Duke Football vs. Cincinnati: 34-48

This was Duke football's first bowl game in forever.  And though Duke lost, there was every reason to believe that Duke would win.

First, broke out to a 16-0 lead.

Second, Duke fell behind in the third quarter, but fought back to take the lead in the 4th.

Third, their running game was looking powerful.

Why do I think Duke lost?  Dumb headed turnovers, especially the last fumble with less than 2 minutes in the game.

Is this something the Duke team can build upon next season?  I think it is hard to tell.  They are losing their starting quarterback.  One can still hope that the 2013-2014 season delivers better results.

Up on Intraffik: November/December Playlists

I'm up on Intraffik with November and December Playlists.

Check it out.  Bands.  Songs.  Photos.  Video links.

Up on Intraffik: October Playlist

I'm up on Intraffik with an October Playlist.

A little later, but whatever.

Bands, songs, photos, video links.

I'm Up on Intraffik: September Playlist

Better late then never. I'm up on Intraffik with a September playlist.

Bands, songs, photos, video links.

Up on Intraffik: August Playlist

I'm up on Intraffik with a very delayed post of my August Playlist. Bands, songs, photos, video links.

Big Black Delta at The Satellite

Big Black Delta was the headline band at The Satellite on a recent Saturday night.  A little over a year ago I saw them at The Satellite for their residency.  Just like a year ago, their fans were wild for them on this night. In fact, I was a little worried that I might end up with a black eye as the guy beside me was moving his head in a manner that could potentially have cause some damage.

It is interesting how certain memories pop up.  As a photographer, it is seriously difficult to photograph this band.  They like the stage lights off and replace it with their own strobe light show.  A number of times my camera photographed nothing but black.  Hey, it makes it interesting as a photographer.  Memories:  I remember last year there were two or three other photographers and one talking about how she was sneaking in the flash, hoping that no one would tap her on the shoulder to tell her to stop.

The below photo, no flash, just light timing.

Merry Christmas 2012

Lavinia Slaughter at The Satellie

Lavinia Slaughter. I've been waiting to see this new project from Lauren (Rocket) White for a very long time.    I initially thought their first show was to be in November, but was later told it was shifted to December.  Was it worth the wait?  Yep.  Lauren dressed in black, mesmerized; her arms extended at times, piercing the darkness.

Dekades at The Satellite

I walked into The Satellite and was met with the heart pumping sound of Dekades.  It looks like they're a rather new band.  Watch out for this band.  They'll knock your socks off.

X-mas with Rob Z

It was X-Mas with Rob Z.  Does it look like it was a fun show?  Yep.  Keep it in mind for 2013 and keep a yuletide log at the ready.

 

The Henry Clay People at The Satellite

The Henry Clay People hit the stage before a crowded house. There was a call out for beer, which resulted in 3 beers being brought up. And there was a mosh pit induced by the lead singer.  Two songs included guests/friends.  The night was electric.


 

Songs for Kids Foundation at The Satellite

The Satellite had a break in the music on Monday night when Songs for Kids Foundation hosted a comedy set by four comedians:  Matt Dwyer, Jonah Ray, Sklar Brothers and Matt Braunger.  Matt Dwyer, politically incorrect.  Jonah Ray, worried about his age.  Sklar Brothers telling a hysterical tale about running into Richard Simmons at an airport.  Matt Braunger making fun of twitter attacks.

The Sklar Brothers stole the show with their Richard Simmons story.

Josh -- Founder




Matt Dwyer



Jonah Ray



Sklar Brothers



Matt Braunger

Incan Abraham at The Satellite

Incan Abraham opened up the night at The Satellite.  Dual vocals.  A bassist who plays it cool.  And don't mind the borrowed drum set that argues that maybe the photo below is of The Henry Clay People.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Dallas Cowboys: 24-27

1.  You'd think the Steelers would be really pumped up to beat their arch-Super Bowl rival.
2.  You'd think Big Ben would be back to his old self after getting one game under his belt.
3.  You'd think the Steelers would know to keep care of the ball.

It wasn't to be.

Is the season falling apart?

I'm up on Intraffik: Silver Linings Playbook

I'm up on Intraffik with a review of Silver Linings Playbook.

Jhameel at Bootleg

Jhameel had the crowd dancing at The Bootleg.  Solid vocals.  Distinct image art.  Crowd pleasing.

Young Hunting at Bootleg

Young Hunting refused to tell the crowd their band name, but I was able to track them down.  This band is calmly thrilling.

