Thursday, November 20, 2008
Last night... hmm, well more on that later.
No, don't skip ahead.
Monday, we of course had to attend another Monolators residency night at pehrspace. Andy Bollas was the night's special guest on bass and as usual with a Bollas-injected show, chaos ensued and blood was shed. Next week, the theme for their last residency night is Winter Prom in honor of their recent album Don't Dance and perhaps for the first time ever we're coming dressed up for the party. This night also takes the place of the "Rock with a Twist" show we normally would have had this month so ready your intestines for free pretzels. The band has all the details of next week's show and a recounting of every week thus far on their blog.
Too many choices on Tuesday. We tried to make it to the last "Let's Independent" but one of our oldest friends Emm Gryner was in town at the Hotel Cafe. She lived in Los Angeles for all of one year just prior to the Hotel Cafe launching, a time when good singer-songwriter venues were few and far between, and she hasn't returned too many times since then. We met her back in 1996 at a house concert. A few years later she got signed to Mercury Records, got dropped during the "label restructuring" years, yet still found indie success releasing several critically-acclaimed records on her Dead Daisy label. It still amazes us she isn't just a gigantic star by now given her talent and how much recognition she's received. In any case, we unfortunately only had time for one song but it was good to catch up with her. Here's her cover of Nick Cave and the Bad Seed's "Straight To You", which we would have requested if we didn't have to make a mad rush for...
Wait Think Fast. We had been looking forward to the release show of Vuelve Al Mar since we saw them earlier this year and were completely blown away by their transformation. It's actually really hard to explain but if you saw WTF even a year ago or were an old fan of Central City Transmission, you know the musicians in this band have blossomed into something much more than we ever could have imagined. It's not just Ms. Jacqueline's vocals, which has reached the kind of depth and feel that will make music writers struggle to find synonyms for "haunting" for years to come. It's everything from the complexity and restraint of their song arrangements to the composure and confidence they now have when they take the stage. They finished up with the undeniably beautiful "Pájaros de Papel", after which we picked our jaw off the ground and bought a copy of the new record. And so should you. Get it on iTunes or at shows. Their next show is 12/14 at All Star Lanes.
This brings us to our little show last night. It was a special one and you're going to thank us that it was all captured, backed up, and mirrored to four different hard drives. First of all, we apologize if anybody tried to login to the Internet broadcast but, as predicted, the WiFi was intermittent. Second, you should have been there instead. The five-band lineup was increased last-minute by a one Trick Tracy (aka Brandon Schwartzel of Castledoor) who started the evening right with a little rhyming and two-timing. Friends have been telling us that this little project wasn't a joke and it isn't. It's actually pretty amazing. So amazing we want Brando back for more. And soon... Next up, we were given the gift of Tenlons Fort, the supergroup. Somehow we think T-Fort was always meant to sound that full and lush. It was the best Tenlons Fort show we've ever witnessed, not just because of his friends on stage but because we've never seen humble Jack so at ease, so happy to sing songs. It was perfection... We hear Jenny O. impressed a lot of people last night and we knew she would. Her voice is pretty and her songs are even prettier. A year or two from now when she's on Conan O'Brien she'll all but forget this night. We won't... We think Angela Correa got a little sick on purpose to make her voice all sexy slash whispery, just how we like it. She sang "Saint Dinan" like the old days when it was just us and the bartender keeping her sad, lonely songs company. We could barely look at the stage when she performed and she knows why... When Rachael Cantu takes the stage she owns it. You can't have it. It's hers. When she's done she'll let you know. Until then, look out for those pop hooks she throws out, they're all hits... Daniel Ahearn is just the kind of blue collar everyday guy we all need to have more of in Los Angeles. He's as down-to-earth and sweet as anybody we've ever met and it just so happens he's also a singer-songwriter that writes some of our favorite songs. That combination makes for more than just a good eHarmony profile, it makes for a lovely close to a wonderful evening. Thanks to everyone who came out and thanks to Koga for taking pics so we really didn't have to (although we did). We love you all.
Some vids from shows we did and didn't go to...
