Editor’s Picks – Showbams

It’s great to see Mike Patton back onstage & performing once again as Mr. Bungle rile up a sold-out crowd at Hollywood Palladium

May 15, 2023 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

Mr. Bungle with Melvins, Spotlights //
Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles
May 11th, 2023 //

When news broke in Sept. 2021 that Faith No More and Mr. Bungle had canceled their upcoming tour dates with lead singer Mike Patton citing “mental health reasons” for the decision, I was concerned.

Patton, after all, had been one of my favorite vocalists growing up, and considering all of the incredible musicians we have lost over the past decade, I was afraid we might have another leave us far too soon. The sudden and tragic passing of Chris Cornell back in 2017 had hit me hard as it had for many fans of 90’s alternative rock, but I knew that losing someone as influential and talented as Patton would also be difficult for me to stomach.

Thankfully those fears of mine didn’t come true despite Patton battling depression during the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually being diagnosed with agoraphobia. Because with a vocal range that spans six octaves, the Northern California native has carved out a rather unique career as a singer, producer, film composer and voice actor over the last three decades, regularly collaborating with other genre-bending artists like avant-garde jazz saxophonist John Zorn, hip-hop producer Dan the Automator and classical violinist Eyvind Kang on music outside of the heavy material he has been known to write as a member of FNM, Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, Tomahawk and Dead Cross.

Patton, nevertheless, has always maintained a relentless work ethic. His schedule would often see him juggling a myriad of projects simultaneously — whether it was fronting one of his five bands, serving as a producer for Merzbow, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Sepultura, Melvins, Melt-Banana and Kool Keith or running Ipecac Recordings alongside co-founder Greg Werckman for the last 20-plus years.

But that all changed in 2020 when the coronavirus spread and much of the world locked down. Afraid to go outside and be around people, Patton turned to alcohol as a way to cope but found himself unable to perform and in need of some professional help. The isolation, like it had for plenty of others, had gotten to him and zapped his confidence, causing him to freak out right before FNM were slated to hit the road and pull the plug on a dozen shows (none have been rescheduled so far).

“That’s when I kind of lost it, and it was ugly and not cool,” he told Rolling Stone last summer about his struggles. “I didn’t want to be in front of people, which is weird because I spent half of my life doing that.”

So when Patton made his first appearance onstage a few months later with Mr. Bungle touring in South America, there was a sense of relief that the 55-year-old was finally in a better place and back on track. Then came a spring tour announcement at the beginning of this year, offering further evidence that he was ready to make up for lost time on an 11-date run on the West Coast with labelmates Melvins and Spotlights that included a sold-out showing at the Hollywood Palladium last Thursday.

For everything that he has been through, Patton seemed to be in good spirits when Mr. Bungle took the stage in LA shortly after 10 p.m. The quintet made up of Patton (lead vocals, keyboards, samples), Trey Spruance (lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Trevor Dunn (bass, backing vocals), Anthrax’s Scott Ian (rhythm guitar, backing vocals) and Slayer’s Dave Lombardo (drums, glockenspiel) has been kicking off several of its headlining sets on the “Geek Show 2023” tour with a cover of John Sebastian from The Lovin’ Spoonful before tearing into tracks — including “Bungle Grind”, “Eracist”, “Anarchy Up Your Anus”, “Methematics” and “Raping Your Mind” — off the group’s fourth LP titled The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo that dropped toward the end of 2020, and with the Palladium’s large ballroom floor packed to the gills, you could tell that the capacity crowd had been waiting eagerly through both supporting acts to be whipped into a frenzy.

No further indication of that was necessary less than a minute into Mr. Bungle’s performance, as one crowd surfer after another came crashing into the photographer’s pit at the front of the stage and into multiple pairs of arms from the venue’s security team. And while the conditions for those of us on the photo list weren’t totally ideal given that we were only allowed to capture Mr. Bungle’s first two songs (plus unexpectedly dodge numerous horizontal bodies), it was quite a way to cover live music for the first time since being sidelined with a ruptured Achilles tendon.

I will be first to admit that Mr. Bungle, which only reunited a few years ago as a thrash metal outfit with Ian and Lombardo signing on, isn’t my favorite project featuring Patton. After more than a 20-year gap between albums, their latest is actually a re-recording of the outfit’s first self-released demo tape from 1986. That doesn’t make it bad of course, though it would be nice to hear something else new by this current iteration of the band. But as someone who has experienced his own health setback recently, I know it’s not always easy getting back out there, and that could certainly still be the case for Patton at times. You never know what someone else is going through or when will be the last time you see them, and that’s something you often learn with age. But life moves pretty fast, too … and right now we’re all better off with Patton in it once again.

MR. BUNGLE

Setlist:
Welcome Back (John Sebastian cover)
Bungle Grind
Eracist
Spreading the Thighs of Death
Territory (Sepultura cover)
Hypocrites
Speak English or Die (Stormtroopers of Death cover) (changed to “Speak Spanish or Die”)
Glutton for Punishment
Anarchy Up Your Anus
Methematics
Hell Awaits (Slayer cover) (intro)
True / Cold War / True
Raping Your Mind
World Up My Ass (Circle Jerks cover)
Sudden Death

Encore:
Loss of Control (Van Halen cover)
My Ass Is on Fire (with PEP tag)

MELVINS

Setlist:
Snake Appeal
Zodiac
Copache
I Want to Hold Your Hand (The Beatles cover)
Hammering
Never Say You’re Sorry
Evil New War God
Let It All Be
Blood Witch
Your Blessened
A History of Bad Men
Honey Bucket

SPOTLIGHTS

Setlist:
The Alchemist
Sunset Burial
Algorithmic
False Gods
Part IV

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Anthrax, Chris Cornell, Circle Jerks, Dan the Automator, Dead Cross, Eyvind Kang, Faith No More, Fantômas, Geek Show, Greek Show 2023, Greg Werckman, Hollywood Palladium, Ipecac Recordings, John Sebastian, John Zorn, Kool Keith, Melt-Banana, Melvins, Merzbow, Mike Patton, Mr. Bungle, Sepultura, Slayer, Spotlights, Stormtroopers of Death, The Beatles, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Tomahawk, Van Halen

The Bam Team’s 5 Favorite Shows, Albums & Songs of 2022

December 30, 2022 by The Bam Team 1 Comment

After seeing what the live music industry endured the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 was certainly a step in the right direction. For many artists and bands, this year marked the first since 2019 that they had the opportunity to step onstage — and that was a victory in and of itself.

While we aren’t completely out of the woods yet considering the coronavirus is still very much a part of our lives, there’s no signs of us returning to those dark and dire days of 2020. The shows simply must go on, and we are all better for it whether you’re a musician or just a fan.

Now as we turn to 2023 with cautious optimism, it’s time for us to share our annual “Best of” lists as we have done since this blog first began (see our 2021 picks here). We’ll be quick to admit we didn’t catch every show or hear all of the albums released in the past 12 months, but looking back on the year that was can not only be fun but also challenging with so much great music to consider.

So, without further ado, Showbams presents The Bam Team’s five favorite shows, albums and songs from 2022.

Listen to The Bam Team’s favorite songs of 2022:

Tool at Viejas Arena // Photo by Josh Herwitt

Josh Herwitt // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2022
1. My Morning Jacket at Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO – August 26th-27th
2022 will go down as easily one of my favorite years for live music. So many of the artists and bands I love toured after being forced to sit on the sidelines for at least two years, and as I look back on all of the shows I was fortunate enough to witness, it would be a shame to not mention the ones that aren’t already included here, whether it was Eddie Vedder, Baroness, Royal Blood, Interpol and The Shins at Just Like Heaven, Jack White (two nights), The Kills, Puscifer on my big day, Fleet Foxes, Big Gigantic Telefon Tel Aviv, Moderat, Khruangbin and Arctic Monkeys — plus Lorde — at the debut of Primavera Sound LA, The Mars Volta, Bonobo, Foals, Modest Mouse performing The Lonesome Crowded West from start to finish to celebrate the LP’s 25th anniversary or The Smile closing out their North America tour. But this year’s No. 1 spot once again goes to My Morning Jacket, which have become my top live band over the last decade among some very stiff competition (see the rest of the bands listed below to get a better idea). With back-to-back dates in SoCal at the Santa Barbara Bowl and Hollywood Forever (read our review here) serving as a preview for what would come the following week, the Louisville-bred rockers left no stone unturned in their return to Red Rocks. If there was ever an act to catch — not once but twice — at the legendary amphitheater after visiting it more than a dozen times in my life so far, this was the one for me and MMJ proved it over two sold-out gigs with no repeats as always.

2. The War on Drugs at Shrine Auditorium – Los Angeles, CA – February 26th
3. Pearl Jam at The Forum – Inglewood, CA – May 6th
4. Tool at Viejas Arena – San Diego, CA – January 19th
5. Nine Inch Nails at Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA – September 13th

Top 5 Albums of 2022
1. The Smile – A Light for Attracting Attention
It wasn’t until last year during a surprise performance for the concert video “Live at Worthy Farm” when we first learned of the latest side project from Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood with Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner. But after putting out six singles off their debut LP that came out back in May, it was clear the three-piece wasn’t messing around. Across all 13 tracks on A Light for Attracting Attention, it’s safe to say there isn’t one worth skipping, reaffirming why Yorke remains one of the best songwriters out there in the last 30 years. And with him and Greenwood switching off between guitar, bass and synthesizer among a bevy of other instrumentation including vocoder, piano and harp, their talents are as palpable as they have ever been before. After all, hearing Yorke croon “Don’t mess with me” toward the beginning of “The Smoke” is an edict — literal or not — many would have a tough time disputing at this point.

2. Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
3. Jack White – Fear of the Dawn
4. My Morning Jacket – MMJ Live Vol. 2: Chicago 2021
5. Bonobo – Fragments

Top 5 Songs of 2022
1. The Mars Volta – “Graveyard Love”
For fans of The Mars Volta, it has been a long wait since Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala hit the studio to record new material. Even with the project’s two constant members on good terms these days, it took more than a decade before anything would enter our earholes. But despite many of the prog-rock tendencies it demonstrated on earlier albums dating all the way back to 2003’s seminal De-Loused in the Comatorium, the duo’s seventh studio effort delves unexpectedly into new sonic territory. With a pop aesthetic running through it that surprisingly sees no song surpass the five-minute mark, The Mars Volta will undoubtedly be looked at as a departure from the days of “Cygnus…Vismund Cygnus” and “Cassandra Gemini” when Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala were captivating At the Drive-In fans as well as new listeners. Nevertheless, its second single “Graveyard Love” stands tall as some of their best work to date and reminds us that these guys haven’t lost what made them so uniquely special.

2. The Smile – “Thin Thing”
3. Jack White – “Eosophobia”
4. Interpol – “Toni”
5. Moderat – “EASY PREY”

Andrew Pohl // San Francisco

Top 5 Shows of 2022
1. Yard Act at Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco, CA – April 21st
Funny story about this show … I had been hearing a lot of buzz about Yard Act, and I had only listened to one song played a few times on KEXP, which I really dug. I had been on the Rickshaw Stop’s email list, and the venue ran a contest for free tickets. I happened to win so I took a chance and opted to see Yard Act’s show that same week. Wanting to familiarize myself with their material more, I immediately dove head first into their album and was totally hooked, so I felt really good about this turn of events. I hadn’t been to a gig at Rickshaw Stop in many years and was eager to visit again, so it felt great to be back in a packed room again for an intimate evening of punk rock. The opening act Buzzed Light Beer fell a bit flat in my humble opinion, but once Yard Act took the stage, the room started buzzing with life. Lead singer James Smith’s command of the crowd is very nonchalant, but he also knows he has you hanging on every word. The set was fun and well-executed, and the UK quartet was clearly on its “A” game after a lengthy run of shows and in between weekend performances at Coachella. Much to the chagrin of those in attendance, Smith kept referring to the audience as “San Diego” (LOL), though he did tell us that he had some mushrooms the night before, so … you know. To round things out, Smith offered to do a magic trick during the last song of Yard Act’s set before their encore and coaxed fans to hand over any loose bills they had, which he pocketed and took backstage. As it turns out, he actually gifted the money to the bar staff, which I felt was a nice touch and very much on-brand.

2. THE FEST 20 – Gainesville, FL – October 28th–30th
3. Coheed & Cambria at Greek Theatre Berkeley – Berkeley, CA – August 14th
4. Bauhaus at The Masonic – San Francisco, CA – May 22nd
5. The Velvet Teen at Arlene Francis Center – Santa Rosa, CA – June 17th

Top 5 Albums of 2022
1. Pilot to Gunner – Hail Hallucinator
Brooklyn indie rockers Pilot to Gunner hadn’t put out an album for a decade, and to be honest, I hadn’t really paid much attention to them prior to Hail Hallucinator. The name was always out there and I had friends who were really into them, but I never got around to checking out their music for one reason or another. And not unlike many other bands that came before them (i.e. Seaweed, Far, The Murder City Devils), I am bummed that I was so late to the party. They are absolutely fantastic, and this record was easily my most listened-to during 2022. From start to finish, the 10-track LP hit all the marks for me in terms of stellar songwriting, original-sounding guitar work that still feels familiar and vocals carrying the torch of the early 2000’s indie/emo revival sound ala Hey Mercedes and Jimmy Eat World all while not completely aping either group. “Drop the Sun”, “We’re Blasting to Masses”, “Total Rager” and “Escape Season” are among its best tracks, but I simply love all of them from beginning to end.

