Band Love

Biffy Clyro on Carson Daly (and more US tour dates)

Posted on by Kristen

Can it be that the US is finally catching on? My favorite Scottish band, Biffy Clyro, made their late night TV debut Weds night on Last Call with Carson Daly. The performances were actually from the show I attended on the 1st at The Troubadour. Thankfully, you can’t see me in any of the shots, but it’s great to have these videos as a reminder.

To see Biffy Clyro performing “Many of Horror” and a bit of  “Who’s Got a Match?” go here: http://theaudioperv.com/2011/03/24/biffy-clyro-many-of-horror-whos-got-a-match-323-last-call/

And if you haven’t heard, Biffy Clyro will be opening for The Foo Fighters on select dates of their tour. They are also doing tours supporting Alkaline Trio and Cage the Elephant. The closest they seem to be coming to LA right now is Solana Beach at The Belly Up where they are doing a headlining set on April 14th. Tickets are super cheap, so SD and LA peeps, get them before they are gone!!

For their tour dates: http://theaudioperv.com/2011/03/24/biffy-clyro-many-of-horror-whos-got-a-match-323-last-call/

For tickets to their Belly Up show (seriously folks, $6!): http://www.bellyup.com/show/detail/40464

 

~ Kristen

 

 

 

 

SXSW Highlight: Queen Caveat

Posted on by Kristen

One of my favorite aspects of my SXSW ’11 experience was getting to share it with some of my very favorite bands. Queen Caveat also drove out from LA to spend the week in Texas. I saw them play four times in as many days and they never failed to impress.  I watched them fight lost voices, broken bass guitars, and stages like saunas. They overcame it all with their amazing energy and general enthusiasm for their craft, garnering plenty of new fans who flocked to the stage for each performance eager to get a hold of one of the EPs the band was tossing into the crowd.

Having watched this band grow from an early stage, I couldn’t help but feel immensely proud of them and their accomplishments…and that was definitely a highlight of my own SXSW experience.

While in Austin they stopped by 5th Street Studios to record a version of “Bullet” which happens to be one of my favorite Queen Caveat tunes.

Check it out:

 

~ Kristen

p.s. if you’re in LA, Queen Caveat is playing a FREE show this Friday at Bardot (11:30). Don’t miss it!

SXSW Day 4: The Last Recap

Posted on by Amanda

Even though this brief recap is coming to you a few days late, I thought it best you still know of our adventures for our final day of the craziness known as SXSW. It was probably one of the best (and most bittersweet) days of SXSW. Here are a few things that happened to us that day…

~ Went to Rachel Ray’s party for free food including sliders, chili, and carnitas. We also watched a bit of Bob Schneider before…

~ The British Music Embassy where we had breakfast (at noon) featuring toad in a hole, pasties, and toffee cake. Our time there wouldn’t have been complete without a little dance party from Viva City.

~ The Antiquiet show where we saw The Silent Comedy’s last show at SXSW.

 

~ Not only that, they played a completely different set including a Wine, Company Town, Carnival, and a nameless new song which they’ve only played acoustically.

 

~ If that weren’t enough, they dedicated their set to Trina, Steve, Kristen, and myself. I’m not sure it got much better than that….

~ We had a mini photo shoot with The Silent Comedy. How rockstar is that?

~ Free shirts that fit a girl!

~ Back to the Antiquiet show for Sabrosa Purr and the Greenhornes

~ Getting to see Atomic Tom and The Gallery at the Smoke and Sand Showcase at Rusty Spurs.

~ Also, discovering Ivan & Alyosha at said showcase

~ Seeing Queen Caveat twice that day!

~ Me getting some rest while Kristen experienced the Hotel Cafe Showcase. If you haven’t read about it, you should.

~ Closing our night with Little Red Radio’s last show at the ATN Showcase.

~ Also, there might have been some photos taken of our wrists that showcase the number of showcases we went to. I’ve since lost count…

 

And that was how our time at SXSW ended. Stay tuned for some more posts from us about SXSW.

SXSW Day 2: Another brief recap

Posted on by Amanda

Once again we find ourselves with little time for a true post but we figure it’s best to keep you cool cats in the loop (even if it’s not an extensive one). Also, you can expect us to write a more detailed post at the end of all this madness…

Our day started off in search of Twin Atlantic who somehow did not end up playing the previous day when they were supposed to. But we got an even better surprise, Doll and the Kicks! Check out this rather cool set list….

 

* Also, finally being able to see Twin Atlantic was a huge highlight!

* Dancing along to Purple Melon was pretty awesome. I always forget how good they are because they don’t have any music out 🙁

* Going to the Beaver Party and seeing Jodi Foster talk about the movie and Anton Yelchin in the crowd coupled with good food made this a really memorable party. We were sad to leave but had to move on.

* Finally getting to see Mother Mother and Empires play!

* Also, Augustana, while not what was expected, was a lovely treat.

* Seeing The Silent Comedy play (yes, again).

* Also, getting to sample tons of music and see favs Queen Caveat play twice in one day was pretty cool.

