Featured – Showbams

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

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

Outside Lands unleashes 2022 night shows with Pussy Riot, Phoebe Bridgers (acoustic), Mac DeMarco, TOKiMONSTA & more performing

July 13, 2022 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 5th-7th, 2022 //

With less than a month to go, Outside Lands is preparing for a triumphant return to its usual timing in early August for the first year since 2019.

Now after moving back more than two months to Halloween weekend (read our review here) in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the three-day music festival has assembled another strong slate of night shows for its 14th installment next month to keep the party going past 10 p.m.

ranger dave is already lining up for this year’s outside lands night shows! tickets go on sale to the general public friday, 7/15 at 10am pt. https://t.co/MGMul6tK1A pic.twitter.com/czst4GgGBO

— Outside Lands (@sfoutsidelands) July 13, 2022

This year’s late-night run will include 13 performances across seven SF venues and feature must-see acts like Pussy Riot, Phoebe Bridgers (acoustic), Washed Out (DJ set), Franc Moody, Mac DeMarco, Best Coast, TOKiMONSTA and more.

Tickets for OSL’s 2022 night shows will go on sale to the public this Friday, July 15 at 10 a.m. PT with priority access for festival ticket holders beginning this week (look out for an email in your inboxes).

Here is the schedule for the upcoming night shows with links to purchase tickets:

August 4th (THU): Pussy Riot with ILOVEMAKONNEN, REI AMI, salem ilese at The Independent, 8 p.m., $25, 21+ // BUY TICKETS

August 5th (FRI): Phoebe Bridgers (acoustic) at The Independent, 10 p.m., $69.50-$70, 21+ // BUY TICKETS*

August 5th (FRI): Washed Out (DJ set) at 1015 Folsom, 10 p.m., $15-30, 21+ // BUY TICKETS

August 5th (FRI): Franc Moody at Bimbo’s 365 Club, 10 p.m., $29.50-$30, 21+ // BUY TICKETS

August 5th (FRI): ANNA at Public Works, 10 p.m., $15-40, 21+ // BUY TICKETS

August 5th (FRI): Cassian with Lucid D at Audio, 8 p.m., $15-20, 21+ // BUY TICKETS

August 5th (FRI): MICHELLE with DJ Aaron Axelsen at Rickshaw Stop, 10 p.m., $15-20, All Ages // BUY TICKETS

August 6th (SAT): Mac DeMarco at The Independent, 10 p.m., $45-50, 21+ // BUY TICKETS

August 6th (SAT): Ashe at Bimbo’s 365 Club, 10 p.m., $35, 18+ // BUY TICKETS

August 6th (SAT): Best Coast with Night School at The Independent, 10 p.m., $29.50-30, All Ages // BUY TICKETS

August 6th (SAT): Anna Lunoe b2b J. Worra at The Great Northern, 10 p.m., $21-35, 21+ // BUY TICKETS

August 7th (SUN): TOKiMONSTA at The Independent, 10 p.m., $35-$40, 21+ // BUY TICKETS

August 7th (SUN): L’Rain at Rickshaw Stop, 9 p.m., $15-17, All Ages // BUY TICKETS

*COVID-19 vaccinations required

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: 1015 Folsom, ANNA, Anna Lunoe, Anna Lunoe B2B J. Worra, ASHE, Audio, Audio SF, Best Coast, Bimbo's 365 Club, Cassian, DJ Aaron Axelsen, Franc Moody, ILOVEMAKONNEN, J. Worra, L'Rain, Lucid D, Mac Demarco, Michelle, Outside Lands, Outside Lands 2022, Outside Lands 2022 night shows, Outside Lands Music Festival, Outside Lands Music Festival 2022, Outside Lands night shows, Phoebe Bridgers, Public Works, Public Works SF, Pussy Riot, REI AMI, Rickshaw Stop, salem ilese, School Night, The Great Northern, The Independent, Tokimonsta, Washed Out

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

CRSSD Festival turns to Duck Sauce, Jamie xx, ARTBAT, Dom Dolla & more to carry Fall 2022 lineup

June 21, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

CRSSD Festival //
Waterfront Park – San Diego
September 24th-25th, 2022 //

Who’s ready for another round of CRSSD?

After unleashing its Spring 2022 lineup before ringing in the New Year, the bi-annual event organized by San Diego-based promoter FNGRS CRSSD is back with another electronic-leaning roster in September over the same weekend as the inaugural Portola Music Festival at San Francisco’s Pier 80.

Duck Sauce and Jamie xx are set to headline the two-day festival’s Fall 2022 edition coming off their exhilarating performances at Coachella this year, while the undercard brings its own fire power with ARTBAT, Dom Dolla, Joseph Capriati, Reinier Zonneveld (Live), Cannons, Caribou, DRAMA, Elder Island and Fred again.. taking Waterfront Park by storm in a few months.

Fall in full force 🌅

ALUMNI PRESALE
11AM PT 6/28

CRSSD SMS PRESALE
-12PM PT 6/28
-Text CRSSDFEST 855-912-1457

GEN SALE
-12PM 6/29

[ PAYMENT PLANS ]
-2-step plans are avail until 7/22.
-50% down, 50% due on 8/15https://t.co/mHOzhJfh7T pic.twitter.com/aF8nnazyhR

— CRSSD Festival (@crssdfest) June 21, 2022

But that’s not all of the names who are worth mentioning here. Other notables include Godford, KUU, L’Impératrice, Lewis OfMan, Moderat, Orbital, Fatboy Slim, MK, Sonny Fodera, The Avalanches (DJ set), Deeper Purpose, Richie Hawtin, Stephan Bodzin, Testpilot, I. Jordan, Jaguar, Romy (of The xx), Wax Motif and more. Check out the poster above for the rest of the acts scheduled to perform.

Those who previously attended the fest in Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021 and Spring 2015 or DAY.MVS XL one of the last two years will have access to a special alumni presale starting Tuesday, June 28th at 11 a.m. PT. The general public on-sale will begin the following day on Wednesday, June 29th at 12 p.m. PT.

