Kind Hearts and Coronets at Pershing Square

It was off to Pershing Square to catch Kind Hearts and Coronets. A band that includes a variety of instruments: the standard bass, guitar, keys and drums; but also the use of a trumpet and violin. It was a pleasant night under the stars for a 45-ish minute set.

Comment of the night:  You can come closer to the stage, you don't need to stay behind the gates.

The Mo odds at Harvard and Stone

It was off to Harvard and Stone to catch The Mo odds.  The band has added a new guitarist and saxophonist.

Amusing moment:  the lead singer attempted to get onto the bar top.  Try and try, but he just couldn't make it.    

 Comment of the night (from the audience): Less cloths.

Bloomfest Photo Series: Grace Woodroofe

Grace Woodroofe

Bloomfest Photo Series: Helena

Helena

Bloomfest Photo Series: Carnage Asada

Carnage Asada

Bloomfest Photo Series: The Neighbourhood

The Neighbourhood

Bloomfest Photo Series: NO

NO

Bloomfest Photo Series: Saccharine Trust

Saccharine Trust

Bloomfest Photo Series: Swords of Fatima

Swords of Fatima

Gambling as a lifestyle

File this under how does he do it. This professional sports gambler, "Jimmy", averages 200%-300% returns a year.

I bet on two things: March Madness and the track. Some day I will win the March Madness pool, but for now I end up in the middle of the pack each year. As for horses, I believe I'm in the black, but I bet in such a conservative manner that by black I mean that I'm up $0.50. Last two outings: down at Hollywood, up in Vegas, it all about equaled out.

A Movie Review: Beasts of the Southern Wild

Beasts of the Southern Wild. This movie focuses in on Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) and her father, Wink (Dwight Henry). They live on an island called Bathtub, which is off the coast of New Orleans (or close enough). They are in front (behind?) the levees and so when a massive storm hits the water floods the island and doesn't drain away.  Their lifestyle is essentially ruined.

I know that critics love this movie and that's why I went to see it, but I didn't really like it.  First, I couldn't help but think:  why are these folks living in conditions like this, absolute squalor.  I understand that there are many folks in America who are very poor, but there is no need to live in an area like this.  Second, Hushpuppy has fantasies of ancient creatures called aurochs.  Doing a little Internet search, these were domesticated cattle, but this movie deals with these creatures before such domestication.  I just wasn't into seeing a version of Where the Wild Things Are.  Third, is there really a point to this movie?  Yes, the daughter loves her father who is both distant and nearing his death bed.  I just didn't feel emotionally invested in the situation.

Sorry, I know that critics loved this movie and I feel bad for coming out on the other side, but so it is.

Colorado Movie Rampage

From the LA Times (Michael Muskal, 20 July 2012), Colorado rampage suspect is James Holmes; apartment booby-trapped:

The suspect in the shooting rampage at a Colorado movie theater has been identified as James Holmes, described by law enforcement sources as a loner . . . He allegedly entered the theater through an exit door about half an hour into the local premier of the Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises.” At least 12 were killed in the attack.

Horrible. Don't know what else to say.

JMSN, Frank + Derol and DWNTWN at Bootleg

It was off to Bootleg to catch JMSN, Frank + Derol and DWNTWN. Now I usually don't show up for the first band, but for some reason this time I did. I arrived just shortly after Frank + Derol started their set. What did I notice? First, the place was packed and mostly with women in their early 20s. Second, I immediately found myself entranced with their music. Lead singer Codi has a delightful voice. Finally, the guitarist, Brandi, looked amazingly familiar.  I'm not into tween pop, but it isn't like I don't know some of the tween pop stars.  That's the hint you get.  And oh, no one in the band is named Frank or Derol.


DWNTWN came up next.  Now my experience at the Bootleg is that the staff likes to keep the front of the stage open (I'm assuming this is so that they can easily walk through the area).  I think most of us by now understand this request and so all of us were standing about a yard from the stage.  The lead singer from DWNTWN; however, asked, "What's up with this space by the stage.  Come up front."  Well, that was a request that wasn't to be denied and many of us moved up front.  The staff was cool with it and let it be.  What did I notice about DWNTWN, lead singer loves to fling her hair and dance to their electronic sound.


JMSN is the residency band for July.  I didn't know what to expect.  First, I noticed the stage set-up.  White sheets were brought on stage (for video) and chairs were lined up stage right (for strings).  This was going to be interesting.  Second, his music goes down smooth, making you want to sway to his tunes.  Third, while looking through the photos I took, I noticed that the string musicians had detailed music sheets.  This is a guy who takes his music seriously.


P.S. To the concert photographer that I was talking to during the JMSN set (should you ever come across this blog post), I'm sorry that I wasn't paying too much attention to your comments.  I do promise to follow through with a couple of your suggestions:  shooting at 60 and paying more attention to my exposure.  I like taking photos, but I also like listening to the music.  I just felt like I was being distracted.  All is good.  If we run into each other again, please feel free to continue providing me with your thoughts -- or even leave a comment on this post!!!


