Kristen

Curtis Peoples at The Mint- 3/6/10

Posted on by Amanda

I have known Curtis for a number of years now, and have really enjoyed watching him grow as both a person and an artist. He came out of writing and recording hibernation Saturday night to play a show at The Mint. He seemed so genuinely happy to be back on the stage and to share some of his new tunes with us. And that’s one of the things I love about Curtis. He’s so genuine and honest (I mean, the man admits to loving CSI: Miami, having a fetish for 80’s music, and wearing girl’s jean…). But this honesty also comes across in his songs and in his performance which always makes him a pleasure to watch.

My favorite Curtis tune has to be the last single, “All I Want”, from his latest self titled album. I still can’t decide, however, whether I like it best sung with the full band (gives it power and allows it to build a bit more) or just simply with Curtis and his guitar which is how I first heard it. Check out the video and let me know what you think!

Of course he sang “All I Want” Saturday night. Curtis also played several new tunes including one that he wrote with Tyler Hilton called “So Young” which I think will be a stand-out on Tyler’s forthcoming CD. 

The set was capped off with a fantastic version of Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” with Dave Yaden delivering masterful solos on the keys…and which has subsequently set me off on a Tom Petty kick.

Can’t wait for next time!

http://www.curtispeoples.com/

~ Kristen

T&S Co. at The Hotel Cafe- Residency Night 3

Posted on by Amanda

It’s just really hard to find the words to express how much fun I have whenever I get the opportunity to see these guys. Nights like this remind me why Truth & Salvage Co. is one of my fave LA bands…and there isn’t a better place to see them play than the Hotel Cafe.  Their energy seemed kicked up a notch further last night, perhaps due to the fact that it was Walker’s birthday. They played several of my faves, both old and new, starting with “Hail, Hail” and ending with an encore of “Pure Mountain Angel” (the way it should always be). They also did a fantastic cover of The Band’s “Shape I’m In.”  The typical crowd was there dancing and singing along. They were accompanied by their usual rowdy antics, which this time included a cupcake fight—seriously, icing everywhere! The only thing I’m craving now more than a cupcake is more T&S Co. Fortunately this whole thing will happen again next Friday, the 4th night of the band’s residency at The Hotel Cafe. I hope to see you there!
~ Kristen

T&S Co. at The Hotel Cafe- Residency Night 3

Posted on by Amanda

It’s just really hard to find the words to express how much fun I have whenever I get the opportunity to see these guys. Nights like this remind me why Truth & Salvage Co. is one of my fave LA bands…and there isn’t a better place to see them play than the Hotel Cafe.  Their energy seemed kicked up a notch further last night, perhaps due to the fact that it was Walker’s birthday. They played several of my faves, both old and new, starting with “Hail, Hail” and ending with an encore of “Pure Mountain Angel” (the way it should always be). They also did a fantastic cover of The Band’s “Shape I’m In.”  The typical crowd was there dancing and singing along. They were accompanied by their usual rowdy antics, which this time included a cupcake fight—seriously, icing everywhere! The only thing I’m craving now more than a cupcake is more T&S Co. Fortunately this whole thing will happen again next Friday, the 4th night of the band’s residency at The Hotel Cafe. I hope to see you there!

~ Kristen

Random Musings- Venue Trends

Posted on by Amanda

http://www.mollymalonesla.com/

I’ve been going to Molly Malone’s lately…quite a bit it seems. I was just there last night to see the fantastic Vienne (http://www.myspace.com/vienne ). And incidentally also discovered a compelling new band called Clockwork (http://www.myspace.com/ilikeclockwork ) that will definitely be added to my watch list. I’ll be back at MM’s next Friday for another round of Bleaker Street artists including Matthew Jordan and the amazing Paris Carney.

What’s odd is that before this slew of MM’s shows, it had been a good six months or so since I’d set foot in that bar and a good year since I’d been there on a regular basis (think: Carney residency).

But that’s how things seem to go. Before this Molly Malone’s trend, it seemed as if I was at The Viper Room all the time…although it had taken me about a year before I even entered the doors of that legendary venue.

Aside from The Hotel Cafe where I try to go about once a week, other venues seem to come and go from my life like waves…anyone else ever notice this?

~ Kristen

Frightened Rabbit – New Music in T-1 Week

Posted on by Amanda

My excitement can barely be contained for the release of the new Frightened Rabbit CD, The Winter of Mixed Drinks, next Weds (March 10th). The tunes have been leaking all over the place, so really I’ve already heard it…but I still can’t wait to get that physical copy in my hand. I’m in love with what I’ve heard thus far. Their last record, The Midnight Organ Fight was stuck in my player on repeat for quite some time and is just one of those perfect records (every song is brilliant). I actually discovered them at the end of 2008 (thank you Best of Lists!), and their song, “The Modern Leper” managed to make it onto my own years’ end best of mix for ’09. Frightened Rabbit is one of those very rare bands that I actually fell in love with BEFORE I saw them play. I finally got the opportunity to see them live at The Knitting Factory this year and am now counting down the days ‘til I get to see them again (that would be at Coachella-Saturday). They are also playing The Casbah in San Diego May 22…may have to make a special trek down there to see them again. They are from across the pond (Scotland to be more precise) so these live viewing opportunities are few and far between.

If you want to hear the new record, you can go to their myspace page…also some videos!

http://www.myspace.com/frightenedrabbit

~ Kristen

Listen to this: Downtown Harvest

Posted on by Amanda

Brightening my week last week was the arrival of my copy of the new Downtown Harvest CD, “Discovering Dinosaurs.” Downtown Harvest is a fantastic band from my favorite musical city, Philadelphia. My love of this band started with a performance of their song “Clockwork Tangerines” off their first album “Golden Dragon”. One thing that will always draw me in to a song is good harmonies, but who says these harmonies always have to be vocal? The harmonizing guitars at the beginning of “Clockwork Tangerines” was enough to turn my head and quicken my pulse…then I was hooked!

My faves off the new record are probably all the ones I’ve seen them perform. “Shimmy” brings back particularly good memories. If you have some time, check them out! I’ve heard rumors of a potential CA tour sometime this year…

http://www.downtownharvest.com/

~ Kristen

Several Noteworthy Videos

Posted on by Amanda

So I’ve come across several videos of note this week. All of songs that I wish would be recorded already!

The first video is from my friends, The Elizabeth Kill, and is a great warm-up for the Alice in Wonderland movie coming out this weekend. It’s for a song called “The Great Escape” and features some bits from the movie…it’s going to be trippy!

The second video is from Nico Vega frontwoman, Aja Volkman. I swear this woman can do no wrong! This video is for a song called “Stick of Wax”, an incredibly haunting song sung by such a beautiful voice…a must listen!

Finally, one of my fave SD bands, Dirty Sweet, was supposed to come up to LA and play some acoustic gigs at The Hotel Café…these dates, sadly, seem to have been removed from their calendar in favor of time spent at SXSW followed by a European tour…as a result I’ve been mourning by watching some lovely acoustic Dirty Sweet videos! Here’s one of them, the title track of their forthcoming album (April 6th!!) “American Spiritual”. For more Dirty Sweet videos, check out their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/dirtysweetmusic

~ Kristen