NFV Song Spotlight: Pink Stiletto's Agent AF (a night at Zebulon)

My plan on Sunday night (Dec 29th) was to go see Soft Palms at Club Tee Gee. Then I noticed that Zebulon was having an early 6 p.m. opening. Hmm, maybe I could club venue hop? I know that the first band at Club Tee Gee generally goes on stage between 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. I also know that Zebulon usually has bands going on stage either at 7:45 p.m. or 8:45 p.m. If that was the case, it wasn't exactly worth club venue hopping, because I might have to leave before the first band at Zebulon finished their set. I wasn't certain if Zebulon was just opening their doors earlier than normal or if that meant bands were going on stage earlier than normal, as well. I noticed an Instagram Stories that highlighted the set times at Zebulon and they were indeed having bands starting their sets earlier than normal. That was that, I figured why not start my night off early, as well, by first heading to Zebulon and then jumping to Club Tee Gee. 

Pink Stiletto at Zebulon

Song Spotlight: Soft Palms' Rainbows (a night at Club Tee Gee)

Soft Palms is a duo that brings together the wife and husband team of Julia Kugel-Montoya and Scott Montoya. The partners also are the founders of one of my favorite music festivals, Happy Sundays Long Beach. That festival is often my only annual trip to Long Beach to catch the music scene in that city. I have on rare occasions gone to Alex's Bar or DiPiazza's to catch a favorite band. 

Soft Palms at Club Tee Gee

Song Spotlight: AZRA's if It wasn't for you (a night at Bar Lubitsch)

It was the last WFNM of 2024. I, of course, circled this Bar Lubitsch on my music calendar. I also knew before heading out that I would be highlighting AZRA for my NFV Song Spotlight series. The day before, I was on Youtube and figured I would do a search for her music. I came to her page and decided to click on "if It wasn't for you" because I liked the cover image of AZRA looking lost in her forlorn thoughts. The song hooked me with the power anthem, "If it wasn't for you. And all you put me through. The miscommunication spiral." The video has her dancing through the streets of Boston along with power kicks into the camera when she sings "you." You've got to watch until the end, because the videographer and her start laughing. A slam of a door that was meant as an emphasis did not occur, because the door was one of those safety theater doors that can open quickly, but closes slowly. 

AZRA at Bar Lubitsch

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): Jan 26th - Feb 1st

A Handful of Show Alerts 

Tuesday, Jan 28th: Desperate Hauswives at Moroccan Lounge. Doors at 7 p.m.
The band is made up of talker and Fiona Grey. It is Fiona Grey's birthday party. 

Wednesday, Jan 29th: The Blushes at The Redwood Bar. Doors at 8 p.m.

One of my favorite bands. The band played Echo Park Rising in 2024. You can read my review of the festival for US Rocker here.

Thursday, Jan 30th: Blu Jay and The Lovebombs at Bar Lubitsch. Doors at 7 p.m.

Friday, Jan 31st: Boy Deluxe at The Roxy. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my post on their song "Bait" here.

Cancelled. Friday, Jan 31st: Harry the Nightgown at Permanent Records Roadhouse. Doors at 9 p.m.

Lead singer Sami Perez is also in bands SadGirl (that I covered for US Rocker - here) and Cherry Glazerr (also covered for US Rocker - here).

Friday, Jan 31st: Groop at Zebulon. Doors at 7 p.m.

One of the side bands for Groop is Primitive Ring. I wrote about it on my blog here.

Song Spotlight: The Darbies' Every Bitter Sun (a night at Harvard & Stone)

I do love residencies. I've been going to residencies for well over a decade. It is one of my favorite things to do when it comes to the Los Angeles music scene. I happened to notice that The Darbies were doing a three Tuesday night residency at Harvard & Stone for the month of December. I believe I didn't figure this out until their second Tuesday (Dec 10th). I ended up going elsewhere that night. I did want to catch their set, but I decided to head to The Fable to catch a wonderful singer-songwriter set by LINNEA. I have to mention, because that is such a significant contrast to what I experienced the following Tuesday when I got to catch the Darbies final residency night. 

The Darbies at Harvard & Stone

Song Spotlight: Kennedy Williams' Better Days (a night at Hotel Ziggy)

Kennedy Williams was up first on a WFNM night at Hotel Ziggy. I primarily went to this specific WFNM to catch Night Talks and Beck Pete. I had no idea what to expect when Williams took to the stage. As with many musicians who are up first at WFNM, she did a solo set. It was just her, a multi-color sweater, and a guitar. 

