Kristen

Nico Vega West Coast Tour

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Kristen

Now THIS makes me want to do a west coast road trip. Nico Vega is finally playing another hometown date Weds July 14^th at The Troubadour opening for Sweethead. This show is the first on the band’s journey up the west coast. Dates listed below…don’t miss out!

14 Jul 2010

8:00 P

The Troubadour w/ Sweethead

West Hollywood, CA, CA

15 Jul 2010

7:00 P

Velvet Jones w/ Sweethead

Santa Barbara, CA

17 Jul 2010

7:00 P

Fat Cat w/ Sweethead

Modesto, CA

18 Jul 2010

8:00 P

Cafe Du Nord w/ Sweethead

San Francisco, CA

20 Jul 2010

6:00 P

Doug Fir Lounge w/ Sweethead

Portland, OR

21 Jul 2010

7:00 P

Biltmore Cabaret w/ Sweethead

Vancouver, BC

21 Jul 2010

7:00 P

Biltmore Cabaret w/ Sweethead

Vancouver, BC

22 Jul 2010

7:00 P

El Corazon w/ Sweethead

Seattle, Washington

And just in case you haven’t seen their most recent video:

and to get a taste of the band they are opening for:

~ Kristen

Have you seen Steel Train?

Posted on July 5, 2010 by Kristen

I really believe that Steel Train is one of those bands that cannot truly be appreciated until seen live. I first happened upon this band at Bonnaroo in ’08. I was blown away by their live performance and feel completely in love with the song “Kill Monsters in the Rain”.

I had the pleasure of seeing these New Jersey rockers again this year at Coachella where they again reminded me of why they are one of my favorite festival bands. At Coachella they played a couple new tunes which finally came out last week on their newest self-titled CD. The CD, if ordered via the Steel Train website, comes with a companion album, Terrible Thrills Vol.I, which features all of the songs on their new album covered by various female artists including Tegan & Sara, Nellie McKay, and Rachael Cantu among others.

To get a taste of the Steel Train magic, check out these videos. Then come to the El Rey Tuesday night (7/6) to really see what it’s all about and fall in love with Steel Train.

An acoustic version of “Turnpike Ghost” from their new CD:

Tegan and Sara cover from Terrible Thrills Vol. I

~ Kristen

Kristen’s Concert Calendar: 7/5-7/11

Posted on July 5, 2010 by Kristen

Happy 4^th of July everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the BBQs and fireworks. I caught a few fireworks on the drive from San Diego back to Los Angeles. I was down south (again) doing more exciting things that will appear on the website shortly.

But in the meantime, so much music to discover and shows to enjoy. Here’s what I’d love to do this week, if you’re looking for some great options:

Monday: Mississippi Man FREE at The Echo (10pm)
ALSO: Red Arrow Messenger and The Outline FREE at Bootleg (9, 10)
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (9pm)

Tuesday: Steel Train at El Rey (8pm)
ALSO: Juke Kartel and Charlie Mars at The Hotel Cafe (7,8)

Weds: Carbon Leaf at The Troubadour (9:30)

Thursday: Curtis Peoples and Ernie Halter at The Roxy (9pm)
ALSO: Garrison Starr, Amber Rubarth, Brian Wright, Brother Sal at The Hotel Cafe (8-12)
ALSO: Roman Holiday at The Viper Room (8pm)
ALSO: Will Hoge, Michelle Branch, and Sugarland at The Greek Theater (7:30)

Friday: Tyrone Wells, So & So, Honeyhoney at The Hotel Cafe (9,10,11)
ALSO: The Shakers at The Kibitz Room (10pm)
ALSO: Bobby Long at The Troubadour (10pm)

Saturday: Lilith Fair at Verizon Wireless featuring Brandi Carlile, The Weepies, Sarah McLachlan, etc. (3pm)
ALSO: Run Devil Run at The Viper Room (10pm)

Sunday: The Mulhollands at The Viper Room (11pm)
ALSO: Ernie Halter and Tony Lucca at Saint Rocke