2. Thee Sacred Souls – Thee Sacred Souls
3. Yard Act – The Overload
4. Soul Glo – Diaspora Problems
5. High Vis – Blending

Top 5 Songs of 2022
1. 3rd Secret – “I Choose Me”
The supergroup 3rd Secret surprised the music world when their debut self-titled LP arrived in mid-April. Comprised of members from Nirvana, Soundgarden, Hater and Giants in the Trees, the album is a tour de force brought to you by grunge and alt-rock royalty. Its lead single “I Choose Me” turns things up and right out of the gate you can’t help but feel a little washed over with nostalgia from guitarist Kim Thayil’s signature riffage in addition to the thundering cadence courtesy of bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Matt Cameron. What makes the song — and the album — stand out to me, however, is the work of co-vocalists Jillian Raye and Jennifer Johnson. The pair deliver gorgeous singing atop the otherwise gritty instrumentation, harkening back to what made so many 90’s albums awesome with a beautiful balance of dark and light. I kept coming back to this song a lot throughout the year, and it made me really reflect on just how incredible the music that came out of the Pacific Northwest was when I was growing up. To hear this collection of musicians conjuring up those aural ghosts through a contemporary filter was not only refreshing, but also something that I was really looking for in 2022.

2. Yard Act – “The Overload”
3. Thee Sacred Souls – “Can I Call You Rose?”
4. Cave In – “New Reality”
5. High Vis – “0151”

Animal Collective at Greek Theatre // Photo by Rochelle Shipman

Rochelle Shipman // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2022
1. PUP at The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – April 21st
Two years and one full length after this show was originally supposed to occur, LA finally got to see PUP perform on their “Thank Fucking God” tour. Worth the wait would be a major understatement here as the Canadian punks transported us back to pre-pandemic times like nothing had ever happened — we were touching, we were screaming, we were moshing again! The night had such an innocent air to it. Despite the delay, 2019’s Morbid Stuff felt fresher than ever (and it still does).

2. Yaya Bey at Cafe Erzulie – Brooklyn, NY – June 16th
3. Animal Collective at Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – May 20th
4. Vince Staples at The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – August 23rd
5. Bright Eyes at Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – June 23rd

Top 5 Albums of 2022
1. Lando Chill – if im being honest
The multi-hyphenate who’s based out of LA quietly dropped this mixtape early in the year, and it stood strong in my top spot from the start. With a sharp wit and silky delivery, Chill tears through pages of his diary without cutting a single corner. Thank God for vulnerability.

2. Smino – Luv 4 Rent
3. Pusha T – It’s Almost Dry
4. Yaya Bey – Remember Your North Star
5. Open Mike Eagle – Component System with the Auto Reverse

Top 5 Songs of 2022
1. Steve Lacy – “Bad Habit”
An earworm for the ages! This impossibly catchy tune took over TikTok and catapulted Mr. Lacy into the spotlight that he was born to occupy, whether he was ready for it or not. The cherry on top of his banner year was the singer-songwriter’s old iPhone (aka his instrument) landing on display in the Smithsonian.

2. Lando Chill – “guess”
3. Leggy – “Lipstick on the Mic”
4. Pusha T – “Brambleton”
5. Channel Tres – “Acid in My Blood”

Filed Under: Best of, Best of 2022, Editor's Picks, Featured Tagged With: 3rd Secret, Animal Collective, Arctic Monkeys, Arlene Francis Center, At the Drive-In, Baroness, Bauhaus, Big Gigantic, Bonobo, Bright Eyes, Buzzed Light Beer, Cafe Erzulie, Cave In, Channel Tres, Coachella, Coachella 2022, Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Music and Arts Festival 2022, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2022, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2022, Coheed & Cambria, Eddie Vedder, Far, Fleet Foxes, FOALS, Giants in the Trees, Greek Theatre, Greek Theatre Berkeley, Hater, Hey Mercedes, High Vis, Hollywood Forever, Interpol, Jack White, Jimmy Eat World, Jonny Greenwood, Just Like Heaven, Just Like Heaven 2022, Kendrick Lamar, Khruangbin, Lando Chill, Leggy, Moderat, Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Open Mike Eagle, Peaches, Pearl Jam, Pilot To Gunner, Primavera Sound LA, Primavera Sound LA 2022, Primavera Sound Los Angeles, Primavera Sound Los Angeles 2022, Pup, Puscifer, Pusha T, Radiohead, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Rickshaw Stop, Royal Blood, Santa Barbara Bowl, Seaweed, Shrine Auditorium, Smino, Smithsonian, Soul Glo, Soundgarden, Steve Lacy, Telefon Tel Aviv, THE FEST 20, The Fonda Theatre, The Forum, The Kills, The Mars Volta, The Masonic, The Murder City Devils, The Shins, The Smile, The Velvet Teen, The War on Drugs, Thee Sacred Souls, Thom Yorke, Tool, Trent Reznor, Viejas Arena, Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl, Vince Staples, Yard Act, Yaya Bey, YouTube Theater

FOALS deliver another ‘sweaty good time’ at Hollywood Palladium while traversing the globe on their ‘Life Is Yours Tour’

November 21, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

FOALS with Inner Wave, Gustaf //
Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles
November 16th, 2022 //

What is it about FOALS that makes them one of the best rock ‘n’ roll bands to come out of the aughts? You know, that decade after the 90’s beginning more than 20 years ago?

A good starting point for most longtime listeners and fans of the British outfit would be Greece-born frontman Yannis Philippakis, whose gorgeous vocals and emotive guitar solos are often juxtaposed against his morose, yet impassioned lyrics.

And boy, let me tell you … when you’re feeling down, putting on one of FOALS’ masterpieces like 2013’s Holy Fire and 2015’s What Went Down can offer the emotional strength one might need to keep moving forward. You can hear it in Philippakis’ voice, and you can feel how much he’s pouring his heart and soul into the music. It’s really a beautiful thing to take in when it feels like the music industry has been largely condensed to 30-second soundbites with the rise of TikTok and proliferation of NFTs.

With founding member Edwin Congreave’s departure more than a year ago to pursue a postgraduate degree in economics at Cambridge University, the once-sextet has shrunk down to a trio consisting of Philippakis (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jack Bevan (drums, percussion) and Jimmy Smith (rhythm guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals) in the studio, but you wouldn’t notice much of a difference from the sound of their seventh LP Life Is Yours that arrived in June and saw them collaborate with a number of producers, including John Hill, Dan Carey, A. K. Paul and Miles James, for the first time.

If anything, the result is a shinier and catchier collection of songs in a pop sense, with its title track and lead single “Wake Me Up” setting the tone for the rest of the album. Life Is Yours was preceded by five singles, more than any other FOALS studio effort to date, and while others have had the same number of singles in the end, it wasn’t until after those records were released that they reached such a mark. In that regard, Life Is Yours is easily FOALS’ most accessible piece of work, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of praise with Philippakis, Bevan and Smith sharing songwriting duties. It actually still fits in quite well with the rest of their burgeoning catalog, even if it isn’t as wide-ranging or commercially successful as 2019’s two-part Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost that would eventually top the UK Albums Chart.

FOALS, nonetheless, are still touring as a six-piece with three hired guns — Kit Monteith of Trophy Wife (percussion, sampler, backing vocals), Jack Freeman (bass, synthesizer, backing vocals) of Jagwar Ma and Joe Price (keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals) — rounding out the lineup while always making sure to deliver a “sweaty good time” as Philippakis declared last Wednesday evening at the Hollywood Palladium during their first LA show since headlining the Shrine Expo Hall more than three years ago — and over six since the last time they set foot in the Art Deco-style theater (read our show review here).

The three-time Mercury Prize nominees were in good spirits as they often are when they come to town, particularly one where they spent time working on Life Is Yours and Smith also now resides. But on this night, FOALS weren’t just going to settle for the same setlist they uncorked less than 24 hours earlier in Oakland. Unlike our Bay Area counterparts, those of us in sunny SoCal would have the distinct pleasure of witnessing the tour debut of “Neptune” as the 10-minute epic came packaged in between What Went Down cuts “Snake Oil” and “Mountain at My Gates” heading into a brief encore break, marking only the fourth time it has been performed live so far. Of course I had hoped we would get to hear the full length’s namesake too with it being a personal favorite of mine, but considering the song hasn’t been in rotation for months dating back to July, it wasn’t all that surprising it wasn’t in the cards.

When Philippakis and company returned to the stage amid a roaring applause, it felt like they were just getting started. At the very least, FOALS know how to take things up a notch or two in the encore, and with Philippakis ripping through “Inhaler” while making his way through the crowd, it only reaffirmed their brand as an absolute force in live music. Some might claim the 60-plus stops on the “Life Is Yours Tour” extending into 2023 won’t stand up to some of their previous shows when we look back at them, but as our eardrums rattled for a final time to “Two Steps, Twice” off their 2008 debut Antidotes, it served as an immediate reminder that these past 15 years have truly been one hell of a ride for FOALS and those of us who have been here for them all.

Setlist:
Wake Me Up
The Runner
2001
(summer sky)
Olympic Airways
My Number
Black Gold
2am
In Degrees
Spanish Sahara
Red Socks Pugie
Providence
Snake Oil
Neptune (tour debut)
Mountain at My Gates

Encore:
Inhaler
Two Steps, Twice

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: FOALS, Gustaf, Hollywood Palladium, Inner Wave, Jagwar Ma, Shrine Expo Hall, Trophy Wife

Día y Noche de Los Muertos returns to Hollywood Forever, creating a cathartic experience with Ed Maverick, Hermanos Gutiérrez & more

November 4, 2022 by Ivan Fernandez Leave a Comment

By Iván Fernández //

Día y Noche de Los Muertos featuring Ed Maverick, Hermanos Gutiérrez, Son Rompe Pera, Thee Sacred Souls //
Hollywood Forever Cemetery – Los Angeles
October 29th, 2022 //

Typically, there’d be cause for serious concern when thousands of people congregate in a cemetery on a Saturday. The last thing we need in our not-quite-post-pandemic world is a mass gathering of a demonic cult or an apocalyptic scenario previously only imagined by the likes of the creators of the “Doom” video game franchise.

However, when the reason turns out to be the 23rd annual Día y Noche de Los Muertos event at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in LA, the main concern is searching for a place to sit to eat between performances. The festival is one of the largest Day of the Dead-related events in the world outside of Mexico and Latin America. Attendees over the years have been regaled with impressive lineups of Mexican and Latin American artists along with the dozens of altars built by community members in honor of their departed loved ones.

For many years, the event at Hollywood Forever and the Día de los Muertos event at Self-Help Graphics on the other side of the county were the only large-scale celebrations of the cultural holiday in LA. In our post-“Coco” and “The Book of Life” world, they are national torchbearers for a region with the largest Latin American diaspora in the country.

The festival’s first edition in 1999 was a small affair featuring some live music, a couple of altars and roughly 300 people. At its peak about six to seven years ago, 40,000 people were dancing along near the memorial and burial sites of celebrities (one half of the original Ramones lineup, Johnny and Dee Dee, are laid to rest here along with Mel Blanc, Mickey Rooney, Burt Reynolds, Jonathan Gold, the DeMilles, the Chaplins, etc.) and non-celebs alike, some who were laid to rest in the late 19th century. Since 2021, the festival has pulled a Coachella of sorts and split into two separate events at the same location: a daytime cultural event dedicated to families and kids to learn about the history and specific cultural practices of Day of the Dead followed by a nighttime event featuring three stages of live music.

The 2022 edition welcomed over 20,000 people to the cemetery grounds for a day of music and remembrance. This year’s theme was dedicated to Mayahuel, the Aztec goddess of fertility and maguey (agave), the plant where pulque, mezcal and tequila are derived from. There’s a tragic backstory about the romance between Mayahuel and Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, that ends in her death. His tears fall on her grave and create the agave plant, “producing pulque and mezcal to forever lesson our miseries and lift our grief,” to quote the event’s press release.

Thee Sacred Souls

There was certainly something of that in the air this year. Though it was still a fun celebration of life, perhaps the weight of these past two years has made people’s sentiments heavier. You could see it in the elaborate altars placed along the pathways from the cemetery to stages and art exhibits.

Everywhere you looked, there was an old portrait of a married couple as well as photos of an infant, boys, girls and teens whose lives were all tragically cut short. The beauty in the Day of the Dead event is how these portraits are also adorned with items that reflected the warmth of their lives, however short or long. Creating an altar takes time and an emotional effort by their builders that helps them confront their grief. There may not have been much pulque or mezcal on the grounds, but the miseries of recent times were certainly lessened through these public displays of grief and love.

The performers for the night also did a wonderful job of bringing people together and lessening their miseries while lifting their grief. The night began with San Diego’s Thee Sacred Souls. The trio of singer Josh Lane, drummer Alex Garcia and bassist Sal Samano have seen their star rise quickly over the past year-and-a-half thanks to a combination of Lane’s Marvin Gaye-esque vocal styles and their mesmerizing take on Chicano soul and R&B.

Son Rompe Pera

Thee Sacred Souls were joined onstage with a pair of backup singers, a guitarist and a pianist/organ player to fill out their sound. Though the trio has just one full-length album to its name so far, songs such as “Can I Call You Rose?”, “Weak For Your Love” and “Love Comes Easy” have become instantly recognizable by the band’s growing legion of fans. Tears flowed, kisses were planted and lovers hugged as the band gracefully swung from one love balled to the next.

Son Rompe Pera, on the other hand, were the exact opposite. If you’re ever curious as to what a combination of cumbia and marimba music from Mexico’s southeastern coast sounds like when fused with the ethos and energy of hardcore punk, then you must make it your mission to watch these guys live.

At the heart of Son Rompe Pera’s sound is not an accordion, a guitar or a drum, but the graceful xylophone! Never have I seen so many people lose their minds over watching a guy who looks like Edward Munson’s Mexican twin rocking out on a minutes-long xylophone solo. Never have I also seen a mosh pit start thanks to a xylophone solo, and even less have I ever encountered a mosh pit where a man felt comfortable enough to run circles in it with his very young daughter cheering him on while riding on his shoulders.

Hermanos Gutiérrez

The Mexico City outfit from the town of Naucalpan is also an example of how to restructure your recorded music for a live setting. Songs such as “Calculadora” and “Tortuga del Arenal” have a danceable, yet mellow rhythm to it on the album. When played live though, the songs take on a faster rhythm, with the marimba and cumbia accents ceding ground to the group’s punk vibe.

