The Wiltern – Showbams

The Bam Team’s 5 Favorite Shows, Albums & Songs of 2025

December 30, 2025 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Well, here we are again with another year in the books. Music, for one, certainly had its ups and downs throughout 2025. There was Kendrick Lamar’s iconic Super Bowl halftime show, the long-awaited return of Britpop legends Oasis and of course the death of Ozzy Osbourne two weeks after performing for the final time that sent shockwaves across the world. Along with those moments, we witnessed quite a few of our own. Whether it was taking in the closest thing to a Rage Against the Machine show you can see these days, The Prodigy tearing down the house for their first North American headline date since 2017, an evening with Primus that was chock full of surprises, My Morning Jacket’s epic return to Red Rocks, one of the summer’s best co-headline tours with The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse both sharing the stage and Lord Huron’s ascent to newly minted arena act, there was plenty to celebrate and remember over the last 12 months.

But with another year down and 2026 right around the corner, it’s time for us to reveal our annual “Best of” lists as we have done since this blog started more than a decade ago (see our 2024 picks here). As we always say, we will be the first to confess we didn’t attend every show or spin every album that was issued in 2025, but reflecting on the year that was remains just as fun and challenging as when we first started doing this yearly exercise.

So, without further ado, Showbams presents The Bam Team’s five favorite shows, albums and songs from 2025.

Listen to The Bam Team’s favorite songs of 2025:

Josh Herwitt // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2025
1. Nine Inch Nails at Kia Forum – Los Angeles, CA – September 18th-19th
When these Hall of Famers announced their “Peel It Back Tour” almost a year ago, we had a pretty good feeling that new music would be on the way. What we didn’t know is that it would for the new “Tron” movie that arrived in the fall. And while permanent members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross showcased only the soundtrack’s lone single on this run, it was the production featuring a two-stage setup and reimagining of older songs — particularly on the “B Stage” with Boys Noize as Nine Inch Noize — in addition to the unexpected return of former touring drummer Josh Freese that had me thinking about these final two shows of the tour for weeks. That’s what live music can do when an unforgettable performance sticks with you, which was even more remarkable considering Reznor entered his seventh decade just earlier this year.

2. My Morning Jacket at Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO – August 15th-16th
3. Queens of the Stone Age at Arlington Theatre – Santa Barbara, CA – November 8th
4. Jack White at Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles, CA – May 12th-13th
5. Primus at Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – August 6th

Honorable Mention: The Prodigy at The Warfield – San Francisco, CA – April 13th

Top 5 Albums of 2025
1. Geese – Getting Killed
Let me just say first and foremost that this was not my favorite year for albums. That said, there were several that stuck out and the fourth full length from these NYC indie rockers stood squarely at the top. From the sonic chaos that greets us during “Trinidad” and the groovy, Sly Stoned-flavored “100 Horses” (which is apropos given his death in June) to lead single “Taxes” that’s one of its best and the frenetic finale “Long Island City Here I Come”, the variety of sounds being explored on Getting Killed is almost unparalleled. Geese shouldn’t be considered new kids on the block at this point, but there’s a legitimate reason why they were one of the year’s hottest bands and I am still kicking myself for missing their sold-out show at The Fonda Theatre in late October (resale tickets were going for as much as $800 and that was while the Dodgers were in the World Series no less). Well, fingers crossed for my first one in 2026.

2. Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
3. The Mars Volta – Lucro Sucio; Los Ojos del Vacio
4. Lord Huron – The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1
5. Ty Segall – Possession

Honorable Mention: Lady Gaga – Mayhem

Top 5 Songs of 2025
1. Nine Inch Nails – “As Alive as You Need Me to Be”
I have no problem admitting that I am a sucker for any new NIN music. As one of my favorite bands all time, the industrial rockers had not released a proper album in more than a decade and we’re not sure if the “Tron: Ares” soundtrack technically counts in our book either. But we love it when Reznor leans into the electronic side of the project, and “As Alive as You Need Me to Be” with additional production from Boys Noize scratches that itch for us. While numbers don’t always tell the full story, the fact that it was our top played song on Spotify does mean something when you look back on all of the music we got to consume in 2025. Better yet, Trent and Atticus still making music of this caliber speaks volumes to their craft and talent as true professionals.

2. Clipse – “Chains & Whips” feat. Kendrick Lamar
3. My Morning Jacket – “Beginning from the Ending”
4. DARKSIDE – “One Last Nothing”
5. Lord Huron – “Bag of Bones”

Favorite Soundtrack of 2025: Nine Inch Nails – Tron: Ares

Andrew Pohl // San Francisco

Top 5 Shows of 2025
1. Home Front at Thee Parkside – San Francisco, CA – November 21st
Having caught Home Front last year in SF at Bottom of the Hill I know going into this concert that Home Front was going to absolutely crush it, but man oh man did they completely outdo themselves. Opening act False Flowers warmed up the crowd in spectacular fashion, and The Government did an excellent job as main support. The overly packed room was VERY ready to receive what Home Front was about to give them, and the band destroyed the place inside and out. Sonically crisp and very tight, the band has built a reputation of being a superb live act and it fully lived up to that at this show, playing much of the material from their new album Watch It Die along with material from their previous efforts and a Cock Sparrer cover to end the set.

2. Pile at Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco, CA – September 10th
3. Pixies with Blonde Redhead, Spoon at Greek Theatre Berkeley – Berkeley, CA – August 28th
4. Deep Sea Diver with Byland at The Independent – San Francisco, CA – April 8th
5. Dance Hall Crashers at Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA – June 7th

Top 5 Albums of 2025
1. Deftones – private music
For a band that has produced as much quality output as Deftones has over the years, it’s nice to see them outdo themselves like they did on this album. I wouldn’t qualify it as a “return to form” since it has much of the sonic familiarity throughout the rest of their catalog, but the songs themselves are just really strong and stick to your bones more than most of their other recent material. They sound like a unit that came into recording this with confidence and intention. The material also feels like it would translate well live, and based on how footage of their concerts this year looked, I stand correct. This is the album that I kept coming back to over and over again in 2025, which didn’t surprise me given my love for these guys.

2. Momma – Welcome to My Blue Sky
3. Home Front – Watch It Die
4. Deep Sea Diver – Billboard Heart
5. Viagra Boys – Viagr Aboys

Top 5 Songs of 2025
1. Viagra Boys – “Man Made of Meat”
This is such a perfect way to open Viagra Boys’ new album. Right off the bat you get that level of sass and weirdness that we have come accustomed to from the Swedish post-punk band. From the perfectly timed belch in the opening verse to the breakdown where frontman Sebastian Murphy brings up the idea of subscribing “to your mom’s Only Fans,” the song is a buffet of ridiculousness. The chorus is catchy as all get out, and the song as a whole is that perfect mix of accessible and clever. What a fun way for them to get things started.

2. Deftones – “Locked Club”
3. Preoccupations – “Ill at Ease”
4. Home Front – “Light Sleeper”
5. Momma – “New Friend”

Rochelle Shipman // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2025
1. Kendrick Lamar and SZA at SoFi Stadium – Inglewood, CA – May 24th
It’s hard to imagine anything other than a killer Kendrick show after the run he’s had this past year, but the Grand National Tour went above and beyond and around again. It was one set with songs from both artists’ catalogs being seamlessly interwoven before they came back onstage to perform a few of their hits together. Kendrick was riding his deserved high, while SZA was angelic (literally suspended above the crowd wearing wings) and somehow made it feel like we were watching two Beyoncés. The power and craft on that stage was something so special to witness.

2. Little Simz at Fox Theatre Oakland – Oakland, CA – November 17th
3. Clipse at The Novo – Los Angeles, CA – August 23rd
4. Bright Eyes at The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA – February 7th
5. Doechii at Gallagher Square (Petco Park) – San Diego, CA – November 5th

Honorable Mention: NxWorries at Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles, CA – October 19th

Top 5 Albums of 2025
1. Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
After a false start with Def Jam that resulted in a seven-figure buyout, Clipse finally found a home at Roc Nation for their newest album in 15 years over the summer — and now it’s hard to imagine it happening any other way. The brothers Thornton reunited to educate the kids on what a proper album rollout used to entail, the whole time sharing their experiences and emotions surrounding their parents’ deaths to a degree most men would never dream of doing. The beats and bars hit so hard all the way through they even make some of Pharrell’s cringeworthy moments sound catchy. There’s no question Mom and Dad are proud of them after laying down this masterpiece.

2. Little Simz – Lotus
3. Backxwash – Only Dust Remains
4. Landlady – Make Up / Lost Time
5. Panda Bear – Sinister Grift

Top 5 Songs of 2025
1. Little Simz – “Thief”
Opening her sixth studio album with an intro track that’s as intense as it is eloquent, the London rapper continues to prove she’s not the one to fuck with. Marking the first of a few songs on Lotus that artfully skewers her former musical counterpart Inflo of Sault, “Thief” leaves Simz’s broken heart totally bare against a compelling musical backdrop. It’s never fun to watch close friends have a falling out, but we would be damned if Little Simz didn’t make it sound so good.

2. Clipse – “The Birds Don’t Sing”
3. AJ Tracey feat. Jorja Smith – “Crush”
4. Casey Dienel (fka White Hinterland) – “Your Girl’s Upstairs”
5. Doechii – “Nosebleeds”

Michael Silver // Orange County

Top 5 Shows of 2025
1. Jack White at The Grove of Anaheim – Anaheim, CA – January 25th
The millennial guitar GOAT went on a generational run in 2025. A master of gorilla marketing and last-minute ticket announcements, White commenced his “No Name” tour with an intimate OC performance. The Internet gods were kind to me as I scored front-row access to see the Detroit native blitzed through a 21-song set spanning White Stripes cult favorites (“The Hardest Button to Button”) to The Raconteurs’ gems (“Broken Boy Soldier”) all while mixing in new joints (“Old Scratch Blues” followed by “That’s How I’m Feeling”). Between playing music halls and theaters as well as NFL stadiums with Eminem in front of a national TV audience on Thanksgiving, the virtuoso and ambassador for all things vinyl was officially inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The White Stripes this year and has carved out his own lane in rock history.

2. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist at The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA – October 27th
3. The Eagles at Sphere – Las Vegas, NV – October 10th
4. Wu-Tang Clan at Crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, CA – June 22nd
5. The Used at House of Blues Anaheim – Anaheim, CA – October 11th

Top 5 Albums of 2025
1. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist – Alfredo 2
Following up on 2020’s Grammy-nominated collaboration, the Indiana rapper and California producer created a soulful, translucent vibe of hip-hop bravado. The opening guitar licks on “1995” showcase a new era of creativity by The Alchemist, while Gibbs provides a hypnotic and downright maniacal flow. “Mar-a-Lago” and “Lemon Pepper Steppers” define these sophisticated raps, with the emcee in total control painting a visual storyboard.

2. Deftones – private music
3. Turnstile – Never Enough
4. Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
5. Joey Bada$$ – Lonely at the Top

Top 5 Songs of 2025
1. Turnstile – “Birds”
Has there ever been a more fitting rock anthem to take over the airwaves? Soaring in at 2:27 long, the Baltimore collective blasted into our collective conscience. With high-profile fans like Billie Eilish, Elton John and Hayley Williams singing their praise, it wasn’t long before mainstream radio added them into their rotations. To wrap up a wild press campaign, lead singer Brendan Yates performed the first-ever stage dive at NPR’s Tiny Desk series with “Birds” as his soundtrack.

2. Deftones – “Milk of the Madonna”
3. Diplo – “Flashlight” feat. Project Pat & Juicy J
4. GELO – “Tweaker”
5. Sublime – “Ensenada”

Favorite Soundtrack of 2025: Nine Inch Nails – Tron: Ares

Filed Under: Best of, Best of 2025, Editor's Picks, Featured Tagged With: AJ Tracey, Arlington Theatre, Backxwash, Blonde Redhead, Boys Noize, Bright Eyes, Byland, Casey Dienel, Clipse, Cock Sparrer, Crypto.com Arena, Dance Hall Crashers, Darkside, Deep Sea Diver, Deftones, Diplo, Doechii, Eminem, False Flowers, Fox Theater Oakland, Freddie Gibbs, Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist, Gallagher Square, Gallagher Square at Petco Park, GEESE, GELO, Great American Music Hall, Greek Theatre, Greek Theatre Berkeley, Grove of Anaheim, Hollywood Palladium, Home Front, House of Blues Anaheim, Inflo, Jack White, Joey Bada$$, Jorja Smith, Juicy J, Kendrick Lamar, Kia Forum, Lady Gaga, Landlady, Little Simz, Lord Huron, Modest Mouse, Momma, My Morning Jacket, Nine Inch Nails, Nine Inch Noize, NxWorries, Oasis, Ozzy Osbourne, Panda Bear, Petco Park, Pile, Pixies, Preoccupations, Primus, Project Pat, Queens of the Stone Age, Rage Against the Machine, Red Rocks, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, Rickshaw Stop, Sault, Sly Stone, SoFi Stadium, Sphere, Spoon, Sublime, SZA, The Alchemist, The Arlington, The Arlington Theatre, The Eagles, The Flaming Lips, The Fonda Theatre, The Government, The Independent, The Mars Volta, The Novo, The Novo DTLA, The Observatory, The Prodigy, The Used, The Warfield, The White Stripes, The Wiltern, The Wiltern Theatre, Thee Parkside, Tom Morello, Turnstile, Ty Segall, Viagra Boys, Wu Tang Clan

Grammy winners Portugal. The Man deliver their love letter to Alaska at The Wiltern with Electric Guest, Hanni El Khatib as special guests

November 24, 2025 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

By Melissa Herwitt //

Portugal. The Man with Ya Tseen //
The Wiltern – Los Angeles
November 16th, 2025 //

Launching a 20-date North American tour to coincide with the release of their 10th studio album Shish this fall, Grammy-winning indie rockers Portugal. The Man made sure their message of embracing your local community and the artists who shape it was heard loud and clear when they came through LA to headline The Wiltern for the first time in 12 years.

