Peg and Maybe Vultures at Silverlake Lounge

It was off to Silverlake Lounge on a Monday night to catch a couple bands I hadn't seen before:  Peg and Maybe Vultures.  Both bands have less than 200 'Likes' on Facebook.  Peg is going with a rock sound while Maybe Vultures has an electronic sound.  Silverlake Lounge is booking their own shows now.  It seems like they're doing reasonably well as there was a nice crowd.  If you follow my blog, you know I like to jump around on Monday nights.  It is nice to know that other folks also like hanging out at the Silverlake Lounge instead of always heading over to The Echo and Satellite.

Comment of the night (Peg):  We have a drum solo, it is calling tuning.

Peg



Maybe Vultures

Up on Intraffik: Lisbon Part II

I'm up on Intraffik with Lisbon Part II.

A couple moments while exercising

1.  Walking through a neighborhood:  saw a skunk carrying her baby across the street and up some stairs.

2.  Walking through a park:  got run into by a kid on a scooter -- and no apology :-(

Up On Intraffik: A vacation in Lisbon Part 1

It took me way too long to write this one up, but I did. I went to Lisbon in February. Go to Intraffik to read Part 1.

Up on Intraffik: Make Music Pasadena 2012

I had a lot of fun on June 16th at Make Music Pasadena. Go check out my write up and photos at Intraffik.

Delta Rae at One Colorado in Pasadena (KCRW)

A friend mentioned catching Delta Rae at One Colorado in Pasadena.  He mentioned that it was free.  I went online and saw that they are from Durham, North Carolina.  I was sold. 

Durham, North Carolina means Duke University in my mind.  Did they actually go to Duke?  Well, a glance through their Facebook page mentions that they went to college in Durham, but it doesn't mention Duke. Of course, a quick google search does reveal via the Duke Magazine that they did in fact go to Duke University.   Perhaps it is best that they don't mention this fact as many a folk hate Duke University.

As for their outdoor set in Pasadena?  A one hour set filled with folk/rock and power vocals along with dancing in high heels.  The plaza was packed with appreciative fans.   

Comment of the night:  We did that on purpose for dramatic effect. 

The above comment was made after the sound went out for a portion of a song. 

A Movie Review: The Big Year

The Big Year.  (Note: I caught this movie on a small airplane screen.) This movie revolves around three men who are off to see the most bird species ever in the continental US. The year is important due to weather conditions, which will result in a number of birds flying over the US. Two of the men are wealthy, while one has a day job. One individual (Owen Wilson) owns a construction company. He is obsessed with bird watching and holds the all time record for bird watching. How he is able to keep his company going while taking a year off work is hard to understand, but he can. The second is a former CEO (Steve Martin) who has entered retirement (though is still called on to consult). Going for “The Big Year” was always his dream. The third is a computer programmer (Jack Black). He is hardly wealthy as he only has 5k to start off his adventure. Like the CEO, this is also his first attempt at “The Big Year.”

Though the movie is meant to be comedic (look at who the actors are) there are some insightful moments that deal with family. The first is so obsesses that a previous marriage fell apart when he went for his first record year. The CEO’s wife (who probably is used to his being gone for weeks on end) is very supportive. The third has a father who is in confusion over his son’s decision.

One does laugh at these folks – though I’m sure actual bird watchers take their hobby more seriously. It is a tame movie that makes you more away of the birds the fly by as you're out and about.

Summer Twins/Kera and The Lesbians at Bootleg

It was off to Bootleg to catch Summer Twins and Kera and The Lesbians. This is likely to be included in my annual summer post on Intraffik so I won't write anything too detailed here about the night.

Kera and The Lesbians:  emotional ending.

Summer Twins:  caught only a brief portion of their set at the Silver Lake Jubilee and so I'm glad I was able to catch a full set a month later. 

Kera and The Lesbians


Summer Twins

Spider Problem at Redwood Bar

I first came across Spider Problem at El Cid during a Kiss or Kill Club night. Now that was a long time ago. I loved their set. Shayne Eastin went wild on stage with her stuffed animal. Watching Spider Problem was similar to taking in an action packed roller derby. Sometimes you would find yourself involved in the set when she’d throw herself full force into the audience. The band also had one entertaining blog on myspace. It was a must read. To show you what I mean, I decided to head on over to Myspace and pull one of their blog posts from March 2009. Here’s an excerpt:

Nana (the coolest person in spider problem, by the way) was using Bobby's drum kit and i'm sure we are within 5 pounds of each other...but either way i took a really gnarly fall off the kick drum. and I don't really remember anything else...


except...we met this really cool kid named Henry, I think, with the best hair i've ever seen in my entire life. taste the rainbow.

It is so stream of consciousness.

I’d follow them around every so often, catching their shows at Juanita’s, American Legion Hall in Highland Park and Redwood Bar. They then went into a stuffed animal hibernation.

On a recent Thursday night at the Down N Out bar in Downtown LA, they hit the stage after not playing for a year plus. Some things never change like the microphone stand getting tossed to the side within half a song, the head-first dive into the audience and the drum set getting destroyed at the end of the set. It made my week.

