Barb Wire Dolls with earthsleep, Turbulent Hearts and Svetlanas at Whisky a Go Go

It was off to Whisky a Go Go to catch Barb Wire Dolls along with earthsleep, Turbulent Hearts and Svetlanas. The first band up for me was earthsleep. It was my first time seeing this band, but I was well aware of them. Occasionally, the lead singer of earthsleep will like one of my Instagram photos. What I heard: the lead singer has the perfect feminine vocals to crosscheck her male band counterparts' musical muscle. Next up was Turbulent Hearts, a band that hits the peddle and doesn't let up. The headliner, Barb Wire Dolls came up third. I swear this band gets better and better. There wasn't a dull song in their set. The band also works so well together, like the proverbial well oiled machine. I was going to take off after Barb Wire Dolls, but it was suggested that I check out Svetlanas for a song or two. She'll give you that bug eye. Intense.

I got to talk to a photographer that I always see at the Whisky a Go Go. I found out he was approaching 2 million photos. Crazy. The camera has was currently using was approaching 1 million. No way. It was a great conversation learning about how another photographer approaches life.

Cellars and Pom Poms at the Bootleg Theater

So the day after hanging out at Broke LA Fest for 9 hours, I decided to hang out at the Bootleg Theater. That is a bit nuts for me, but I had to do it as Cellars was doing a free set. Up first for me was Pom Poms. They brought their Western infused rock. I swear I envision them hanging out at a saloon in the late 1800s.

Then it was Cellars. This was my 3rd time seeing her. During the first couple songs, it finally dawned on me why I love Cellars. She has so much fun while on stage. So much fun that it almost like she doesn't even care if there is anyone in the room. She just wants to experiment away.

Comment of the night by Pom Poms: I don't know why I'm walking like a stand-up comedian.

Ugh moment of the night by Cellars: her laptop fell from its perch (about 1 foot above the stage) twice. Ouch to the computer.

Broke LA Fest 2017 Review

Raener

Broke LA Fest. A perfect day for Broke LA Fest in East Los Angeles. I will admit that I took some looks at Weather.com, which was showing a 50% chance of rain. I think it rained late Friday night/early Saturday morning, but on Saturday the storm stayed to the north of Los Angeles. The advantage of potential rains was that it brought great festival weather to Los Angeles.

Background. During this year's open submission period, over 1,000 bands/musicians wanted to play the festival. Talking with the Broke LA Fest team, they listened to every band. From there, listening teams started the hard task of selecting the bands that best fit the festival. Eventually, around 25 bands were passed on to the head curators, who make the final decisions. Around 80% of the bands come from this submission process while the other 20% were bands booked by the festival to help round things out.

The above process guaranteed that there were going to be some difficult choices to determine which bands to catch. Like the Broke LA team, I made some similar hard decisions in my scheduling. My goal for this festival was to check out bands/musicians that I hadn't previously seen. That made it easier by seven, but still allowed for a lot of options. I don't know if that shows my lack of knowledge of the Los Angeles music scene or just how large our music scene is.

Even though my goal was to focus in on bands that I hadn't previously seen that apparently didn't apply to musicians. I happened across one musician, Zach Bilson, a number of times on stage. After seeing him in two bands, I had to ask, "How many times are you playing today?" His response, "Four, across two stages." I half wondered if Broke LA made an extra effort to keep bands to the schedule so that one of those 4 bands wouldn't end up without a bassist.

Enough of that.

My most awesome bands/musicians (can't nail it to just one band):

Brasstracks
Kid Wave
Zealyn

Note that this is in alphabetical order.

Brasstracks had some technical difficulties that delayed their set by a few minutes, but this only got their fans energized even more. The Jungle Gym stage was packed for this Grammy winner duo. When they hit go, they brought the big horns and powerful drum beats. It was nonstop with lights blasting. What did notice: the smile that crossed the face.

I got to interview Kid Wave during Broke LA's media day. I love the fact that Lea (lead singer) spent time in London. During the interview, we spent a few minutes talking about the London music scene as I got to catch a couple bands there during my brief vacation in London. Kid Wave is actually from Sweden and so I say she represents the glorious wave of Swedish musicians that have made Los Angeles their new home away from home. She ended the set with my personal favorite Kid Wave song, "Wonderlust." There is just something so catchy about the melodies in that song. What did I notice: Lea can give you that "I don't give a F*ck" look.

Zealyn, Angie Miller, has the singer-songwriter vocals down. Those vocals will make you gush in praise. Now she came into Broke LA with a less than stellar week. She mentioned that she'd gotten into a car accident and came down with a cold. That didn't prevent her from dancing around the stage in an abandonment moment to celebrate life. Her last song was "On a Hillside Looking Up." Oh mercy, so beautiful. What did I notice: I think she would make a good orchestra conductor, if she so desired, as she has some great hand motions.