To Keep in Mind:
July 13^th: The Silent Comedy and Andy Clockwise at The Troubadour
July 14^th: Nico Vega at The Troubadour
July 18^th: The Swell Season and Bird and the Bee at Hollywood Bowl
July 30-31^st: Morcheeba at Hollywood Bowl
August 12^th: Semi Precious Weapons at Staples Center
August 21^st and 22^nd: Sunset Junction
September 25^th: Band of Horses at Greek Theater
September 25^th: Muse at Staples Center

~ Kristen

Warped Tour Ventura- Kristen’s Take

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Kristen

Warped Tour always makes me feel old. All these carefree teenagers running amok, jumping up and down for bands I’ve never heard of whose members look like they are barely out of high school. There’s nothing wrong with any of this…it just makes me feel old. I didn’t even go last year.

But I love concert festivals and this year’s line-up drew me back into the sea of mohawks, bad tattoos, and fist-pumping adolescents. Okay, not the line-up in its entirety as much as one band in particular, After Midnight Project. My new fave band from Bamboozled is on the entire tour this year and I needed a reminder of why their CD, Let’s Build Something to Break, was playing in my car stereo for weeks.

And reminded I was as once again the gentlemen of After Midnight Project lifted my spirits and blew me away with their amazingly catchy brand of head banding/hand swaying rock music and their perfectly crafted bridges (a good bridge in a song will make me go week in the knees every time). In addition, since I knew all the songs this time, I was able to sing along…well I wasn’t technically able to emit anything via my vocal chords as I’m currently suffering from laryngitis…but I was able to mouth all the words and could at least properly time all my dance moves.

AMP was one of the first bands to play that day and we got there just in time to make our way to their stage before the opening chords of their set. I was a little concerned after their set was over that the day could not get any better…especially seeing as we had already missed both Lovers Drug and You Me at Six (seriously, why were there bands playing at 11:30 when the ticket said starts at noon?).

We saw many more bands as the day progressed. Some I loved (Mayday Parade), some had promise (The Cab, Emorosa, Automatic Loveletter), some I had quite a strong distaste for (shall remain nameless), and some I have simply forgotten. There were a couple of bands I saw this year that I really love listening to but whose performances were somewhat disappointing. Both The Pretty Reckless and Never Shout Never have some amazing tunes, but the lead singers of both groups kind of made me want to strangle them (or their parents) for some of the remarks they made in between songs…again making me feel quite the old fogey.

My entire day, however, was righted by three bands: Alkaline Trio, Sum 41, and All-American Rejects. All three are bands from my own high school days and as they played those tunes I’ve always loved, I lost myself in the music, forgetting where I was, both time and place. I was reminded why events like this are completely worth my time and my money. Ironically, by the end of the day, Warped Tour had done something totally unexpected…it made me feel like a young teenager again! Ah, the rejuvenating power of music…

~ Kristen

Enjoy some random pics:

SPW: You Love You

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Kristen

Out today! You Love You, the new album from Semi Precious Weapons!!! If you don’t know anything about this band, I think this video is an excellent representation…their live shows are some of my very favorites (can you say CRAZY dance party)

And here’s a recent interview:

Go pick up your copy of the album today! And look for them out on tour with Lady Gaga…

Finally, here are some pictures from the last time I saw them, playing with Nico Vega at The Roxy…I can’t wait for their next headlining tour!

~ Kristen

Kristen’s Concert Calendar: 6/28-7/4

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Kristen

Just got back from Warped Tour in Ventura with Amanda. Will hopefully get around to writing something about it and posting some of my pictures. It was by far the most pleasant (weather-wise) Warped I’ve ever been to…but I still managed to get a lovely burn on the shoulders. Fortunately this week’s planned activities are largely indoors.

And if you want to go out at all this week, might I suggest Thursday heading to one of the places participating in The Gulf Coast Benefit. (http://gulfcoastbenefit.com/#about) On this day, select venues around the country will be donating money from ticket sales to organizations aiding those impacted by the oil spill. Several LA establishments (including my picks at The Roxy and The Mint) are participating. If you’re not in LA, check the website to see if a venue near you is involved. Enjoy some great live music AND play a part in helping our country deal with its current economic and ecological crisis. You’ve seen the pictures…you know you want to do something…this sounds like a perfect opportunity to me!

