Highland Kites and The Active Set at Harvard and Stone

Highland Kites

It was off to Harvard and Stone on a Wednesday night to catch a couple bands. Starting off the night was Highland Kites. There is a tenderness and heartfelt perspective in the vocals of the lead singer, Marissa. I also couldn't help noticing that the guitarist and bassist were having constant side conversations during song breaks. Each time, the guitarist would have a huge smile on his face. Now what were they discussing?

As I was walking towards Harvard and Stone, The Active Set was also heading towards the bar. As we crossed the street, one of the band members started to veer off in the wrong direction. The other members started to look at him, almost wanting to tell him, "Hey, you're heading in the wrong direction." When we got to the other side of the street, the guy walked over to a sleeping homeless person, tapped him on the shoulder, and handed him a container of food. Now that was a cool gesture.

So the lead singer is so tall that he needed to remove the microphone stand from the stage and put it on the boxes used in front of the stage that the monitors sit on.

FYI: The Active Set music is 75% melancholy.


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Barb Wire Dolls and Bad Cop/Bad Cop at Whisky a Go Go

Barb Wire Dolls

It was off to the Sunset Strip for the first time since the last time I saw Barb Wire Dolls. Yep, this band can get me to do the 45 minute drive to the Sunset Strip. Their lead singer Isis Queen gave the audience what they wanted, thirty minutes of punk rock vocals and stage show theatrics. They were doing a music video and so guitarist Pyn Doll started the show by announcing the necessary legal statement. Ha ha. I love how this band does things by the book.

Bad Cop/Bad Cop opened up for Barb Wire Dolls. I was worried I'd miss them as traffic to the Sunset Strip was bad. I made it and I'm happy I did. They were the perfect punk band to open for Barb Wire Dolls. Their mission statement has to be what they said during their set, "Life as a punk rocker." This band knows how to do a back foot stomp. This was also their record release party. The person on their record cover is one of the band mates' roommate. The roommate looks to be in his 60s, but he still knows how to join in on a mosh pit.

One has to say this about the Sunset Strip: bands on the Sunset Strip know how to entertain.


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Feels with Susan and Fire Retarded at The Hi Hat

Feels

Too much time had passed since the last time I saw Feels. So when I noticed they had a show at The Hi Hat, off I went without a thought. They closed the night out to a packed room. Maybe too much time has passed since I last saw them, but I couldn't help but feel that their new bass player (well, I suppose that depends on how long you've been following Feels and Raw Geronimo) was far better integrated with the band versus the last time I saw them. She helps highlight the free flowing style of Feels as Laena now takes on the additional role of guitarist along with singing.

Opening for them were Susan and Fire Retarded. The three Susans have smiling harmonies as they hit the garage/surf rock sounds. Maybe it was the stage light impact, but I do believe they were all dressed in black. I said a brief hello and asked if any of them were named Susan. No, they just like folks named Susan. I guess that was a cliche question. Of course, I've always found that I love folks named Laura so naming your band after Susans you like isn't that strange.

Fire Retarded was in from Wisconsin. Their music and stage presence hit the crowd like a bullet. Their punk show held the attention of an appreciative audience. What did I notice: Their drummer had a boxing/MMA championship belt around his waist. And at the end of each song, the lead singer would jump in the air as if he was in wild celebration.

What a great night.


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Alberta Cross with Sky White Tiger and Grand Canyon at The Satellite

Alberta Cross

Sometimes a band happens across your Instagram account. That was the case of Alberta Cross. So what did I do? I sent an e-mail to Press Here Publicity asking if I could get a photo pass. They were happy to do so. I, as well as a packed Satellite, was treated with an 1 hour 15 minute set. His rock-folk was very addictive. He was joined on stage by a member of Grand Canyon who played the steel guitar and Sky White Tiger's Louis Schwadron who played the French horn along with other musicians. I say "he" as Alberta Cross is Petter Ericson Stakee with friends.

Opening for Alberta Cross was Sky White Tiger and Grand Canyon. Sky White Tiger had hair like Kenny G and was joined by two ladies dressed in white. The two ladies in their white dresses reminded me of the sisters in Dracula movies. They would spend their time in avant garde motions as Sky White Tiger went with his pop sounds.

Grand Canyon went with vocal harmonies that reminded me of those days when I was at summer camp. Someone always knew how to play a guitar and we'd all sing songs around the camp fire. Listening to Grand Canyon makes you want to pack up and head off to Arizona, making sure you drag along a friend who knows how to play the guitar.


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A Dream: Seth Rogen and NPR

So some dream story time:

I was at my parent's. We were going on a family vacation. It really wasn't my parents house; however. It felt like a rented condo. I happened to hear on the radio, "This is NPR. Coming up next is Notes from Vivace and Seth Rogen. Notes from Vivace will be arguing one point of view while Rogen will argue the other."

