A Movie Review: Lincoln

Lincoln. This movie is more philosophy and politics than biography. That isn’t to complain. I found it fascinating to hear the wisdom that Lincoln spoke. I would guess that 80% of Lincoln’s scenes are shot within the White House. It is also confined to the final days of the Civil War. There is also the intrigue of politics and the attempt to abolish slavery. Fascinating.

A Movie Review: Skyfall

Skyfall. An action packed James Bond movie. This movie doesn’t allow you much time to breath. It just jumps from action to intrigue to action to intrigue. I loved it. Should have gotten a nod for best picture.

PAPA at the Bootleg Theater

PAPA is the January residency band at the Bootleg Theater.  I do believe this is the first time I've seen the velvet rope up at the Bootleg Theater since Honey Honey's residency.

And I totally got it.  From the very start their energy just set their fans afire.

Noticed:  their set list was written on a paper napkin.

Noticed:  they sang  a cover song from The Cure.  Props.

Noticed:  they had lamps up on stage.  The lamp fell over twice (maybe three times).

The lamps led to the comment of the night (directed at the sound guy):  You're still chill even though this lamp idea is f*#!-ed up.

Noticed:  A young woman screaming throughout their set.  She was up front and center.  I'm sure she was into the music, but also off to the side there were a handful of folks who couldn't help but show their amusement.

The crowd demanded an encore and the band delivered.

Jenny O at the Bootleg Theater

Jenny O hit the stage at a crowded Bootleg.  To my left, I heard a brief conversation.  One was there specifically for Jenny O.  Another was there specifically for PAPA.  Hopefully, they enjoyed both sets.

Jenny O and band did their set-up.  There was a brief conversation with the sound guy and then they took off.  Some last minute tweaks were being done by the sound guy.  The band was standing next to the stage -- except for Jenny O.  I could see the sound guy giving a thumbs up.  The band was looking around them for Jenny O.  She was no where to be found.  Eventually, one of them took off looking for her.

And so the set started.  A beautiful set carried by Jenny O's vocals.  She sang mainly from her upcoming album.

Amusing conversation going on stage:  Jenny O asked a couple times if any of them knew the time.  I guess no one had a watch or phone on them.


 

J. Thoven at the Bootleg Theater

J. Thoven started off a busy night at the Bootleg Theater.  Group harmonies drives this group.

The Dollyrots at the Redwood Bar

The Dollyrots at the Redwood Bar. For some reason, I didn't know about this show until the very last minute.  I re-arranged my schedule.  Hey, The Dollyrots were playing and all I had to do was head over to Downtown LA.  Are you kidding, I was there.

Set problems:  so parts of the drum set kept on tipping over during the first song.  When it first tipped over, one of their friends/fans jumped on stage to get it re-set.  As soon as he came off stage, it tipped over again. Hysterical.  He hit the stage 3 times.  I think at that point they should have made him an honorable member of the band.

Story of the set:  so Kelly was saying that she overheard a conversation in the washroom that went something like this . . . female in the washroom talking to her boyfriend or husband, "I told you I was going out to see The Dollyrots . . . go make nachos."

Yep, many of us love The Dollyrots.


 

Ingenue at the Redwood Bar

It has been over two years since I last caught Ingenue. Wow, time flies. I'm getting old.  It was a great set and I swear one of their songs had me thinking that it must have been written for angels.


 

Michael Van London at the Redwood Bar

It looks like I'm starting off 2013 by visiting some music venues that I haven't been to in awhile. First it was off to Club Moscow and then a couple days later it was off to the Redwood Bar where I caught Michael Van London.

Catching Michael Van London was a great way to start off the night at the Redwood Bar.  The crowd was packed in tight.  The photographers were out in mass.  And he was preaching his message of rock (see below picture).

  

Mike Taylor and The High on Lows at Club Moscow

The crowd at Club Moscow was there for one musician and his name was Mike Taylor. As the crowd was outside waiting to get in, he was surrounded by friends.  His set took a bit of time to get started.  For some reason, the drummer's seat had fallen apart.  He needed to cut his set short by one song, but I suspect the crowd would have enjoyed a set twice as long.

Comment of the set:  Who the F*!# is Mike Taylor.

The High On Lows set was delayed due to the late start by Mike Taylor.  I was only able to catch part of their set before having to run off.

The comment of the set:  Open your eyes or you will burn and learn.

Mike Taylor



The High On Lows

Michael Grant and the Assassins at Club Moscow

I finally made it back to Club Moscow. It was a solid crowd. As I walked in Michael Grant and the Assassins were in the midst of their set.  Ramped up rock, a perfect way to start off a night.

A Movie Review: Wreck-It Ralph

Wreck-It Ralph. Ralph doesn’t want to be the bad guy anymore in the world of video games. And why should he be as he is a person of good character. This cartoon takes you behind the scenes of a video arcade. It is fun and a movie that will have you cheering for the "bad guy." One of the coolest moments while watching the movie was listening to a young girl a few rows away first say about Ralph: "That’s not nice." And then after she fell in love with Ralph, "Is he dead?"

