Boxcar Drifters, EZ Tiger, Spare Parts for Broken Hearts @ El Cid

It was off to El Cid to catch a Rob Z night. The first band of the night was Boxcar Drifters. I'm not sure they have a website so I'll just give you the lead singer's old band's myspace page, Present Tense. The band has a jazzy feel to it.

Next up was EZ Tiger. I believe one of the members of the band is helping out with Rock Camp for Girls. They were taking donations for the camp. I thought their song "Tiger Trance" was their best.

The final band was Spare Parts for Broken Hearts. One of the band members is Laurita from The Randies. At this point, I'm assuming The Randies are done, which is sad because I liked The Randies. If so, this is a great new band for her. From what I heard, this was only their second set ever and they were amazingly tight as a band. There was a nice carry-over from The Randies, a bass string broke. (One of my found memories is counting how many times one of The Randies broke a guitar string.) Too bad Jon from UCP wasn't around as he could have helped out -- below is one of my favorite photos. It isn't a great photo. It just shows someone helping out another with a guitar repair.



Though Jon wasn't there, EZ Tiger came to the rescue, letting Spare Parts for Broken Hearts borrow their bass.

Noticed: When seeing the Spare Parts for Broken Hearts drummer, I couldn't help but imagine her as a biker riding up the mountains of France during a leg of the Tour de France. She was attacking those drums.

Boxcar Drifters



EZ Tiger





Spare Parts for Broken Hearts

Shanghai River and Spider Problem @ Vlad the Retailer

It was off to a new music venue called Vlad the Retailer. It is a smallish store that from what I could tell sells books, VHS tapes, art, cloths and maybe even a couch and piano. Essentially, a little bit of everything. It is right next to Los Angeles City College and two places I've posted blogs on: Scoops and Pure Luck. I was there to catch Shanghai River and Spider Problem.

Shanghai River was in town from Texas. They were great and I wouldn't mind checking them out again.

My big reason for showing up was to check out Spider Problem. The past two times I've seen Spider Problem, I do believe they've ended their set at the half way point. For example, I saw them at the Redwood and Shayne scraped her knees so badly that they decided to end the set. This time around, I do believe they were able to make it through their set.

As Spider Problem was setting up, a group of perhaps close to ten showed up, a nice number of loyal friends.

Heard from someone in the crowd: I heard that I have to check out Spider Problem, because the lead singer goes nuts on stage.

I think Shayne wanted to go much more nuts on stage during their set than she did, but she was met with an interesting dilemma. The audience formed a wall along the stage area and so as she bumper car-ed her way into the audience she just got bumped back towards the stage. She wasn't able to move that wall more than an inch or so before she got bounced back to where she started. Of course, when Joe from Pu$$y Cow decided to get to the front, he just moved everyone in front aside and took his place upfront.

Note: I haven't seen a full Spider Problem set in awhile (as mentioned above). For some reason, I think they've changed up a tad where there is a shift away from screaming vocals to a touch of the occasional melody in the vocals. It works.

Comment: We'll see you again in Los Angeles . . . because we live in Los Angeles.

Shanghai River









Spider Problem

Aaron Beaumont and Idyllists at Hotel Cafe

It was off to Hotel Cafe to catch Aaron Beaumont and Idyllists. Aaron Beaumont's set was filled mainly with new material (new to me). He's recently been collaborating with Emma Fitzpatrick (see below photo). The Idyllists were on next. They had this request for folks to come stand at the front of the stage. It didn't work out well for them until midway through their set when finally they were able to get folks to come up close. It was a fun, high energy set.

Aaron Beaumont







Idyllists

IO Echo at Space 15 Twenty

You know what is totally awesome? I was walking to Hotel Cafe to catch my friend Aaron Beaumont's set at 9 p.m. As I'm walking up Cahuenga, I hear an IO Echo song. I'm like, "Hmm, I wonder if that is a DJ playing their song or if that really is IO Echo?" I jaywalked across the street (semi-safely) and head into Space 15 Twenty. I catch the last two songs. After this short IO Echo sighting, I couldn't help but think, "I so LOVE this band." I then took off and continued up a block to Hotel Cafe. So random. I didn't even know IO Echo was playing there. If only I had know . . .

A couple really awful photos.