Comment exchange of the night:

Crowd:  Yeah.

Band:  You saying you hate this?

Yeah can sometimes sound like hate :-)

Mind the Gap at Bootleg

Mind the Gap was first up at the Bootleg.  I was able to catch half the set.  The lead singer doesn't stop moving.  In fact, his movements across the stage were so constant that I wasn't able to capture a decent shot of him under the low lights.

 

Pacific Air at The Echo

Pacific Air held court on a Friday night at The Echo.

Their music makes you happy.

Comment of the night:  There is some space here by the photogs.  Come closer, make them work for their shots.

Night Terrors of 1927 at The Echo

It was off to see a friend in a new band called Night Terrors of 1927. This was only their second show.  This band has a couple songs out there that will just hook you immediately:  "Watch the World Go Dark" and "Dust and Bones."  If you head off to see them, you will be mesmerized by their set.  There is a wonderful flow to their music that drives you towards the conclusion.  The two front men are also backed up by the two awesome women that form another band, The Child.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. San Diego Chargers: 24-34

Okay, let's put it up to Big Ben coming back and being a little rusty.  For most of the first half they couldn't even move the ball.  Of course, I'm not sure it was all Big Ben's fault (I suppose fault isn't the proper word, it is more shaking off the rust) as there were a couple deep balls that one could argue that the receivers should have caught.

Duke Basketball vs. Temple: 90-67

This was a game that Duke never looked like it was in trouble.

For someone who is injured and from what I read doesn't practice a lot, Seth Curry sure doesn't seem to have lost his shooting touch or conditioning.

Mason Plumlee was solid.  The only negative I see is that he couldn't hit his free throws in this game.  Hopefully, that is just a one game issue though some of those shots didn't look all that great.

Alex Murphy got a few minutes of play.  It looks like he can score, but I swear he seemed to get beat every time on defense.

I've read that Plumlee number 3 will be playing in the next game.  From what I've read, he's more of a banger versus a scorer so it'll be interesting to see if his presence means even more rebounds and blocked shots for the team.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens: 23-20

This was a hard fought game with Pittsburgh winning it.  A nice revenge for the game two weeks prior. 

I didn't catch the Cleveland game, but from what I've read Charlie Batch looked pretty bad in that game.  For this game, he didn't look like Big Ben, but it did seem to me that he was always just about ready to take the Steelers to victory.

To me, it just felt like:  is there enough time left in the game for Charlie Batch to start clicking.

Well, there was enough time and we squeezed out a win.

From what I've read, the Steelers are unlikely to bring Charlie Batch back next year.  It was nice to see him get a victory.  Now Pittsburgh just needs to keep on winning to get to the playoffs.

Pu$$y Cow at Three Clubs

Pu$$y Cow played Three Clubs in Hollywood. You better like spaghetti.

The Blackhands at Three Clubs

The Blackhands played at Three Clubs recently. They're a punk band with a stand up bass. Unique and awesome.

In the Valley Below at the Bootleg

In the Valley Below played the Bootleg in November as the residency band.  It was a tad dark at the Bootleg when they played, but see the below picture and what stands out:  the hands.  The hands tell the story with this band.

LA Font at Bootleg

LA Font hit the stage at the Bootleg in November.  The lead singer moves on stage.

Comment of the night:  Come on, stop drinking.

Birds of a Black Feather at Bootleg

The sister duo Birds of a Black Feather hit the stage at Bootleg on a recent Thursday night. This band has beats that shake your body and vocals that sooth.

Battle Tapes at Bootleg

Battle Tapes hit the Bootleg with their electro synth rock sound.  I never think I saw someone ever attack his synth like the lead singer of Battle Tapes.

Iceland Vacation

I'm off on vacation so a photo series from my last vacation in Iceland.

Iceland Vacation

I'm off on vacation so a photo series from my last vacation in Iceland.

Iceland Vacation

I'm off on vacation so a photo series from my last vacation in Iceland.

Iceland Vacation

I'm off on vacation so a photo series from my last vacation in Iceland.

Iceland Vacation

I'm off on vacation so a photo series from my last vacation in Iceland.

Iceland Vacation

I'm off on vacation so a photo series from my last vacation in Iceland.

Iceland Vacation

I'm off on vacation so a photo series from my last vacation in Iceland.

Iceland Vacation

I'm off on vacation so a photo series from my last vacation in Iceland.

