Content submitted by Wordtothemothership tagged with "indie"

Bishop Allen, October 21st, Echo, Los Angeles

Posted by Wordtothemothership in work + rock - sleep on 09/11/2007 at 01:16 AM

These guys are not good at picking dates at the Echo. Last time they were scheduled when MIA was playing downstairs. This time we could feel vibrations from the Go Team's set in the Echoplex basement. With the eastside hipster audience divided, the crowd was pretty sparse for this show. Sparse, but loud and engaged.

Yes, I just saw these guys a few months ago. Yes, it was at the same venue. No, they haven't put out any new material since the last show. Yes, I spend too much money on music. Yes, I cheated and included a YouTube clip

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Rogue Wave, October 11th, El Rey Theater, Los Angeles

Posted by Wordtothemothership in work + rock - sleep on 01/11/2007 at 01:25 AM
One of out five of the guys looked normal. There was the lefty bassist in khakis. THe balding drummer with the frizzy hair. The other (grey-haired) guy in khakis. And then there was orange man. Orange slacks. Orange suit. Orange tie. You can't make this stuff up. The lead singer (Zach Rogue) was actually the odd-man out. He looked like a normal thirty-something guy.

I was fixated on appearances for the first song or two. Perma-date and I got in a few good giggles. I may have pointed once or twice. But then something became apparent: these guys--presumably studio musicians (Read more)
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Oh No! Oh My!, September 30th, Barnsdall Art Park, Los Angeles

Posted by Wordtothemothership in work + rock - sleep on 23/10/2007 at 12:23 PM

After a string of dark, sweaty, late-night shows, I was ready for a nice Sunday afternoon concert in the park. I hadn't been up to Barnsdall, but looking out over all of Hollywood, I was glad it was one of those rare days in LA when you didn't feel like breathing the air was going to trim years off your life. Families were out having picnics, dogs were everywhere, and it was pretty much impossible not to be in a good mood.

And Oh No! Oh My! is a perfect daytime outdoor show. Just a few regular guys from Austin

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Girl Talk, September 28th, Echoplex, Los Angeles

Posted by Wordtothemothership in work + rock - sleep on 14/10/2007 at 12:47 PM

I'm not even sure how to write about this show. Girl Talk must be experienced. I'd heard about him months ago before Coachella. "He's a great mash-up DJ from Pittsburgh."  Uh, no thanks, I'll pass.  Then I lucked out and caught him at a festival in Barcelona in May.  3am set time, crazy European crowd, strong nicotine buzz (I never smoke, except in NYC and Europe), and some of the most fun I've had in a long time.

Dan Deacon should be a headliner himself and got the basement of the Echo nice and warm. Of course, you couldn't see

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Arctic Monkeys, September 25th, Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA

Posted by Wordtothemothership in work + rock - sleep on 07/10/2007 at 02:24 AM

I guess the Arctic Monkeys didn't like us.  After a surprising loud (punk!) set, they stormed off the stage without even considering an encore. It was immediate: last note played, house lights came on. Usually I can tell when the band is pissed at the crowd, but Alex Turner's Yorkshire accent was so strong that I was only picking up 1 out of every 17 words he uttered. But evidently he was not happy.

I was. Our timing was dead-on (sadly there's no free time in our lives these days for watching openers) and bartender made sure our $10 cocktails

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Editors, September 20th, The Fillmore, San Francisco

Posted by Wordtothemothership in work + rock - sleep on 01/10/2007 at 11:05 PM

I've been in denial. I've known for months. Maybe even over a year. But tonight I could no longer ignore the truth. Mid-major indie rock shows are being ruined. I try not to be a snob about these things. I try to ignore it and enjoy the show. I try not to fault the band for having some commercial success. But there's no mistaking it...the shows are not nearly as fun.  So what's killing my buzz?

- Dudes in backward baseball caps drinking too much and high-fiving each other (Modest Mouse)
- Attempted moshing. During a moody post-punk song. (Bloc

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Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, September 19th, Troubadour, Los Angeles

Posted by Wordtothemothership in work + rock - sleep on 26/09/2007 at 03:49 PM

The problem with LA is that you need to buy tickets months in advance for most shows. There are just too many people in this town and shows sell out quickly. The problem with my job is that I have no idea whether I'll be in LA two weeks from now. This adds up to a lot of missed shows. This also leads me to attend some shows under ridiculous circumstances.  Lately this means going out the night before a 6am flight. But for CYHSY, there was really no debate. That band--along with the Troubadour--brings crazy memories replete with heavy

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Missing Out (or am I?), Spoon and Wolf Parade, Los Angeles

Posted by Wordtothemothership in work + rock - sleep on 14/09/2007 at 12:42 AM

I want to complain about missing two rad shows this week, but I really can`t. Yes, I paid a lot of money for tickets to see Spoon on Monday and Wolf Parade on Thursday. Yes, those are two of my favorite bands. Yes, I haven`t been to a show in several weeks.

But I do have a good excuse: international travels. And Chile has been wonderful. The people, the atmosphere, the conversation (and the food) have all been exceptional. So although I`m missing some shows, it`s nice to slip out of my LA indie rock bubble for 9 days and

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Tiesto, August 12th, Rehab @ Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas

Posted by Wordtothemothership in work + rock - sleep on 04/09/2007 at 03:34 PM

I've been to shows at some interesting venues. Skate parks, churches, fairs, converted movie theaters, basements, yards, etc. But I'm pretty sure that a pool was not on the list. After missing The High Strung at the Las Vegas Public Library--another strange venue--a day earlier, I was ready for a pool and a show. Of course, this wasn't just any pool party. It was Rehab, the famous (infamous?) summer Sunday event at the Hard Rock Hotel. With Tiesto spinning, the day was predicted to be even more scanadalous than usual. Fresh from a pathetic 30 minutes of sleep, we were

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Bishop Allen, July 31st, The Echo, Los Angeles

Posted by Wordtothemothership in work + rock - sleep on 09/08/2007 at 09:13 PM

This is one of those nights that reminds you that you should alwasy find a way to drag yourself to a show no matter how tired/cranky/stressed/lazy/hungover you may be.  I'd just gotten back from two days in SF with no sleep, was leaving for Portland on a 6am flight the next day, and was borderline delirious.  But I made it out to Echo Park.  And it was totally worth it. Totally.

My superstar girlfriend and I went out for cheap (yet hip) pho at a place in Silverlake beforehand. I remember noticing the guys next to us, but all I

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