Frank + Derol

DWNTWN

JMSN

Up on Intraffik: Savages

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

Moby at the Annenberg

I'm going to do a summer write-up on this for Intraffik so I only have a couple sentences here about the night.

Comment of the night:  This song is about doing blow with hookers.

Over-all, an awesome night (though I was unprepared for the chilly weather . . . I on the east side.)

Who Shot Rock & Roll exhibit

It was off to see Moby at the Annenberg Space, but first stop was to catch the Who Shot Rock & Roll exhibit at the Annenberg Space. I have an interest in that.  The exhibit starts with shots of musicians as they're just starting out in their careers -- a photo of Madonna on the street captured because the photographer remembered her from the gym.  It them moves on to more sophisticated portraits, used for magazines.  Then it closes with live shots from shows, which is what I found most interesting.  The shot of Red Hot Chili Peppers is just amazing as it a shot of Elton John.

Go check it out.  You have until October 7, 2012.

Sports Car

I think someone has not spent their money wisely when they buy a sports car and end up driving 5 miles below the speed limit.

Elevators

Is there something to worry about when you get into an elevator and before it starts to go to the floor you want to reach, the doors open and close five times and quick fashion?  I say so.  When the elevator got to my floor, I practically jumped out.

Lost Lander and Terraplane Sun at The Satellite

It was to The Satellite to catch Lost Lander and Terraplane Sun. Lost Lander started the night off for me.  They're a band from Portland.  Now I haven't seen a lot of bands from Portland, but I've never been disappointed with a band from Portland.  It was no different this past Monday night.  The lead singer's shoes were of interest.  I saw a couple young women taking photos of his shoes -- or maybe they were taking a photo of something else, but in my opinion they were taking photos of his shoes.

Lyrics: We have a wonderful world, because it feels so awsome at the moment.

The So So Courteous Comment of the Night: We started our set late. Does that mean we need to stop early or can we play our full set?

As for Terraplane Sun, they're the are from the Westside.  They rocked us with some blues driven rock.  I wasn't at The Satellite last week, but if I heard correctly the keyboard went out on the exact same song this week as last week.  Eerie.  This is a band that likes to mix it up with the musical instruments.  A trombone came out for a couple songs and a mandolin for perhaps half the set.

Lost Lander


Terraplane Sun

Up on Intraffik: June Soundtrack

I haven't done one of these in awhile. I'm up on Intraffik with my June Soundtrack.

A Movie Review: In Time

In Time.. Midway through the movie, I was like, I know the waitress. She’s Emma Fitzpatrick from The Mots Nouveaux.

I saw this while on a plane so I couldn’t totally follow everything that was said. Apparently, there is a genetic break through that allows folks to live forever. However, they have to pay for this privilege. Everyone is genetically 25 forever, but there is a clock on their arm which indicates how much time they have left. The world is also set up in zones. Only 2 zones are highlighted in this movie: the poverty zone and the wealthy zone. Zones are walled off and you must run off time to enter a higher zone. A young man (Justin Timberlake) is in the poor zone. He happens to run across someone from the wealthy zone who has given up on life. This man gives the other all his remaining years. Time is tracked and the police know something went down. The chase is on.

It seems like an interesting concept movie though I didn’t get the ending. Why is our couple running at the end of the movie? Maybe I didn’t hear the reason why for that one. Though not brilliant, I think it is better than some of the recent action flicks I’ve seen such as The Gray and Haywire.

A Movie Review: The Three Musketeers

The Three Musketeers (2011).  Note: I caught this movie on a small airplane screen. The Musketeers find that they’ve been stabbed in the back and this embarrassment along with government cutbacks drives them into retirement. New blood enters via a just too cocky kid. A new adventure to save the French monarchy arrives just at the right time.

This movie is so bad. Let’s start with flying ships .. . oh please. It makes it look like fantasy land versus France and England. And the king looks so pathetic that you can’t help but wonder why the three + one musketeers are supporting the king. Can’t they see that the king is hurting France? Why not help over throw the king? And the cocky kid is so cocky you personally want to smack him upside the head. A guy makes fun of his horse for defecating and the kid wants to fight it out because of the insult to his horse. Kid you have problems.

The Shakers, Black Carl and Pink Fuzzy Animals at the Viper Room

I'm likely going to include this in one of my Intraffik posts so I'll just keep this person post to photos only.

