The Vigils and honeychain at The Frog Spot

It was off to The Frog Spot a couple weeks back to catch The Vigils and honeychain. The Frog Spot is this tiny outdoor location that stands above the Los Angeles river. They put on summer shows and it is always nice to head out there a couple times. On this specific late afternoon, The Vigils and honeychain showed how to put on some rock 'n roll stage moves.

Chinatown Summer Nights: Lucy and La Mer, Chris Price, Wait. Think. Fast. and isle&fever

It was off for the 2nd Chinatown Summer Nights of 2017. This time I showed up early to catch Lucy and La Mer. Funny story. I was hanging out at the Echoplex a couple weeks ago and the lead singer of the band came up to me, thinking I was someone else. Well, that encounter ended up with me showing up at their set. That's one way to get a photographer to show up at a future set. Chris Price gave us some breezing singer songwriter music. I couldn't help but notice that he placed his guitar on the keyboard stand and played it like pedal steel guitar. Wait. Think. Fast. is a band that I last caught way back when. After their set, I did some research on the band and learned that they had briefly moved to New York and recently returned to Los Angeles. isle and fever closed out the night for me with some dance vibes.

Twin Ritual and Beachwood Coyotes at the Silverlake Lounge

Sometimes when you're working your B-U-T-T off, it is nice to sneak off and catch a couple bands. That's what I did on a recent night, heading off to the Silverlake Lounge to catch Twin Ritual and Beachwood Coyotes. Twin Ritual came in from San Diego to provide some Southern California (south of Los Angeles) rock sounds. Beachwood Coyotes provided some electric shock rock. Okay, that's sort of a joke. The lead singer's microphone was having some issues and was constantly shocking the singer's mouth on hand.

Maddie Ross and Runnner at The Hi Hat

So one thing that happens every so often is that The Hi Hat posts a schedule on Twitter, but when you arrive you find out that the schedule has been switched around. Oh well.

I went to The Hi Hat to catch a couple random bands. One band I caught was Runner, a two piece band with a garage rock sound, sporting headphones.

Maddie Ross gave a set that followed the life and tributes of a middle school/high school student. Or maybe that was just an inside joke. A couple cover songs were sung, one being "Kiss Me" by Sixpense None The Richer. I love that song.

Dustin Lovelis with GospelbeacH and Lens Mozer at the Bootleg Theater

It was a solid night of Americana at the Bootleg Theater last Monday night. Dustin Lovelis was doing his July residency and was backed up by GospelbeacH and Lens Mozer.

What are some random things I noticed:

The guitarist backing Dustin Lovelis played high up the neck.

I thought the combination of low lights and the hats worn by GospelbeacH would make photography tough. It did, but then I decided to let the shadows play in my favor.

The guitarist backing Lens Mozer had some cool finger work skills.

Omniflux at The Satellite

Free night at The Satellite so I decided to do a quick hit and run. I headed over to see Omniflux. Omniflux is Mahsa Zargaran, who gave us some synth driven electronica sounds. The stage was lined with seven lights that surrounded her in a curve. In those low lights, her sound was highlighted with her dance moves. In a sense, there was a spiritual feel to her set.

Comment of the set: My nipple literally just popped out.

ExSage with Wendy Bevan, Gateway Drugs and Polyplastic

In 2016, ExSage offered to put me on a guest list. Well, I decided to use that card for their set last Friday night. Opening up the night was Wendy Bevan who provided an artistic inspired set. Do a little digging on my part, I found that she's also a wonderful photographer.

Gateway Drugs had the psychedelic lights going strong that flashed across their largely black clothing fashion sense. They had the crowd rocking

Then ExSage hit the stage. They blazed through a six song set. Just six? I was like, "Hey, I need two more songs!" ExSage added a new bassist to their lineup.

Polyplastic, based on Facebook, looks to be a relatively new band. It didn't matter, their friends where out in force to support them.