Most entertaining stage shows:

Fellow Bohemian had two mannequins on stage, holding a white sheet with their band name on it. Couldn't help but notice the red painted finger tips and lips on those mannequins.

Tickle Torture went all out with the back-up dancers. I didn't get to catch the whole set, but did notice how one moment he had Aztec dressed dancers on stage while the next moment there was a guy in bondage gear.

You move way too fast:

Kolaj moved on stage so fast that she was often a blur to my camera. I thought my shutter speed was set pretty fast. Just not fast enough! Her music also had a subliminal way of getting everyone to dance.

Meditation moments:

Raener had me in a meditative mood. Those vocals. It made those large balloons hanging from the Ball Pit stage ceiling take on a near philosophical meaning. And then there was the hula hoops off-stage.

Lyrics that hit you in the heart:

Bloodboy's fashion has to be mentioned. Red gloves and red shoes. Okay, let's go on to those lyrics from "Mom, I've Changed:"

I'm in trouble with my mother 
She's concerned that I've lost my mind, for real this time 
But I told her that if I never had it anyway

So powerful.

Yes, I did see a band I previously saw (technically, no, but):

Velvet is fronted by Emily Gold, who I previously saw a few months back at Harvard and Stone. But I saw her as Emily Gold and not in this new form of Velvet. I just loved her awesome downbeat.

Early, but awesome:

Candy Cigarettes opened the day for me at the Jungle Gym stage. His set had these pulsating sounds mixed with a bit of blues. And yet, his personality was so relaxed that at the start I wasn't even sure his set had started.

Thumpasaurus sure stands by their name. With sax, drums, percussion and rapid fire vocals, this band thumped it up.

Ugly Sweaters brought the fun to life with some nifty moves on the stage monitors.

Here's waiting to next year's Broke LA Fest.

Bloke & Bird at Genghis Cohen

Bloke and Bird played Genghis Cohen this past Tuesday. Genghis Cohen is an interesting music venue. There is a small room that has been turned into a music stage, probably good for 50 people max. Then the rest of Genghis Cohen is a Chinese restaurant and bar.

I walked in and was surprised to see that I was in the middle of filming for an episode of Swedish Housewives -- a reality TV series shown in Sweden.

Bloke and Bird performed a quick 20 minute set. Though shorter than the standard 30 minute set, folks still enjoyed it. The past times I've seen them, they've gone with an acoustic set. For this set, they introduced some dance beats. Loved it.

Irontom with Zachary Kibbee and The Shakers at The Satellite

A new month means new residencies. First stop this month was The Satellite. Zachary Kibbee hit the stage first for me. His blues style music was backed with bandmates. Quote of the set, "These guys are pretty good. If it weren't for them, I'd just be playing the guitar like an asshole." Of note, towards the end of the set, the bandmates lit up some cigerattes.

Irontom is the April residency band. I saw them a few years ago at the Silverlake Lounge. The lead singer is just as wild as I remembered. He moves his body in a jagged manner. He also loved to rub his chest and then went out to grasp hands in the audience. I was thinking, "Hmm, body odor?" Ha, never mind those moment, it was a great set.

The Shakers are a band I saw at least a couple times a year, but some time has passed since I last saw them. Lead singer and friend Jodie is no longer with the band. The band has re-grouped with a new lead singer. Many of the songs are the same, but it was interesting to see the new take on the vocals. Got to say, loved it when the lead singer swung that hair.

The Dollyrots with honeychain, The Two Tens and Go Betty Go at The Hi Hat

So I am becoming a familiar face at The Hat Hat. I walked up to buy my ticket and was met with the friendly, "Nice to see you again." honeychain opened the night with their finely tuned rock sound from these Los Angeles musician veterans. The Two Tens were up next. They're a two piece band that knows how to punk out. The lead guitarist moved so fast on stage that it was almost impossible to capture him with my camera. Go Betty Go has been around for a few years, but this is the first time I've seen them. I can't believe I didn't see them way earlier. They brought the punk with high sung vocals. Closing out the night was The Dollyrots. Wow, so much time has passed since I last saw them. I blame them. They moved to Florida and don't play in Los Angeles as often. Total awesome. For a song or two, they brought their two kids on stage. Cuteness abounded.

Broke LA Festival (Saturday, April 8th): Interview with Kid Wave

Photo courtesy via Broke LA/Department 4

Broke L.A. is arriving in Los Angeles this Saturday, April 8th. This year, there were 1,000 band submissions. Each band was given a listen. The committee also reached out to other bands. Over-all, 80% of the bands were selected based off of the received submissions. Selections were based on originality, market appeal, story, and appropriateness. 

This year's festival has moved out of the Art District so don't head out in that direction. This year the festival is in East Los Angeles. Specifically, 4560 Worth St, Los Angeles, CA.

One of the bands playing is Kid Wave. The band hits the Jungle Gym Stage at 6:00 p.m. 

