The Shakers and Rich Podgur @ Kibitz

It is always nice to head off to the Kibitz to hang with my friends, The Shakers, who have a Wednesday residency that starts around midnight. I was able to do this twice in the last month, because this is the holiday season and times at work aren't that intensive so hanging out late at night isn't an issue. First off for the night was Rich Podgur.



And then the Shakers.

Seamonsters, Venus Illuminato, The Muddy Reds @ Silverlake Lounge

I headed off to Silverlake Lounge to catch some random bands.

I arrived a tad late. I believe I missed about three songs from Seamonsters. They're a band from NY and Washington DC. The lead singer mentioned their bass player and how a number of her family members were in the audience. There was a guy taping the whole set who I figured was either her father or uncle. They had a good set. I'd check them out again if they were based out here in Los Angeles.





Next up was a band called Venus Illuminato. First thing I noticed, a violinist (if this individual comes across this blog, I apologize if you really were playing a viola or other string instrument) was in the band and since I'm partial to strings in bands I was hooked. Next, I saw some incense at the front of the stage, which implied to me that this band was going to be a bit unique. And finally, one couldn't help but notice the bevy of beauties that stood around the stage, some with faces painted. A guy has to stick around for that. (If you're going to be a male-lead-singer band with the word Venus in your band name you better have female fans.) What about the band? They're great. I'd head out to catch one of their sets. I believe they had a set list of six, but played for 30 minutes plus. Long, lovely drawn out songs.









The final band of the night was The Muddy Reds. I almost left to go catch Mere Mortals' final night at Spaceland, but since the first two bands were so awesome, I decided to stick around for the last band of the night. They were obviously friends with Venus Illuminato, because a number of the Venus Illuminato fans were dancing away and talking with The Muddy Reds guys. In fact, someone called the sister of one of the band members and handed the phone over. And . . . the sister lived in New York, if I heard correctly, which means it was around 3 a.m. out there.

Update January 7: See comment that clarifies the connection between The Muddy Reds and Venus Illuminato.

Went to Griffith Park to walk around the Holiday Lights

My initial opinion: a massive advertisement for all things Los Angeles.

Anyways, it was a nice walk.

Local Natives: A bit of mourning for missing their set at The Echo

So stupid me. I could have bought a ticket in advance, but I decided I'd just head on over to The Echo to see one of my favorite bands, Local Natives. Sold out. I blame it on this LA Times article. It is what it is . . . good for them for having a sold out show. Maybe it wasn't the article at all. Maybe the article is just catching up with the fact that this band rules. Anyways, in mourning, I paste some photos into my blog.

The Meeting Places and Mere Mortals at Spaceland

Off to Spaceland I went where I caught The Meeting Places and Mere Mortals. This was a night of shoegaze heaven. I arrived right after the first band ended their set. The DJ began playing Local Natives, he/she put on the whole EP. Awesome.

The Meeting Places took the stage. Around their second song, the bass player asked, "Do you like shoegaze? I like shoegaze." The answer is yes, because The Meeting Places were great. Since the crowd was a bit thin, the bass player encouraged people to come to the front. I didn't understand what he was saying, but he did seem to be trying to sweep away the ghost people in front of the stage so that the real people could come up front. A couple took him up on his offer after he got rid of all the ghost people who were hogging up the front. Everyone else hung in the back, scared that the ghost people would come back.

Mere Mortals were next. They spend most of their set up time decorating the stage in Christmas lights. Towards the end of the set, the lead singer explained as he was pointing to the lights, "We have these year round. It isn't a Christmas thing. It is a Mere Mortals thing."

Anyways, I'd last seen Mere Mortals around March/April when they played with The Mulhollands at Cinespace. I've always wanted to check them out again. I finally did.

I have to make this one note: Spaceland was probably 30-40% filled. Way sad. More folks should check out Mere Mortals. I know they're shoegaze, which isn't really what Mondays are known for at Spaceland, but it is a shame the place wasn't packed. Hopefully, the reason is related to the holiday season.

The Meeting Place





Mere Mortals

The Monthlies, The French Semester and The Spires at The Echo

I went out to The Echo on Tuesday night to catch up with The Monthlies. A friend actually mentioned this night to me, because she wanted to catch
The French Semester.

I missed part of The Monthlies set. I showed up around 9:15 p.m. Probably missed 1 or 2 songs. Some notes: the lead singer was wearing long underwear, because of the weather. It was chilly outside. It was cold inside. I don't know what was up, but it was cold inside The Echo. They were also anxious about getting to play "Hip Girl." They mentioned that it was their next song twice. It was always just one further song away.





Next up was The French Semester. This was their album release party. This was the second time I'd seen them. The first being at Silverlake Lounge. I technically saw them at the Eagle Rock Music Festival, but since I only caught less than a minute of their set I won't really count that one. They're a multicultural band that perhaps is more likely occur in Los Angeles versus other parts of the country.








Final band of the night were The Spires. They hail from Ventura. After their first song and audience clapped and the lead singer responded, "Hey, we expect more than that. We're playing hard up here." Perhaps this sounds rude in written word. It was sort of amusing. They were good, worth checking them out the next time they're in Los Angeles.

Mack Winston and the Reflections and Tamaryn at Bootleg Theatre

Sunday was one of those nights to just check out a random band. So off I went to the Bootleg Theatre.

First band I saw was Mack Winston and the Reflections. Next was artist Tamaryn. Tamaryn was in from San Francisco. For being from San Francisco, she had a lot of fans. As she went on stage, about 10 people walked out from the room behind the stage and took their places in front. One of them took a seat on the floor. It was an interesting moment, the way they just walked out. Anyways, to end the set, the drummer left, then the guitarist and bass player. Then Tamaryn left the stage. The smoke machine worked overtime throughout. An interesting night.

Mack Winston and the Reflections





Tamaryn

Brandi Emma, The Shakers and The Mulhollands @ Fox and Hounds

My nearly automatic monthly trip to Fox and Hounds had the added bonus of getting to see The Mulhollands. First up was Brandi Emma. I hadn't seen her before.

Some notes:

I think Brandi Emma was a bit worried that she wasn't connecting to the audience. She was; however, happy to see Sarah Jeanette from The Mulhollands in the audience and who was listening intently.

There was a older woman dancing throughout The Shakers and The Mulhollands set.
Jodie from The Shakers mentioned that they had some new songs up on Myspace, but then wondered if people still used myspace.

The Mulhollands had a new guitarist for the night as Matt has other duties on Saturday nights. See below for photos of the new guitarist.
It was Murray's (The Mulhollands) birthday.


Brandi Emma




The Shakers




The Mulhollands

Echo Curio with High Life Cavaliers/The Mo-odds/Shakers

Headed off to Echo Curio to catch some music on a recent Wednesday night. I got to see High Life Cavaliers, The Mo-odds and The Shakers.

Moment I remember most: Chris Lee from The Shakers dancing so much that the carpet started to scrunch up.

Second moment: the Tecate Box.

Below are some photos.

High Life Cavaliers




The Shakers





The Mo-odds