Divided into acts, the group’s performance featured most of Shish during Act I prior to beginning Act II with fan favorites from 2011’s In the Mountain in the Cloud, 2013’s Evil Friends and 2017’s Woodstock. The show’s final stretch saw PTM return after a brief break to play the closing tracks off Shish for Act III and end the evening on a high with the LP’s gritty finale “Father Gun” that had Swiss Army knife Hanni El Khatib on guitar and vocalist David Marion joining them.

The “Denali” tour, which PTM have used to perform Shish in full, is frontman John Gourley’s love letter to his home state of Alaska. Inside the historic Art Deco theater, Gourley’s vocals harmonized beautifully with his wife Zoe Manville’s while visuals inspired by Alaska’s wilderness and rebellious spirit as well as Gourley’s own illustrations flashed on the large screen behind the band. The production also spotlighted other Indigenous musicians as part of the “Pass The Mic” initiative from opener Ya Tseen to hip-hop act Xiuhtezcatl, who dropped bars at the end of “Live in the Moment / Once Was One” to close Act II.

Asa Taccone of Electric Guest

Other highlights included a surprise guest (no pun intended) appearance by Asa Taccone of Electric Guest, first for PTM’s hit single “Feel It Still” that he co-produced with Gourley and then to deliver his own in the form of Electric Guest’s “This Head I Hold”. A new tune titled “Dive into the Ocean” got its moment too, providing singer-songwriter Zeeba with a chance past the midway point to show off his Brazilian-American pipes alongside Gourley and Manville.

There were subtle video tributes honoring those who are no longer with us, including the late PTM hype man Chris Black during “So Young” (despite no material from 2023’s Chris Black Changed My Life being explored) and actor/comedian Norm Macdonald, whose face served as the artwork for timekeeper Kane Ritchotte’s bass drum. But a poignant rendition of “Tanana”, which offers a sobering take on the “murder in the news” from 2014 that left two Alaska State Troopers killed, we heard in Act III underscored the real reason for the song’s chart-rising success.

Although the “Denali” tour marked PTM’s first without the original Lords of Portland crew we had come to love as longtime fans, a mostly female cast of sidekicks and Marion’s often humorous, yet animated presence brought a dose of fresh energy to the stage. It’s clear their collective activism has led them to create and sustain important causes like the Frances Changed My Life fund for not only their daughter who has been diagnosed with an extremely rare genetic disease, but also others across the community, proving that even as the husband-and-wife project with only two permanent members now continues to grow and evolve, its heart and core intentions remain firmly intact more than two decades after forming.

Setlist:
Act 1
Denali
Pittman Ralliers (with David Marion)
Angoon
Knik
Shish
Mush
Tyonek
Kokhanockers

Act 2
Got It All (This Can’t Be Living Now)
Senseless
Number One
Noise Pollution
So Young
Purple Yellow Red and Blue
Glide (NEIKED cover)
Dive into the Ocean (with Zeeba) (new song)
Creep in a T-Shirt
Modern Jesus
Feel It Still (with Asa Taccone)
This Head I Hold (Electric Guest cover) (with Asa Taccone)
Live in the Moment / Once Was One (with Xiuhtezcatl Tonatiuh)

Act 3
Created
Tanana
Father Gun (with David Marion & Hanni El Khatib)

Portugal. The Man with Xiuhtezcatl Tonatiuh

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Asa Taccone, Chris Black, David Marion, Electric Guest, Frances Changed My Life, Hanni El Khatib, Norm Macdonald, Pass The Mic, Portugal. The Man, The Wiltern, The Wiltern Theatre, Xiuhtezcatl Tonatiuh, Ya Tseen, Zeeba

Band of Horses, Iron & Wine come together in LA to create a unique evening of indie rock & folk at The Wiltern on their co-headline tour

October 1, 2025 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

Band of Horses

By Josh Herwitt //

Band of Horses & Iron & Wine //
The Wiltern – Los Angeles
September 24th, 2025 //

Ben Bridwell and Sam Beam have been friends for more than three decades.

Growing up not far from each other in South Carolina, music is what brought them together before they went their separate ways. But even 3,000 miles couldn’t keep them apart for too long.

It was Bridwell, in fact, who introduced Beam to Sub Pop Records after moving cross-country to the Seattle area in the late 90’s and subsequently forming Band of Horses. A few years later, Beam was dropping his debut LP The Creek Drank the Cradle under the moniker Iron & Wine on the same label that became instrumental to the grunge movement by signing Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney.

Bridwell remains the only constant member in Band of Horses, which now operates as a four-piece due to the absence of multi-instrumentalist Ryan Monroe (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals) since the group went on tour earlier this year to play a handful of gigs in Texas and Arkansas that included a stop during South by Southwest at Stubb’s Bar-B-Q.

In spite of BoH’s numerous lineup changes, Bridwell (lead vocals, guitar, pedal steel, keyboards) has carried on with Creighton Barrett (drums, percussion), Matt Gentling (bass, backing vocals) and Brett Nash (guitar, backing vocals) at his side while continuing to collaborate with Beam following the 2015 release of their initial covers album Sing into My Mouth.

Iron & Wine

Now the two singer-songwriters are back with some more recordings of their favorite tunes, this time in the form of an EP titled Making Good Time that arrived less than a couple of weeks prior to the LA date on their co-headline tour spanning 12 U.S. cities mostly on the West Coast over a matter of two weeks.

We have witnessed quite a few concerts at The Wiltern (see our more of our coverage here), but none with chairs set up on the floor. Only the VIP pit area in front of the stage would serve as standing room for this show, with Iron & Wine opening the evening and showcasing offerings from 2024’s Light Verse amid other material across his catalog while being accompanied by a full band. Joining Beam onstage for the final six songs of the set was Bridwell, as they ran through their own renditions of Spiritualized’s “The Straight and the Narrow”, Talking Heads’ “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)”, Ronnie Lane’s “Done This One Before” and Kendrick Lamar’s chart-topping “luther” featuring SZA that gave us a good chuckle toward the end.

Although the sixth and latest BoH full length Things Are Great came out in 2022, Bridwell took us back to “The First Song” that kicks off their first studio effort Everything All the Time . Cease to Begin singles “No One’s Gonna Love You” and “Is There a Ghost” came early amidst a barrage of other hits such as “The Great Salt Lake”, “Casual Party”, “Laredo” and “Crutch”, yet it was the latter that was preceded by a 50’s rockabilly version of “St. Augustine” we didn’t hear when we caught them at LA’s Greek Theatre with The Revivalists two years ago (see more photos from the show here).

Other highlights coming out of BoH’s performance saw Bridwell and company also dedicating a section of their setlist to several collaborations and covers — from Blaze Foley’s “Clay Pigeons” and J.J. Cale’s epic “Thirteen Days” to Iron & Wine’s and Calexico’s “Dead Man’s Will” off their joint EP In the Reins — with Beam and uncorking the first “How to Live” in 10-plus years shortly thereafter. And of course, we’d be remiss to not mention the final one-two punch of “Ode to LRC” and “The Funeral” that brought many in the crowd to their feet down the homestretch.

Considering the smiles both flashed at certain points, it was apparent Bridwell and Beam were enjoying themselves and cherishing the moment. After all, it’s not often you get to see two established indie acts of this caliber occupying the same space on the same night. Either way, watching them share the stage presented a special opportunity for any live music fan and reminder of how fortunate we are to still be in this position.

BAND OF HORSES

Setlist:
The First Song
NW Apt.
No One’s Gonna Love You
The Great Salt Lake
Is There a Ghost
Cigarettes, Wedding Bands
Casual Party
For Annabelle
Laredo
St. Augustine (1950s rockabilly version)
Crutch
Our Swords
Clay Pigeons (Blaze Foley cover) (with Iron & Wine)
Slow Cruel Hands of Time (with Iron & Wine)
Dead Man’s Will (Iron & Wine and Calexico cover) (with Iron & Wine)
Thirteen Days (J.J. Cale cover) (with Iron & Wine)
The General Specific (with Iron & Wine)
How to Live (first time since 2015)
Ode to LRC
The Funeral

IRON & WINE

Setlist:
On Your Wings
Yellow Jacket
Valentine
House by the Sea
All in Good Time
Communion Cups and Someone’s Coat
Tears That Don’t Matter
Call It Dreaming
Passing Afternoon
Singers and the Endless Song
Sweet Talk
The Straight and the Narrow (Spiritualized cover) (with Ben Bridwell)
This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads cover) (with Ben Bridwell)
Detlef Schrempf (Band of Horses cover) (with Ben Bridwell)
Done This One Before (Ronnie Lane cover) (with Ben Bridwell)
Upward Over the Mountain (with Ben Bridwell)
luther (Kendrick Lamar cover) (with Ben Bridwell)

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Band of Horses, Ben Bridwell, Blaze Foley, Calexico, Iron & Wine, J.J. Cale, Kendrick Lamar, Mudhoney., Nirvana, Ronnie Lane, Soundgarden, South by Southwest, Spiritualized, Stubb's, Stubb's Bar-B-Q, Sub Pop, Sub Pop Records, SZA, Talking Heads, The Revivalists, The Wiltern, The Wiltern Theatre

The Flaming Lips & Modest Mouse team up for one of the summer’s best co-headline tours as we witnessed at the Santa Barbara Bowl

September 12, 2025 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

The Flaming Lips

By Josh Herwitt //

The Flaming Lips & Modest Mouse with Dehd //
Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA
September 5th, 2025 //

A couple of weeks ago, we made the case that summer continues to be live music’s biggest and most important season after Louisville five-piece My Morning Jacket closed out their summer tour with three dates in California (see more photos from the shows here).

While the industry has always thrived when the days are long and weather is warm, one of the draws about seeing live music in the summer is the co-headline tour. Back in 2023 there was not only MMJ and Fleet Foxes sharing the iconic Hollywood Bowl’s stage (read our show review here), but also The Revivalists and Band of Horses that subsequently proved to be a fun mix to catch on a night out under the stars (see more photos from the show here).

Last summer didn’t offer much as far as co-headline tours go, and while having Phantogram open for Kings of Leon (see our photos from the show here) marked one of the best double bills from 2024, this year has brought together some new pairings and one standing out right away was psych-rock veterans The Flaming Lips joining forces with indie-rock pioneers Modest Mouse for “The Good Times Are Killing Me” tour across 18 U.S. cities.

Considering the longevity of both bands, each has spent countless hours on the road. Modest Mouse, after all, are no strangers to the co-headline tour, and while no pun was intended there, we do say that after watching them share the stage with Brand New back in 2016 on the heels of releasing their sixth studio album Strangers to Ourselves (read our show review here). Isaac Brock, who has served as the project’s lead vocalist, principal songwriter, guitarist and only constant member since forming out of the Pacific Northwest in the early 90’s, has kept things afloat even with founding members Eric Judy (bass, acoustic and rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) and of course the late Jeremiah Green (drums, percussion) no longer in the picture.

It has already been more than four years since Modest Mouse put out new music, but they also remain one of a select few indie acts to craft a unique setlist for each show — something you can expect from a jam band — and it’s what has compelled us to be “in the room” whenever they come to town. There are plenty of bigger fans of jam bands than yours truly, yet there’s something about not following the same script every night that makes a Modest Mouse concert feel special.

Modest Mouse

Surprisingly, no material on 2021’s The Golden Casket was touched when Brock and his sidekicks came to the Santa Barbara Bowl for their first visit in almost two decades. Instead, they leaned into older tunes from 2007’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, 2004’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News, 2000’s The Moon & Antarctica, 1997’s The Lonesome Crowded West and even 1999’s Night on the Sun EP that was only made available in Japan. Highlights throughout their 75-minute set included several deep cuts starting with “Fly Trapped in a Jar” and “Paper Thin Walls” before “Perfect Disguise” and “Styrofoam Boots” came later as well as the new, unreleased “Dogbed/Sheetrock” that provided a change of pace sonically without Brock’s usual shout-bark vocals. What we found a bit ironic was not hearing the song the tour was named after, though we realized with a little bit of online research that it wasn’t played at any point during the tour and only twice so far in 2025.

The Flaming Lips, meanwhile, are still one of a kind and going strong for 40-plus years. This wasn’t our introduction, having seen them as early as 2003 when they were touring in support of what has become their landmark 2002 LP Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, and the feeling of being totally overstimulated by Teletubbies and other costumed dancers onstage at the age of 18 has been burned into my memory forever. Since then, we have caught the Lips in a variety of other settings — from festivals to their own headline gigs — but maybe none better than when they took a sold-out audience in Los Angeles for a ride at The Theatre at Ace Hotel (now known as the United Theater on Broadway), the historic movie palace that was built in 1927 and only seats 1,600 (read our show review here).

As much as its music sounds different from Modest Mouse’s, there is enough crossover appeal with the Oklahoma City outfit led by founding member and frontman Wayne Coyne for a co-headline tour like this to work. In fact, this wasn’t the first time the two groups have played the same night at the Bowl after the “Unlimited Sunshine Tour” that also featured Kinky, Cake and De La Soul stopped through in 2002. And when we saw Modest Mouse celebrate the quarter-century mark for The Lonesome Crowded West just a few years ago at The Wiltern, they covered “Five Stop Mother Superior Rain” on the Lips’ 1990 studio effort In a Priest Driven Ambulance during the encore, so to assume that there is no familiarity between them would be foolhearted. That said, any enthusiast of 90’s rock could get behind what occurred over the next several hours and despite the venue’s tight curfew making for an early start time of 6 p.m., you could not ask for a more picturesque scene on a warm and beautiful Friday evening as Chicago three-piece Dehd kicked things off well over a year after their fifth full length Poetry dropped on Fat Possum Records to favorable reviews.

