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New Band Alert: Leogun

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Kristen

Leogun stormed into my life Wednesday night when they played an electrifying set at The Satellite. I don’t think this band has been around for too long (they joined facebook in April of 2012), but I’m sure it won’t take too long for their popularity to grow. They are the kind of band that demands notice. For a quick summary, their fb page gives two definitions for the term “Leogun”. The first is “a three-piece band from London, surging with a mix of blues, soul and a whole lotta rock & roll. With “bite your head off” choruses and a hunger to groove, LEOGUN mixes the musicality and heart bleeding emotion of The Racounteurs with all the sexual prowess and break-neck attitude of Queens of The Stone Age.” The second definition is “believed to be a were-lion, LEOGUN was a half man, half lion.” I think that sums up my experience of the band quite nicely.

Their debut self-titled EP comes out next week (10/16). Here are my quick thoughts on each song:

“Let’s Be Friends” – their first single, a great introduction to their rockin’ style with stand-out guitar licks, soaring yet gritty vocals, and brazen attitude all wrapped in a catchy tune.

“End of The World” – sung with abandon, it will seduce you

“You’d Better Love Me”- a blistering rock song that rightly demands the attentions of its listeners

“Everyday” – a slower-building jam that showcases the groovier side of the band but will have your head banging by the end

Here’s the band’s first official video:

Other important info to get you connected to the band:

Website: http://leogunband.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LeogunBand

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeogunBand

They are currently touring around the US. Be sure to catch them if they near a city by you!

DATE	CITY	VENUE	INFORMATION
10/10/12	Los Angeles, CA	The Satellite	More Info
10/14/12	Phoenix, AZ	Hard Rock Cafe	More Info
10/17/12	Philadelphia, PA	North Star Bar	More Info
10/18/12	Easton, MD	Nightcat	More Info
10/19/2012	New York City, NY	Fat Baby – CMJ Convention	More Info
10/23/2012	Somerville, MA	Johnny D’s Restaurant & Music Club	More Info
10/31/2012 – 11/04/2012	Miami to Great Stirrup Cay	Kiss Kruise II	More Info
11/07/2012	Chicago, IL	The Ace Bar	More Info
11/08/2012	Madison , WI	The Rigby	More Info
11/09/2012	Minneapolis, MN	7th Street Entry	More Info
11/11/2012	Saint Louis, MO	Heartbreakers Rock-N-Roll Saloon	More Info
11/12/2012	Lee’s Summit, MO	Jerry’s Bait Shop	More Info
11/14/2012	Denver , CO	Hi-Dive	More Info
11/16/2012	Colorado Springs, CO	Stargazers Theatre	More Info
11/20/2012	Boise, ID	Neurolux	More Info
11/21/2012	Spokane, WA	Knitting Factory Concert House	More Info

Listen! Learn! Love!

~ Kristen

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 5/21-5/27

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Kristen

Just got back from the San Diego Safari Park. Such a fun experience! Two amazing facts I learned today. 1) the cheetahs have canine companions. Seeing the two creatures so disparate in my mind being so chummy was a tad mind blowing. 2) There are only 8 black rhinos in the world. They are all past reproductive age so there will never be more than 8, only less. I saw two of them walking around today. Again, mind blown.

I’m in San Diego for a conference where I will be presenting tomorrow. It’ll be an all-day affair, so I thought I’d get my calendar done and out early. If you’re in LA tonight (Saturday), I’d strongly recommend heading to Molly Malone’s to catch Zane Carney play at 10pm.

