Author: Amanda

I’ve Been Searching My Soul Tonight

Posted on by Amanda

The other day I ran across season 1 of Ally McBeal at Target and I bought it. I’ve since watched season 1  and half of season 2 (I’m waiting to finish it after April 6th when it officially comes out on DVD).  I used to watch this show back when it aired and re-watching it, I remember why I loved it so much…bells, frogs, anything that went down in that unisex bathroom, and yes, dancing babies…it’s quirky fantasticness! It’s also interesting being a tad older (nearing the same age as Ally in season 1!), the perspective I have on the issues and the characters has changed (quite a bit in some cases). But one thing that has remained is how much I LOVE how this show uses its music.  The presence of songstress Vonda Shepard in just about every episode as the herald of Ally’s thoughts and emotion is simply genus. Not to mention how the characters themselves relate to song (Ally’s theme songs, the use of Barry White). White’s “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything” became one of my favorite songs after this show…I can still do parts of John’s bathroom dance. Just about any song from this show has emotional significance to me and it’s because the songs are incorporated into the storylines so well. This is the perfect example of how to effectively use music in a television show. The songs aren’t simply laid on top of some montage like another layer in the editing room. Instead, they are integrally woven into the very fabric of the show. They cannot simply be taken out or interchanged as the music IS the show.  And that’s why I love it!

Now, I feel we should all take a moment here and contemplate the brilliance of Ally McBeal and its music (*puts hand over nose*).

~ Kristen

The Classic Crime comes to Anaheim

Posted on by Amanda

This Tuesday I really hope to find the time and energy to trek down to Anaheim to a place called Chain Reaction to see a band called The Classic Crime. The Classic Crime is from Seattle but despite their relative proximity they don’t seem to make it down to LA all that often and I’ve only seen them once (at Warped Tour).  I discovered them several years ago when I was bored and cruising myspace (two things that never happen anymore). The band had just released an acoustic EP, Seattle Sessions, and someone had posted the track “Seattle” on their page. It was love at first listen! I immediate ordered the EP and that song ended up making my best of list that year. Now listen and love that track, but be warned that is not the sound typical of this band (I mentioned Warped Tour, right?). Actually, when listening to the breadth of their catalog of music, I realize that it’s a bit difficult to classify them much further than “rock.” Their CD The Silver Chord produced one of my fave tracks of this year, “Closer Than We Think.” They have a new CD coming out April 6th called Vagabonds and I would love to see some of their new material performed…I’m also still crossing my fingers that I’ll get to hear “Seattle.” My heart…will melt…

 http://www.myspace.com/theclassiccrime

~ Kristen

Get Back Loretta @ Soma

Posted on by Amanda

Happy Sunday!

I hope you all had a restful day after this crazy week we had! We had some awesome shows didn’t we? I know I needed to lay low after all that.

While I don’t yet have a list of shows for this upcoming week I do have a review of the Get Back Loretta show at Soma. I thought I’d share it with you fine folks…

Arguably everyone who came to the show Friday night was there for them. I saw quite a few people (myself included) lazing around the hallways waiting for the clock to turn 9:55 p.m. which was the magic Get Back time.

We got to see glimpses of them on stage but they weren’t really doing a sound check as others were doing it for them. I wondered what was up, then the lights went off on stage and no one was to be found. Next thing we know, the intro for Dreams Got Scattered starts up but it is a disembodied sound since we can’t see anyone. The lights go on, everyone comes on stage, and Chris Wilson (one of the new guitarists) comes out from behind the giant monitor as they explode into the song full swing.