This is where I question the order of the artists on the lineup. Hermanos Gutiérrez went up next and played beautifully. Brothers Alejandro and Estevan Gutiérrez are two talented musicians who play guitar together, swapping between acoustic, electric and slide guitars during their shows. The Zurich-based duo’s instrumental music swept me away, carrying me into a mystical world soundtracked by their cinematic, western style.

Unfortunately, some in the crowd were still riding the high from Son Rompe Pera and jarred by the switch in energy and music, prompting me to wonder if it would have been better if Hermanos Gutiérrez performed before Son Rompe Pera. It’s a shame really, but it was wonderful to hear songs from their latest album El Bueno Y El Malo (The Good And The Bad), which they recorded with Dan Auerbach and released on The Black Keys frontman’s record label Easy Eye Sound, along with a few older cuts. There was something about listening to title track, “Tres Hermanos” and “Hermosa Drive” live in a cemetery that added to the experience and aura of the night’s festivities that no other performer had.

Ed Maverick

The evening’s headliner Ed Maverick was a smart choice to close things out. I knew the fest had taken a somber and introspective turn when the promoters announced him to lead the lineup. In fact, the “Sad Boy Supreme” of Chihuahua, Mexico, was stopping through LA on his first-ever world tour — and he did not disappoint.

Even from a distance, it’s easy to tell that his sad-boy schtick isn’t a performance but who he truly is. It also shouldn’t be a surprise considering he titled one of his albums Mix Pa’ Llorar en Tu Cuarto (A Mix to Cry in Your Bedroom). And yes, he performed his sad-boy anthems, but he and his band gave the songs an aura that matched the grief-lifting vibes of the night.

Maverick and his band adapted other songs from Mix and his 2021 LP Eduardo to give them a larger presence live. “Hola, ¿cómo estás?,” for example, filled the event like an anthem meant for a stadium as opposed to the recorded version’s floating, atmospheric vibes. Meanwhile, “Fuentes de Ortiz”, “Acurrucar” and “Quiero” became cathartic sing-alongs for thousands of fans in attendance.

Maverick didn’t have too much to say between songs and let his music do most of the talking. However, when he did speak to the crowd, he had to pause with a smile and wait for the lull between screaming and cheering fans to be heard. He ended the night with a lengthy guitar solo that cemented his newfound status as a rock star and new king of the sad boys.

Whatever grief guests carried with them into the event, they certainly left feeling weightless after a long, fun and most importantly, cathartic experience.

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festival Reviews, Festivals Tagged With: Coachella, Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Dan Auerbach, Easy Eye Sound, Ed Maverick, Hermanos Gutierrez, Hollywood Forever, Son Rompe Pera, The Black Keys, The Ramones, Thee Sacred Souls

A little rain doesn’t stop Bonobo from finishing his U.S. live tour for ‘Fragments’ with an electric hometown show at LA’s Greek Theatre

October 24, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

Bonobo with Tourist & O’Flynn //
Greek Theatre – Los Angeles
October 22nd, 2022 //

For those who have been following Simon Green’s work under the Bonobo moniker that the British DJ, producer and musician created more than two decades ago in the seaside city of Brighton, it shouldn’t necessarily be a surprise to hear his seventh LP Fragments arrived in January almost five years to the day since 2017’s Migration came out.

A lot has happened around the world over that span, though none more impactful than the COVID-19 pandemic of course. Green has even stated in interviews that the isolation he experienced during the lockdown stifled his creativity for much of 2020.

In fact, it wasn’t until he received Jamila Woods’ vocal parts that Fragments would begin to take shape, with “Tides” featuring the Chicago-based singer-songwriter, rapper and poet serving as its centerpiece. So while the 12-track album embodies Green’s struggles and introspection over the past two years with a deep sense of sorrow, it also offers moments of liberation and joy for the three-time Grammy nominee.

All of those emotions were channeled through Green’s music last Saturday at the Greek Theatre in his adopted hometown of LA. This wasn’t actually the first time he was headlining the historic amphitheater. No, we were there for that (read our show review here) as he shared the stage with Canadian electronic duo Bob Moses and demonstrated why his live performances are truly something special to witness.

Nicole Miglis

Nonetheless, this gig marked the final date of his U.S. live tour in support of Fragments, and what better way to end a weeks-long trek across the states than on a rainy night in the City of Angels? Green might very well disagree given that the inclement weather had fans abandoning their seats for shelter on each side of the venue, but the precipitation would fortunately last for only part of Tourist’s opening set as the clouds parted before the evening’s main attraction.

By the time Green stepped onstage with his live band after 9 p.m., the Greek was ready to welcome him with open arms. It’s not often he performs with a string section behind him, but with the increasing costs that have come with touring on a larger scale, Green knows it’s not likely he’ll be able to do this again in the same capacity down the road as he confessed recently on social media. Almost a third of the songs that he would unveil featured Nicole Miglis of Hundred Waters on lead vocals, and with her touching on some newer and older Bonobo material, she filled in seamlessly as a proper substitute for Green’s wide swath of collaborators that has included Joji, Nick Murphy (aka Chet Faker) and Rhye to name a few.

There was a small hope in us too that Green would debut his brand-new single “Defender” after its drop three days prior, but despite our wish not coming true, the inclusion of “ATK” following its release in early September as well as 2019’s “Linked” proved this tour was more than just a celebration of Fragments. If anything, it was him reminding us how much his eclectic sound has been rooted in the UK dance clubs it pervaded amid the early 2000’s.

With the live music industry still in a state of recovery as many established artists struggle to make ends meet, there’s no telling what a live Bonobo show will look like in the future. One could see Green scaling back to not have as much instrumentation and instead utilizing more prerecorded stems to ease some of the financial burden — or he could simply stick to the major markets and pass on the smaller cities such as Flagstaff, Ariz. Either way, we have little doubt that however Green’s performances look one day, they will be like they have always been: beautiful, euphoric, sad and all of those feelings in between.

Setlist:
Polyghost
Rosewood
Counterpart
Surface (feat. Nicole Miglis)
Tides (feat. Nicole Miglis)
Kiara (feat. Nicole Miglis)
Bambro Koyo Ganda
Cirrus
Outlier
ATK
From You (feat. Nicole Miglis)
No Reason (feat. Nicole Miglis)
Linked
Age of Phase
Otomo

Encore:
Break Apart (feat. Nicole Miglis)
Kerala

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Bonobo, Chet Faker, Greek Theatre, Hundred Waters, Jamila Woods, Joji, Nick Murphy, Nicole Miglis, O'Flynn, Rhye, Tourist

Moderat are back to mesmerizing their fans again following an extended hiatus as they demonstrate at The Wiltern

September 27, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

Moderat //
The Wiltern – Los Angeles
September 23rd, 2022 //

With the music industry still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two and a half years, it’s not hard to find a concert worth catching in LA at the moment. Artists and bands across every scene have been trying to make up for lost time, and those more specifically in the world of dance music have been no different.

But it’s not every day that you get to see a top-notch electronic act perform live inside one of the city’s most historic music venues on a Friday night.

And in the case of Moderat, it took the German supergroup consisting of Sascha Ring (aka Apparat) and Modeselektor members Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary more than six years to release their fourth studio album More D4ta as the follow-up to 2016’s phenomenal III. While that remains Moderat’s largest gap between full-length efforts, they haven’t forgotten how to captivate their audiences after going on an extended hiatus.

The Berlin-based three-piece was greeted by a strong turnout at The Wiltern for its first LA show since 2017 when Ring, Bronsert and Szary played the Mayan (read our show review here) in between what many fans have considered to be two career-defining performances at Coachella — and we truly can’t disagree with that assessment from what we saw during Weekend 1 (read our festival review here).

After all, there aren’t a whole lot of electronic-leaning acts out there who are doing anything like what Moderat does when it comes to their approach and sound as they fuse electronic beats and textures behind live vocals — led by Ring with Bronsert and Szary assisting — and instrumentation.

Caribou would be another one that comes to mind after witnessing the Grammy nominee’s gig at LA’s Greek Theatre last November (read our show review here), but unlike Moderat, Dan Snaith has had a knack for mixing 70’s funk and soul as well as 90’s hip-hop and R&B into his music over the years.

While you won’t hear any of those genres on More D4ta that Moderat put out in May via Modeselektor’s own Monkeytown Records, there are some similarly hypnotic moments throughout the 10-track LP. Just take new singles “Fast Land” and “Easy Prey” for instance, the latter of which surprisingly wasn’t on the group’s LA setlist despite being performed in Oakland the evening prior along with its 2014 remix of Jon Hopkins’ “Abandon Window” (yeah, I guess you could say we’re jealous about that).

Regardless of whatever songs we didn’t to get hear before Ring, Bronsert and Szary headed south to CRSSD Festival, there was plenty to enjoy. From the opening lines of “Reminder” to the mesmerizing audio-visual experience of “Bad Kingdom” that entrances us every time, Moderat had a packed crowd hanging on every word that Ring delivered by the time they ran through an encore that concluded with “Les Grandes Marches” and “No. 22” off their 2009 self-titled debut from what feels like ages ago.

There also aren’t many acts, electronic or not, that will come back out for a second encore. Moderat are built a little bit differently in that way though, and based on the applause they were showered with at The Wiltern, it wasn’t completely shocking to watch them return to the stage one last time and drop “Intruder” for those screaming “one more song!” at the top of their lungs.

Because after waiting five-plus years to tour the world again, can you really blame them?

Setlist:
Reminder
More Love
Animal Trails
Undo Redo
Doom Hype
Rusty Nails
Eating Hooks
Running
Neon Rats
Bad Kingdom
Ghostmother
A New Error

Encore #1:
Fast Land
Les Grandes Marches
No. 22

Encore #2:
Intruder

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Apparat, Caribou, Coachella, Coachella 2017, Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Music and Arts Festival 2017, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2017, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2017, Jon Hopkins, Mayan Theater, Moderat, Modeselektor, The Mayan, The Wiltern, The Wiltern Theatre

Primavera Sound LA 2022: The best & worst of the Barcelona music festival’s inaugural edition on U.S. soil

September 21, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

Photos by Josh Herwitt & courtesy of Primavera Sound LA // Written by Josh Herwitt //

Primavera Sound LA //
LA State Historic Park – Los Angeles
September 16th-18th, 2022 //

It’s no secret that Primavera Sound has had its sights set on Los Angeles for quite some time now. The Barcelona music festival that has been going strong for two decades expanded to Porto in 2012 and will finally stamp its brand on four more cities in 2022 after a two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

LA is the first of those four cities, but with the festival’s other three new locations — São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Santiago — all launching in South America later this year, LA State Historic Park also served as Primavera Sound’s inaugural event in the states.

Spreading four stages across the 32-acre park that remains one of the best spots in the city to host a music festival before and after three years of renovations, PSLA welcomed a wealth of talent from the top line to the bottom. Lorde, Nine Inch Nails and Arctic Monkeys each delivered headline-worthy sets while an indie-leaning undercard highlighted by BICEP (Live), Cigarettes After Sex, Clairo, DARKSIDE, Drain Gang, Fontaines D.C., Girl in Red, GIVĒON, James Blake, King Krule, Khruangbin and Mitski all drew big crowds over the course of three days. In a lot of ways, PSLA fills a much-needed void after the sudden and disheartening end to FYF Fest, which would tout itself as the “best weekend of summer” for many live music fans and was one of our favorite multi-day festivals to cover (read more here).

Any time a new music festival launches though, there are always highs and lows. So without further ado, here are our best and worst moments from Primavera Sound’s first installment on U.S. soil:

Best: The weather

After LA experienced its worst heat wave of the year earlier this month with temperatures reaching triple digits, the weather luckily cooled down just in time for PSLA. For many of us, a second layer of clothing wasn’t ever necessary from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening. After all, how often does that happen? With great music lined up throughout the day and a forecast hovering in the mid to high 70’s, it truly felt like a quintessential summer weekend in LA.

Worst: Will Call line

When we arrived at the festival on Friday afternoon, the line at the box office quickly stood out. In fact, it was so long that we knew the wait would be at least an hour for those trying to pick up their passes, only to discover later via Twitter it was even longer for many even at 6 p.m. These are the kind of issues any first-year music festival hopes to avoid and can ultimately prepare for, but when you change your ticket delivery method to in-person on short notice after previously telling fans it would be done electronically, it’s no surprise that you end up pissing off some of your customers.

Best: Lorde

The 25-year-old singer-songwriter has been making the rounds this year on an extensive world tour in support of 2021’s Solar Power, and there’s no question that her entire stage design and production was impressive to witness. Ahead of festival stops at Life Is Beautiful and Rifflandia over the same weekend, Lorde arrived onstage via a rotating staircase with some of her backing band and ran through 15 songs — from her 2013 debut single “Royals” to Melodrama hits like “Perfect Places” and “Green Light” — as PSLA’s first headliner. We wouldn’t necessarily call ourselves big fans, but we definitely understand why she was deserving of top billing.

Worst: Food & drink

We will eventually get to the limited viewing space that under-21 guests were offered, but even if you wanted to drink at PSLA, the options were simply not good. This was certainly not the place for craft beer enthusiasts, as your choices were Heineken or the low-calorie Tecate Alta that tasted mostly like beer-flavored water for $12 each. Not only would it be nice to have seen local breweries — there are two excellent ones located across the street from the festival’s entrance — featured, but in a city such as LA with a food-and-drink scene that’s one of the best in the country, partnering with major beer and liquor brands along with a handful of Smorgasburg LA restaurants doesn’t exactly cut it anymore. The only food stall in one of the VIP areas selling “California style” Philly cheeseteaks made us think about how much Goldenvoice has elevated its game in this respect, with top-notch local options at Just Like Heaven (read our festival review here) from Goldburger to Homage Brewing standing out as examples most recently in May.

