Spaceland: Local Natives and their residency

I invited a friend to come out to Spaceland. This was her first time at Spaceland. Before she arrived I saw a band called Rademacher. A friend told me at a Saturday night party that she planned on coming to check out this band. She never arrived, but I did get to see them and I thought they were rather good.




Red Cortez was the next band up. The lead singer was having some fun on stage. At one p0int he started to sing-chant, "Local Natives. Local Natives. Local Natives." He then broke up laughing, saying some like, "I'm just having fun." Interesting note about Red Cortez, there were four photographers with their SLR cameras taking photos of Red Cortez. I just found that interesting to mention.

Next up was Local Natives, the band I gave as the reason my friend should come out to Spaceland for the first time. Now my friend isn't used to staying out late, being a teacher and all. So before Local Natives started she said, "I might just leave at 11:30 p.m." I replied, "You've got to stick around for their whole set, this is why I invited you to come." She said, "If they're awesome, I'll stick around." She stuck around, because Local Natives were awesome.

It appears that Local Natives used to be called Cavil at Rest. Now the LA Weekly made fun of the band's name in a recent write-up. I also heard a couple guys talking after the set. One said, "They used to be called Cavil at Rest. They made a really dumb mistake changing their names to Local Natives." Actually, I like the name Local Natives.

Another interesting side note: For Red Cortez we were in the loosely defined second row. Someone how for Local Natives we got pushed back to the third row, not bad, except for the fact that the people in front of us were all like 6 feet tall. I was like, how did that happen. It wasn't like we couldn't see the band, it was just an interesting note.

While my friend took off after Local Natives, I stuck around briefly for Swim Party. If you've read my past music blogs, you know I hate staying out past midnight. I stuck around for three of their songs and took off myself. What did I think of Swim Party? I wouldn't mind seeing a full set, just hopefully when they have a start time before midnight. Half the audience had split by that point. The lead singer of Swim Party stated, "I know we all have to work tomorrow. We'll try to jam through our set as fast as possible."

Jessie Deluxe at Fox and Hounds

I got to catch an acoustic set by Jessie Deluxe at the Fox and Hounds on Saturday night. I previously saw her in her two piece band at the Roxy. She mentioned during her set that she decided to go acoustic/solo, because she was afraid that her two piece would be too loud. I don't know if she needed to worry about us, I think the Fox and Hounds has handled some rather loud bands. It was thoughtful of her and over-all, it was a nice set. She had one song that was dedicated to an opera singer, can't recall the name of the singer. To end her set, she played a song called "Bi-polar," which actually included some opera-like singing.

After her set, she walked around handing out her CD to those in the audience. Friendly personality, I say.

Switchfoot and Blue October at the Wiltern, August 6

This has been a fun week of music. Sunday started off with No Doubt and Paramore. And on Wednesday, Switchfoot and Blue October. It started off getting stuck at work a little longer than I wanted, but off I went eventually. I hung out with some friends across the street at a Japanese restaurant. Around 7:45 p.m. we headed over to catch Switchfoot. Yes, we missed the first band. A number of friends were already inside the Wiltern so I was able to squeeze in with them. We were in the second section of the general admission area, right by the railing.




I'd gone to the Wiltern website and it mentioned that no flash photography was allowed. So these photos are taken using 3200 ISO. Since we weren't right next to the stage, using flash wouldn't have mattered anyways.



I think the below is the best photo of the night.



And this one comes in a close second.



The lead singer, Jon Foreman, at this pointed started to make his way through the audience.



He went through the first section of the general admission area and ended up standing on the railing of the second section. And as I mentioned above, my friends and I were right there. So you see some rather close shots of him. I guess I could have turned on my flash, but I was a bit concerned about blinding him, considering the fact that he was on a railing.



My cute story. There was a young girl, perhaps 12, who I suspect was right by the stage. As Jon Foreman made his way through the crowd, I think she followed him. When he got to our railing, she squeezed herself towards the other railing and then sat atop of it. Now I suspect that security usually frowns on this. I waited for security to come by, but none did. She just sat there, looking in awe as Jon Foreman sang atop the railing. After a few minutes her mother (or guardian) came over and tapped her on the shoulder saying it was time to come back over. The young girl didn't complain. She got back down on the floor and they headed back towards the front of the stage. I wonder if Jon Foreman noticed this. I thought it was a very sweet moment.