Kennedy Williams at Hotel Ziggy

Song Spotlight: unpolished*' nobody knows (a night at Bar 10)

I've known about Bar 10 at the Corbin Bowl for a very long time now, but I've always considered it to be way too far away. I live in Glendale and Glendale to Tarzana is 18 miles. The farthest venue from Glendale that is on my rotation is Hotel Ziggy, which is 10 miles away. So that venue fits into my claim to various people that I hate traveling more than 10 miles to a venue. Heck, I only make it to the Sunset Strip once or twice a year, primarily because I hate the long drive. 

unpolished* at Bar 10

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): Jan 19th - Jan 25th

A Handful of Show Alerts 

Sunday, Jan 19th: Spare Parts for Broken Hearts at Alex's Bar. Doors at 2 p.m.
I covered the band back in 2022 for Buzzbands.

Cancelled. Monday, Jan 20th: Blu Jay and The Lovebombs at Harvard & Stone. Doors at 8 p.m.

Thursday, Jan 23rd: Tropa Magica at Alex's Bar. Doors at 8 p.m.
I covered the band back in 2022 for Buzzbands.

Friday, Jan 24th: Gottlieb at The Smell. Doors at 9 p.m.

The band was one of my favorite "new to me, but maybe not to you" bands of 2024.

Friday, Jan 24th: Night Talks at Permanent Records Roadhouse. Doors at 6 p.m.

You can read my NFV Show Spotlight of their song "Running on a Cloud" here.

Friday, Jan 24th: Nutt at The Redwood Bar. Doors at 8 p.m.
The band was one of my favorite "new to me, but maybe not to you" bands of 2024.

Saturday, Jan 25th: unpolished* at Bar 10. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my NFV Show Spotlight of their song "nobody knows" here.

Song Spotlight: Tashaki Miyaki's City (a night at Zebulon)

I've noticed that Tashaki Miyaki has a rather passionate following amount photographers who have shot the scene for a number of years. Though I am perhaps not as passionate as my other photographers, I do have a long history with the band. I saw the band way back in 2012 when they opened up for Family of the Year. In my notes from the night, the reason I went was for Family of the Year (I am a big Family of the Year fan), but also because I noticed a band called Tashaki Miyaki was playing and I found the band name intriguing. A couple years later, I saw the band at Make Music Pasadena. Looking through my records, it looks like the last time I saw them was at their Echo residency in 2017 when they played with L.A. Witch and Z Berg. That was a line-up. 

Tashaki Miyaki at Zebulon

Song Spotlight: LINNEA's Tough Luck (a night at The Fable)

I'll occasionally head out to The Fable to catch a Ryan Pollie hosted Tuesday night. Sometimes I go out to The Fable because I know a band that he booked such as Janelane. Other times I'll go there even though I don't know a single person or band on the bill. That was the case when I went out on a recent December night. First up was LINNEA (Linnea Delaney Johansen). It took about 5 seconds, let's say, to come to the conclusion that I made the right decision to head out on this particular Tuesday night.

LINNEA at The Fable

Song Spotlight: Lovecolor's Hearts on Fire (a night at Hotel Cafe)

Lovecolor came on through Los Angeles in support of their (at the time) soon to be released debut album "LOVECOLOR." The Hotel Cafe was the place to be to catch the set. The band played seven of the nine songs off the album as well as two of lead singer Vanessa Silberman's own previous releases.

Lovecolor at The Hotel Cafe

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): Jan 12th - Jan 18th

A Handful of Show Alerts 

Cancelled. Monday: Jan 13th: Hannah Hughes at Harvard & Stone. Doors at 8 p.m.
Hannah Hughes is also in the band Julez and the Rollerz. I covered their Is This Where The party Is? EP release party at Non Plus Ultra for US Rocker Music.

Cancelled. Tuesday: Jan 14th: Devon Ross at Zebulon. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can my review of one of her sets here.

Cancelled. Tuesday Jan 14th: Kat French at Hotel Ziggy. Doors at 7 p.m.
You can read my NFV Song Spotlight of "Casket" here.

Wednesday Jan 5th: Eugene Edwards at Harvard & Stone. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can read my review of a Western Edge Tribute night at Zebulon that I wrote for US Rocker Music here which included Eugene Edwards.

Saturday Jan 18th: Bruvvy at The Viper Room. Doors at 4:30 p.m.

One of my favorite "new to me, but maybe not to you" 2024 bands. You can see the full list here.

Saturday Jan 18th: Kills Birds at the Moroccan Lounge. Doors at 9:30 p.m.

You can read my NFV Song Spotlight of their song "Glisten" here.

Saturday Jan 18th: Mating Ritual at Gold-Diggers. Doors at 7 p.m.
If interested, you can read my review of their Songs for the Morning and Evening Times album release party at Zebulon for Buzzbands.

Postponed. Saturday Jan 18th: Tolliver and TwoLips at The Echo. Doors at 7 p.m.

Interestingly, I covered both bands for Buzzbands at Echo Park Rising across the years. You can read my brief mention of Tolliver as well as photos of both in my 2023 Echo Park Rising coverage. If you want to flashback to 2019, you can read the short quote that TwoLips provided me. 

