Bleeding Livers, Swagger Sticks, King Cheetah and Mad Planet at Mr. T's Bowling

I headed off to Mr. T's Bowling on Saturday night where I caught Bleeding Livers, The Swagger Sticks, King Cheetah and Mad Planet.

This was the first time at Mr. T's Bowling in awhile. There was some redesign going on. Some extra room on the side of the stage was opened up.

I saw King Cheetah for the first time in awhile. I don't know if this in a permanent change, but they were a two piece band for the night.

Mad Planet includes two former members of Bang Sugar Bang.

Some fun night of music over-all.

Bleeding Livers





Swagger Sticks







King Cheetah







Mad Planet

Joe Greene and Get Set Go at El Cid

I am so behind my writing on music. Anyways, nearly a week ago it was off to El Cid to catch a Rob Z night. Hung out for two sets.

The first set was Joe Greene. I have to say it was an awesome set.

Next up was Get Set Go doing an acoustic set. There was some fun conversations going back and forth regarding vibrating cell phones. Someone in the audience kept on calling up Mike TV during the set.

Joe Greene photos.





Get Set Go photo

Twilight Sleep at Spaceland

It was off to see Twilight Sleep at Spaceland. I've wanted to catch one of their sets for awhile. I noticed awhile back that they were playing at Pershing Square. I wanted to go, but just couldn't make it. I believe they played a couple other times that I noticed and I just couldn't make those either. Finally, I made it to one of their sets.

What did I think? Very awesome from start to end.

Comment: I have to do something really nerdy, I'd like to introduce our new drummer.

A Movie Review: Greenberg

Greenberg. I did not like this movie at all. Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) had few redeeming qualities. He was abusive to his friends. He was abusive to his girlfriend, Florence, (Greta Gerwig) – if she really was his girlfriend. I’m not even sure what she found attractive in him. In the movie, she said it was because he wanted to do nothing. Maybe that is intriguing, but he was also a cruel person. I was totally with Florence’s girlfriend who questioned why she was in such a relationship. I suppose one could argue that this is a great movie, because it realistically looks at a person who is really messed up emotionally. I argue it isn’t, because someone so messed up would be totally abandoned by his friends.

Underwater City People and Get Set Go at Old Towne Pub

It was off to Old Towne Pub to catch Underwater City People and Get Set Go.

I went a few weeks back but had to leave before Get Set Go went on stage, because their start time was going to be past midnight. Well, this time around went a bit better as they started their set at around 11:30 p.m. Awesome.

As for Underwater City People, this is a band I've followed for awhile. They're about to release an album.

Underwater City People








Get Set Go

Silent Star and Helen Stellar at Spaceland

After watching Duke beat Butler for the national championship, I headed off to Spaceland to check out some bands. I wanted to catch Mere Mortals, but when I got there I found out that they were replaced with a band called Silent Star.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Silent Star. They had an old time fashion taste associated with them. It was a good time. Amusing moments . . . the lead singer had some issues with microphone. He accidentally disconnected his microphone from the cord. He mentioned that he tended to do that at least once during every set. Another time he fumbled with his microphone stand. Then during an acoustic song, he suffered through some feedback.

Next up was Helen Stellar. They're the residency band for April. Shoegaze. I do have a soft spot for shoegaze. Lights were turned down for most of the set. During one song the lead singer asked for the lights to get turned up. For a brief moment, some bright strobe-like lights beamed before they reset to brighter lights than previously but not strobe-like bright. I hate when Spaceland does something like that. I think a lot of other folks didn't like it either, because I heard some brief protests. Luckily, it was only a brief second. I guess it is how the lighting system works at Spaceland.


Silent Star





Helen Stellar

A movie review: Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland. I simply loved this movie. I enjoyed it from the start to the end. First off, it is just beautiful eye candy. The colors, sets are just a joy. Second off, the acting is wonderful. I think the movie works because of Mia Wasikowska (Alice). Wonderfully acted. Third off, I just loved the storyline. I loved the storyline of Alice having to save Wonderland from the evils of the Red Queen.

The Mo-odds, Madison Bloodbath, The Slow Death at Blue Star

It was off to Blue Star Café to catch some bands. I ended up getting lost. I was day dreaming as I was driving down the 5 freeway. Instead of taking the 10 West, I ended up taking the 10 East. Oops. I learned rather quickly enough that I had no clue how to get to Blue Star from where I was. In fact, I believe I nearly got a traffic ticket from a cop as I was going here and there. Finally, I just got back on the freeway and did this strange loop around Los Angeles.

All this led me to missing the first band of the night, which I heard was good.

The next band up was The Mo-odds. Here’s the interesting story about their set. I was standing in front of the stage. Someone was playing around with my pants. I was like, “Man, who’s doing that?” I looked around, no one was around me. Who was it? It was Jonah, kicking at the bass drum. The air was forced out and shooting right for my pants.

Madison Bloodbath was up next. Comment of the night, “Maybe I should come down among the peasants.”

The final band of the night was The Slow Death. They were on tour and were stopping by in Los Angeles. Second comment of the night, “I hope this isn’t like Riverside and we end up playing during a fist fight.”

It was a fun night though also a chilly night out at the Blue Star.