And on my front. For a brief moment, Jon Foreman started to shake hands with the audience. I said to myself, why not, and briefly shook his hand.



Something that I've noticed at various music venues also happened here. Actually, some of my friends had passes for a meet and great with Switchfoot so they left the area. And in surged a number of Blue October fans: Switchfoot fans out, Blue October fans in. I say the super cool thing about Blue October, they have a violinist. The guy also plays the guitar so when he was playing his violin, he'd have his guitar, also. So you had a guy walking around with to instruments -- anyways, I found that interesting.

Blue October started off with a bang.



A lot of their songs had very personal lyrics.



And the fans ate it up.



Blue October did have an acoustic three song set. I was sort of surprised by this -- of course, this is the first time I've seen them. In my opinion, it was taking a chance that the audience would stay focused. I more than respect them for that move.



For some reason, I think I got better shows of Switchfoot than of Blue October. I think it had something to do with the lighting that each band used. Each used different lighting, Switchfoot had more white while Blue October went with . . . blue.

Switchfoot played for about an hour. Blue October played for about 1 1/2 hours. I'd say the audience was 60/40. 60% Blue October fans. 40% Switchfoot fans. I was told that when the doors opened, the line outside stretched around a corner. Who do I think had the better set? Well, I'm bias, of course. I think Switchfoot had the better set; however, I think their set at their Bro-Am was just slightly better. I think perhaps it had something to do with the crowd. Obviously, at the Bro-Am, 100% of the fans were there for Switchfoot while the fan base at the Wiltern was more diverse. As for Blue October's set. I liked it, but I thought it was a bit up and down at moments. I'm not sure they're really able to carry a 1 1/2 hour set. Hopefully, that isn't seen as too big of a knock, because there were definitely moments where they rocked it and I thought the acoustic set was great. It is like seeing a good movie, but thinking, it would be great if they'd trimmed 15 to 20 minutes off.

A movie review: Up

After seeing a number of cartoons and not enjoying them at all (Monsters vs. Aliens, as an example), I was wondering if I’d gotten too old to enjoy cartoons. That fear was tossed to the side after seeing Up. This movie is brilliant from the very start. It starts off by pulling at your heart strings and then sends you off wanting to do good. (Even the short cartoon was brilliant – of course, for Pixar, those usually are.) The first five minutes or so of the movie has to be one of the more beautifully crafted cinematic expressions of a lifetime of love. The middle is an enjoyable (though admittedly somewhat predictable) romp through South America

The coda shows how great emotional despair doesn’t need to create long-term depression. With the Academy now expanding the best picture race to the top 10 (which I don’t fully agree with), I think this movie is a shoe-in for a nomination. And if it isn’t, then it becomes obvious that expanding the nomination to 10 is a mistake and that it should get reduced back to five.

No Doubt on Sunday August 2nd, Irvine

For those who've come across my music blogs, you know the standard which is . . . here's some photos and a column will show up on intraffik.com in a month. (If you've never been to this blogsite than you have no clue what I'm talking about; however, you should check out intraffik.com if you have the time.) Well, that's true in this case as well, though I'm being slightly more wordy than in previous heads-ups-about-upcoming-intraffik-column blogs . . .

First off, we missed the first band, which I regret because I really did want to see them. We also missed about a third of Paramore set which I found really sad because I really really wanted to see their whole set.

We did get to see two-thirds of Paramore; however. And they rocked it.




To end their set, you can see below a number of costume characters.



Then up came No Doubt. The next two photos are shots of the projector screen.

I think the below is actually a rather good shot of the stage. The security guards were tight on the cameras. When walking towards the gates, I saw a woman carrying back her camera -- a non SLR camera. I made a comment to my friend. The woman heard me and replied, "No large cameras allowed." My camera I guess didn't look that large to the security guy. Unknown to him, my camera is far better than that woman's camera -- though obviously not SLR quality.