Take a look back at our coverage over the years here.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: A-Trak, Armand Van Helden, ARTBAT, Biscits, Cannons, Caribou, Chloé Robinson, 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, CRSSD, CRSSD 2022, CRSSD Festival, CRSSD Festival 2022, Deeper Purpose, Dom Dolla, DRAMA, Duck Sauce, Elder Island, Fatboy Slim, FNGRS CRSSD, Franky Wah, Fred again.., Godford, I. Jordan, Jaguar, Jamie xx, Joseph Capriati, KUU, L'Impératrice, Lewis OfMan, Marcel Dettmann, MK, Mochakk, Moderat, Ms. Mada, Orbital, Reinier Zonneveld, Richie Hawtin, Romy, Sarah Story, Sonny Fodera, Stephan Bodzin, Stephen Jolk, Sven Väth, Testpilot, The Avalanches, The xx, Tibasko, VTSS, Waterfront Park, Wax Motif

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

Desert Daze enlists Tame Impala, Iggy Pop and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard as 2022 headliners to celebrate 10th anniversary

June 13, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

Desert Daze //
Moreno Beach – Lake Perris, CA‎
September 30th-October 2nd, 2022 //

Itching to hit up a music festival this year?

Now that the live music industry has returned to its pre-pandemic ways, there have recently been a slew of festival lineup announcements in California and the latest just happens to be Desert Daze.

After all, on the same day that Ohana Encore announced a return to Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, the always-psychedelic Desert Daze has also revealed plans to celebrate its 10th anniversary at another beach in Southern California not anywhere near the ocean.

10 years of Desert Daze. 10 years of Lonerism. One you. Passes on sale 6/16 at 10am PT. Payment plans available at checkout. https://t.co/utQQk4SkH4 pic.twitter.com/JKGb5m4oUG

— Desert Daze (@desertdaze) June 13, 2022

The three-day boutique music festival, which has found a home at Moreno Beach inside the 1,800-acre Lake Perris State Recreation Area since 2018, has put together a roster that falls right in line with past lineups as Tame Impala get set to perform their 2012 semifinal LP Lonerism in its entirety. Joining them as headliners will be Iggy Pop and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, both of which are Daze alumni.

Desert Daze’s undercard in 2022, meanwhile, will be rounded out by Chicano Batman, The Marías, Sky Ferreira, BADBADNOTGOOD, JPEGMAFIA, Mild High Club, Men I Trust, Cortex, Fuzz, Pond, Perfume Genius, Aldous Harding, Sleaford Mods, DakhaBrakha, Boy Pablo, Cymande and more. See the poster above for the rest of the scheduled acts.

Three-day GA and VIP passes to Desert Daze are available to purchase here starting at $299 and $649, respectively, during the fest’s presale before the general public on-sale begins this Thursday, June 16th at 10 a.m. PT. Don’t sleep on picking up tickets for what’s sure to be an exciting weekend in the desert!

UPDATE (August 2nd): Desert Daze has unleashed daily lineups for its 10th anniversary with King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard rocking Friday, Tame Impala performing Lonerism on Saturday and the legendary Iggy Pop closing things down Sunday to mark his only North American performance of the year. Single-day tickets are also available now, so grab those here for $139-179 (GA), $299-399 (VIP) and $666-777 (VIP Plus) while you can!

UPDATE (September 22nd): With Desert Daze’s 10th anniversary only a week away, the festival has dished out this year’s set times and quite a few lineup changes, beginning with Beach House replacing Iggy Pop as Sunday’s headliner. The legendary singer-songwriter unfortunately won’t be able to perform in 2022 due to unprecedented visa delays involving his French band, but he’s not the only who won’t be making it out to Lake Perris as Boy Pablo and Los Retros have also pulled out. In their place, along with Beach House, will be English post-punk band Shame and an undisclosed secret set that organizers say “may cause havoc.” Don’t forget to take a peek at the entire schedule and map above, and if you haven’t already snagged yours, single-day and weekend tickets are still available here!

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Al Lover, Aldous Harding, Automatic, Babe Rainbow, BADBADNOTGOOD, Black Country New Road, Bolis Pupul, boy pablo, Brainstory, Buck Meek, Charlotte Adigéry, Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul, Chicano Batman, Chulita Vinyl Club, clipping., Cortex, Cristopher Cichocki, Cymande, DakhaBrakha, Daniel Rossen, Desert Daze, Desert Daze 2022, Divide & Dissolve, Divide and Dissolve, Duster, Elkka, FUZZ, Grizzly Bear, Gum, Heads Are Heavy, Iggy Pop, Imarhan, Inner Wave, JJUUJJUU, John Carroll Kirby, JPEGMAFIA, Kid 606, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, L'éclair, L.A. Witch, Lady Wray, Lake Perris, Los Retros, Mariachi Reyna De Los Angeles, Men I Trust, Midlife, Mild High Club, Molly Lewis, Nation of Language, Nilüfer Yanya, Nosaj Thing, Noura Mint Seymali, Panther Modern, Perfume Genius, Pond, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Reggie Watts, Seun Kuti, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Shame, Shannon and the Clams, Show Me the Body, Silent Servant, Sky Ferreira, Sleaford Mods, Slift, Sloppy Jane, Small Black, Snapped Ankles, Soul Glo, Surfbort, Surprise Chef, Tame Impala, Telefon Tel Aviv, The Armed, The Marías, The Paranoyds, The Sanctuary, The Space Lady, Vanishing Tw, Viagra Boys, Working Men's Club, Zo!

Ohana Festival brings back ‘Encore’ weekend for 2022 as Eddie Vedder, Alanis Morissette, The Black Keys & HAIM lead lineup

June 13, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

Ohana Encore //
Doheny State Beach – Dana Point, CA
October 8th-9th, 2022 //

Hey, Ohana fam! If you thought that an “Encore” session would only be in 2021, well … think again.

After making its debut last year with none other than Pearl Jam headlining both nights, the second act of Eddie Vedder’s music festival returns this October.

We already knew that the sixth edition of Ohana Festival has Stevie Nicks, Vedder, Jack White and P!nk receiving top billing the weekend prior, but that will be just half of the fun down in Dana Point now.

✨ The Ohana Fest 2022 lineup is here ✨
Pre-sale tickets on sale this Wed. 4/13 @ 10am PT. Sign up now at https://t.co/7NVjyrBFlL! pic.twitter.com/OMLN5YhP04

— The Ohana Fest (@TheOhanaFest) April 11, 2022

This time it will be Vedder, Alanis Morissette, The Black Keys and HAIM sharing co-headlining duties over two more days at Doheny State Beach, with an undercard featuring The Roots, Band of Horses, Julieta Venegas and Rainbow Kitten Surprise. Others artists scheduled to perform include The Front Bottoms, The Afghan Whigs, Amos Lee, Amyl and the Sniffers, Marcus King, Iceage, Painted Shield, Hamilton Leithauser and more.

