Aug/090
Deerhunter 8/27/2009 @ Eagle Rock Center for the Arts
This was sort of last minute, and it was absolutely riotous.
The kickoff to a film festival honoring bikes, Deerhunter took the stage in a venue unlike most I’ve been to. A long narrow hall with columns flanking the crowd proved an intimate setting, and Deerhunter maximized the space with their far reaching, far out sounds. They jammed through their set with a relaxed ease belying the frantic, often jangled collage of distorted sounds. They rocked so hard at one point that the power supplying the makeshift stage went out and there was a brief interruption. When the festivities resumed, front-man Bradford Cox jibed “Okay that was our FIRST set. Round two is all Grateful Dead covers!”
Jokes aside, they meant business, and played a flowing set. The most unique moment, however, was the post-encore sound collage which lasted about 15 minutes on its own. With the trailing sounds of the encore song ending, Deerhunter (led by Cox) began to manipulate the feedback with their impressive array of distortion and effects pedals into a long, coked out tapestry of sound that left a major part of the crowd confused/irritated/and quite frankly lost. Some left, and those who did missed out on a harmonic explosion… A bittersweet symphony of fuzzed out, drone-tastic feedback sounds that actually ended up sounding totally coherent, if not a bit loud.
The spontaneous nature of the outing really made it worthwhile for me. I had only decided to go like 2 days before the show, and it ended up being a great night!
Aug/090
Fishboy (Round 1) 8/23/2009 @ Tribal Cafe
My friend Justin is the Bassist in the seriously rad band “Fishboy.”
It was no surprise, then, that when they arrived in LA for a set at the Tribal Cafe that they’d have at least one “superfan” in the wings waiting for it.
I show up at 7, to watch the end of a Jazz set, before the night’s festivities acts arrived. Hilight was this sweet Jazz guitar solo:
Sweet Jazz Guitar Solo... Didn't catch the band name.
After that ended, the night’s scheduled festivities began.
Some local acts would precede the touring lineup of Fishboy, Iji, and Watercolor paintings.
First up were local industrial folk trio “Black Sparrow Press.” One of the guitarists had a Woody Guthrie homage on his guitar… “This Machine Kills Six-Packs.” Fitting, as at times the trio did have a very Guthrie-referencing repertoire, their Folk ravings inspired in equal parts by the Dust Bowl Troubadour and their home roots of San Pedro.
Black Sparrow Press
Uke!!
Black Sparrow Press Kicks out the Jamz
After Black Sparrow Press’ Screamy Folky goodness, the drummer/uke-ist stayed on to assist local singer songwriter Sean Arenas, or “Sean Homemade” if you prefer. His acoustic set was really subdued in comparison, but he made up for that with meaning, and emotion. He is a talented songwriter that I am looking forward to following.
Sean Homemade
Sean’s set was too short, but with many bands to run through, time was of the essence. Next up was a spirited duo who I think called themselves the Bromantics. They announced that they’d started the band last Thursday (!!) and so the name wasn’t totally finalized. They do power poppy jams, and the guy and girl swapped instruments (guitar/drums) halfway through the set. Slight edge to the guy on guitar, girl on drums, but it was a fun set nonetheless.
Bromantics
After the dancing subsided, fishboy were to take the stage. In between the other sets I got a good chance to get to talk with the guys, who were really appreciative of the fact that I’d showed up in their t-shirt.
Fishboy Taking the Stage
They tore into the set with gusto, and I got some great video footage… The hilight being the final set where Justin handed the final song selection over to yours truly! Between Taqueria girl and Proper Name Spelling Bee, the choice was clear: Spelling. They ended with it and it was a rip roarer… The crowd seemed equally into it, and I’d made the right choice!
Locked and Loaded.
Justin Slappin' de Bass
Adam tickling the Ivories
It was hard to see them leave the stage. They looked and sounded so comfortable up there!