Another stage shot. Zoomed in so it didn't come out as solid.

This shot is towards the end of their set.

Awesome cool. No Doubt, during the encore three song set, had the two other lead singers come on stage to help with Stand and Deliver.

What a night. Gwen and gang delivered an awesome 1.5 hour set.

The Tempest: Independent Shakespeare Company at Barnsdall Park

This was my second time going to Barnsdall Park to catch some Shakespeare in the Park. Last year was Henry IV parts one and two. This year was The Tempest. The play is put on by the Independent Shakespeare Company. Their season at Barnsdall ends August 30th. The Company is rotating between The Tempest and Henry V.

I'm not a Shakespeare guru or fan so I can't really do a proper review. (I've seen perhaps 4 Shakespeare plays ever.) I will say I enjoyed The Tempest. Last year, I found Henry IV a bit confusing. Of course, this year, someone gave me a quick low down on The Tempest, which helped reduce the confusion.

Random thought: the programs were made of much higher paper quality than last year, meaning that even during this recession they're getting better funding?

My general comments:

Reservations are key. They let the general public in at 7 p.m. (the play starts at 7:30 p.m.), but the area fills up rather quickly. It appeared that some people had to watch from outside the boundaries.

If you have a large group, I'd recommend getting there at 6 p.m. (they start letting people in at this time) so that you can all sit together.

I'd also suggest bringing a jacket or blanket. Even though the plays go on in the middle of the summer, there is a nice breeze that comes through.

Updated: Diane Birch @ Hotel Cafe

An Update Below

I just came back from seeing Diane Birch at Hotel Cafe. A friend of mine sent out a mid-morning e-mail saying that he was planning on seeing her set and suggested that the people on his e-mail list should check her out, as well.

I won't go into her set too much, because I suspect that come mid to late August I'll have a column posted on intraffik.com about this night. Let's just say this, she has vocals that shine with beauty.

If you missed the set -- and most likely you did -- you can catch her on Jimmy Kimmel this Friday night, July 31st.

Sorry no photos. Last minute invite meant I didn't have time to bring along a camera. Anyways, here's a video from youtube.




Updated: I noticed that people are searching for Diane Birch so I figured I shouldn't leave my blog on such as tease of saying go check out intraffik.com in a month. So here's a brainstorm of quick notes about her set: Hotel Café was packed. I suspect it was as close to being sold out as possible. The age range was between 21 to 70. She rotated from piano to keys throughout much of the set, sometimes between songs; however, I thought she was most engaging when simply singing with her band. Her backup band consisted of a drummer, guitarist, bassist and trumpeter. The trumpeter added the most to her sound. She is a beauty with the focus being on her eyes. I did buy a CD from her and took it for a listen the following day. She has a very personable personality.

A Movie Review: (500) Days of Summer

(500) Days of Summer. I did enjoy this movie; however, I just want to mention a movie I consider to be an even better romantic comedy, Adventureland. Personal preference. I suppose I just like seeing a more happy ending. Warning: This blog has more than its share of spoilers.

I should probably also admit before going much further that I'm also irritated that I missed Zooey Deschanel's She & Him residency at Spaceland a few months back. That just stunk. I don't know what I was thinking.

So yes, I liked Adventureland much better, but that doesn't mean I didn't love (500) Days of Summer. It takes a different look at relationships. It shows that sometimes people break-up. It shows that sometimes certain people aren't meant for each other. And yet, it does have a happy ending to a degree. Summer finds true love, an emotion she felt she would never feel -- rather quickly by the way -- after breaking up with Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). The movie doesn't end with Tom finding true love, but it does end with him potentially finding a new girlfriend.

Problem with the movie: Okay, I'm thinking the following isn't a problem, I just wished I'd realized this before going in to see the movie. So I guess this is more of a heads up. The movie doesn't stick to a linear timeline (I would have known this if I'd read the reviews). It starts out around day 290-ish, plus or minus 30 days, and then u-turns to the start. I wish I'd logged those days better in my mind, because I think it would have made the movie more enjoyable. Early in the movie, they're having breakfast in the evening. This is essentially the moment in the movie where they breakup. Fast forward towards the end of the movie and the same day is revisited, but a few hours before that moment. Oh well, it just means I'll need to watch this movie again on DVD.