While the fest’s focus remains rock ‘n’ roll as you can see from the poster above, there’s also some hip-hop, soul, indie folk and punk sprinkled in to complement must-see sets by Khruangbin, Billy Strings, St. Vincent, Brittany Howard and Broken Social Scene over the event’s first three days.

Weekend and single-day tickets for Ohana Encore will go on sale this Thursday, June 16th at 10 a.m. PT during the festival’s presale, but you must sign up here to receive a presale code if you want to go!

UPDATE (July 23rd): Ugh! Despite debuting just a year ago, Ohana Encore won’t be back this October after all. The two-day event has been reportedly canceled after ticket holders received an email from the fest’s ticket service Front Gate Tickets stating it would no longer happen “due to circumstances beyond our control” and refunds will be issued automatically. As you can see from Ohana Fest’s website as well as their social media accounts (except for a profile photo we found on Facebook here), there’s no trace of Ohana Encore anywhere, so that’s always a strong indicator of some unfortunate news. However, at least some fans will always have the 2021 installment to remember.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Alanis Morissette, Band of Horses, Billy Strings, Brittany Howard, Broken Social Scene, Charlotte Lawrence, Eddie Vedder, Haim, Hamilton Leithauser, Illuminati Hotties, Jack White, Jaime Wyatt, Jonny Roundhouse, Julieta Venegas, Khruangbin, Ohana Encore, Ohana Encore 2022, Ohana Fest, Ohana Fest 2022, Ohana Festival, Ohana Festival 2022, P!nk, Painted Shield, Pluralone, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Seratones, St. Vincent, Stevie Nicks, The Black Keys, The Roots, Trousdale

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

Encore:
Screens
No More Runnin
Unsolved Mysteries
For Reverend Green

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Animal Collective, Avey Tare, Deakin, Geologist, Greek Theatre, Panda Bear, SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE, The Spirit of the Beehive

Chromeo, Tipper, Vulfpeck, The Glitch Mob & more hit the beach at Lake Perris for 2022 edition of Same Same But Different

May 16, 2022 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

Same Same But Different //
Moreno Beach – Lake Perris, CA‎
September 9th-11th, 2022 //

Does it feel like festival season in the Golden State or what?

On the same day Goldenvoice revealed its new Portola Music Festival with Flume and The Chemical Brothers headlining its inaugural edition at San Francisco’s Pier 80, another California music festival also has made its plans known for this September.

Same Same But Different follows in the same sort of vein as Lightning in a Bottle by offering more than just music, with yoga, educational workshops, and wellness activities, as well as arts and crafts, all part of the event’s programming two weeks prior to Portola and one week before Primavera Sound LA.

Here it is, your 2022 lineup! Tag your crew below and sign up for pre-sale access to buy tickets Thurs. May 19. General on-sale Fri May 20.

— Same Same But Different (@ssbdfest) May 16, 2022

But like LIB, it’s the music that ultimately attracts fans to SSBD and this year’s roster boasts a variety of electronic- and funk-leaning acts beginning at the top of the bill with electro-funk lords Chromeo rocking the stage Friday, British electronic composer and producer Tipper turning up Saturday, and funk quartet Vulfpeck and LA beat-scene veterans The Glitch Mob co-headlining Sunday.

Along with the aforementioned four headliners, the three-day fest’s undercard delivers other can’t-miss acts such as Washed Out, Poolside, Emancipator, Lettuce, The Brothers Macklovitch (A-Trak & Dave1), Neil Frances, Beats Antique, The Polish Ambassador, Moon Boots, The California Honeydrops, Sacha Robotti, The Floozies, Goldfish, Harry Mack, The Funk Hunters, Manic Focus, Justin Jay, Anomalie and more at Moreno Beach inside the 1,800-acre Lake Perris State Recreation Area. See the poster above, and check back here as additional artists are announced in the coming months.

SSBD tickets can be purchased starting this Thursday, May 19th at 1 p.m. PT during the presale with payment plans available for those who only want to put down $49 right now, but don’t forget to register here for your chance to also win a grand prize of four VIP weekend passes and car-camping or one free GA ticket. Three-day GA passes start at $285 and jump to $345 while VIP are available for $490 before increasing to $580 here. The general on-sale, meanwhile, begins this Friday at 1 p.m. PT so get them while they’re hot!

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Anomalie, Beats Antique, BIIANCO, Casmalia, Chromeo, Diggin Dirt, DLMT, EDI, Emancipator, Frameworks, Funktion-One, Goldfish, Harry Mack, Hollywood Principle, Justin Jay, Lake Perris, Lake Perris State Park, Lettuce, LIB, LIB 2022, Lightning in a Bottle, Lightning in a Bottle 2022, Maddy O'Neal, Manic Focus, Monster Rally, Moon Boots, Moreno Beach, NEIL FRANCES, Oren, Orgone, Party Pupils, Poolside, Portola, Portola Music Festival, Portola Music Festival 2022, Ranger Trucco, Ravenscoon, Sacha Robotti, Same Same But Different, Same Same But Different 2022, Same Same But Different Fest, Same Same But Different Fest 2022, Same Same But Different Festival, Same Same But Different Festival 2022, SSBD, SSBD 2022, SSBD Fest, SSBD Fest 2022, The Brothers Comatose, The Brothers Macklovitch, The Brothers Macklovitch (A-Trak & Dave1), The California Honeydrops, The Floozies, The Funk Hunters, The Glitch Mob, The Polish Ambassador, The Sponges, Tipper, Vincent Antone, Vulfpeck, Washed Out

Portola Music Festival makes debut at SF’s Pier 80 this September with Flume & The Chemical Brothers headlining inaugural edition

May 16, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 4 Comments

Portola Music Festival //
Pier 80 – San Francisco
September 24th-25th, 2022 //

Holy Portola!

If you thought we were done announcing festival lineups in the state of California this year, well … you thought wrong. Because with the music industry looking to make up for lost time as we try to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic into more normal times, Goldenvoice isn’t slowing down in 2022.

After bringing This Ain’t No Picnic back to SoCal for the first time in almost 20 years this August, the renowned concert promoter has uncovered the new Portola Music Festival, which is named after the Portola Festival of 1909 — a celebration of SF’s reopening following the earthquake of 1906 that was created to attract tourists at the time — and will take over Pier 80 for two days in September.