Best: Khruangbin

The Houston three-piece that has made 70’s Thai funk sound cool again has been one of the hottest acts to tour over the past five years, as evidenced by their three sold-out shows at LA’s Greek Theatre last November. While most might have come Saturday to see Nine Inch Nails, it was K-bin who would steal the show before Trent Reznor and company ever played a note. Those who made it to the main stage for sunset were treated to an hour of grooves, as Mark Speer (guitar, vocals), Laura Lee (bass, vocals) and Donald Johnson (drums, vocals) hypnotized us with fan favorites “María También” and “So We Won’t Forget” before diving into a melody of covers that embraced a wide array of artists, from MF DOOM, The Isley Brothers, Tina Turner and Chris Isaak to 90’s hip-hop legends A Tribe Called Quest, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Warren G and Dr. Dre.

Worst: Art installations

Sometimes it can be easy to forget how spoiled we are in California when it comes to all of the music festivals we have. Not only do many of our best and brightest such as Coachella, Outside Lands and Lightning in a Bottle showcase a wide range of musical genres, but they also feature their own unique art installations that continue to push the envelope. In the case of Primavera Sound, let’s just say that’s not its M.O. While we can’t fault the festival for keeping the focus strictly on the music, LA State Historic Park did seem to lack some color aesthetically. That said, there were a couple of highlights off the stage, including the vinyl market that was curated by KCRW and Beat Swap Meets as well as the FLATSTOCK poster show series making its only West Coast stop of the year and featuring locals like Kii Arens of La-La Land Prints.

Best: Signs, sightlines & sound

With the Primavera Sound brand being all about the music, our eyes were mostly focused on the artists performing. Nevertheless, the signs, sightlines and sound at PSLA were all on point. The downtown LA skyline served as a fitting backdrop like it usually does at LASHP, and despite poor audio issues playing a role at outdoor music festivals, we didn’t experience any while we were on the ground so kudos to the organizers for locking that down. If anything, the decibels across the fest’s four stages were so high that we found ourselves needing ear protection most of the weekend.

Worst: Short headliner sets

After Primavera Sound LA unveiled the lineup for its debut this year, we presumed all three headliners would receive at least 90 minutes each day. So when the set times dropped more than a couple weeks in advance, it was a bit of a shock seeing only 75 minutes designated for each of them. A Hall of Fame band like Nine Inch Nails has more than 10 studio albums and several EPs in its catalog but were only granted enough time to crank out 16 songs, many of which have been setlist staples for years up to this point. Though NIN classics like “Wish”, “March of the Pigs”, “Closer”, “Gave Up” and “Head Like a Hole” are never tracks to lack energy live, we’re happy we caught their sold-out gig at the Santa Barbara Bowl (read our show review here) four days earlier for the chance to hear a cover of David Bowie’s “I’m Afraid of Americans” and multiple other deep cuts.

Best: Arctic Monkeys

It was clear when we showed up for PSLA’s final day that the attendance felt bigger than the day prior. Although that seemed a little odd considering it was Sunday and not Saturday, it was a testament to the fan base Arctic Monkeys have built at the 20-year mark. The English rockers haven’t toured since 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, and with their forthcoming seventh LP The Car slated to come out next month, frontman Alex Turner and his bandmates gave us a taste with the disco funk that they’ve cooked up on “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am” midway through their headlining performance. And even though we didn’t hear lead single “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” despite it being the only track that they have officially released so far, there were plenty of other thrilling moments for us to remember in between the opening notes of “Do I Wanna Know?” and the closing “R U Mine?” to end the night. Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait too long before there’s a return date to California after the new album drops.

Worst: Under-21 viewing areas

Most of PSLA’s guests are of legal drinking age, and with the festival boasting a number of alcohol-related sponsors that included Cuervo and Smirnoff, it certainly caters to the over-21 crowd. But for those who weren’t, the viewing areas at the Primavera and Tecate Alta stages were less than ideal. Besides the allotted space being too small and positioned off to the side, underage guests were only informed 10 days in advance. If you’re not 21 yet, make sure to temper your expectations — or we’d recommend waiting until you are before attending.

Primavera Sound LA photographers featured: Nicolita Bradley, Lindsey Byrnes, Pooneh Ghana, Miranda McDonald, Ismael Quintanilla III & Quinn Tucker.

Primavera Sound LA 2022 - Lights Down Low

Primavera Sound LA 2022 - PinkPantheress

Primavera Sound LA 2022 - Eris Drew B2B Octo Octa

Primavera Sound LA 2022 - Derby Motoreta's Burrito Kachimba

Primavera Sound LA 2022 - Él Mató a un Policía Motorizado

Primavera Sound LA 2022 - Chulita Vinyl Club

Primavera Sound LA 2022 - Special Interest

Primavera Sound LA 2022 - Fontaines D.C.

Primavera Sound LA 2022 - Shanti Celeste B2B Isabella

Primavera Sound LA 2022 - Nine Inch Nails

Primavera Sound LA 2022 - Maddy Maia + Tottie (SOS Music)

Primavera Sound LA 2022 - Amyl & The Sniffers

Primavera Sound LA 2022 - Special Request

Primavera Sound LA 2022 - Cigarettes After Sex

Primavera Sound LA 2022 - Arctic Monkeys

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festival Reviews, Festivals Tagged With: A Tribe Called Quest, Acemoma, Amaarae, Amyl and the Sniffers, Arca, Arctic Monkeys, Él Mató a un Policía Motorizado, Bad Gyal, Beak>, Beat Swap Meet, Bicep, Bladee, Boy Harsher, Buscabulla, Chai, Chris Isaak, Chulita Vinyl Club, Cigarettes After Sex, Clairo, Coachella, Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Coronavirus, Coronavirus Pandemic, Covid 19, COVID-19 Pandemic, Current Joys, Danny L Harle, Darkside, David Bowie, Derby Motoreta's Burrito Kachimba, Divino Niño, DJ Florentino, DJ Playero, DJ Python, Dr. Dre, Drain Gang, Dry Cleaning, ECCO2K, Eris Drew, Eris Drew B2B Octo Octa, f, Faye Webster, FLATSTOCK, Fontaines D.C., Georgia, Giveon, Goldburger, Gustaf, Helena Hauff, Homage Brewing, Isabella, James Blake, Jasss, Jeff Mills, Jehnny Beth, John Talabot, KCRW, Kelman Duran, Khruangbin, Kii Arens, Kim Gordon, King Krule, LA-LA Land Gallery, La-La Land Prints, Little Jesus, Lorde, Low, Machine Girl, María José Llergo, Marina Herlop, Mayhem, MF DOOM, Mitski, Mustafa, Núria Graham, Nine Inch Nails, NOS Primavera Sound, Octo Octa, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Omar-S, Paloma Mami, PinkPantheress, Primavera Sound, Primavera Sound 2021, Primavera Sound 2022, Primavera Sound LA, Primavera Sound LA 2022, Primavera Sound Los Angeles, Primavera Sound Los Angeles 2022, Red, Sangre Nueva, Savages, Shanti Celeste, Shanti Celeste B2B Isabella, Shellac, Sherelle, Shygirl, Smorgasburg LA, Smorgasburg Los Angeles, Special Interest, Special Request, Squid, Stereolab, Surf Curse, Thaiboy Digital, The Isley Brothers, Tierra Whack, Tim Hecker, Tina Turner, Warpaint, Warren G, Wunderhorse

New music or not, Nine Inch Nails are still commanding sold-out crowds at the Santa Barbara Bowl & beyond in 2022

September 14, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

Nine Inch Nails with Yves Tumor //
Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA
September 13th, 2022 //

If there was ever a time in his long and illustrious career when Trent Reznor had seemingly little left to prove, it would be now.

After all, the 57-year-old Nine Inch Nails mastermind who formed the project more than three decades ago while working as an assistant engineer and janitor at Right Track Studios in Cleveland has racked up nearly every accolade for his music, from Grammys and Oscars to Emmys and even a CMA Award, with only a Tony standing in his way of EGOT status.

But aside from the latest two installments of the soundtrack-oriented Ghosts at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has already been a few years since NIN released new material after the six-track Bad Witch arrived in 2018 and the now-Hall of Fame band embarked upon its “Cold and Black and Infinite” tour across North America that concluded with Reznor and company playing a whopping six nights at the Hollywood Palladium with anything in the NIN catalog on the table thanks to a more stripped-down stage production of mostly smoke and lights the industrial-rock act is still currently showcasing.

So when NIN announced in February a limited number of dates for 2022, there was a sense among fans — or at least this one right here — that new music would be imminent at some point this year. Reznor, in fact, had actually hinted at the 2021 Academy Awards that there was more to come from NIN, though we have yet to hear any since then.

That certainly hasn’t mattered when it comes to NIN’s ticket sales, however. Outside of a few festival appearances that includes a headlining performance at Primavera Sound LA this Saturday, just about every show this year has been sold out and things were no different on Tuesday when Reznor’s outfit returned to the Santa Barbara Bowl for the first time since 2009.

The 4,562-seat amphitheater continues to be one of our favorite places in California — if not the entire country — to catch a concert, and despite the coastal city’s music scene being a bit more laidback than LA’s, you wouldn’t have known it by the time NIN stormed onstage shortly after Yves Tumor wrapped up his opening set.

With the outdoor venue’s strict 10 p.m. curfew always at play, there was no time to spare for Reznor, Atticus Ross, Robin Finck, Alessandro Cortini and Ilan Rubin, and the five-piece made the most of its one-hour, 45-minute gig with deep cuts like “Last” and “Heresy” preceding setlist staples that featured “March of the Pigs”, “Piggy” and “Closer” from The Downward Spiral as well as “The Perfect Drug”, the 1997 cut on the “Lost Highway” soundtrack that only made its live debut in 2018 but has already been played 30 more times thanks to Rubin’s thunderous ambidexterity on the drum kit.

Of course, we would be remiss to not also mention the high energy of “Reptile” and a groovy cover of David Bowie’s haunting single “I’m Afraid of Americans” as other highlights before being punched in the mouth by the trifecta of “Gave Up”, “The Hand That Feeds” and “Head Like a Hole” leading into a brief encore break. Yet, it was the penultimate “Even Deeper” off The Fragile that truly put us on cloud nine for the rest of the evening and reminded us that with or without new songs, we’re all lucky to still have NIN filling our earholes after wondering eight years ago if we would ever see them perform live again.

NINE INCH NAILS

Setlist:
Mr. Self Destruct
Wish
Last
March of the Pigs
Piggy
The Lovers
The Frail
The Wretched
Reptile
God Break Down the Door
Copy of A
Closer (with “The Only Time” breakdown)
This Isn’t the Place
Heresy
The Perfect Drug
I’m Afraid of Americans (David Bowie cover)
Gave Up
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like a Hole

Encore:
Even Deeper (preceded by band introductions)
Hurt

YVES TUMOR

Setlist:
Jackie
Gospel for a New Century
Medicine Burn
Operator (with “Be Aggressive” chant)
Cntra
Kerosene!
Romanticist
Dream Palette
Mtora
…And Loyalty Is a Nuisance Child
Secrecy Is Incredibly Important to the Both of Them

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: COVID-19 Pandemic, Hollywood Palladium, Lost Highway, Nine Inch Nails, Primavera Sound LA, Primavera Sound LA 2022, Santa Barbara Bowl, Trent Reznor, Yves Tumor

Ahead of their Red Rocks shows, My Morning Jacket are firing on all cylinders after rocking the Santa Barbara Bowl & Hollywood Forever

August 22, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

My Morning Jacket - Hollywood Forever Cemetery

My Morning Jacket at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

By Josh Herwitt //

My Morning Jacket //
Santa Barbara Bowl & Hollywood Forever Cemetery – Santa Barbara & Los Angeles
August 16th & 17th, 2022 //

When My Morning Jacket made the “deeply painful” decision to cancel their three-night New Year’s run at the Mission Ballroom in Denver last year with the COVID-19 pandemic still wreaking havoc thanks to the rise of the omicron variant, it was a gut punch for the Louisville rockers and their most diehard fans, many of whom were traveling from out of state to see them.

But more than six weeks later, the five-piece would announce its 2022 tour encompassing 33 dates with most of the venues booked, not surprisingly, being at outdoor amphitheaters and/or open spaces with a lawn. Keeping everyone’s safety in mind has always been the band’s priority first and foremost, and with the spring and summer bringing us the warmest months of the year, there was no way MMJ were going to further risk experiencing any cancellations during what we’ve dubbed as “outdoor concert season.”

And yet even with all the precautions that had been taken by everyone, it still wasn’t enough to prevent more COVID misfortune when frontman Jim James tested positive in June, just a day before the band’s two hometown shows — its first in six years — were scheduled to take place. While the news had MMJ fans once again feeling bummed about the state of live music after the last two-plus years, James (lead vocals, guitar) and his bandmates in Tom Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums, percussion), Bo Koster (keyboards, percussion, backing vocals) and Carl Broemel (guitar, pedal steel guitar, saxophone, backing vocals) have certainly put that behind them now after taking more than a month off from touring during July and part of August.

Believe it or not, MMJ in many ways sound better than they ever have after witnessing two of their three performances in California, starting with a return to the Santa Barbara Bowl last Tuesday only 11 months after their last visit (read our show review here) and continuing the following night in LA among the many celebrities now deceased — even “Toto” from the “Wizard of Oz” — at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

James, for one, has always sounded great at the mic and with a guitar in his hands, but he’s also never looked more at ease onstage despite his recent bout with the virus, shedding the big pair of sunglasses he once donned (as you can see here) for the naked eye — a clear sign that MMJ’s primary songwriter isn’t hiding from us if he ever was trying to previously.

My Morning Jacket at Santa Barbara Bowl

Arriving in Santa Barbara two days after making a stop at Frost Amphitheater on the campus of Stanford University, the clock hit 7:30 p.m. and MMJ went to work, diving straight into their self-titled LP that came out last October with “Never in the Real World”. James and company didn’t wait long at all to turn up the volume, however, with “Lay Low” subsequently sending the crowd into a frenzy early on. The six-minute track off 2005’s seminal Z has always been a personal favorite of mine to hear live and would quickly set the tone for the rest of the evening.