What I enjoyed about the movie is that it showed amazingly romantic moments between the two of them and yet at the same time it showed moments where you just couldn't help but think, "There is something wrong going on with this relationship." That thought was brought out by Tom's sister where she said something like, "I'm happy you guys broke up. I think you'll realize this if you'd re-think your relationship." The movie then re-winds and shows you those moments where there were signs that Summer just wasn't fully invested emotionally into the relationship.

One complaint regarding the style of the movie. There is the When Harry Met Sally moment where people are getting interviewed about their relationships. It seemed like a scene that could have been cut. It seemed out of place. The movie does use various movie styles; however, so it was meant to be included. There is a musical number where perhaps you'd think that maybe this wouldn't work either, but I enjoyed it. There is also a rather long scene towards the end of the movie that uses a split screen that shows: imagined (I don't believe that is the word used in the movie, but you get the idea) versus reality. Now that was just a brilliant scene, because how many of us are hit with cold reality when it comes to relationships.

This is a minor moment, but I loved the scene where the boss called Tom into his office. I think in many movies, the boss is seen as unsympathetic or as a jerk. This movie treated the boss as a good guy. I liked that. It was one of those moments that just showed that this was a different type of film.

I had a brief conversation with a couple of friends about this movie. One mentioned that he thought Summer was just a mean character. I think through most of the movie, this just isn't true. I'll have to give it up to him; however, when a few months after their breakup they happen to meet up on a train ride where both are heading to the same wedding. To me, Summer does lead him on, giving him the illusion that perhaps he has another chance at getting the relationship back on track. We learn moments later in the movie (the split screen portion of the movie) that she's dating someone else who is about to ask her to marry him. As Tom later asks Summer, why didn't she just mention this fact to him earlier. That was cruel, especially since she asked him to a rooftop party where she knew her new boyfriend would be. I suppose you could use this moment to go back through the whole movie and apply this character flaw to their relationship and therefore re-address how she treated him during their relationship. Perhaps my friend is right. Perhaps I'll come to his conclusion when I see the movie again. For now, I'll argue in her benefit that sometimes it is hard to bring up those topics. Also, I'd argue that throughout the movie, it was clear that Summer and Tom had reversed roles. Summer had more of the dominant/"male" role in the relationship where she didn't treat their relationship as something that might potentially lead to a long term commitment. Tom had the more "female" role of looking for a long term commitment. If you look at it from that perspective, I don't think she treated him badly during their relationship.

Ending: Deschanel was in a movie called Yes Man, which I thought had the undercurrent of being a love story to the Eastside of Los Angeles. In many ways, (500) Days of Summer is a love story to Downtown Los Angeles.

A night of words: Matt Vasquez of Delta Spirit at Spaceland

Matt Vasquez of Delta Spirit was playing at Spaceland on Tuesday night. He wears his heart on his sleeves. Throughout his set, he made some interesting comments. After singing a song about his ex-girlfriend, in which he used some rather strong words, he ended by saying, “Don’t ever date a guy with a guitar or he’ll write a song about you calling you a whore.” Now he might not have said whore, but it was a similar type word, perhaps harlot. He also talked before one song saying, “I was lucky enough to be on tour when my grandfather died. I was on tour near his place and so I was the only grandson who got to see him before he passed away. The same thing happened when my grandmother passed away, me being on tour. She was on morphine and slept most of the time. When she would wake up, she’d call my mother over and say, ‘I want to be euthanized. Where’s that Dr. Kevorkian.’ I changed my opinion on euthanasia after that experience. Anyways, I wrote this song when I was seeing my grandfather and I didn’t have to change a word.” He also joked a couple of times about how playing at Spaceland was going to pay off his rent for the month. He had a couple backup musicians, a bassist and a drummer. They played with him for the first half of the set and then the final two songs. The set went about an hour and fifteen minutes. I was actually surprised by that. I wasn’t expecting such a long set. Note: For some reason, I found it interesting when he rotated harmonicas. He also had out a banjo, but I don’t believe he ever used it.





