Tagged: showreviews

By Erik Ehlert Sometimes you need a funeral to remind yourself of your gifts. And Mark Lanegan keeps giving. The Mark Lanegan Band this week dropped a new album, "Blues Funeral," the first solo work from the 47-year-old singer-guitarist since 2004. It's the perfect vehicle for his brooding baritone, filled with rock dirges composed by a man with a quality in his voice that cannot be faked. On Thursday night at the Echoplex — his band's first date before embarking on a European tour — Lanegan gave a show [...]

The light persistent rain couldn't keep San Francisco's damp masses from huddling together for a night of varied folksters at Bottom of the Hill on February 6th. The evening starter, Oakland's very own singer/songwriter Morgan Manifacier , was accompanied by a celloist. Both were seated, but that did not stop an enthusiastic crowd from gobbling them up. I do suspect a few ringer audience members were in attendance, as the activity near the front of the stage threatened to shake free a couple of ceiling tiles. Manifacier's sound is reminiscent of everyone's favorite [...]

When Tim Cohen took the stage at The Lost Church sans any of his usual suspects on February 4th, he informed us that he'd be playing three songs, which could have left us wanting more — in terms of time, anyway — if they'd been of The Fresh & Onlys' short-garage-pop-song variety. But enough hypothesizing: he didn't, and they weren't. Rather, Cohen played each of the tracks off his latest record with the Magic Trick , The Glad Birth of Love . Anyone familiar with the [...]

It was a night of punk, power pop and rock music at Babylon Nightclub on February 6, 2012. First Monday show of 2012 so far. The bands playing at the show: • JEFF The Brotherhood • The White Wires • Dagger Eyes I was very excited for this show because I wanted to see JEFF [...]

Last Tuesday night, I was blessed to see two very talented acts on stage, both alternative rock bands, at the great Bootleg Theater in Silver Lake. When we first arrived, The Dance Party from Washington D.C. was already killing it on stage. They provided so much energy in their sets. The crowd was loving every [...]

It was a fun night at Zaphod Beeblebrox on February 4, 2012. You can say this was my fourth time seeing this band play in Ottawa. Playing at the show was: • Sheezer • Rouge This was my second time seeing Rouge. They put on a great electro-dance pop set. Surprised they did a Britney cover of "Breathe On Me". Great band to see [...]

• rouge - modern lovers I

After seeing Yamantaka // Sonic Titan at Babylon Nightclub. I headed to a "Secret Dance Party" by The White Wires . It was mostly a fun party filled with balloons and records being played. A chance for them to preview some new songs on the upcoming third album. Everyone had a great time at the party. I left when Pregnancy Scare played. Missed [...]

It was a fun night that happened at Babylon Nightclub on February 3, 2012. Never got so excited and hyped for the band that played. Seeing the props on the stage, you know this was going to be some show. Playing at the show was: • Yamantaka // Sonic Titan • Boyhood Ottawa's Boyhood started off the show. This was my second time seeing them. [...]

I am at Babylon Nightclub. Trying to blog on my iPhone. Right now it is Yamantaka // Sonic Titan playing live right now. Here is a photo. More to come.

I am at Babylon Nightclub. Trying to blog on my iPhone. Right now it is Ottawa's Boyhood playing live right now. Here is a photo. More to come.

It was packed from wall to wall for Wally De Backer on Thursday night at the El Rey Theatre. Known better by his stage name, Gotye provided an hour-and-a-half high for those lucky enough to get their hands on tickets to the sold-out show. Initially only a megastar on his home turf, the Australian multi-instrumentalist quickly rose to international fame during the last year. His hit single "Somebody That I Used to Know" featuring New Zealand's Kimbra had much to do with it, but as soon as Gotye walked on to stage it was apparent that [...]

Its already February!! Playing at Cafe Dekcuf were: • Dinosaur Bones • Prussia • Sound of Lions This is the first Dinosaur Bones and Sound of Lions show of 2012. I wonder how many times will I see them this year? At first I thought this line up would be somewhat [...]

• prefixmag - Prussia: "Sleeper" (Prefix Premiere)

The stage at last Friday night's show at the Hemlock hosted an eclectic motley crew of understated indie crooners, confrontational post punk performers, and fuzzed-out pop embraces. The night began with Adios Amigo , which features Johnny Major from another Spanish-named band, Il Gato . Their music is more low-key than in your face, with subtle crescendos and washed out three-part vocal harmonies. It's the perfect music for the end of a day at the beach, when the late afternoon sun pales everything to a light golden hue. [...]

What a difference a year can make.

In a musical scene that is currently dominated by debut albums, buzz bands, and the blogosphere, it is altogether refreshing to see an established band like Wilco thrive. I don't really know why, but to hear a band 16 years on release an album as driving and energetic as their early records is as rewarding [...]

" Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel ." - Hunter S. Thompson No, this photo is not from last week's show at 1-2-3-4 Go! Records. It was all ages after all and Nobunny kept his clothes on. The room was completely packed and no one was safe from the moshing, flying jackets and projectile vomit. The short set ripped through much of the Nobunny catalog including the signature "Boneyard" and "I [...]

Can we all just agree now that Alabama Shakes are the genuine article? That they're worth all the hype you've been hearing from little blogs, big websites and NPR ? That so-called blues made my college-educated hipsters doesn't quite measure up? That we've found a voice that really makes us want to drink whiskey and kill all the crooked haircut bands? Sure we can, c'mon now. There were no dissenters Wednesday night at the Troubadour, where the quintet from Athens, Ala., (pop. 21,000, give or take) made its Los Angeles debut to a [...]

Here's when you know that a band has finally "made it": when they've got their own stage carpets, custom-monogrammed with the band's logo, to stomp and spit all over as they play live every night. These are no scrims, props or hanging stage-banners, mind you: only the members themselves and those up in the balcony [...]

Jeff Tweedy on Tuesday night allowed as how he'd been watching Sammy Hagar perform recently and realized he's never dropped the P-word onstage. So in front of a sold-out crowd at the Palladium, with hand-in-the-cookie-jar glee, the Wilco bandleader boyishly said it. Three times. "Pussy." The band got a chuckle out of that one, and so did the overgrown kids in the audience, Wilco lifers who know that Tweedy isn't the kind to cuss and swagger and vamp. He might front one of the planet's best rock bands, but Jeff Tweedy is no rock [...]

Making one's debut in Los Angeles can be an iffy proposition, especially if a band is saddled with a midnight set — on a Sunday night. However, Portland's dream-pop darlings Blouse didn't seem to have much to worry about when a massive crowd crammed itself into the Echo for a sold-out show. ||| Photos by Oliver Walker Helmed by vocalist and guitarist Charlie Hilton, the trio-turned-quartet (a keyboardist was just added) managed to play with the sound space inside the venue to accommodate [...]