Chris Pierce

HoHotel Cafe Holiday Benefit Show- Night 2 Recap

Posted on by Kristen

The annual Hohotel Cafe holiday benefit show is always one of my favorite events of the year. Hotel Cafe artists come together to play a mix of seasonal tunes and originals in a rapid-fire manner, each taking the stage for only a song or two, playing solo or inviting up friends to fill out a make-shift band. The two day event featured the likes of Cary Brothers, Butch Walker, Priscilla Ahn, Meiko, Joe Purdy, Laura Jansen and SO many more. This year, I was only able to make one of the two days, but the night will go down as one of the best evenings of music I experienced all year.  It was one stellar act after another with many fun surprises and special guests. Just when I thought it couldn’t get better, it did. Over and over again. By the end of the evening, even before Butch invited his friend Alecia Moore (AKA Pink) to the stage, I was so overwhelmed, my continuously blown mind seemed to be leaking out of my eyes. Seriously, the beauty and magic of the music had moved me to tears.
Going into detail on the evening would take a book, so here are some pictures. Put your cursor over the pic to more details or fun stories:

HoHotel Cafe Holiday Benefit Show- Night 2 Recap

Posted on by Kristen

The annual Hohotel Cafe holiday benefit show is always one of my favorite events of the year. Hotel Cafe artists come together to play a mix of seasonal tunes and originals in a rapid-fire manner, each taking the stage for only a song or two, playing solo or inviting up friends to fill out a make-shift band. The two day event featured the likes of Cary Brothers, Butch Walker, Priscilla Ahn, Meiko, Joe Purdy, Laura Jansen and SO many more. This year, I was only able to make one of the two days, but the night will go down as one of the best evenings of music I experienced all year.  It was one stellar act after another with many fun surprises and special guests. Just when I thought it couldn’t get better, it did. Over and over again. By the end of the evening, even before Butch invited his friend Alecia Moore (AKA Pink) to the stage, I was so overwhelmed, my continuously blown mind seemed to be leaking out of my eyes. Seriously, the beauty and magic of the music had moved me to tears.

Going into detail on the evening would take a book, so here are some pictures. Put your cursor over the pic to more details or fun stories:

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 12/19-12/25

Posted on by Kristen

I think I just about holiday-partied myself out last week…but by the end of The Hotel Cafe Christmas party last night even I was beginning to feel some holiday cheer! Now there is just one more week of frenetic deadlines and important meetings at work before I get some time off (to catch up on more work! Yay!). To help get me through, there is the music. I’m very pleased to announce that for those of us left in town, there are still some amazing musical experiences to be had this week. Here’s my list:

 

Monday: Songs For Kids benefit at The Hotel Cafe featuring Joshua Radin, Meiko, Cary Brothers, Joe Purdy, etc. (7pm)
ALSO: Room 5 Home for the Holidays show featuring Joel Eckels, Jessie Payo, Chris Seefried, etc. (8pm)
ALSO: Moby (acoustic set) and Lucy Schwartz at Bardot FREE with RSVP (http://www.itsaschoolnight.com/)

 

Tuesday: Abbot Kinney and Jessie Payo at Harvelles (8:30)
ALSO: Beachwood Night at Piano Bar FREE (9pm)

 

Weds: Tyler Hilton and Satellite at The Hotel Cafe (10,11)
ALSO: The Watkins Family Hour at Largo (8pm)
ALSO: The Dirty Diamond and Bethpage Black at The Viper Room (10:15, 11:15)
ALSO: Adrienne Pierce at The Cactus Lounge at The Standard (7:30)
ALSO: The Makepeace Brothers Holiday Party at The Mint (8pm)
ALSO: The Muddy Reds at Silverlake Lounge (9pm)

 

Thursday: The Fling, Yukon Blonde, and Bollweevil at The Echo (8:30)

 

Friday: Camp Freddy at The Roxy (11pm)
ALSO: Keaton Simons at WitZend in Venice (10pm)
ALSO: Chris Pierce at The Foundry on Melrose (9:30)

 

Saturday: MERRY

Sunday: CHRISTMAS

 

 