As for the rest of the week, here’s what I’ve got going on:

Monday: It’s a School Night at Bardot featuring Chappo (10pm)…FREE with RSVP
ALSO: Curtis Peoples and Haley Reinhart FREE at Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood (8:30)
ALSO: Daniel Bedingfield FREE at The Hotel Cafe (9:30)
ALSO: Hell or High Water, Lady Sinatra, and more FREE at The Roxy (7pm)
ALSO: Matt Sucich and Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (8, 9)

Tuesday: Lovers Drugs at Hemingways (10pm)
ALSO: Rocco Deluca at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)
ALSO: George Stanford at WitZend (10pm)
ALSO: Beck at The El Rey (8pm)
ALSO: Trampled by Turtles at The Fonda (8pm)

Weds: Whispertown at Bootleg Bar (8:30)

Thursday: Jon McLaughlin at The Troubadour (9:30)
ALSO: Novi Split FREE at Lot 1 Cafe (10pm)
ALSO: Hey Rosetta! And House For Lions at The Echo (8:30)
ALSO: Jared James Nichols and Franky Perez & The Truth at The Viper Room (8,9)
ALSO: Hot Water Music CD Release at The Satellite (10pm)
ALSO: Hugh Laurie at The El Rey (8pm)
ALSO: Kimbra at the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery (9pm)

Friday: Justin Hopkins at WitZend (11pm)
ALSO: Tim Halperin at Molly Malone’s (8:30)
ALSO: The Young Romans at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)

Saturday: Brian Travis at Molly Malone’s (9pm)

Sunday: rest

To Keep in Mind:
May 31^st: Greg Laswell at The El Rey
June 3^rd: Deas Vail at The Troubadour
June 5^th and 6^th: Ben Howard at The Troubadour
June 6^th: The Cordovas at Saint Rocke
June 7-10^th: Bonnaroo in Manchester, TN
June 13^thand 14^th: Phantom Planet at The Troubadour
June 16^th: Thrice at Club Nokia
June 16^th: Scissor Sisters at Hollywood Palladium
June 21^st: Crash Kings at The Troubadour
June 23^rd: Milo Greene at The Troubadour
June 25^th: Graffiti6 at The Troubadour
June 29^th: Fiona Apple at Hollywood Palladium
July 14^th: Saint Motel at The El Rey
August 13^th: The Kills at The El Rey

~ Kristen

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Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 8/1-8/7

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Kristen

Enjoying a lovely Sunday afternoon catching up with friends via email or phone and listening to George Stanford from the comfort of my home. Maybe this live stream thing isn’t such a bad thing after all. Join George next Sunday 3pm PST (http://www.livestream.com/georgestanford) and listen to him sing (yes he takes requests) and ramble on about…anything. It’s cool because there are people from all over the country gathering together listening to music…I wish we could do this kind of thing more often.

But for those of you in Los Angeles, so many live shows you can go to this week. Here are my suggestion:

Monday: It’s a school night at Bardot featuring Cary Brothers and The Damnwells (10pm)…FREE with RSVP (http://www.itsaschoolnight.com/)
ALSO: The Belle Brigade at The Grammy Museum (7:30)
ALSO: The Californian at The Viper Room (11pm)
ALSO: Taylor Locke and Robert Francis FREE at Bootleg Bar (9,11)
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (9pm)

Tuesday: Justin Jones, Raining Jane, Bushwalla at The Hotel Cafe (7,9,10)…Raining Jane record release
ALSO: Toy FREE at Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood (9pm)
ALSO: Youngblood Hawke at The Satellite (10pm)
ALSO: Stop Motion Poetry at The Viper Room (11pm)
ALSO: The Naked & Famous at The Music Box

Weds: The Alternate Routes at The Satellite (9pm)
ALSO: Anna Nalick at The Hotel Cafe (10pm)
ALSO: Moderne Man at The Viper Room (10:50)

Thursday: Brian Wright at The Foundry on Melrose (9pm)
ALSO: Terra Naomi at The Hotel Cafe as part of YouTube Songwriters in the Round (8pm)

Friday: Keaton Simons at The Hotel Cafe (10pm)…beginning of the Keaton residency
ALSO: Abandoned Pools at The Viper Room (10:45)
ALSO: Harris Grade at Amplyfi (10:15)