Twilight Sleep and Static of the Gods at Silverlake Lounge

It was off to see Twilight Sleep and Static of the Gods at Silverlake Lounge.

Static of the Gods hails from Boston. Their myspace page states that their influences are the sun, moon, stars, land, and sea. I'd agree. At moments, it was like listening to these heavenly sounds.

Comment: It's a little hot in here. I am a little sweaty, I am not going to lie.

Twilight Sleep started their set without introducing themselves. They set up their instruments, did their sound check and then just started their set. For a couple seconds there I was wondering if they were just doing a quick jam to see if the sound was okay or if they were starting their first song. As soon as it was evident that they were starting their set, their fans moved towards the stage.

Comment: We have a backing band. It's called the radio.

Once again a band at Silverlake Lounge was competing with a Spanish radio station for the hearts of the Lounge's patrons. Twilight Sleep's lead singer put the microphone near the monitor, but this resulted in some horrid feedback and she quickly jumped back and apologized, "I wanted you guys to hear what we are hearing."

Static of the Gods







Twilight Sleep

Prizzy Prizzy Please @ Echo Curio along with Pu$$y Cow and Spokemen

I saw Prizzy Prizzy Please awhile back a Juanita's in Highland Park. Since they're from middle America, it isn't like I get to see them all that often so I made sure I would be able to catch their set at Echo Curio. In fact, this was my first night out to catch music since my return from Prague. I'd spent about a week trying to get rid of jet lag.

The line up I saw included Pu$$y Cow, Spokesmen, and Prizzy Prizzy Please.

I noticed Joe from Pu$$y Cow, right before their set started, coming through the door with his music stand. I then over-heard him say for one song, "I forgot my kazoo." Oh well, he was responsible for putting this night together so he probably had other things on his mind -- or maybe he's just getting old?? :-).

During the Pu$$y Cow set, a couple questions were asked: "Should we leave a five second break between songs?" and "Are we playing too loud?" I guess Echo Curio has gotten itself shut down by police at times from neighbors complaining about the music. There is a sign on the door requesting that folks only enter or exit between songs. Luckily, on this night, no police showed up.

The Spokesmen are from out of state. They're on tour with Prizzy Prizzy Please. They had what appears to be a decorated 2x4 that they use in front of the bass drum -- check below photo for evidence.

The final band of the night was Prizzy Prizzy Please. They started out with some blasting punk rock mosh pit music and then switched it up with a more melodic sound towards the end. This is what I love about this band, this ability to switch it up with ease and it all sounds awesome. Of course, I have to admit, I had to leave Echo Curio towards the back half of their set. It was just getting too hot inside for me. Luckily, as noted by their neighbors, the music can be heard outside of Echo Curio so I stood by the window and listened from that vantage point. A couple individuals commented that they were doing the same thing as me. How hot did it get inside Echo Curio? Well, the window was fogging up by the end.

I overheard the owner/manager mention that they will be putting in an air conditioning unit soon. Please do. Come the hot months of summer, if there is not an air conditioning unit, everyone will be watching the bands from the sidewalk. (Note: I do love Echo Curio and do show up every other month or so -- so this paragraph is a sense of future relief versus an attack on the venue.)

Pu$$y Cow







Spokesmen









Prizzy Prizzy Please

Hollywood Forever Cemetery: Cinespia and the movie "Casablanca"

I recently attended a Hollywood Forever Cemetery Movie night (Cinespia). I saw "Casablanca" with a dozen friends. I couldn't believe that a handful of them had never seen the film. It was a great night with the audience cheering when Humphrey Bogart and then Ingrid Bergman made their first appearances on screen. The audience also cheered during the classic lines from the film. It made for a very enjoyable movie night.

Before the movie, a young lady was walking among the audience, blowing soap bubbles.

Some notes: $10 to see the movie. Street parking or $5 to park inside the cemetery. Bring a jacket or sweater even if it is hot in the daytime and it seems unnecessary, because it can get chilly at night. Click on links to get directions.

Below is an older photo from about a year ago.

The Dharma Bums, The Mormons and Pu$$y Cow (5th Anniversary) @ The Blue Star

I suppose putting up a blog late is better than never. I caught Pu$$y Cow's fifth anniversary show and soon thereafter took off on vacation so I never really had a chance to post the blog up sooner than now.