To Keep in Mind:
December 31st: Semi Precious Weapons at The Roxy
January 6th: The Lumineers at The Hotel Cafe
January 10th: Dead Sara at The Troubadour
January 12th: Milk Carton Kids at The Largo
January 17th: The Silent Comedy at The Roxy
January 19th: Civil Twilight at Bootleg Bar
January 19th: Zane Carney at The Hotel Cafe
January 29th: Tyrone Wells at Saint Rocke
January 31st: Atomic Tom at Bootleg Bar
Feb. 2nd: Mutemath at Club Nokia
Feb. 8th: Marketa Irglova at The Hotel Cafe
Feb. 14th: Twin Atlantic and You Me at Six at The Troubadour
Feb. 17th: Ryan Adams at The Hollywood Bowl
Feb. 19th: The Darkness at House of Blues Sunset
March 9th: William Fitzsimmons at The Troubadour
March 13th-18th: SXSW (Austin, TX)
March 18th: Dia Frampton at The Troubadour
March 24th: Ani DiFranco at The Orpheum Theater
March 24th: Allen Stone at The Troubadour

~ Kristen

 

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Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 12/12-12/18

Posted on by Kristen

Last Friday night, I had another one of those epic evenings on the Sunset Strip. I started at The Viper Room to see San Diego’s Kevin Martin. Then I ran to The Key Club to catch Jon McLaughlin and Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers with what must have been one of the most polite audiences I’ve ever been a part of. In drastic opposition, I stopped by The Roxy to witness some of the magic that is Camp Freddy. This week’s special guests included Neon Trees, Linda Perry, Sebastian Bach, Paul Stanley (KISS), and Fred Durst. I was going to head back to The Viper for the after party, but got sidetracked by some friends and pizza at Frankie and Johnny’s. Nights like these remind me why I love The Sunset Strip.

Monday night I’ll be back on The Strip for High Voltage Magazine’s Holiday Party at On the Rox. This will be the first of many holiday parties/charity events going on this week featuring some great artists and culminating in one of my favorite events of the year: The Hotel Cafe’s two day holiday party. For more details on these parties and other Kristen-approved musical events occurring this week, just keep reading:

 

Monday: High Voltage Magazine Holiday Party featuring Zero1, The Active Set, Suddyn, and Bethpage Black (8pm)
ALSO: So & So and Some Hear Explosions at The Viper Room (10:15, 11:15)
ALSO: Wires in the Walls FREE at Bootleg Bar (11:30)
ALSO: Brandi Carlile at Largo at the Coronet (8pm)
ALSO: Writers in the Round at Room 5 featuring Garrison Starr, Adrianne, Dawn Thomas, and Maia Sharp (9pm)

 

Tuesday: Ernie Halter, Mariah McManus, Amie Miriello at The Hotel Cafe (8,9,10)
ALSO: Noush Skaugen at Bar Lubitch (9:30)
ALSO: Sick of Sarah and The Lookout Kids at Silverlake Lounge (8, 10)
ALSO: Beachwood Holiday Party at The Piano Bar featuring Jesse Cole, Johnny Moezzi, Tripp Rezac, Ragsy, etc. (9pm)
ALSO: Brett Detar at The Satellite (10pm)

 

Weds: Noush Skaugen at Room 5 (8pm)
ALSO: The Rescues at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)
ALSO: Kyle Nicolaides at Bootleg Bar (9pm)

 

Thursday: Youngblood Hawke at The Echo (9pm)
ALSO: Carina Round at The Hotel Cafe (7pm)
ALSO: The Spring Standards at Silverlake Lounge (8pm)
ALSO: Invisible Children Benefit Concert Night 1 featuring Jon Foreman, Matt Pryor, Aaron Gillespie, etc. (7pm)

 

Friday: Hotel Cafe Holiday Party Night 1 featuring Priscilla Ahn, Meiko, Rocco Deluca, Raining Jane, Tim Jones, Adam Grace, Walker Young, Laura Jansen, etc. (7pm)
ALSO: Why Hunger Benefit Concert at Hard Rock Hollywood featuring Cary Brothers , Bleu, and Crash Kings (9pm)
ALSO: Invisible Children Holiday Benefit Night 2 featuring The Mountain Goats, Ivan & Alyosha, etc. (7pm)
ALSO: Belle Brigade at The Satellite (10pm)
ALSO: Forrest Day at Molly Malone’s (10pm)
ALSO: Camp Freddy at The Roxy (11pm)
ALSO: Beverly Kills at The Federal (6pm)
ALSO: Chris Cornell at Orpheum Theater (8pm)
ALSO: Oh Land at The El Rey (8pm)

 

Saturday: Hotel Cafe Holiday Party featuring Butch Walker, Joe Purdy, Cary Brothers, The Rescues, Keaton Simons, Holly Conlan, Austin Hartley Leonard, Jake Newton, Chris Pierce, Amie Miriello, etc. (7pm)
ALSO: Terraplane Sun at The White Buffalo at Bootleg Bar (9, 11)
ALSO: Tori Amos at Orpheum Theater (8pm)