Saturday: The Janks at The Hotel Cafe (10pm)
ALSO: Fat City Reprise at O’Briens (10pm)
ALSO: Brian Wright at Saint Rocke (9pm)

Sunday: something always comes up by Sunday…

To Keep in Mind:
August 10^th: Sia at The Wiltern
August 11th: Toy and Lifehouse at Ventura County Fair
August 11^th: Ellie Goulding at The Wiltern
August 12-14th: Outside Lands in San Francisco
August 12^th: Andrew Belle at The Mint
August 13^th: Milk Carton Kids CD Release at McCabe’s
August 13^th: Nico Vega at Saint Rocke
August 16^th: Mutemath at The Troubadour
August 18^th: Nico Vega at The Roxy
August 18th and 25th: The Veronicas at The Viper Room
August 18th: TDIF at The Hotel Cafe
August 19th: Buckcherry at The Roxy
August 18-20th: SSMF
August 22^nd: Ben Rector at The Hotel Cafe
August 27-28th: Sunset Junction
September 3rd: FYF
September 22-24: Hotel Carolina (South Carolina)
September 22nd: Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights at The Viper Room
September 24^th: William Elliot Whitmore at Bootleg Theater
September 25^th: The Lonely Forest at The Wiltern
October 14^th: Butterfly Boucher at Bootleg Theater
March 13-18^th: SXSW (Austin, TX)

~ Kristen

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Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 4/25-5/1

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Kristen

SO full right now. So so very full. The annual Easter party was full of friends and food and eggs that now look like angry birds…what more could you want!?! Why music of course! I’m trying to clear some room in my stomach for the french fries that will hopefully accompany more friends and some awesome tunes at Saint Rocke tonight…assuming I will be able to move by then…

I will definitely be able to move by Monday night because I got my ticket for The Airborne Toxic Event at The Satellite the instant they went on sale (AKA wouldn’t miss it for the world). There are tons of great shows this week. I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully my work schedule will permit me to partake!

Here’s my dream list:

Monday: Airborne Toxic Event at The Satellite (8:30)
ALSO: The Head & The Heart at The Troubadour (10:15)…unfortunately sold out…but if you don’t know this band from Seattle, you should
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (9pm)
ALSO: The Chris Robinson Brotherhood at The Echoplex (8:30)

Tuesday: Madi Diaz and Joe Firstman at The Hotel Cafe (8,10)
ALSO: The Filthy Souls at The Piano Bar (midnight)
ALSO: Airborne Toxic Event at The Troubadour (10pm)
ALSO: Jonathan Clark and Satellite at Molly Malone’s (8,9)…last night of the residency!
ALSO: Alien Ant Farm, Finger Eleven, and Papa Roach at The House of Blues Sunset (8:30)

Weds: Joe Firstman at Saint Rocke (9:45)
ALSO: Andy Clockwise CD Release with George Stanford at The Troubadour (8:30)
ALSO: High Voltage Night at The Mint featuring Maren Parusel (8pm)
ALSO: The Ditty Bops at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)
ALSO: The Airborne Toxic Event at The El Rey (8pm)

Thursday: Purple Melon and Rival Sons FREE at Hard Rock Cafe (10,10:50)
ALSO: Little Hurricane at The Hotel Cafe (11pm)
ALSO: of Verona and The Canyons at Molly Malone’s (8,9)
ALSO: The White Buffalo at The Mint (10pm)
ALSO: The Airborne Toxic Event at The Music Box (9pm)

Friday: Queen Caveat at Bardot (11:30)
ALSO: Milk Carton Kids at Saint Rocke (10pm)
ALSO: Jenni Alpert and Rob Giles at The Hotel Cafe (7,9)

Saturday: Joe Purdy and The Milk Carton Kids at The Troubadour (9pm)
ALSO: Prohibition Rose and Inverse at The Viper Room (9, 9:50)
ALSO: The Boxer Rebellion at The Roxy (10pm)