With all of the antics and shenanigans that transpire during a Flaming Lips performance, there’s no way someone could be bored by the constant barrage of confetti cannons, inflatable stage props, oversized costumes and trippy visuals projected on the large screen behind them. If so, we probably don’t want to hang out with them. There’s so much happening up there it’s easy to get lost in the chaos, but it’s really the music and not the production that has convinced us to come back for more. A cover of “The Golden Path” by The Chemical Brothers that the Lips contributed vocals on, for instance, got its own permanent spot midway through, and Coyne’s homage to Ozzy in the form of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” was the most recent tribute to the legendary Prince of Darkness we have witnessed after Primus at LA’s Greek Theatre (read our show review here) and MMJ at Red Rocks Amphitheatre (read our show review here) delivered their own to loud applauses.

Coyne and his cohorts have been honoring the 20th anniversary of Yoshimi for the past three years and their setlist for this tour, unlike Modest Mouse’s, did not deviate at all from one city to the next. Usual live staples “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)”, “She Don’t Use Jelly” and crowd favorite “Do You Realize??” brought things to a fever pitch prior to the final homestretch that saw them end with The Soft Bulletin single “Race for the Prize”, which we remember was the opener for that initial encounter at the Hollywood Palladium. A lot has changed for the Lips in that span, whether it has been welcoming in new cast members or collaborating with household names such as Miley Cyrus, Thievery Corporation, Erykah Badu, Kesha, Nick Cave, Neon Indian and more. Coyne, for one, doesn’t appear to be slowing down at 64 years old, with his charisma channeling a love and zest for life he hasn’t lost, and we sure hope somehow he never does.

THE FLAMING LIPS

Setlist:
Sleeping on the Roof
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 2
Turn It On
Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung
Five Stop Mother Superior Rain
The Golden Path (The Chemical Brothers cover)
Feeling Yourself Disintegrate
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)
She Don’t Use Jelly
Do You Realize??

Encore:
War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)
Race for the Prize

MODEST MOUSE

Setlist:
King Rat
Float On
Fly Trapped in a Jar
Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine
Dogbed/Sheetrock
Paper Thin Walls
Ocean Breathes Salty
Perfect Disguise
Night on the Sun
Dance Hall
Dashboard
Little Motel
Third Side of the Moon
Styrofoam Boots
Spitting Venom

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Band of Horses, Black Sabbath, Brand New, CAKE, De La Soul, Dehd, Erykah Badu, Fat Possum, Fat Possum Records, Fleet Foxes, Greek Theatre, Hollywood Palladium, Kesha, Kia Forum, Kings of Leon, Kinky, Miley Cyrus, Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, Neon Indian, Nick Cave, Ozzy Osbourne, Phantogram, Primus, Red Rocks, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, Santa Barbara Bowl, The Flaming Lips, The Revivalists, The Theatre at Ace Hotel, The Wiltern, Thievery Corporation, United Theater on Broadway

From covers of Black Sabbath & King Crimson to surprise guests Bill Burr, Matt Stone & half of Tool, Primus wow at LA’s Greek Theatre

August 11, 2025 by Josh Herwitt 3 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

Primus with Ty Segall //
Greek Theatre – Los Angeles
August 6th, 2025 //

If you are a fan of live music and have been following the current rock landscape lately, you probably already know the last few months have been a rough time for drummers.

Legendary bands like The Who, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters have all experienced changes behind the drum kit recently while well-established mainstays in the jam scene such as Umphrey’s McGee and Goose have also had to find new blood on the skins.

But another rock-leaning act that saw its timekeeper step off the stage — and rather abruptly — was Primus, the 90’s alt-metal group led by bassist, vocalist and founding member Les Claypool that has cycled through its share of drummers since first forming under the name Primate more than 40 years ago in the Bay Area.

Whether it has been Vince Parker, Mark Edgar, Peter Libby, Robbie Bean, Tim “Curveball” Wright, Jay “Jayski” Lane, Bryan “Brain” Mantia or Tim “Herb” Alexander laying it down, Claypool and guitarist Larry “Ler” LaLonde have seen the drum throne become a revolving door for the majority of their careers. So with Alexander leaving the band unexpectedly for a third time in October and revealing that he “lost his passion for playing,” Claypool and LaLonde were once again faced with the unfortunate reality the two close friends would become accustomed to after leaving their former band Blind Illusion and reforming Primus at the end of 1988.

Rather than going back to the well or only accepting referrals for the role, they decided to open up the process to anyone and everyone in their search for “the greatest drummer on Earth.” What came as a result was at least 6,200 submissions followed by a multi-week audition process at Claypool’s studio in Northern California that the band would coin the “Primus Interstellar Drum Derby.” The competition was stiff, with an All-Star cast that included Thomas Pridgen, Nikki Glaspie and Thomas Lang in the mix, but the honor ultimately went to John Hoffman, a relatively unknown from Shreveport, La., whose style and impeccable chops blended perfectly with what Claypool and LaLonde like to cook up when they plug in.

Primus are one of those rare bands that can bring jam fans and metalheads together into the same space. As we have said before after witnessing his Fearless Frog Brigade mark their first tour in two decades with a sold-out gig at The Wiltern a couple years ago (see more photos from the show here), Claypool remains among rare company as a one-of-a-kind musician who has made his living at the intersection of the alt-metal and jam scenes. When you hear a song by Primus, you can tell almost immediately it’s them. Much of that has to do with Claypool’s unmistakable spoken-word vocals of course, though the way he continues to captivate listeners with his innovative bass playing still has Primus sounding like nothing else out there to this day.

It has been nearly eight years since Primus have dropped an album, and there’s a sense with Hoffman officially in the fold now that new material can be expected at some point. But the first order of business for Claypool and LaLonde had to be getting back on the road with their new comrade since performing Rush’s A Tribute to Kings in 46 North American cities on their last headlining tour.

Ty Segall

That’s not to say Primus haven’t been active. We have actually caught them each of the last two years, first at the Hollywood Bowl with Puscifer and A Perfect Circle for Sessanta (read our show review here) and then at Acrisure Arena out in the desert for Sessanta V2.0 (read our show review here).

With the “Onward & Upward” tour this summer providing 25 more opportunities for Claypool, LaLonde and Hoffman to continue building their chemistry onstage, we can tell that Primus are beginning to hit their stride as they introduce fans to “Hoffer.” On a weeknight at LA’s charming Greek Theatre, things began with an onslaught of noise from prolific garage rocker Ty Segall, whose 45-minute opening set was highlighted by a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Interstellar Overdrive”. The singer-songwriter from Laguna Beach put out his 17th studio album Possession in May and his penchant for honoring the greats, from Bob Dylan to T. Rex, is no secret to those who are familiar with his music. While his overall energy this time didn’t quite match what we remember being impressed by back in 2016 at the Teragram Ballroom (read our show review here), Segall’s ability to shred at a moment’s notice is always evident when he takes the stage. Coincidentally enough, his hometown friends were actually sitting beside me and they were definitely feeling it as enough chunky riffs filled our earholes to make us wish that “Sloppo” would tour with San Jose stoner/doom metal duo Sleep in the future.

The sonic similarities between Segall and Primus remain few and far between, but that didn’t take away from what proved to be a magical evening under the stars … and there were plenty of them at the Greek in addition to Claypool, LaLonde and Hoffman. The three-piece opened with two tracks off 1997’s Brown Album, and although this wouldn’t be the same sort of exhibition Primus staged last month at Red Rocks Amphitheatre when seven songs from it were performed, the surprises that ensued could give any fan of 90’s music instant FOMO.

It had come to my attention last spring when I attended Queens of the Stone Age leader Josh Homme’s benefit show that comedian Bill Burr can hold his own on the drums, and even after noticing him outside the venue before entering, it somehow didn’t dawn on me that he was anything other than a spectator. A colleague had mentioned to some of us between sets that he spotted Tool drummer Danny Carey, who had previously filled in for Alexander, and as soon as I saw two kits set up on the stage, I knew we were in for something special. So when Burr walked out with Tool bassist Justin Chancellor after “Bob’s Party Time Lounge” and broke into “Too Many Puppies” on Frizzle Fry, the crowd essentially lost its collective mind and we would have as well if we weren’t busy trying to capture it from behind the camera. What’s more is that Burr totally nailed his part, locking in from the start while Chancellor came equipped with a gift that just so happened to be one of Claypool’s beautiful Pachyderm bass guitars.

Surprises as such are often reserved for the encore, yet considering this was only the third song and we were in one of the biggest entertainment capitals in the world, more were likely in store. The details were certainly unknown, but my Black Sabbath Vol. 4 T-shirt did draw a comment from one of the band’s crew members, which made me believe that a cover might be forthcoming after seeing on social media that Primus uncorked “N.I.B.” in New Orleans with Puddles Pity Party offering his best Ozzy impersonation. My inclination would eventually be proven true after Primus dove into some Oysterhead before crushing King Crimson staple “Thela Hun Ginjeet” with South Park co-creator Matt Stone on the drums, except this time it was Segall manning the mic and sending the place into an absolute frenzy as the Prince of Darkness’ maniacal face was projected on the video screen.

And if that wasn’t enough, Primus gifted us a “DMV” tease prior to launching into “The Ol’ Diamondback Sturgeon (Fisherman’s Chronicles, Part 3)” and followed it up with “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver” that received a roar of applause. Not every Primus setlist will feature the lead singles on 1991’s Sailing the Seas of Cheese and 1993’s Pork Soda, but this rendition of “My Name Is Mud” was extra dirty — in a good way — with Carey finally taking his place stage right to Hoffman and unleashing a dual drum solo that had Claypool slapping his strings in unison, creating a double-bass effect that you could feel in your chest and down to your bones.

How could a Primus show be complete without a bass solo or better yet, a bass off? From solely our perspective, it really couldn’t be. So after a brief encore break, Claypool did what only a bass master would do and brought out MonoNeon, who’s well-known for his work with Prince, for Tales from the Punchbowl single “Southbound Pachyderm” and one of our personal favorites. As the two low-end wizards traded licks down the finish line, it wasn’t very hard to consider this one of the best Primus shows I have ever caught and there have been many. Their recipe of swamp funk mixed with metal might not be everyone’s cup of tea. For us as well as anyone in attendance who found themselves chanting the band’s paradoxical inside joke “Primus Sucks!” — because if you know, you know — however, it never seems to get old no matter what age any of us are.

PRIMUS

Setlist:
Restin’ Bones
Bob’s Party Time Lounge
Too Many Puppies (with Bill Burr) (and Justin Chancellor)
Dirty Drowning Man
Groundhog’s Day (>)
Polka Dot Rose (Oysterhead cover) (partial) (> “Groundhog’s Day” reprise)
Thela Hun Ginjeet (King Crimson cover) (with Matt Stone) (with “Dueling Banjos” tease)
Over the Falls
John the Fisherman
N.I.B. (Black Sabbath cover) (with Ty Segall) (with “Bassically” intro)
The Ol’ Diamondback Sturgeon (Fisherman’s Chronicles, Part 3) (preceded by “DMV” tease)
Jerry Was a Race Car Driver
Welcome to This World (>)
My Name Is Mud (with Danny Carey)

Encore:
Southbound Pachyderm (with MonoNeon)

Editors’ Note: “Amos Moses” and “Mrs. Blaileen” were on the written setlist, but “John the Fisherman” and “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver” were played instead.

TY SEGALL

Setlist:
Void
Interstellar Overdrive (Pink Floyd cover)
Candy Sam
Buildings
Possession
Feel
Wave Goodbye (Ty Segall Band song)
Love Fuzz (slowed down)

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: A Perfect Circle, Acrisure Arena, Bill Burr, Black Sabbath, Blind Illusion, Bob Dylan, Foo Fighters, Goose, Greek Theatre, Guns N' Roses, Hollywood Bowl, Iron Maiden, Josh Homme, King Crimson, Matt Stone, MonoNeon, Oysterhead, Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, Primus, Primus Interstellar Drum Derby, Prince, Puddles Pity Party, Puscifer, Queens of the Stone Age, Red Rocks, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, Rush, SESSANTA, SESSANTA 2024, SESSANTA 2025, SESSANTA V2.0, South Park, T. Rex, The Belasco, The Who, The Wiltern, The Wiltern Theatre, Tool, Ty Segall, Ty Segall Band, Umphrey's McGee

First Times: Discovering what makes The Ventura Theater ‘majestic’ with DIIV closing their California tour in the wake of the Eaton Fire

February 28, 2025 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

DIIV with Kraus //
The Ventura Theater – Ventura, CA
February 24th, 2025 //

With the way the music industry has changed over the past two decades, it’s no secret that live music venues all around the world remain the lifeblood for most artists and musicians to survive in the ever-challenging streaming era.

Unfortunately the long-lasting economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to put many of these sacred spaces at risk, which is another reason, among others, why it’s essential to support live music when touring costs have spiked and so much of life is spent behind a screen now.

But for as many concerts as I attend due in large part to the “work” that ends up being published here on this website, it’s not very often I get to take in one at a music venue I have never been to before. Visiting different rooms — whether it’s a small club or large arena — has always been part of the fun that comes with going to shows and became even more of a personal interest when I took up writing about music.

More specifically, I have always been fascinated by historic theaters and growing up in an entertainment capital like Los Angeles certainly exposed me to a number of them — from Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA to the Pantages Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. — as well as the plethora of other options spread out across the Southland.

More than 65 miles north of LA though, The Ventura Theater is one that has been on my radar for quite a while. As the only luxury theater built in Ventura County to fit the style of the great movie palaces from the 1920s, you won’t find architecture like this anymore at a modern music venue. Designed back when architects such as Lewis Arthur Smith were influenced by the Spanish Colonial Revival movement while they developed these establishments for a burgeoning motion-picture business, its triple-arched balcony that’s recessed and divided by double Corinthian columns provides a strong indication the building was constructed a long time ago.