I'm supposed to be on NPR? I talked to my mom, "Did you know that I'm supposed to be on NPR right now?" My mom said, "No, but your dad recently threw away an NPR letter that you got in the mail." What? I quickly called up NPR. I got to the radio personality and told him that I could only do a phone interview.

Suddenly, I was transported via the phone to the NPR radio booth. From there, I started to debate Seth Rogen.

End of dream.

Why NPR: Well, I was listening to an NPR recording that focused around former Duke basketball player, Quinn Cook.

Why Seth Rogen: I have no clue why he was in the dream though Neighbors 2 is out in theaters this weekend.

Madeline Spooner and Tiger March at The Satellite

Madeline Spooner

The night started out with singer-songwriter Madeline Spooner. She wore a black dress, which would have fit perfectly in a classic 1940s movie. She also wore an alien necklace locket, which would have fit perfectly in a classic 1950s sci-fi movie.

Comment of the night, as she was promoting her new song, "If you like it, I can sell it to you for a dollar." This was said with just a touch of an amused smile.

The crowd was very appreciative. She was friendly with the many folks who came to greet her on stage after her set. Someone yelled out, "It's like a press conference." Yes, it was.

Tiger March had some catchy tunes though unfortunately for them everyone was still talking to Madeline Spooner off to the side so their audience was initially small. After the crowd shifted back to the stage, folks started dancing to their music. The lead singer gave a smile to various folks in the audience, letting them know she appreciated them being there.


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Drinking Flowers with HOTT MT, Sachcloth and Axes, French Vanilla at The Echo

Drinking Flowers

I'm kind of sure that 2 bands cancelled on this Drinking Flowers residency night at The Echo. If so, French Vanilla and Sachcloth and Axes did a perfect job filling in.

French Vanilla had a punk/rap style. I couldn't help noticing lead singer Sally with her Calvin Klein label underwear. At times, she danced like she was getting ready for a boxing match.

The conversation of the night came when Sally stated, "This is like the most punk Monday night ever."

The response from someone in the audience, said in jest, "No, it isn't."

Her response after a dramatic pause, "Ouch."

Sachcloth and Axes went with the synth sound. On Facebook, the words "hard music" is used. At times, there were angry screams. Other times, the growls of demonic animals. I was into the music as was the audience. For some reason, the set was only 15 minutes. I couldn't help hear a complaint from the audience, "You're only doing a 15 minute set?"

Up next was our shoegaze duo: Drinking Flowers and HOTT MT. Drinking Flowers was on their third night of the residency. As they were setting up, I noticed one of the musicians waving around the fog that was coming from the fog machine. Then off they went with their psychedelic sound. They then did what I haven't seen another local band do for a while. They took an intermission and did a change of cloths. Then the glitter came out. I should have backed away from the stage. I still have glitter on my camera.

HOTT MT closed out the night. I usually don't stay for the midnight bands, but for HOTT MT, I made an exception. In fact, the reason I went to The Echo on this particular Monday night was because I knew HOTT MT would be joining Drinking Flowers. The last time I saw HOTT MT was in 2014 when they played Brokechella (now Broke LA).

What did I notice:

They brought up 3 painted panels for a backdrop.

Their lead singer sat on the floor while the other band members set up. I wonder if she's also still dealing with glitter.

As their set ended, the lead singer did this cute move of holding her hand above her eyes as she scanned the crowd, as if she were attempting to block out the sun.

Gavin Turek with DEDE and Monogem at the Bootleg Theater

Gavin Turek

Gavin Turek. Wow. She can dance for an hour straight. In fact, that's about how long of a set she graced us with. Usually, residency bands at the Bootleg Theater, Satellite, The Echo and Silverlake Lounge will give a 30 minute set. Probably helped by the fact that there were only 3 bands scheduled at the Bootleg, we were able to get a full hour of Gavin Turek. It even included a Prince cover encore.

The Bootleg was packed solid. I am pretty sure that folks were turned away at the door. I wouldn't be surprised if they moved her into the larger theater.

Amusing moment. So there were three of us photographers at the front of the stage. One was to my right. During the middle of the set, someone moved the video equipment that was on the stage, blocking a clean shot for the photographer. We shot each other a look and a shrug. Luckily, someone was willing to switch positions with him so that he could continue to take photos.

I know Gavin goes with a 70s look with her fringe dress and disco influences; however, I couldn't help but think of Anita Baker and Whitney Houston.

