Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Black Friday is an odd day to present a show. The day before, we're all thankful for our family and friends with a day-long feast of food and football. The next day we're grasping for game consoles and computer tablets with one hand and pepper spraying faces with the other. If you've survived the day, by the time Friday night comes along you just want to decompress. And decompression is partly why we thought of this show. The other reason, obviously, is that having Tom Brosseau, Kate Earl, and Lia Rose together on one lineup is utter perfection. Not only are they three of our most favorite artists of all time but they are also three of our most favorite people -- on the planet. We've known each of them musically and personally going on ten years and we couldn't think of a better trio to serenade us out of 2013.
Tom Brosseau recently returned home from a short tour of the other half of the U.S. with Sean Watkins. We know these little treks to-and-fro he's been doing for the last decade have given him a well-rounded view of the world and are at the root of his often clever and charming songwriting style. While not necessarily having to be travel songs or road hymns, the thoughtfully vivid details in his lyrics are the kind perhaps only imagined on long drives from city to city. And it is this unique perspective that has filled six wonderful albums worth of music with a seventh, entitled Grass Punks, coming 1/21 on Crossbill Records. Produced by Watkins, the album again showcases Tom's delicate prose and even more delicate natural falsetto, but it's at his shows that these songs really come to life. And, on Friday, we have the honor of seeing one of the best pure singer-songwriters of our time share some songs of his life travels.
We all probably know the story. Almost exactly ten years go, Kate Earl moved to Los Angeles from Chugiak. The stage-shy, pretty Alaskan girl with the big, soulful voice captivated us and every major label in town. A lot has happened since then. Even knowing Kate all these years we needn't have to pry too much into all those happenings. We just need to listen to her latest album Stronger, see the running theme of song titles like "I Don't Want to be Alone," "Is There Anyone Out There," and "Not the End of the World" to understand the amount of emotional difficulties she's had. But the songs don't wallow in self-pity. Rather, they're actually quite uplifting 70's-inspired folk rock tunes. She plays her first show back in town on Friday after recently finishing a huge summer tour with Matchbox 20 and Goo Goo Dolls, playing new songs in likely a much more stripped-down way than the massive venues she's starting to get used to. She'll also be donating all of her earnings to her family in the Philippines. Mahal namin si Kate Earl.
This is our third Lia Rose show we've presented in the last eight months. 'Obsessed much' might be the understatement of the year. But this girl is just that good, Bricks & Bones is just that fantastic, and Los Angeles is just that oblivious that we will put on as many shows as it damn well takes to get this lady heard. Of related importance, her performance of "Myself for to Blame" at our last show with her created such a perfect formation of tears in our eyes that the watery lenses temporarily gave us 20/20 vision. Do you understand what we are telling you? Her music heals people and stuff. A few more shows and these bum knees of ours will be good as new. She opens the show on Friday and will likely be playing a few songs off her new album Heart of Winter to get us in the holiday spirit so get there early for a good cry sesh.
Goodbye, 2013.
November 29, 2013
Los Angeles Loves...
TOM BROSSEAU
KATE EARL
LIA ROSE
Pieter
420 West Ave 33, Unit 10
Los Angeles, CA 90031
All Ages/8pm/$5-10 donation (all money goes to artists)
FACEBOOK EVENT
STREET PARKING ONLY
Bring blankets, pillows, and stuff to sit on..
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
In one of our final shows of the year, we have chosen Lot 1 Cafe as our locale to host a trio of ladies we are honored to have on one lineup. We have had our eye on Daena Jay, Nettie Rose, and Pluto Fury for some time now so it is quite fitting that we will be closing out 2013 with all three of them together at last.
Given the amount of television usages of her music it's a bit of a surprise that not many locals have heard of Daena Jay. Her live appearances admittedly aren't too frequent but when she does grace a stage her talent is straight to the point. The lady can flat-out write songs that hit nerves, specifically the nerves that trigger teardrops flooding from one's eyeballs. And if you doubt this then haven't listened to "Lead Us Home" as much as we have. After a bit of a well-deserved break (she recently got married), look for a new EP in the coming months out on CatBeach Music (home to our friends Fielding and Moxi) and hopefully more shows as well.
When we first discovered Nettie Rose, she was just a teenager humbly singing her twangy Country tunes at open mic nights around Santa Monica. Five years later, the young lady (now 21 years old) is celebrating the release of her debut album People I Know. Her charming storytelling style of songwriting recalls the golden era of Country music the likes of Gene Autry, Patsy Montana, and Hank Williams, outpouring through a perfectly unrefined voice suited for long rides down dusty trails. "Ride Ride Ride" remains to be her signature song, a remarkable piece of songcraft to be released by a girl in her early 20s, no doubt, but even more astonishing in that she wrote it when she was sixteen and yet it still holds up against some of the best Country songs we've heard in the last decade. Do buy her new album (available now on iTunes) and please help her celebrate it tonight at Lot 1.
We've gotten several DMs asking who Pluto Fury is and we really cannot say for sure. It could be a new animated prime time series on FOX or it could be someone we randomly saw a handful of times a few years ago stun a packed crowd at Room 5 then sing the national anthem at Dodger Stadium all before they turned the age of 15. Hypothetically, if it were the latter and they were now attending a prestigious arts school that has churned out some of the best new bands out of Los Angeles in the last few years, then it would behoove us to get them to play one of our little shows before they have handlers telling them not to consort with "music bloggers." So that's what we did. Hypothetically speaking. Get there early to see them. Factually speaking.
That's the show. And there is no cover charge. Why? We don't even know. At the very least, this should be a Typhoon Haiyan benefit concert or something but we believe you will spend your hard-earned money wisely tonight whether it be to victims of natural disasters, Lot 1's infamous Tuesday $5 all-you-can tacos, or a new Nettie Rose record. Just know that this show costs as much as a slow dance with us to a Daena Jay tune. Absolutely free.
November 19, 2013
Los Angeles Loves…
DAENA JAY
NETTIE ROSE record release
PLUTO FURY
Lot 1 Cafe
1533 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
18+/9pm/Free but donations to the bands are encouraged
FACEBOOK EVENT
