Downtown/Union at Casey's Irish Pub

Casey's Irish Pub isn't one of my normal stops, but I've actually been there twice in the last couple weeks. Downtown/Union has a residency there.  I've seen these guys a couple of times.  Love their sets.  I don't know if this is the pattern, but on this night they were the first band up (or maybe the second, I showed up after they got on stage).  

 

Mr. Downstairs, The GT350s, Sunfall and Dear Left Brain at Club Moscow

Off to Club Moscow, a night I love because I'm always introduce me to new bands. The GT350s came up first. I'm not sure they knew how strict Club Moscow is about the start times.  Sunfall and Dear Left Brain followed. Sunfall had a bad connection that delayed their set. There was a lot of running back and forth.  It all worked out and their fans showed support.  Dear Left Brain's lead singer had a one gallon container of water next to him. No, he didn't drink it all.  The main band was Mr. Downstairs, which has some sweet catchy tunes.

Joke of the night: How much does a polar bear weigh?  Enough to break the ice.

The GT350s



Sunfall



Dear Left Brain



Mr. Downstairs

Jenny O playing the Bootleg

I was exhausted from a lack of sleep over the weekend, but that didn't stop me from heading out on a Monday night to check out Jenny O.

Comment of the night: Can I have less acustic guitar on the iPad?

Always a lovely night with Jenny O.  I wish I could have stuck around for the residency, but I'll be back around.

Murderland, Mikey Erg and The Maxies at the Blue Star

It was off to the Blue Star last Saturday. Yep, it does take me awhile to post photos. Playing that night was Murderland, Mikey Erg and The Maxies. Murderland really impressed.  This was my first time seeing them and I loved their set.  Mikey Erg gave a one man punk show.  The Maxies entertained, as always.  Unfortunately, I couldn't stick around for French Exit.

Murderland



Mikey Erg



The Maxies

A Movie Review: Jeff, Who Lives at Home

Jeff, Who Lives at Home. This is one of those movies that critics gave thumbs up to and I simply don’t get it. Jeff (Jason Segel) lives at home, a bit too old to be doing so. He gets a random call. The guy on the other end asks for Kevin. Believing that nothing happens without a reason, he tries to figure out why someone was calling for Kevin. His mother, Sharon (Susan Sarandon), also calls and asks him to go to the store. Off he heads with the name Kevin stuck in his head.

Along the way, the movie introduces us to Jeff’s brother, Pat (Ed Helms), and his wife, Linda (Judy Greer). In my mind, the movie should have focused more on Pat and Linda. Their relationship is painfully self-destructing, mainly due to Pat’s lack of respect for his wife’s opinions. But instead this movie takes us on a meandering adventure with Jeff, which means the movie takes us on the idiotic search for reason behind why someone might call a wrong phone number and ask for Kevin. The multiple connections to "Kevin" makes one roll their eyes.

A Movie Review: Safe House

Safe House. Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) is working at a safe house in South Africa. This isn’t the most exciting assignment and he wants out as soon as possible. It isn’t long before the excitement picks up. Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington), a rouge CIA agent, turns himself in at the US Consulate in Cape Town. He is quickly taken to Weston’s safe house for interrogation. The safe house is soon attacked. Weston and Frost escape, but are on the continued run from this group of men.

This movie doesn’t break any interesting ground. You know that at nearly every turn that this gang of gunmen will show up no matter where Frost and Weston hide. You also know that the only way that this can happen is if there is some inside help. What keeps you glued to the screen:  Washington brings an intensity as the disillusioned ex-CIA agent and Ryan Reynolds brings the eagerness of a new agent. Does this mean one should go out and catch this movie in the theaters? Probably more like a rental title.

Michael Davis with Lions at the Silverlake Lounge

I generally prefer to see at least two bands when I go out, but on a recent Monday night I was only able to catch the residency band at the Silverlake Lounge, Michael Davis with Lions.  It was a long day at work and things came up and so I ended up going later than I would have liked.  And well, they also went on stage at 10:30 p.m., which I always operate on the assumption that the residency bands at the Lounge start somewhere between 11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.  Maybe things have changed up.  Anyways, back to Michael Davis with Lions.  A wonderful sound that reduced those work stress tensions.

As always, I really wished more folks would show up to the Lounge on Monday nights.

The Mo-odds and Chance & the Choir at Casey's Irish Pub

It was off to Casey's Irish Pub to catch The Mo-odds and Chance and the Choir.  Chance and the Choir gave one inspiring performance.  It was a requirement as the drummer took the chance of getting fired from his job to play the gig.  The Mo-odds had a big time fan that night.  Okay, so everyone knew he was a little "faced."  He did keep things entertaining.  

Chance and the Choir



The Mo-odds

A Movie Review: Chronicle

Chronicle. This movie is about three high school guys who gain telekinetic powers after a brief encounter with an object that one assumes is alien. We have Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan) who is an outsider, bullied by his classmates and his father. There is Matt Garetty (Alex Russell), a philosophical driven young man, who seems to occupy a space as the semi-cool high school kid, not overly popular, but well liked. And finally we have Steve Montgomery (Michael B. Jordan) who is the sports star who wants a career in politics and so is running for class president.