The other two bands of the night were The Romany Rye and The Parson Red Heads. I saw perhaps half of Romany Rye’s set. They’re a three guy band. There was a funny comment by one guys who said something like, “I wrote this song while learning to play the piano, which I still don’t know how to play.” The band has an interesting situation where they rotate around musical instruments. When I walked in they were all on guitars. During one of their songs, two of the guys rotated to a drum set and a piano. The Parson Red Heads are a rather mellow band that didn’t ever go outside that music range of mellow. One of the guitar players was interesting to watch. He often times held something in his right hand. The young lady in the band commented, “Can you believe he played the tambourine and the guitar on that song? I always find that so amazing.” Looking at their myspace page, I do believe I only saw a subset of the band so I suspect they can jam it up a bit more.

Below pictures are of Parson Red Heads. I didn't really get a good shot of Romany Rye.

Pretty Mess, Pu$$y Cow and Dirty Filthy Mugs at the Blue Star

Saturday night at Blue Star. First off, there was an issue with the sound. I guess the sound guy didn’t show up. I heard someone say he called in sick. Of course, that could mean he just decided not to show up for the night for whatever reason. Folks tried their best at getting the sound going and someone was able to get one microphone to work at around 10:15 p.m. The first band of the night was Pretty Mess. They’re a four member, all-girl, punk band. They play aggressive. Sing raw. Use plenty of four letter words. And have probably the hottest drummer in Los Angeles. There were some interesting moments during their set. The microphone went out during their set as someone who knew a bit about sound came around and tried to help make things better. There were complaints, but the guy knew what he was doing and kept on going. Eventually the sound came back and he also got a second microphone working, as well. Also, during their set, a police helicopter flew overhead for some reason with the beam lights pointing towards the Blue Star. Sort of interesting. I half expected to see cops coming by at some point. No police came in though perhaps a couple cop cars drove by the Blue Star at some point.

Next up was Pu$$y Cow. I hadn’t seen this band play a full set in a couple months, I believe since their Juanita show way back when. I’m not sure who set up the night, but the honest truth was that this was a Pu$$y Cow show. Probably 60%-70% of the people there were there to see Pu$$y Cow. There was a moment where one of the fans got up into Chissum's face. Chissum tried to start the song off, but just couldn't and started laughing.

Dirty Filthy Mugs were the third band of the night. They started the night off with a bang. The lead singer just went flying around from the start. I swear this band has one of the best stage shows in Los Angeles (obviously Automatic Music Explosion stands alone). They threw out confetti poppers and sprayed everyone with party spray string. It was awesome. And they sounded great, as well. And for a song or two one of the guys brought out an accordion. An unfortunate situation arose that perhaps not very many people noticed. There was a guy wearing ski glasses. He got a little testy at one point with a lady who was using the poppers. Some of the streamers landed on his back. He got so furious that he got a cup of beer and threw it at her back and then stormed off. A fight could have started, but she was cool about it and so her friends were cool about it. The guy obviously deserves a big JERK tagged to his forehead.

Interesting note was that some sort of party was occurring across the street in this largely industrial park area. Someone mentioned it was a corporate party, but when I was driving off for the night I noticed a bunch of teens/college age folks heading towards the party. My car also had a number of party fliers on it. Maybe this area is turning into a little hidden hip area of music and dance?

Big Stone City, F-ing Southwell and Z/Schnee and the Bleeding Livers

Wednesday night at El Cid to catch Rob Z's night. As I was walking towards El Cid I heard the sounds of the first band. I was thinking, “Wow, that band sounds really awesome.” The band is called Big Stone City. I’m sorry I didn’t catch their whole set. Next up was F*** Southwell. He used to front my all-time favorite local band: Bang Sugar Bang. He borrowed a couple guys from Get Set Go to help fill out his sound. A funny note about his set: He took one of his guitars from its case and realized that one of the strings was broken. He broke it at his last gig. He mentioned, “This just proves that I am one of the laziest musicians around. And I didn’t even practice with the guys since our last show. They said we’re fine, however.”

