Over a month had passed since I last went to Zebulon. That was a long gap and it needed to end. I noticed that there was a free night that featured Dominique Matelson. She was celebrating the upcoming release of her third studio album The Difficult Way. I had never seen her before. Nor had I heard of the other two singers that were in support. Did that give me any pause about going? Of course, not. It instead piqued my interested.
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| Dominique Matelson at Zebulon |
Palindrome singer Easae (moniker for Marissa Barbalato) took to the Bar Lubitsch stage for a WFNM showcase night. This was my third time catching a set. I saw a couple sets in 2024 at Hotel Ziggy. Of course, I had to take a look and listen to those prior performances. My amusing take on what I noticed as being different between 2024 and 2026? For both 2024 sets, she did an old school MTV Unplugged performance where she was sitting on a high chair. This time around, the high chair was gone. It meant that those vocals came out all the more powerful.
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| Easae at Bar Lubitsch |
Prior to coming onto the Zebulon stage, Dolly Creamer (lead by Sarah Rebecca Harris) had a group hug. Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town" boomed from the speakers. It seemed appropriate as the band spent early July doing a 9 stop tour in Alaska. I think a good first assumption would be that the band has an affinity for nature. Maybe that was the impetus for doing the tour, but Harris later admitted, "I realized in Alaska that I'm just not that outdoorsy. Here, you can be outdoorsy, but you don't have to be."
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| Dolly Creamer at Zebulon |
What lifestyle will Mila Rubina's kids have? "MY KIDS WILL BE NEPO BABIES," she boldly proclaims on her Instagram page. Based on her Bar Lubitsch (a WFNM showcase) performance, she's on her way to settling up her kids for generational wealth. Is there a playfulness to that proclamation? She is the "world's only natural yellow haired" individual so that provides a clue.
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| Mila Rubina at Bar Lubitsch |
I first crossed paths with Johanna Samuels in 2018. The first two encounters were at the Bootleg Theater. The first encounter was when she was opening up for The Wild Reeds and Allie Buckley (it was her residency night). Later on that year, she had her own residency at the venue. I caught her again in 2019 and then venues shut down. It took a few years, but I crossed paths with her once again for her 2023 album release party that I covered for Buzzbands. The night was held at Zebulon. Fast forward to 2026 and I noticed that she was having a record release party for her third studio album Sorry, Kid. It was also being held at Zebulon (a Sid the Cat night). Buzzbands has gone into semi-retirement mode so I covered this particular night for US Rocker Music. You can read that review if you so wish.
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| Johanna Samuels at Zebulon |
Pillow Fight didn't bring any pillows to Rocknite's showcase at The Airliner Bar, but their lo-fi, garage rock set more than entertained. I have to say that lead singer-guitarist Adam Stafford made the move of the night by reaching up to a stage light and angling it from stage-center to stage-left. The reason it was the move of the night was because all three bands featured co-lead vocalists and all three bands avoided the middle of the stage. So it helped out the photographers (there were three of us out on this particular night) for the whole night.
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| Pillow Fight at The Airliner Bar |
A Handful of Show Alerts
Sunday, Aug 16th: Harry Katz and the Pistachios at Alex's Bar. Doors at 2 p.m.Music that you hear when in high school or college is encoded into your being. I was past my college years when I started to hang out in the Los Angeles music scene all those many years ago and yet I feel like certain bands just stand out in my memory. In those very first years, there was Automatic Music Explosion and The Mulhollands. Shortly after that, there was Queen Kwong and Rocket. Those were all pop-punk-rock bands. Then the Americana wave (the precursor to the current country wave) hit Los Angeles and I got swept up in that via Eastern Conference Champions (Mondo Cozmo), Honey Honey and Local Natives. Jenny O was part of that wave of music. Many of the mentioned bands have long called it quits. Jenny O is still going strong and putting out music that has you (or maybe just me) getting misty eyed.
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| Jenny O at Zebulon |
Worthitpurchase (the duo of Nicole Rowe and Omar Akrouche) came through The Airliner Bar for a Rocknite showcase. They were playing songs off their upcoming album. They mentioned that they just finished mixing the album that will be called Near Life Experiences. Akrouche gave a chuckle after making the announcement and Rowe responded, "Let us know in the comments if that is a stupid name." Someone in the crowd yelled out an alternative suggestion of Near Life Compilations. So are they set with the album title? The chuckle has me thinking there is a chance they were telling a joke. I guess we'll find out shortly.
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| Worthitpurchase at The Airliner Bar |
Beaming (the duo of Braden Lawrence and Derek Ted) closed out the night at a recent Rocknite showcase at The Airliner Bar. Braden Lawrence is the drummer for The Districts while Derek Ted works with Field Medic. The duo brought their fan base to The Airliner Bar. I noticed it immediately when those in the crowd were singing the lyrics to the opening song "Stuck (here)" louder than the band. It only took that one song to sweep me into a sense of meditation.
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| Beaming at The Airliner Bar |
Gold Child (moniker for Emily Fehler) opened up the night for Gracie and Rachel at Permanent Records Roadhouse (a Sid the Cat night). Gracie and Rachel were celebrating the release of the album If We Could, Would We. In a way, this was a release party for Gold Child, as well. At the start of the year, she released her EP Angelina Jolie. It is a four track EP where she wears her heart on her shirt sleaves.
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| Gold Child at Permanent Records Roadhouse |
The Bluesadelic Sessions put on a showcase at The Den Studios with the headliner being One Tribe Nation, fronted by Living Colour's Corey Glover. Starting off the night was glam blues band Sugarmill Slim (fronted by Anders LaSource). This wasn't my first time coming across the band. I previously saw the band back in 2023 at Zebulon. I knew I was in for some good music. I'm not sure all were convinced about the music; however. There was The Den Studios' dog that was hanging out (Brisket, I do believe). For a portion of the set, the dog sat in the middle of the floor, facing the band. Yet, the dog seemed to be mesmerized by his toy.
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| Sugarmill Slim at The Den Studios |
I had the opportunity to cover Gracie and Rachel for US Rocker Music for their recent set at Permanent Records Roadhouse (presented by Sid the Cat). I had not previously heard of the band before when I received the invite to cover the band (as is often the case for me). I took a listen to maybe one or two of their songs and agreed to cover the set. I liked their self described chamber pop tunes. It kind of reminded me of the soundtrack to a minimalist movie set out in nature, far from the population centers.
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| Gracie and Rachel at Permanent Records Roadhouse |
