The last time I saw Switchfoot was back in 2009. In fact, I saw them 3 times that year. One of those times was at The Wiltern. Time flies, because 17 years passed and I finally caught the band again -- at The Wiltern. That was some 7 albums ago? I was also able to secure a photo pass so I got to run around the venue, taking photos from various location. If you are interested, you can read my review of the night here on US Rocker Music.
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| Switchfoot at The Wiltern |
I recently got to cover Anberlin at The Wiltern. They were opening for Switchfoot. Both were out on tour to promote new albums. Switchfoot had already released Forever Now while (at the time) Anberlin had an upcoming album CURRENCY. I covered the night for US Rocker Music and you can read the review here.
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| Anberlin at The Wiltern |
It was off to Substance Fest for the second year in a row. Goth, synthpop, heavy on the bass music is not my usual go-to genres, which is why I love going to this festival. It introduces me to bands that are new to me. You can read my US Rocker Review here.
As if to emphasize the gothic nature of the night, The Belasco went heavy with the red lights throughout the festival. I know that red is a hated color for photographers (me included), but for some reason I don't mind the shade of red that The Belasco uses.
Madeline Goldstein got to perform on the main stage and I happened to capture a photo that I really love.
Scanning through Void Vision's Instagram (moniker for Shari Vari), I learned that "the synth queen" is a mainstay at the annual Substance Fest. This was only my second time at the festival (held at The Belasco) and first time catching the synth queen. (Last year, Void Vision played the San Francisco leg of the festival.)
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| Void Vision at Substance Fest / The Belasco |
Skylet Gunner (moniker for Katie Di Cicco) popped up on my radar back in 2022. I saw her two times in 2022 and then twice again in 2023. Then she dropped off of my music radar. When I saw that she was playing a WFNM showcase at Bar Lubitsch, I circled the night. During the set, I learned why I no longer noticed that she was playing around town. She spent time in Berlin and then Nashville before coming back to Los Angeles.
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| Skylet Gunner at Bar Lubitsch |
Recent Belmont graduate Emma Mowery was the opening act at a recent WFNM showcase night at Bar Lubitsch. Her set was a tender singer-songwriter set with Neta Rozenblat (wrote a Song Spotlight of his song "Blood and Ink" back in September, which you can read here) accompanying her on acoustic guitar. Out in the audience, her mom and friends were filming the moment.
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| Emma Mowery at Bar Lubitsch |
I first came across Madisenxoxo (aka Madisen Halberg) a little over a year ago for a Rocknite x Make Out Music collaboration night. I have to say that was a solid night of music with Still Blank and Sophia Roze also on the bill. If interested, I wrote a Song Spotlight about her song "Control Freak" based on that night, which you can read here.
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| Madisenxoxo at The Fable |
Abby Walker and Alex Carr was the opener for a Ryan Pollie showcase night at The Fable. I happened to arrive at The Fable early and got to hear a portion of their sound check. I knew immediately that I was going to enjoy their set. The duo was testing out new material that they are recording for an upcoming album release. Joining the duo on violin was Raina Markham.
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| Abby Walker and Alex Carr at The Fable |
Ragamuffs (moniker for Hailey Finesse) recently moved from Honolulu, Hawaii to Los Angeles, California. My family comes from Hawaii so when she mentioned that fact during her Rocknite showcase set at The Airliner Bar, my interest in her music jumped. Rounding out the band on this particular night was Val Sepulveda on drums and Klauds on bass.
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| Ragamuffs at The Airliner Bar |
Club Oro is the brainchild of siblings Cassandra and Connor Cronin. The duo live (or at least used to live based on Internet sleuthing) in Glendale. I live in Glendale. They're also a favorite of Buzzbands. I love Buzzbands. The band has been around since 2017-ish. The stars finally aligned properly and I crossed paths with them recently at a Rocknite showcase over at The Airliner Bar.
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| Club Oro at The Airliner Bar |
I recently got to photograph Castle Rat at The Belasco. I did a review of the set for US Rocker Music, which you can read here. For me, at least, there was an unusual occurrence on this particular night. Usually, at these larger venues with a photo pit, photographers can to shoot the first three songs before having to leave the pit. For Castle Rat, it was the first two songs and then they let us back in towards the end of the set.
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| Castle Rat at The Belasco |
Brutus VIII (moniker for Jackson Katz) opened up for Tankerlow (you can read that article here) who were celebrating their sophomore album SLAGROOM. His Zebulon set was an industrial experimental thrill ride. Throughout the set, one could hear William S. Burroughs spoken-word Dinosaurs - a desire for humanity to keep on evolving.
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| Brutus VIII at Zebulon |