How long ago you ask? Well, don’t let the rather unassuming façade below the marquee fool you. At first glance you might not think the 1,200-person theater could be celebrating its centennial birthday in 2028, but once you walk past the main foyer, you can immediately understand why it proclaims to be “the best venue between LA and San Francisco” even if the Santa Barbara Bowl would rightfully have something to say about that.

What makes The Majestic Ventura Theater, as its more commonly referred to, so special is what stands out right away: the Spanish Mission style art, gilt-laden walls, intricate lighting fixtures and of course the handmade sunburst chandelier that burns bright during intermissions and accentuates the auditorium’s lavish opulence. Meanwhile, the funky, wide-reaching murals of rainbows, flowers, music and sunshine as you head upstairs to the balcony section transport you to the 60’s when the counterculture started to gain momentum. As one of the defining structures in Ventura’s downtown district, it’s no surprise nearly 50 years have passed since the elegant theater was declared a landmark by the city before later being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Regardless of the fact that Ventura remains better known for its beaches and craft beer than any sort of live music scene at this point, there’s no question the Majestic has maintained a rich and vibrant history dedicated to showcasing all genres. And after almost 100 years, it continues to book shows throughout the calendar year featuring a wide variety of talent that don’t venture for the smaller Ventura Music Hall we checked out less than two months after officially opening its doors in 2022 to watch Royal Blood do their thing (read our show review here).

For us, it took an act that we just covered in June at one of LA’s most renowned theaters to convince us the moment had come for our initial trip to the Majestic. Seven months earlier DIIV made us feel hopeful at The Wiltern that there’s a future for indie rock (read our show review here), and something about The Ventura Theater’s tiered layout reminded us of the Art Deco beauty in Koreatown despite being finished three years prior. But sadly Zachary Cole Smith (lead vocals, guitar) and his sideways — one of which being the always animated, yet currently sedentary Andrew Bailey (guitar) due to a recent injury along with Colin Caulfield (bass, keyboards, guitar, vocals) and Ben Newman (drums) — have had more on their minds recently than solely music after the Eaton Fire destroyed Smith’s house in Altadena and a bunch of the band’s gear.

Somehow tragedy and trauma haven’t stopped the quartet from hitting the road this year in support of 2024’s Frog in Boiling Water however, with the Majestic serving as the fourth and final date of a brief California tour that began in Pomona where another shoegaze outfit captivated us last year thanks to their own brand of distorted guitars and dreamy vocals (read our First Times coverage here).

DIIV may lazily get lumped in with slowdive when you search online for popular shoegaze bands, but their performances have a distinct vibe and tone. On the surface, the crowd leans younger given that they have yet to reach the 15-year mark since Smith created the project as a solo endeavor, and on a deeper level, there’s a consistent stream of sociopolitical commentary that their UK counterparts have strayed away from. Because if you don’t come away with any sense of dystopian despair after seeing DIIV take the stage, then you weren’t paying close enough attention that night.

This also wasn’t the first time we have caught supporting act Kraus after witnessing their opening set at The Wiltern for Explosions in the Sky (read our show review here) and the trio led by Will Kraus (vocals, guitar) did their best to engage those of us who showed up by 8 p.m. with their noisy take on shoegaze. Had it not been a Monday, there might have been more than a few hundred people in attendance when the evening’s main act arrived onstage. In the grand scheme of things, none of that mattered for us. We were there to discover what exactly makes The Ventura Theater “majestic,” and by all accounts, we can say after this latest experience at one of Southern California’s most treasured and storied music venues that mission was accomplished.

Setlist:
In Amber
Like Before You Were Born
Brown Paper Bag
Under the Sun
Sometime
Soul-net
Frog in Boiling Water
Take Your Time
Taker
Everyone Out
Reflected
Somber the Drums
Between Tides
Blankenship
Acheron
Raining on Your Pillow

Encore:
Raining on Your Pillow
Horsehead
Doused

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, First Times, Show Experience Tagged With: DIIV, Eaton Fire, Explosions in the Sky, Hollywood Pantages Theatre, Kraus, Pantages Theatre, Royal Blood, Royce Hall, Santa Barbara Bowl, The Majestic Ventura Theater, The Mayan, The Pantages, The Regent Theater, The Regent Theater DTLA, The Ventura Theater, The Wiltern, Ventura Music Hall

DIIV give us hope at The Wiltern that there’s a future for indie rock

July 5, 2024 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

DIIV with Lightning Bolt, untitled (halo) //
The Wiltern – Los Angeles
June 29th, 2024 //

For nearly 15 years it’s no secret the music industry has moved farther away from the guitar-driven rock that prevailed through much of the 90’s and early 2000’s. Some have even gone as far to now say “rock is dead,” and while we can point out some of our own experiences from recent memory — including one here — to counter that claim, there have only been a handful of new bands since 2010 that accurately fit the description and have hooked me enough to catch them live.

Australian sextet King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are one of those acts, and their three-hour marathon at the iconic Hollywood Bowl last summer (read our show review here) was one of our favorite shows in 2023 (see our picks here).

English bass-and-drums duo Royal Blood are another, and their bone-rattling concert at The Wiltern in November (read our show review here) was also a highlight for us last year.

Of course we can’t forget about Houston psych-funk-rock trio Khruangbin, which have continued their ascent with sold-out gigs at some of America’s biggest music venues and events. In fact, we still think about their 2022 appearance on Day 2 of Primavera Sound LA (read our festival review here).

And then there’s “American indie-groove band” Goose, who gave us a chance to finally watch them in the flesh several months ago when they made their Santa Barbara Bowl debut and a compelling case why they have been one of the hottest (jam) bands lately (read our show review here).

Obviously there are supergroups and/or side projects like The Smile, boygenius and The New Basement Tapes as well, while others might argue that bands such as Greta Van Fleet, Hockey Dad, Turnstile, Wet Leg and Viagra Boys have carried the torch forward for the genre (note: IDLES were not mentioned here because they formed back in 2009 along with Alabama Shakes, Atoms for Peace, Broken Bells, Dawes, The Dead Weather, How to Destroy Angels, Rival Sons, Them Crooked Vultures and Wild Nothing).

But standing among some of the best to arrive on the scene in roughly the last decade and a half are DIIV, which began as a solo endeavor for Zachary Cole Smith (lead vocals, guitar) after previous stints as a guitarist in the psych-rock outfit Soft Black and drummer/guitarist for indie rockers Beach Fossils while he was living in Brooklyn.

Smith has relocated to LA since DIIV’s formation, but the group’s sound has remained fairly consistent — dreamy, hazy vocals float on top of gritty, fuzzed-out guitars as they collide with punchy rhythms that immediately evoke comparisons to Modest Mouse, Silversun Pickups, Slowdive and even Explosions in the Sky when we listen. That’s not to say DIIV’s shoegaze-laden soundscapes don’t have their own feel and vibe, though. They very much have their own identity, as Smith’s catchy riffs often pull you in at the start and build up to moments of pure sonic bliss like on “Taker” or “Acheron” that stands as the longest track in the DIIV catalog at more than seven minutes.

Four albums in following the May release of Frog in Boiling Water on Fantasy Records, and the quartet that was a five-piece in the early 2010’s and currently includes Smith’s childhood friend Andrew Bailey (guitar), Colin Caulfield (bass, keyboards, guitar, vocals) and Ben Newman (drums) are no doubt a well-established unit at this point. The 10-track LP anchored by lead single “Brown Paper Bag” has already garnered critical acclaim from quite a few media outlets and fits in nicely with the rest of DIIV’s material, showcasing Smith’s continued growth and evolution as a singer-songwriter. And although we can’t say his overall range behind the microphone has transformed dramatically dating back to 2012’s full-length debut Oshin, Smith does come across more forceful in his delivery on DIIV’s latest studio effort.

Wrapping up the first leg of a 33-date North American tour last Saturday at The Wiltern with Rhode Island noise-rock duo Lightning Bolt and LA’s untitled (halo) providing support, Smith and company delivered plenty of highs from “Doused” to “Blankenship” and yet left us yearning to hear others like “Dopamine” off 2016’s Is the Is Are and “Skin Game” from 2019’s Deceiver. The fact that neither of those are being played was somewhat surprising — even if they aren’t among their Top 5 songs on Spotify — and yet encouraging considering how well we thought their 90-minute performance in LA flowed from one song to the next. DIIV haven’t been mixing up their setlists each night they take the stage, instead sticking to a very similar script so far for their 2024 dates across Europe and the U.S. While that’s something we eventually hope to see from them after another album cycle, the next six months will mark an important stretch for DIIV with their tour schedule extending all the way through December and taking them back to the UK where a couple of sold-out gigs with Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C. — another one of the rare major post-2010 rock acts to emerge — in London await.

The impending doom and gloom that Smith’s lyrics have been known to address since DIIV’s inception in 2011 don’t exactly anoint them as champions of hope and optimism at a time of great uncertainty and political tension here at home. Frog confronts the “overwhelmingly banal collapse of society under end-stage capitalism,” and with another U.S. presidential election looming that stars a former president and convicted felon, there’s a real cause for concern with the stakes higher than ever. The video interludes — one to advertise DIIV merch, another to introduce their sophomore single on Frog entitled “”Soul-net” and finally a satirical promo for ExxonMobil at the beginning of the encore — sprinkled in throughout the show reminded us of that dark reality, but as Bailey told Zane Lowe during a recent interview for Apple Music: “The message isn’t ‘the world is screwed and there’s nothing we can do.’ It’s more pointing out the fact that the world is screwed and heading toward demise … how do we accept that reality and still turn it into something positive?”

Smith, for one, has faced his own demons and past struggles with substance abuse that we don’t need to get into but has courageously come out on the other side all while continuing to push the boundaries sonically with every DIIV release. Frog, after all, was the first time the band worked democratically with writing credits going to all four members, challenging them individually and testing the strength of their collective bond in ultimately representing “a mesmeric testament to enduring.” For us fans, it’s just one sign of another great band in the making.

Setlist:
In Amber
Like Before You Were Born
Brown Paper Bag
Under the Sun
(Druun Pt. II)
Doused
Reflected
Somber the Drums
Take Your Time
Taker
Raining on Your Pillow
Soul-net
Frog in Boiling Water
Between Tides
Blankenship
Acheron

Encore:
Everyone Out
Horsehead

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Alabama Shakes, Beach Fossils, Broken Bells, Dawes, DIIV, Fontaines D.C., Greta Van Fleet, Hockey Dad, Hollywood Bowl, How to Destroy Angels, IDLES, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Lightning Bolt, Rival Sons, Royal Blood, Santa Barbara Bowl, Soft Black, The Dead Weather, The New Basement Tapes, The Smile, The Wiltern, Them Crooked Vultures, Turnstile, untitled (halo), Viagra Boys, Wet Leg, Wild Nothing

The Kills give us the chills at The Wiltern on their ‘God Games Tour’

March 18, 2024 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

The Kills with Heartworms //
The Wiltern – Los Angeles
March 14th, 2024 //

It has been a wet winter in Southern California this year, and some of us are still drying off from all the rain that bombarded the greater LA area over the past three months.

But with the clouds finally parting and clear skies paving the way for the impending spring (and warmer temperatures naturally), spending 90 minutes up close and personal with The Kills was not such a bad way to celebrate the end of one season and the start of another.

The last time I packed up my camera gear was almost two months ago when Texas post-rock quintet Explosions in the Sky came to town and performed two nights at The Wiltern where we witnessed the second date (read our show review here), and my next opportunity in the photo pit just happened to be back at the same historic theater that has stood for more than 90 years now in the heart of Koreatown.

Alison “VV” Mosshart (vocals, guitars, dictaphone, production) and Jamie “Hotel” Hince (vocals, guitars, dictaphone, organ, harmonica, electric viola, drum machine, production) have been at it for more than two decades themselves, releasing their sixth studio album God Games to critical acclaim last October and embarking on a North American tour that spanned 31 concerts across six weeks beginning in early February at Santa Ana’s The Observatory.

Shortly after London post-punk outfit Heartworms led by singer-songwriter Jojo Orme had wrapped up their opening set, fans had either found space on the tiered floor or taken their assigned seats up in the balcony as the clock struck 9 p.m. And as we waited for Mosshart and Hince to make their entrances, I couldn’t help but remember when I drove 45 miles east on a weeknight one summer to watch The Kills strut their stuff in Pomona (read our show review here). Fortunately my commute for this engagement was much shorter, though I have no regrets about making the trek out to The Glass House more than eight years ago.

The British-American rock duo had yet to release 2016’s Ash & Ice at that point, but we did hear three of the LP’s tracks — including lead single “Doing It to Death” that has since become one of The Kills’ most popular songs alongside “Future Starts Slow” off 2011’s Blood Pressures and “Black Balloon” on 2008’s Midnight Boom. Mosshart and Hince, meanwhile, have managed to cook up another hit on God Games with the gritty opener “New York”, and hearing it live for the first time at The Wiltern was certainly one of the evening’s highlights for us — not to mention other new material such as “Love and Tenderness” and “LA Hex” that sounds more like balladry than the higher-tempo, full-throated bangers loyal listeners have come to expect from them. Heck, maybe that’s one reason why Hince has even traded in his boots for a pair of white penny loafers (and they look good on him, too).

God Games, in that regard, undoubtedly shows The Kills continuing to take some chances and expand their sonic horizons without guitars. And for an act consisting of only two full-time members, it sure does deliver enough sound that you might think a full band was onstage in a similar way that Royal Blood do after seeing the UK two-piece occupy the same space in November and command a sold-out audience with a full-blown mosh pit breaking out (read our show review here). Sure, it would be epic if a drummer and bassist could be part of The Kills’ live show in the future, but with touring costs rising and a number of advancements in technology affording musicians a lot more flexibility, it would most likely take playing much larger venues for them to make a move like that — and we are more than A-OK if they don’t ever headline arenas or stadiums.