Iceland Vacation

I'm off on vacation so a photo series from my last vacation in Iceland.

Iceland Vacation

I'm off on vacation so a photo series from my last vacation in Iceland.

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Raves: 13-10

What could we expect with Ben Roethlisberger out for the game?

Well, it was a close game with Pittsburgh's defense playing solid; however, it just wasn't to be.

Byron Leftwich just wasn't ever able to get the offense rolling and it looked like he was playing injured.

Hopefully, we get it together next week.

The Record Company at The Satellite

The Record Company is the residency band for November.  Their lead singer at times sat and other times stood.  Either way, this band held your attention throughout their set.  Folks were dancing.  Blues and rock moved the body.

The Nervous Wreckords at The Satellite

The Nervous Wreckords commanded the stage at The Satellite. 

Some of my friends showed up randomly.  I soon understood why as I noticed that one of the band members came from a band that I used to see every so often called Roses on Her Grave.  The sound is different, but her style is not.  Everyone in the band was dressed down, but she was in tight leather, looking like a Sunset Strip woman (I used to see Roses on Her Grave at the Viper Room.)  

The crowd was packed close to the stage.  It was totally warranted. 

Trapper Schoepp & The Shades at The Satellite

Trapper Schoepp and The Shades come from Milwaukee.  They started their set at The Satellite with a group vocal and then went all rock 'n roll on us.  Trapper does the vocals while his brother carries a tune as well.  You also have a violinist who wows. 

Moment of the set:  I was checking my settings on my camera when suddenly Trapper jumps off stage and is playing right at my feet.  I was briefly the center of attention.

Duke Basketball vs. Kentucky: 75-68

This was the first meeting between these two teams since 2001.  This was also the first time I saw Duke play this season . . . well, considering it is only their second game it isn't like I'm that late to finally catch a game.

Duke was the better basketball team.  Kentucky has the better players.  And for this game team play beat up on talent.

Honestly, throughout the game it looked like Duke was going to win this game.  What kept Kentucky in the game appeared to be just their great talent.  A swear there were a couple plays where it looked like Kentucky had some power NBA players going.  But at other times, you could tell that you were watching freshman just getting taken advantage of by a veteran team.

As is my constant complaint about Duke:  the team only went 7 deep (Murphy and Jefferson only played a combine 6 minutes so I don't count them as "playing").  I'd really like to see those two get more minutes.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Kansas City Chiefs: 16-13

Bad weather equaled a game where both teams struggled.  Honestly, looking at the past games the Chiefs have lost, the Steelers should have blown this game wide open.  They weren't able to do this because of the play of linebacker Derrick Johnson who seemed to stuff a Steelers' running back on every play.

The big news is the injury to Ben Roethlisberger.  From what I'm reading and watching, he's probably out for one week.  Bad news, but it could have been worse news.  Let hope he is out for only one game.

Up on Intraffik: movie review of Flight

I'm up on Intraffik with a movie review of Flight.

Peter Pants at The Smell

Peter Pants was the last band of the night for me at The Smell. I swear it felt like I'd seen them before.  I think the answer; however, is no.  Maybe I've just seen them around the scene.  Anyways, this was the last gig for the drummer.  In some ways, she seems like the heart and soul of the band with her wild style on the drums.  This is a band where the bassist plays it calm while everyone else is going wild.  Crowd surfing was the norm for this set.  

Surf Curse at The Smell

Surf Curse came into The Smell from Nevada.  This two piece band played the smaller section of The Smell.  The place was packed.  Both the drummer and guitarist share vocals in this lo-fi band.

Comment of the set:  This isn't just a press zone.

The Aquadolls at The Smell

The Aquadolls were the first band up at The Smell.  My first thoughts, Sarah Jeanette and The Mulhollands.  That was driven more by style.  The sounds are much different.  The Aquadolls scream it out loud.  And on occasion you had a mosh pit forming.  On the other hand, like The Mulhollands, fun fun fun.  

Comment of the set  You're supposed to dance to this song or you're technically breaking the law.


 

The Child at the Spare Room

I missed the last few The Child sets. I didn't want to miss this one.  It was a little dark in the Spare Room to take photos, but who cares:  the set was great and sped pass too quickly.

This was my first time at the Spare Room.  Folks were bowling on a 2 lanes while The Child played.