DEDE opened up the night with bedazzled pants and two lengthy braids. She had to keep her vocals low key as she was recovering from laryngitis. She goes with the techno dancing throughout her set, surrounded by a wall of synth beats. Monogem had folks dancing in a meditative state. She has soaring vocals that got quite a few folks screaming. Someone next to me really loved her song "Talk." Her comment of the set, "This song feels 100% like me."


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Keif Season, Alyeska and DYGL at The Smell

Alyeska

I was getting that itch to check out The Smell. So on a Friday night, I walked in at 9:15 p.m. and Keif Season had just started their set. The place was packed. It was also mosh pit city, which meant that someone like me was forced to the side. And there was some directed stage dives, as well. Young punk rock excitement ran through their set.

Alyeska (Alaska Reid) comes across as a rather contemplative teenager. Yet, when a band member from Keif Season started a brief mosh pit, I couldn't help but notice that a small smile crossed her face. Throughout her set, guys were screaming out, "I love you." Her response, "I love you too, except for whoever pissed on the toilet seat." I'm not sure if she's a Smell product. I noticed she's also played The Hi Hat. But if she is, she might be coming out as the next Kitten and The Aquadolls.

DYGL arrived from Japan. They had some issues setting things up. The microphones just didn't seem to want to cooperate. Interesting enough, I do believe all their punk/garage rock songs are in English.

After that, I headed off to Highland Park to check out the Plant Food For People food truck. I got myself a vegan taco. As I was walking back to my car, I was thinking, "Wow." Not just the food, but also the night at The Smell.


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The Soft White Sixties with Ellipses and Kolars at The Satellite

The Soft White Sixties

Ellipses opened up the night. Lead singer Tamara has that deep sexy voice while fellow singer Patrick has a sweet smooth sound. It makes for a fun interaction between the two vocals. The band started out their set by giving each other the middle finger. During their set, Tarama seemed to know a lot of the people in the audience so as the set was coming to a close she said, "I know we're terrible, but please come closer. Mom, please. It'll make us feel better."

Kolars is a two piece band featuring Rob and Lauren. They are a married couple, as well. Also, they've been in at least two other bands together: Lemon Sun and He's My Brother, She's My Sister. I've been privileged to see all three. I saw Lemon Sun once or twice, probably back in 2009-ish. Maybe even earlier. I then came across He's My Brother, She's My Sister in 2011. This band keeps some of the basics from the previous versions: Lauren stomping on the bass drum (for Lemon Sun she used to tap dance) and Rob on vocals. The genre has shifted from folk to a soft disco sound.

The Soft White Sixties has the May residency at The Satellite. Lead singer Octavio Genera rips a page out of the 60s. When it comes to dance moves, he has his foot work down. He just slid across that stage throughout the set. I think he could keep up (to a degree, let's not over-exaggerate) with Elvis Presley. Their music hits the dance beats of rock 'n roll.


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A Movie Review: Sing Street

Sing Street. Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) is growing up in Dublin. The year is 1985 and the economy is in the dumps. His father hasn't worked in awhile. His mother is working just 3 days a week. The family can no longer send Conor to his current school so he is sent to a Christian Brothers school, which is free (I'm thinking it was free). His first day is a mess. He walks into school and there are fights breaking out everywhere. He also unfortunately runs into the school bully. This encounter; however, hooks him up with a fellow student named Darren (Ben Carolan). As the two are leaving school one day, they notice a pretty young girl named Raphina (Lucy Boynton). Conor approaches her and learns that she wants to be a model. Conor quickly states that he's in a band and is looking for a model for his upcoming music video. The problem is that he has no band. To take care of that, Conor and Darren go off looking to start a band.

With inspirational help from Conor's brother Brendan (Jack Reynor), the band begins to develop their musical taste and style. As each song is develop, Raphina is the music video love interest. Conor falls for Raphina hard; however, Raphina currently has an older boyfriend and has dreams of moving to London.

Will Raphina eventually fall in love with Conor and leave her older boyfriend? What will become of this band with the catchy tunes?

This film was directed and written by John Carney who also is known for Once and Begin Again. With that, you know there are going to be some catchy tunes.

So how does this movie rank with those other two? I have my opinion and I'm sure others do, as well. I think I'll not rank them. Instead, I'll say that this is an excellent movie that gets you totally immersed in the 80s. There is something beautiful about the relationship between Conor and Raphina. Sure there is some teenage lust on Conor's part, but the underlying foundation of this relationship is an emotional connection. I also love the fact that this movie doesn't over-look certain aspects of the 80s that are inappropriate such as the gay jokes. It let's the viewer see how society changes and doesn't make these kids look like they are way ahead of their times.