TeamMate and DALES at the Resident

It was off to the Resident to catch TeamMate. First up was DALES with a large solid fan base. The lead singer Brian Logan Dales was formerly in The Summer Set. He brought the rock to the Resident. TeamMate followed up with their pop, beat emphasizing music. Their sound just hook you in.

DWNTWN with Bones (UK) and Hollis Brown at It's a School Night

So this was my first time at It's a School Night in years. I was heading off, because DWNTWN was having their record release party. Then at the last minute, I noticed there was another band added to the lineup. I did an initial look at the band and nothing came up. I did a deeper look and saw that the band also went by the name Bones. Wait, was this Bones (UK)? I first saw this band in December of last year. I hoped it was true. I headed over early and yep, it was Bones (UK) and they rocked it with energy. Yes. DWNTWN also killed it with their pop sounds. They opened up with one of their latest releases, Bloodshot Eyes. Oh so good. In between the two bands was Hollis Brown from New York who gave us some Americana love.

Goon, Alyeska, Young Jesus and Wolf Woodcock at The Hi Hat

Off to The Hi Hat on a Saturday night. It was a mini-festival called Unscene Fest. There were a number of bands, singers. I happened to catch Wolf Woodcock, Young Jesus, Alyeska and Goon.

Alyeska is a favorite of mine and she just keeps on getting better every time I see her. Her comment of the set: It's so hot, I feel I have multiple layers of sweat.

Wolf Woodcock was up first for the night with a mix of jazz and rock.

Young Jesus mentioned coffee and conspiracy theories. "After getting off coffee, I've experienced far less conspiracy theories." Of course, their last song was a 20 minute drug trip.

Goon was a surprise. This band rocked the night away for me. Awesome set.

AOE with Trishes and Emily Elbert

I didn't know what I was going to see when heading to The Satellite on a Monday night. All three artists were new to me: Emily Elbert, Trishes, and AOE. Emily Elbert brought the singer songwriter sounds. During moments, I swear I heard the sweet sounds of Basia coming through. Trishes brought her multiple internal conflicts to the forefront. She also put on the dance moves. AOE is the residency band for July. The Satellite had a solid crowd, but I have to believe that by the end of July the place will be packed. The band brought their cool style R&B. Their set was just sweet.

Chinatown Summer Nights with YIP YOPS, Lauren Ruth Ward and Color Caves

The first Chinatown Summer Nights of 2017. I got to see three bands.

YIP YOPS: Youth served. You can tell the band is young. I read somewhere that the keyboardist is 15. Well, maybe she's 16 now. They also got to play Coachella this year. How did such a young band get to play Coachella? Catchy tunes and a high energy set. That's how.

Lauren Ruth Ward: Personable. She hung out after her set, talking with both friends and fans. During her set, she pointed out people in the audience, calling some out by name. As for her set, it bled with emotion.

Color Caves: Flamboyant. This was their second ever set and it was awesome. Of course, what can one expect when the lead singer is from Nightmare and the Cat and the drummer played for Haim. And I just can't place the bassist at the moment. But what I'm saying is that this band is made up of a collective of well known Los Angeles musicians. Highlight of the set: the moves by the lead singer that sent his not exactly long hair flying.

Holy Wars with Night Talks and New Language at The Hi Hat

I've seen Night Talks a number of times. What stood out about this night? Well, something very interesting happened -- at least, for me. Night Talks brings the pop genre whenever they play their sets. They bring it and sell it each time. After Night Talks finished up, New Language started to bring their gear on stage. It was obvious that they weren't going to bring a pop sound. I was assuming they were going to be a rock or post-punk band. Nope. They brought the metal full on. It was like this total shock going from Night Talks to New Language. Yes, a shock, but totally an awesome surprise.

I first saw Holy Wars at Harvard and Stone in early June. I knew I had to see this band again. Holy Wars started off with their lead singer greeting all the photographers that lined the stage. There must have been eight of us. I obviously am not the only photographer blown away by this band. Their music was interspersed with personal stories about a handful of the songs. It was awesome learning the inspiration behind the lyrics.