It’s exactly that electric energy and antics that Get Back Loretta played with for their entire set. They played old favorites from Over The Wall as well as new ones from Where Did You Go? They also played an older song I was not familiar with but I enjoyed. We also got the pleasure of being the debut audience for a brand new song! It was glorious with a nice hook that kept us going. =D

I don’t think it is really fair to talk about Get Back and not mention their new guitarists. Joey Bradford is the younger brother of Steven Bradford whom you all know as the bass man and the singer of Get Back. Joey has his own band, Thieves and Liars who are currently on hiatus but despite that, Joey has talent for keeping the rhythm going and complementing the other guitar (as well as other instruments). The other new guitarist is Chris Wilson who also has his own band called Endoxi. I don’t think I have ever seen fingers move as fast as Wilson’s do on a guitar (live anyways). He brings a “harder” feel to the band but I think the energy it gives them helps lift everything up. There are some snazzy guitar solos in there that are hard to miss. It’s a win situation all around. They both add such a nice spice and flavor to the mix. It’s like adding a few extra spices to the Chex mix, if you get what I mean. It makes a good thing better!

Get Back Loretta has another show coming up April 16th so mark your calendars! You won’t want to miss out!

Until next time!
~Amanda

Kristen's LA Concert Calendar 3/15-3/21

Posted on by Amanda

Howdy Folks!

There are two very important things happening this week. First is the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. This is one of the biggest music (and film) festivals of the year. So many of my favorite bands are going to be there…unfortunately this means, not so many are going to be around this week. And this is incredibly unfortunate considering important thing #2 which is that this Thursday is my birthday! Life would be perfect if I were in Texas this week, but alas that is not my fate. Instead, I will be listening to all the artists that will be playing in Austin via the internet and compiling my best of SXSW ’10 list (last year’s introduced me to bands such as Nico Vega and The Crash Kings!!).

There are still some excellent shows this week if you’re looking for some live music! And if you’re looking to get me something for my birthday…just forward to me the names of some of your favorite bands (especially if you think I haven’t heard of them)…new music is the best gift! 🙂

This week’s shows:

Monday: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at House of Blues Anaheim (8pm)

ALSO: Paris Carney at Room 5 (8pm)

ALSO: Andy Clockwise at The Troubadour (8pm)

ALSO: She & Him at Largo at the Coronet (8pm)

Tuesday: The Swell Season at Largo at the Coronet (8:30)

ALSO: The Classic Crime at Chain Reaction in Anaheim (8pm)

Weds: Kingsize at The Silverlake Lounge (9pm)

ALSO: Brooke White, Nina Storey, and Tommy King at The Hotel Cafe (8,9,10)

ALSO: The Shakers at Kibitz Room (Canter’s Deli)…part of their residency (11pm)

ALSO: Beachwood Rockers’ Society

Thursday: Watkins Family Hour at Largo at the Coronet (8pm)…fave Nickel Creek siblings Sara and Sean Watkins with special guests!

ALSO: Terra Naomi at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)

ALSO: Mississippi Man at The Roxy (8pm)

ALSO: New Found Glory at the House of Blues (8:30)

Friday: Brian Fallon (of Gaslight Anthem) at The Troubadour (9pm)

Saturday: The Elizabeth Kill at The Cat Club (10:30)

ALSO: Beth Hart at The Echo (7pm)

Sunday: Tears for Fears at The Wiltern (6:30)

To Keep in Mind:

March 26th: Nico Vega and Metric at Hollywood Palladium

March 27th: San Diego Indie Fest featuring Metric

March 27th/28th: Bamboozled Left featuring Something Corporate and AFI

March 31st: The Silent Comedy at Bootleg

April 6th: Paper Tongues at The Troubadour

April 9th: Lights and Owl City at Club Nokia

April 12th: Butch Walker at El Rey

April 16th: George Stanford CD release at The Hotel Café

April 16th-19th: Coachella

May 15th: Carney at The El Rey   

June 10-13th: BONNAROO

~ Kristen

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar 3/15-3/21

Posted on by Amanda

Howdy Folks!
There are two very important things happening this week. First is the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. This is one of the biggest music (and film) festivals of the year. So many of my favorite bands are going to be there…unfortunately this means, not so many are going to be around this week. And this is incredibly unfortunate considering important thing #2 which is that this Thursday is my birthday! Life would be perfect if I were in Texas this week, but alas that is not my fate. Instead, I will be listening to all the artists that will be playing in Austin via the internet and compiling my best of SXSW ’10 list (last year’s introduced me to bands such as Nico Vega and The Crash Kings!!).