Like all music films that have to wrap in a couple hours, there are my standard complaints. How did Conor learn to play the guitar when he initially stated to his band mates that he was just a singer? How did they progress to be such a great band in such a short period of time -- I've seen plenty of bands around Los Angeles who aren't nearly as good as Sing Street who were maybe together for a couple of months?  Why did Conor not know that his brother Brendan used to play the guitar? Admittedly, they were separated by 6 years, but did Conor never hear his brother practice? I will admit, I wish the movie had a different twist on the ending. I'm not saying that the decision that Conor and Raphina make at the end doesn't make sense as it totally makes sense in the context of the movie; however, I just think it could have been handled in a more realistic manner. In trying not to give away the ending, I'll just say that the ending is what two really stupid teenagers would attempt to do and would likely end up with them making major headlines in newspapers (of course, maybe that's the point).

Warning: accents are thick so it'll take a few minutes to understand what is being said. Luckily, Conor and Raphina are easy to understand, but some of the minor characters are more difficult to understand.

A Book Review: The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

The Corrections. I'll admit I initially found this book a bit of a bore. There's Alfred and Enid. Alfred is an uncompromising father and husband. He has a very stubborn streak, which results in him making some ill-advised decisions that negatively impact the financial situation of his family. Enid is over-involved in her adult children's lives. Their children are Gary, Chip and Denise. Gary is very successful in the world of finance (not Wall Street successful, but he does work for a solid mid tier firm) and yet he suffers from depression and a manipulative wife. Chip was a college professor who lost his job due to an affair with a college student. Nearing poverty level status, he takes on a job in Lithuania, defrauding American investors. Denise is a successful cook who seeks love that often results in negative outcomes.

The story moves back and forth from when Gary, Chip and Denise were children to the 1990s when they are adults and Enid is attempting to get the family together for one last Christmas as she inherently knows that with Alfred suffering from Parkinson's and dementia there won't be many moments left.

As mentioned at the start, I initially found this book a bit of a bore. I didn't really see anything interesting going on. Okay, Alfred and Enid weren't the perfectly fit couple, but they seemed to get along fine. Gary and Denise didn't have perfect lives, but their lives didn't appear horrible. Chip was a black sheep type of character. Whatever. Yet, I kept plugging along in this book, because I'd read how great a book it was. Well, let me say that the last 200 pages hit me like a hammer. The book just comes together in the most painful way as Alfred's life sprints towards his final days. An unknown fact is revealed that shows his deep love for one of his children. Another child is shown to hold a special place in Alfred's heart. This is a book that brings one to tears as the final pages are turned. I'm sure there are many readers out there that loved this book from the first page. It took me a while longer, but in the end I have to say this book is worth your time.

Pu$$y Cow, Manhattan Murder Mystery and Undercover Monsters at The Redwood Bar

Pu$$y Cow

What a night at The Redwood Bar. Undercover Monsters opened it up with some relentless punk. They were dressed in Hawaiian pool style. There were the coconut bras and hula skirt. And there was the big smile from the lead singer.

As for Manhattan Murder Mystery, this is a band I saw a number of times from 2010 - 2011. For some reason, they fell off my radar. This is, of course, my issue. I was really happy that I got to meet back up with them in 2016. I forgot how melodic their punk rock is and how they let their music unfold.

Lyric of the set: I was in the back of a cop car.

Noticed: Manhattan Murder Mystery had some nicely printed set lists.

Pu$$y Cow was headlining with the release of their 7-inch release party. They really know how to put on a show. Party streamers were brought out nearly immediately and by the end of the set the stage and floor near the stage was covered with streamers. The crowd was pressed close.

Noticed: someone threw a roll of streamers at the stage and it landed in a whisky glass. I wonder if they called it.

Lead singer Joe, as normal, was half naked by the end of the set.


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Transviolet and Freedom Fry at The Satellite

Transviolet

I have to admit that I decided to see Transviolet for the second time during their April residency, because I wanted to capture some cool photos of lead singer Sarah jumping off the bass drum -- I'm not totally satisfied with the two shots I took.

Yet, I walked away a huge fan. Their music infuses your body with a sense of total freedom. And Sarah sings with such passion. Also, I love the fact that during Freedom Fry's set, for much of the set she was the sole person standing right up front. You've got to love someone who is out supporting fellow musicians and doesn't care if no one else is joining her.

Noticed: I believe Sarah's relatives were in the audience -- I'm thinking mother and grandmother. Anyways, they were singing along to various songs.

Freedom Fry opened up for Transviolet. Marie Seyrat and Bruce Driscoll are the duo of this band along with a couple backup musicians. There is this near tender interaction between these two musicians that also influences their music. Looking through their bio, I learned the two are married, which makes perfect sense.


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