After checking out Silverlake Jubilee and then heading off to Pasadena to hang out with friends, I went to the Blue Star to celebrate Pu$$y Cow's 5th Anniversary. What a crazy day with The Dharma Bums, The Mormons and Pu$$y Cow.

I had a timing issue with heading out to the Blue Star. As mentioned, I was hanging with friends, but definitely didn't want to miss out on Pu$$y Cow's set. I sent out a couple text messages regarding when Pu$$y Cow might go on stage, but didn't get any replies back. I decided to head over at around 10:45 p.m. While driving down the street that leads to Blue Star, I couldn't help but notice that the street was packed with parked cars. Unfortunately, not all those cars were for the Pu$$y Cow show. This area appears to be becoming a party scene section of Los Angeles.

I got there in time to catch the last couple songs of The Dharma Bums. The next band up were The Mormons. They dress up as Mormons. I believe the last time I saw them was the 2007 Eagle Rock Music Festival. The lead singer wears elbow and knee pads. He needs these as he does the craziest things like stretching himself parallel to the ground by hanging alongside the metal gate that is used to load equipment onto the Blue Star stage. And his legs lock into positions that have to make one squirm a tad, contortionist.

The final band of the night was Pu$$y Cow. They went on around midnight. A great party with streamers being tossed -- and glitter not so much.

Comment regarding the glitter: "I thought this would be so much more interesting."

The main reaction to the Pu$$y Cow set? There was crowd surfing as individuals crowd surfed the night away. A great celebration of five years.

And as I was leaving at around 1 a.m., there were still party people arriving for the party going on a few yards away from The Blue Star.

Photos:

Dharma Bums




The Mormons











Pu$$y Cow

A Movie Review. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Looking at the yahoo reviews of this movie, the critics and audience seem to be at odds. The critics rank it low. The audience seems to love it. I mostly stand with the critics on this. There were parts of this movie that I just loved and then other parts I just wanted to get up and leave. I thought the action scenes were fun, but then when it veered away from this I thought it was weak. And the mythology of the knife was just awful.

The Shakers at Kibitz

Mercy, I hadn't seen The Shakers in awhile so I trucked on over to Kibitz to catch their set. They had the crowd dancing. A guy who looked to be in his 70s was dancing with a couple of the younger ladies in the crowd. He wore two watches, which was interesting. For someone who walked with a cane, he had some moves.

Jodie was showing support for one of my favorite bands, The Mulhollands. Check out the photos for proof.

Jail Weddings and The Like at The Echo

First off, my editor over at intraffik.com wasn't able to secure me a photo pass for The Echo (which requires one) so unfortunately no photos for the night.

Anyways, it was off to catch Jail Weddings and The Like at The Echo.

I got there around 10 p.m. It was already getting crowded. One of my friends was supposed to meet me at The Echo. I was worried that she wouldn't be able to get into the venue.

Jail Weddings went on shortly after 10 p.m. It doesn't take long for the lead singer to engage the audience. The band got it going from the start though they did have some technical difficulties with the lead singer's microphone that slowed down the set just briefly. At one point, I noticed that the lead singer had left the stage, drinking some water while the rest of the band led the way.

Comment one of the night from Jail Weddings: I'd like to ask the band and you, who is insanely depressed at the moment.

Not me, I say, because I was getting to see Jail Weddings.

Comment two of the night from Jail Weddings: This song goes out to the guy who changed the 'L' to 'D' on all the Like posters on Sunset.

Jail Weddings ended their set with the lead singer going down into the audience and starting a mosh pit.

My friend showed up just in time to catch the last couple songs of Jail Weddings. We then waited for The Like as the venue started to get even more crowded. The Like has been around for awhile, I was told by my friend, but this was the first time I was seeing them. This is an all chick band though the lead singer had a broken left arm (sprained???) and so she mentioned: We're having a boy on stage for the first time in nine years. (A friend was taking over guitar duties.)

This band has pop sensibilities with a lead singer who has a very bubbly personality. They'll be playing at Silverlake Jubilee. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch their set and post some photos up on a future blog.

And as we were leaving, we noticed a line of folks waiting to get inside. Yes indeed, The Echo was packed.