There are still some excellent shows this week if you’re looking for some live music! And if you’re looking to get me something for my birthday…just forward to me the names of some of your favorite bands (especially if you think I haven’t heard of them)…new music is the best gift! 🙂

This week’s shows:

Monday: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at House of Blues Anaheim (8pm)

ALSO: Paris Carney at Room 5 (8pm)

ALSO: Andy Clockwise at The Troubadour (8pm)

ALSO: She & Him at Largo at the Coronet (8pm)

Tuesday: The Swell Season at Largo at the Coronet (8:30)

ALSO: The Classic Crime at Chain Reaction in Anaheim (8pm)

Weds: Kingsize at The Silverlake Lounge (9pm)

ALSO: Brooke White, Nina Storey, and Tommy King at The Hotel Cafe (8,9,10)

ALSO: The Shakers at Kibitz Room (Canter’s Deli)…part of their residency (11pm)

ALSO: Beachwood Rockers’ Society

Thursday: Watkins Family Hour at Largo at the Coronet (8pm)…fave Nickel Creek siblings Sara and Sean Watkins with special guests!

ALSO: Terra Naomi at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)

ALSO: Mississippi Man at The Roxy (8pm)

ALSO: New Found Glory at the House of Blues (8:30)

Friday: Brian Fallon (of Gaslight Anthem) at The Troubadour (9pm)

Saturday: The Elizabeth Kill at The Cat Club (10:30)

ALSO: Beth Hart at The Echo (7pm)

Sunday: Tears for Fears at The Wiltern (6:30)

To Keep in Mind:

March 26th: Nico Vega and Metric at Hollywood Palladium

March 27th: San Diego Indie Fest featuring Metric

March 27th/28th: Bamboozled Left featuring Something Corporate and AFI

March 31st: The Silent Comedy at Bootleg

April 6th: Paper Tongues at The Troubadour

April 9th: Lights and Owl City at Club Nokia

April 12th: Butch Walker at El Rey

April 16th: George Stanford CD release at The Hotel Café

April 16th-19th: Coachella

May 15th: Carney at The El Rey   

June 10-13th: BONNAROO

~ Kristen

Bleecker Street: 3/12/10

Posted on by Amanda

What an amazing night for music! Marti Heil  always gathers a fantastic collection of musicians…If you haven’t yet gone to Hear NoHo  the first Thursday of every month, you should check it out! Anyway, tonight’s fare featured Matthew Jordan who killed it on the keyboard and reminded me why I love piano-driven music. He was followed by the instrumental trio, Trio Non Grata, and Kenneth Pattengale who sang a collection of beautiful but sad songs with his James Taylor-esque voice.  The star of the show was the amazing Miss Paris Carney  who wrangled a crack team of musicians and special guests to perform some of her own songs (which are fantastic) as well as a couple select covers, including one of my personal favorite songs, The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” featuring Kris Karlsson on lead vocals. And just when I thought things couldn’t get any better (seriously, how can you top a The Band cover?!?), Reeve Carney came on stage to do a little impromptu set. For those of you who don’t know me…at all…the band Reeve sings in, Carney, was the first local LA band I discovered (at Bonnaroo ’07) and was able to follow around (Molly Malone’s residency) and is still one of my very favorite LA bands.

I love Marti’s events because they always end with me putting even more artists on my watch list. Here are some upcoming shows I learned about tonight that are immediately going onto my calendar:

  • Matthew Jordan:
    • March 25th at Cafe Was (FREE)
    • April 28th at The Hotel Cafe
  • Paris Carney:
    • March 15th: Room 5
    • March 22nd: Room 5
  • Carney: May 15th at The El Rey

~ Kristen

Tonight!

Posted on by Amanda

I would love to post about the awesomeness of last night’s Get Back Loretta show but I’m short for time. Instead, I thought I would post a video of The Silent Comedy doing an acoustic set in the efforts of getting you to come downtown and see them do an acoustic show at Voyeur during the dinner hour tonight!

If you are in more of a party mood, head to Blond Martini to celebrate Alice in Wonderland at the event Voices in Wonderland. Yes it is themed and yes you should dress up and go!