Thursday, July 21, 2005
Strhess Tour 2005 hits Los Angeles on 7/23 headlined by locals Bleeding Through. Check the Pimp for details. People say LAU don't cover enough alterna-metal and that's probably true. Still, we like Bleeding Through despite some backlash against the genre from metal purists. Get over it.Bleeding Through - "Love Lost In A Hale Of Gunfire" (MP3)
Sthess Tour - Commercial
Speaking of July, it's been a good one thus far. Didn't realize the Echo opened up their Monday nights for 18+ until a few weeks back where I was quickly surrounded by young girls and boys pointing and giggling at Alex Greenwald (in a Darth Vader mask and a white hood) as he took the stage with galpal Diva and her sister Lola in the newish trio blackblack. I haven't seen any of the boys from PP since just after they graduated high school when I inteviewed them for MTV. Anyway, Greenwald plays guitar and acts indie-weird with this new group, but it's still a lot more interesting than Phantom's last two albums. The Dompe sisters are young and the lyrics and musicianship prove that, but it's good enough for kiddie-core (they're ep is actually kinda great). Fans of Smoosh, Dear Nora, and Aislers Set should be at their show at the Echo on 7/23... Lots of peeps showed up for the debut of Extraordinary Gentlemen at the Viper Room (it's a temporary band name I believe... I hope). The band features Andy Blunda from paloalto taking the spotlight and they sounded pretty damn good. I'll have to see them again and get a demo to get the big picture. Thanks for the invite, Ms. Sweet Hurt. Also, Frankie Lee from Dead Rock West just happened to be there and he invited me to Molly Malone's the following Monday. Slightly disappointed to see such an empty room for Justin Clayton.
I don't think anyone realizes how good this guy is. The notoriously shy singer-songwriter is still channeling John Lennon via Thom Yorke, but in a sappy Damien Rice type of way. Cellist Vanessa Freebairn-Smith of the Sonus Quartet continues to pair up with him making some of the most beautifully melodic (and self-deprecating) tunes you'll ever hear. He never plays "Drag" for some reason, but "Collide" and "No Worries" make up for it. In any case, they play every Monday at Molly's. Believe me, you'll like it. A few songs can be heard here. DRW played acoustically and brought up Justin, Vanessa, and fellow Sonus Quartet member Neel Hammond up for their big hits. Sounded really pretty with all the strings. Wait until you hear their new album, folks. Wait, actually, you can.Some other notes... Just heard that Under the Influence of Giants got signed to Island. Don't know if it's true, but if it is, wtf?!...
One of our favorites from down under is back in L.A. for the first time in a couple of years. Carla Werner plays with fellow Aussie Angie Hart and local lovely lady Angela Correa at the Hotel Cafe on 7/24. Pimp has the details... Silversun Pickups "Pikul" EP release show is 7/26 at Sea Level Records. Merry Christmas (in July)... Also, you can now reach us at www.la-underground.net.Silversun Pickups - "Kissing Families" (MP3)
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Shocked it took me 15 minutes to get from Long Beach to the John Anson Ford the Friday before a holiday weekend. Got there so early we had time to mingle a bit with the scene, which came out in full force to see Petra Haden take center stage with her 9-woman choir (aka The Sellouts) for the premiere performance of "The Who Sell Out". Despite its modest intentions, there's been a considerable amount of press for this record, which probably helped in getting this show into a large seated theatre rather than a mid-sized club -- which probably would have suited Petra just fine, as modest as she is with her talent. Luckily for fans, family, and friends (including Rachel Haden, Matt Sharp, Miranda July, Becky Stark, new L.A. transplant Sara Radle, members of Let's Go Sailing, Dengue Fever, and others) the beautiful (and under-utilized) Ford served as the perfect stage for this amazing night. Stephen Prina opened the show doing covers of his own (from Joni to Magnetic Fields) and a few from Push Comes to Love (I believe I heard "Too Strong" as I was rushing back to my seat). I'd never seen him perform before, something that came as a shock to the audiophilic Angelites around me. Sorry.
Petra's performance was nearly perfect. But that was expected. What was maybe uncertain is if they would perform the whole album non-stop, which is sometimes the case with whole-album performances. Thankfully, she didn't and would break into her usual cute "banter". The choir was pretty damn great themselves. Anchored by ex-Lava Diva/current Resonant Heads lead and drummer for Sounds of Asteroth Dawn Frinta on percussion (?) and reinforced by a who's who of scene veterans including Tammy Hart, Tanya Haden, and a very pregnant Carla Commagere, they seemed to breeze through all the complex vocal workouts in Petra's arrangements. There were too many highlights: "Silas Stingy" was genius; Petra doing Townshend was fun to see live, especially with her matching air guitar; Tanya's one-liners; and of course the encore (a beautiful rendition of Petra's "Look Both Ways Before You Cross").
For those not able to attend, there were a few XL2's and X-Y'd mic's set up around the theatre, which leads me to think that a DVD isn't out of the question.
Triumphant was the way she'd felt as she acknowledged the applause...
Related articles:
ARTFORUM
L.A. CityBeat - She Can Sing For Miles and Miles
Now Playing Magazine - Ear Plugs: Petra Haden, Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out
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