Drive He Said at Silverlake Lounge

Silverlake Lounge is back doing residencies. Drive He Said is the residency band for November. This band was previously known as Maxim Ludwig.  A band I believe I first saw at Hotel Cafe.  Well, not being a new band, they didn't have a problem convincing the crowd that they were the real deal -- though perhaps they had a bit of a problem getting the crowd to singalong for one song; it worked out in the end as the lead singer is a convincing fellow.

The Brixtones at Silverlake Lounge

I caught The Brixtones at Silverlake Lounge on a recent Monday night.  This was a Brit invasion with a flair for the 70s.  

Raw Geronimo at El Cid

One of my favorite local bands, Raw Geronimo, closed out the night at El Cid recently.  They were dressed for the dead.

Noticed:  the band started off with the members shifted to one side.  I thought that was a bit strange.  They did shift quickly to a more symmetrical assembly, which made me feel like the universe was better aligned.

As always, a solid fun set. 

The Peach Kings at El Cid

It was a celebration of the dead at El Cid. The Peach Kings hit the stage first.  It was their video release party.  They had some technical problems with playing the video so they played their set first before showing the video.

One person described their music as bluesy.  Okay, I'll go with that.  From what I can tell, they are a two piece band that has a rotating drummer for hire situation -- yes, this was my first time seeing them.

My fun:  how many times would the guitarist have his hat fall off his head.  Let's just say it fell off his head a number of times.

What did I think of the set?  I loved it. 

Dia De Los Muertos at Hollywood Forever

It was off to Dia De Los Muertos at Hollywood Forever. As noted by the website, the day is "a vibrant traditional procession in the home of Hollywood's Immortals with traditional Aztec blessings and Regional Musical-Dance group dedications."

I went with friends, but in a way I wish I had gone by myself.  They zoomed pass many of the altars, while I wanted to stick around and contemplate the lives that were being celebrated.  Oh well, it was a fun night.

Ozomatli was the headliner band.  They had me jumping.  Unfortunately, I was too far away to take a decent photo of them so no photos posted of Ozomatli.



  

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New York Giants: 24-20

This was the second straight Steelers game that I've caught.

This one wasn't as easy as the game against the Washington Redskins.  It makes sense as the Giants are better than the Redskins.

First, I think the Giants got some favorable calls from the refs -- perhaps a little bit of pity for Hurricane Sandy?

Second, the Steelers front line allowed four sacks, an increase from last week; however, they proved themselves by helping the running game.  I do believe the front line is 2x as good as last year's version -- that is probably an exaggeration, but the front line is looking solid.

Third, Mike Wallace looked like he was no where to be found until he erupted for a touchdown.

Fourth, the Steelers defense looked awesome.  Earlier in the season, it looked like the defense just couldn't be trusted (especially in the Tennessee game -- I only caught a portion of it).  Against Washington, I thought the defense got a little lucky considering the Washington receivers couldn't seem to catch the ball.  This game was just total Steeler defense, especially in the fourth quarter where I believe the Giants had the ball three times and couldn't get a first down.

Fifth, I admit I was worried the Steelers were going to lose when they were down by 10, but even then I couldn't help but be pleased with how they were playing.  With Baltimore a bit beat up, we might actually have a good chance of winning the division.  If anything, I don't see why we can't have a solid 11-5 record come the end of the season.  12-4 I suspect is a more appropriate target.

Sixth, Sanders got taken down by the Washington kicker.  I figure, if you're going to get taken down by the kicker, at least slam into the kicker at full speed, yes?

Sirens vs. Varsity Brawlers: 144-125

It was off to see the Derby Dolls for the Championship Game: Sirens vs. Varsity Brawlers.  This was one close game.  The Sirens appeared to score most of their points via hard fought full jams.  The Varsity Brawlers made it close via 3-ish power jams.  I believe nearly half of the Brawlers points came from 3 power jams.  The Brawlers had tough defense, but the Sirens just had the better jammers that were able to score points here and there.

As for music:  The Magnificent gave an energetic half time set.

One bad thing:  they had what I believe were a couple powerful flashes around the building.  I unfortunately stood near one during the first half.  Near the flash, there was a void of folks as many decided to just leave the area.  It wasn't cool. It was powerful enough that I wouldn't be surprised if it caused one or two folks to come down with migraines.


 

Mr.Elevator & The Brain Hotel at The Bootleg

I caught Mr. Elevator and The Brain Hotel at The Bootleg this past Monday.  The audience was dressed in Halloween costumes.  The band gave us a touch of a beach sound.  Costumes worn by band:  western, fortune teller, snow bum.