 

Sunday: Odd Us and Red Circle Underground at The Hotel Cafe (8:30, 10:30)
ALSO: Tori Amos at Orpheum Theater (8pm)


 

To Keep in Mind:
December 23rd: Camp Freddy at The Roxy
December 31st: Semi Precious Weapons at The Roxy
January 10th: Dead Sara at The Troubadour
January 12th: Milk Carton Kids at The Largo
January 17th: The Silent Comedy at The Roxy
January 19th: Civil Twilight at Bootleg Bar
January 29th: Tyrone Wells at Saint Rocke
January 31st: Atomic Tom at Bootleg Bar
Feb. 2nd: Mutemath at Club Nokia
Feb. 14th: Twin Atlantic and You Me at Six at The Troubadour
March 9th: William Fitzsimmons at The Troubadour
March 13th-18th: SXSW (Austin, TX)
March 18th: Dia Frampton at The Troubadour
March 24th: Ani DiFranco at The Orpheum Theater

~ Kristen

 

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Amanda’s SD Concert Calendar 10/10-10/16

Posted on by Amanda

It’s Monday? Really? Where did the weekend go? It was such a blur but a pretty awesome weekend nonetheless. My weekend was punctuated with some sadness when my favorite band The Academy Is… announced they were breaking up. It made me doubly sad because I was planning to catch them on the west coast leg of Jack’s Mannequin tour but alas, no such luck. Thankfully, that was remedied by a music video shoot with The Silent Comedy yesterday.

But anyway, let’s look at the calendar for this week!

 

Monday: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Hotel St. George @ Belly Up @8 $6
AND: Megafaun @ Casbah @9 $12

Tuesday: Fountains of Wayne @ Anthology @7 $10-$24
AND: Boy and Bear, Matthew and The Arrogant Sea, and The Howls @ Soda Bar @9 $10
AND: Mattson 2 and Patrick Norton @ El Dorado @9
AND: Dropkick Murphys and The Silent Comedy @ House of Blues SD @7 $28.50-$43.50

Wednesday: Dropkick Murphys and The Silent Comedy @ House of Blues SD @7 $28.50-$43.50
AND: Katie Herzig and Butterfly Boucher @ Casbah @9 $10 adv/$12 day of
AND: Mister Loveless @ Soda Bar @9 $5

Thursday: Steve Poltz acoustic @ Belly Up @8 $16 adv/$18 day of
AND: Amber Rubarth and Chris Holmes @ Lestats @8

Friday: The Head and the Heart @ House of Blues @7 $17.50 adv/$20 day of
AND: Maren Parusel and Sundrop Electric @ Whistleshop @10
AND: Gregory Page @ Lestats @8

Saturday: Hoodang Festival feat. Louis XIV, Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects, Endoxi, and more @ Santa Ysabel Casino @11am $30
AND: Vonda Shepard Trio @ Anthology @730 $10-$42
AND: Chris Pierce @ Anthology @930 $11-$27
AND: Josh Damigo @ Lestats @8
AND: The Drums and IO Echo @ Casbah @9  $12 adv/$14 day of

Sunday: The Naked and Famous @ Belly Up @9 $15
AND: Hillcrest Hoedown with Heavy Guilt @ Ruby Room @2

 

Keep in Mind:

October 17th- AWOLNATION (reschedule) @ Belly Up @9
October 17th- Foo Fighters w/ Cage the Elephant @ Viejas Arena
October 19th- Foster the People @ Soma @7 $25
October 21st- Blackout Party, Grand Tarantula, and Jesse LaMonaca and the Dime Novels @ Casbah @9 $10
October 23rd- Anna Nalick @ Anthology @7 $10-$26
October 24th- David Cook and Gavin DeGraw @ Humphrey’s By The Bay
October 26th- Manchester Orchestra @ House of Blues SD
October 28th- The Donkeys, Cuckoo Chaos, and Bully @ Casbah @9 $8 adv/$10 day of
October 30th- Matt Nathanson @ House of Blues SD $23-$40
November 2nd- Minus the Bear and The Lonely Forest @ Soma @730 $25
November 3rd- Mayday Parade @ House of Blues SD
November 5th- The Parlotones @ Casbah $12
November 7th- Purple Melon and Kevin Martin @ Casbah $8
November 9th- Ra Ra Riot @ Belly Up
November 11th- Thrice @ House of Blues SD
November 16th- The Dirty Heads with Gym Class Heroes @ House of Blues SD
November 17th- The Sounds @ Soma @7
November 20th- Newfound Glory @ House of Blues
November 22nd- Jason Mewes Kevin Smith @ Belly Up
December 3rd- Little Hurricane @ Casbah $14
December 10th- The Chris Robinson Brotherhood @ Belly Up
December 19th- Pinback @ Belly Up