Introducing San Francisco's Portola Music Festival 🌐 Register now for first access. Pre sale begins this Friday at 10am PThttps://t.co/rMvrVYLt6O pic.twitter.com/1Zl5K5x8cm

— Portola Festival (@PortolaFestival) May 16, 2022

Flume and The Chemical Brothers are booked to headline the inaugural edition of the two-day festival leaning primarily in the electronic direction, although there’s a sliver of hip-hop and pop mixed into its stellar undercard that boasts Kaytranada, James Blake, Jamie xx, M.I.A., Jungle, Lane 8, Charli XCX, Peggy Gou, Gorgon City, Toro y Moi, Four Tet + Floating Points, Fred again.., SG Lewis, Fatboy Slim, Duke Dumont (Live), Caroline Polachek, Yaeji, Caribou, The Blessed Madonna, Omar Apollo, Bicep (Live), L’Impératrice, The Avalanches, Yves Tumor, Arca, Channel Tres, PinkPantheress, Ben Böhmer, Hot Since 82, DJ Shadow, Justin Martin, Romy, slowthai, Ross From Friends and more. Quite simply, the lineup is pretty much a dream come true for any fan of the indie-electronic space right now with a couple of local favorites like Toro y Moi and DJ Shadow thrown in for good measure. Check out the poster above for the rest of this year’s roster.

You can buy tickets to Portola starting this Friday, May 20th at 10 a.m. PT with payment plans available, but make sure to register here for your presale code. Two-day GA passes start at $299.95 and increase to $349.95 (or $199.95 to $224.95 for single-day tickets) while two-day VIP can be purchased for more than double at $774.95 (or $399.95 for one day) here if you’re age 21 and up.

Don’t sleep on what’s sure to be an epic dance party down by the docks!

UPDATE (July 19th): With the fest getting ready to make its debut in just more than two months, Bob Moses, Mochakk and Thee Mike B are joining the 2022 lineup and are set to perform on Saturday. See the updated poster above for the rest of the roster. Two-day GA and single-day GA passes for Saturday are running low but still available here so go get ’em before it’s too late!

UPDATE (September 8th): Set times are here! Portola would also like to remind attendees that “there are NO bad decisions and regret is a four letter word.” But seriously, there are some really hard choices to make when taking a closer look, including Flume vs. Jamie xx vs. Fatboy Slim on Saturday and The Chemical Brothers vs. Four Tet + Floating Points vs. Toro y Moi on Sunday. Peep the schedule as well as the map above if you’re going this month and make sure to snag your tickets here while you still can!

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: &ME, Adam Port, Ama Lou, Arca, Ben Böhmer, Bicep Live, Caribou, Caroline Polachek, Channel Tres, Charli XCX, Danilo Plessow, Dawn Richard, DJ Holographic, DJ Shadow, DJ_Dave, DRAMA, Duke Dumont, ela minus, Elkka, Eug, Fatboy Slim, Floating Points, Flume, Four Tet, Four Tet + Floating Points, Fred again.., George Fitzgerald, Giolì & Assia, Godford, Goldenvoice, Gorgon City, HAAi, Hot Since 82, James Blake, Jamie xx, Jungle, Justin Martin, Kaytranada, Keinemusik, Kelly Lee Owens, L'Impératrice, Lane 8, M.I.A., Maddie Maia + Tottie, MCDE, Motor City Drum Ensemble, NEIL FRANCES, Omar Apollo, Palace, Peggy Gou, PinkPantheress, Portola 2022, Portola Music Festival, Portola Music Festival 2022, Prospa, Rampa, Romy, Ross From Friends, Sad Night Dynamite, SG Lewis, Skygirl, Slayyyter, slowthai, Sofia Kourtesis, SOS Music, The Avalanches, The Blessed Madonna, The Chemical Brothers, The Range, Toro Y Moi, Tottie, TSHA, Yaeji, Young Franco, Yves Tumor

Royal Blood make a pit stop at brand-new Ventura Music Hall on their ‘Typhoons’ tour to remind us rock ‘n’ roll is still alive & well

May 11, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 3 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

Royal Blood with cleopatrick //
Ventura Music Hall – Ventura, CA
May 4th, 2022 //

If you’re one of those people who thinks rock ‘n’ roll is on its way out, then you probably haven’t heard of Royal Blood before.

The English alt-rock duo comprised of Mike Kerr (lead vocals, bass, keyboards, piano, guitar) and sidekick Ben Thatcher (drums, percussion, piano) has been growing its fan base far outside the UK since forming more than a decade ago, so much so the two Brits have found themselves headlining larger venues “in the states” with each passing tour.

But the smallest room on Royal Blood’s 26-date North American trek that included five shows up and down California is no doubt the brand-new Ventura Music Hall, which hopes to be a legitimate pit stop for bands traveling from the Bay Area to Los Angeles and vice versa.

Opening its doors for the first time less than two months ago, the 635-person club has already hosted several notable acts across a range of genres — from the world sounds of Thievery Corporation to the punk rock of Flogging Molly and Bob Mould to the synthpop of Gary Numan and Hot Chip — while the addition of Royal Blood should only help build its credibility as one of the few spots to catch live music along the Central Coast. At half the size of the Ventura Theater, it offers a more intimate setting despite being mostly standing room with food available via local pop-up Ruff House BBQ and a massive ceiling fan to create a strong ventilation system (because we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic).

Ventura, furthermore, has been primed to have a new space for a while now. Home to outdoor clothing retailer Patagonia as well as a handful of top-notch craft breweries an hour north of LA and 30 minutes south of Santa Barbara, the once-sleepy beach town is often overlooked and could be something more than its past as other entertainment and dining options are introduced and established over time.

Much of the same can be said for Royal Blood after they last performed stateside in 2018. Since then, they’ve managed to reinvent some of that big, bombastic sound we first heard them unleash on 2014’s self-titled debut LP and 2018’s How Did We Get So Dark? by churning out even catchier melodies and dance-forward backbeats for their third studio effort Typhoons, which dropped more than a year ago to predominantly favorable reviews.

There might be no better track on Typhoons that manifests the sonic evolution of Royal Blood than its disco-flavored lead single “Trouble’s Coming”, and considering that it was the first song written for the album based on what Kerr has said in interviews, I would be surprised if it doesn’t become a staple at the band’s shows in the future.

