it's all about the music

• Show: Ferraby Lionheart w/ The Living Sisters and Willoughby
• Artist: Willoughby
• Venue: The Bootleg Theater
• Date: Tuesday- February 2, 2010 
• Style: Folk/Other
• Highlights: Very interesting singing voice & jazz influenced instrumentals

Willoughby were the next band to play at The Bootleg on Tuesday and to be completely honest, I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about them. I had listened to a few songs on myspace and knew that it was going to be very mellow but wasn’t totally sold. Live, these guys were awesome! Gus Seyffert, the brains behind Willoughby, has one of the most interesting voices I’ve ever heard, and after listening for a few moments I realized how absolutely perfect it is. The over-all sound he has created is haunted and passionate, restrained and beautiful. I’ve been listening on myspace for the past couple of days now and am really digging what I hear. My favorite song is definitely Story, give it a listen and let me know what you think!

Upcoming Shows:
No shows scheduled at this time :(

• Show: The Passports
• Venue: The Dakota Lounge, Santa Monica
• Date: Sunday- January 24, 2010
• Style: Rock / Pop
• Highlights: Beach Boy style harmonies, amazing stage presence

After telling Brandon from the Dakota Lounge about this amazing band I’d seen, The Passports, I was very excited when I found out that he’d taken my suggestion and booked them to play on indie night. I saw them play first at The Viper Room a few months back (see my pictures and review here) and loved them right away. From their old school harmonies to their hilarious on (and off stage) antics, Casey and the rest of the guys are totally cool and always put on a great show. The songs are playful and catchy and it helps that they are all such talented musicians. I see big things in the future for The Passports so you should check them out sooner rather than later!

Upcoming Shows:
Feb 10 9:00P Spaceland - W/Silent Star and Imagine Dragons Los Angeles, CA
Feb 12 11:00P Hotel Cafe w/the Idyllists Hollywood, CA
Mar 4 8:00P The Mint - ALL AGES SHOW! Los Angeles, CA
Jul 23 8:00P International Pop Overthrow Los Angeles, CA

Wow so it’s very late/early on Monday morning and I am VERY sad to report that my camera is broken! Not sure what’s going on with it, all of a sudden it just can’t take a picture. I’m planning to take it somewhere tomorrow to see if it can be fixed, otherwise I’m going to have to get a new one (somehow). It’s probably about time for an upgrade anyway since I bought that camera back when I had no clue how much I’d like taking pictures and have reached the point (i think) where I’d like to kick it up a notch.

Anyway, enough about me- let’s get to the music! On Thursday night I went to the SilverLake Lounge for a show that I found on LA Weekly. The Headlining act, Maus Haus sounded very cool on mypsace and I was pleasantly suprised to find that the other bands were good too. The first band I caught was called Melanoid and the first thing I noticed was a freaking accordion (very random, but I love random musical suprises!) These guys play a kind of mellow alternative indie and it was right up my alley. The guitarist was really going crazy on his guitar, and the singer John’s voice sounded great and was mellow and so soothing. I definitely was a fan of their sound and look forward to seeing them play again around town.

The closing band was totally different than the Melanoid but very awesome in their own right. They were callled The Californian and aparently this was their first ever show! It seemed that the mics were giving them some trouble, but I was still able to enjoy their modern version of old school surf rock. It’s early days yet for this group but I can see them making quite an impression on the LA music scene. I mean this is where surf rock was born!

Last but definitely not least was a band called The Spring Standards from New York City. I knew from Myspace that they were a folky band so I was excited to hear them live. The group consists of three friends, James, James and Heather and together they make beautiful music and three part harmonies. These three on stage are full of life and way goofy. They made me feel so comfortable and their set wrapped up the night so perfectly. I’m going to keep following them as best I can from across the country, and hope that they’ll be back in LA soon!

So I went to check out The Hotel Cafe for the first time on Thursday night in Hollywood and it was awesome. I can’t believe I haven’t been there yet. The shows are cheap and the quality of music, on this night at least, was out of this world. I got there just as Golden State was taking the stage and was very happy I caught them. The singer James has a very cool voice and the whole band was rocking out. The songs were catchy and melodic and although they sound petty good on Myspace I must admit that the live show was a totally different experience. I guess the Hotel Cafe doesn’t get rocked very often so I felt honored to be there for it lol. I have a feeling these guys might be the next Kings of Leon so pay attention!

Last Tuesday I saw Olin and the Moon play at the Echo. I heard about the band  from my friend Justin, and even though he FLAKED…I was still happy that I checked these guys out. These guys play an awesome heart warming folk rock. Their songs are about love and life, and how amazing it is to be young. The singer, David LaBrel is so freaking cute, I wanted him to serenade me for the rest of my life haha. Olin and the Moon are playing every tuesday at The Echo in Echo Park this month and I totally recommend seeing them play, it’ll tug at your heartstrings.

I also posted a picture of the guy who was playing outside on the Patio before Olin and the Moon came on. He was incredible although I have no clue who he is or where he comes from. Does anyone have any information about this dude?

Ok I caught Year Long Disaster again at Spaceland last night after last monday’s disaster of a day and for the second week in a row they rocked so hard. I feel kind of bad about only posting pictures of Daniel but it’s not my fault that the camera loves him so much haha. Only two more weeks of Year Long Disaster this month. I swear you’ll regret it if you miss them.

Also on the bill for the night was Hydrovibe. A serious rock group with a bad ass chick on lead vocals. They totally blew the crowd away and even the old guy standing next to me was impressed with the group’s energy and talent. I just did a little research about the group and it turns out they have been rocking for a while now and am very happy to see that they are based out of LA. I hope that means that they’ll be playing around town again soon!

Also playing at the YTC BBQ on Sunday, but impressive enough to get their own group of pictures was Art of Chaos. On lead vocals, Brian Torres completely blew my mind. His voice transported me to another place, and as I looked around at the crowd I could tell everyone was feeling the same way. While these BBQ’s truly are all about the music, it’s very common to see people socializing and catching up during a set, but during Art of Chaos, it was clear that no one wanted to miss a single note. When I found out after the set that Brian usually plays all electric I was suprised because the acoustic sounded so awesome but, I’m excited to see them amplified so I can be blown away all over again. Trust me, you want to check these guys out asap!

Alright, so on Thursday I decided to totally switch gears and I made my way across town to the Eastside Luv Wine Bar in Boyle Heights to see Ceci Bastida. I found the show on LAWeekly and was excited to learn that she is an up and coming Latina singer who used to play with one of my favorite spanish singers Julieta Venegas. The show was great…Ceci was full of energy, she was fun to watch on the stage and her songs were catchy. I keep humming the tune to her song “Mas y Mas” (a song about the war) over and over, very weird since the show was over 3 days ago… haha. Anyway the lighting was really strange in this little venue, so my pictures are extremely red for now but- never fear - I’m going to consult some of my photoshop genius friends to see if they can make them look any better. Check out my Flickr page for a few more pictures of Ceci y su banda.

The final band of the night was called Tearist. I guess they are local, although I didn’t know where they were from until I checked out their myspace page just now. I have definitely never seen an act like Tearist but they kept me entertained and dancing. On stage was a DJ and the singer, a girl named Yasmine Kittles.

The girl is seriously intense, dare I say angry? A feeling I got after she started banging a steel pipe against a slab of metal on the ground.  No complaints though and I met some very cool people in the audience which usually indicates a good band and a great night. Haz un click aqui for a few more pictures.