As for everything else:

Monday: Paris Carney and Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (8,9)
ALSO: Victoria Clemmons and Abbot Kinney at Molly Malone’s (9,10)

Tuesday: Vienne at Saint Rocke (9:30)
ALSO: The Daylights at The Roxy (8pm)

Weds: The Smashing Pumpkins at The Viper Room (?)…no, that is not a misprint.
ALSO: The Shakers at Kibitz Room (11:30)…last night of their Kibitz residency!
ALSO: Hot Hot Heat at Bootleg (10pm)
ALSO: Joel Eckels and The Paper Sun at The Foundry on Melrose (?)

Thursday: Danielia Cotton at Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena (7pm)…is she worth driving to Pasadena for? Why yes, yes she is!
ALSO: Saint Motel at the Hammer Museum (7pm)
ALSO: The Gulf Coast Benefit at The Mint featuring Kaki King and Ben Lee (8pm)
ALSO: The Gulf Coast Benefit at The Viper Room featuring Wicker (9pm)
ALSO: Garrison Starr at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)
ALSO: Year Long Disaster at Spaceland (8:30)

Friday: Army of Me at The Hotel Cafe (7pm)…from Washington DC!!
ALSO: The Other Side of Morning at The Park Bar in Burbank (10pm)
ALSO: CocoRosie at Orphium (9pm)
ALSO: Cinder Cone at Vacation Vinyl (7pm)…record release at a record store
ALSO: The Shakers at Gallagher’s Pub in Huntington Beach (11pm)
ALSO: Paris Carney at Molly Malone’s (8:30)
ALSO: Automatique at The Viper Room (10)

Saturday: The Janks at The Hotel Cafe (11pm)

Sunday: Happy 4^th of July! I’m sure there are some lovely parties with some great music…I just haven’t found one yet…

To Keep in Mind:
July 7^th: Carbon Leaf at The Troubadour
July 8^th: Michelle Branch at Greek Theater
July 10^th: Lilith Fair
July 13^th: The Silent Comedy and Andy Clockwise at The Troubadour
July 14^th: Nico Vega at The Troubadour
July 18^th: The Swell Season and Bird and the Bee at Hollywood Bowl
July 30-31^st: Morcheeba at Hollywood Bowl
August 12^th: Semi Precious Weapons at Staples Center (with Lady GaGa)
August 21^st and 22^nd: Sunset Junction
September 25^th: Band of Horses at Greek Theater
September 25^th: Muse at Staples Center

~ Kristen

Tour Alert! Civil Twilight + Paper Tongues + Neon Trees

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Kristen

So, when one of your new favorite bands goes on tour, you take notice, find the date in your city, and buy tickets. When TWO of your new favorite bands decide to team up and go out on the road together…well, then you start thinking about how many of the shows you will be able to find people to road trip with you to go see! Both Civil Twilight and Paper Tongues are bands I’ve discovered and fallen in love with in the last year. I would never imagine them going on tour together as they don’t strike me as very similar…other than the fact that they both had free singles on ITunes, I can’t think of anything that would tie the bands together.

Also on the bill, Neon Trees, a band that’s been on my watch list since they did a tour with Nico Vega that never quite made it to LA. Their song “Animal”…hey…come to think of it this song was also a free ITunes download…hmm…anyway, I like it and have recently purchased their album Habits.

Point Being: They’re calling it the “Bang the Gong Tour” It starts next Saturday and It is going to be amazing. If you can, you should try to check it out.

The dates are (as listed on the Neon Trees myspace):

26 Jun 2010

7:00 P

BANG THE GONG TOUR w/ PAPER TONGUES + CIVIL TWILIGHT @ Heritage Landing – Main Stage – Muskegon Summer Celebration

Muskegon, Michigan

Find Tickets

27 Jun 2010

7:00 P

BANG THE GONG TOUR w/ PAPER TONGUES + CIVIL TWILIGHT @ Summerfest – US Cellular Connection Stage

Milwaukee, WI

Find Tickets

29 Jun 2010