San Diego | Local Music Nation

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 8/9-8/15

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Kristen

I must say, there are a LOT of festivals going on this week. Thursday is the Sunset Strip Block Party celebrating the fact that there will no longer be construction holding up traffic along the strip (YAY!). Saturday is the Venice Beach music festival featuring Keaton Simons . Then both Saturday and Sunday at the Echoplex is the Free for All music festival sponsored by When You Awake and featuring Langhorne Silm on Sunday. And let’s not forget about Warped Tour on Weds in Pomona featuring many fantastic bands including my new favorite, After Midnight Project. We could also throw in the North Park Music Thing down in San Diego which I’ll be attending over the weekend.

But really these festivals are just prepping everyone for next week’s Sunset Junction and the, of course, Sunset Strip Music Festival at the end of the month.

As for what else is going on:

Monday: Of Verona and Soul Puppet FREE at The Troubadour (9:30, 10:30)
ALSO: Matthew Jordan at Saint Rocke (8:30)
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (9pm)

Tuesday: Jake Newton at Molly Malone’s (9pm)
ALSO: Holly Conlan at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)

Weds: Keaton Simons at Cinespace (8pm)
ALSO: Warped Tour in Pomona
ALSO: Semi Precious Weapons at The Staples Center (8pm)

Thursday: Soraia at Good Hurt (11:30)…Philly band alert!
ALSO: The Shakers at The Cat Club (10pm)…part of Sunset Strip Block Party (http://thesunsetstrip.com/blockparty)
ALSO: Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal at Club Nokia (9pm)
ALSO: My Morning Jacket and Avi Buffalo at The Greek Theater (8pm)
ALSO: Semi Precious Weapons at The Staples Center (8pm)
ALSO: Wartapes at The Viper Room (10pm)
ALSO: The Northstar Session at Molly Malone’s (9:30)
ALSO: Freelance Whales at El Rey opening for Tokyo Police Club (8:30)

Friday: Natalie Merchant at Orpheum (8pm)
ALSO: Soraia at Canter’s Kibitz Room (10pm)
ALSO: American Idols 2010 Live at The Staples Center (7:30)

Saturday: Venice Beach Music Fest f. Keaton Simons (1:30pm)
ALSO: Rasputina at The Troubadour (10:15)

Sunday: Langhorne Slim at The Echoplex (4pm)
ALSO: Mississippi Man at The Troubadour (8:30)
ALSO: Levon Helm and Jenny Lewis at The Greek Theater (8pm)

To Keep in Mind:
August 21^st and 22^nd: Sunset Junction
August 27-28^th: Sunset Strip Music Festival
August 28^th: Something Corporate at Club Nokia
September 4^th: After Midnight Project at The Key Club
September 18^th: Heart at Gibson Amphitheater
September 25^th: Band of Horses at Greek Theater
September 25^th: Muse at Staples Center
October 1^st: Brandi Carlile and The Avett Brothers at Nokia Theater LA Live
October 13^th: Frightened Rabbit at The Mayan Theater
December 11^th: The Black Crowes and Truth & Salvage Co. at Hollywood Palladium

~ Kristen

San Diego Music Awards: Nominees Announced!

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Kristen

The San Diego Music Awards is an event that takes place every year celebrating local San Diego music and honoring some of the best SD bands. This event will take place Sunday Sept. 12^th and will certainly be a must-attend.

This year’s nominees include some LMN favorites such as The Silent Comedy, Endoxi, Dirty Sweet, and Get Back Loretta…as well as some bands that have a place on my personal “to watch” list (Scarlett Symphony, The Loons, Republic of Letters, Transfer, The Burning of Rome, White Apple Tree, Nervous Wreckords, etc.). Most excitedly (for me at least), the list of nominees contains many names that I am unfamiliar with, presenting an opportunity to investigate new music!

Here is the list…

Let’s start listening!

~ Kristen

p.s. to get you started, a sampling of songs from nominees who happen to be playing in Los Angeles at The Viper Room THIS WEEK!

Transfer at The Viper Room Thursday July 29^th (11pm)

Dirty Sweet at The Viper Room Friday July 30^th (11pm)

Nervous Wreckords at The Viper Room Saturday July 31^st (9pm)

Kristen’s Concert Calendar: 7/12-7/18

Posted on July 11, 2010 by Kristen

Well, Amanda and I certainly had quite the busy weekend getting sneak previews of some very exciting projects coming out soon. Slash-approved British rockers, Gods and Men, are in the process of recording their first album for Pacific Records. Remember the name…it will come up again soon, I’m sure. Also, San Diego’s own Endoxi just finished their first full-length CD, Earthbound. The record is coming out August 3^rd and the release party will be August 6^th at Epicentre in SD. I’m very excited about Endoxi, and feel that they are poised to become the next big band out of San Diego.

But if you need a good show before August 6^th, this week will definitely satisfy. Two of my very favorite bands are playing the Troubadour, The Silent Comedy on Tuesday (opening for Andy Clockwise) and Nico Vega on Weds (opening for Sweethead). You know you’ve been meaning to check out these bands I’m always blathering on about…well, here’s your chance so don’t miss it!