Sunday: Thao & Mirah at The Troubadour (10pm)
ALSO: The White Buffalo at Saint Rocke (9pm)

To Keep in Mind:
May 2^nd: Xavier Rudd at The El Rey
May 4th: The Pipettes at The Satellite
May 7th: The Silent Comedy at The Roxy
May 9^th: KT Tunstall at The El Rey
May 14^th: The Other Side of Morning CD Release
May 15th: Eisley at The Troubadour
May 20^th: Curtis Peoples at The Hotel Cafe
May 21^st: Saint Motel at The Roxy
May 27th: The Script at Club Nokia
May 27^th-29^th: Sasquatch Music Festival (Washington)
June 2nd: Manchester Orchestra at The Music Box
June 7^th: Death Cab for Cutie and The Lonely Forest at The El Rey
June 9-12: Bonnaroo (TN)
June 13th: Florence and The Machine at The Greek Theater
June 15^th: Augustana at The House of Blues Sunset
June 29^th: Brooke Fraser at The Music Box
July 26^th: The Indigo Girls at The Troubadour
July 28^th: A Perfect Circle at Gibson Auditorium
August 12-14^th: Outside Lands in San Francisco
August 18-20^th: SSMF
September 22-24: Hotel Carolina (South Carolina)

~ Kristen

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Watch This: Scars on 45

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Kristen

Scars on 45 have a new video for their song “Give Me Something.” Quite a fan of this band. They’re from England, but they’ve been spending quite a bit of time in the US. They’ll be back in LA on May 4th playing at The Hard Rock Cafe.

Enjoy!

~ Kristen

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 4/18-4/24

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Kristen

Still singing and dancing to music from last night’s adventure at The Troubadour. Ben Rector and Matt Wertz were both fantastic, bringing me back to my days of Tyler Hilton, Gavin Degraw, and that ilk. I spent a lot of time in 2004-5 this week between last night and Weds night’s venture to The Hotel Cafe to see Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump busting beats with his new solo tunes. The highlight of last week, however, was Biffy Clyro down at The Belly Up. I cannot be effusive enough in the written word to describe the experience, so I won’t even try.

Let’s just say this week has a lot to live up to. If I could pick just one show it would be Thursday night at Molly Malone’s. Zane Carney (of my very first LA band love, Carney) is in town from NYC where he, as well as the rest of the band, have been very busy with the new Spiderman musical. Zane’s playing three sets; the first with a jazz band, the second with his sister Paris Carney, and the third with Stephen Hovsepian as a duo, Great Work. I am excited about the music (Zane is a master of the guitar and always a pleasure to watch), but I’m also excited about catching up with my Carney family, the first group of people I met when I moved out to LA, the majority of whom I have not seen since Carney departed.

But that’s not all that’s going on this week. It’ll be a busy one:

Monday: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (9pm)
ALSO: Lauryn Hill at Club Nokia (7pm)

Tuesday: Dead Sara at The Viper Room…opening for Duff McKagan’s new band, Loaded (8:30)
ALSO: Eliza Doolittle and Plan B at The El Rey (7pm)
ALSO: The Material at Whiskey a Go Go (8pm)
ALSO: Armada and Infantree at Saint Rocke (8:30, 9:30)
ALSO: The Muddy Reds at Silverlake Lounge (10pm)
ALSO: Jonathan Clark and Satellite at Molly Malone’s (8,9)
ALSO: Paul Simon at The Music Box (7pm)

Weds: Ellie Goulding at The Music Box (7pm)
ALSO: Amie Miriello and Ruby Friedman Orchestra at The Hotel Cafe (7,9)

Thursday: An evening with Zane Carney at Molly Malone’s (8: Zane Carney, John Daversa, and Sam Gendel play jazz; 9: Zane and Paris Carney; 10: The Zane and Stephan Show)
ALSO: Deep Dark Robot at The Roxy (10pm)
ALSO: The Shakers at The Viper Room (11pm)
ALSO: The Pretty Reckless FREE at Hard Rock Cafe (9pm)
ALSO: Kurt Vile and The Violators at The Echo (10pm)
ALSO: Brian Wright at The Foundry on Melrose (8:30)