For a band that has always put an emphasis on mixing up its setlists and will rarely perform songs in the same order though, it was a couple of cuts on its debut album The Tennessee Fire that were surprising to hear midway through its standard 2 1/2-hour set. In fact, it was the first time this year — and just the fifth over the last five years — that MMJ have played “I Will Be There When You Die” while the acoustic “If All Else Fails” has been heard on solely a handful of occasions so far in 2022.

While other highlights in Santa Barbara included an extended version of “Steam Engine” with Broemel trading his axe for the sax at one point and just the third time “I Never Could Get Enough” has made it onto a setlist, it was the Hollywood show that grabbed more of the MMJ fanbase’s attention. Of course, the heightened interest around it was somewhat understandable considering that it’s not every day you get to catch a concert inside a cemetery, let alone one where rock icons like Johnny Ramone and Chris Cornell are buried, but the setting was, at most, half the story on The Fairbanks Lawn as day eventually turned to night.

Breathing life into “What a Wonderful Man” and James’ own “State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.)” for only the second time this year and first since the jam-adjacent group’s three-day “One Big Holiday” destination event back in March, we had hoped that MMJ would be setting up for a special finish down the stretch and that’s exactly what they gifted us with a 17-minute “Dondante” that conjured up some major disco vibes. With the Z finale serving as one of several tunes MMJ has been known to stretch out when they perform live, it felt rather fitting to hear what James wrote after the passing of his late bandmate Aaron Todovich while being surrounded by a bunch of tombstones.

Even though MMJ had more music lined up for us before hitting the road for New Mexico, that was all many of us needed to hear to be satisfied. After waiting almost a decade for another “Dondante” in LA since their epic, three-night run at The Wiltern, everything else that ensued — from the one-two punch of “Wasted” and “Dancefloors” to a more abbreviated encore featuring “Wordless Chorus” and “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2” that ended things on a spooky note — was gravy. After all, this is an act that has always kept its fans on their toes, and as MMJ gear up this weekend for their most significant shows of the tour with two sold-out nights at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, there’s no telling what’s in store when James steps into what he has coined “the birth canal of the universe.” Call it whatever you want Mr. James because either way, we’ll be there for it when the lights go down and the first note is struck.

SANTA BARBARA BOWL – AUGUST 16TH

Setlist:
Never in the Real World
Lay Low
Compound Fracture
Least Expected
Mahgeetah
Feel You
Victory Dance
Gideon
Holdin On to Black Metal
I Will Be There When You Die
If All Else Fails
Tropics (Erase Traces)
Spring (Among the Living)
Steam Engine
I Never Could Get Enough
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 1
Love Love Love
Complex
One Big Holiday

Encore:
In Color
Circuital
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2
Wordless Chorus

HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY – AUGUST 17TH

Setlist:
Feel You
What a Wonderful Man
Off the Record
I Will Sing You Songs
Victory Dance
Evil Urges
Golden (dedicated to “Toto” from “The Wizard of Oz”)
I’m Amazed
Spring (Among the Living)
Complex
One Big Holiday
State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.) (Jim James song)
Love Love Love
Least Expected
Circuital
Dondante
Wasted
Dancefloors

Encore:
Wordless Chorus
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2

My Morning Jacket at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Chris Cornell, Frost Amphitheater, Hollywood Forever, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Jim James, Johnny Ramone, Joy Oladokun, Mission Ballroom, My Morning Jacket, One Big Holiday, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Santa Barbara Bowl, Soundgarden, The Ramones, The Wiltern

After more than two years, Telefon Tel Aviv finally gets the chance to entrance fans at Lodge Room before taking a break from performing

August 2, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

Telefon Tel Aviv with Chasms //
Lodge Room – Los Angeles
July 29th, 2022 //

More than a decade has passed since Joshua Eustis tragically lost the other half of Telefon Tel Aviv.

Forming the band with his high school friend Charles Cooper in 1999, the two would go on to release an EP, three LPs and a number of remixes together while carving out their own space in the glitch and IDM scenes alongside Leftfield, The Future Sound of London and Boards of Canada to name a few. But just two days after unveiling their third full length Immolate Yourself, Cooper was found dead.

Cooper’s accidental death marked a major turning point for Eustis. Had the time come for him to shut it down for good or should he continue to make music under the TTA moniker in honor of his bandmate?

Over the next four years, Eustis would find himself working with other bands. He co-produced Puscifer’s Conditions of My Parole in 2011 and then toured with Nine Inch Nails, manning any instrument that was requested of him whether it was guitar, bass, keyboards, saxophone or even the erhu.

Eustis, though, wasn’t ready to give up on a solo career quite yet so he returned to the studio in 2014 after NIN’s “Tension Tour” to focus on a different project named Sons of Magdalene before turning his attention to recording the first TTA album without Cooper.

The end result, almost five years later, would be 2019’s Dreams Are Not Enough. The nine-track effort on Ghostly International officially put TTA back on the map as it garnered high praise from music critics, including Pitchfork (if you can believe that), and offered him the chance to take the stage again.

So when Eustis announced in early 2020 that he would be playing a TTA show in his current hometown, it was an opportunity to cross another 90’s electronic act off my bucket list. Of course, the performance would end up being rescheduled twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it finally came to fruition last Friday at LA’s Lodge Room inside the same historic, three-story building that the Highland Park Masonic Temple once called home.

To make things all the more special, Eustis had previously said on social media in advance that Lodge Room and Grey Area in San Francisco would serve as TTA’s final two dates in support of Dreams Are Not Enough and the last ones he’ll perform live (“like, not DJing” in his words) stateside for a while.

That might not be what TTA fans outside of California wanted to hear after waiting patiently for live music to come back safely, yet given the fact that Eustis has produced Apparat, Drab Majesty, Tropic of Cancer and Vatican Shadow among others and spent a few years in synthwave trio The Black Queen with Greg Puciato and Steven Alexander of The Dillinger Escape Plan, it’s not hard to understand why he’s taking a break now.

And while no one knows how “long” it will be except for maybe Eustis, if this was the only night I ever got to see TTA in the flesh, it will certainly not go lost on me.

Setlist:
Intro
The Means Whereby Lovers Are Waylaid
A Younger Version of Myself
Standing at the Bottom of the Ocean
Mouth Agape
What It Is Without the Hand That Wields It
Introductory Nomenclature
Something Akin to Lust
Not Breathing
Arms Aloft
Mean Friend (Telefon Tel Aviv Remix)

Encore:
I Dream of It Often
The Birds

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Apparat, Chasms, Drab Majesty, Ghostly International, Grey Area, Lodge Room, Nine Inch Nails, Puscifer, Sons of Magdalene, Telefon Tel Aviv, The Black Queen, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Trent Reznor, Tropic of Cancer, Vatican Shadow

Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen & Julien Baker deliver all the feels at LA’s Greek Theatre on ‘The Wild Hearts Tour’

August 1, 2022 by Stephanie Port Leave a Comment

The Wild Hearts Tour - Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen & Julien Baker

Sharon Van Etten (center), Angel Olsen (left) & Julien Baker (right)

By Steph Port //

Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen & Julien Baker with Quinn Christopherson //
Greek Theatre – Los Angeles
July 28th, 2022 //

It was a beautiful summer night in LA last Thursday as “The Wild Hearts Tour” featuring the powerhouse indie trio of Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen and Julien Baker rolled into the Greek Theatre for the first of two much-anticipated dates. The show left us with all the feels, completely in awe of all three artists, and ultimately not wanting it to end.

After cheekily walking onstage to Manfred Mann’s “Quinn the Eskimo”, Alaskan-born singer-songwriter Quinn Christopherson opened the evening with a set of his dreamy, minimalist pop songs from across his catalog of EPs and singles.

Julien Baker

Baker then took the stage and opened with an old favorite in “Sprained Ankle” before unveiling mostly newer songs from last year’s Little Oblivions as well as a few from 2017’s Turn Out the Lights. Baker’s powerful vocals and raw, vulnerable lyrics had us glued to her visage and utterly impressed by the 26-year-old’s skilled, energetic guitar playing the entire way.

The sun went down just in time for Angel Olsen to serve us a dose of her quintessential moody-musical medicine. Joined by a large, colorful band that included a string section, Olsen’s performance contained a slew of the brooding ballads that we love her for, many from her new album Big Time that came out in June and of course her breakout hit “Shut Up Kiss Me” off 2016’s My Woman. Although her songs bend toward the emotional, Olsen’s stage banter featured lighthearted jokes and jovial crowd interactions that only endeared us to her more.

Angel Olsen

Finally, the incredible Sharon Van Etten brought an energy and focus that had us fully entranced and powerless to her presence. Her signature, edgy brand of rock was on full display as she and her band traversed across her deep discography, including tracks off her sixth LP We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong the New Jersey native unleashed back in May. Playing in her new hometown of LA since she moved cross country in 2019, Van Etten spoke to the crowd about the origins of her latest material after writing and recording as a new mother in her home studio during the COVID-19 pandemic. We listened as she humbly opened up her heart to share her experience with us.

Olsen joined Van Etten onstage to close out the evening with a crowd-pleasing rendition of their popular 2021 duet “Like I Used To” that was produced by Grammy winner John Congleton. As the tote bag being sold at the merch stand proclaimed, “I went to ‘The Wild Hearts Tour’ and all I got was emotional.” While that’s certainly true, in reality we ended up getting much, much more.

Sharon Van Etten

SHARON VAN ETTEN

Setlist:
Headspace
Comeback Kid
No One’s Easy to Love
Anything
Come Back
Hands
Every Time the Sun Comes Up
All I Can
Darkish
Born
Mistakes
Seventeen

Encore:
Like I Used To (with Angel Olsen)

ANGEL OLSEN

Setlist:
Dream Thing
Big Time
Ghost On
Right Now
Shut Up Kiss Me
Sister
Go Home
Through the Fires
All Mirrors
All the Good Times
Chance

JULIEN BAKER

Setlist:
Sprained Ankle
Bloodshot
Tokyo
Shadowboxing
Favor
Relative Fiction
Heatwave
Ringside
Faith Healer
Hardline
Ziptie

QUINN CHRISTOPHERSON

Setlist:
Bubblegum
Just Like Céline
Evelene
Loaded Gun
2005
(Unknown)
Thanks

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Angel Olsen, Greek Theatre, Julien Baker, Manfred Mann, Quinn Christopherson, Sharon Van Etten

As his career continues to soar, Grammy winner Thundercat emits hypnotic joy in his hometown for a sold-out crowd at The Broad

July 27, 2022 by Rochelle Shipman Leave a Comment

By Rochelle Shipman //

Thundercat with Ginger Root //
The Broad – Los Angeles
July 21st, 2022 //

“Is this real?” I remember muttering out loud, squinting at the words “Thundercat plays The Broad.” Not a music venue but instead, a fancy art museum in downtown LA that’s so LA it might as well be located in Los Feliz and it may or may not be pronounced “The Brode.”

Of course it was real. This is LA. So despite my best attempts to spend last Thursday on my couch in solitude, I found myself going to a show on an otherwise-perfect couch night, standing on a grass plot amid a concrete jungle. It wasn’t a big space, with the stage tucked behind a thin line of bicycle racks and high-rise apartments towering over us on both sides of the designated performance area. But as part of its “Summer Happenings” series, the museum remained open to all attendees, offering a brief reprieve from the sold-out crowd and a prime opportunity to check out the exhibits without having to schedule another visit. I wasn’t expecting Thundercat to lead me to my first-ever Basquiats IRL, but what can I say? The man contains multitudes.

Psych-soul-pop trio Ginger Root took the stage before Thundercat, and the Huntington Beach natives had the crowd cheering before they struck their first note. Band leader and singer-songwriter Cameron Lew looked like he was born to be up there, directing touring members Matt Carney (drums) and Dylan Hovis (bass) as well as the audience with minimal effort while crooning into a bright red, upside down telephone. They were a perfect pairing with the main attraction on an ideal summer night, their bubbly tunes impeccably catchy and impossibly funky.

After that, the man himself — the coolest man I’ve ever seen — took the stage. A man who is truly more cat than human. No literally — peep the paw prints on his palms. Born Stephen Lee Bruner in his native LA, he even moves with the energy of a feline: swift and sleek, totally in control and always on his own terms. His fingers flew across the bass strings as quickly and naturally as he cracked the next joke in his songs. A handful of times throughout the night, his concentrated demeanor melted away and he blessed us with his brilliant child-like smile.

It’s really hard not to smile yourself when you’re at a Thundercat concert. It’s almost like his long fingers emit this hypnotic joy, electrifying his fans and spreading pure glee. Even when he isn’t grinning, the 37-year-old musician and actor has this air of amazement, as if he can’t believe how talented he is either.

After welcoming us a few songs into his set, he paused and said, “I’m in Star Wars.” Everyone cheered and he beamed, proudly repeating, “I’m in Star Wars. I can’t believe I get to say that. I’m in Star Wars.” The well-deserved applause intensified, and Thundercat smiled while closing his eyes, soaking in the tender moment.

Over the next hour or so, the lawn and the stage were enveloped in a mutual bliss, everyone forgetting they were smack in the middle of DTLA; Thundercat center stage showing us exactly why it’s OK — in fact, better — to just breathe in and go with the flow. The result will inevitably be beautiful, and if you’re lucky (or Thundercat), a straight jam. His bedazzled Gucci hair barrettes sparkled in the spotlight as he shredded, a constant glinting reminder that Thundercat is a star.

For a man who isn’t afraid to say what all of us are thinking (for example, “If you’re not bringing tacos, I suggest you turn and walk away” and “I may be covered in cat hair, but I still smell good”), Bruner was surprisingly demure onstage. He wasn’t exactly quiet, but when he did talk, he was intentional and he didn’t mince words. He spoke about how many friends he has lost lately, noting how the entire crowd has lost so many loved ones over the last two years, before dedicating a song to comedian Jak Knight.