There wouldn’t be any pushing or shoving among audience members on this occasion considering The Kills’ music doesn’t really lend itself to that sort of aggressive behavior, but with a trio of backup singers joining them for “Blank”, “Better Days” and “My Girls My Girls” from God Games during what proved to be a four-song encore in LA, you got the sense that the return of Mosshart and Hince to their adopted hometown represented a special moment for them. This wasn’t the final stop of the “God Games Tour” unfortunately, yet that didn’t matter at the end of the day. Because when music like The Kills’ constantly replays in your head long after the show ends (and as I write these words), you know quite simply that it’s damn good.

Setlist:
Kissy Kissy
U.R.A. Fever
Love and Tenderness
103
Going to Heaven
Baby Says
New York
Wasterpiece
Kingdom Come
Hard Habit to Break
God Games
DNA
Black Balloon
LA Hex
Doing It to Death
Future Starts Slow

Encore:
Blank
Better Days
My Girls My Girls
Sour Cherry

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Heartworms, Royal Blood, The Glass House, The Kills, The Observatory, The Wiltern

With no ‘End’ in sight after 25 years, Explosions in the Sky make a statement at The Wiltern as one of post-rock’s most essential acts

January 31, 2024 by Josh Herwitt 3 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

Explosions in the Sky with Kraus //
The Wiltern – Los Angeles
January 25th, 2024 //

It wasn’t until more than a decade after their inception when I first took notice of Explosions in the Sky.

I had somehow missed the boat on “Friday Night Lights” when the film came out while I was in college — despite my daily consumption of sports media and eventually finding a pathway into the industry — and again when it debuted as a TV series in the fall of 2006 shortly after receiving my diploma.

But with streaming services like Spotify fairly new to the marketplace at that time, it was one of your classic, word-of-mouth situations several years later from a former roommate who introduced me to Explosions’ music. Remember when we used to do that before we all succumbed to algorithms?

It should go without saying that the Texas outfit was a fitting choice for the soundtrack to a project about high school football in the Lone Star State. Explosions’ emotive and all-instrumental compositions have always felt right in a cinematic setting, and in that regard it’s not entirely surprising they have worked on four other soundtracks subsequently, with their latest arriving in 2021 for a documentary that premiered on PBS about a place they were all familiar with as native Texans: Big Bend National Park.

By that point, five-plus years had already passed since the release of 2016’s The Wilderness and there was no telling when we might hear new music from Chris Hrasky (drums), Michael James (guitar, bass, keyboards), Munaf Rayani (guitar, keyboards, percussion), Mark Smith (guitar) and the group’s newest member Jay Demko (bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion).

But any uncertainty surrounding the future of Explosions wasn’t completely cleared up last April when they announced their first North American tour in four years. Labeling the 16-date stretch of shows as “The End Tour” instead had fans quickly wondering if it would be their last time onstage together, and there’s no doubt that would have been a big loss to the post-rock community. Because in a relatively small scene led by international acts such as Sigur Rós (Iceland), Mogwai (Scotland) and Godspeed You! Black Emperor (Canada), having Explosions alive and well to lead the charge stateside remains crucial to the genre’s longevity here and around the world.

So when Explosions revealed a few months later that the name of their eighth studio LP would be End, whatever speculation that happened to still be floating around was finally dispelled. The press release accompanying the announcement, after all, explained that the seven-track effort was a concept album with a starting point of “an ending — death, or the end of a friendship or relationship.” And though the message is somber, it’s actually somewhat of a return to form sonically after seeing them incorporate more ambient sounds and electronics on The Wilderness. It didn’t garner the same amount of praise from the music media as the aforementioned, but End does represent another chapter in the quintet’s ever-growing catalog, with lead single “Ten Billion People” setting the tone at the outset and “Moving On” earning a spot as one of our favorite songs from 2023 (see our picks here).

The new material had unquestionably drew us back in after their longest gap between releases, and our excitement only grew at the end of last year upon learning that Explosions had extended “The End Tour” into early 2024 by unveiling another set of 16 shows — ultimately offering several more opportunities to catch them live.

There aren’t many, if any, post-rock bands in the U.S. that have carved out a stronger and more loyal following than Explosions with as much commercial success. Booking six shows in California for the continued stretch of “The End Tour” certainly indicated that as they took the stage at The Wiltern last Thursday to mark the second of two gigs in LA before stops in Ventura, San Diego, Anaheim and San Francisco, and as we came to discover, so did the setlist with a number of changes being made after Wednesday’s performance inside the historic Art Deco theater.

On this night, a third of the songs came from 2003’s seminal The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place with “First Breath After Coma” and “The Only Moment We Were Alone” bookending another epic journey of “cathartic mini-symphonies” filled with peaks and valleys over the course of 80 minutes. Nevertheless, what started 25 years ago as Breaker Morant and eventually morphed into Explosions in the Sky has stood the test of time as one of post-rock’s most essential acts. Fortunately for us, there appears to be no end — or should we write End? — in sight anytime soon. Let’s just hope things stay that way for a while longer.

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY

Setlist:
First Breath After Coma
Ten Billion People
The Birth and Death of the Day
All Mountains
Magic Hours
Greet Death
Your Hand in Mine
The Fight
The Only Moment We Were Alone

KRAUS

Setlist:
for now
Given
Anyone
between
Fell For It
Bum
Glass Valley

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Breaker Morant, Explosions in the Sky, Friday Night Lights, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Kraus, Mogwai, Sigur Ros, The Wiltern

The Bam Team’s 5 Favorite Shows, Albums & Songs of 2023

December 30, 2023 by The Bam Team 4 Comments

It’s hard to believe that 2023 marked the first time since Earth was rocked by a global pandemic three years ago that COVID-19 was no longer a public health emergency. After everything we have endured since 2020, we could finally breathe (no pun intended) a sigh of relief. And over the last 12 months, the live music industry continued its recovery, with fans packing stadiums, arenas, amphitheaters, theaters, bars and clubs all around the world to experience one of life’s great pleasures.

Seeing people come together to celebrate music — no matter where it is — is always a beautiful thing to witness, and we feel fortunate to have been there for some stellar moments in live music this year while also sharing many in this space. There was a three-hour marathon by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, the long-awaited return of Mr. Bungle and Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade to the road (and stage), Goose winning over new fans and Run the Jewels commemorating their 10th anniversary with a star-studded residency tour to name only a few of them.

But with coronavirus in the rearview mirror and 2024 arriving soon, it’s time for us to uncork our annual “Best of” lists as we have done since this blog first started (see our 2022 picks here). As we always say, we will be the first to admit we didn’t attend every show or hear all of the albums released in 2023, but recapping the year that was can be still a fun and yet challenging exercise, too.

So, without further ado, Showbams presents The Bam Team’s five favorite shows, albums and songs from 2023.

Listen to The Bam Team’s favorite songs of 2023:

My Morning Jacket - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

My Morning Jacket with M. Ward at Red Rocks Amphitheatre // Photo by Josh Herwitt

Josh Herwitt // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2023
1. My Morning Jacket at Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO – August 25th-26th
Picking the same band at the same music venue around the same time on the calendar for the second straight year might not seem all that interesting to those who happen to be reading this. But having the opportunity to photograph one of my favorite bands at one of the world’s best places to catch a concert was too special not to highlight here. From Jim James showing up early to play with M. Ward during his opening sets to the latter sitting in with the Louisville-bred outfit both nights, MMJ shows at Red Rocks just hit a little bit different and 2023 was no exception. Friday’s performance marked the first of several dates to honor the 20th anniversary of It Still Moves, while Saturday’s was particularly memorable this year with a cover of Traffic’s “Feelin’ Alright?” featuring a guest appearance by Nathaniel Rateliff and a four-part “Cobra” sandwich during the encore that reminded us how magical taking in a concert can be at “the birth canal of the universe” as James calls it.

2. Queens of the Stone Age at The Forum – Inglewood, CA – December 16th
3. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard at Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA – June 21st
4. Jack White at The Belasco – Los Angeles, CA – January 13th
5. Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade at The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA – July 14th

Top 5 Albums of 2023
1. Queens of the Stone Age – In Times New Roman…
The last few years have been filled with a tidal wave of emotional pain for Josh Homme. From his public divorce and custody battle to the deaths of friends and colleagues, it’s not surprising that the lead single on Queens of the Stone Age’s eighth studio album was entitled “Emotion Sickness”. But the fact that the 10-track LP didn’t make the cut for any year-end consideration by most of the major music media outlets is almost unconscionable to me. Regardless of what they think, In Times New Roman… to us is another masterpiece with Homme showcasing more vulnerability than we have ever seen from him before. Plus, after 25 years we can’t imagine finding a better cast of sidekicks in modern rock than what Queens have with Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Michael Shuman (bass, keyboards, backing vocals), Dean Fertita (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals) and Jon Theodore (drums, percussion). There are only a few great rock bands out there that are still innovating and pushing boundaries, and In Times New Roman… proved QOTSA are once again unquestionably one of them.

2. Gorillaz – Cracker Island
3. Royal Blood – Back to the Water Below
4. Say She She – Silver
5. Slowdive – everything is alive

Top 5 Songs of 2023
1. Queens of the Stone Age – “Paper Machete”
As much as I liked the first two singles that were released off In Times New Roman…, it was the third hit that became an instant earworm for me this past summer. “Paper Machete” is the album’s shortest track at slightly more than three minutes, but it has that old-school QOTSA sound from Homme’s early days in the stoner-rock group Kyuss and a killer guitar solo by Van Leeuwen we would be remiss not to mention. And though some might consider it to be a diss track if there ever was one in rock ‘n’ roll, we will say that the lyrics beautifully paint a picture of “pain and misery” — as Homme sings toward the song’s finish line — in a metaphorical sense. Who said you need a lot of time to make a statement? Not Homme (or us).

2. Gorillaz – “Cracker Island” feat. Thundercat
3. Royal Blood – “Tell Me When It’s Too Late”
4. The Chemical Brothers – “No Reason”
5. Explosions in the Sky – “Moving On”

Andrew Pohl // San Francisco

Top 5 Shows of 2023
1. Botch at The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA – December 12th
Holy hell, this show left me with zero face…. like, my face was not present afterwards. Both opener Kowloon Walled City and Botch dished out massive sets of music that thankfully sounded crisp, even given the Regency’s typical boomy nature. This was Botch’s last show of their reunion tour, and they showed zero signs of wear, delivering an incredible performance. Fun point of the night was Botch bassist Brian Cook calling out members of the crowd who claim to have attended their shows at Gilman Street and The Stork Club back in the day, saying “you’re lying because NO ONE was there.” Can you imagine that?

2. Sunny Day Real Estate at The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA – April 8th
3. Hammered Hulls at The Ivy Room – Albany, CA – May 5th
4. The Postal Service & Death Cab for Cutie at The Greek Theatre – Berkeley, CA – October 10th
5. High Vis at Neck of the Woods – San Francisco, CA – July 30th

Top 5 Albums of 2023
1. Samiam – Stowaway
I knew that Samiam were going to be releasing new music this year, and I was already really hyped to hear it. Stowaway sees the band picking up right where they left off, with catchy, singalong choruses and a masterclass in post-hardcore musicality. It’s a tremendous effort from a band that already has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it knows how to create incredible LPs.

2. Paint It Black – Famine
3. Flying Raccoon Suit – Moonflower
4. Snooper – Super Snõõper
5. Black Pumas – Chronicles of a Diamond

Top 5 Songs of 2023
1. Militarie Gun – “Very High”
2023 was a huge year for Militarie Gun. Their new album is a monster and made my Top 10, but this track may have been the one that stuck with me the most over the last 12 months. It’s got a killer hook and has that always welcome “all killer, no filler” quality to it. The chorus captures a bit of a Stone Roses essence without sounding like they are aping that sound at all. Overall, my feel good hit of the summer — and entire year.

2. Samiam – “Crystalized”
3. Fat Heaven – “Quarter Life Crisis”
4. The Blackburns – “Chill City Population You”
5. Cory Hanson – “Wings”

Tierra Whack at The Broad // Photo by Joseph Gray

Rochelle Shipman // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2023
1. Ron Gallo at Gold-Diggers – Los Angeles, CA – September 21st
I caught about 60 seconds of Gallo’s set at South by Southwest in a rush to a different stage, and those few seconds played on a loop in my mind for weeks. Six months later, I finally got a chance to see the Philadelphia garage-rock star up close, and he blew what little was left of my mind with some relatable hard truths and a blazing performance. It was somehow both perfectly measured and chaotic; he even shredded using a barstool as his guitar pick at one point.

2. Little Simz at The Novo – Los Angeles, CA – October 3rd
3. Kari Faux at The Echo – Los Angeles, CA – November 7th
4. Tierra Whack at The Broad – Los Angeles, CA – August 26th
5. The Cure at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre – Chula Vista, CA – May 20th

Top 5 Albums of 2023
1. Little Simz – NO THANK YOU
Technically a mid-December surprise release in 2022, this album got cheated out of inclusion on any year-end list so I’m making it right. It’s an absolute fireball follow-up to 2022’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, and if it wasn’t crystal clear before, Little Simz is here to stay. Fingers crossed that she will have mercy on us and keep rolling out some of the other bangers in the vault she has been hoarding.

2. Ron Gallo – FOREGROUND MUSIC
3. Islands – And That’s Why Dolphins Lost Their Legs
4. Avey Tare – 7s
5. Noname – Sundial

Top 5 Songs of 2023
1. Tele Novella – “Hard-Hearted Way”
There’s something about the magic in Natalie Ribbons’ voice that makes you feel like the main character in the newest Wes Anderson movie. It’s whimsical and romantic, bringing a sweetness to a song that’s named after being anything but. Not a single track is worth a skip on the Texas duo’s newest LP Poet’s Tooth, but this one remains a strong and emotional standout.