Song Spotlight: Eleven Green's Fixed Tool (a night at Hotel Ziggy)

When random encounters happen, you've got to mention it. The setup is that I caught Eleven Green on the Tuesday night prior to Thanksgiving. The band was playing a WFNM night at Hotel Ziggy. Fast forward to Black Friday. I was at Best Buy picking up an external hard drive to store all the photos and videos I take of the Los Angeles music scene. After being handed the external hard drive, I did a beeline towards the exit. Walking right past me was the lead singer, Nare Nikoyan. I didn't know her name at the time of this random encounter so I yell out, "Eleven Green." She turns and I told her that I saw her Wednesday night. She looked slightly confused, perhaps because I got the days messed up. I saw the band on Tuesday night. My excuse is that I went to Hotel Ziggy on both Tuesday and Wednesday night. I added, "Hotel Ziggy. I was one of the photographers." 

Eleven Green at Hotel Ziggy

Song Spotlight: Dove Armitage's Glass In Me (a night at the Fonda Theatre)

I've seen Dove Armitage (Quincy Larsen) twice this year. Interestingly enough, she was opening on nights that I was covering for US Rocker Music. In October, she was opening up for Sunflower Bean at Zebulon. In December, she was playing The Fonda Theatre in support for Zaho de Sagazan. To clarify, the year 2024 is not the first time I've come across Dove Armitage or, for that matter, Larsen. 

Dove Armitage at The Fonda Theatre

Song Spotlight: Beck Pete's Scared of Everything (a night at Hotel Ziggy)

I first came across Beck Pete at El Cid in 2019. It wasn't a full set. El Cid double booked the day and so the bands playing in the afternoon were all restricted to 20 minutes or less. In fact, the last band of the night played maybe less than 10 minutes. 

Beck Pete at Hotel Ziggy

Night Talks' Running On A Cloud (a night at Hotel Ziggy)

Like many a band, my first introduction to Night Talks happened at a venue now since closed called the Bootleg Theater. It was July 2016. I then caught the band a month later at Chinatown Summer Nights. That was a fun weekend of music. Echo Park Rising and Chinatown Summer Nights were both on that same weekend so I spent Friday night at Echo Park Rising, Saturday night at Chinatown Summer Nights, and Sunday night back at Echo Park Rising. 

Night Talks at Hotel Ziggy

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): Jan 5th - Jan 11th

A Handful of Show Alerts 

Sunday Jan 5th: Ben Reddell at Club Tee. Doors at 8 p.m.
You can read about the artist on US Rocker Music when he played Americana West Fest 2024.

Monday Jan 6th: Maybellene Ryder and Allegra Ondine at Harvard & Stone. Doors at 8 p.m.
The two are playing individual sets on Monday, but I did catch their band Paradise Lovers back in August 2023. I also happened to catch Ryder playing violin for a band called Oh, Rose at the Shrine. I wrote a review of that night on US Rocker Music, which you can read here.

Wednesday Jan 8th: Kat French at Hotel Ziggy. Doors at 7 p.m.
You can read my NFV Song Spotlight of "Casket" here.

Cancelled: Thursday Jan 9th: Paper Citizen at The Escondite. Doors either 8 p.m. or 9 p.m.

I caught a Paper Citizen set back in 2022 and did a review and photo gallery for Buzzbands that you can see here.

Cancelled: Friday Jan 10th: Emily Rose & the Rounders at Zebulon. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read about the band on US Rocker Music when they played Americana West Fest 2024.

Cancelled: Saturday Jan 11th: Osnova at Gold-Diggers. Doors at 7 p.m.

The band was one of my favorite "new to me, but maybe not to you" bands of 2024.

Cancelled: Saturday Jan 11th: Gottlieb at The Haven. Doors at 5:30 p.m.

The band was one of my favorite "new to me, but maybe not to you" bands of 2024.

Song Spotlight: Mikayla McLean's Run! (a night at Hotel Ziggy)

Who has to rank as one of the bands / singers most happy about being invited to play the WFNM stage? Mikayla McLean who recently played Hotel Ziggy has to make that list. She said towards the end of the set while thanking WFNM, "[thanks for] letting me jump onboard last minute. I've been scheming and trying to get on stage." Someone dropped out at the last minute and she jumped onboard and put on a wonderful set. 

Mikayla McLean at Hotel Ziggy

Rocco DeLuca Blends Genres for His Birthday Set at Zebulon

A couple days after Christmas, Rocco DeLuca played a set at Zebulon. It was to celebrate his birthday. He was joined on stage by Liberate Elemental Forces, which is an Indian raga collective. Zebulon had what I call their "Hotel Cafe" setup going. Seats and round tables were setup near the stage with standing room behind. The night initially started with an instrumental opening with DeLuca playing his steel guitar and two friends on stage with one playing guitar and the other playing an upright bass.

Rocco DeLuca at Zebulon