Funny how they call it the “UCLA Jazz Reggae Festival” since there wasn’t any true “jazz” music to speak of, but I’m sure the crowd didn’t mind much, especially given that someone as talented as Gary Clark Jr. was just shredding on the guitar. He has a full length album coming out in September and I can’t wait to hear it, although I imagine his music is best experienced live.
The Roots did what they always do by playing a crowd-pleasing set including several covers and snippets of recognizable songs. Particularly cool was their rendition of the Beastie Boys’ Paul Revere dedicated to MCA:
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti is perhaps one of the more “buzzworthy” bands so far this year, garnering a “9.0” review from Pitchfork and landing on many other music blogs’ “Best of 2010 so far” lists. At $15 for a ticket including fees we’re in the impulse zone where there’s not a substantial risk even if you’re not a diehard fan of the band.
I’m all about seeing live music, especially at affordable prices, so I gave it a shot. I had given Before Today a couple of listens and while it didn’t “wow” me as much as the “Indie Blogosphere,” it also didn’t repulse me either. “Round and Round” has some pretty infectious melodies contained within and I will admit to waking up some mornings with the song in my head.
Some bands are just not meant to do live shows.
Ariel Pink cavorted around stage like a lifelong wino in an outfit that can best be described as a cross between Mario’s red overalls and Borat’s one-piece swimsuit. His voice cracked more times than an 18-year old going through puberty. Their set sounded lifeless and amorphous. None of the Before Today’s eclectic lo-fi charm came across on stage.
I stayed through each successive song with hopes of finally hearing the performance that would redeem the band. After about 45 minutes or so, it became apparent that this was never going to happen. I cut my losses and headed up to Two Boots for some delicious pizza.
Hey, for a $15 investment it wasn’t any worse than walking out of another shitty summer movie.
Disclosure: I was about three scotches in by the time Ariel Pink took the stage, so I had the musical equivalent of “beer goggles” going for me. Despite this I could still tell that the band was putting on a forgettable show.
I snapped a video of “Round and Round” in which you can hear this for yourself below:
Maybe years of concert going in Los Angeles have made me a jaded cynic, but I have to admit some trepidation when I intially heard that Thom Yorke would be playing the ~700 person capacity Echoplex in the heart of LA’s hipster haven. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to several Radiohead shows across the country. I’ve met and spoken with Thom himself. I know firsthand how great of a stage performer this awkward looking Englishman can be. It’s just that… well, solo albums from celebrated frontmen usually end up being a disappointing affair. I wasn’t a huge fan of The Eraser, the album came off to me a bit flat and soulless. Plus, how in the world could this new band work out? Nigel I can understand, but Flea?? Is he going to come out on stage in nothing but a tube sock, and start slappin’ da bass I Love You Man style? I was worried the show would degenerate into an 80 minute masturbatory jam session with famous musicians.
Fortunately, Thom and the boys proved I was a complete douche for even entertaining those thoughts. Read the rest of this entry »
“Hi, we’re an unsigned band from Los Angeles,” introduces The Airborne Toxic Event singer/guitarist, Mikel Jollett, to the frisky and diverse sold-out crowd at the Troub.
Two songs into the set, you would have been hard-pressed to believe that this Los Feliz quintet wasn’t signed by a Major or Major Indie (your Merges and Sub-Pops of the world), much less completely unsigned. Joined on stage by Noah Harmon (bass), Steven Chen (guitar/keyboard), Anna Bulbrook (viola), and Daren Taylor (drums), the soft-spoken Jollett crooned with his Morrissey-esque baritone and we soaked it in. The band members weren’t just going through the motions like so many other typical indie-xerox bands. They were playing with stage presence, with exuberance, with gracefulness.
