GRIT, Moon Honey and Sego at Chinatown

A final Chinatown night until next year. What a fun few months. On this Saturday night GRIT,
Moon Honey, and Sego hit the stage.

Grit. I think that band name pretty much sums up their sound. Moment: The lyrics "Cold Blooded" were being sung as two young girls were running in circles next to the stage. Moon Honey's lead singer wore a theatrical headdress. She sort of reminded me of a mix between Toyland and Wizard of Oz. What else did I notice: in the middle of the set, the keyboardist switched out synths. I couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever stepped on his Mac computer (during a set) that he had on the floor -- he was jumping/running right next to it as he was doing the switch. Sego has a mystery to them. Their stage moves were out-of-control in a controlled manner.

GRIT

GRIT

GRIT

Moon Honey

Moon Honey

Moon Honey

Seg

Sego Sego

Lael Neale and Weyes Blood at the Resident

Lael Neale

I finally made it to the Resident. I've seen photos from other photographers, but never made it down there myself until this past Thursday. I got to see Lael Neale and Weyes Blood.

Seeing both artists made me think of my vacation in Iceland. When I was in Iceland, there was a singer-songwriter music festival. It was a pleasant surprise. That's how I felt tonight. Lael had some great lyrics. "I want to know your grace." "I need proof that I live, but I don't want to give up my freedom." "If you become my lover, I'll never look back."

Weyes Blood has deep vocals backed by beautiful guitar rifts. And she likes to stick out her tongue on occasion. She reminded me of Jenny O. Her comment of the set, "I have two more songs, but they're each seven minutes long." What I noticed: She used cassette tapes to back her up.

Weyes Blood

Lara FM with Eli and The Itches, Orphan Googles and Violent Vickie

Lara FM

A pretty cool night at the Silverlake Lounge. I hadn't headed out to the Silverlake Lounge for a couple months. Lara FM was the headline. She has a great set design. She had mannequin heads and dolls decorating her stage. She had a white sheet hung. She also had a dancer. It reminded me of those wonderful independent teen movies where the teenagers are super cool and hip and know where all the cool art scenes are.

Opening up for her were a number of musicians. Violent Vickie had a ballet dancer with her. You also couldn't help but think about your favorite independent teen movie. Orphan Googles went full out industrial rock. At times, it looked like the drummer's eyes would pop out after each drum beat. Lyrics: Drink, Smoke, Watch TV. After they ended their set, the DJ put on some classic pop songs. Funny, industrial rock to pop love songs. Eli and The Itches had some unique akimbo moves on stage. What did I notice: there was an interesting shoe-sock combo. The lead singer also tossed his cloths in front of the stage: jacket and shirt.

PAPA with Green Gerry and Maxim Ludwig at the Bootleg Theater

PAPA

A great night of music hit the Bootleg Theater last Friday for PAPA's residency. Green Gerry started the night off with a shaker, mad style start and a shift of music that went from manic to slow beats and back to manic. There were some great quotes from Green Gerry. First, "Are the guys from PAPA here? No? That's awkward, we'll just have to do what we're good at." Second, "I picked a dumb f*cking name for my band, Green Gerry." There was also an offer of free coffee for anyone who showed up at his work at 8 a.m.

Maxim Ludwig is a band I've followed for years. I first saw Maxim Ludwig at Hotel Cafe. On this night, I was reminded of really cool '80s music. Comment of the set, "How are you guys doing? That's what I've asked at every show I've played at since I was fourteen." Maxim can slide across the floor like any top pop star.

PAPA must have made a mistake when they asked me to plug in some equipment. They had technical issues throughout their set. There were waves at friends asking for assistance. The friends weren't sure what was needed and so gave some shrugs. There was a lot of equipment changes, chord changes, sound guy coming in to help. Through all those technical glitches was one awesome show. Their sound in the four walls of the Bootleg just reverberated with brilliance.

The Buttertones with Dumb Fucks and Prettiest Eyes at The Echo

The Buttertones

What a wild and crazy night at The Echo. Opening up the night was Dumb Fucks. They're young. They're punk. And they love having their fans in the middle of a mosh pit. What did I notice: The lead singer had a bandanna pinned to the back of his coat that had Dumb Fucks written on it. By the end of the set it was falling off. For the final song, the guitarist was pushed into taking over lead vocals. I don't think he was too into doing that.

Prettiest Eyes reminded me a little of a favorite local band called Pu$$y Cow. Prettiest Eyes is full blown country punk. The bassist looked like he was in a caged stage. He moved about the stage, covering practically every inch of the stage. To end the set, the drum set was in total chaos. That's the best example of their awesome set.

The Buttertones didn't slow it down. The Echo was packed with fans ready for a show. They weren't disappointed. What did I notice: the band was in casual/dress pants. They also have a saxophone player who is just old school cool.

Sorry for the dark photos. The lights were low on this night.


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Ghita and Alexa Villa at The Satellite

Ghita

It was off to The Satellite to catch a couple of artists. The big big surprise was seeing Ghita. She comes to Los Angeles via Morocco, Europe and Boston. There was a large crowd of friends in support. She mentioned that this was her first show in Los Angeles. Her voice is like sweet honey. "Life is too beautiful to give up on it now."

Opening was Alexa Villa. She's a model/singer. Her sound is a dash of pop with a sprinkle of punk. What did I notice: she loves to point out folks in the crowd. She also is quick to smile. Her backup band had fun entertaining the crowd with their stage presence.





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Knox Hamilton and Hawai at the Bootleg Theater

Knox Hamilton

I have this tradition of going out on Monday nights. So on the last Monday of August, I'd seen all the residency bands, but still wanted to head out. I noticed that the Bootleg Theater had a Monday night event going on -- the last night of their residency had happened the prior Monday. I decided to head out. What a joy.

I overheard the sound guy at the Bootleg say that it was an industry night for Knox Hamilton. I don't know if this was truth or rumor. Anyway, Knox Hamilton killed it. Four guys from Arkansas who just play solid rock.

Opening up for them was local band Hawai. Their sound was a near match for Caribbean jazz. With soft vocals, this band had the crowd wrapped around their fingers.


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Rush Midnight, Pr0files and Zipper Club at The Echo/The Satellite

Zipper Club

This is admittedly 2 weeks late.

I don't believe I've done this in more than a couple years, I went to two different venues on the same night. First up was The Echo. There I saw Rush Midnight and Pr0files. Rush Midnight is a solo disco project. The artist stood amid a display of rope lights.

I've been on this effort recently -- actually based on good luck -- of catching bands/artists that I didn't catch at Make Music Pasadena. Pr0files was the latest. Dressed in a colorful kimono-like outfit, the lead singer took us on a passion tour.

Then I ran off to The Satellite to catch the residency band Zipper Club. This band just rocks out. And then there was the awesome light show. It was just so cool with symbols and lasers crossing the stage. Lyrics of the set, "I just want to take your breath away." To end their set, they went mosh pit punk.


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