Before coming to Los Angeles, Lea Emmery was a Swede jamming in London. With that sort of life experience, I had to ask a few questions that focused around culture and locale. Hope you enjoy this Q&A. 

How would you describe your sound? Indie guitar pop, rock with a big sound. A good chorus with nice hooks. 

What’s your favorite Kid Wave song? My new song “Everything Changes.” 

Are there any interesting differences between Los Angeles and London bands? Bands in London have more of an attitude. English bands are cocky and outspoken. This comes naturally. Los Angeles tends to have better musicians. Los Angeles bands look to London for attitude, but it is hard to imitate Oasis. This comes from different cultures. Both have different skills, crafts. The London rock music scene is smaller than Los Angeles. The London scene is focused in East London. The Los Angeles scene is spread across the city. 

What are some of your favorite spots in Los Angeles? Any specific reasons they are your favorites? Having margaritas at Salazar. Also, when I first came to Los Angeles, I stayed with friends who lived in Elysian Heights. I loved the view, walking in the hills. 

When people ask you what they should do during their Swedish vacation, what do you tell them? Go in the summer unless you really love the cold. Go to Stockholm for a few days. Then go out to the countryside up north, which is very beautiful. Rent a cottage and experience country living. 

Do you have a favorite Kid Wave story/memory? While on tour in England we had a day off. Our manager wanted us all to get some fresh air so he took us to Yorkshire Sculpture Park. There were some cows in a field and our bassist went up to the cows. The cows were friendly. We then turned to walk away and heard this rumbling behind us. We turned around and two bulls were chasing after us. I never ran so fast in my life. We had to run across a river. We were terrified. Chased by bulls is my favorite Kid Wave memory.

Night Talks at The Hi Hat

Night Talks had their final residency night last Tuesday. There was a nice vibe on this final night. The Hi Hat was crowded with their friends. This gave an extra pump of energy to the Night Talks band.

As for me taking photos: the lights were far better this time around versus earlier in the month so I had a lot more fun, as well.

Tashaki Miyaki with Z Berg and L.A. Witch at the Echoplex

Monday at the Echoplex had one strong act after another. Z Berg brought to her set a wonderful singer-songwriter with some self-deprecating humor. Backing her up was Joe Keefe from Family of the year. L.A. Witch brought their relaxed, rock intensity to the Echoplex. It was my first time seeing them in over a 1 1/2 years. The fan based was pressed close. I have to give thanks to the couple who let me switch places with them so I could get a better camera angle. Tashaki Miyaki closed out the night for me. It was their residency night. They had a string section backing them up. It made for some orchestral sounds that only heighten their set.

Prettiest Eyes, Thee MVPs and Feels at HM 157

A fun night in Lincoln Heights at HM 157. When was the last time I was at HM 157? Back in 2012 to see Raw Geronimo (currently renamed Feels). This might be my tradition along with 4th of Julys at The Echo. Opening up was Prettiest Eyes on the outdoor stage. I call them country punk. Their set was like a needle pumping drugs into the blood vein -- what a rush. Thee MVPs came in from the UK. They were on a multi-week tour in the US. I believe this was their last stop. Hopefully, we Californians gave them a good audience for their final show. Feels closed out the night with a mixture of sounds. Some songs were their original psychedelic while others almost felt like songs that would work perfectly for The Like. Per Feels, this was their last set for the next few months. Can't wait for them to come back from their hiatus.

Geordie Kieffer with CLARA-NOVA and Julia Nunes at The Satellite

CLARA-NOVA opened the night with some sweet tunes. Her fashion was perfect simplicity just like her use of a drumstick to hit her synthesizer. Julia Nunes sang tunes about a breakup. A little sadness that had her fans singing along. Geordie Kieffer went all out with his lady's night, wearing a dress, which he stated was very comfortable. He also wore Crocs. There was a bottle of honey on stage. I wasn't exactly sure why it was there.

Night Talks with WARGIRL and Ever So Android at The Hi Hat

There was an eclectic night of music at The Hi Hat last Tuesday. WARGIRL brought a mix of afro-beat and jazz. Night Talks is doing their Tuesday night residency. They gave us some strong vocals mixed with pop sounds. Ever So Android ended the night with Seattle punk. They played with so much power that I wondered if I'd be able to get enough sleep before work the next day -- too much adrenaline.

Teleskopes and Lauren Ruth Ward at Harvard and Stone

Rock to country rock at Harvard and Stone. Teleskopes hit the stage and rocked it out for their thirty minute set. The lights were interwoven with their rock moves. Lauren Ruth Ward then hit the stage (after a brief 3 song set by LP -- that was a surprise). What did I notice about Lauren? She loves to communicate with her hands. With the DJ blasting the music during their setup, she turned to her band mates and instead of shouting, motioned with her hands. Her moves were actually very understandable. She even looked at me, wanting me to tap LP on the shoulder. A look, a nod, and I knew exactly what she wanted me to do.