On this night and this tour, we were treated to a performance from Kerr and Thatcher that spanned all three of their full lengths and more. There was “Typhoons” fittingly to open and “Boilermaker” to follow, the latter of which being the Josh Homme-produced track that you could argue is one of Royal Blood’s most electrifying songs right now (I did after naming it my favorite song of 2021). It has a similar energy to “Lights Out” and that might be why the first single — and one of the real standouts — off HDWGSD? came right after in the setlist.

Multiple deep cuts such as “Hook, Line & Sinker”, “Blood Hands” and “Loose Change” were also played, but hearing Royal Blood’s newest single “Honeybrains” that they uncovered right before hitting the road this spring was particularly praiseworthy for a group that has moved beyond a bass guitar and drums to incorporate more keyboards in their latest studio material. If it wasn’t evident to the crowd quite yet, Kerr made it upon his return to the stage after a short set break, as he took a seat at the piano and belted out the Typhoons finale “All We Have Is Now” to kickstart a furious, three-song encore that ended with Royal Blood cuts “Ten Tonne Skeleton” and “Out of the Black” sending us home after 90 minutes of ear-rattling and headbanging euphoria.

What has always amazed me about Royal Blood is how full their music sounds despite only having two permanent members who would serve as most bands’ rhythm section. And although you would have to think that Kerr and Thatcher will eventually explore adding other instrumentation — if not more full-time staff with Darren James brought on last year to be their touring keyboardist — into the fold, the 11-track Typhoons has provided them with that step forward. Where they go from here remains anyone’s guess as they help carry the torch for rock ‘n’ roll in 2022, but with another album cycle under their belts soon, those prospects feel just as exciting as where they’ve already been.

Setlist:
Typhoons
Boilermaker
Lights Out
Come on Over
Trouble’s Coming
Hook, Line & Sinker
Honeybrains
Little Monster
How Did We Get So Dark?
Blood Hands
Million and One
Limbo
Loose Change
Figure It Out

Encore:
All We Have Is Now
Ten Tonne Skeleton
Out of the Black

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Bob Mould, Cleopatrick, Flogging Molly, Gary Numan, Hot Chip, Josh Homme, Majestic Ventura Theater, Patagonia, Queens of the Stone Age, Royal Blood, Ruff House BBQ, The Majestic Ventura Theater, Thievery Corporation, Ventura Music Hall, Ventura Theatre

HARD Summer Music Festival extends to three days in 2022 with Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Uzi Vert & Porter Robinson atop the bill

May 3, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

HARD Summer Music Festival //
NOS Events Center – San Bernardino, CA
July 29th-31st, 2022 //

If you thought Gary Richards was bold after dropping a 2021 lineup for HARD Summer while we were still in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, the HARD founder and CEO isn’t letting up now.

This time, he’s adding a third day for the annual Southern California music festival that returns late July to the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino after moving all around the greater Los Angeles area over the last few years — whether it was Whittier Narrows Recreation Area in South El Monte, the Fairplex in Pomona or Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.

HARD Summer has long leaned in the electronic direction given Richard’s pedigree as a DJ, but it has incorporated more and more hip-hop acts since 2015 and the 14th edition follows in the same vein with Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Uzi Vert and Porter Robinson sitting atop the bill.

SOCAL – SUIT UP! 🙌 HARD SUMMER 2022 IS COMING AT YOU FOR 3 DAYS, JULY 29-31! 🔥 Passes On Sale this Friday @ 10AM PT for a $9.95 deposit. Available for 3 days only before the price goes uppp!
VIEW FULL LINEUP AT 🔗 https://t.co/s83XEy4gBe pic.twitter.com/VcBiGXqmkz

— HARD Events (@HARDFEST) May 3, 2022

Meanwhile, plenty of other big names throughout the undercard are also worth calling out, such as Joji, Alison Wonderland, Chris Lake, Zeds Dead B2B Subtronics, GRiZ, Madeon, Gunna, NGHTMRE, Marc Rebillet, Tchami, Denzel Curry, Jai Wolf, 100 Gecs and more. Peep the poster above for the rest of this year’s roster.

GA, GA+ and VIP passes are on sale this Friday, May 6th at 10 a.m. PT here for fans ages 18 and over, with payment plans also available for one-day or three-day tickets after a $9.95 deposit.

Anyone ready to go HARD this summer?

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: A Hundred Drums, Alison Wonderland, Amine, Anabel Englund, Arnold & Lane, Baby Weight, BARILAN, Biicla, Bktherula, Bladee, Blond:ish, Blunts & Blondes, Bombays, CANABLISS, Capozzi, ChaunceyCC, Chee, Chloé Caillet, Chris Lake, Cloonee, Craze, Deathpact, Deochi, Dimension, DJ Dials, DJ Minx, DJ Tennis, Dot, DRAMA, DUCKWRTH, Eli Brown, Ericdoa, Evan Giia, Falcons, Frosttop, Glaive, HARD Summer, Hard Summer 2022, HARD Summer Music Festival, Hard Summer Music Festival 2022, HoneyLuv, Hotfire, Imanu, ISOxo, Ivy Lab, James Hype, JOAQU.N, Joji, Josh Butler, JOYRYDE, Justin Martin, K?D, Kai Wachi, Koffee, Level Up, Lil Uzi Vert, LP Giobbi, LSDREAM, Luccii, Lucille Croft, Marauda, Masego, Matroda, Megan Thee Stallion, Mersiv, Miane, Miss Dre, montell2099, Moore Kismet, NIA ARCHIVES, Nicole Moudaber, NOS Events Center, Pam Sessions, Pangea Sound, Porter Robinson, Potions, Prospa, QRTR, Redrum, RemK, Rohaan, Rossy, Saucy Santana, Sidepiece, Ski Mask, Ski Mask B2B Slump God, Sleepy Joe, Slump God, Softest Hard, Space Wizard, Sub Focus, Subtronics, Sullivan King, Supernova, Svdden Death B2B Marauda, Thee Mike B, Three 6 Mafia, Tiga, Tokimonsta, Tom The Mail Man, Transviolet, TroyBoi, Tsuruda, Tsuruda B2B Chee, Uniiqu3, Valentino Khan, VENGA, Vintage Culture, Wax Motif, Wenzday, WILL CLARKE, Wreckno, Zeds Dead

Outside Lands returns this August as Green Day, Post Malone & SZA lead the charge at Golden Gate Park in 2022

April 19, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 3 Comments

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 5th-7th, 2022 //

With festival season heating up last week as Coachella kicked off the first of its two weekends to end a three-year hiatus, it’s time for Outside Lands to reveal its own plans for 2022.