“We just lost Michael Henderson, too. Do you know him?” Silence. “I assumed as much … He played with Miles Davis.”

Not so fast — he backtracked, noting that Michael Henderson also did way more than play with Miles Davis. As if that wasn’t enough. His tone was solid but somber.

“It is what it is,” he stated with a wistful, yet peaceful acceptance while directly referencing his Grammy-winning album It Is What It Is that dropped in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the commonly used phrase isn’t just the title of Thundercat’s latest masterpiece. It’s also a lesson we could all benefit to keep in mind as we watch society disintegrate and our planet melt through the gaps in between our fingers. There’s only so much chaos and heartache we can stomach before we have to accept it for what it is. Not to roll over by any means but instead find acceptance and balance throughout life. Because why go down in a panic when we could enjoy the ride?

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Ginger Root, Jak Knight, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Michael Henderson, Miles Davis, Summer Happenings, Summer Happenings 2022, The Broad, The Broad Museum, Thundercat

Big Gigantic throw down at Hollywood Palladium with a host of special guests in support of their new album ‘Brighter Future 2’

July 15, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

Big Gigantic with Goldfish, Party Pupils, Covex //
Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles
July 9th, 2022 //

You might not be aware, but Big Gigantic have been releasing new music consistently for more than a decade now.

The longest stretch between albums for the instrumental electronic/hip-hop/jazz act from Boulder, Colo., in fact, has been less than four years, and after dropping 2020’s Free Your Mind just before the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm, saxophonist/producer Dominic Lalli and drummer Jeremy Salken have already delivered another fresh set of tracks to tickle our earholes.

Hitting 18 U.S. cities this summer in support of an eighth LP entitled Brighter Future 2 that dropped last month, the duo took the stage at the Hollywood Palladium last Saturday for its first proper LA show in a while. The last time we caught Big G in the City of Angels (read our review here) ourselves, they were at another Tinseltown venue only a few blocks away and it was there that I began to wonder if I was too old to be attending their shows.

Big Gigantic’s Dominic Lalli

Well, more than seven years have passed since then and I guess not much has changed for yours truly. Even though I didn’t happen to catch Lalli and Salken when they played The Novo in 2018, I have seen plenty of Big G performances from Avalon Hollywood to Red Rocks Amphitheatre. But this was the first tour I have witnessed that has included multiple special guests, and on this night a modest-sized crowd was treated to appearances by Covex, Party Pupils, Goldfish and ELOHIM — to name a few — during their roughly 90-minute set.

Lalli has always been at the center of things for Big G. The formally trained saxophonist who went to the Manhattan School of Music spent a few years touring with Colorado funk ensemble The Motet before he started making electronic music in 2008 but has become a seasoned veteran on the decks at this point. And with Salken laying the beat down on top of Lalli’s production, they had no problem filling the entire 4,000-person ballroom with their big (gigantic) sound.

As the years pass and I find myself listening to less and less EDM, I know there’s always Big G to bring me back to my more youthful days. Who knows when they’ll return to SoCal, and with coronavirus cases in California on the rise again, it’s hard to know when the next throwdown will be. Until then, we’ll make sure to savor every last moment of this one.

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Avalon Hollywood, Big Gigantic, Covex, Elohim, Goldfish, Hollywood Palladium, Party Pupils, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, The Motet

Fleet Foxes show a sold-out crowd at LA’s Greek Theatre why they are one of our most important indie bands over the past 15 years

July 14, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

Fleet Foxes with Tim Bernardes //
Greek Theatre – Los Angeles
July 8th, 2022 //

What is it about Fleet Foxes that makes them one of the most important indie bands over the past 15 years? Is it frontman Robin Pecknold’s golden baritenor and clever lyrics or is it the group’s lush vocal harmonies and eclectic instrumentation?

While the talent coming out of Pecknold’s mouth has been evident ever since the indie-folk act from the Seattle area dropped its debut EP in 2006, Fleet Foxes’ sound has continued to evolve and grow in that time past the Grizzly Bear comparisons, with 2020’s Grammy-nominated Shore exhibiting more of that sonic progression despite a three-year hiatus in the mid-2010’s and signing to their third record label in four albums.

None of those subplots seemed to have much effect on the final product, though. The gorgeous 15-track effort, if anything, represents another major step forward for Pecknold, and at the age of only 36, there’s no doubt that in a crowded landscape he has already proven to be one of the best songwriters out there after 2011’s Helplessness Blues and 2017’s Crack-Up cracked (no pun intended) the Top 10 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

But even though Shore didn’t quite reach the same level of commercial success after being intentionally released on the autumnal equinox, it boasts some of Fleet Foxes’ catchiest melodies. It also established Pecknold (vocals, guitar) as more than just the band’s primary songwriter and truly the project’s creative mastermind after making the record without any of the other full-time members’ involvement. He instead worked with a myriad of collaborators in the studio, from Christopher Bear and Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear to Kevin Morby and horn quartet The Westerlies, overseeing every step of the process right next to recording and mixing engineer Beatriz Artola. So in many ways, Shore is Pecknold’s baby and his baby alone after he was locked down for three months in his New York City apartment at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That said, you wouldn’t necessarily just know that by seeing one of Fleet Foxes’ shows on their current 28-date North American tour that included a sold-out stop in LA last Friday at the Greek Theatre, which Pecknold told us was his favorite venue in the country when he walked onstage to introduce opener Tim Bernardes, the Brazilian musician who also contributed vocals to “Going-to-the-Sun Road” on Shore. It was actually a surprising admission to hear from Pecknold, but considering that his parents don’t live far from the historic amphitheater and were in attendance this night, you could have thought Pecknold was just playing to the crowd early on. Or maybe it’s his admiration for The Beach Boys, who are scheduled to play the same stage later this summer, that has helped inform his opinion. Don’t get us wrong … the Greek is undeniably one of the best places in LA to witness live music, and it’s even in our Top 10 U.S. venues. We just can’t necessarily agree with Pecknold on this one as much as we admire and respect him. All differences aside, he did sound as good as he ever has — and maybe even better than on the last Fleet Foxes tour cycle when we caught them co-headline the Hollywood Bowl in 2017 with Beach House and perform at Coachella the following year — with his voice maturing like a fine wine.

For this run, Pecknold has been joined by more than just his usual four sidekicks in Skyler Skjelset (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals), Casey Wescott (keyboards, mandolin, backing vocals), Christian Wargo (bass, guitar, backing vocals) and Morgan Henderson (upright bass, guitar, woodwinds, violin, percussion, saxophone). Christopher Icasiano (drums, percussion) has come onboard this year as a touring member, and with likely a bigger budget than the last time, Pecknold made sure to bring three-fourths of The Westerlies on tour, too. There was even a call for “Post” … you know, as in the 27-year-old Post Malone, who has become friends with Pecknold in recent years and invited him in May to sing “Love/Hate Letter to Alcohol” with a choir during his “Saturday Night Live” performance. It’s too bad he was allegedly sick, according to Pecknold.

Fleet Foxes have been setting the tone for these latest gigs with the first three tracks off Shore before going all the way back to their self-titled debut LP to deliver “Ragged Wood”, “Your Protector” and “He Doesn’t Know Why” respectively. Of the 24 songs that we heard at the Greek, nine were from Shore, with “I’m Not My Season” earning the solo acoustic treatment midway through the set. Pecknold has been known, however, to accept song requests while engaging with fans, and he did his best to oblige us on at least a couple of occasions over the course of two hours while also issuing a few jokes about Gen Z culture. There was the second half of “The Shrine/An Argument” dedicated to Pecknold’s friend Kerwin Frost, who was sitting a few rows in front of us, and the live debut (albeit a partial performance) of “Young Man’s Game” that was prompted by the audience.

It’s not uncommon at any concert for folks to head home when a band walks offstage to take its encore break, but when Pecknold and company returned from theirs after a few minutes, they were greeted by a roaring applause. After all, these were no fair-weather fans, and in a city like LA that has been on the receiving end of such criticism, nothing felt further from the truth as Fleet Foxes sent us home with the Helplessness Blues title track. Maybe it was because Pecknold proclaimed within the first few songs of the evening that this was the best show he had ever played or because it was the first time in nearly 11 years that the band had played the Greek. Whatever the reason, it’s clear that there’s still plenty of love for Fleet Foxes in the City of Angels and far, far beyond.

Setlist:
Wading in Waist‐high Water
Sunblind
Can I Believe You
Ragged Wood
Your Protector (followed by joke with “Montezuma” tease)
He Doesn’t Know Why
Featherweight
Third of May/Ōdaigahara
White Winter Hymnal
Phoenix (Big Red Machine cover)
Mearcstapa
Mykonos
I’m Not My Season (solo acoustic)
Blue Spotted Tail (solo acoustic)
The Kiss (Judee Sill cover)
The Shrine/An Argument (“An Argument” only; dedicated to Kerwin Frost)
Drops in the River
A Long Way Past the Past
Young Man’s Game (Live debut – partial; audience request)
Blue Ridge Mountains
Grown Ocean

Encore:
For a Week or Two
Going-to-the-Sun Road (with Tim Bernardes)
Helplessness Blues

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Beatriz Artola, Big Red Machine, Coachella, Coachella 2018, Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Music and Arts Festival 2018, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2018, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2018, Fleet Foxes, Greek Theatre, Grizzly Bear, Hollywood Bowl, Judee Sill, Kerwin Frost, Kevin Morby, Post Malone, The Beach Boys, The Westerlies, Tim Bernardes

With ‘Drillmatic’ delayed, The Game turns his album release show at The Novo into a hometown party alongside Kanye West & Lil Wayne

July 12, 2022 by Joseph Gray Leave a Comment

By Joseph Gray //

The Game //
The Novo – Los Angeles
July 8th, 2022 //

The Game always has a lot to say. Since the Compton native was introduced to the masses as Dr. Dre’s protégé ahead of The Documentary, his breakout debut album in 2005 that guided the West Coast back to mainstream hip-hop relevancy, the boisterous confidence which helped turn him into a star has never seemed to waver. And along those lines, he emphatically made his appearance in downtown LA under one condition: he would not be the only one in the building going home with a strained voice at the end of the night.

An eager crowd, which was sprinkled with fans hoisting their favorite pictures and vinyl copies, to fulfill the request piled into The Novo last Friday for what was billed as The Game’s album release show on the day his 10th studio effort Drillmatic was scheduled to be released. The 42-year-old emcee recently promised that the Hit-Boy-produced LP, which has yet to be unveiled due to sample clearance issues, will be the best of 2022 and his finest work ever while staking claim as the “best rapper alive” in a now-deleted Instagram post. Though certainly a lofty pledge, the brazen veteran would have it no other way.

The Game also previously wrote that controversy — the latest being his acknowledged hurt over not getting to perform during the Super Bowl LVI halftime show orchestrated by Dre, his relentless remarks about being far superior to Eminem and his surprising testimony earlier this year that Kanye West did more for him in two weeks than Dre did for him during his entire career — “has always stepped on my greatness.” Despite that, he says things will all change after we hear his first album in three years.

Lil Wayne

It’s typically wise not to count The Game out because no matter the controversies, he has been more than consistent when it’s time to demonstrate his talent. That history mixed with his self-assuredness helped set the stage in his hometown as he arrived in a plush silk shirt and polished shoes to the live instrumentation of “Violence”. The presumed track off of Drillmatic sees The Game at his best, mixing name-drops ranging from Beyoncé to the late John Madden and defiant wordplay over a climatic score with a chorus that tips it hat to Young Jeezy.

Soon after working his way through his first single “Westside Story”, he confirmed the reasoning behind the delay on Drillmatic. The crowd’s disappointment, however, was short-lived as he soon after jumped into “Eazy” — his most recent collaboration with West, who surprisingly joined The Game onstage in a ski mask without performing or saying much at all. Yet, the rare dead air from West was more than fine for the raucous audience on hand.

“He ain’t come to perform no songs,” a humbled Game said of West before a series of unexpected visits turned the whole performance into one big party. “He was clear about that. He came for his brother. He told me how he was coming, he told me was going to be three minutes late. He said he might show up in the middle of the verse ’cause he got shit to do. I said, ‘… you can come at the end of the show just to give me a hug … I love you.'”

The Game & Blueface

Before The Game delivered Documentary classics “Higher”, “How We Do” and “Hate or Love It”, the contrasting modest side of an artist who has always considered himself a hip-hop historian took over. Almost like a kid watching his favorite superheroes, he took a step back from the mic and enjoyed the show at one point. As he offered some deliberate introspection via “My Life” on 2008’s LAX, Lil Wayne emerged to perform the song’s chorus and his own hit “A Milli” for another crowd-rocking moment. But surprise appearances by West and Wayne were just two of many over the course of the evening as we got subsequent jolts of Southern California energy from Kurupt, DJ Quik, Suga Free, Blueface, RJMrLA and O.T. Genasis.

“I couldn’t tell you what the game would be without The Game in this,” rapped Symba, the rising Bay Area lyricist whom The Game co-signed as his next rising star, to put a bow on a special night with a lighthearted, back-and-forth freestyle session between the duo. “I don’t think you get enough credit.”

No album yet? Well, no problem. But if it’s anything like The Game’s album release show at The Novo, my money is on the critics being pleasantly surprised when it’s finally here.

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Beyonce, Blueface, DJ Quik, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kanye West, Kurupt, Lil Wayne, O.T. Genasis, RJMrLA, Suga Free, Symba, The Game, The Novo, The Novo DTLA, Young Jeezy

Looking back looks oh so good on Bright Eyes at LA’s Greek Theatre

June 30, 2022 by Rochelle Shipman 1 Comment

By Rochelle Shipman //

Bright Eyes with Cate Le Bon //
Greek Theatre – Los Angeles
June 23rd, 2022 //

There’s good news, and there’s bad news. The bad news is that Americans with uteruses lost the right to make a decision about their own bodies last week. The good news is that Conor Oberst is OK. And therefore, somehow, some day, some way … we will be OK, too.

