DWNTWN and Draemhouse at The Hi Hat

DWNTWN

I say this often, time passes too quickly sometimes when it comes to catching up with my favorite bands. The last time I saw DWNTWN was at the 2014 Tarfest. That is 1.5 years. Ouch. Of course, I did listen to DWNTWN often online so I was able to feed my need for this pop band with the graceful vocals. Their friends and family were out on this night at The Hi Hat. The night was more than worth it after getting a hug.

Draemhouse came to Los Angeles from Seattle with a psychedelic slowdown. Before the set, they carefully decorated the stage with lights and drapery. It set the mood for hanging out at a Seattle coffee house -- okay, I haven't been to Seattle in years and have no idea what I'm talking about with that statement. I do know that Draemhouse was staying at a hotel within walking distance of the venue. As I was walking to my car, in front of me were two members of the band heading to their hotel room.


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Parker's Back and Forebear at Silverlake Lounge

Parker's Back

Parker's Back and Forebear set a mellow mood at Silverlake Lounge on a recent Monday night. Parker's Back has a drummer that uses the sticks like they're paint brushes. He makes these wide strokes that paint the air around the set. Forebear has a violinist. Hey, I have a soft spot for violinist. I couldn't help but think about Local Natives during their set. Why? I first saw Local Natives at Silverlake Lounge and they had a violinist at the time.

I'm rather sure that Parker's Back convinced all their friends to come out for the night. The place was packed for their set.

Back to Forebear's violinist. She uses the violin like an extension of her body.



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My Take: California Chrome and Dubai World Cup

So I'm no expert on horse racing -- though I do go to the races at Santa Anita and gone to two Breeders' Cups so I do have some knowledge of racing -- but here's my random blog on California Chrome and the Dubai World Cup.

California went from the 11 position out of a field of 12.  His competition includes some well known horses in America such as Hoppertunity, Frosted, Mshawish, Keen Ice and Candy Boy. Now why in the world would Candy Boy run in this race after a year off is a little beyond me. Why wouldn't they have prepped this horse? Oh well, I'm not a trainer or owner.

The race started with Keen Ice (#1) not being able to hold position and quickly falling to the rear. (I guess beating a tired American Pharoah will be this horse's single claim to fame -- just watch, Keen Ice wins the 2016 Breeders' Cup, oops!) The race settled with Mshawish (#2) in the lead with Special Fighter (#5) second and California Chrome third and three wide. The 3 horses were within a length of each other. One could tell that Victor Espinoza wanted California Chrome in his standard position of 2nd as he was pushing him to go from the gate, but Mshawish and Special Fight wouldn't have anything to do with that. This was contrary to the jockeys for Frosted (#9) and Hoppertunity (#10) who appeared to let their horses do their thing from the gate. Frosted started in the middle of the pack, 2 wide, while Hoppertunity started in the rear as usual.

The lead horses largely kept their positions in the backstretch though near the final turn Mubtaahij (#4) on the rail poked ahead of California Chrome who at this point was 4 wide. Also, backtracking a bit, as the first turn ended Hoppertunity started to make a run from the rear, gradually passing horse after horse.

As they went around the final turn, if one looks closely at the video, you can see California Chrome's saddle starting to slip -- as has been widely reported.

The final turn, of course, is where we know if California Chrome is in top shape or not, because this is where he's supposed to start kicking. And kick he did as he started to press the 3 horses in front of him. At the same time, Frosted was having to go 5 wide. Hoppertunity just kept on passing horses.

In the final stretch, Frosted was done. California Chrome whipped around the final turn and took the lead by a nose. Special Fighter was the first who couldn't keep pace with California Chrome. Then Mshawish faded into the pack. Mubtaahij didn't so much fade as he just got left behind. He was able to keep himself ahead of the rest of the pack though Hoppertunity made a race of it as he continued his surge that started at the the end of the first turn.

You could tell that Victor Espinoza pushed California Chrome down the stretch and only let up when there were maybe 10 - 20 meters to go. There wasn't going to be any getting caught from the rear. If Espinoza had kept pushing, California Chrome might have won by another 1/2 length.

 My thoughts:

1. California Chrome looked really hot as he approached the starting gate. Who can blame him? I wonder how hot it was in Dubai at the time. Weather.com says the high of the day was 90. I have to suspect it was in the mid-80s to start the race.

