Summer Darling: Silverlake Jubilee

I am on vacation so I've decided to entertain you with some photos from Silverlake Jubilee.

Summer Darling

Lovely Bad Things: Silverlake Jubilee

I'm on vacation so I'm entertaining you with photos from Silverlake Jubilee.

Lovely Bad Things

Black Flamingo: Silverlake Jubilee

I'm on vacation so I'm posting photos from Silverlake Jubilee for your entertainment.

Black Flamingo

Marvelous Toy: Silverlake Jubilee

I'm on vacation so I'm entertaining you with photos from Silverlake Jubilee.

Marvelous Toy

Having sex with a car?!?

From the UK Telegraph (21 May 2008), Man admits having sex with 1,000 cars.

This seems to be a dated article, but it just started popping up as one of the most viewed articles on the UK Telegraph. When I saw the headlines, I thought for sure it was a story about some quirky UK guy. But no, it is about a guy from Washington state.

Robert Kelly and Peachy Keene at Hotel Cafe

It was off to Hotel Cafe to see Peachy Keene and Robert Kelly.  A friend recommended checking out Robert Kelly.  I decided to show up a little early so that I could catch a couple sets.  Peachy Keene was up, a country-inspired rock band (per their website).  When first seeing the lead singer/guitarist, this description might catch you off guard as she does have the look that would fit in with a punk band.  But country-rock, it is.  (Noticed:  lead singer/guitarist dealing with some technical difficulties.  It didn't subtract from their set, but instead made it memorable.)  Robert Kelly closed out the night as my friends arrived right on time.  He hails from Nashville, TN.  He gave us an energized set filled with smiles and laughter.

Peachy Keene









Robert Kelly

Randomly Noticed on the Highway

So I was driving on the 10 Freeway in the Inland Empire (having visited my parents).  On the side of the road, I noticed a CHP car right behind a van.  It appeared they were moving at a very slow speed.  I was like, "What's up with that, some slow cop chase?"  Actually, as I looked more carefully, it appeared that the van had stalled out and the CHP car was pushing the vehicle towards the nearby freeway exit.  Randomness on the roads.

A Movie Review: Thor

Thor. I read that the small drop in weekend-versus-weekend box office was driven by families showing up on Sunday. Though I wouldn’t rank this movie anywhere close to The Dark Knight and Iron Man, I can definitely see the appeal this movie would have with parents. It is an action packed movie that shows the value of family. You have Thor (Chris Hemsworth) who is a little too self-confident and acts in a rash way (lacking in certain skills of diplomacy). He is banished by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) to Earth. While on Earth (though I’m not sure how he learns the following) he learns that the gray hairs on his father’s head equals wisdom (and doesn't equate to the need for his father being sent off to an old folks home). A movie that perhaps a mother and father wouldn’t mind having their young children see? I think so.

Ranking the Winter/Spring 2011 Films (that I saw)

This winter/spring, I was a bit more selective with my movies versus last year. Last year I saw 16 movies. This year I saw eleven. How do I see this year ranking with last year? Last year we had Alice in Wonderland, Ghost Writer, Kiss-Ass and The Runaways to mention a few.  I loved those movies.  This year I found a handful of movies that I liked, but I don't think Limitless, The Adjustment Bureau and The Company Men rank with the 2010 movies mentioned.  I did; however, have high regard for Lincoln Lawyer and wish it had done better at the box office.

Cream of the Crop

Lincoln Lawyer


Good


Limitless
The Adjustment Bureau
The Company Men

Okay

Fast Five
Hanna
Battle: Los Angeles
Sucker Punch
Paul
The Green Hornet

Skip

Just Go With It

A Movie Review: Fast Five

Fast Five. Are there potentially liberties taken here in this movie? Oh yes. I’m not sure the whole final chase sequence makes any sense what so ever. Can a large heavy safe really get towed through the streets without tumbling wildly out of control? When did Gisele (Gal Gadot) become part of the Israel Mossad? And let’s just say that it takes you about 15 minutes to get used to the over-exaggerated dialogue.

But . . . though I wouldn’t rank this as one of the best 2011 movies (only five months in), I did have fun. How can you not when Vin Diesel (Dominic Torretto) and Dwayne Johnson (Hobbs) are beating each other up? And you have Gal Gado and Jordana Brewster (Mia) on screen. And the basic theme of the movie is stealing money from the kingpin – who doesn’t like that.

So, not a great movie, but a movie worth seeing (especially if you’re a Fast and Furious fan).

Joe Gil at Hotel Cafe: Link to another Blog

So the photos will look exactly the same (my photos -- I e-mailed them over), but the words are different so head on over to the Fill Your Well blog for a different perspective of the Joe Gil set at Hotel Cafe.