2. Little Simz – “Gorilla”
3. Ron Gallo – “AT LEAST I’M DANCING”
4. Lando Chill – “Believe Me Lonely”
5. slowthai – “Never Again”

Filed Under: Best of, Best of 2023, Editor's Picks, Featured Tagged With: Avey Tare, Black Pumas, Botch, Death Cab For Cutie, Flying Raccoon Suit, Gold-Diggers, Greek Theatre Berkeley, Hammered Hulls, High Vis, Hollywood Bowl, Islands, Jack White, Kari Faux, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Kyuss, Lando Chill, Les Claypool, Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, Little Simz, My Morning Jacket, Neck of the Woods, Noname, North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, Paint It Black, Queens of the Stone Age, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Ron Gallo, Royal Blood, Run The Jewels, Samiam, Say She She, Slowdive, slowthai, Snooper, South by Southwest, Sunny Day Real Estate, Tele Novella, The Belasco, The Broad, The Broad Museum, The Cure, The Echo, The Forum, The Ivy Room, The Novo, The Postal Service, The Regency Ballroom, The Stone Roses, The Wiltern, Tierra Whack

After going viral this year, Royal Blood play The Wiltern again & show a sold-out crowd in LA why they are one of rock’s most exciting acts

November 13, 2023 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

Royal Blood with HotWax //
The Wiltern – Los Angeles
November 9th, 2023 //

For any of you reading this who were unfamiliar with Royal Blood prior to May 28th, there’s probably a good chance that you have heard of them now.

Mocking a lackluster and “pathetic” crowd at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend — it really was but you can judge for yourself here — before flipping them off might not have been the way Mike Kerr (lead vocals, bass, keyboards, piano, guitar) planned for the project he has fronted since early 2011 to go viral, but that quickly became his reality by the following day.

The music media, not surprisingly, seized on the moment, permeating our news feeds and timelines with an onslaught of headlines all pointing to Kerr’s onstage banter and behavior in Scotland. Merely a week later, he was on BBC Radio 1’s airwaves to address the incident with his sidekick Ben Thatcher (drums, percussion, piano), confessing that he “felt like a sort of pro wrestler” and “pantomime villain” during the performance but “meant no offense … and applause is optional.”

Despite all of the subsequent backlash Royal Blood received online, it hasn’t exactly put a dent in their ticket sales — at least in a major U.S. metropolis like LA with endless opportunities to see live music — less than six months later. Take last Thursday’s sold-out gig at The Wiltern for instance, as the English alt-rock duo packed one of the larger-sized venues that they are playing in North America this fall, with the historic theater filled from the reserved pit and GA floor sections up to the mezzanine and balcony for the band’s first time there in six years. It was also the first time in almost two decades visiting that I have witnessed a legitimate mosh pit break out.

Fresh off a nine-day break after their latest shows in the UK and Ireland last month, Kerr and Thatcher were primed for a big night under the bright lights of LA. Much like their appearance more than a year ago at what was then the brand-new Ventura Music Hall (read our show review here), these lads were once again joined by touring member Darren James (keyboards, backing vocals) as their newer studio material starting with 2021’s Typhoons sees them leaning more into synthesizers and keyboards than sticking with the original recipe of only bass and drums they cooked up for their first two albums. What results is a more dance-forward sound that has continued on their fourth LP Back to the Water Below, which was released in September and serves an excellent complement to the rest of their catalog.

The grungy, post-punk tendencies from their fellow countrymates in HotWax, who were making their debut in the states, proved to pair well with the evening’s main course, and by the time Royal Blood walked out around 9 p.m. to a thunderous applause like the ones they are used to, we were ready to scarf up everything that Kerr and Thatcher put on our plates. They fittingly began with “Mountains at Midnight” — the lead single on Back to the Water Below — and then took us back in time, unleashing the blistering one-two punch of “Boilermaker” and the ensuing “Lights Out” at one point to set the tone for the rest of the night.

Those of us who have caught Royal Blood on previous tours know what they’re capable of when they take the stage, but it’s always exciting to see how their new songs will play out in front of an audience. The fuzzed-out “Shiner in the Dark” and already fan favorite “Triggers” both delivered, and though you won’t necessarily find the album’s title represented in the tracklist like their previous two full lengths, it does come from a lyric during the piano-led single “Pull Me Through” with a groove that will have you singing along or at least nodding your head to by the final chorus, offsetting some of the machismo we have become accustomed to from both Kerr and Thatcher. There was “Tell Me When It’s Too Late” as we neared the finish line, with a triplet feel on the bass drum that the late John Bonham would be most likely proud of, and even though it’s the shortest track on Back to the Water Below at well under three minutes, it’s as big and bombastic as anything else they have done.

Since our last encounter, the core of Royal Blood’s setlist hasn’t changed with “Come on Over”, “Hook, Line & Sinker”, “Little Monster”, “How Did We Get So Dark?”, “Loose Change”, “Out of the Black”, “Ten Tonne Skeleton” and of course “Figure It Out” all making a return this time. While we can’t say we don’t enjoy hearing these songs when they are performed, it would be nice if Royal Blood mixed things up a little more or expanded upon what they have already recorded to make every show feel special. Yet, in fairness, they did bring out HotWax’s Tallulah Sim-Savage to play guitar on “Waves” at the start of their encore — something we hope they will consider doing more of in the future. We would also like to see their concerts extend past the 90-minute mark, even if it were only for a little bit longer, and there’s no question that should be the case in due time.

Regardless of our commentary on Royal Blood’s current live show, Back to the Water Below has easily ascended, alongside Queens of the Stone Age’s In Times New Roman…, to be one of our favorite rock albums of 2023. It shares the same accessibility 2014’s self-titled effort and 2017’s How Did We Get So Dark? have, and at the same time, sonically still manages to move the needle forward enough for now.

We can imagine at this point that Royal Blood would just like to forget BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, and we are definitely not interested in dwelling over past indiscretions anymore. Kerr and Thatcher have not only the bravado and charisma, but also the chops to stake their claim as a top-notch rock act for a long time. And hey, maybe a little notoriety never hurts, too.

Setlist:
Mountains at Midnight
Come on Over
Boilermaker
Lights Out
Shiner in the Dark
Hook, Line & Sinker
Triggers
Trouble’s Coming
Typhoons
Pull Me Through
Little Monster
How Did We Get So Dark?
Tell Me When It’s Too Late
Loose Change
Out of the Black

Encore:
Waves (with Tallulah Sim-Savage)
Ten Tonne Skeleton
Figure It Out

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: HotWax, Queens of the Stone Age, Royal Blood, The Wiltern, Ventura Music Hall

Goose make a compelling case in their Santa Barbara Bowl debut why they’re one of the hottest (jam) bands to catch live right now

October 5, 2023 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

Goose //
Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA
September 29th, 2023 //

What is it about jam bands that makes them so polarizing? Is it their penchant for improvisation, their long-running songs or their loyal, dedicated fans?

From the Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers to Phish, Widespread Panic and many more, a lot of folks I come into contact with either love ’em or hate ’em. Regardless of where you stand on the matter though, the reality is that they have been part of the music ecosystem dating back to the early 60’s and continue to be more than six decades later.

With that in mind, there should be little debate to assert that Phish have stood squarely at the top of the jam-band mountain for the past 30-plus years. The Burlington foursome that formed in the early 80’s at the University of Vermont has taken the torch from the Dead and in their own way kept that fire burning bright, building a unique community of diehards often known for traveling far distances to see them rock out at least three hours each night.

But there’s a new kid on the block now, and even though they might call themselves an “American indie-groove band from Connecticut,” it’s no secret that Goose like to “jam” when they step onstage. Phish’s music, after all, has always been rooted in grooves, and in that regard, it feels like the five-piece named after an Anatidae waterfowl rather than an aquatic animal is certainly paying homage to Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon and Page McConnell with that sort of description for their sonic creations.

For those following closely, the million-dollar question — figuratively and literally — in the jam scene of late has been if Goose are next in line to eventually succeed the almighty Phish. The two groups have already formed a friendly bond, with Anastasio sitting in with Goose last year for the second of two sold-out gigs at Radio City Music Hall that featured a more unexpected cameo appearance by Father John Misty, too.

Yet, it was less than six months after those shows in NYC that Rick Mitarotonda (guitar, vocals), Trevor Weeks (bass, poetry), Ben Atkind (drums), Peter Anspach (keyboards, guitar, vocals) and Jeff Arevalo (percussion, drums, vocals) were touring with Anastasio and his solo project on an eight-date run that offered them even more exposure to Phish’s fan (or should we say “phan”) base.

Every member of Goose, similar to Phish, is an excellent musician. Mitarotonda’s virtuosity and emotive solos are assuredly reminiscent of Anastasio’s at times, and you wouldn’t know that Anspach, a guitarist first and foremost, only started playing keyboards when he signed on as the fourth member of Goose in 2017. The formal training that Mitarotonda, Atkind and Arevalo each received while they were at Berklee College of Music in Boston is quite evident when you watch them perform, but for a band showcasing as much musicianship as Goose, their vocal capabilities are equally impressive. It’s something Mitarotonda has worked very hard at according to Anspach, whom he shares the role of lead vocalist with, and what could ultimately help separate Goose from the pack when you consider that singing hasn’t always been a priority for some musicians in the jam world.

Of course, Goose’s pursuit to not only be an outstanding outfit in the live space but also one that takes the album-making process just as seriously is another side to the quintet that’s refreshing and can’t be overlooked. After 2016’s Moon Cabin sans Anspach and subsequently 2021’s Shenanigans Nite Club, they made such clear when they hired an outside producer for the first time, and their decision to elect D. James Goodwin, who has worked with Bob Weir as well as established indie acts like Kevin Morby and Whitney, proved to be a good (no pun intended) choice for the release of Dripfield in 2022. Goose have made songwriting a priority early on in their ascent, but a smart marketing strategy that saw them gross more than $100,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic by livestreaming eight concerts from a barn in their home state has propelled them rather quickly into the mainstream. In fact, few jam bands have earned the opportunity to perform on late-night television like Goose have.

You could tell by the turnout Goose received at their Santa Barbara Bowl debut — a day before making an inaugural appearance at Ohana Fest and a day after headlining The Wiltern in LA for the first time — they have come a long way in less than a decade. Though the 4,562-seat amphitheater wasn’t sold out, it was mostly full from the GA floor up to the A, B and C sections, a promising sign for any young band on the rise, with chants of “Gooooose” ringing out as the sun set over the Pacific Ocean.

Like any top-notch jam band, Goose craft a unique setlist every time they take the stage with an arsenal of covers at the ready and this outing would be no different. Much of the first set was carried by live cuts of material that has yet to be officially laid down in a recording studio, but Bruce Hornsby & the Range’s “The Way It Is” and Echo & the Bunnymen’s “The Killing Moon” that kicked off the evening’s second set provided everyone at the Bowl with a couple of familiar reference points. Nevertheless, the accessibility and hooks that Dripfield offers listeners are what sets Goose apart from other jam-oriented artists, and as its tracks — “Arrow” and “Hot Tea” plus “So Ready” (an alternate version of “Slow Ready” featuring some auto-tune from Mitarotonda) were what we were treated to in this case — take on their own size and shape under the bright lights, they’re destined to fill a room no matter how big or small it is. So with a European tour lined up next month and a couple of more arena performances before 2023 concludes, there’s no telling how high these guys will be flying by this time next year.

Setlist:
Set 1
Earthling or Alien?
Mr. Action
Time to Flee (with “Honeybee” teases)
The Way It Is (Bruce Hornsby & the Range cover)
Seekers on the Ridge pt. I (>)
Seekers on the Ridge pt. II
So Ready

Set 2
The Killing Moon (Echo & the Bunnymen cover) (>)
Arrow
Same Old Shenanigans
Everything Must Go

Encore:
Hot Tea

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Berklee College of Music, bob weir, Bruce Hornsby, Bruce Hornsby & the Range, D. James Goodwin, Echo & the Bunnymen, Father John Misty, Goose, grateful dead, Kevin Morby, Phish, Radio City Music Hall, Santa Barbara Bowl, The Allman Brothers, The Allman Brothers Band, The Wiltern, The Wiltern Theatre, Trey Anastasio, Trey Anastasio Band, Whitney, Widespread Panic, Wiltern Theatre

Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade mark their first tour in 20 years with a sold-out gig at The Wiltern & Pink Floyd’s ‘Animals’

July 17, 2023 by Josh Herwitt 3 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade with Moon Duo //
The Wiltern – Los Angeles
July 14th, 2023 //

There aren’t many musicians who have made a living at the intersection of the alt-metal and jam scenes quite like Les Claypool has.

Best known for being the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of Primus since the three-piece formed nearly 40 years ago, the Northern California native has also made a habit of collaborating with artists and bands across a variety of genres during that stretch.

Just in the past year, he has toured with percussionist Mike Dillon, saxophonist Skerik and drummer Stanton Moore of Galactic for his side project Les Claypool’s Bastard Jazz before Primus performed with drummer Danny Carey and bassist Justin Chancellor of Tool during a benefit show back in April (you can watch them cover Tool’s 1997 single “Ænema” alongside Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen here).

Claypool’s résumé, moreover, has seen him team up with All-Star talent across the musical spectrum, whether it has been Green Jellö, Tom Waits, Trey Anastasio of Phish, Metallica, Buckethead, Stewart Copeland of The Police, Adrian Belew, Gov’t Mule, Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, Bill Laswell, Zach Hill, Fishbone, Alex Lifeson of Rush, Charlie Hunter, Death Grips, Hank Williams III, Beats Antique or Josh Homme. Forgive us if we missed a few names there, but you get the idea that when it comes to friends in the music business, Claypool has no shortage of them.

Most recently though, he has spent the last several years working with Sean Ono Lenno — the son of John and Yoko — beginning in 2015 when the duo conceived The Claypool Lennon Delirium and now with Claypool reuniting his Fearless Flying Frog Brigade for their first concerts in 20 years.

Featuring a star-studded cast led by Claypool and supported by Lennon, Dillon, keyboardist Harry Waters — the son of Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters — and drummer Paolo Baldi formerly of CAKE, the quintet was also supposed to boast Skerik (born Eric Walton) on saxophone before he suffered a shoulder injury that has sidelined him for three months.