2. California Chrome didn't get the spot he loves, which is the second spot, about a length behind. I think that is the spot Espinoza was gunning for, but it didn't open up so he had to go 3 wide.

3. California Chrome had that kick in the stretch that was there for the 2014 Santa Anita Derby and Kentucky Derby, but seemed to disappear in the 2014 Breeders' Cup and 2015 Dubai World Cup.

4. Now on to the Breeders' Cup 2016. I say American Pharoah's connections should consider bringing him out of retirement. Have him do a prep race in July. A Grade I race in September. Victor Espinoza would be in trouble.  Which horse would he ride? This would be a case of a no-win situation for him, because one set of fans would be very angry with him.

At this point, what other horse can possibly challenge California Chrome in the Classic? I suppose Beholder. Unfortunately, the one horse that could, Shared Belief, had an unfortunate situation hit that resulted in his death. Hoppertunity can't possibly beat a solid California Chrome. The horse has already had two chances this year. I think Hoppertunity would need a situation like Bayern 2014 taking out half the field or California Chrome just not firing. I don't know the situation, but maybe Firing Line could do it. Firing Line challenged American Pharoah in the Kentucky Derby. I think the horse just didn't like the mud in the Preakness. I doubt any of the current 3 year olds could challenge a 5 year old California Chrome, but we'll have to see during the Triple Crown races. Wouldn't it be great to see California Chrome, Beholder and American Pharoah fighting it out in the stretch in Santa Anita?

Duke Basketball vs Oregon: 68 - 82

I'm not sure this is how you want to go out in March Madness. Sure, I didn't think Duke was going to win it all. I've mentioned on my Duke blog posts that I just felt that Duke didn't have enough players. My problem with this game, I didn't feel like Duke went down fighting. To me, it felt like the Duke v Arizona game in 2011. Even down to a lone player -- a freshman -- playing strong while the rest of the team shrank. In 2011, it was Kyrie Irving. This year, it was Brandon Ingram. In this game against Oregon, the rest of the team should be feeling bad about how they played.

Yes, Duke took a brief lead, but it didn't look like they were ever going to win the game. Here's my observation in the 2nd half. Duke's defense either played great or Oregon went through stretches where they weren't hitting anything. Duke was rebounding great, but their offense couldn't do anything. Grayson Allen never got going. Marshall Plumlee couldn't use his size. Chase Jeter and Derryck Thornton appeared to be over-whelmed by the spotlight. Was the fact that Kobe Bryant and Tim Cook in the audience putting too much pressure on those two freshmen?

Either way, on to next year. Next year should look good for Duke. We should have Amile Jefferson, Matt Jones, Luke Kennard, Jeter and Thornton returning. Then with a solid recruiting class, Duke should be 8 to 9 deep. Not bad for a nice push.

Hopefully, unlike this year, we don't have any bad luck with major season ending injuries. Back to this year, I just wonder what would have happened if Amile Jefferson had returned in February.

A Movie Review: 10 Cloverfield Lane

10 Cloverfield Lane. The movie opens with Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) dealing with a breakup. She gets into her car and drives into the night. In a sudden moment, a truck crashes into her. She wakes up in a small cement room that is part of a bunker, handcuffed and an intravenous tube attached to her arm. She's being held captive or is she? Eventually, the door opens and Howard (John Goodman) walks in. He doesn't initially give her a feel-good sense. She soon is introduced to another individual, Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.). Emmett tells Michelle that he fought his way into the bunker. What is going on? Howard and Emmett are convinced that America has been attacked via chemical warfare.

After Michelle is confronted with compelling proof that there is something seriously wrong in the outside world, the three of them settle into a semi-comfortable situation. Yet, signs start to pop up that indicate that Howard is not mentally stable. Michelle and Emmett initiate an attempt to gain greater freedom.

This movie reminds one of Room. I have to say that I enjoyed 10 Cloverfield Lane much better. Maybe it has to do with the Sci Fi elements of this movie. Room was about trying to escape a terrible situation. 10 Cloverfield Lane deals with taking a leap of faith, depending on gut feelings. In Cloverfield, it is obvious that something has happened. Yet, there are clues that Michelle and Emmett are being protected by a psychopath. What does one do? Which risk is worse: staying with a madman or potentially facing the aftermath of a chemical attack? The tensions just grow.