The final band of the night was Z/Schnee and the Bleeding Livers. This is Rob Z’s band. Rob Z always has these gags he uses. This time around he had a bicycle horn. He told everyone, “Whenever I make a sound with this horn, I want everyone to yell out, ‘Brand New Car.’ It means we’re singing a brand new song.” Kevin and Emily from the former band Midway made an awesome guest appearance that got many of the people in the crowd pumped up. Somewhere in the middle of the Bleeding Livers set, a couple of people took to dancing on the floor. A couple of others joined after some persuasion. Soon thereafter a large number of people started to dance away. Anyways, this is the last Rob Z night for awhile as he is putting his night on hiatus.

The Mulhollands and The Shakers at Fox and Hounds

I last saw The Mulhollands back in mid-April so three months had passed since I last saw them. That's a rather long time period for me to go without seeing one of my favorite local bands. With that in mind, I headed off to Fox and Hounds on Saturday night to catch their set. It also happened to be Matt's, one of the guitar players, birthday. I believe that one of the songs on their set list was written by Matt -- if I heard Sarah correctly. The set was lovely. The songs are great. It was great to see them again. There was an interesting scene come the end of their set. I noticed a guy walking in front of me and moving to the front of the "stage" area. I didn't pay much attention until I noticed people around me started to talk and point. The guy had taken down his pants. Now luckily he wasn't going commando and was wearing sportswear versus briefs, but still. Even the band had to take notice. (I'll resist posting a photo of the pant-less guy for his own sake, not that very many people ever come across this blog but who knows.)

Beforehand, The Shakers were up. As mentioned before in other blogs, this is Jodie's new project -- post Automatic Music Explosion. I was doing some photo taking. I was getting much better photos than I got when checking out their Viper Room gig. I noticed that they're looking for a bass player. Their current bass player if Jeff from Automatic Music Explosion.

Death Cab for Cutie at the Hollywood Bowl

I saw Death Cab for Cutie at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday evening. It was a pleasant night of music. The Los Angeles Philharmonic joined in on the fun for about 5 songs. I’m not sure they added all that much to the music. For a moment or two you'd hear a brass instrument ringing loud, but other than that the Philharmonic didn't seem to add much -- though I was way in the back so perhaps it was more enjoyable for people up close.

What did add a lovely twist was the final song. Fireworks started up behind the stage. I half wondered if these were just extra fireworks left over from the 4th of July. Probably not. It was a lovely ending to their set. I sort of wished that Death Cab for Cutie was able to see the fireworks themselves, because it was so beautiful seeing the fireworks going off as the band played.

I have to admit that Death Cab for Cutie is one of those bands I’ve heard of, but I wouldn’t really be able to name off any of their songs. I was a bit amazed during their set how many of their songs I actually recognized. The great thing about the band is the distinctness of the lead singer's vocals.

There were two other bands: The New Pornographers and Tegan and Sara. Both made statements about how amazing it was to play at the Hollywood Bowl. I think both bands were a bit intimidated by it all. Tegan and Sara kept on mentioning how nervous they were. Interestingly, based on their myspace pages and such, both are from Vancouver, Canada (Tegan and Sara mentions on their myspace page as being both from Vancouver and Montreal -- I'm not sure how that works)– a place I recently visited and will shortly have a massive music column up on inTraffik.com.

Notes about the Hollywood Bowl. I went with some friends. I learned an interesting parking trick. Park at Hollywood and Highland. Buy some goodies at a 2nd floor food vendor who will give you parking validation. Walk up to the Hollywood Bowl. The parking was $4 plus a few extra dollars for a couple snacks. All told it is probably just slightly cheaper than just parking at the Hollywood Bowl, but on the other hand you aren’t waiting around, drumming your fingers on your car's hood, for people to get to their car. (I personally tend to do something similar, but I usually just take the metro to Hollywood/Highland and then walk up.)

It was getting a bit chilly at the Hollywood Bowl around 9 p.m. My friends were all cold at that point. Luckily, we all had jackets.

I usually post pictures with my music blogs. Sorry about not having any. I was way way way up in Section W.