But that didn’t stop the Brigade from drawing a capacity crowd in LA when they arrived at The Wiltern last Friday on their “Summer of Green Tour” — the official title of the 42-date run that was even more fitting given the strong aroma of marijuana wafting through the historic theater as soon as I walked in.

Of course they performed Pink Floyd’s Animals as was expected, yet they still had a couple tricks up their sleeves that included The Claypool Lennon Delirium’s “Blood and Rockets: Movement I, Saga of Jack Parsons / Movement II, Too the Moon” and a cover of King Crimson’s single “Thela Hun Ginjeet” from 1981’s Discipline with Primus guitarist Larry LaLonde stepping onstage before an encore break.

And despite entering his seventh decade soon, Claypool hasn’t lost the ability to captivate an audience with his bass-playing techniques — from tapping and slapping to flamenco-like strumming and whammy bar bends — unique vocals, silly lyrics and costume changes, one of which was a pig mask as he took to his upright bass and later a disco helmet while manning a Whamola. Why not a frog mask, you ask? Considering the number of fans there who had their Claypool-approved frog caps on, well … you’ll just have to inquire with “Colonel Claypool” about that.

Claypool, after all, has always done things his own way, and for those at The Wiltern, it didn’t matter that the Brigade’s only studio album Purple Onion came out in 2002. With a ribbiting two-hour and 15-minute performance on the penultimate night of the group’s summer tour, one of our greatest bass players ever made it clear that he has no issue hopping (ribbit ribbit) back into any one of his many solo projects and sticking the landing with a full house on hand.

Setlist:
Up on the Roof
Rumble of the Diesel (Les Claypool song)
Amanitas (Les Claypool song)
Blood and Rockets: Movement I, Saga of Jack Parsons / Movement II, Too the Moon (The Claypool Lennon Delirium cover)
Pigs on the Wing, Part 1 (Pink Floyd cover)
Dogs (Pink Floyd cover)
Pigs (Three Different Ones) (Pink Floyd cover)
Sheep (Pink Floyd cover)
Pigs on the Wing, Part 2 (Pink Floyd cover)
Precipitation (Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel cover)
One Better (Les Claypool song)
David Makalaster
David Makalaster II
Thela Hun Ginjeet (King Crimson cover) (with Larry LaLonde)

Encore:
Whamola
Cosmic Highway

Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Adrian Belew, Alex Lifeson, Alice in Chains, Beats Antique, Bill Laswell, Buckethead, CAKE, Charlie Hunter, Death Grips, Duo de Twang, Fishbone, Galactic, Gov't Mule, Green Jellö, Hank Williams III, Jerry Cantrell, Josh Homme, King Crimson, Les Claypool, Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel, Les Claypool's Bastard Jazz, Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, Metallica, Mike Dillon, Moon Duo, Oysterhead, Phish, Pink Floyd, Primus, Roger Waters, Rush, Sean Ono Lennon, Skerik, Stanton Moore, Stewart Copeland, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, The Police, The Wiltern, The Wiltern Theatre, Tom Waits, Tool, Trey Anastasio, Warren Haynes, Wiltern Theatre, Zach Hill

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

September 27, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Encore #2:
Intruder

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

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

August 22, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 2 Comments

My Morning Jacket - Hollywood Forever Cemetery

My Morning Jacket at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

By Josh Herwitt //

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

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

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

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

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

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

My Morning Jacket at Santa Barbara Bowl

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

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

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

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

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

SANTA BARBARA BOWL – AUGUST 16TH

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

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

HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY – AUGUST 17TH

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

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

My Morning Jacket at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

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

Primavera Sound LA reveals ‘Primavera In The City’ side shows for inaugural 2022 edition with GIVĒON, DARKSIDE, Stereolab & more

July 26, 2022 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

Primavera In The City //
LA venues – Los Angeles
September 13th-20th, 2022 //

When Primavera Sound announced in 2019 that it would be coming to LA the following year before the COVID-19 pandemic turned life upside down, it marked the first time one of the world’s most renowned music-festival brands would stretch its wings outside of the small European empire founder Pablo Soler and his team have built since 2001 to finally touch down on U.S. soil.

But if Primavera Sound was looking to make a big splash for its first year in the City of Angels, look no further than the newly announced “Primavera In The City” side shows. Stretching across seven venues from Hollywood to Koreatown and Echo Park to DTLA, the 10 gigs over the course of a week will boast GIVĒON, Drain Gang, DARKSIDE, Stereolab, Little Jesus & Divino Niño, Bad Gyal, Jehnny Beth, CHAI, Tim Hecker and Special Interest.

Announcing Primavera In The City!✨ LA's Side Shows happening throughout the city around our Festival Weekend! See @Giveon @DarksideUSA @stereolabgroop @thelittlejesus & @DivinoNinoband and more! Tickets on sale this Friday, July 29 at 10AM PT.
➡️ https://t.co/ypPKkAUpXC pic.twitter.com/N61OuNpwWC

— a KID called BEAST (@akidcalledbeasd) July 26, 2022

Highlights from the poster certainly include GIVĒON and DARKSIDE taking the stage at the always-spooky Hollywood Forever Cemetery on back-to-back days, while Stereolab will play The Wiltern the night before their Friday set at the fest. But don’t sleep on also catching Savages singer Jehnny Beth rock Zebulon and Canadian electronic musician Tim Hecker at community center Pico Union Project that’s located in one of the city’s “most diverse and economically challenged neighborhoods.”

Tickets for the Primavera Sound LA side shows go on sale here this Friday, July 29th at 10 a.m. PT, but ticket holders have already been sent a special presale code via email to purchase them in advance so make sure to check your inboxes pronto!

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

September 13th (TUE): Special Interest at The Echo, 7 p.m., $18, All Ages // BUY TICKETS

September 13th (TUE): Jehnny Beth at Zebulon, 8 p.m., $26.78, 21+ // BUY TICKETS

September 14th (WED): Tim Hecker at Pico Union Project, 8 p.m., $35, All Ages // BUY TICKETS

September 14th (WED): Little Jesus & Divino Niño at Echoplex, 7 p.m., $23, All Ages // BUY TICKETS

September 14th (WED): DARKSIDE at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 8 p.m., $49.50, All Ages // BUY TICKETS

September 15th (THU): Drain Gang at Hollywood Palladium, 7 p.m., $35, All Ages // BUY TICKETS

September 15th (THU): Stereolab at The Wiltern, 7 p.m., $35, All Ages // BUY TICKETS

September 15th (THU): GIVĒON at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 7 p.m., $69.50, All Ages // BUY TICKETS

September 16th (FRI): Bad Gyal at Echoplex, 10 p.m., $25, All Ages // BUY TICKETS

September 20th (TUE): CHAI at The Echo, 7 p.m., $25, All Ages // BUY TICKETS

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Bad Gyal, Chai, Darkside, Divino Niño, Drain Gang, Echoplex, Giveon, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood Palladium, Jehnny Beth, LA State Historic Park, Little Jesus, Little Jesus & Divino Niño, Pico Union Project, Primavera In The City, Primavera In The City 2022, Primavera Sound, Primavera Sound 2022, Primavera Sound LA, Primavera Sound LA 2022, Primavera Sound Los Angeles, Primavera Sound Los Angeles 2022, Savages, Special Interest, Stereolab, The Echo, The Wiltern, Tim Hecker, Zebulon

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

Encore:
Tower Falls

*Editor’s Note: “Isak” was written on the setlist as the encore, but fans were given the option to choose.

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Baroness, Deafheaven, Kyuss, The Echo, The Wiltern

The Bam Team’s 5 Favorite Shows, Albums & Songs of 2019

December 27, 2019 by The Bam Team 2 Comments

Kali Uchis at Smokin Grooves Fest - Rochelle Shipman

Kali Uchis at Smokin Grooves Fest // Showbams’ Photo of the Year, by Rochelle Shipman

Um, that’s it? Another year in the rear-view mirror? Where the hell did the last 12 months go? Time sure does seem to fly when there’s so much good new music out there to enjoy.

With that said, it’s once again time for us to share our annual “Best of” lists like we have done the past few years (see our 2018 picks here). From new emerging artists to reunion tours to the return of rock ‘n’ roll, this year had a little bit of everything for both the casual and passionate music fan. And even if you didn’t have the time to listen to every album that came out (neither did we), that’s why we’re here: to help point you in the right direction whenever you do finally get the chance to dig in.

So, without further ado, Showbams presents The Bam Team’s five favorite shows, albums and songs from 2019.

See our favorite performances from 2019 here.

Listen to The Bam Team’s favorite songs of 2019:

The Chemical Brothers at Shrine Expo Hall - Josh Herwitt

The Chemical Brothers at Shrine Expo Hall // Photo by Josh Herwitt

Josh Herwitt // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2019
1. Tool at Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA – October 20th & 21st
Unlike the delay on Tool’s fifth album Fear Inoculum, I thankfully didn’t have to wait 13 years to see my favorite band perform live. It was only a couple of years ago when I caught the boys at The Gorge, earning top honors as my favorite show in 2017, and subsequently a week later at Glen Helen Amphitheater for an all-day affair with Primus, Clutch, Fantômas, Melvins and The Crystal Method. Perhaps my tastes haven’t changed all that much since then, but even in a year that saw me attend half as many concerts as I usually do, Tool are still finding new and innovative ways to enhance their live show. Whether it’s tinkering with their stage production to incorporate a see-through curtain at times or adding surround sound throughout the arena, a Tool performance has evolved into a spiritual, meditative and almost out-of-body experience over the last decade. It’s no wonder why scoring tickets remains a trial of good fortune.

2. The Raconteurs at Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA – July 27th
3. The Chemical Brothers at Shrine Expo Hall – Los Angeles, CA – May 15th
4. Jim James & The Claypool Lennon Delirium at The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA – July 3rd
5. FOALS at Shrine Expo Hall – Los Angeles, CA – March 24th

Top 5 Albums of 2019
1. Tool – Fear Inoculum
When a three-time Grammy-winning band takes more than a decade to release its next album, it’s only natural for expectations to go through the roof. And I’ll be the first to admit that there was a small seed of doubt in my mind when it came to just how epic Tool’s latest sonic voyage in the studio could and would be. But upon first listen, any uncertainty I had about the merits of Fear Inoculum was quickly dispelled. The title track lures you in from the onset, building to a higher place as Maynard James Keenan (vocals) and company — Adam Jones (guitar), Justin Chancellor (bass) and Danny Carey (drums, percussion) — take listeners on an 80-minute rite of passage that holds up as some of the quartet’s best material in its entire catalog. I just hope they got at least one more LP in them, even if it takes another 13 years to make.

2. The Raconteurs – Help Us Stranger
3. FOALS – Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1
4. The Chemical Brothers – No Geography
5. Black Pumas – Black Pumas

Top 5 Songs of 2019
1. Tool – “Descending”
If you’re still reading, you’ve probably gotten the hint by now that I’m a big fan of Tool. After all, it only seemed fitting that my top song in 2019 should also come from my No. 1 album of the year by my favorite band over the last two decades. I have seen Tool perform a shortened version of “Descending” several times since 2014, before it ever had an official title, so when Fear Inoculum arrived back in August, there was no track I anticipated hearing more. In fact, at more than 13 minutes long, it’s one that requires your full, undivided attention, which can be a significant amount of time to dedicate in a world of three-minute pop songs and endless distractions now. But for prog-rock enthusiasts like myself who are more than willing to take the ride, “Descending” delivers a total rush of blood to the head that ultimately leads to pure unadulterated euphoria.

2. Bon Iver – “Hey, Ma”
3. Hot Chip – “Hungry Child”
4. FOALS – “On the Luna”
5. Karen O and Danger Mouse – “Turn the Light”

Kevin Quandt // San Francisco

Top 5 Shows of 2019
1. Stereolab at Primavera Sound – Barcelona, Spain – June 1st
Primavera Sound has always had a knack for booking reunions (i.e. Pulp, The Avalanches and Pavement) to its “musical mecca” on the Balearic Sea. 2019’s iteration featured the first proper show in nearly a decade from the anti-capitalist art-pop darlings Stereolab. “Come and Play in the Milky Night” on 1999’s Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night would open the evening to the international consortium of aging music nerds who undoubtedly knew that they were about to be treated to a “best of” set from the English-French outfit. Better yet, their politically themed lyrical content seemed more relevant in 2019 than it was around the time of their creation a quarter-century ago.

2. Mike Dillon’s New Orleans Punk Rock Percussion Consortium at The Music Box Village – New Orleans, LA – April 26th
3. BLACK MIDI at Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco, CA – November 21st
4. Amen Dunes at August Hall – San Francisco, CA – January 10th
5. Ween at Desert Daze – Perris, CA – October 12th

Top 5 Albums of 2019
1. Cate Le Bon – Reward
What a banner year for the Welsh artist as she created her most highly acclaimed LP to date. Le Bon has truly honed her craft over the last decade as she has collaborated with a laundry list of indie-music royalty before writing the whimsical and austere Reward that employs an array of fresh sounds swirling around her haunting, pixie vocals. 2020 will see Cate jump on tour alongside Kurt Vile in a solo capacity, but we can’t wait to see what she produces next.

2. Wand – Laughing Matter
3. (Sandy) Alex G – House of Sugar
4. The Murder Capital – When I Have Fears
5. Omni – Networker

Top 5 Songs of 2019
1. FOALS – “Sunday”
As FOALS teeter on the edge of being rock’s next big headliner, the British group semi-quietly unleashed a pair of albums entitled Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1 and Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 2. While their style continues to hover around math, dance and indie rock, they dig into a deeper realm of sonic atmosphere as frontman Yannis Philippakis questions, even laments, the state of our current times. “Sunday” tends to borrow a tad from the grandiose nature of their fellow Brits in Coldplay before dropping into a four-on-the-floor section that was rather well-received during their March stop at the Fox Theater in Oakland.