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 10/10-10/16

Posted on by Kristen

This weekend just seemed to slip through my fingertips. I swear I spent most of it in front of my computer working, but I certainly don’t have anything to show for it. I did manage to get out Friday night for a little Culture Collide (such a great festival!). Then Saturday night was an evening at The Hotel Cafe where I was taken on a journey back to 2004 with Michael Tolcher. Hearing Michael play some of my favorite tunes from that year made me realize just how connected certain songs are to particular years of my life…and that 2004 may very well be my happiest year. I’m not sure if that year’s greatness was more because of the music or because of the events that the music accompanied, but I do know that the bands and songs that I associate with that time will forever be my favorites.

 

What songs are going to make that indelible imprint on 2011? Could it be a song heard by a band playing this week? Quite possibly! Here’s my schedule:

 

Monday: It’s a School Night at Bardot featuring The Silent Comedy (10:30)…FREE with RSVP http://www.itsaschoolnight.com/
ALSO: Golden State and Indians FREE at Silverlake Lounge (10,11)
ALSO: The Rambles and Fat City Reprise at The Viper Room (10:15, 11:15)
ALSO: Abbott Kinney and Youngblood Hawke FREE at The Satellite (10,11)
ALSO: Boy & Bear at The Bootleg (9pm)
ALSO: Ryan Adams at The Hollywood Forever Cemetery (9pm)
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (9pm)

 

Tuesday: Atomic Tom, Anberlin, and Switchfoot at The Wiltern (6:30)
ALSO: Oh No Not Stereo at The Roxy (10pm)
ALSO: Lakes at The Troubadour (8pm)
ALSO: Rival Sons, The Pretty Reckless, and Evanescence at The Hollywood Palladium (7pm)
ALSO: Foxy Shazam at Chain Reaction in Anaheim (10pm)
ALSO: Chris Pierce at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)…record release show
ALSO: Joe Henry at Largo (8pm)

 

 

Weds: Whitton, Leftover Cuties, Amber Rubarth, and Coby Brown at  at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)

 

Thursday: Maniac and Family of the Year at The Bootleg (10,11)
ALSO: The Head & The Heart at The Music Box (9pm)
ALSO: Kim Richey, Jennifer Hirsh, Rob Giles with All New People at The Hotel Cafe (7, 9, 10)
ALSO: Some Hear Explosions at The Viper Room (midnight)
ALSO: Foo Fighters at The Forum (7pm)
ALSO: Lindsay Buckingham at UCLA Royce Hall (8pm)

 

Friday: Amy Kuney, Butterfly Boucher and Katie Herzig at The Bootleg (8,9,10)
ALSO: George Stanford at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)
ALSO: Nikka Costa at The Del Monte Speakeasy in Venice (9pm)
ALSO: Saint Motel at ReForm Academy (11pm)
ALSO: The Muddy Reds at The Central (8:45)
ALSO: Los Sindicate at Saint Rocke (9pm)
ALSO: Abbot Kinney at Molly Malone’s (10pm)
ALSO: Shelby Lynne at McCabe’s Guitar Shop (8pm)

 

Saturday: Haroula Rose at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)
ALSO: Kozmonaut at The Bootleg (10pm)
ALSO: Jesse Malin and The Hold Steady at The Echoplex (8:30)
ALSO: Shelby Lynn at McCabe’s Guitar Shop (8pm)

 

Sunday: The Canyons at The Troubadour (8pm)

 

 

To Keep in Mind:
October 17th: Youngblood Hawke and Imagine Dragons at The Satellite
October 18th: Portishead at The Shrine
October 19th: Melissa Ferrick and Harper Blynn at The Hotel Cafe
October 22nd: The War on Drugs at The Satellite
November 3rd: Twin Atlantic and Awolnation at The Music Box
November 4th: Mike Doughty at The El Rey
November 7th: Lights at The El Rey
November 8th: Thrice at The Mayan Theater
November 8th: First Aid Kit at The Troubadour
November 11th: Jack’s Mannequin at The El Rey
November 12th: Feist at The WIltern
November 13th: Milk Carton Kids at The El Rey
November 17th: Marketa Irglova at The Troubadour
November 19th: Milo Greene, The Belle Brigade, and The Civil Wars at The Wiltern
November 29th: Rachel Yamagata at The Troubadour
March 13th-18th: SXSW (Austin, TX)