Because after being forced in 2021 to push back its 13th edition (read our review here) to Halloween weekend due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the three-day music festival is finally returning to its usual timing in early August and spring is when we normally anticipate the lineup dropping every year.

But the 14th installment of SF’s signature event has a slightly different feel than in years past as Green Day, Post Malone and SZA earn headlining duties with Jack Harlow, Weezer, Phoebe Bridgers, Illenium, Lil Uzi Vert, Kali Uchis, Disclosure, Mitski, Polo & Pan and Anitta leading the undercard.

ranger dave welcomes @greenday, @postmalone, @sza and more to outside lands this august!

3-day tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10am pt https://t.co/4i47pOCsTL pic.twitter.com/U2rDSWI1NV

— Outside Lands (@sfoutsidelands) April 19, 2022

Though all three headliners will be topping the poster at OSL for the first time, Green Day’s set should carry a little extra weight given that the legacy act originally hails from the East Bay. Other noteworthy names on the bill, meanwhile, include Dominic Fike, Oliver Tree, Mac DeMarco, Pusha T, Mt. Joy, Kim Petras, Local Natives, The Marías, Parcels, Dayglow, Purple Disco Machine, Hiatus Kaiyote, Washed Out, Ashe, Surf Mesa, Wet Leg, Sam Fender, Role Model, Baby Tate, The Backseat Lovers, Amber Mark, Best Coast, Franc Moody, Pussy Riot, Duckwrth, Empress Of and Rostam.

And for those who are fans of all things dance and electronic music, the SOMA Tent featuring Claude VonStroke, Dixon, TOKiMONSTA and more should be quite the party. Check out the poster above for the rest of the artists slated to perform.

Three-day GA and VIP passes go on sale for $399 and $899 this Wednesday, April 20th at 10 a.m. PT with payment plans available for both so pick up your tickets here and don’t miss out on our coverage over the years here.

UPDATE (May 17th): OSL has released its daily lineups for 2022, with SZA headlining the festival on Friday, Green Day rocking Saturday and Post Malone performing Sunday to close up shop. Check out the daily schedules above before single-day tickets go on sale here for $175 (GA) and $395 (VIP) plus fees starting this Wednesday, May 18th at 10 a.m. PT. And if you’re thinking about purchasing a three-day ticket payment plan and putting down just $99 up front, your last chance to do so is Monday, May 23rd at 12 p.m. PT!

UPDATE (July 11th): With less than a month to go before its return this summer, the fest has added a handful of new artists for 2022, including Rina Sawayama, The Linda Lindas, Symba and salem ilese, while also announcing the unfortunate news that Anitta will no longer perform. Time is quickly running out on your chance to buy OSL tickets, but they’re still available here for now!

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: 100 gecs, Absolute., AMÉMÉ, Amber Mark, Anitta, ANNA, Anna Lunoe, ASHE, Avalon Emerson, Baby Tate, Barry Can't Swim, Benny Sings, Best Coast, Briston Maroney, Cassandra Jenkins, Cassian, Claude VonStroke, 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, Cory Henry, Dayglow, Del Water Gap, Disclosure, Dixon, DJ Minx, DJ Seinfeld, Dominic Fike, DUCKWRTH, Ellen Allien, Empress Of, Faye Webster, Forester, Franc Moody, Glaive, Green Day, Griff, Hiatus Kaiyote, Illenium, India Jordan, Inner Wave, J. Worra, Jack Harlow, Jelani Aryeh, JOPLYN, Kali Uchis, KennyHoopla, Kim Petras, L'Rain, Larry June, Lido Pimienta, Lil Uzi Vert, Local Natives, Mac Demarco, Major League DJz, Maxo Kream, Michelle, Mitski, MPHD, MPHD B2B Tiffany Tyson, Mt. Joy, ODIE, Oliver Tree, Outside Lands, Outside Lands 2022, Outside Lands Music Festival, Outside Lands Music Festival 2022, Parcels, PawPaw Rod, Perel, peteY, Phoebe Bridgers, Polo & Pan, Post Malone, Purple Disco Machine, Pusha T, Pussy Riot, Robert Glasper, Role Model, Rostam, Sam Fender, Sampa the Great, SOMA Tent, Spellling, Surf Mesa, SZA, The Backseat Lovers, The Beths, THE BLSSM, The Emo Night Tour, The Marías, thuy, Tiffany Tyson, Tokimonsta, Tre' Amani, Tyla Yaweh, Unusual Demont, Washed Out, Weezer, Wet Leg, Wilderado, Zoe Wees

Surprise! Coachella offers a big twist while revealing 2022 set times as Arcade Fire joins the party unexpectedly

April 14, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 5 Comments

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival //
Empire Polo Club – Indio, CA
April 15th-17th & April 22nd-24th, 2022 //

Well, Coachellans … if you thought last week’s news that saw Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd replace Ye (fka Kanye West) as Sunday’s headlining acts was the only change before you head out to the desert, think again.

The three-day, two-weekend music and arts festival has surprised us all in revealing set times for its 21st edition just a little more than 24 hours before it begins — the latest they have ever been released — and casually including Arcade Fire, which was not listed on the official lineup poster, at the Mojave Tent on Friday. If you’re hoping to catch what should be an epic performance from Win Butler, Régine Chassagne and company during “magic hour” and likely hear some new tunes off their upcoming sixth studio album WE that arrives in May, we would recommend getting there early before 6:45 p.m.

Decided to spend my birthday somewhere warm and dry 🌴 @coachella pic.twitter.com/D1cnHWnW0I

— Arcade Fire (@arcadefire) April 14, 2022

And while there are always hard decisions to make at Coachella, it only gets tougher with the Grammy-winning band added into the mix.

Don’t be shy, though … what’s your biggest conflict this year and who are you most excited for?

WEEKEND 1 SET TIMES

Full moon tonight 🌕 pic.twitter.com/wkyicUWeCt

— Coachella (@coachella) April 16, 2022

UPDATE (April 16th): We’re only one day into Weekend 1, and there are already some shake-ups to the schedule starting with Madlib being unable to join Freddie Gibbs at the Gobi Stage due to personal reasons. Gibbs, nevertheless, will still perform solo at his scheduled start time of 9:35 p.m. Meanwhile over at the Sahara Tent a couple hours earlier, Tchami will now begin at 7:03 p.m. instead of 7:15 p.m. You can peep the latest set times for Saturday in the tweet above.