Joe Gil at Hotel Cafe

It was off to Hotel Cafe to see Joe Gil. A couple friends of mine were doing back-up for Joe Gil.  This was also the first time I was trying out a new lens, a 50mm f1.4.  The below photos aren't awesome, but they're better than my first attempt at taking photos at Hotel Cafe with my new camera.  I still say the lights are way too low to capture decent photos at Hotel Cafe.  Of course, I'm an amateur at all this.  I'm sure there are some professional photographers out there who are laughing at my opinion.  Anyways, there was one song by Joe Gil that reminded me of The Swell Season -- so high praise for his set.

Another side note, this night represented the 5th night of music in 7 days.  Crazy.  It was unintended.  Generally, I try to limit my music outings to a couple times a week.  

Up on Intraffik: Heading out to 2011 Silverlake Jubilee?

Head on over to Intraffik.com for some suggestions on which bands to catch this weekend.

Gentlemen Prefer Blood and The Bloody Brains at the Blue Star

Another birthday party arrived and this time it was off to the Blue Star where Gentlemen Prefer Blood and
The Bloody Brains were playing.  As I walked in, Gentlemen Prefer Blood was getting ready for their set.  I couldn't recall the band name, but I knew I'd seen these guys before and had enjoyed their set.  Well, the lead singer introduced themselves and then it hit me, I saw them previously at Mr. T's.  They gave us a solid set.  The Bloody Brains came up next.  This was their night and they gave us about a 45 minute set.    


Gentlemen Prefer Blood







The Bloody Brains

The Mo-odds and Restavrant at Bordello

It was off to the Bordello for a birthday party. While there I caught The Mo-odds and Restavrant. A rather cool birthday party with those two bands playing.

Restavrant



The Mo-odds

The Mots Nouveax, Sean Kangataran and Persephones Bees at Bootleg Bar

It was off to the Bootleg Bar last week to catch The Mots Nouveax, Sean Kangataran and Persephones Bees.

I was there mainly to see The Mots Nouveax though I did catch the back end of Sean Kangataran and the front end of Persephones Bees.

The Mots Nouveax are really putting things together.  There are a couple songs are their set list that truly inspire you to wonder. 

Enjoy some of the below photos from the night.

Persephones Bees



Sean Kangataran



The Mots Nouveax

He's My Brother, She's My Sister and Sweaters at The Satellite

With Los Angeles dealing with some May drizzles, it was off to The Satellite to catch He's My Brother, She's My Sister and Sweaters.

Sweaters started the night off for me with some energizing music.  They had the quote of the night when the lead singer from He's My Brother, She's My Sister jumped on stage to join in on a song:  We'd like to thank Jules Verne.

And then He's My Brother, She's My Sister went on stage.  I'd seen the band name on various venue schedules, but just never made it out to see them.  Well, they played a packed house at The Satellite.  The band includes a tap dancer and two siblings along with a couple others.  They also had a guest appearance from Harper Simon.  As per request, some of their fans dressed as if they were going to a costume ball.  A night to remember.

Sweaters





He's My Brother, She's My Sister

Tamaryn and The Ravonettes @ Troubadour

I took off to the Troubadour to catch Tamaryn and The Ravonettes.  This is obviously a little dated, but see below some photos from this awesome show.  I saw Tamaryn about a year and a half ago when she did a show over at the Bootleg.  That night was an interesting set filled with smoke machines and a dedicated fan base.  For this night, the smoke machines were gone, but that didn't lessen the impact of her music -- a set that hooked me in from the start.  The Ravonettes went with the smoke machine theme and played in front of a packed Troubadour.

Interesting side:  After The Ravonettes set, a young lady jumped up on stage to try and grab a set list that was taped to the floor.  She was quickly chased off.  The set list was than handed to someone else who was waiting in front of the stage.  As I was walking out, I happened to follow the young lady who got chased off the stage:  I'm a real dunce.

Other interesting moments:  I ran into Queen Kwong at the door.  Cool experience.  Than as I was walking to my car, some random guy called out to me and mentioned he'd seen me at the Romper Room for a Barb Wire Dolls show.  Interesting that someone would remember me from a show that happened a few months back. 

Tamaryn







Ravonettes

Mad Planet, The Shakers and The Mulhollands @ Satellite

It was off to Satellite to catch The Shakers, The Mulhollands and Mad Planet.  I only caught a couple songs from Mad Planet.  For some reason I just couldn't get out of the house soon enough.  As can be seen from the photos, they can put on a great show.  The Shakers were the middle band, rocking us through a set.  The Mulhollands ended the night, leaving us on a MEGA-phone high.

The current progress with the new camera:  learning that red light is a killer when not using flash.

Mad Planet







The Shakers













The Mulhollands