As for everything else (it’s quite a fantastic week for music):

Monday: Matt Morris at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)
ALSO: Mississippi Man FREE at The Echo (10pm)
ALSO: The Shakers at Les Deux (10pm)
ALSO: Abbot Kinney at Molly Malone’s (8pm)
ALSO: Kings of Leon at Hollywood Bowl (7:30)
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (9pm)

Tuesday: The Silent Comedy and Andy Clockwise at The Troubadour (8:30)
ALSO: Imagine Dragons FREE at The Viper Room (10pm)
ALSO: Matthew Jordan at Cafe Was (7pm)
ALSO: Austin Hartley-Leonard at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)

Weds: Nico Vega at The Troubadour (9:15)…what else do you need?

Thursday: KT Tunstall, Garrison Starr, Jay Nash, Joe Firstman at The Hotel Cafe (7-11)
ALSO: Killola at The Viper Room (11pm)
ALSO: Wakey Wakey at Bootleg (10pm)
ALSO: Alex Band at The Roxy (8:30)
ALSO: Fitz & the Tantrums at the Hammer museum (7pm)
ALSO: Alternate Routes at Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena (8pm)
ALSO: Nico Vega at Velvet Jones in Santa Barbara (7pm)

Friday: Tyrone Wells at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)
ALSO: Victoria Clemmons, Kris Karlsson, Alex Rhodes at Genghis Cohen (8,9,10)
ALSO: Lovers Drugs at Rusty’s Surf Ranch in Santa Monica (9pm)
ALSO: Juke Kartel at The Viper Room (11:15)
ALSO: MGMT at The Greek Theater (7:30)

Saturday: Thrice at Fox Theater in Pomona (6:30)
ALSO: Leerone and Laura Jensen at The Hotel Cafe (8, 10)
ALSO: The Silent Comedy at The Casbah (SD)

Sunday: The Swell Season and Bird and the Bee at Hollywood Bowl (7:30)
ALSO: Joe Firstman and Jay Nash at Saint Rocke (7pm)

To Keep in Mind:
July 21^st: Gaslight Anthem at The Wiltern
July 23^rd: Tony Lucca album release at The Mint
July 28^th: Bang the Gong Tour featuring Civil Twilight, Paper Tongues, and Neon Trees at The Glass House
July 29^th: Queen Caveat EP Release at The Viper Room
July 29^th: Civil Twlight at The Hotel Cafe
July 30^th: Dirty Sweet at The Viper Room
July 30-31^st: Morcheeba at Hollywood Bowl
August 6^th: Endoxi CD release at Epicentre (SD)
August 12^th: Semi Precious Weapons at Staples Center
August 21^st and 22^nd: Sunset Junction
September 4^th: After Midnight Project at The Key Club
September 25^th: Band of Horses at Greek Theater
September 25^th: Muse at Staples Center

~ Kristen

Carbon Leaf at The Troubadour

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Kristen

Do you ever associate a particular song or band with a certain time in your life so much so that whenever you hear that song or see that band you are transported back to those days when that music meant so much to you? Well that is how I feel about the band Carbon Leaf who had a strong presence in my college days. There is one verse in particular from their song “What About Everything” that really struck a chord with that particular time and place in my life. It includes the following lines:

“…Before time takes each year, like a knife cuts it clear
It’s school, then work and then life that just sharpens the blade
I think about time for fun
I think about time for play
Then I think about being done, with no resume…”

I first discovered Carbon Leaf in 2004. Their CD, Indian Summer, was just released when I stumbled upon it during one of my Borders listening sessions. I was immediately struck by the soothing vocals and the general positive/happy vibe I picked up from the songs. I have been following Carbon Leaf ever since. The band is from Virginia and it took a couple of years for us to be in the same city at the same time. I finally saw them in 2006 at the TLA in Philadelphia. They were on Tour with Matt Nathanson and their CD Love Loss Hope Repeat had just come out. It was a packed house and I remember struggling to get a good view, but also being impressed that the energy from the stage could make its way all the way to where I was, piercing my soul as all my favorite songs were being performed on the stage.

Last night at The Troubadour was only the second time I’ve seen Carbon Leaf live. Being in love with a local band is amazing if you’re in the same town, but I don’t make it to Virginia all that often and I kept missing the guys when they would go on tour. However, the little family of Carbon Leaf lovers that gathered at The Troubadour for the band’s 2 hour set made me feel like I hadn’t missed a beat. I was certainly not alone in my adoration as the band’s unique brand of Celtic/bluegrass rock (Wikipedia’s categorization) seemed to transport the entire room to a different place and time where the one commonality was music that we were all, at that moment, experiencing together.

The band played songs spanning their entire catalog including many off Indian Summer despite the fact that the record was released 6 years ago. They also played some great tunes from other records including a couple songs from Curious George 2 (to which Carbon Leaf supplied the soundtrack), and one from their forthcoming album, How the West Was One.

This upcoming album is fairly special as it marks the band’s break from their record label and return to the DIY world of music-making. They were especially proud to announce that despite the fact that the mixing of the new album had just been completed, the songs were available that night via download cards. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who is bothered by a record label’s decision to hold material for release long after it’s completed. This move also means that the band will have a lot more music coming out over the next year or so. They say that How the West Was One is really going to be volume 1 of 3-4…all songs that the band has written over the years while they have been east of the Mississippi.

I have yet to download the new tunes, but I wanted to get something out about the brilliance of this band before tonight’s (Thurs July 8th) show at The Belly Up in Solana Beach (right outside of San Diego). I know many people at last night’s show plan to drive down and I wish I could join them. If you’re in the San Diego area, I’d highly recommend heading over the Belly Up (a fantastic venue) and checking out Carbon Leaf.

For the rest of their tour dates:

8 Jul 2010

8:00 P

Belly Up Tavern

Solana Beach, CA

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