~ Kristen

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Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 6/20-6/26

Posted on by Kristen

This weekend was supposed to be SO much fun, but I ended up spending most of it sleeping. I guess I can only run away from sickness for so long. Fortunately, before the fever descended, I was able to spend an amazing night Weds at Empire, the weekly party Semi Precious Weapons throws at On the Rox (bar above The Roxy). So many of my friends were out, celebrating a few birthdays. SPW put on a stripped down miniset, including a slower version of their new tune “Free Booze” that I might just enjoy more than the original. Finally, we all danced the night away to tunes provided by my favorite DJ (DJ High Voltage). Such a memorable night! There are only two more Empires left (this Weds and next) so if you haven’t been, be sure to get on the list and go!

As for the rest of the week, here’s my wish list. At the moment, I can’t really fathom going out, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to. So many good shows this week. You’ll have to enjoy them for me until I’m back on my feet.

 

Monday: Armada at The Viper Room (11:15)
ALSO: Anna Nalick at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)
ALSO: Jenny O FREE at Bootleg (9pm)
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 featuring Shane Alexander, John Elliot, Joel Eckels, and Jon Green (9pm)

 

Tuesday: Blue n Green: To Jopin With Love benefit concert at The Hotel Cafe featuring Tony Lucca, Keaton Simons, Raining Jane, Stop Motion Poetry, and SO many more (9pm)…door proceeds to benefit The Joplin Schools Tornado Relief Fund
ALSO: Lovers Drugs at Lot 1 Cafe (9pm)
ALSO: Two Gallants at The Echo (9pm)
ALSO: Paris Carney at Room 5 (9pm)

 

Weds: High Voltage Night at The Mint featuring Eli James, Hell & Lula, and Toy Bombs (9pm)
ALSO: The Watkins Family hour at Largo at The Coronet (8:30, 10)
ALSO: Meiko at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)
ALSO: Jarrod Gorbel and Bell X1 at The Troubadour (8:30, 9:30)
ALSO: My Morning Jacket at Pantages Theater (8pm)
ALSO: Empire Presents Semi Precious Weapons On the Rox (10pm)…free with RSVP to rsvp@semipreciousweapons.com

 

Thursday: War Tapes and Dead Sara at Bootleg Theater (9:45, 10:45)
ALSO: Austin Hartley Leonard, Chris Pierce, and The Canyons at The Hotel Cafe (9,10,11)
ALSO: Allen Stone and Nikka Costa at The Roxy (8pm)
ALSO: Lovers Drugs at The Prospector in Long Beach (9pm)
ALSO: The Kooks at The Troubadour (9:45)
ALSO: Okkervil River at The Wiltern (7pm)
ALSO: The Mountain Goats at The El Rey (8pm)

 

Friday: Lakes at The Hotel Cafe (11pm)
ALSO: Rooney and Maniac at The El Rey (8pm)
ALSO: Viza at The Troubadour (11:15)
ALSO: Alex Dezen at Bootleg (9:30)

 

Saturday: The Silent Comedy at The Roxy (1pm)
ALSO: Terra Naomi, Lelia Broussard, Andy Clockwise, and Brother Sal at The Hotel Cafe (9,10,11,12)
ALSO: Jamestown Revival at Room 5 (10pm)
ALSO: Allen Stone and Nikka Costa at Saint Rocke (9pm)

Sunday: Jonah Montraga at The Hotel Cafe (7:30)

 

To Keep in Mind:
June 29th: Brooke Fraser at The Music Box
July 4th: Hotel Café Presents Ford on the 4th of July featuring Truth & Salvage Co., Cary Brothers, The Rescues, Anya Marina, etc.
July 14th: Parade of Lights at The Viper Room
July 15th: Curtis Peoples at The Hotel Cafe
July 19th and 21st: Alkaline Trio at The Troubadour
July 22nd: Langhorne Slim at The Echo
July 26th: The Indigo Girls at The Troubadour
July 28th: A Perfect Circle at Gibson Auditorium
August 12-14th: Outside Lands in San Francisco
August 18th: The Veronicas at The Viper Room
August 19th: Buckcherry at The Roxy
August 18-20th: SSMF
September 22-24: Hotel Carolina (South Carolina)

~ Kristen

 

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