My one issue: I think there are two major flaws towards the end of the movie. One has to do with Michelle and her clothing. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but it just seemed off considering what we learned about the outside world. The second has to do with why certain parts of the bunker that broke weren't fixed. The answer to that one is obvious when it comes to the story line, but still.

Jett-K, The Alexander Noice Sextet and Max Ox at the Bootleg Theater

Jett-K

It was off to the Bootleg Theater to catch the residency band Fell Runner, but things didn't work out as planned. Some unanticipated foot poisoning led to their need to cancel for the night. That didn't mean that all was lost. In fact, it was a great night of music. I ran into three new bands/musicians that were just great.

The night started out with the simple tones of a guzheng (a Chinese string instrument) via Jett-K. This was my first time ever having seen Jett-K (who now is heading off to Berlin for awhile), but I did catch her backing up Queen Kwong.

Then the night moved on to some great jazz via the one-two punch of The Alexander Noice Sextet and Max Ox. I'm not positive if using jazz is the right genre to apply to The Alexander Noice Sextet. Part of me just wants to say that they're trance as they'll put you into an awesome trance with those haunting high pitch vocals. What did I notice: on the last song, the bassist was off just a bit so Alexander turned to him and shook his head. Alexander then made sure that the bassist understood the proper beat. When the bassist got it, Alexander nodded approval.

Max Ox just broke out the pure jazz. During one stretch, a handful of friends/fans started yelling out "Pizza." Either an inside joke or a well known joke that I just wasn't getting. The chanting of "Pizza" did fit in just perfectly with the beats.


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LP with Chelsea Lankes and Josiah at The Echo

LP

My March residency started out at The Echo. Obviously, driven by LP's residency, but it didn't hurt that Chelsea Lankes was on the bill. It so happened that she was the first one up on stage, which surprised me. I thought for sure she'd be on at 10 p.m. When I first saw her at The Bootleg, she was also first on stage.

Up next came Josiah with Tennessee brilliance. He openly admitted that some of his songs were about pass girlfriends and that one song led to a breakup with his then girlfriend. Hmm, the Taylor Swift of the Los Angeles music scene?

LP was the draw of the night. One person next to me told me that he hadn't been out to see a band in a year. He loved LP and when he heard she was doing the free residency at The Echo he knew he was coming out. Well, it did sound like he had a great time along with everyone else.

Had a brief discussion with a photography for LA Record. It is always nice to talk to fellow photographers.

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Duke Basketball vs NC State: 92 - 89

Big news. Matt Jones gave an elbow to Marshall Plumlee's nose. At least, I believe it was Matt Jones. The elbow broke Plumlee's nose who then went to the bench for a bit. Then he came back in and played like a mad man. Well, okay, so a broken nose isn't the big news though I do wonder if he'll be wearing a protective mask in future games.

Finally, Duke started out a game playing solid offense. That's what I consider the big news. They scored on a three point jumper within 30 seconds. Nice. On the other hand, this was a no defense game -- for both teams.

Looking at the prior games, it looks like that's how these two teams go at it:

Game 1: 88 Duke - 78 NC State
Game 2: 88 Duke - 80 NC State

Well, this game actually had worse defense as both teams scored more points than they scored in the  previous 2 games.

Brandon Ingram took control in the 1st half. Grayson Allen took over in the 2nd half. Plumlee and Luke Kennard played solid throughout the game.

Chase Jeter looked solid in my book.

Now: should Duke go ahead and lose to Notre Dame and get themselves 7 to 8 days of rest before March Madness?

BERU, Sextile and Ghost Noise at The Smell

Sextile

My occasional trip to The Smell happened on a recent Saturday night. It was amazingly fun. BERU opened the night with a theatrical set. The lead singer started the set wearing a horror-like face mask. Two of the band members wore some light up shoes. To close the set, two friends of the bands came out wearing masks and tossing flower petals into the crowd.

Sextile has to be considered the band of the night. This band reminds me of a cool mix of local bands Eastern Conference Champions (unfortunately no longer around) and Feels along with midwestern band Prizzy Prizzy Please. My random impression: I think the drummer basically runs this band. She seemed to be telling her band mates what to do.