Next up, Iji, who Justin described as “Calypso Fishboy.” Excellent. I met their singer, Zach who seemed really enthusiastic. Their set really took me by surprise. It was phenomenal, and I remarked to him after that performing looked cathartic, and a relief for him. He agreed. His enthusiasm and love of music is infectious and shone through his performance. Amazing.
Iji
After Iji, local (Santa Barbara) favorites Watercolor paintings quietly took the stage. A Sister (harp) Brother (Uke) duo that had to compete with the refrigerator sounds in the Cafe during their blissfully serene and warm set. Beautiful stuff. Contemplative.
Watercolor Paintings
Having lulled the crowd into contemplative relaxation, the curtain call band, Local act “Big Whoop” ended things with a bang. Fun orchestral pop rock made an impression. I look forward to big things from them.
Big Whoop!
After some goodbyes, the Fishboy gang pressed me into coming up with them tomorrow to see the show at Biko Garage in Santa Barbara. Who was I to turn down that kind of offer? I will report on it, assuming I am not rocked into oblivion!
Aug/090
Knuckle Sandwich
Was behind home plate to watch rookie pitcher Charlie Haeger knuckleball the hapless Chicago Cubs into oblivion. Sweet.
I also out-heckled the (impressively large) traveling cubs fan base.
Aug/090
LACMA: Pompeii Exhibit
SWEET BEARDED SCULPTURE @ LACMA
My dad bought us some tickets to go to this temporary exhibit at LACMA. Amazing. I ended up going with my brother and our friend Montell. We ended up having a blast.
http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibpompeii.aspx
It’s seriously amazing to behold these pristine artifacts up close, and in our own back yard! The quality of the marble work and mosaics is staggering… That this stuff has held up through the passage of thousands of years, not only in a physical sense but in an artistic sense as well, is truly incredible. Their sculptors and painters had such a masterful command of lighting and perspective without the convenience of steady, controllable light sources… And the details on miniature ornamental objects… They don’t make this stuff like they used to!
After passing through period artifacts the exhibit culminates in a very cool section of works that were inspired by the explosion of Mt. Vesuvius, and Pompeii in general, including oil paintings, elaborate books, and impressive recreations of period pieces.
I highly recommend this exhibit to students of History, Art, Humanity, and anybody who has eyes and curiosity! The worst that could happen is that you don’t love it and you end up visiting any of the other truly magnificent LACMA exhibits… Picasso, Leger, or Magritte anyone? Eames? You will find something. Go. LACMA is incredible.
Aug/090
District 9 Impressions
Rest assured: The film is better than the poster.
Went with Gabe to see this with admittedly low-to-no expectations, which is always a safe bet.
I’m not a person who finds myself scouring the web (or any media for that matter) for movie recommendations, and so most of the movie buzz I get is from Gabe who usually instigates these movie outings.
He was psyched to see this movie, which was good enough for me, so we headed out to catch the 8:00PM show. So bromantic!
I found it to be entertaining, and I was pleasantly surprised. Sure there are loose ends and unanswered questions, but I felt like it was a pretty generic alien flick told in a novel way, and it made some very interesting “artistic statements” that clearly reference Apartheid. Speaking of, I felt that it was very brave of Peter Jackson to stage it in South Africa, a place I really love, instead of a stereotypical film setting such as New York… Simply because Johannesburg is a place that probably doesn’t resonate much with the 18-24 year old, American male target demo… That and because it makes the Apartheid connections WAY less subtle. Risky. Provocative. Political? Finally Hollywood gets the Alien-Apartheid allegory off of its chest! I know we’ve all been waiting for it!!
All in all, not my favorite flick of the year so far, but it was kinda fun, which is why I see movies. They tend to be fun. How’s that for insight?
Rating: 6.5 out of 8.5 on my “Sliding Fellini Scale of Cinematic Quality” ©. This is going to be my proprietary film rating method from here on out.