I tend to avoid high school centered movies. I’m older and really can’t relate, but the critics loved this movie so I decided to take a chance on it – it also had that Sci-Fi genre label, which I can be a sucker for at times. I really enjoyed this movie even though I feel it had some flaws. I felt the outcome was obvious.  You know immediately that if anyone will abuse their new found powers it will be Andrew. A more interesting scenario might have been Matt abusing his power, reasoning his way through his philosophical mind about why it all made sense to do so.  Also, I just couldn't see these three individuals ever getting along as friends.  I could see Steve and Matt fitting in well together. Steve is the politician. Matt could be his voice of reason, the chief of staff type. Andrew just didn’t seem to have the personality that would fit in well with Steve and yet the two seemed to gel well together.

But who cares about those complaints. This movie brings a wonderful mix of Heroes and X-Men.
And the sequel: I’m sure the alien contraption passed along powers that the three haven’t totally explored yet even if the ending appeared somewhat conclusive on the matter.

A Movie Review: The Grey

The Grey. Ottway (Liam Neeson) works near/at the arctic circle, an oil facility. This obviously isn’t the ideal location to spend your life so the job attracts those attempting to escape life (from flashbacks we can assume that Ottway’s wife has passed away) or needing a new start (due to criminal records).  The only way to occasionally re-acquaint yourself with normality is to take a flight down to Anchorage, Alaska.  On this one occasion with Ottway and his other co-workers, the plane crashes. Ottway and six other surviving individuals must attempt to find civilization while being hunted by wolves.

I have to say this movie didn’t excite me. Yes, I understand it is more philosophical versus action packed, but I think by the middle of the movie you’ve pretty much determined what the ending will be. Also, the philosophy is rather pedestrian.

And I couldn’t help but have immediate issues with the movie. Did they really need to leave the ruins of the aircraft and seek the protection of the forest? Maybe Ottway had a point about leading the group to the trees, but it soon looked like a mistake when the wolves started to pick away at the group anyways. One argument for leaving the crash site was because they needed to find civilization on their own, because the rescue units would never be able to find them. Black box, anyone? I thought the black box gave out signals. The other argument was that the open terrain gave no protection against the wolves and yet later the group of men find their backs against a “natural wall” and the argument is made that at least the wolves can only attack from one direction. Well, if you set up yourselves defensively within part of the damaged plane, wouldn’t you have the same protection?

I will say one thing, you half suspect that this movie closely reflects how Liam Neeson personally dealt with the death of his own wife, which makes it feel like you are invading his privacy.  This also makes it a reason not to see this movie.

A Movie Review: Haywire

Haywire. Mallory (Gina Carano) works for a for-profit special forces corporation. She is set-up by her employee to take the fall for a murder. She is able to uncover this plot and heads off for some revenge.
I have this love/hate relationship with Steven Soderbergh. I loved Ocean’s Eleven. I hated Ocean’s Twelve. I loved Contagion. I hated Informant! (well, the portion that I saw, I stopped watching after awhile). As for Hirewire, I am neutral on it. Neutral in the sense that this is a movie that you might want to watch while spending a lazy Sunday at home, but not necessarily at a movie theater.

The Janks and The Wind at The Bootleg

The Monday night rotation continued with me heading off to the Bootleg on a Monday night. The Janks
are the residency band for March and The Wind was in support.  Here's one thing I noticed:  The Wind had problems with their bass and so needed a new bass.  The Janks had a problem with their snare drum and so needed a new snare drum.  Guys from other bands quickly jumped in to help, running to the back room of the Bootleg to find the necessary musical instrument.  I so love this.  It means that the bands stick around for each other.  Occasionally you go to a venue and bands appear and disappear around their set times, not sticking around for the other bands.

The Wind gave us some smooth rock.  One joke from a friend, "The bassist didn't get the memo."  Yes, he was the only one without long hair.  As for The Janks:  rock ballad.  That's what I thought.  Queen was mentioned during their set.  It seemed appropriate.  And there was some cool dancing being done by their friends during one song.


The Wind



The Janks

Eastern Conference Champions and Voxhaul Broadcast at The Satellite

The first band up for me was Eastern Conference Champions. They started off their set with a song that one would have to consider mellow for them. You just had this sense that it would explode on you at some point. And it did when the drummer went wild for moment, but then the song dropped back down a notch. I’m definitely interested in hearing this song again. From that point onwards, I can think of only one word to explain their set: intense. You could see it in their eyes.

Comment of the night: We'd like to thank Voxhaul Broadcast, the second most attractive band in Los Angeles.

Voxhaul Broadcast is the residency band at The Satellite. I haven’t seen these guys since I believe the 2010 Make Music Pasadena. It hasn’t been on purpose. For example, they played Bloomfest 2011, but a friend of mind was involved in a play and so I rushed off just before they hit the stage. As has been the norm for the last couple months, The Satellite was packed. And to prove how much folks loved Voxhaul Broadcast, one fellow yelled out that he wanted to have a baby with one of the band members (of course, they’re an all male band, so a fun joke all around). Now when you haven’t seen a band in over a year, your memory of the band fades just a tad. Maybe they’ve always had this same sound, but for me it definitely felt like their sound has shifted towards a dance-inspired groove. Or maybe I felt this way, because all around me folks were dancing like crazy.

Eastern Conference Champions




Voxhaul Broadcast