Ghost Noise uses the keyboards to wow the crowd. The main keyboardist goes with his emotions. His hands spoke the language of their music. Each band member had a bouquet of artificial flowers on their mic stands. I think the guitarist was the least concerned about the bouquet. The bouquet kept falling off the mic stand and she'd just ignore the flowers on the floor. One of her band mates would then pick up the flowers and put it back in place.


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Duke Basketball vs Carolina: 72 - 76

Duke vs. Carolina basketball games are usually a thrill to watch. I say usually, because I found this one under-whelming. Well, being a Duke fan, I wouldn't think much of a Duke loss; however, on the other hand, it felt like Carolina had the game in hand the whole time. There was a brief tie in the 2nd half, but Duke never took the lead -- at least I don't believe so.

I am wondering if Duke is just tired out. They've essentially been playing with 6.5 players since Amile Jefferson got injured. It didn't feel like Duke ever had any momentum during the game. The times when Duke came close, it felt more like Carolina was having some bad luck.

What I found amazing: Duke got out-rebounded 29 to 64. There were times when it looked like Carolina got 5 rebounds on one play, which goes back to my above statement that Duke got closer when Carolina was hit with bad luck. How can a team get rebound after rebound and keep missing shots?

In the last few games I've watched, it always feels like Duke starts out really slowly. They need to get out of that. One shouldn't start a game down 10 - 0, not that it happened in this game, but they did fall behind 6 - 0.

Grayson Allen went for 29 in the game. I swear it was some quite 29 point. It just didn't feel like he took over the game for Duke. He just played really well within the framework of the offense.

Brandon Ingram needs some rest.

I wonder if it would be best for Duke to win one game in the ACC tournament and then lose the next one.

Blondfire with Bloke and Bird at Harvard and Stone

Blondfire

I was trying to figure out what I was going to do on a Wednesday night as I didn't feel like staying home. I looked around and noticed that Blondfire was playing a free show at Harvard and Stone. The last time I saw Blondfire was in 2012. The last time I went to Harvard and Stone was probably 2014 or early 2015. I decided to head on out.

First up; however, Bloke and Bird. This band comes in from Sweden. The two members of the band, Jennifer Akerman and Lorenzo Jansson Kilman, were doing a simple acoustic set so it is difficult to say what their sound is when they have a backup band. Anyways, while they were on stage, I have to say that I noticed a lot of very attractive people in the audience. Well, I'd learned later that I was within inches of Jennifer's sister who just happens to be Malin Akerman. Yes, she is in Watchmen, but I've also been catching Billions on Showtime.

Blondfire hit the stage next. Lead singer Erica Driscoll was dressed in '80s retro-chic. I loved the rectangular skinny tie. Their music has an innocence to it. I absolutely love their closing song "Where the Kids Are." Admittedly, I haven't seen this band since 2012 so most of their songs are new to me; however, their set was largely dedicated to their upcoming album release. Solid stuff.


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The Controversy and Pom Poms at The Satellite: Night 2

The Controversy

Lucky for me, February had 5 Mondays. That seems a little strange for such a short month, but it was so. I got to do my normal Monday night residency venue cycle and then add in a repeat venue. My repeat venue was The Satellite where I got to see The Controversy and Pom Poms for a second time.

I arrived at around 9:45 p.m. and ran into a couple friends who were there to see The Controversy, as well.

Pom Poms hit the stage with fans crowding the stage. To me, there were much more folks at The Satellite this Monday night versus my earlier February night. It appears like music fans started to hear about this night of music and began to show up. On stage with the Pom Poms was a dinosaur. It was actually a pinata. At the end of their set, they beat it up and out poured candy.

What I noticed: a Satellite waitress took a look at the candy that was on the floor. I could tell she wanted some, but then she walked away. She came by again. I could see her eyes. She wanted some candy. Finally, on her third pass, she knelt down and grabbed some candy.

The Controversy came up next. Lead singer Laura was dressed in leather. She also ditched her shoes and went bare footed on stage. It is so fun photographing The Controversy, but it was a tough night for me. Red lights flooded downwards. And then the floor lights that The Controversy used were hitting my camera straight on. No matter. The night isn't only about me taking cool photos, it is also about listening to some great music.

What I noticed: One The Controversy fan was head banging the whole set.


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