WEEKEND 2 SET TIMES

Arcade Fire are most notably missing from the Weekend 2 set times, but that’s not the only change that stands out if you’re comparing them to Weekend 1. Besides some changes to the early-afternoon slots as well as slowthai moving up and The Marías moving back to compete with Grupo Firme for some odd reason, another notable adjustment is Run the Jewels moving to Friday at 8:10 p.m. in the Mojave Tent after taking the Coachella Stage on Sunday at 4:35 p.m. during Weekend 1.

And as we saw last weekend with Shaina Twain, Justin Bieber, Damon Albarn, Snoop Dogg, Post Malone, Diplo, Khalid, Tyga, Saweetie, Metro Boomin and more all making cameos, Coachella has become a breeding ground for live collaborations and special guests so we’ll see if Weekend 2 has more surprises in store for fans after a star-studded return to the polo fields.

MAP

Less than four hours before the gates officially open at the Empire Polo Club, Coachella has finally shared this year’s map and it looks a lot like what we saw in 2019. But one change to the map that sticks out is the relocation of the Yuma Tent, which has moved farther away from the main entrance (though only slightly) and closer to the 12 Peaks VIP section adjacent to the Coachella Stage. Also, there’s only one way to access the Sonora, Gobi and Mojave Tents now as compared to prior years when guests could walk directly from the Sahara Tent to any of them, and while that might create for less foot traffic in the area near The Do LaB Stage, it will be a longer walk than before.

Coachella has long been considered to be one of the world’s best-run music festivals (and rightfully so), yet with Goldenvoice running behind schedule this week on the release of set times and other pertinent information, we’ll see how smoothly things go after a three-year hiatus for the concert promoter.

So whether you’ll be in Indio or watching the YouTube livestream on your couch, let’s hope there aren’t any other artists or bands canceling at the last minute.

Happy Coachella!

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: (Sandy) Alex G, 100 gecs, 21 Savage, 88rising's Double Happiness, 88rising's HEAD IN THE CLOUDS FOREVER, Adam Port, Alaina Castillo, Alec Benjamin, Ali Gatie, Altın Gün, AMÉMÉ, Amber Mark, Amyl and the Sniffers, Anitta, ANNA, Anna Calvi, Arcade Fire, Ari Lennox, Ariana Grande, Arlo Parks, Arooj Aftab, ARTBAT, Astroworld, Astroworld 2021, Astroworld Festival, Astroworld Festival 2021, Aya Nakamura, Baby Keem, Bad Bunny, BADBADNOTGOOD, Banda MS, beabadoobee, Beach Bunny, Beach Goons, Bedouin, Belly, Big Sean, Big Wild, BIGBANG, Billie Eilish, Bishop Briggs, Black Coffee, BLACK MIDI, Black Pumas, BLACKPINK, Brockhampton, Calvin Harris, Cariño, Caribou, Carly Rae Jepsen, Caroline Polachek, Cashmere Cat, Channel Tres, Charli XCX, Chelsea Cutler, Chicano Batman, Childish Gambino, Chris Liebing, City Girls, Coachella, Coachella 2020, Coachella 2021, Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Music and Arts Festival 2020, Coachella Music and Arts Festival 2021, 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, Code Orange, Cole Knight, Conan Gray, Cordae, Coronavirus, Coronavirus Pandemic, Covid 19, COVID-19 Pandemic, Crumb, Cuco, Current Joys, DaBaby, Damian Lazarus, Damon Albarn, Daniel Caesar, Danny Elfman, Daphni, Dave, Dear Humans, Denzel Curry, Detlef, Diplo, Disastroworld, Disclosure, Dixon, DJ Holographic, DJ Koze, DJ Lord, Doja Cat, Dom Dolla, Duck Sauce, Duke Dumont, Ленинград (Leningrad), Ed Maverick, ela minus, Ellen Allien, Emo Nite, Emotional Oranges, Epik High, Erick Morillo, EYEDRESS, Ezra Collective, Fatboy Slim, Finneas, FKA twigs, Floating Points, Flume, Fontaines D.C., Frank Ocean, Fred again.., Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, Friendly Fires, GG Magree, girl in red, Giselle Woo & The Night Owls, Giveon, Griselda, GRIZ, Grupo Firme, Guy Laliberté, Harry Styles, Hatsune Miku, Hayden James, Holly Humberstone, Hot Chip, IDLES, Inner Wave, Isaiah Rashad, J.I.D., Jai Wolf, Jamie xx, Japanese Breakfast, Jayda G, Jean Dawson, Jessie Reyez, John Summit, Joji, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Karol G, Khalid, Kim Petras, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Koffee, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Kyle Watson, Kynda Black, L'Impératrice, Lana Del Rey, Lane 8, Lauren Daigle, Lawrence, Layla Benitez, Lewis Capaldi, Lil Baby, Lil Nas X, Lil Uzi Vert, Logic1000, Lost Kings, Louis the Child, Luttrell, Madeon, Maggie Rogers, Malaa, Mannequin Pussy, Mariah the Scientist, Marina, Masego, Matoma, Maxo Kream, Måneskin, Megan Thee Stallion, Melé, Metro Boomin, MEUTE, Miane, Michael Bibi, MIKA, Molchat Doma, Monolink, Mura Masa, Natanael Cano, Nathy Peluso, Nicki Nicole, NIKI, Nilüfer Yanya, Noname, Olivia O’Brien, Omar Apollo, Orville Peck, Pabllo Vittar, Paco Osuna, Peggy Gou, Phoebe Bridgers, Pink Sweat$, Post Malone, Princess Nokia, Pup, Purple Disco Machine, Rage Against the Machine, Raveena, Rich Brian, Richie Hawtin, Rina Sawayama, Role Model, Run The Jewels, Sama' Abdulhadi, Sampa the Great, Satori, Saweetie, Shaina Twain, Skegss, SLANDER, slowthai, Snoh Aalegra, Snoop Dogg, SOHMI, Solomun, Spiritualized, Steve Lacy, Still Woozy, Stromae, Sunday Service, Surf Curse, Swedish House Mafia, Tame Impala, Tchami, The Avalanches, The Blessed Madonna + Honey Dijon, The Chats, The HU, The Marías, The Martinez Brothers, The Regrettes, Tokimonsta, Travis Scott, Turnstile, Tyga, Viagra Boys, Vince Staples, VNSSA, Wallows, Whipped Cream, Win Butler, Yard Act, Ye, Yola

Ohana Festival looks to make another splash in 2022 with Stevie Nicks, Eddie Vedder, Jack White & P!nk headlining sixth edition

April 11, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 3 Comments

Ohana Festival //
Doheny State Beach – Dana Point, CA
September 30th-October 2nd, 2022 //

Are you ready to do it again, Ohana fam?

