooks that don't grow repetitive or annoying.

While their stage presence didn't include bodily fluid centered antics that they have become infamous for (urinating, masochism, vomiting, nudity, etc.), they still had a fucking awesome set and I really didn't miss the absence of cocks and barf on stage.

The crowd was really into it: yelling and singing along, pitting, crowd surfing, etc. but a lot of fans were also flicking them off and cussing them out and telling them to do crazy shit like "make out with each other!" and "take out your cock!" and "what the fuck happened to the good ol' days you motherfuckers!?!?" Some people were even throwing beer cups at them and they were getting splashed a bit. Nobody seemed to mind much except for thickly moustached bassist/vocalist Jared Swilley, who looked at the crowd, wide-eyed, with a look of contained-anger.

The band did well of keeping their cool until grillz-sporting guitarist Ian St. Pe broke a beer bottle on stage and the band was forced to pack it up with 5 songs left to play! Sucked! Everyone waited at least half an hour for them to come back on, booing and yelling, but they weren't allowed. Probably now banned from the Echoplex...

Dappled Cities / Figurines @ Spaceland, 10/16/07

2007-10-17T01:24:00.001-07:00

What can I say...I got there early, had a Tanqueray dirty martini, picked a few songs on the jukebox in the smoking lounge, played pool through the One AM Radio set, and then waited for Dappled Cities to start. I had heard the name but wasn't familiar, and usually I'll at least check the myspace page for the opening bands prior to the show, but I didn't this time. Not that it mattered, because I was completely blown away by Australian band Dappled Cities.

The singer transitioned from low to higher falsetto notes with fluid ease, and the entire band was tight, crunchy, and poppy throughout. The vocals were very similar to the Shins and Weezer's River Cuomo on some tracks, and I spotted obvious influences by Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips' Soft Bulletin, and a little bit of Pavement and Arcade Fire. Now I know there are a lot of bands that consist of "white boys with guitars" as an former Mexican co-worker once put it, but these guys made good use of keyboards/guitar/bass/drums. Great chemistry, good energy...a really fun live show! The crowd was fairly large for this one, and people seemed into it, so that always helps an opening band.

I purchased their CD, the wonderful self-titled Dappled Cities, and I really like it! It's kind of like the first time I heard the Shins' Chutes Too Narrow. Great catchy hooks, just like seeing them live, and a good powerful production. I realized that on some songs, singer Tim Derricourt has a very Morrissey sounding voice, something I hadn't noticed seeing them live.

By the time Danish headliners Figurines went up, the crowd grew a little more full, but dwindled down to a scarce number after around 4 or 5 songs. They played around 12 songs total but most of them are fairly short. Definite highlight of the night was their performance of "The Air We Breathe" which is a great song in the style of Beach Boys. Fucking amazing vocal harmonies on this one!

Thanks to my sister Sheri for helping me to take a some amazing photos!

Black Francis @ Safari Sam's 10/15/07

2007-10-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

Last night I saw Black Francis at Safari Sam's in Hollywood. If you haven't been there, you should go. The shows are usually cheap, and they're always giving away free or discounted tickets; plus, the parking is free in the HUGE 99 Cent Store lot.

I've only had a couple weeks to absorb his latest solo effort, self pronounced by the man himself as a "rock opera". The album is probably the closest to old Pixies material since his first two albums under the Frank Black name. There are some weak tracks, but at least 50% of the album is really solid hard rocking material, with Black Francis showing some of his signature screams that we all love. Most notably, check out "Threshold Apprehension" and "You Can't Break a Heart and Have It".

I got there at least 2 hours before B. Francis was on, just to secure a spot front 'n center. I awaited patiently for Mr. Black while drinking a 3-second white russian (yeah I'm not going to lie, it was "The Dude" who got me into this drink early on in college) and I kept a keen eye on the portal to the backstage. The crowd was full of older people, maybe late 20s being the average bloke. There was around 3 fat bald men in the audience, and every time one would walk by, everyone would stare over, and someone would shout out "wrong bald guy!"

Black came out completely calm and subdued, modestly sipping red wine from a clear plastic cup. I've got to say that he's a bit shorter than I thought. I've seen Pixies three times, but I've never been two feet away like last night.

Anyway, he got on the mic for minutes, describing how Bluefinger was wholly inspired by Herman Brood, a Dutch musician, painter, and poet who lived the sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll cliché and then jumped off the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel in 2001 at the age of 54. Black Francis then went on to play every song off the new album in shuffle mode, admitting that the sequencing of the tracks on this one doesn't really matter. I was so close to the man that if the stage wasn't so high up, I'd be standing face to face with only a mic stand in between!

The first few songs weren't quite loud enough so I dumped my makeshift wet napkin earplugs, only to regret this later when things got really fucking LOUD! Which was awesome. He didn't move around too much and get crazy like I had seen on his recent live performances on YouTube, but it's a small stage. However, he did sweat and scream and spit like a homicidal maniac on everyone in the front stage. Sick, I know, but his sweat and spit absorbed into my skin and maybe now I will become more musically talented, ahaha!

Some of the people in the crowd were slightly annoying and disrespectful. They shouted out random stupid requests while he was explaining the songs' meanings. Black Francis even commented on all the disruptive requests coming from the crowd. He said that if this were a "request tour", then it would've been announced, and followed this statement with the smart ass, sarcastic tone of "I wouldn't want to confuse the market." I think he handled it extremely well. One guy kept pushing his way to the front with a bundle of cash, trying to give it to Black as a tip. Luckily, he didn't even look down and acknowledge this rude offer. Come on, guy, he's not a fucking stripper, put your fucking money back in your fucking wallet where it belongs!

The highlight of the night, by far, was Francis' bonus performance of a few Pixies tracks, which he introduced as "memories". Grungier versions of "Cactus", "Break My Body", and "Bird Dream of Olympus Mons" were performed!!! I couldn't believe it! Trompe le Monde was my favorite Pixies album and in the past he had only been known to perform "U-Mass"! Amazing!

When the set was over, a stagehand threw out some guitar picks, and I was fortunate enough to have grabbed one from off the floor! It is a beaten-up orange .60 mm Dunlop Tortex, my pick of choice for the last 5 years!