ABBA

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 11/19-11/25

Posted on by Kristen

I can’t believe it’s Thanksgiving week. I wish I could be more excited about it, but since people tend to leave LA for the holidays, there aren’t as many show options. I’d like to say that I’ll be spending the extra time off working on my end of year mix and continuing to fill out my SXSW 2013 spreadsheet, but I will mostly likely be playing catch-up at work. I’m actually quite thankful for the opportunity to do this, so hopefully I’ll be able to make the most of it.

I’m also thankful for a couple notable returns to the scene this week. Josh Kelley back at The Hotel Cafe and Nico Vega returning to the stage after what seems like a very lengthy break. Unfortunately, The No Doubt show that Nico Vega is playing sold out before they were even put on the bill…but just knowing they are playing again makes me happy.

Here are the rest of my show suggestions this week:

 

Monday: A House for Lions, Irontom, The Record Company FREE at The Satellite (9pm)
ALSO: Belmont Lights, Hot Bodies in Motion, The New Limb at The Hotel Cafe (7,8,9)
ALSO: Rimpau and Drive He Said FREE at Silverlake Lounge (9,10)
ALSO: Monday in the Round at Room 5 featuring Trevor Menear, Griffin Young, Joel Eckels and Kristen Toedtman (9pm)

 

Tuesday: The Watkins Family Hour at Largo (9pm)
ALSO: a Tribute to ABBA FREE at The Satellite (9pm)
ALSO: Paul and the Kir at Molly Malone’s (9pm)
ALSO: Rachel Yamagata at The El Rey (9pm)
ALSO: The Postelles, Mayday Parade, and The Maine at House of Blues (7:30)

 

Weds: Keaton Simons and Nikki Leonti at WitZend (7pm)
ALSO: Josh Kelley at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)
ALSO: Half Moon Run at First Unitarian Church (7pm)

 

Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Friday: Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes FREE at TRiP (10pm)

 

Saturday: Nico Vega opening for No Doubt at Gibson Ampitheatre
ALSO: Viza at The Troubadour (11:10)

 

Sunday: New Found Glory at The Troubadour (9:45)

 

To Keep in Mind:
November 26th: The Neighbourhood at The Viper Room
November 27th: Soundgarden at Fonda Theatre
November 28th: Youngblood Hawke at The Roxy
December 1st: Milk Carton Kids at Luckman Fine Arts Complex
December 1st: Ellie Goulding at Nokia Theater LA Live
December 6th: Biffy Clyro at The Satellite
December 6th: Imagine Dragons and Garbage at San Manuel Casino
December 7th: Lakes at Molly Malone’s
December 7th: Tony Lucca at The Hotel Cafe
December 8th: Boyce Avenue at Club Nokia
December 8th: KROQ Acoustic Xmas night 1
December 9th: KROQ Acoustic Xmas night 2
December 9th: The Neighbourhood at Bootleg Bar
December 11th: Atlas Genius at The Troubadour
December 11th: High Voltage Holiday Party at Silverlake Lounge
December 12th: Alt J and Wildcat Wildcat at The Fonda
December 13th: The Mountain Goats at The Troubadour
December 20th-22nd: Camp Freddy at The Roxy
January 19th: Tyler Hilton and Teddy Geiger at The Roxy
January 23rd and 24th: Muse at The Staples Center
Feb. 9th: Ed Sheeran at Hollywood Palladium
Feb. 12th: Ellie Goulding at Hollywood Palladium
Feb. 17th: Ed Sheeran at Nokia Theatre LA Live
Feb. 28th: Matthew Perryman Jones at Bootleg Bar

~ Kristen

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Valentine’s Day Playlist: The Cycles of Love- Feeling Frisky

Posted on by Amanda

Alright, we’re now done feeling sorry for ourselves and feel like it’s time to stick our toes back in the dating/romance pool. The problem is, well, we just don’t feel up for it. You’re girlfriends (or boyfriends) have been trying to get you out and on the prowl, right? I know, it’s annoying. Maybe we feel sexy (or maybe not), but the main goal of the night is to have fun and use the powers of seduction on helpless pawns for an ego boost. No worries. We got you covered (and we don’t judge either)!

Feeling Frisky
Local Music: So So Fresh – Nico Vega

The one thing I can say about Nico Vega (other than the fact that they are amazing) is they know how to get into the core of your being and make you feel it. If you want some extra sass in your step, might I suggest this song?

