Kristen

Kristen’s Concert Calendar: 6/7-6/13

Posted on June 6, 2010 by Kristen

This week I write to you from San Diego. Tonight I have a ticket to go see The Silent Comedy open for Mumford & Sons. Needless to say, there is a great deal of excitement involved. Friday night The Silent Comedy played at The Royal Dive in Oceanside so I decided to make a weekend of it in San Diego. Not that it’s been all fun and games…actually it’s mostly been paper-writing, but the change of location was good I suppose. And I get to see one of my favorite bands twice! And speaking of the marvelous The Silent Comedy, they are coming back up to LA June 17^th. Playing a NEW VENUE called Speakeasy over in the Silverlake area. Also playing that night: Queen Caveat! It’s gonna be a good one, so mark your calendar!

But if you want to know what to put on your calendar this week, here’s what I’ve got on mine:

Monday: Paris Carney, Songwriters in the Round (featuring Kathryn Ostenberg, Joel Eckels, Buddy, and Brother Sal), Jay Nash at Room 5 (8, 9, 10:30)…are you seeing this line-up!?! A good night to check out my favorite place to hang Monday nights
ALSO: it’s a school night at Bardot featuring Super Secret Act (10pm)…I semi-recall them saying something about Hot Hot Heat, but no matter who it is, it will be a fun night, but don’t forget to RSVP (http://itsaschoolnight.com/)
ALSO: Thao and Mirah with The Most of All at Bootleg (10pm)
ALSO: The Delta Spirit FREE at Amobea (7pm)
ALSO: Abbot Kinney at Molly Malone’s (9pm)…Jared from Abbot Kinney starts his month long residency at Molly Malone’s…AKA Abbot Kinney’s Summer of Exploding Hearts

Tuesday: The Shakers EP Release FREE at The Viper Room also featuring Automatique and New Liberty (Philly band alert!) (11, 12,8)
ALSO: Alice Wallace at The Mint (8pm)
ALSO: Greg Holden at Room 5 (9pm)

Weds: Allen Stone and Dave Barnes at The Roxy (9pm)
ALSO: Alex Lambert (yes, the one from American Idol) at The Mint (7pm)
ALSO: Ashes Divide at The Viper Room (11pm)
ALSO: Crash Test Dummies at The Hotel Café (7pm)…yes you read that right…I recommend getting advanced tickets
ALSO: Hot Hot Heat at Bootleg (11:15)

Thursday: BONNAROO BEGINS! Let’s take this moment to lament the fact that I am not there…silly classes having everything due this week
ALSO: Ian Axel, Amber Rubarth, Holly Conlan, TD Lind, and No Country at The Hotel Cafe (7pm)…just go for Ian and stay til the end…seriously good night of music
ALSO: Chantal Kreviazuk at The Mint (9pm)
ALSO: Fitz and the Tantrums at Spaceland (10pm)
ALSO: Amber Pacific at Whiskey a Go-Go (7pm)

Friday: Iglu and Hartly at The Roxy (9pm)
ALSO: Helen Stellar at Spaceland (10pm)

Saturday: Greg Laswell, Brian Wright, and SO & So at The Hotel Cafe (8, 9, 10)…The Greg Laswell/Brian Wright portion of the evening seems to be Sold out, but go see So & So…
ALSO: Mayer Hawthorne at The Ghetty (6pm)

Sunday: Greg Laswell, Brian Wright, and Austin Hartley Leonard at The Hotel Cafe (7, 8, 9)…this one, not sold out last I checked
ALSO: Beth Hart and Garrison Starr at The Echoplex (8pm)
ALSO: Taproot at Whiskey a Go Go (8pm)

To Keep in Mind:
June 17^th: The Other Side of Morning at The House of Blues
June 17^th: Queen Caveat and The Silent Comedy at Speakeasy
June 25^th: Warped Tour in LA
June 25^th: The Rescues CD Release at The Troubadour
June 21^st: Carney at The Troubadour
June 21^st: Gaslight Anthem at El Rey
July 7^th: Carbon Leaf at The Troubadour
July 8^th: Michelle Branch at Greek Theater
July 10^th: Lilith Fair
July 18^th: The Swell Season and Bird and the Bee at Hollywood Bowl
July 30-31^st: Morceeba at Hollywood Bowl
August 12^th: Semi Precious Weapons at Staples Center (with Lady GaGa)
September 25^th: Band of Horses at Greek Theater
September 25^th: Muse at Staples Center

~ Kristen

06/03/10 – Mumford & Sons – Hollywood, CA – The Music Box

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Kristen

06/03/10 – Curtis Peoples – Los Angeles , Ca – Hotel Cafe

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Kristen

Jealousy Curve:The Final Show

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Kristen

“There must be some peace in letting go”

May 22 was the CD release/final show of one of my very first favorite bands, Jealousy Curve. I flew to Philadelphia to have one last Jealousy Curve experience. I’ve spent more time than I really had to spend this past week or so writing about the show and the band and the impact they’ve had on my life over the years…I got up to 11 pages…single spaced. I was going to break it all down into a series of posts covering the many different ways this band has influenced my life, each with pictures, music, and video from over the years. Some lovely bits of writing really, but I’ve decided in writing about this band I was basically writing about myself and I just don’t think we know each other well enough quite yet for me to be spilling my entire life’s story. Although to say that my engorged eulogizing revealed so much about me pretty much sums it all up: Jealousy Curve = my life.

Their final show was celebrating the release of their new CD, Marionettes!, and the band played just about all the songs from the new disc. They also treated us with songs spanning their entire catalog, prompting the audience into massive sing-alongs to classics like “Gravity” as well as unreleased gems like “I Need to Hear I’m Right”. They did several of my favorites from their EP, This is for your own destruction, including “Nothing, Nothing at All” and “Black Widow”, but I wish they would have gotten around to more tunes from their debut album, Life as an Addict. It would have been nice to hear “Useless” or “Bruise” one last time.

But the performance itself was certainly not lacking. Face-melting rock was delivered and every ounce of emotional intensity was laid bare on the stage. By the time they got to their encore of “I’m Sorry”, “Selfish Thing”, and “Until We’re Free”, it was impossible to hold back the tears. It’s an odd combination; smiling, dancing and crying…

I am still reeling from the profound loss I feel. Jealousy Curve was such an important fixture in my life for so many years, their shows were the very milestones by which I lived my life. But it’s not just the loss of the band and of the music, but of the entire family created by the band that I felt so much a part of…and an excuse to visit the city to which so much of my heart still belongs. So even though I know this is not the end and I should be looking forward to all the new musical projects that will surface, I can’t help but feel a bit lost, as if one of the pillars of my very foundation is now gone.

Jealousy Curve- “Control” (Marionettes!)

And you can call me crazy if you want (and many people do)…but in my opinion everyone should have something in their lives that makes them irrationally blissful. For me, that’s my music. So this post goes out to anyone who has ever been emotionally impacted by a particular musician or band. I hope that you understand.

A toast:

For all the music played, and dear friends made
the sing-alongs, the quite songs, and all the conversations
that drifted into the wee hours of the morning

To Jealousy Curve: you will be missed, but never forgotten

~ Kristen

A short playlist:

Selfish Thing (Life as An Addict)
Gravity (I’ve waited long enough) (Life as An Addict)
nothing, nothing at all (This is for your own destruction)
i’m sorry (This is for your own destruction)
Man Alive (Marionettes!)
Don’t Lie Down
We Never Wanted a Legacy (unreleased)

Jealousy Curve is: Steven LaFashia, Shane Rozum, Michael Leavy, and David Sikorski

06/02/10 – Ashes Divide – Los Angeles – The Viper Room

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Kristen

06/02/10 – Hot Hot Heat- Residency – Los Angeles, Ca – The Bootleg

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Kristen

First Aid Kit at Bootleg Theater

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Kristen

All I can say is FINALLY! First Aid Kit was the only group on my best of ’09 mix that I had not seen live. And to make my list as a band I’ve never seen…well that right there is saying something. But this duo from Sweden has what it takes to melt my heart; crystal clear voices ringing out in delicate harmonies. Their live set certainly did not disappoint, adding charming personalities to the list of things I love about these ladies, sisters Klara and Johanna Soderberg. They did perform “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song,” their Fleet Foxes cover which lead to my discovery of them over a year ago. They also did a couple songs out in the audience sans microphones. Fortunately the acoustics of the room (an old bra factory) were more than adequate.

Their debut album, The Big Black and Blue, is certainly worth looking into. Also, they are not in the US that often, so if you can, check them out on their current tour (dates below) before they hop back over to the other side of the pond. Opening for them is the wonderful Samantha Crain, another artist who I’ve been meaning to see live since she made my best of SXSW ’09 mix.

Check out First Aid Kit:

Samantha Crain:

US (and some Canada) tour dates:

2 Jun 2010

8:00 P

Bottom of the Hill

San Francisco, California, US

4 Jun 2010

8:00 P

Mississippi Studios

Portland, Oregon, US

5 Jun 2010