Author: Kristen

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 1/17-1/23

Posted on by Kristen

Writing this while listening to Pepper’s Ghost do a radio interview about their reunion show next weekend. If it’s possible, I’m even more excited about my favorite band getting back together for a one night only double header show at The Grape Room in Philadelphia. There are a ton of awesome shows in LA this week, but I’m mostly excited about venturing east at the end of the week to catch Pepper’s Ghost…and maybe some other fave Philly bands. And then going back to NYC to catch the guys of Carney once again rock out in Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark.

It’s gonna be a fantastic week!

Here’s what I’ve got on my LA calendar:

Monday: Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights at Saint Rocke (10pm)
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (9pm)
ALSO: It’s A School Night at Bardot featuring Great Northern and The Pierces (10pm) 

Tuesday: Queen Caveat and Endless Hallway at The Viper Room (10,11) 
ALSO: The Shakers at Crazy Girls in Hollywood (9pm) 
ALSO: The Pierces at The Hotel Cafe (10pm) 
ALSO: Barcelona at Saint Rocke (9:30) 
ALSO: Lindsey Ray and Taylor Locke and the Roughs at The Satellite (8pm) 
ALSO: Wire in the Walls, Family of the Year, and Olin and The Moon at The Echo (8:30) 
ALSO: The Canyons at Molly Malone’s (9pm) 

Weds: Anna Nalick at The Hotel Cafe (9pm) 
ALSO: Lady Danville at The Troubadour (8:35) 

Thursday: Nikka Costa at The Roxy (8pm)
ALSO: Austin Hartley Leonard and Satellite at The Hotel Cafe (8,10pm)
ALSO: The Elizabeth Kill at The Cat Club (8pm) 
ALSO: Chasing Avalanche at The Viper Room (10:30) 
ALSO: Lady Danville at The Troubadour (8:35) 

Friday: Langhorne Slim and Old 97’s at The Music Box (9pm)
ALSO: Meiko at The Hotel Cafe (9:30)
ALSO: Alice Peacock at The Mint (8pm) 
ALSO: David and Devine at Room 5 (11pm) 
ALSO: Lady Danville at The Troubadour (8:35) 

Saturday: Jake Newton, Tyler Hilton, Ernie Halter, Shaimus, and Queen Caveat at The Hotel Cafe…this line-up blows my mind. Don’t miss it…seriously…(8,9,10,11,12) 
ALSO: Indians and The Mowgli’s at Area 33 in Culver City
ALSO: Guster at The Music Box (7pm) 
ALSO: Purple Melon at Saint Rocke (9pm) 

Sunday: Lemon Sun and Voxhaul Broadcast at The Echoplex (8pm)
ALSO: TD Lind, Jesse Cole, and Brandon Walters at The Hotel Cafe (8,9,10) 
ALSO: Chris Pierce at Saint Rocke (9pm) 

To Keep in Mind:
Jan. 24th: Cold War Kids at Bootleg 
Jan. 25th: Vertical Horizon at The Key Club 
Jan. 28th: Nico Vega at Saint Rocke
January 28th: Free Energy at The Roxy 
January 29th: Charlotte Martin at Bootleg 
Jan. 30th: Against Me! at The Music Box  
Feb 1st: Patrick Park at The Hotel Café 
Feb. 1st: Queen Caveat at The Viper Room  
Feb 5th: The Silent Comedy at El Rey 
Feb 9th: Sarah McLaughlin at Nokia Live
Feb 9th: Tina Dico at The Troubadour
Feb 16th: Nicole Atkins at The Troubadour 
Feb. 16th: Scars on 45 at The Hotel Cafe  
Feb. 20th: Beth Hart at The Echoplex
Feb 26th: Josh Ritter and Scott Hutchinson (Frightened Rabbit) at The Music Box
March 1st: Biffy Clyro at The Troubadour 
March 3rd: Civil Twilight at The Troubadour 
March 22nd: War on Drugs at The Toubadour 

~ Kristen

Watch This!: Map The Music

Posted on by Kristen

I met “accidental filmmaker” Samantha Hale at The Hotel Cafe’s annual Christmas party. We started talking music. We bonded. She is one of those people that “gets it”…that gets me. Like me, she’s a live music addict. Also, like me, she’s a researcher. After the loss of her father, she turned to music as a way to survive. Her personal experience lead her to explore the impact music has on people in the form of a documentary film.

Map The Music takes Samantha on the road, interviewing fans and artists, asking questions about what music means to them and why they do what they do. The film features some of my favorite musicians (Imogen Heap, Charlotte Martin, Cary Brothers, Rachel Yamagata, Jim Bianco, etc.) and really gets to the root of why music is so important. Any film that makes the argument that all of us who go a bit “crazy” when it comes to going to shows are really the normal ones…well, that’s a film I want to watch!

I’ve already watched the film twice today and I’m contemplating throwing a viewing party. People need to see this film! It’s not just a film about Samantha and her personal journey; it’s a film about all of us…all of us who live show by show, to whom music means…everything!  

 What does it explore?

Music as addiction. Music as religion. Music as hope. Music as life. Music as medicine. Music as connection. Music as home.

To learn more go here. To follow on tumbler go here.  DVD available at insound.com.

For a preview, check this out:

~ Kristen

The Silent Comedy Tour: Get Pumped Up!

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This is one of the best promotion videos for a tour I’ve ever seen.