The three-day festival founded by Eddie Vedder is heading back to Doheny State Beach after hosting a two-weekend affair last year that featured a two-day “Encore” with Pearl Jam, but with the Hall of Fame rock band relaunching its postponed 2020 tour this spring and summer, it will be a different cast leading Ohana Fest’s sixth year as the calendar flips from September to October.

Stevie Nicks will kick things off on Friday with an impressive undercard of Khruangbin, Brittany Howard, The Revivalists, Gangs of Youth and St. Paul & The Broken Bones highlighting Day 1.

✨ The Ohana Fest 2022 lineup is here ✨
Pre-sale tickets on sale this Wed. 4/13 @ 10am PT. Sign up now at https://t.co/7NVjyrBFlL! pic.twitter.com/OMLN5YhP04

— The Ohana Fest (@TheOhanaFest) April 11, 2022

Meanwhile, Saturday’s main entrée of Vedder and Jack White, who put out Fear of the Dawn last week as the first of two new albums he will release this year, should have everyone rockin’ (in the free world) before the lights go out, but don’t sleep on Grammy-winning bluegrass guitarist Billy Strings listed right below the two co-headliners alongside Manchester Orchestra.

Closing things down on Sunday will be three-time Grammy winner P!nk, who will have plenty of support thanks to some highly anticipated performances from St. Vincent and Broken Social Scene that will see the latter play their 2002 album You Forgot It in People in its entirety. Other notable names on the 2022 bill include Kolohe Kai, Inhaler, Bomba Estéreo, Cautious Clay, Joy Oladokun and Kevin Morby. Check out the poster above for the rest of the artists scheduled to perform in Dana Point.

Tickets can be purchased starting this Wednesday, April 13th at 10 a.m. PT during the festival’s presale, but you must sign up here to receive a presale code if you want to join the party!

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Alabama Shakes, Beach Goons, Billy Strings, Bomba Estéreo, Briston Maroney, Brittany Howard, Broken Social Scene, Cautious Clay, CMAT, Curtis Harding, Dermot Kennedy, Devon Gilfillian, Dope Lemon, Eddie Vedder, Gang of Youths, Gangs of Youth, GROUPLOVE, Habibi, Inhaler, Jack White, Joy Oladokun, Kevin Morby, Khruangbin, Kolohe Kai, Madison Cunningham, Manchester Orchestra, Mike Campbell, Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs, Noga Erez, Ohana Fest, Ohana Fest 2022, Ohana Festival, Ohana Festival 2022, P!nk, Pearl Jam, S.G. Goodman, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, St. Paul and The Broken Bones, St. Vincent, Stevie Nicks, The Ohana Festival, THE OHANA FESTIVAL 2022, The Revivalists, The White Stripes, Y La Bamba

On a wild Oscars night, Baroness deliver their own brand of theatrics in LA for a sold-out crowd at The Echo

March 30, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 3 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

Baroness //
The Echo – Los Angeles
March 27th, 2022 //

If you didn’t catch it on live television, you probably have heard plenty about it. You know, how that one famous guy slapped the other famous guy in the face during an awards show over a bad joke?

Well, that’s all anyone can seem to talk about now. Even the ongoing war in Ukraine took a back seat to the “slap heard around the world.”

But for those Angelenos who could give a rat’s ass about the Academy Awards or the latest drama that’s surrounding Hollywood, you could find us at The Echo getting slapped in the face by some heavy metal … compliments of Baroness.

The alt-prog-sludge band with roots in Virginia but originally from Savannah, Ga., has been winning over metalheads dating back to the mid-2000’s with a sound reminiscent of former desert rockers Kyuss, and its fan base has only continued to grow in that time with a Grammy nomination five years ago.

Founding member John Baizley (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, percussion) has been working with Nick Jost (bass, keyboards, backing vocals) and Sebastian Thomson (drums) for nearly a decade, and Gina Gleason (lead guitar, backing vocals) has proven that she can shred with the very best since replacing Baroness’ other founding member Peter Adams in 2017.

While the four-piece has yet to follow up 2019’s Gold & Grey with another studio album, Baizley and company have been powering through the ups and downs of the COVID-19 pandemic on their “Your Baroness Tour” after having to cancel and reschedule last year’s shows in Boise, Salt Lake City and Denver, as well as subsequently postpone its second leg from January-February to March-April.

But when they arrived in the City of Angels last Sunday for their first appearance since headlining The Wiltern with Deafheaven, there was a capacity crowd waiting for them. And judging by the line outside the venue, I wasn’t quite sure The Echo could even fit everyone inside. The 350-person room did, but there certainly wasn’t a lot of space to maneuver once we got through its front doors.

What was different and unique about this tour, though, was that Baroness were giving ticket holders the opportunity to request songs each night, with the top 10 being included in the performance’s setlist. LA’s own “by-request evening” began like many of them have as “Ogeechee Hymnal” paved the way for lead single “Take My Bones Away” off 2012’s Yellow & Green — and a whole lot of headbanging as Baizley’s and Gleason’s guitars intertwined with ferocity and regularity for the next two-plus hours.

By the end of it all, no one could argue Baroness had shortchanged anyone. Unleashing a 22-song set that covered all five of their full lengths and concluded with “Swollen and Halo” on 2009’s Blue Record, they even had something a little special saved for the encore as they gave us the option of hearing the first recorded track “Tower Falls” from their aptly titled debut EP First instead of fan favorite Red Album track “Isak”, which has often assumed the position of show closer lately.

Would it have been better if they had uncorked both to completely melt our faces? Of course, but with Baizley seemingly in high spirits due to the sold-out audience’s response, you can count on Baroness’ next visit to Tinseltown being even bigger, better and bolder than their last.

Setlist:
Ogeechee Hymnal
Take My Bones Away
Rays on Pinion
Kerosene
Tourniquet
March to the Sea
Green Theme
A Horse Called Golgotha
Shock Me
Chlorine & Wine
The Gnashing
Cold-Blooded Angels (Acoustic)
I’d Do Anything (Acoustic)
Can Oscura
Little Things
Borderlines
If I Have to Wake Up (Would You Stop the Rain?) / Fugue
The Sweetest Curse
The Birthing
Cocainium
Eula
Swollen and Halo