Bright Eyes haven’t exactly had a smooth start to their pandemic-plagued “Down in the Weeds Where the World Once Was Tour” across the U.S., with Oberst hurting his wrist from a fall during their Detroit gig early on the first leg. Concerned fans came out of the internet woodwork shortly thereafter, nearly cataloging his onstage behavior night to night, wondering if his well-documented demons would let him make it through the next show. The tour’s second leg kicked off this month with markedly less hitches, and by the time Oberst and his sidekicks made it to LA (“a second home for many of us” as he noted), they delivered a performance that was nothing short of astounding.

With Bright Eyes fresh off the release of their first three companion EPs in May, it’s clear that looking back looks good on them. The band was tighter than ever, with Nate Walcott perched on his rightful podium of keyboards and strings and Mike Mogis flanking Oberst as his literal righthand man. They opened with “Dance and Sing” before testing the fabric of the crowd’s emotions with a one-two punch featuring “Lover I Don’t Have to Love” followed immediately by “Bowl of Oranges”. (Personally, I am writing this from the grave as a result.)

Bright Eyes weaved in a rightful amount of newer material, finally offering 2020’s Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was the proper live show it deserved. And it genuinely looked like they had a blast. Oberst showed off some new dance moves he must have learned while in lockdown, thrashing about the stage with a single earring and a glittery black guitar. The entire show carried an underlying adrenaline rush, quiet but consistent, threatening to burst through.

However, nothing set the crowd off quite like the older tunes, especially after two and a half years at home isolated from society. We were treated to classics like “Old Soul Song”, “Falling Out of Love at This Volume”, “Poison Oak”, “Another Travelin’ Song” and even “Something Vague” as well as “Neely O’Hara”. As if that wasn’t enough, they hit us with an unbelievable encore led by “First Day of My Life” and “I Believe in Symmetry” before closing a perfect night with “One for You, One for Me”.

There is something about seeing a band you never thought you’d get to see again — an anticipation and unspoken electrical tension lingers before the music actually starts. It melts away into an elated disbelief after about 4-5 songs as wide-eyed fans exchange toothy grins with perfect strangers, saying everything without having to say anything at all. Everyone at the Greek Theatre held that night close with the same precious care, still unable to believe to some degree that we were back together again, finally back with Bright Eyes. You could have heard a pin — or in California, a vape pen — drop during “Poison Oak” off 2005’s I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning as screams of “I love you, Conor!” filled the air during breaks in the action. Oberst moved about the stage with a ferociousness that made it difficult to tell just how genuine his own enjoyment was, but he did touch upon the importance of us treating each other with care and kindness while clasping hands with some stunned fans in the front row. At one point, he even made a joke about having a stock of “cry tests” on the group’s tour bus with their COVID-19 tests. If anyone in the band isn’t sad enough he trolled, they’re fired.

As far as Bright Eyes shows go, this was one for the books. It was so solid, in fact, that I found myself getting angry during it. “Who are these people online to question Oberst, to act as though he was ever pretending to be someone he’s not, here in the year 2022?” I pondered. Sure, he slurred a few words throughout the set, but I can’t recall a show in the last 15 years where he didn’t. As a lifelong Bright Eyes fan, yes, there are days and moments I lose worrying about his own wellbeing, but then I stop myself. I remember that’s part of what I signed up for as a fan of Oberst’s work, and that listening closely to any album he’s released reminds me it’s actually par for the course. I often try to consider the fact that quite possibly those faceless fans haven’t been lucky to see him live as many times as I have. Or perhaps they found him a bit more recently via Phoebe Bridgers, unaware just how deep Oberst’s emotional register actually goes. Maybe they just don’t realize that he’s singing pages out of his personal diary.

Here’s the thing about Oberst: the man is depressed. At the age of 42, he has never even pretended that he’s not depressed. He was born that way and has lived that way for decades, documenting it in plain sight. A few years ago, he went through a divorce, suddenly lost a brother and battled some health issues. Then came the pandemic, which halted life in a very specific way for musicians in particular. We were all pretty isolated for about two years, which is the last thing a depressed person needs no matter what they might say. And despite all of that depression, he still drags himself onstage night after night, year after year, to tell us in person that he’s depressed. As someone myself with a crippling case of lifelong depression, I can honestly say I don’t know how he does it.

The fact that Oberst has made it through alive to this point is an achievement in and of itself. Simply the fact that he’s still here at all, after the past few years of hell we have all collectively gone through, is an accomplishment deserving of flowers — bouquets on bouquets that we must hand out while the native of Nebraska is still here to receive them.

It’s safe to say that Oberst is doing phenomenal, all things considered. I have to admit his worldwide web warriors had me a little worried before this show, but he proved them wrong. Bright Eyes will be here to serenade us through much, much worse for years to come. After all, Oberst said it himself by quipping near the end of the night: “We’ll be back, don’t you worry … like a real bad cancer.”

Setlist:
Dance and Sing
Lover I Don’t Have to Love
Bowl of Oranges
Mariana Trench
One and Done (with “Whole Lotta Love” drum outro tease)
Old Soul Song (for the New World Order)
Jejune Stars
No One Would Riot for Less
Falling Out of Love at This Volume
Persona non grata
Something Vague
Stairwell Song
Neely O’Hara
Poison Oak
Another Travelin’ Song
Comet Song

Encore:
First Day of My Life
I Believe in Symmetry
One for You, One for Me

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Bright Eyes, Cate le Bon, Conor Oberst, Greek Theatre, Phoebe Bridgers

I celebrated my birthday at LA’s Greek Theatre with a proper probing by Puscifer as ‘The Existential Reckoning Tour’ rolls on this summer

June 17, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

Puscifer with Billy Howerdel, Moodie Black //
Greek Theatre – Los Angeles
June 12th, 2022 //

California has already felt its first heat wave this year, and we have only reached the middle of June.

For those of us living in the Golden State who are more familiar with the notion of June Gloom than triple digits, that should only serve as a warning sign that the next three months could be unfavorably H-O-T.

While the high temperatures might play well for the live music industry with this summer marking the first since it returned to full form due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the coronavirus still remains a major part of daily life in the U.S. For that reason alone, it’s these long days when the weather is warmer (than usual) that can feel particularly reserved for us to safely catch live music outside before the days become short and a chill fills the air again. Call it “outdoor concert season” if you’d like. Either way, it’s certainly one of our favorite times of the year.

In my own case, being invited to cover Puscifer’s show at the Greek Theatre seemed like a cool way — even if there was some “work” involved — to celebrate my birthday. After all, what could be better than watching your favorite vocalist perform on your special day at one of LA’s most historic music venues?

Maynard James Keenan has long been known as the frontman for the critically acclaimed rock bands Tool and A Perfect Circle dating back more than a couple of decades ago, but the third project that the 58-year-old multi-hyphenate — which includes his acting and winemaking ventures over the years — considers to be his “creative subconscious” has been making music for almost 15 years with its latest LP Existential Reckoning dropping toward the end of 2020.

Puscifer, in many ways, feels inspired at least in part by Keenan’s brief stretch in Green Jellÿ during the early 90’s that saw him sing those high-pitched backup vocals as one of the pigs on the 1992 hit “Three Little Pigs” (you might recall the song’s classic claymation music video, too). Half comedy rock and half joke metal, the trio that also consists of Mat Mitchell (guitar, bass, keyboards, synthesizers, production) and Carina Round (vocals, guitar, percussions, keyboards) as permanent members has found a niche among MJK fans who don’t always take their rock ‘n’ roll so seriously. As you can see from our photos below in fact, there were actually a couple of spectators sitting near us who dressed up in costume as Keenan’s “Billy D” character and special agent Round complete with a metal briefcase.

That’s, of course, all part of the fun at a Puscifer show. Never short on theatrics, the group often plays pre-recorded videos during its live performances that only provide the audience with more laughs and further entertainment over the course of two hours. Even those who aren’t familiar with Puscifer’s four studio albums like “V” Is for Vagina and Money Shot should get a kick out of agent-in-training Keenan trying to play a strange game of celebrity lookalike on screen at one point in the evening.

Yet I would be remiss to not mention that when Puscifer announced “The Existential Reckoning Tour” in February, the slogan for the 21-date run was “Prepare To Be Probed.” And despite the message’s erotic undertones unsurprisingly, it does feel rather fitting as our world becomes more uncertain by the day. No one can know for sure if Planet Earth will be overtaken by extraterrestrials in the future, but with Keenan opening our eyes to the possibility while still managing to make us giggle, spending a night with Puscifer isn’t just an escape from reality whether you’re blowing out candles or not.

Setlist:
Act I
Bread and Circus
Postulous
Fake Affront
The Underwhelming
Grey Area
Theorem
Vagina Mine (Remixed)
UPGrade

Act II
Apocalyptical
The Remedy
Personal Prometheus
A Singularity
The Humbling River (Nagual del Judith Mix)

Act III (Billy D on vocals)
Bullet Train to Iowa
Flippant
Conditions of My Parole
Bedlamite

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: A Perfect Circle, Billy Howerdel, Covid 19, COVID-19 Pandemic, Greek Theatre, Green Jellÿ, Maynard James Keenan, Moodie Black, Puscifer, Tool

Jack White makes the case with two career-spanning shows at LA’s YouTube Theater why he’s more than rock ‘n’ roll’s last great savior

June 2, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

Photos courtesy of Jack White // Written by Josh Herwitt //

Jack White //
YouTube Theater – Inglewood, CA
May 31st-June 1st, 2022 //

Well, look who’s back …

When Jack White unloaded the lead single “Taking Me Back” from what would be his fourth album Fear of the Dawn in October, it was a signal to both his fans and the music industry that the 12-time Grammy winner was officially back (pun intended) with new solo material for the first time in three-plus years.

Sure, 2019 saw White put out The Raconteurs’ third studio effort — though just their first in more than a decade — on his own label Third Man Records and embark on a world tour alongside the band, but with the COVID-19 pandemic beginning only three months later and locking us down for the next couple of years, it’s fair to say the world has changed quite a bit since Boarding House Reach dropped in 2018.

That’s the last time White brought his solo act out to California (read our show review here), and it was around then that he started partnering with Yondr to lock fans’ cell phones during his concerts using the San Francisco-based company’s mobile pouches and having designated areas inside the venue where you can unlock them (think of it like a smoking section at any bar or club).

Of course the whole notion drew the ire of some who claimed White crossed a line and had gone too far to control his fans’ behavior. After all, you can’t please everyone, right? But while a phone-free show is a better experience for us all as I have previously argued, let’s be honest about what really matters at the end of the day: it hasn’t hurt his ticket sales at all. And for those of us who enjoy going to shows and not viewing them through a sea of six-inch screens, it’s a breath of fresh air to not catch even one raised in the crowd.

White has never been one for mobile technology. He still doesn’t own a cell phone — not even what the kids would call a “dumb phone” — and in 2022, that can sometimes make it a little harder if he suddenly needs a lift home from the airport or has to wait longer than expected for his doctor’s appointment.

But White has survived without one for this long and so can we every few years he decides to tour. Because whenever he takes the stage, you never know what you’re going to get. Just ask his fellow Detroiters, who got to witness White’s engagement and subsequent wedding onstage to kick off the “Supply Chain Issues Tour” that stretches 62 dates all the way until late August — two of which took place this week at the 6,000-person YouTube Theater, the newest music venue to call Los Angeles home after breaking ground in August.

I must admit that this is not the only time I have pulled double duty when Jack has come to town. Nearly 10 years ago when White launched his first solo tour in support of Blunderbluss, he booked two gigs at LA’s historic Shrine Auditorium. After being completely transfixed by his all-male group the Buzzards the first night but eager to hear more, I returned on a whim the ensuing evening to see him perform with the all-female Peacocks and I’m glad that I did considering I got to hear him bust out Danger Mouse’s “Two Against One” and The Dead Weather’s “Blue Blood Blues” before delivering his best knockout punch in the encore with Stripes hits “My Doorbell” and “Seven Nation Army” as the final blow to the head.

Looking back at those shows in 2012, White’s solo career has taken some twists and turns in that time. He has made three more albums, produced numerous artists and even wrote a song for Beyoncé. But despite upgrading on this tour to more modern rooms — and it’s reflected in the ticket prices — like the state-of-the-art YouTube Theater that’s attached to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and stripping down to a four-piece that includes Dominic Davis (bass, backing vocals), Daru Jones (drums) and Quincy McCrary (keyboards, samples, synthesizer, organ, backing vocals), the 46-year-old multi-instrumentalist has told us with his words and actions that he not only has the ability but also the purpose to continually surprise those of us willing to buy a ticket and take the ride.

“Every time I go in (to make an album), I’m trying to do something I haven’t done before,” White shared not long ago during an exclusive interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music that sees them visit his first art studio in Detroit when he made a living as a furniture upholsterer. “It’s not like something that other people haven’t ever done before. It’s just something I have never done before. … Whatever it is to get me to a different zone so that I’m not repeating myself.”

In many ways, the same philosophy applies to his live performances. There’s no doubt that White has his crowd-pleasers — particularly from The White Stripes’ catalog — that he still leans on, but you also won’t find him operating with only one setlist as he travels from city to city. Even if his live shows often begin and end in a similar fashion that creates a format for them and a brand for White as a performer, they nevertheless carry a dose of uncertainty and spontaneity.

“That’s what’s kind of cool about playing shows,” he tells Lowe later in their interview as they observe the empty lot that used to be the Gold Dollar where the Stripes performed for the very first time. “You don’t really know what’s going to happen. You shouldn’t know what’s going to happen I should say.”

And with four separate projects to pull from now, Jack has no trouble filling out a setlist. He easily could play longer than the hour and 45 minutes that he gifts us, extending well past the two-hour mark, but at what cost? If it means preserving his health and longevity for many more years to come, I’m all for that. White, in fact, will be unleashing his second 2022 record Entering Heaven Alive this July, and given the early, yet strong reviews from critics who have gotten their hands (and ears) on it, future live audiences should eventually expect to hear more than just the three offerings — “A Tip from You to Me”, “Love Is Selfish” and “If I Die Tomorrow” — that we got in LA.

