Live Review: Pasadena Daydream Festival, August 31, 2019

Live Review: Pasadena Daydream Festival, August 31, 2019

It took 27 years, but The Cure finally returned to perform during the summertime in Pasadena, where back in 1992, the Rose Bowl was the local stop on the Wish tour. That show built on the breakthrough of another of the “Holy Trinity” of L.A.’s favorite British alternative acts, Depeche Mode’s 1988 Music for the Masses tour (captured as the 101 live album and documentary) which established that these dark pop bands–with huge local radio support from KROQ–could reasonably fill the massive venue. (Smiths, as the third act of the Trinity, it’s your move–a massive reunion Rose Bowl show to put them all to shame?)

It’s testament to the deep and growing legacy of The Cure that this year’s return, as the curators of their own Pasadena Daydream festival, this past Saturday, featuring two stages of hand-picked bands, was too large to be contained within the Bowl itself. The one-day festival brought out a massive multigenerational, multiethnic (and multi-styled–goths, representing in full black regalia, of course–but not just so) crowds across surrounding Brookside golf course on a blindingly sunny late summer day. Though not without some infrastructure issues (long, slow lines to enter, a relatively unremarkable VIP area, a lack of stage views from some spots) a largely a positive, feel good energy surrounded the grounds.

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Live Review: Foals w/ Bear Hands @ Shrine Expo Hall, March 24, 2019

Live Review: Foals w/ Bear Hands @ Shrine Expo Hall, March 24, 2019

It’s rare when a band provides an accurate review of their own gig, in real time no less, yet Foals did just that on Sunday night, with front man Yannis Philippakis declaring late in the show, “This is the best fucking show we’ve played in Los Angeles!” Touring in support of their ominously titled new album Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1, the Oxford rock stalwarts stuffed a monster arena-sized live show into the Shrine Auditorium, the stage décor warmed up with some nice palm frond decoration.

The band – now the core of Philippakis (lead vocals, guitar), Jack Bevan (drums), Jimmy Smith (guitar), Edwin Congreve (keyboards) – lost an original member in bassist Walter Gervers but the live show not only remains intact but feels larger than ever, expanding to a six piece with Jeremy Pritchard stepping in on bass and adding percussionists Kit Monteith and Vincent Taeger.

The new album – which dials down the big rock riffs a touch in favor of some welcome new synth textures – expectedly figures prominently in the set and slots right alongside the older material nicely – “On the Luna” opens the set on a groovy note; lead single “Exits” is confidently held for late in the set; “In Degrees” is a right stomper, feels like lost 90’s house (English) football anthem.

Foals | foals.co.uk
Bear Hands | bearhandsband.com

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Live Review: Steve Gunn @ Teragram Ballroom, February 9, 2019

Live Review: Steve Gunn @ Teragram Ballroom, February 9, 2019

On the heels of his excellent new album, The Unseen In Between, his 8th overall, singer-songwriter, master guitarist Steve Gunn brought his bag of thoughtful tunes that defy easy categorization–they lie somewhere in a Venn diagram between pop, folk, psych–the percentages vary on a given track–to the Teragram Ballroom this past Saturday in a winning full-band performance.

Steve Gunn | steve-gunn.com

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Live Review: Snail Mail @ The Novo, January 23, 2019

Live Review: Snail Mail @ The Novo, January 23, 2019


It’s hardly a secret that the indie singer-songwriter space is being dominated by talented females these days. Right there among the front of the pack is Lindsey Jordan, who records under the name Snail Mail. Her live band is currently a study four-piece rock unit–rhythm section of Alex Bass & Ray Brown alongside a new gal on guitar whose name I didn’t catch. Looking smart in all black in her first return to L.A. proper (not counting Coachella ’18) since a pair of sold out shows at the Bootleg Theater last summer, she held the stage with confidence and real presence, effortlessly crushing her well-oiled set.

On the bill alongside Brooklyn art punk lads Parquet Courts at The Novo (separate review forthcoming), the show felt like a co-headline, with an eager crowd packed in on the floor for her early opening set—no mean feat getting to downtown for an 8:00 pm start on a weeknight, compounded further by extra traffic for the Elton John show next door at Staples Center. Her fans responded with approval at the start of each new song in the set, comprised from her acclaimed debut LP, Lush.

Snail Mail | snailmailband.com

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Live Review: Thom Yorke @ Orpheum Theatre, December 20, 2018

Live Review: Thom Yorke @ Orpheum Theatre, December 20, 2018

​In a nice bit of symmetry, Thom Yorke’s live show returned to Los Angeles for a pair of dates at the Orpheum Theatre December 19 and 20, almost one year to the date where his new solo incarnation debuted at the Fonda Theatre in 2017.

The production, billed as “Thom Yorke Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes,” is performed as a three-piece on a minimalist stage holding three podiums: Yorke, on various, er, modern (analog, musical) boxes, bass, guitar and piano, accompanied by constant collaborator/producer Nigel Godrich, on assortment of tabletop gear and a bit of bass guitar, along with artist Tarik Barri, who is a fully integrated member, creating a backdrop of gorgeous real-time computer-generated visuals set the the music.

The core of the set is divided into a tidy 1/3-1/3-1/3 between Yorke’s two solo LP releases and newer as of yet unreleased material. The show is a fulfilling hour and a half mix of Yorke’s propulsive and punchy beat-driven electronica, with the two musicians play off each other comfortably and the show has the feel more of a jam session than the common pre-programmed electronic set. The sounds alternate from sparser riff-based tunes (“Black Swan”) to more layered miasmic pieces (the brilliant unreleased “Not the News”). Yorke’s voice is the steadying constant, navigating atop and within the noise. It’s an engaging mix, keeping most attendees in the theater standing out of their seats for the majority of the show, awkwardly swaying and head bobbing to the rhythms.

Thom Yorke | tomorrowsmodernboxes.com
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