Top 40: Does Your Mother Know – ABBA

ABBA were the biggest pop stars of the 70’s. I mean they had white satin jump suits and Swedish accents, what’s not to love? This song is kind of a rarity with the boys taking the lead on vocals.  The obvious reference to young girls is kind of risqué, but ultra frisky.

Alternative Radio: No You Girls – Franz Ferdinand

Girls, Girls, Girls…they are such teases. They make us crazy, shaking their asses and fluttering their eyelashes! Franz Ferdinand is pissed about this, stop messing with their heads, because no you girls never know how you make a boy feel…



Soundtrack: Sugar Daddy – Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hedwig, our hero, wait heroine, writes a song about her American Soldier Sugar Daddy who brought her, or at this time him, Gummi Bears the first time they met.  Hansel became Hedwig to be this sugar daddy’s lady and we can only imagine what kind of flirting got him, no her, across the Berlin Wall.

Misc: Drive Me Insane- Billy Boy On Poison

I first heard this lovely little ditty as part of a promo for my favorite TV show Castle. This song was used to vocalize the um…. tension between the two leads (and it did the job quite well). As the song suggests, the poor guy gets driven insane by the minx we don’t know. It’s enough to make any woman want to be her.

Need some more sexyness? Don’t worry, it’s up next.

SXSW Day 5: The Aftermath

Posted on by Amanda

The thing you have to know about SXSW, like any other event, is that it has an official start and an official end. By the time we reached Sunday, SXSW had officially ended and it was time to pack up and go home. Which is exactly what we did. After some jumbling of arrangements, Kristen and I ended up driving back with our new friend and room mate Giulian.

We started our day getting provisions at what was the largest (and coolest) Whole Foods I have ever seen. Apparently, we were at the company headquarters! Next was a “must do” trip to Waterloo Records. Think of Amoeba but on a smaller scale with marginally cheaper prices. Kristen managed to walk out with 3 or 4 cds while I, on the other hand, walked out with necklaces. Apparently, I was all musiced out. And yes, I made up that awesome word.

Next, we had breakfast right next door at 24 Diner. Can I just say that I have never had such amazing food from a “diner”? Everything was fresh made with local produce. They even make their own sausage (even veggie) with all sorts of tasty good for you stuff. They even had frittatas. When was the last time you saw a frittata on a menu? Hmmm? Anyway, this place was magic. There is no other word for it.

Now with our stomachs full and provisions in hand, we began our trek back to LA. The drive started out easy enough. We decided that 3 hour shifts would be the best use of our time/energy for our journey. It also gave us a chance to sample some of the new music we acquired at SXSW. Next thing I knew we were playing a game of, “better or worse?” As in, is this track better or worse than the last one we listened to? It was quite entertaining and sparked a bit of chatter about the musical landscape. Needless to say, there were a few duds but there were far more gems.

After going though 3 cds and a shift change was still looming, the ipod came out. Now, if you know anything at all about Kristen, you know she has a vast music library. I mean, anyone who goes through it would be surprised to see some of these artists on the same device. But I digress…

Our new traveling partner and co-pilot, had taken command of the ipod and the next thing we knew the sounds of ABBA filled our ears and we were singing along to Waterloo (among others).

 

Perhaps the most disturbing thing was after the second shift change (my turn!). We came upon a guy from Oklahoma with a F-250 pulling a trailer, no tailgate on his truck, and his unchained cattle dog riding on the toolbox in his truck bed. This guy went speeds of 75-90 mph with his scared dog out in the open. It bothered us so much that each of us called 911 hoping to watch this guy get pulled over. Alas, we had to pull off for gas and we lost him. I’ve been hoping that he was pulled off somewhere and we just missed it.

Now it was dark and with the thoughts of the scared dog ebbing from our minds, we started the dance party yet again. Our trip continued on in a similar manner and I was very sad I was unable to video the dance party going on in the car…

We made it to New Mexico and Arizona in what seemed like no time at all. Perhaps that’s because I was the only one (trying) to get some sleep in the car. I remember dozing off in New Mexico and waking up in Arizona. Funny how that works.

