The Rob Z Project and Pu$$y Cow at El Cid

A Rob Z night at El Cid. Pu$$y Cow had one of their better sets. They just seemed really energized that night. Maybe it had something to do with Joe, their lead singer, wearing shorts. He sure did work the stage. Or maybe it had to do with their name change, Pu$$y Bacon. Bacon was the theme of the night. Whatever the reason, I wanted more, not less.

Rob Z Lounge Project









Pu$$y Cow









Rob Z Lounge Project

A Movie Review: Cyrus

Cyrus. I really enjoyed this movie. There is a nice romance between John (John C. Reilly) and Molly (Marisa Tomei). I loved the awkward way that they ran into each other at a party and the instant connection you could see forming. I also loved the interaction between John and Cyrus (Jonah Hill). You knew almost immediately that Cyrus was out to chase John off, but that John hadn't figured it out yet. When he does, there is some great battle of the wits between the two. It was also nice to see John's ex-wife, Jamie, (Catherine Keener) still having a friendship with John.

My one issue with the movie is when John follows Molly home. Obviously, John is suspicious of Molly's behavior. On the other hand, I would think that if Molly was so private about her personal life that she would have had an irritated or even an angry response when she found John in her house versus her more pleasant response. Perhaps her real response and resolution was left on the editing floor.

Aska at Spaces 15 Twenty

It was off to Spaces 15 Twenty to catch Aska. My friends and I were wondering what to do on a Saturday night. The goal was to do something relatively cheap. One uncovered Spaces 15 Twenty. Having run into the back end of an IO Echo set there, I was a go to head on over for a free night of music. Aska has a very ambient sound, maybe even a touch of shoe gaze.

Over-heard. The DJ was playing a Lake song. Awesome.

Saw. Did I notice IO Echo in the audience? I think I did.

A Movie Review: Knight and Day

Knight and Day. I came into this movie with a bit of hesitation. I hadn’t heard the best comments about this movie and I am not normally into romantic-action flicks. For example, I have no interest in seeing Killers. On the hand, I wanted to see if Tom Cruise could turn around his career. My conclusion, it isn’t blow away fantastic, but I have to say I had fun watching this movie. And the hot moment, Gal Gadot showing up for a brief two minutes or so.

The Shakers and Katy J at the Kibitz

It was off to the Kibitz to check out The Shakers and Katy J. I arrived in time to catch the last half of Katy J's set. She can really belt out Dolly Parton's 'Joleen.' The Shakers came on next. Jodie was doing some dancing with her microphone stand.

See below for some photos from the night.

Katy J





The Shakers

A Fourth of July Celebration at the Hollywood Bowl

So this is admittedly a little dated. I went to the Hollywood Bowl to celebrate the Fourth of July. Vince Gill was the guest singer. I'm not that into country music, but I have to admit I enjoyed his set. Interesting note. My family and I headed down to the bus area. As we were waiting for the next series of buses to come by (we weren't able to get into the first set of buses that took off), I noticed my friend coming towards the bus stop with her family. I got their attention and said hi. They came around the barricades to say hello to my family. Then a bus arrived and we got on -- along with my friend. I told her she'd just cut in line in front of folks who had waited for some thirty minutes or so. She wasn't convinced. She said that she hadn't seen a line behind us. Ah, that's because they had probably stopped folks at a certain point to wait for the next bus. Shame on my friend for cutting in line. :-)

Mates of State at The Echo

It was off to see Mates of State at The Echo. What an awesome set. Kori Gerdner and Jason Hammel have a wonderful chemistry together. Jason teased Kori regarding a "fictional" birthday and they had great banter regarding song choices.

The set itself lasted about an hour (including three encores).

For the last song, a group joined in with any percussion instrument they could find. It was one joyful celebration -- brought back to mind last year when seeing No Doubt joined on stage by Paramour and everyone just having fun.

Sorry for no photos. We (my Intraffik editor included) had trouble getting a requested photo pass to The Echo.

Vise VIrsa and Underwater City People at Old Towne Pub

It was off to Old Towne Pub in Pasadena to catch Vise Virsa and Underwater City People. The week was spent going out and about so I was a little tired out, but I couldn't miss Underwater City People -- one of my favorite bands.

Vise Virsa



Underwater City People

The Mulhollands, The Royal Heist and Bathroom Murders at Club Moscow

It was off to Club Moscow for The Mulhollands record release party. I have to be honest that practically the only time I go to Club Moscow is when The Mulhollands are playing so I can’t say that anything is standard, but they usually let us in come 10 p.m. On this particular night, we didn’t get in until closer to 10:15 p.m. And usually the first band is playing, but for this night the first band didn’t get on stage for another fifteen minutes or so. Interesting, as Club Moscow seems to be rather strict on start times. Not a big deal, it was just something I noticed.

Anyways, the first band of the night was The Royal Heist. I am familiar with the band, having seen their name around, but surprisingly this was the first time I caught a set of theirs. Interesting note, the lead singer was using Sarah Jeanette’s microphone stand. Next up was
Bathroom Murders. I’ve seen them once at Club Moscow. I guess like The Mulhollands, they’re regulars at Club Moscow. I took a peak at their myspace page and they are lined up to play Club Moscow for the next few months. They only played perhaps half their set. They had some unfortunate computer glitches. My friend described them as a party band.

The final band of the night were The Mulhollands. Sarah Jeanette was looking beautiful in a polka dot dress. The band was hyped for their record release party. The fans were also hyped. I have this feeling that a lot of the people were there for The Mulhollands. I actually stayed put where I was, because I would have had a difficult time moving anywhere else. Screams were heard throughout their set. Anyways, as I was waiting around to buy their CD after their set, I noticed a young woman vomiting behind a curtain. I was feeling sorry for her and then as she was being led outside she bumped up against me. At that point, my feelings of sorry turned to the following thought: Gross, watch your step.

Comment: If we sell out our CDs, Jeff will have to make out with me.

My funny little story: I noticed a couple of friends near the bar. I waved hello to them. A young woman standing between my friends and me started waving to me. Once she noticed I was waving to my friends behind me, she got embarrassed and hid behind a friend. Ahh.

The Royal Heist










Bathroom Murders











The Mulhollands

Kissing Cousins, Rumspringa and We Barbarians at Spaceland

I walked into Spaceland and caught the last song of Kissing Cousins. I immediately wished I’d shown up a little earlier. The next band up was Rumspringa. One of the band members played their set in socks. Another in honor of being at Spaceland, made a handful of space alien jokes. A guy was right up front with a Viking hat. For some reason, I felt this was more appropriate for the residency band, We Barbarians, but he seemed to disappear before We Barbarians came on stage (or he got rid of the hat). What was nice about that night was that Spaceland was packed for both Kissing Cousins and Rumspringa. My general feeling is that the place usually isn't packed for the first band – and I have to admit that I generally skip the first band, as well. We Barbarians were the June residency band. I finally made it out to their last show. They had at least one huge fan in the audience. She had a poster of the band and it looked like she'd gotten all to sign it for her expect for one band member who she got to sign it right before the set. The band seemed to be having issues with the bass drum inching forward too much after each song, the drummer slamming the kick too hard.

Kissing Cousins





Rumspringa











We Barbarians