Kiss or Kill times



Current

JJAMZ and Montë Mar at The Satellite

It was off to The Satellite to catch Montë Mar and the residency band JJAMZ.  Both bands smooth you into their sets via their pop sound.  Montë Mar drew the crowd to them with folks asking for more as their set came to a close.   If you like The Like, you'll be drawn to JJAMZ.  Honest truth, I wish JJAMZ would end their set with 'Never Enough.'  It is such a lovely song.

Comment of the night from JJAMZ:  Did you see how excited I was to play the keyboard?  One arm up.  What a loser.

The lights were shining red all night long.  Since I'm not a fan of red tinged photos, I switched the photos to BW.

Montë Mar


JJAMZ

Up on Intraffik: preview of Make Music Pasadena

I'm up on Intraffik with a preview of Saturday's Make Music Pasadena.

Up on Intraffik with a movie review: Safety Not Guaranteed

Up on Intraffik with a movie review: Safety Not Guaranteed.

The Shakers at Irish Times, Culver City

It was off to Irish Times to catch The Shakers. Their bass player was delayed so they started off with an hour long acoustic set.  They took a break and their bass player showed up and then they did another set.

The set wasn't as rocking as their Sunset Strip sets, but it was still awesome enjoyable.

IO Echo: Debut Album in September

It is about time.  I've followed this band for 4 years.  Congrats!!!

Below photo taken at the Troubadour

 

I once sent a list of bands to a music festival

Digging through an old e-mail I found this list of bands that I sent off to a music festival in early Sept 2011:

He's My Brother, She's My Sister
Everest
The Belle Brigade
Group Love
Raining Jain
Family of the Year
Sabrosa Purr
The Lonely Wild
The Monthlies
Milo Green
Non Ultra Joy
Tijuana Panthers
The Child
Stone Darling
Whispering Pines

1 played Coachella, 2 played Jubilee, 2 playing Pasadena. And I do believe one was scheduled for Jubilee and cancelled.  Not bad.

Now Now, Blondfire and The Colourist at Bootleg

It was off to Bootleg to catch Now, Now, Blondfire and The Colourist. A night of totally new music for me.

The comments of the night were made by Now, Now.  Comment one:  When you hit 22 or 23 it is all downhill. You start getting back spasms. Comment two:  It's cool we told you our ages or you would all be pissed that you came out to see middle schoolers.

It was actually cool to see a young band that was happy.  They appear to love life.  Good for them.

Blondfire had me thinking about Lake.  My serious problem with their set:  I think they only played 20 minutes.  They ended their set at 10:20 p.m.  I was like, seriously?  You have at least another 10 minutes.  Please keep playing.

The Colourist ended the night for me.  Good thing they played a full set or I might have left angry for the night.  The Colourist and Blondfire are playing a combo residency at Bootleg for all of June.  You better check them out.  You won't regret it.


Now Now



Blondfire



The Colourist

Hollywood Park betting from Vegas

I go to Vegas and what do I do for my betting?  I bet on the horses.

How did I do?  Not bad considering that my first bet got me an exacta win.  My recent trips to the track have been based on betting on the jockey.  It worked for most of the races though in the 7th race I bet on Rosario to win with Vibrato Jazz.  If I recall, Vibrato Jazz came in place.  I guess I should have followed my pattern of making conservative bets.

I do like to bet when I know something about the race:  jockey, owner.  Admittedly, I don't go to the track enough to know anything about the individual horses.  But while watching the screens at Vegas, I noticed that at Los Alamitos that there was a horse who everyone apparently felt was sure to win.  So I made a bet on the horse to win.  I won.

Photo taken from a May visit.

Hoover Dam

While on a trip to Las Vegas, a side trip to Hoover Dam was made.  That is one massive dam!!!

A quick Las Vegas vacation

It was off to Las Vegas for a family celebration.  

Here's my problem with Las Vegas:  it is a fictional city.  The below photo is the perfect example of fiction.  

I did hang out at the Venetian on Saturday.  There were a number of weddings going on inside.  I thought for a moment, "Oh, how cool."  Then I thought, "This is all just fiction, the weddings along the canal."

I did walk into Peter Lik's store.  Beautiful landscape photos.  

Up on Intraffik: Silver Lake Jubilee Day 2

I'm up on Intraffik with a look at Day 2.  Check it out.

Up on Intraffik: Silver Lake Jubilee Day 1

I'm up on Intraffik with a Day 1 look at Silver Lake Jubilee. Take a look.

Photo Series of Silver Lake Jubilee: Kinky

I'm on a short vacation so here's one of my favorite photos from the Jubilee: Kinky.

Photo Series of Silver Lake Jubilee: LA Vampires

I'm on a short vacation so here's one of my favorite photos from the Jubilee: LA Vampires.

Photo Series of Silver Lake Jubilee: JJAMZ

I'm on a short vacation so here's a photo of one of my favorite photos from the Jubilee: JJAMZ.