The Mo-odds







Madison Bloodbath





The Slow Death

Eastern Conference Champions and Glacier Hiking at Spaceland

I have this new band I really like called Eastern Conference Champions. I learned they were doing a gig at Spaceland so off I went to catch them. This was only my second time seeing them and once again I was not at all disappointed. What a great joy.

I was thinking of taking off right after their show, but then I noticed that Spaceland was starting to fill up. The next band up was Glacier Hiking. I admit that my first impression as I was seeing the band set up was, "These guys look a bit dorky." On the other hand, I couldn't help but see that Spaceland was getting crowded. "Okay," I thought, "I'll stick around for a couple songs and then take off." I didn't take off after a couple songs. I stayed for the whole set. My first impression was totally wrong. What I assumed as dorky simply wasn't true. As they went from setting up to playing their music, they turned into awesome musicians. I'm not sure I've had such a quick switch of opinion regarding a local band. I'll have to keep this band in mind for the future, because I'd like to see one of their sets again.

Eastern Conference Champions







Glacier Hiking

Maxim Ludwig and the Santa Fe Seven/Sister Crayon @ Hotel Cafe

I headed off to Hotel Cafe to see Maxim Ludwig and the Santa Fe Seven. My friend and I have this you pick, I pick music agreement -- though I think it is really one of those you pick and I never pick situations. My friend likes Maxim Ludwig and so it was off to Hotel Cafe.

I arrived early and got to see Sister Crayon. Actually, I showed up on time, 8:30 p.m. This was the time my friend set for us to meet up at Hotel Cafe. She didn't show up till 9:30 p.m. Interesting.

Sister Crayon had an interesting story. There vehicle broke down while they were heading to Hotel Cafe. Someone had to come pick them up to get them to Hotel Cafe on time.

Sister Crayon photos.





Maxim Ludwig





Update 4/6. Interesting note. This was the second time my friend and I saw Maxim Ludwig. The first time we saw them, she loved them and I was a bit more neutral. This time around, I loved them and my friend was more neutral. Interesting turn of events. Anyways, in my opinion, this is a band to check out.

A Movie Review: She's Out of My League

She's Out of My League. I enjoyed this movie. The two main actors, Jay Baruchel (Kirk) and Alice Eve (Molly) were endearing – though I personally think Krysten Ritter (Patty) is hotter than Alice Eve and should have been the “She’s Out of My League” actress (blonds vs. brunettes shall we say?). Outside of the hotness question is rather Molly is dating an underachiever while the question for Kirk is will his self-esteem problems destroy his relationship with Molly. This premise could run out of steam, but I think the movie had enough going for it to get it over the finish line.

There are some indications throughout the movie that Stainer (T.J.Miller) and Patty had scenes that were left on the cutting room floor. There were some eye contact going on at a party and towards the end of the movie there was a conversation between the two of them that didn't seem to have an appropriate reference point.

A Movie Review: The Runaways

The Runaways. I found myself totally involved in the telling of this story. This is a true story about the rise and fall of an all-girl rock band. The band included Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart), Cheri Currie (Dakota Fanning), Lita Ford (Scout Taylor-Compton) and Sandy West (Stella Maeve). The band also included a bassist, but since the real band had multiple bassists during its short life the movie doesn’t focus all that much on this individual. Actually, Lita Ford is given rather little film time considering the fact that she had a solid music career post-The Runaways.

From my understanding, I got to listen in on a Q&A with Cheri Currie, the film is rather accurate. Obviously, when you are condensing two years into 90 minutes you have to take certain liberties such as not having a rotating bassist. Other disconnects that I learned in the Q&A: The film shows Joan Jett meeting Cheri Currie at Rodney Bingernheimer’s club. Cheri stated they met at an all ages club in the Valley. Also, Cheri left the band during a photo shoot, not during a rehearsal session as depicted in the movie. (Hopefully, that isn’t considered a spoiler as it isn’t like one doesn’t know that the band breaks up in the end.)

This film doesn’t back down from the drugs and sex of rock and roll. You see Joan Jett and Cheri Currie taking too many drugs throughout the film. It actually made me squirm a bit at moments as I am definitely not one to take drugs. You are also provided glimpses into the relationship between Joan Jett and Cheri Currie.

What did I enjoy about the movie?

I love seeing the band working out their sound.

Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) is just crazy.

You see how Joan Jett is driven and Cheri Currie is looking more for an escape.

I loved when Rodney Bingenheimer is interviewing Joan Jett. I’ve seen Rodney around various locations and the mannerisms were rather accurate.

Kristen Stewart is obviously awesome in this movie.

What did I not like about this movie?

Since the band only lasted a few years, they did rise to fame rather quickly, but I wish the various steps were more defined. You have them forming the group. You have them practicing. You have them going on road tours playing at skating rings. Suddenly you have them opening for bigger bands. Then they get signed. Then they’re off to Japan. You do have that progression in the movie, but I didn’t feel like there was enough explanations associated with each step. I don't think these steps even needed to be part of the film. They could have been quick notes sprawled on the screen.

A March Night at El Cid: a Rob Z night

After heading to the Viper Room, it was off to El Cid to catch the Rob Z night. There were no specific bands playing that night. The bands were collaborations of various bands, mainly Underwater City People and Midway. The theme of the night was “Cartoons and Cocktails St Patty’s Day Edition.” It was a lovely night outside and there was a projector set up playing various cartoons. As always, it was a fine time to catch up with friends.