Song Spotlight: BANDANNA's 10 Stories (a night at Hotel Ziggy)

I really do enjoy catching the opening band or singer when I head out on any particular night. One never knows if you'll catch a gem. Then there are those times when I walk into a venue (often because I've misjudged the start times) and the opening band is just about to end their set. That's what happened when I saw Gypsum for the first time at The Smell. I caught maybe half a song, but I knew I was going to love that band from that moment onwards. Now some of you who come across this are saying, who is Gypsum? Members of the band included Rosie Tucker and  Sapphire Jewell (who tours with illuminati hotties). 

BANDANNA at Hotel Ziggy

Song Spotlight: Artificial Go's Circles (a night at Permanent Records Roadhouse)

Did a band from Cincinnati, Ohio steal the show at Permanent Records Roadhouse? Maybe I wouldn't go that far as they were book ended by Los Angeles bands Julez and the Rollerz and Jagged Baptist Club who have their fan bases. Yet, Artificial Go definitely got the crowd behind them and in rather quick fashion. How would I describe the band? I'll just steal the description from their Bandcamp page, "existential post-punk chamber pop."

Artificial Go at Permanent Records Roadhouse

Song Spotlight: Stinkus' FOLLOW (a night at The Goldfish)

I'll be honest, when it was announced that this would be the first show ever for Stinkus, my expectations weren't set all that high during this particular set at Rocknite LA event at The Goldfish. I mean, it takes a few sets for a band to get into a groove on stage, right? I was wrong. Maybe there were a couple clues to be had. The first clue was that the venue filled up for their set. It being their first set, they had a surprisingly large following. The second clue was that King Mala showed up to support Benjamin Hon who was on guitar.

Stinkus at The Goldfish

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): June 29th - July 5th

A Handful of Show Alerts

Sunday, Jun 29th: talker at The Goldfish. Doors at 8 p.m.

One of my long time favorites.

Wednesday, Jul 2nd: Jawdropped at Zebulon. Doors at 8 p.m.

Read my "Skully" song spotlight here.

Thursday, Jul 3rd: Robert DeLong at El Cid. Doors at 8 p.m.

This is his 2nd set at the venue. I saw his 1st set. 

Thursday, Jul 3rd: The Dollyrots at The Echo. Doors at 7 p.m.

I covered the band in 2023 for Buzzbands. You can read the article here.

Thursday, Jul 3rd: Ultraviolet Communications at Alex's Bar. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can read my "No Return" Song Spotlight here. 

Thursday, Jul 3rd: Valley Porno People at Zebulon. Doors at 7 p.m.

I'm not sure this band is on social media. Either way, they made my list of favorite 2024 bands, which you can read here.

Friday, Jul 4th: Funds for Jimmy at The Smell. Doors at 8 p.m.

Read my "uncleaned." song spotlight here. 

Saturday, Jul 5th: The Letter Openers at Old Towne Pub. Doors at 7 p.m.

Read my song spotlight article for The Letter Openers' "Camerford, Where Ya Been" here.

Saturday, Jul 5th: Total Pleasure at Permanent Records Roadhouse. Doors at 9 p.m.

Read my review of their 2025 Zebulon night here.

Song Spotlight: Fifth Lucky Dragon's I Killed My Friend? (a night at Hotel Ziggy)

I was planning (and did) head off to catch Bruvvy at Good Times at Davey Wayne's on this particular Tuesday night. They were doing an April residency and I had yet to catch one of those sets. I pinged one of the band members and was told they were going on somewhere between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. I figured I would start my night off at WFNM's night at Hotel Ziggy and then take off at around 9:30 p.m. to get to Good Times at Davey Wayne's to catch Bruvvy. 

Fifth Lucky Dragon at Hotel Ziggy

Song Spotlight: Georgia Maq's You'll Be Singing My Name (an afternoon at the Art Center College of Design)

As mentioned in a prior blog post, I notice via a Gracie Gray Instagram Story that Mini Trees was going to play a short set on the ArtCenter College of Design rooftop (curated by the Altadena Seed Library) during the Printed Matter Art Book Fair. A number of singer-songwriters performed throughout the day. I saw only four of those performers. The last performer was Georgia Maq (aka Georgia McDonald). 

Georgia Maq at the Art Center College of Design

Review: Will Brahm Aglow for Album Release Party

Creatrix Jem Presents put on a jazz night at Club Tee Gee that featured Will Brahm celebrating his Distance to Empty album release. Opening up the night was the Jake Leckie Trio. Brahm mention that musicians shouldn't have more than three one word song titles in their setlist. I counted five such song titles on the 1 hour and twenty minute set. I guess a cardinal rule was broken, but I don't think the audience cared about that particular rule. The venue was packed with people who got to enjoy jazz as well as mini cupcakes that Brahm brought to celebrate the record release as well as his birthday. As I was leaving for the night, I grabbed one.