A Movie Review: Argo

Argo. Since the ending is sort of already known, even if you are too young to remember the Iranian Hostage Crisis or the fog of memory has taken hold, you might think that Argo has an anti-climatic ending. It doesn't. Argo is like the action movie we watch even though we already know that the good guy will win. This movie keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time as you get to watch an amazing CIA operation take place.

Crushed Out at The Satellite

Crushed Out was the last band of the night on a recent outing to The Satellite. This two piece band gave an energizing one hour country blues set.

I think I found a favorite Los Angeles drummer.  You could turn off the music and still find watching the drummer fascinating.  

Amusing moment of the set.  The lead singer was talking about the fried chicken at some New Orleans joint and how folks had to eat there.  Behind me, a young women said, "I'm a vegetarian."

Birds of a Black Feather at The Satellite

It was off to The Satellite to catch the last of the free shows that started off the year at The Satellite. A new favorite band called Birds of a Black Feather was playing.  Jeff of Automatic Music Explosion fame (a one-time local Los Angeles band) was taking bass duties.

It was a freezing night in Los Angeles, but once they took to the stage I forgot all about the weather.

Yellow Alex at The Satellite

Yellow Alex has the residency at The Satellite for January. What a way to start off 2013.

The set was Prince-inspired, which resulted in the crowd dancing throughout -- it was somewhat inspired by the lead singer saying that he heard a rumor that those in Silver Lake don't know how to dance.  Of course, the crowd wouldn't have been dancing if it wasn't for Yellow Alex.  The sound popped.  The choreography (see below) was perfect.

Amusing moment of the set:  The lead singer asked the crowd on his right to follow his lead (the following is the gist of how it went).  "Say 'Hollywood Forever' after I point to you.  Hollywood Forever."  Crowd, "Hollywood Forever."  Singer, "Let's try that again, wait until I point.  Hollywood Forever."  Crowd, "Hollywood Forever."  Singer, "You have to wait until I point.  I see musicians in the audience.  Let's get this right."  

Nightmare and the Cat at The Satellite

It was off to see Nightmare and the Cat at The Satellite. This is one of those bands that I keep on my list of bands to see. I don't get to see them as often as I'd like, but I do try and catch them on occasion.

I was looking up my past posts on this band. I initially felt that their sound did have a nightmare-ish quality. Then I mentioned that their sound seemed to be more frenzied.

Well, now I'm saying that they are shifting to a dance sound.

Either my opinion of them is changing or they are changing their style of music.  I do plan to continue following them around.

As for photography:  their lead singer makes it fun. 

Mirror Talk at The Satellite

It was the first residency of 2013 at The Satellite. Mirror Talk was the first band on stage for the night.

Moment of the set: the lead singer got off stage and went around saying hello to folks in the audience. Something like that could be seen as cheesy, but it was done with such sincerity that it felt refreshing. 

Lostine at The Satellite

Okay, so a continuation from yesterday's post of a recent outing to The Satellite to see some new bands. If I understand things right, Lostine is a sort of reconfiguration of Gran Ronde.

It was a solid set and amusing in one regard. A question was asked if folks had fun during New Year's Eve. There were some rumblings in the audience. And so a follow up was made about how many of the folks in the audience had hung out at the lead singer's house and so they better of had fun.

Young Empress at The Satellite

It was a night of relatively new bands hitting up The Satellite. The first band for me was Young Empress. They call themselves a power pop band.

Top 10 New 2012 Bands/Musicans (new for me)

As with the last two years, my goal is to stick mainly to bands/musicians that I've at least seen twice (which could mean I saw them first in 2010 or 2011).  There are three cheats here.

Birds of a Black Feather means the return of Sarah Jeanette from The Mulhollands. Good news, Los Angeles.

Dum Dum Girls.  Nothing dum dum about the Dum Dum Girls.

Grace Woodroofe.  She's an Aussie who reminds America that we love Rock ‘n Roll.

Grimes set got cut short, because her fans went nuts.

GroupLove. Their song kept playing on the radio over and over again until I started get sick of it.  I guess I shouldn't say that about a band I'm saying is on my Top New list.  When I saw them at Make Music Pasadena, it represented the second time I saw this band.  They do give a show.

Lavinia Slaughter and Night Terrors of 1927 are new projects of Lauren White (lead for Lavinia Slaughter, keys for Night Terrors or 1927).  Need I say more?

NO is mesmerizing music.

Raw Geronimo.  I saw them throughout the year. I love the wildness of the lead singer.  Technically, I saw them twice in 2011 which should disqualify them from this list, but in 2011 I only saw partial sets.

Sky Ferreira.  I hope she makes it.  From what I read she's had some ups and downs.  I hope her an up year for 2013.

Zola Jesus.  She loves diving into the crowd.