We had been hearing reports from friends in LA of some major rain and wind that was back there and we found that we were not exempt from that terrible weather. While rolling though Arizona, the winds had picked up and were blowing the car around. A little while later, it started to rain. I’m not talking the “rain” everyone gets worked up about which is a basic drizzle. I’m talking about a solid downpour. I’m not going to lie, I was a little scared. But we made it through the storm just fine and somehow made our way back to California. None of us really got much sleep during the drive. I think I got the most of the three of us. Giulian would doze off then wake up with a jump. Kristen pseudo fell asleep when she was in the backseat but didn’t really sleep. We drove straight through from Austin to Los Angeles in 21 hours, where we hit another storm. I was asleep for this but apparently there was thunder and lightening in LA from the storm. Crazy weather. Even crazier for us considering we just came from a hot dry desert.

Finally, we arrived at our destination in LA, weather clear, smelly, running on fumes (us, not the car) at a glorious 7 something in the morning. And that my dear friends, was the aftermath of SXSW.

SXSW Day 5: The Aftermath

Posted on by Amanda

The thing you have to know about SXSW, like any other event, is that it has an official start and an official end. By the time we reached Sunday, SXSW had officially ended and it was time to pack up and go home. Which is exactly what we did. After some jumbling of arrangements, Kristen and I ended up driving back with our new friend and room mate Giulian.
We started our day getting provisions at what was the largest (and coolest) Whole Foods I have ever seen. Apparently, we were at the company headquarters! Next was a “must do” trip to Waterloo Records. Think of Amoeba but on a smaller scale with marginally cheaper prices. Kristen managed to walk out with 3 or 4 cds while I, on the other hand, walked out with necklaces. Apparently, I was all musiced out. And yes, I made up that awesome word.

Next, we had breakfast right next door at 24 Diner. Can I just say that I have never had such amazing food from a “diner”? Everything was fresh made with local produce. They even make their own sausage (even veggie) with all sorts of tasty good for you stuff. They even had frittatas. When was the last time you saw a frittata on a menu? Hmmm? Anyway, this place was magic. There is no other word for it.

Now with our stomachs full and provisions in hand, we began our trek back to LA. The drive started out easy enough. We decided that 3 hour shifts would be the best use of our time/energy for our journey. It also gave us a chance to sample some of the new music we acquired at SXSW. Next thing I knew we were playing a game of, “better or worse?” As in, is this track better or worse than the last one we listened to? It was quite entertaining and sparked a bit of chatter about the musical landscape. Needless to say, there were a few duds but there were far more gems.

After going though 3 cds and a shift change was still looming, the ipod came out. Now, if you know anything at all about Kristen, you know she has a vast music library. I mean, anyone who goes through it would be surprised to see some of these artists on the same device. But I digress…

Our new traveling partner and co-pilot, had taken command of the ipod and the next thing we knew the sounds of ABBA filled our ears and we were singing along to Waterloo (among others).

 

Perhaps the most disturbing thing was after the second shift change (my turn!). We came upon a guy from Oklahoma with a F-250 pulling a trailer, no tailgate on his truck, and his unchained cattle dog riding on the toolbox in his truck bed. This guy went speeds of 75-90 mph with his scared dog out in the open. It bothered us so much that each of us called 911 hoping to watch this guy get pulled over. Alas, we had to pull off for gas and we lost him. I’ve been hoping that he was pulled off somewhere and we just missed it.

Now it was dark and with the thoughts of the scared dog ebbing from our minds, we started the dance party yet again. Our trip continued on in a similar manner and I was very sad I was unable to video the dance party going on in the car…

We made it to New Mexico and Arizona in what seemed like no time at all. Perhaps that’s because I was the only one (trying) to get some sleep in the car. I remember dozing off in New Mexico and waking up in Arizona. Funny how that works.

We had been hearing reports from friends in LA of some major rain and wind that was back there and we found that we were not exempt from that terrible weather. While rolling though Arizona, the winds had picked up and were blowing the car around. A little while later, it started to rain. I’m not talking the “rain” everyone gets worked up about which is a basic drizzle. I’m talking about a solid downpour. I’m not going to lie, I was a little scared. But we made it through the storm just fine and somehow made our way back to California. None of us really got much sleep during the drive. I think I got the most of the three of us. Giulian would doze off then wake up with a jump. Kristen pseudo fell asleep when she was in the backseat but didn’t really sleep. We drove straight through from Austin to Los Angeles in 21 hours, where we hit another storm. I was asleep for this but apparently there was thunder and lightening in LA from the storm. Crazy weather. Even crazier for us considering we just came from a hot dry desert.

Finally, we arrived at our destination in LA, weather clear, smelly, running on fumes (us, not the car) at a glorious 7 something in the morning. And that my dear friends, was the aftermath of SXSW.