Pink Fuzzy Animals

Black Carl

The Shakers

A Movie Review: Prometheus

Prometheus. Archeologists find ancient alien cave paintings that point to a planet (moon). Why exactly did they leave cave paintings versus something more sophisticated? Perhaps these paintings were meant to be worshiped versus directions to a moon that our researchers assume? A $1 trillion investment is made to search for these beings. After two years in space, the ship and crew end up at the moon. They find that the moon was once inhabited; however, it appears that all are now dead. It isn’t giving anything away as one can see it in the trailer that not all are dead. In fact, one alien space ship attempts to leave and it is assumed that it is heading towards earth. Our group jump to the conclusion that the ship is off to attack earth. I don’t know about this conclusion. It seems to me via the fact that we see all these dead bodies piled up that maybe the aliens were simply wanting to escape the planet and weren’t necessarily off to destroy earth. This movie is meant to have a sequel (or two). Maybe I’m right and the conclusions drawn by our brave explorers were totally wrong. The movie is fun scifi entertainment though as it doesn't have a definitive answer one can either hate the movie or love it based on what conclusions you draw.

A Movie Review: Snow White and the Huntsman

Snow White and the Huntsman. I read various comments made by friends on Facebook about this movie. Some loved this movie. Others hated it. I personally enjoyed it. Kristen Stewart is back. I’ve seen the Twilight movies (more as a joke than out of anticipation) and to me her acting in those movies is horrendous. In this movie, I fell back in love with her. And doing the whole Joan of Arc role was a wonderful twist to the classic.

A Movie Review: Moonrise Kingdom

Moonrise Kingdom. A fun tale of pre-teen romance between an outcast boy scout and a slightly disturbed young woman. The movie starts out with Sam (Jared Gilman) running away from his troop. He meets up with Suzy (Kara Hayward) at a pre-designated spot and off they go to escape those who torment or don’t understand them. I found it to be a wonderfully quirky movie. All the characters are just a little zany. I will admit to feeling a bit squeamish when Suzy allows Sam to feel her up. She’s like thirteen (the actress). But other than those brief couple of seconds, I was totally enthralled by this movie.

Family of the Year and Tashaki Miyaki

It was Bootleg bound to catch Family of the Year and Tashaki Miyaki. Tashaki Miyaki was the first band of the evening.  I actually went to the Bootleg on this particular Monday to catch Tashaki Miyaki.  Correction, I went to the Bootleg to catch Family of the Year, but I went on this particular Monday of Family of the Year's two week residency because of Tashaki Miyaki.  As I've never seen this band before, why would I go on this particular night because of them?  The simple reason is that the band name intrigued me.  I thought they were playing at 11 p.m., but they went on at 9 p.m. instead.  Luckily, I showed up early.  Their sound?  Well, bloggers are describing them as similar to Jesus and Mary Chain.  Sounds good enough to me.  My personal take:  brooding and intriguing.  I'd have a photo of them below, but they requested that no photos be taken.

Family of the Year took the stage next.  This is the feel good band of Los Angeles.  After one of their 30 minutes sets, I just can't help but smile.  The first half of their set was driven by their now familiar songs -- songs that I am more than happy to sing along with -- while their second half was new material.  

Comment of the Night 1 (audience):  Family of a Lifetime.

Comment of the Night 2 (Family of the Year):  We have our album for sale.  It is a pay what you can deal.  You can even pay us with pills . . . you know the kind I mean . . . Tylenol.      

Family of the Year

Happy 4th of July

USA!!!

Raw Geronimo and VUM at HM157

It was off to Lincoln Heights and a place called HM157 to catch VUM and Raw Geronimo.  This was my first time heading over to HM157.  It is a historic house and on this night the bands played out in the back yard.

I only got to catch perhaps 15 minutes of VUM, not cool.  I really do like this band.  Lead singer Jennifer Pearl's voice is hauntingly beautiful.  I'm sure that I could listen to her voice for hours on end.  (I showed up at 11 p.m., which was when I thought VUM was going to start their set, but I have a feeling they started earlier than that.)  Raw Geronimo was showing their music video "Shot on the Spot" and then closed out the night with a set.  The sound was perhaps toned down a bit due to the outdoor venue, but the chanting wonder was still there.  

VUM

Raw Geronimo

Up On Intraffik: Lisbon Part III

I'm up on Intraffik with Part III (final) of my Lisbon adventure.

A Book Review: Songbook by Nick Hornby

Songbook by Nick Hornby.  So I like the music scene, but Nick Hornby's knowledge of music is way way way more advance than my own.  And except for perhaps a couple songs, a song doesn't immediately pull me back in time -- which is the whole purpose of the book.  I guess perhaps this is why I was just a bit bored reading through Songbook.  I just couldn't relate in full.  I also couldn't relate in full to one of his other books that dealt with futbol/soccer, Fever Pitch.  I don't follow soccer.  I didn't even know about this team called Arsenal.  Anyways, why do I keep reading what I call Nick Hornby's passions books?  A friend bought these two books for me as gifts and so I felt compelled to read them.  It isn't that he isn't a great writer.  It is that I don't really know who Mark Mulcahy is.  I will say, YouTube works wonders.