2. Crumb – “Ghostride”
3. Vampire Weekend – “Sunflower” feat. Steve Lacy
4. Oh Sees – “Henchlock”
5. Allah-Las – “In the Air”

Rochelle Shipman // Los Angeles

Top 5 Shows of 2019
1. slowthai at Lodge Room – Los Angeles, CA – September 4th
Shortly after releasing his debut album Nothing Great About Britain in May, Tyron Frampton played a few intimate U.S. shows several months later. My guess is that those were probably the last ones he’ll do if the UK rapper out of Northampton continues to rise and deliver, just like he did for much of 2019. Part Johnny Knoxville-type grime smart ass, part brilliant gritty-crust punk, slowthai shook the roof off LA’s Lodge Room, which turned out to be a warm-up show before he returned to play Camp Flog Gnaw in November. Frampton certainly came to please, setting the energy level at 11 and even performing his rowdy hit “Doorman” twice in the set. He could’ve run through it 15 times and the crowd would’ve left just as satisfied.

2. Little Simz at The Echo – Los Angeles, CA – June 13th
3. Taking Back Sunday at Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles, CA – April 11th
4. Night Moves at The Echo – Los Angeles, CA – September 21st
5. Usher at Smokin Grooves Fest – Long Beach, CA – June 15th

Top 5 Albums of 2019
1. Little Simz – GREY Area
The production. The flow. The bars. The BALLS. Little Simz absolutely brings it on GREY Area, leaving no space for second-guessing, sexist bullshit or honestly anyone else at all. This latest studio album from the British emcee is all her, and you can feel it with every breath she takes. We should all be so lucky to come into our confidence the way that she did on this record, but most of all, we should just be grateful “Simbi” trusts us to keep her deepest secrets — and that they sound so, so good.

2. slowthai – Nothing Great About Britain
3. Shura – forevher
4. Ari Lennox – Shea Butter Baby
5. White Reaper – You Deserve Love

Top 5 Songs of 2019
1. slowthai – “Doorman” (with Mura Masa)
This song technically dropped in 2018, but its spotlight was shone even wider with slowthai releasing his debut LP this year. The Mura Masa-assisted cut pulses with adrenaline, carries the air of a movie soundtrack in only three minutes and has a beat that will take you all the way to the moon and back. In the words of Lizzo, it’s a whole damn meal!

2. Kari Faux – “Latch Key”
3. Billie Eilish – “bury a friend”
4. Little Simz – “Venom”
5. Smino – “Trina”

Andrew Pohl // San Francisco

Top 5 Shows of 2019
1. IDLES – Fillmore – San Francisco, CA – October 10th
After putting out one of my favorite albums from 2018 and missing their show earlier this year, I was thrilled to finally catch IDLES live. To say that these English punk rockers put on a good performance would be a true understatement. They had the energy of an out-of-control freight train but were able to contain it while proving to be an incredibly fun act to see live. Frontman Joe Talbot engaged with the audience in a very authentic way, talking and singing to fans, not just at them. There were crowd-surfing guitarists, mosh pits and sing-a-longs … it was wild.

2. Punk Rock Bowling 2019 – Las Vegas, NV – May 23rd-27th
3. Judas Priest at The Warfield – San Francisco, CA – June 24th
4. Van’s Warped Tour 2019 at Shoreline Amphitheater – Mountain View, CA – July 20th-21st
5. ITCHY-O at Cornerstone – Berkeley, CA – November 23rd

Top 5 Albums of 2019
1. Tool – Fear Inoculum
Well, after all of the waiting and speculation, Tool have done it again, in a really big way. Fear Inoculum is everything that I was hoping it would be, and then some. HUGE-sounding drums, guitars and bass wrap your head in a warm prog blanket while Maynard does what he always has so well. It takes the best parts of their previous albums and combines them to showcase a band that has clearly not missed a step in the 13 years since 10,000 Days.

2. Bad Religion – Age of Unreason
3. Brittany Howard – Jaime
4. Catbite – Catbite
5. Plague Vendor – By Night

Top 5 Songs of 2019
1. The Hammerbombs – “I Hate Cars”
The Hammerbombs are an undersung Bay Area pop-punk group that have written some of the catchiest and fun songs I have heard from the East Bay scene in a long time. Their 2019 release Goodbye, Dreamboat made my top 10, and this track is the hands-down standout on an album chock-full of toe-tappers. It’s a heartfelt song written by singer and bassist Jen Louie, who has a knack for crafting some really fantastic tunes. The chorus is saccharine sweet, and you can’t help but sing along.

2. Lizzo – “Juice”
3. Bad Religion – “Do The Paranoid Style”
4. Ceremony – “In The Spirit World Now”
5. Lagwagon – “Surviving California”

Filed Under: Best of, Best of 2019, Editor's Picks, Featured Tagged With: (Sandy) Alex G, Air Lennox, Alabama Shakes, Alex G, Allah-Las, Amen Dunes, August Hall, Bad Religion, Best of 2019, Billie Eilish, BLACK MIDI, Black Pumas, Bon Iver, Brittany Howard, Catbite, Cate le Bon, Cornerstone, Crumb, Danger Mouse, Desert Daze, Desert Daze 2019, FOALS, Hollywood Palladium, Hot Chip, IDLES, ITCHY-O, Jim James, Judas Priest, Karen O, Karen O and Danger Mouse, Kari Faux, Les Claypool, Little Simz, Lizzo, Lodge Room, Mike Dillon's New Orleans Punk Rock Percussion Consortium, Mura Masa, Night Moves, Oh Sees, Omni, Plague Vendor, Primavera Sound, Primavera Sound 2019, Punk Rock Bowling, Punk Rock Bowling 2019, Rickshaw Stop, Santa Barbara Bowl, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Shrine Expo Hall, Shura, slowthai, Smino, Smokin Grooves, Smokin Grooves Fest, Smokin Grooves Fest 2019, Staples Center, Stereolab, Taking Back Sunday, The Allah-Las, The Chemical Brothers, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, The Echo, The Fillmore, The Hammerbombs, The Murder Capital, The Music Box Village, The Raconteurs, The Warfield, The Wiltern, Thee Oh Sees, Tool, Usher, Vampire Weekend, Van's Warped Tour, Van's Warped Tour 2019, Wand, Ween, White Reaper, Yeah Yeah Yeah's

Jim James, The Claypool Lennon Delirium take us on a psych-rock roller coaster at The Wiltern

July 8, 2019 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

Jim James

By Josh Herwitt //

Jim James & The Claypool Lennon Delirium with Uni //
The Wiltern – Los Angeles
July 3rd, 2019 //

Ever since he launched his solo career more than five years ago, Jim James has been trying to bring people closer together.

The frontman and primary songwriter of My Morning Jacket frequently preaches peace, love and equality on and off the stage, but at a time when technology continues to dominate our way of life and our political divides grow bigger by the day, unity has become a challenging proposition to achieve no matter how famous or popular you are — unless you’re Oprah.

It’s not for a lack of effort from James (born James Edward Olliges Jr.), though.

Claypool Lennon Delirium

The Louisville native remains steadfast in his commitment to doing and saying the right things, whether it’s helping to get out the vote or raising awareness and funds around a number of important environmental, climate and humanitarian issues.

Because when James sings “No use waiting and wondering why / Better get together while we still got time” on his third solo album Uniform Distortion that dropped last year, it’s a message that many of us could learn from. After all, actions speak louder than words, and a songwriter with as much talent, insight and creativity as James certainly knows that.

Embarking on a 33-date North American tour that included festival stops at Shaky Knees and Bonnaroo in support of the 11-track LP, the 41-year-old multi-hyphenate was back in LA — the city he now calls home since moving there in 2016 — on the eve of Independence Day for only one night at the always-beautiful Wiltern. The last time we caught James in the City of Angels, he was headlining another historic SoCal venue just a few miles down Olympic Blvd. after the release of his second solo effort Eternally Even. And boy, was that a lot of fun at the Orpheum Theatre as celebrity fanboys like Christopher Mintz-Plasse (aka “McLovin” from the 2007 film “Superbad”) showed their appreciation for one of rock’s last remaining guitar heroes.

Jim James

But things were a little different for this occasion, in large part because James would be billed as a co-headliner alongside his psychedelic counterparts in The Claypool Lennon Delirium for much of the tour. Even so, with Primus bassist and lead singer Les Claypool being a legend in his own right and guitarist/vocalist Sean Lennon conceived by a couple himself, we had quite the pairing for a Wednesday affair. Heck, the duo even covered Pink Floyd, King Crimson and The Beatles among cuts off 2016’s Monolith of Phobos and its stellar follow-up South of Reality that arrived in February. So if you like psych rock with an extra dose of weird, then these guys are probably for you.

That said, one could argue fairly easily that James’ songs are a bit more accessible than The CLD’s, and with that in mind, it wasn’t hard at all to understand why the man who has also put out music under the pseudonym Yim Yames assumed the closing duties for this tour. It became even more evident once James took the stage, shredding his way through tracks on Uniform Distortion like “Over and Over” and “You Get to Rome” before going to an acoustic guitar for “A New Life” from 2013’s Regions of Light and Sound of God. James would end up performing almost all of Uniform Distortion, but the real standouts of the show were in fact slightly altered versions of the Marvin Gaye-inspired “Here in Spirit” and the ever-haunting “Same Old Lie” to close what felt like a roller-coaster set full of peaks and valleys — and of course, plenty of screeches and squeals emanating from his Gibson ES-335, too.

James didn’t break for long before beginning a three-song encore with one from My Morning Jacket’s catalog in “I’m Amazed” and then dueting with Amo Amo’s Lovell Femme on “Of the Mother Again”. While it may have been somewhat predictable for him to offer us “State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.)” as a parting gift, it wasn’t as if it came unwanted. If anything, it was a strong reminder of how powerful music can be as a unifying force and a gateway to a more positive and promising future, especially with someone like James serving as a guiding light.

JIM JAMES

Setlist:
Over and Over
You Get to Rome
A New Life
Out of Time
Just a Fool
Throwback
No Secrets
Here in Spirit
No Use Waiting
All in Your Head
The World’s Smiling Now
Yes to Everything
Same Old Lie

Encore:
I’m Amazed (My Morning Jacket song)
Of the Mother Again (with Amo Amo lead singer Lovell Femme)
State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.)

THE CLAYPOOL LENNON DELIRIUM

Setlist:
Astronomy Domine (Pink Floyd cover)
Blood and Rockets: Movement I, Saga of Jack Parsons / Movement II, Too the Moon
Little Fishes
Cricket and the Genie (Movement I, The Delirium)
Cricket and the Genie (Movement II, Oratorio Di Cricket)
South of Reality
The Court of the Crimson King (King Crimson cover)
Easily Charmed by Fools
Boomerang Baby
Breath of a Salesman
Cricket Chronicles Revisited: Part 1, Ask Your Doctor – Part 2, Psyde Effects
Tomorrow Never Knows (The Beatles cover)
Third Rock From the Sun

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Amo Amo, Jim James, King Crimson, Les Claypool, My Morning Jacket, Pink Floyd, Primus, Sean Lennon, The Beatles, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, The Wiltern, The Wiltern Theatre, Uni

Gov’t Mule honor Tom Petty & more at The Wiltern

September 18, 2018 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

Gov’t Mule //
The Wiltern – Los Angeles
September 11th, 2018 //

It’s hard to believe that summer is already over. Just a few months ago, we were celebrating the start of the season at Arroyo Seco Weekend (read our festival review here) with modern-day guitar royalty as Jack White, Gary Clark Jr., Neil Young and more highlighted what was mainly a rock-centric lineup in Pasadena.

Thus, it was only fitting that we closed out summer the same way we started it, with another legendary guitarist soothing our souls. Warren Haynes has been prolific in every sense of the word, whether he’s playing with The Allman Brothers Band, the Grateful Dead or his primary band Gov’t Mule, and watching him work his Gibson Les Paul onstage always feels like a rare treat as he nears the age of 60.

Touring in support of their 11th studio album Revolution Come…Revolution Go that came out last year, Gov’t Mule made their return to LA on a Tuesday night with a solid crowd showing up at The Wiltern. The Southern rock act has been at it for almost 25 years, and even though they’ve been working together for a decade now, Haynes (guitar, vocals), Matt Abts (drums, percussion, vocals), Danny Louis (keyboards, guitar, trumpet, vocals) and newest member Jorgen Carlsson (bass) have offered no signs of slowing down of late. In fact, Mule have put out a new release every year since 2013, and while they haven’t disclosed any plans to do so before the end of 2018, it’s always possible that could change once they’re off the road soon.

Unlike what they did four years ago in LA when they played the Orpheum Theatre, Haynes and company paid tribute to a smaller list of heroes this time around, most notably the late Tom Petty with a cover “Breakdown” coming during an extended version of their The Deep End, Volume 1 track “Beautifully Broken” before transitioning into covers of The J.B.’s and finally Al Green to end the second set. Ann Peebles’ “I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home” with a special guest appearance from “Conan” band leader Jimmy Vivino on guitar brought us all the way home, serving as just another reminder that every show Gov’t Mule plays these days feels like a special one.

Setlist:
Set 1
Bad Little Doggie
Broke Down on the Brazos
Rocking Horse
Pressure Under Fire
Scenes From a Troubled Mind
Revolution Come, Revolution Go
Million Miles From Yesterday
Easy Times
Time to Confess

Set 2
Slackjaw Jezebel
Mr. High & Mighty
Steppin’ Lightly
Mother Earth (Memphis Slim cover)
Beautifully Broken (>)
Breakdown (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover) (> “Beautifully Broken” reprise)
Doing It to Death (The J.B.’s cover) (with Doug Woolverton)
I’m a Ram (Al Green cover)

Encore:
I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home (Ann Peebles cover) (with Jimmy Vivino) (with “Will It Go Round in Circles” lyrics)