Will Brahm at Club Tee Gee

Song Spotlight: The Opera's Crystallized (a night at Zebulon)

I took off to Zebulon on Memorial day to catch Hysteria (you can read my Hysteria NFV Song Spotlight here). Now I didn't want to head out for the full four band line-up. I've mentioned this in past blog posts, but I'm trying to put a quota on the numbers of nights I go out each week. I was partially successful at this during the early part of the year, but April onwards has fallen apart. I'm just too addicted. After listening to Hysteria's single that they were celebrating, I decided I was heading out even though I knew it would bust my quota for the week (already knew I wanted to head out on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday). But it is a holiday Monday, I rationalized. I knew the approximate start time for Hysteria (they were the last band up), but decided I should at least see two bands.

The Opera at Zebulon

Song Spotlight: Jia Pet's just shut up (a night at the Lodge Room)

When it comes to covering shows for a blog site (be it in the past for Buzzbands or currently for US Rocker Music), I am always there to cover the opening band. Honestly, I don't think I've ever missed an opener while covering a night for a blog site. Caveat being when there were strict restrictions on being able to shoot inside a venue where photo passes were band specific, which isn't on me. 

Jia Pet at the Lodge Room

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): June 22nd - June 28th

A Handful (Bucketful) of Show Alerts

Sunday, Jun 22nd: Night Talks at The Paramount. Doors at 7 p.m.
I covered the band in 2022 for Buzzbands. You can read it here.

Sunday, Jun 22nd: Soft Palms at Gold-Diggers. Doors at 7 p.m.
You can read my "Rainbows" song spotlight here.

Tuesday, Jun 24th: Disco Shrine at The Roxy. Doors at 7 p.m.

I've known the genius behind Disco Shrine, Jessica Delijani, for years. You can read my 2019 US Rocker Music Q&A here.

Tuesday, Jun 24th: Mikayla McLean at Hotel Ziggy. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my "Run!" song spotlight here.

Wednesday, Jun 25th: Seko at The Goldfish. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can read my "Danny's Song" song spotlight here.  

Wednesday, Jun 25th: The Red Pears and Archer Oh at The Echo. Doors at 7 p.m. Sold Out.

I covered both bands for US Rocker Music in 2024. You can read that article here. 

Thursday, Jun 26th: Billy Tibbals at Zebulon. Doors at 7 p.m.

You're always in for a great show when seeing Billy Tibbals.

Thursday, Jun 26th: The Red Pears at The Smell. Doors at 8 p.m. Sold Out.

Thursday, Jun 26th: WFNM's Grant Owens' birthday party at Bar Lubitsch. Doors at 7 p.m.

Friday, Jun 27th: Boy Deluxe at The Goldfish. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can read my "Bait" song spotlight here.

Friday, Jun 27th: Julez and the Rollerz at the Moroccan Lounge. Doors at 6:30 p.m.

You can read my "Call Me Up" song spotlight here.

Saturday, Jun 28th: Dengue Fever at Levitt Pavilion. Doors at 7 p.m.

I caught this band back at the 2017 Music Taste Good festival in Long Beach. You can read about that festival here.

Saturday, Jun 28th: Dum Dum Fest at The Echo. Doors at 6 p.m. Festival headlined by Male Tears.

Saturday, Jun 28th: Eastside Fux Vol III Festival (via Badass Bands) at Zebulon. Doors at 3 p.m. Festival headlined by Jagged Baptist Club.

Saturday, Jun 28th: Suzie True at Scribble. Doors at 8 p.m.
I covered their 2024 set for US Rocker Music. You can read that article here.

Song Spotlight: SASAMI's Lose It All (a night at the Lodge Room)

I first came across SASAMI in January 2019 at The Echo. 

SASAMI at the Lodge Room

There's a little fun music history involved in that. 

First, The Echo used to have FOMO week. The first week of January would be dedicated to free shows at The Echo. Like any year during that music era, the week was packed with top notch local bands (you can see a schedule here). Here are some awesome performers:

Song Spotlight: Hysteria's Reason to Pray (a night at Zebulon)

Hysteria fronted by Dakota Cosgrove took to the Zebulon for only their second set ever. The set was to celebrate their "Reason to Pray" single release. I wasn't planning on heading out on Memorial Day. I was going to stay home and watch an old war movie (Where Eagles Dare), because of . . . well . . . Memorial Day. I did watch that movie at a later date. Was it a good idea to head out to Zebulon on this night? It definitely was. 

Hysteria at Zebulon

Song Spotlight: MacGregor Burns' Paradise Motel (a night at The Fable)

I went off to a Ryan Pollie presents night at The Fable mainly to catch Swimming Bell. I'd seen Swimming Bell back in 2022 and figured I'd catch another set. If I were more real life work focused, I probably should have been tapping away at my computer instead of heading out to The Fable. The company I work for is going through system upgrades and people who send out reports are sending the reports out much later than normal and the reports are filled with errors. It will all get resolved eventually, but there's always that rough patch where sometimes you just got to put in the extra effort to deal with all. Well, I was like screw it, it is 8 p.m., I'm heading out to catch some live music. I should note that I don't always prioritize music over work. I often pass on various assignments for US Rocker Music due to real life work. Don't worry, I'm not trying to drive myself into unemployment due to my love of the LA music scene, but I do try to walk that fine line. 

MacGregor Burns at The Fable