The Dollyrots at the Bootleg

I went off to the Bootleg to catch The Dollyrots. It's been awhile since I last saw -- way too long ago. Since this was their CD release party they went on for longer than the normal 30 minute set. They went on for about an hour and I'll tell you it surely didn't seem like an hour.

After about their second song, I noticed that one of Luis's guitar strings was broken. He went on with the set, playing with a broken string for about three or four more songs. Kelly at one point after giving him the why-don't-you-switch-guitar looks commented, "We don't need guitar strings."

A guy in a bunny costume jumped on stage for one song and hung out with Luis for awhile. Kelly told him, "Come over here, bunny." A young woman in the audience tried to get the bunny to go over to Kelly, but perhaps the person inside didn't understand -- it looked like it was pretty hard to see and hear inside the custom. The person got off the stage after one song. A couple songs later, the bunny went back on stage. But this bunny was much shorter -- a new person, the young woman who had attempted to get the original bunny to hang near Kelly. Kelly got some love this time around.

The audience loved the show. They wanted an encore. The Dollyrots obliged. And then everyone hung out afterwards, a big home coming love fest.

Vanaprasta, Tomorrows Tulips and White Arrows at Spaceland

I'd call this parents' day at Spaceland. The parents of the lead singer for Vanaprasta were at the front of the stage and very proud of their son -- the father urging the mother to take photos at various times during the set. And I sort of suspect that the father for one of the members of Tomorrows Tulips was also in the audience. There was this strange resemblance there.

Vanaprasta started out their set with some forehead hugs. This is the third time I've seen Vanaprasta. For some reason, each time I see them, I feel like they're shifting their style just a bit. This time around, they seemed just a bit more mellow than the last time I saw them. Maybe it had to do with where I was standing. I think the band has two personalities on stage. Those on one part of the stage are in constant motion while on the other stage one of the band members is slightly more reserved (partially due to the fact that he plays the keyboards part of the time). Perhaps this impacts how I view the band for a specific night.

Tomorrows Tulips is a two piece band and is definitely in the mellow camp. I enjoyed their sound. Towards the end of their set, the sound guy thought they were finished up and so asked if they were done. The lead singer responded, "We have two more. Do we have time?" Yes, they did. And at the end of their set, the drummer put on her jacket. It was chilly not only outside, but also inside Spaceland. For some reason, I think their band name should read "Tomorrow's," but I don't see the apostrophe on their website so I'm leaving it out in this blog. I do notice that various other websites (including Spaceland) have their name as Tomorrow's Tulips.

The residency band for August is White Arrows. Before their set started, I noticed one of the guys in the band writing out the song list for everyone in the band. While he was kneeling on the ground replicating the song list for everyone, one of the guys grabbed the paper he was copying from. He was like, "Hey, give me that back." They played their whole set with the lights out. There were some low level spotlights going on, but essentially they played in the dark -- and they aren't even shoegaze. They had a couple guest musicians come up on stage for two songs. One, a guitarist, had to join shortly into one song as he was searching for the electric guitar plug.

Vanaprasta



Tomorrows Tulips







(just thought this was interesting)



White Arrows

Captain Danger and Pu$$y Cow at Mr. T's

It was off to Mr. T's to see Captain Danger and Pu$$y Cow. There were more bands that night, but I had to take off early due to an early morning trip to see the family. I walked in and Captain Danger was just starting their set. They had folks in the back dancing and me enjoying their groove. Pu$$y Cow was up next. They were in "Janet Jackson" mode for the night. I did notice that a couple of the guys had big fat red lip marks on their cheeks. You can see the photo evidence in the last two photos in this column. It was a nice short evening for me, hanging out with friends and catching a couple bands.

Comment of the night: King Cheetah is up next, it is my birthday.

Captain Danger





Pu$$y Cow

A Movie Review: Inception

Inception. I’ve waited a bit before writing this review so my memory is a bit tainted by that. I found this to be a wonderfully inventive film. I was intrigued the whole time. I will admit I’m not sure that everything works out in the film in a logical way, but I've worked out some of my questions -- I think. I guess my issue in terms of logic is rather or not all the “kicks” and dream layers work together. I’m sure if I watch the movie a second time I’ll get a better feel for that. What I appreciated about the movie was the fact that they constantly reminded you of where you were at in the movie. It was over-bearing. It was just quick sentences that just helped you position yourself in the movie. The ending does leave some questions open. My opinion is that the ending is put there as a fun little teaser. See linked Yahoo article for more detail on that.