With the way rock ‘n’ roll has been holding on by a thread and White serving as one of the genre’s last great saviors, it’s easy to understand why he should consider playing the long game. Maybe that’s why certain non-Fear of the Dawn tracks — “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground”, “Love Interruption”, “Ball and Biscuit”, and “Icky Thump” — were even repeated, which was certainly a surprise to us. That said, there was still plenty of diversity between the two shows, with The Raconteurs’ “You Don’t Understand Me” and The Dead Weather’s “Gasoline” bolstering Tuesday’s affair and covers of both The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” as well as Jimi Hendrix’s “Hear My Train a Comin'” standing out on Wednesday. It was even refreshing to hear him unleash Fear deep cut “Eosophobia” and the LP’s latest single “What’s the Trick?” on separate nights, while the genre-less “Hi-De-Ho” featuring Q-Tip — with his lyrics played from tape, something White rarely does when performing live — received two rounds of applause.

Some might ask, “What’s left for Jack White to do that he hasn’t already done?” That’s a good question, and one worth pondering as we have more time to reflect on the impact of his work and legacy. But as I watched White like the modern-day guitar hero that he is rip into one hair-raising solo after another while he was in LA, I couldn’t help but think of the small empire he has built for the past 25 years not only with his own style and sound but also culturally with Third Man Records leading the DIY movement for music. What makes Jack so special to his fans is that he represents what it truly means to be an artist in every sense of the word no matter what he’s doing. Whether he’s working on a song, couch or business idea, there’s always a greater vision to his madness and an inherent need to continue pushing boundaries.

“If you want to do something new to turn people on and get people’s imaginations going, you have to blend different things together and attempt to break new ground,” the blue-haired singer-songwriter explains at the end of his hour-long conversation with Lowe. “That’s the place that I try to live in.”

For more than a quarter century, White has been living in that space as he has let his own imaginations run wild. And yet, at no point did he expect things would turn out the way they have, rising to a level of international stardom that he never dreamed of when he almost decided to become a priest as a young teenager before changing his mind to attend public school — and the rest is history.

“There’s never been a moment where I’ve been like, ‘Yeah, that’s a good song. People should like that,'” he admits to Lowe. “I have never felt that. It’s always, ‘Well, that felt good to me. We’ll see.'”

That can be hard to believe from someone who’s as accomplished as Jack White, but for those of you who somehow aren’t familiar with the man after all these years … well, where the hell have you been?

MAY 31

Setlist:
Taking Me Back
Fear of the Dawn
The White Raven
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes song)
Hi-De-Ho
You Don’t Understand Me (The Raconteurs song)
Love Is Selfish
Temporary Ground
A Tip from You to Me
Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes song)
Cannon (The White Stripes song)
Eosophobia (followed by a reprise of “Cannon”)
Fell in Love With a Girl (The White Stripes song)
Lazaretto
Over and Over and Over
I’m Shakin’ (Little Willie John cover)
Gasoline (The Dead Weather song)
A Martyr for My Love for You (The White Stripes song)
Love Interruption
Ball and Biscuit (The White Stripes song)

Encore:
Icky Thump (The White Stripes song)
Steady, as She Goes (The Raconteurs song)

JUNE 1

Setlist:
Taking Me Back
Fear of the Dawn
I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges cover)
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes song)
The White Raven
If I Die Tomorrow
Love Is Selfish
I Think I Smell a Rat (The White Stripes song)
Black Math (The White Stripes song)
Freedom at 21
Hi-De-Ho
Apple Blossom (The White Stripes song)
We’re Going to Be Friends (The White Stripes song)
Love Interruption
I Cut Like a Buffalo (The Dead Weather song)
Hear My Train a Comin’ (Jimi Hendrix cover)
Ball and Biscuit (The White Stripes song)

Encore:
Icky Thump (The White Stripes song)
What’s the Trick?
Suzy Lee (The White Stripes song)
Catch Hell Blues (The White Stripes song)
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes song)

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: A Tribe Called Quest, Apple Music, Beyonce, Danger Mouse, Gold Dollar, Jack White, Little Willie John, Q-Tip, SoFi Stadium, The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs, The White Stripes, YouTube Theater

Just Like Heaven 2022: Pasadena’s own slice of indie-music bliss

May 25, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 3 Comments

Photos by Josh Herwitt & courtesy of JLH with artwork by Melissa Herwitt // Written by Josh Herwitt //

Just Like Heaven //
Brookside at the Rose Bowl – Pasadena, CA
May 21st, 2022 //

For those of you in California who haven’t noticed yet, we’re right in the midst of festival season.

With Coachella wrapping up last month and Lightning in a Bottle as well as BottleRock taking place over Memorial Day weekend, 2022 has already brought the live music industry back to the Golden State in a big way (and let’s make sure we mention BeachLife Festival, too).

But for those of us who haven’t been attending music festivals for a few years in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s even more exciting when any concert promoter can assemble a lineup of great artists and bands to perform all on the same day. That’s what Goldenvoice did, in fact, when it announced the return of Just Like Heaven with a dream lineup for any indie-music fan during the mid-2000s, anchored by Interpol, Modest Mouse, The Shins and M.I.A. with Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Chromeo, Santigold, Cut Copy, The Hives, Wolf Parade, Peaches and !!! also listed on the poster.

After taking over the Queen Mary Park in Long Beach for its debut in 2019, Just Like Heaven has found greener pastures to call home 35 miles north in Pasadena at the Brookside Golf Course adjacent to the Rose Bowl. It’s a proven location for hosting music festivals at this point after holding several large-scale events there before like Shaun White’s inaugural Air + Style and both editions of Goldenvoice’s two-day Arroyo Seco Weekend. But with the AEG-owned company’s other single-day fest Cruel World occupying the site two days the previous weekend and more music festivals like This Ain’t No Picnic scheduled for August, it’s safe to say that the Brookside is becoming quite a hotspot for Goldenvoice of late.

Just Like Heaven, nevertheless, seemingly fits the bill for Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett. And though the festival didn’t sell out nor was a second day added this time around, it still felt like quite a success given everything we have endured for more than two years. If anything, it was a brief reminder of what life felt like before the pandemic.

Peaches

While there wasn’t one performance at Just Like Heaven that stood above the rest, there were certainly highlights throughout the day — starting as early as 2 p.m. when Peaches stepped onto the main stage with an array of scantily-clad costumes to celebrate the belated 20th anniversary of her second LP The Teaches of Peaches. For those who got there in time to witness the Canadian electroclash musician in all her glory, it was 50 minutes we’ll never forget as Merrill Nisker delivered one erotic moment after the next alongside her backing band and backup dancers who were wearing as little as her. Sure, hearing Wolf Parade play 2005’s Apologies to the Queen Mary right after wasn’t quite as entertaining, but it did feel apropos given Just Like Heaven’s prior location, setting us up for an evening of classic indie rock.

By the time Franz Ferdinand took the stage for their 5:10 p.m. start, you could tell that the attendance had grown considerably compared to what it was earlier for late-afternoon sets by Kele Okereke, The Hives and Cut Copy. Of course the latter did their best to turn the daytime dance party up a notch with crowd-pleasers such as “Lights and Music” and “Hearts on Fire” off 2008’s In Ghost Colours, but it was Franz Ferndinand, Santigold and Bloc Party who shepherded us through the early evening (and one of them even made us pretend like we were back in 2005 listening to Silent Alarm for the first time again).

One of our only grievances with Just Like Heaven this year was scheduling Chromeo to perform exactly when The Shins were, leaving us less of an opportunity to catch both acts during the sunset. But James Mercer and his sidekicks made the most of it after a long time away from touring, offering 15 cuts across the band’s catalog before finishing with a rare cover of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “American Girl” as the sun fell behind the San Gabriel Mountains.

From there, the remaining hours of the festival belonged to Modest Mouse, M.I.A. and Interpol. With the first two receiving 60 minutes on their respective stages — Orion and Stardust — each made a point to placate the more casual listener with commercial hits like “Float On” and “Paper Planes” receiving their three minutes in the spotlight. But while some of the songs on Modest Mouse’s 2021 album The Golden Casket don’t translate as well to a live setting as their older material and M.I.A.’s show can often be a bit too bizarre for some, Interpol was there at the end to ground us and bring it all home.

The NYC post-punk revival trio has been on the road for about a month after completing The Other Side of Make-Believe, and although we will have to wait until mid-July for their seventh studio effort to arrive, Interpol did provide a preview of sorts with “Fables” and “Toni” sprinkled into a setlist highlighted by one of our personal favorites “Rest My Chemistry” from 2007’s Our Love to Admire. Yet, it was only fitting on this night for Interpol to also uncork “The Heinrich Maneuver” from the same record that hears frontman Paul Banks ask the audience in the opening lyric, “How are things on the West Coast?” before replying, “I hear you’re moving real fine.” With Just Like Heaven alive and well after a three-year hiatus and new music from Interpol on the horizon, there’s no doubt we are now.

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festival Reviews, Festivals Tagged With: Air + Style, Arroyo Seco Weekend, Beach House, Bloc Party, Brookside at the Rose Bowl, Brookside Golf Club, CHK CHK CHK, Chromeo, Cinespace, Coachella, Coachella 2022, Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Music and Arts Festival 2022, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2022, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2022, Cut Copy, Franz Ferdinand, Geographer, Goldenvoice, Grizzly Bear, Interpol, Islands, Just Like Heaven, Just Live Heaven 2022, Kele Okereke, M.I.A., MGMT, Miike Snow, Modest Mouse, music, Passion Pit, Peaches, Phoenix, Queen Mary Park, Rose Bowl, Santigold, Shaun White, The Cribs, The Go! Team, The Hives, The Rapture, The Raveonettes, The Shins, Them Jeans, Tom Petty, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Wolf Parade, Yeah Yeah Yeah's, Yelle

Animal Collective haven’t forgotten how to be delightfully weird, delivering a manic mind melt at LA’s Greek Theatre

May 23, 2022 by Rochelle Shipman 1 Comment

By Rochelle Shipman //

Animal Collective with SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE //
Greek Theatre – Los Angeles
May 20th, 2022 //

It’s safe to say that a lot has changed in the world over the last two years, but there’s one thing that has thankfully remained the same about Animal Collective: they’re still weird as shit and delightful as all hell.

Their triumphant display at the Greek Theatre felt like a long-awaited psychedelic hug, a comforting two hours of pure and manic mind melt. Animal Collective’s music can be somewhat divisive, so to be with 5,000 of your newest friends at a concert screaming along to some of your most treasured songs … it never gets old, even if you don’t know exactly what it is that they’re saying all the time. In fact, that only adds to the beauty of it since they formed more than two decades ago.

Friday’s headlining performance in LA all the sweet spots. The last pre-pandemic tour or two had each member of Animal Collective tucked behind rightful, yet artful individual podiums, which decorated the stage and elevated the show in its own right. But after a chaotic couple of years for all of us, it felt really good to have all four of them together on the same stage, instruments spread about, baring it all in front of a live audience with nothing except a few cables and some keyboards separating them. It was a solid reminder that these guys make these stunningly intricate songs with their own human hands after all.

Avey Tare (David Portner), Deakin (Josh Dibb) and Geologist (Brian Weitz) pivoted back and forth from strings to keys and synths, rarely looking up and never missing a beat, while just watching Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) coo and harmonize from behind his drum kit damn near felt like a privilege. And yet, they hardly exchanged so much as a glance at each other, somehow bringing an even more impressive layer to the group’s already-electrifying catalog.

The setlist was perfect, the visuals were on point as ever and the band was tight on this night. Animal Collective are never loose per se — their music literally doesn’t allow it — but they glided through each song with such a familiar air of ease. In the handful of shows I’ve been lucky enough to catch over the years, they tend to use their live shows to test out brand-new material and dip into older songs — both beloved favorites and those that don’t always get to see the light of day. Given the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years, it’s safe to say that their 11th and newest studio album Time Skiffs didn’t exactly get that same pre-release tour treatment. This show made up for that, not only with the band righteously tearing through the bulk of the nine-track LP that dropped in February, but also with the packs of “Time Spliffs” rolling papers available at the merch table (right next to the safe abortion access information).

In addition to the Skiffs and one or two new songs, Animal Collective offered cuts from Centipede HZ, Strawberry Jam, Merriweather Post Pavilion and two songs off ODDSAC. They didn’t touch Painting With or any of the fantastic singles from the EPs surrounding it, and they didn’t dig into anything pre-Strawberry Jam. As a Strawberry Jam purist, I again felt privileged to be there. Not only did we get to hear “Chores”, but we got a fiery encore of “Unsolved Mysteries” right into a raucous rendition of “For Reverend Green” to close out a four-song encore.

Within seconds of the house lights flickering on, someone in front of me lamented the absence of “My Girls”. He turned around and said, “I don’t get it. That was such a weak ending. Why wouldn’t they play their biggest hit?” To clarify (and as I confirmed by the look on his friend’s face), “For Reverend Green” was not a weak ending. It was, in fact, exhilarating. And it’s nothing against that dude — it was his first Animal Collective show. He’ll probably enjoy the next one more because he won’t be expecting it, and maybe he’ll even be surprised.

Animal Collective didn’t play “My Girls” partially because that guy expected it. They don’t champion their biggest hit in a way that many bands would. They’re not there to play the hits, and it’s clear at this phase in their career that they don’t have to be. Their live stage time is and always has been cherished among them, reserved for the songs they feel like sharing with fans and nothing else. For us, it’s just a privilege to bear witness after all these years.

Setlist:
Passer-By
Bluish
Gem and I
Wide Eyed
Prester John
Cherokee
In the Flowers
Working
Strung With Everything
We Go Back
Chores
Applesauce