One of my favorite San Diego based bands is going on a West Coast tour with Academy Award winning artist Ryan Bingham (wrote a couple songs for the film Crazy Horse). They hit LA on Feb. 5th (The El Rey) and are in San Diego Feb. 6th (House of Blues). For the rest of the dates and locations, watch the video…and then watch it again because chances are you’ll be too distracted to get the dates the first time around :).

http://thesilentcomedy.com/

http://www.binghammusic.com/

~ Kristen

Mark Your Calendars: After Midnight Project- LIVE

Posted on by Kristen

Mark your calendars for Feb. 22nd! On that date, LMN favorite After Midnight Project will be releasing a live album. I’ve always contended that this band puts on one of my favorite live performances so I cannot wait to hear this album. Will there be new songs on it? Anything acoustic? Will they celebrate the release of the album with another show in LA???

SO many questions! Can’t wait to get them all answered…

One of the things I’d like to see on it; an acoustic version of this song (I enjoy the paradox of an acoustic song about screaming…):

~ Kristen

Read This!: The Brain’s Response to Music…

Posted on by Kristen

Came across this article in my daily Pub Med search. It links the two facets of my life (brain imaging and music), so I thought I’d share.

For a more palatable summation, check out this news article entitled “music rewards brain like sex and drugs”

Basically, it indicates that music we experience as pleasurable (they actually measured the sensation of getting chills), can lead to dopamine release in the brain. This dopamine is part of a reward circuit. An interesting point brought up in the discussion section is that this reward circuit is often linked to activities that are highly adaptive (sex, eating), but it is also associated with drug use, smoking, and other activities that might be associated with addiction.

My question is, can we look at music as something that is culturally adaptive or would it be more lumped in the addiction category? On the one hand, music can be seen as an imperative part of human survival. It brings people together, keeps them going through more difficult times, and can create and/or augment feels of euphoria. On the other hand, I’ve always speculated that I have a chemical addiction to music. I use it to get me though the day. I suffer from withdrawal if I don’t get it. Music can also be incredibly manipulative.

I suppose I would hypothesize that reward properties of music would be similar to that of say food, a substance that we need to survive, but that can also be abused. Then, my question would be, is there a “type” of person who would be more prone to this “music addition”? What would distinguish this person, physiologically?

Anyway, those are my initial thoughts on the article. I’d love to take the research a step further and look at the addictive properties of music…perhaps someday I’ll get the opportunity…

~ Kristen  

I’m fairly confident that my nucleus accumbens is going crazy right around the bridge of this song:

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 1/10-1/16

Posted on by Kristen

About to head out to The Roxy to check out the very first performance of Bonnie Dune. I feel that Seth Roberts (Lakes) can do no wrong, so I’m fairly confident I’m in for a treat. But after two straight nights of amazing shows (Scarlet Grey and Parade of Lights), we’ll see if this new band can impress.

And it’s just the first day of a week’s worth of great shows. Here’s what’s on my list this week: 

Monday: Cannoneers of the New Command, Sabrosa Purr and Moving Picture Show FREE at The Echo (9pm) 
ALSO: Kinch and Endless Hallway FREE at Silverlake Lounge (10,11) 
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (9pm) 
ALSO: It’s a School Night at Bardot featuring The Civil Wars and White Sea (10:30)
ALSO: Jenni Alpert at The Hotel Cafe (9pm) 

Tuesday: Beachwood Rockers Society at The Piano Bar featuring David Green at 10pm
ALSO: Olin and The Moon FREE at The Echo (10pm) 

Weds: Anna Nalick at The Hotel Cafe (9pm) 

Thursday: Roses Pawn Shop at The Echo (9pm) 
ALSO: Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall (8pm) 

Friday: Love and a .38 and Run Devil Run at The Roxy (8:30)
ALSO: Toad the Wet Sprocket at The Key Club (10:30)
ALSO: Lindsey Ray and Taylor Locke and the Roughs at Saint Rocke (8:45, 11) 
ALSO: Maxim Ludwig & the Sante Fe Seven at The Hotel Cafe (10pm)
ALSO: Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall (11am) 

Saturday: Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights at The Viper Room (10pm)
ALSO: Tyler Hilton and So & So at The Hotel Cafe (9,10)
ALSO: George Stanford and Lissie at The Music Box (8pm)
ALSO: Bad Books (featuring Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra) at The Troubadour (10:15)
ALSO: Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall (8pm) 
ALSO: Andrew Bird at Largo (8:30) 

Sunday: Andrew Bird at Largo (8:30)

To Keep in Mind:
January 18th: Queen Caveat at The Viper Room
January 20th: Nikka Costa at The Roxy
January 22nd: Guster at The Music Box  
Jan. 28th: Nico Vega at Saint Rocke
January 28th: Free Energy at The Roxy 
January 29th: Charlotte Martin at Bootleg 
Feb 1st: Patrick Park at The Hotel Café  
Feb 5th: The Silent Comedy at El Rey
Feb 9th: Sarah McLaughlin at Nokia Live
Feb 9th: Tina Dico at The Troubadour
Feb 16th: Nicole Atkins at The Troubadour
Feb 26th: Josh Ritter and Scott Hutchinson (Frightened Rabbit) at The Music Box
March 1st: Biffy Clyro at The Troubadour
March 3rd: Civil Twilight at The Troubadour 

~ Kristen