And an article about a possible generational reaction divide over at the LA Times.

Stab City and The Mo-odds at Casey's

It was off to Casey's to catch Stab City and The Mo-odds. Yes, it was the second night in the row for me to see Stab City. It seemed to me that they played a half set. Perhaps the night got off to a later than expected star. The Mo-odds did a full set. They were rocking crazy like always. They also announced that their upcoming secret U-haul show is around the corner.


Stab City









The Mo-odds

Silversun Pickup, Against Me! and The Henry Clay People at the Greek Theater

It was off to the Greek Theater to catch The Henry Clay People, Against Me! and Silversun Pickup.

I don't have any pictures in this blog. I wasn't sure about the camera policy at the Greek. And since my friend and I were walking in, I didn't exactly want to get turned away at the gate and having to trudge all the way back to my car. That would have been an hour round trip walk.

My friend and I arrived on time (based on our expectations), but we only got to see half of The Henry Clay People. We were under the impression that everything started at 7:30 p.m. It appears that they started their set at 7:15 p.m. Oh well.

Against Me! was energizing to watch. They played their hit song "I Was A Teenage Anarchist" towards the middle of their set.

The main act was obviously Silversun Pickup. As soon as they got on stage, half the crowd got up from their seats. Most folks stood for their whole concert. I found their whole set very thrilling. Noticed via the large screens that Nikki Monninger was wearing red shoes, the movie 'Wizard of Oz' popped into my head. After their encores, Brian Aubert had a little fun, slowly crawling his way into the back of the stage.

If you're interested in their setlist, here's a link I found

My friend and I noticed a young lady sitting by herself. She kept on trying to get a signal for her cell phone and would occasionally disappear. We came up with a story for her. Her friend and/or date was working late. It was suggested that she just go one ahead, perhaps she wanted to see Against Me!. Her friend had to work later than expected. She, a very attractive woman, was left on her own accord. This was the last time she was ever planning on attending a concert with this specific friend.

Hollywood Forever: Airplane!

It was off to Hollywood Forever to catch Airplane!. My friends arrived at 5:30 p.m. I arrived at around 7 p.m. The area outside Hollywood Forever was packed for this Cinespia movie night. One thing I didn't know before: if you ride a bike, motorcycle or even roller blades, you're able to get in quickly because there is a separate line. It is a thought for folks in groups. One person can ride in and hopefully get a good space.

They brought out the actual cockpit prop for the movie. Rather cool.

Walking Sleep at Pershing Square Photos

Some photos of Walking Sleep at Pershing Square. This night will eventually make it over to Intraffik.com.

Vanaprasta, Kissing Cousins and Summer Darling at Spaceland

It was off to Spaceland to catch Vanaprasta, Kissing Cousins and the final residency night of Summer Darling.

I wish I had gone earlier in the month. Summer Darling tore it up. First up was Vanaprasta, a band I first saw at Club Moscow. They were just as active at Spaceland as they were at Club Moscow. One of the guys sent a microphone stand flying into the crowd. As it was tipping over, someone grabbed it. I believe the microphone was recording the night so there is perhaps five seconds of ruined recording there.

Kissing Cousins was next. The bassist was off from the main stage and away from the spotlights and so at one point she said to the lead singer, "I can't see you."

Comment: Jump on that silver peddle, it is buzzing weird.

It was an interesting transition from Vanaprasta to Kissing Cousins. They both rock hard, but their stage presence is totally different with Vanaprasta being very active on stage while Kissing Cousins providing an understated stage presence to their rock sound.

Summer Darling closed out the night for me. The drummer started the night off and then the rest of the band entered the stage. Their set finished way to quickly and the audience demanded one more song. It was provided. And this time, the band started with the drummer hanging back for awhile before coming on stage to help finish off the encore.

Vanaprasta









Kissing Cousins













Summer Darling