Friday: Purple Melon at The Roxy (9pm)
ALSO: Hugo at The Viper Room (9pm)
ALSO: Lakes at The Hotel Cafe (midnight)
ALSO: Matthew Jordan at Pi (part of a songwriters in the round session, starts at 9pm)
ALSO: Eastern Conference Champions at The Echo (10pm)

Saturday: I do have a friend who will be dressing up like a crab and singing “Under The Sea” at The Troubadour…that might be interesting…

Sunday: Justin Hopkins Songwriter in the Round Series and Hugo at Saint Rocke (8,10)
ALSO: Viza at The El Rey (7:30)

To Keep in Mind:
April 25th: Airborne Toxic Event at The Satellite
April 25th: The Head & The Heart at The Troubadour
April 27^th: Andy Clockwise at The Troubadour
April 29^th: Joe Purdy with The Milk Carton Kids at Saint Rocke
April 30^th: Joe Purdy with The Milk Carton Kids at The Troubadour
May 2^nd: Xavier Rudd at The El Rey
May 4th: The Pipettes at The Satellite
May 7th: The Silent Comedy at The Roxy
May 9^th: KT Tunstall at The El Rey
May 14^th: The Other Side of Morning CD Release
May 15th: Eisley at The Troubadour
May 20^th: Curtis Peoples at The Hotel Cafe
May 21^st: Saint Motel at The Roxy
May 27th: The Script at Club Nokia
May 27^th-29^th: Sasquatch Music Festival (Washington)
June 2nd: Manchester Orchestra at The Music Box
June 7^th: Death Cab for Cutie and The Lonely Forest at The El Rey
June 9-12: Bonnaroo (TN)
June 13th: Florence and The Machine at The Greek Theater
June 15^th: Augustana at The House of Blues Sunset
June 29^th: Brooke Fraser at The Music Box
July 26^th: The Indigo Girls at The Troubadour
July 28^th: A Perfect Circle at Gibson Auditorium
August 12-14^th: Outside Lands in San Francisco
August 18-20^th: SSMF
September 22-24: Hotel Carolina (South Carolina)

~ Kristen

Tour Alert! Civil Twilight + Paper Tongues + Neon Trees

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Kristen

So, when one of your new favorite bands goes on tour, you take notice, find the date in your city, and buy tickets. When TWO of your new favorite bands decide to team up and go out on the road together…well, then you start thinking about how many of the shows you will be able to find people to road trip with you to go see! Both Civil Twilight and Paper Tongues are bands I’ve discovered and fallen in love with in the last year. I would never imagine them going on tour together as they don’t strike me as very similar…other than the fact that they both had free singles on ITunes, I can’t think of anything that would tie the bands together.

Also on the bill, Neon Trees, a band that’s been on my watch list since they did a tour with Nico Vega that never quite made it to LA. Their song “Animal”…hey…come to think of it this song was also a free ITunes download…hmm…anyway, I like it and have recently purchased their album Habits.

Point Being: They’re calling it the “Bang the Gong Tour” It starts next Saturday and It is going to be amazing. If you can, you should try to check it out.

The dates are (as listed on the Neon Trees myspace):

26 Jun 2010

7:00 P

BANG THE GONG TOUR w/ PAPER TONGUES + CIVIL TWILIGHT @ Heritage Landing – Main Stage – Muskegon Summer Celebration

Muskegon, Michigan

Find Tickets

27 Jun 2010

7:00 P

BANG THE GONG TOUR w/ PAPER TONGUES + CIVIL TWILIGHT @ Summerfest – US Cellular Connection Stage

Milwaukee, WI

Find Tickets

29 Jun 2010