Aug/090
Jay Reatard @ Amoeba 8/18/2009
This was incredible for a few reasons:
1. Free
2. Took the metro rail from my apartment to basically a block and a half away.
3. Stood in the very front, literally 3 feet from the stage.
4. His sound check was the greatest free-flowing heckling fest I’ve ever witnessed. The Amoeba sound guy was inept, and Jay basically had his way with the poor guy behind the boards. When the sound guy reprimanded him for his language: “Seriously? Motherfucking Seth Rogan uses more profanities than I fucking do. PG-13 Amoeba. Fuck.”
5. The set raged. Totally angry, psychedelic, and ruthless. Energy, explosive loudness, and total enthusiasm.
6. Post show signing, he drew devil horns and signed the cover of the new LP for me.
7. Because I was in the front, he decided to have a long chat with me. He was glad I was so enthusiastic/dancing/pumped, and he told me about how he was the highest he’s ever been.
8.
Yeah!
More Photos:
Chuggin a brew
Rockin' the flying V @ Amoeba 8/18/2009
Aug/090
Vacation
Martha’s Vineyard: Amazing. Good times, old friends, and one new! Fine dining, fine wining, yachting, running, and ‘Edwyton.’ Even found a great record store! Totally exceeded my expectations. Had a lot of fun connecting with a friend of a friend on a leisurely stroll between various towns on the island.
Montana: What really needs to be said? The Ranch is my spiritual home away from home. Friends? More like family. Beautiful sights, tasty treats, and revelry.
Story time:Bunk beds with Gabe. I had never been “top bunk” so I decided to confront my fears, and for 4 of the nights it went smoothly. Night 5? Bunk collapsed 5 minutes into my sleep. I bailed, and yelled to Gabe to “wake the f**k up!” to which he crossly replied “Why the f**k would you wake me up?” me: “OPEN YOUR EYES.” Gabe (realizing he was pinned under the bed): “RESCUE ME!”… Needless to say, between the two of us we were able to utilize our super-man-strength, to give him enough room to wriggle to safety, completely unscathed!
Other stories: Jo O’B lit her face on fire trying to do a flaming Sambuca shot.
I am in total Ranch Leaving Depression mode. Good thing tonight I will be seeing Jay Reatard play at Amoeba to maybe take my mind off it for a while.
Aug/090
Happenings
A few things to update the internet about.
1. Malkmus + Jicks 7/25 @ Echoplex: This was a really fun concert. The Echoplex hosted singer/songwriter/guitar maestro Stephen Malkmus and his merry minstrels, the Jicks. Well they hit the Pavement running, and didn’t look back. (Couldn’t resist.) Fantastic show, with good company! Anna and her friend Justin who I’m pretty sure is going to be my partner in some sort of skateboarding apparel business venture? Okay.
2. Bonfire 7/30: A friend invited me down to a bonfire very “spur of the moment” like, and I’m glad she did! It ended up being a really chill, beautiful night. Met some fantastic, interesting people. Saw some fire. Had beers. What more could I ask for?
3. DEERHOOF 7/31 @ Echoplex: Holy Christ. After having tickets to see them 4 times, and each time something [illness x2, car problems, rescheduled final exam...] prevented me from actually going, seeing this band was totally built up with some crazy expectations. I love their recorded material, but word of mouth said they were even better live… So I headed down to the Echoplex to meet up with some buddies, and see if they were as majestic in person if not more so than their epic recordings.
…
…And they were.
One of the most intense, musically unique moments of my life. One of my favorite live acts ever. Brilliant. They have so much fun exploring their musical ability, listening to each other, improvising, and straight up jamming. Rock ‘n Roll.
Crowd surfing. Bacon wrapped hot dog. Iced Tea at a cafe afterward with Emerson and some other new friends. Fantastic.
AGENDA:
Tomorrow I leave for Martha’s Vineyard, where I will be partaking in some fine beverages, and even better company. I will be reunited with some of my best friends in the world, and partying. FOR A WEEK! Then Montana for a week of Mountain Sky, fresh air, revelry, and more best friends.
VACATION.