* The new discovery of Tailor Made Fable was great especially since an event like this is all about finding new band loves.

* Our day ended with a bang when we saw Lenka, Fitz and the Tantrums, Neon Trees, Taylor Locke, and Fierce Creatures play. Whew, what a day 🙂

(Unofficially) Day 1: SXSW Part Two

Posted on by Amanda

My oh my what a day it’s been! As you can tell I’m writing this post at 2:46 a.m. (central time) and I’m not even in bed yet. Although, I do have my pjs on.

Needless to say, it has been one crazy day full of line waiting, wristband/badge picking up, music, and food. We actually retired to the hotel around 11 to get rested, charged and ready for tomorrow. We just spent the last few hours going over our schedules for tomorrow and who wants to see what and where.

I really should be in bed right now but I just wanted to check in a share a few photos from today…

 

This was how the line looked after we spent 2 hours in line for our wristbands. I’m super glad we got there at 12 instead of any later.

 

Fader Fort Line- After our pickup

 

This is one of the four members of Viva City. Chelsea and Trina boasted about them so we decided to go see what the fuss was about after we picked up our Purevolume badges. I’m super glad we got to see them. They remind me of a hybrid of Parade of Lights and Kill Hannah but with a harder edge. I dig.

 

Viva City

Until next time.

~Amanda

p.s. Follow us on Twitter @_localmusicnat if you don’t already! We will be updating throughout the day as much as we can 🙂

On the Road…. SXSW: Part One

Posted on by Amanda

This has got to be one of the most unique and important posts I’ve ever done so far.

In case you haven’t heard, LMN is heading to SXSW (aka: South by Southwest), which is a huge music/film festival in Austin, Texas. I’m not talking about Coachella or Bonaroo size. Think bigger. Bands come from all over the world to play as many showcases as possible in the hopes of breaking out and making it big. Anyone who is anyone has been through and come out of SXSW. According to the SXSW website….

“The SXSW® Music and Media Conference celebrates its 25th Anniversary in 2011. Reaching a quarter of a century of being the biggest and most anticipated convergence of all things music, SXSW is ready to keep the reputation alive by programming the best event yet.

By day, thousands of conference registrants network in the halls of the Austin Convention Center on their way to do business in the SXSW® Trade Show, sit in on informative panel discussions featuring some of the industry’s key players, gain insight from legendary keynote speakers or plan out their abundant party schedules. At night, SXSW showcases hundreds upon hundreds of musical acts from around the globe on over eighty stages in downtown Austin. All this and so much more, combine to make SXSW one of the most revered music events, year after year.”

AND

“With numerous avenues for exposure to over 36,000 key industry representatives, SXSW® 2011 is the most valuable addition to any marketing plan.”

So there you have it. And we are on our way there as I type this. It’s been interesting so far as I only just met up with my cohorts last night. I drove out of San Diego yesterday with local photographer geniuses Kevin and Rebecca Joelson who are riding to SXSW with The Silent Comedy. We met up with them in Tempe and had quite a few adventures along the way including an impromptu photo shoot at an empty car wash and a stop at a Waffle House. Other than that, it’s been a whole lotta desert and some cool looking trees (even one with Christmas decorations!).

Kristen and Brooke drove out of LA and met up with me at the Marquee Theater last night and we’ve been together since. We got some rest at a Comfort Suites last night so we would be fresh for our 12 hour drive today. We are currently in New Mexico and are Austin bound. I’m hearing we will be in Texas rather soon!

In the meantime, I’m going to leave you with Hugo’s 99 Problems video. And you can check him out at The Force’s Texas Tornado Showcase at Red Eye Fly @ 3:30

[youtube LloIp0HMJjc]

<3 Amanda

p.s. Be sure to follow our Twitter feed. We will bring you pics and updates along the way as often as we can!

Do You Know: Kill The Alarm?

Posted on by Kristen

I would call this a new band love post expect I’ve been following the music of Garen Gueyikian since 2004 when he’d frequent The Point in Bryn Mawr, PA. Back then he would go by the name Granian. He had just released a CD, On My Own Two Feet. Songs like “My Voice” and “Contagious” really spoke to me and his live shows never failed to captivate, as each show seemed to offer a fresh perspective on the songs I quickly came to know and love.

In 2006, Garen started playing under the name Kill the Alarm. Kill the Alarm released Fire Away the next year and I was thrilled to add more tunes to my collection, which by this point included several CDs and EPs dating back to 1996.

Being based in NYC, I haven’t seen (or really heard much from) Garen or Kill the Alarm since I moved out to California. But TODAY, I discovered that Kill the Alarm not only has a new EP in the works, but has, for download, a collection of cover songs including the K’s Choice tune “Not An Addict” (LOVE!). I am very happy right now listening to this tune as well as my old Garen faves, so of course I needed to share!

Go check out Kill the Alarm and download The Covers today!

I’d also recommend getting that old Granian gem, “On My Own Two Feet”

 

Listen and LOVE!

 

~ Kristen

 

Garen really kills the guitar on this one: