Jerry Lee Lewis Venue: the Theatre at Ace Hotel – City: Downtown Los Angeles – Date: November 24th, 2017 With a nickname like The Killer, Rock N’ Roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis certainly doesn’t need an introduction. Following a couple opening songs by his band alone, we were however offered a brief video prologue most likely designed to introduce him to a new – ...
Depeche Mode Venue: the Hollywood Bowl – City: Hollywood – Date: October 12th, 2017 As a long-time Depeche Mode fan – there are my favorite band along the Jesus and Mary Chain – I’ve had the chance to see Depeche Mode live whenever they were in town and this first night of 4 shows at the Hollywood Bowl featured one of their best live...
The Jesus and Mary Chains Venue: the Wiltern – City: Los Angeles – Date: May 19th, 2017 Celebrating the release of their excellent comeback album Damage And Joy, The Jesus and Mary Chain were eager to show they haven’t lost the raw energy that made their reputation. Opening with their new single “Amputation”, they then followed with two of their most emblematic songs, “April...
The Pixies Venue: the Theatre at Ace Hotel – City: Los Angeles – Date: April, 25th 2017 Following a big show at the Hollywood Bowl 3 years ago, The Pixies were back in town for two nights at the more intimate and gorgeous Ace Hotel theatre and from the moment they took the stage, it was clear Black Francis and his gang were still...
Poptone Venue: Swing House Studios – City: Los Angeles – Date: April, 22nd 2017 Making their live comeback at Swing House Studios on Thursday and Friday nights, Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets, Tones on Tail) delivered a fiery set supported by Mr. Haskins’ daughter on the bass. Intertwining cuts from these 3 bands’ discographies, plus Mr. Ash’s latest solo single and...
Hanni El Khatib Venue: Fingerprints Music – City: Long Beach – Date: February, 17th 2017 Celebrating the release of his excellent new album Savage Times with an in-store show at my favorite local record store Fingerprints Music in Long Beach, Hanni El Khatib certainly didn’t have it easy as a big storm was rolling into town, flooding streets and taking trees down. Unsurprisingly, this means...
Rival Sons Venue: Music Tastes Good – City: Long Beach – Date: September 24th, 2016 Local rock heroes Rival Sons were headlining the first night of Music Tastes Good, a new festival presented by KCRW and taking place downtown Long Beach (as a side note, it’s great to finally have a festival in Long Beach, which is my home). Opening with “Electric Man”, the guys delivered...
Artivista Venue: The Ford Theatres – City: Hollywood – Date: September, 16th 2016 A showcase for women that are both artists and activists, the Artivista show at the Ford Theatres offered a strong lineup including Los Angeles Chicano Punk icon Alice Bag, La Santa Cecilia’s La Marisoul, Tijuana No’s Ceci Bastida, Quetzal’s Martha Gonzalez, Artivista co-founder Maya Jupiter, Medusa, Oracle Jayne Doe, Irka Mateo, Ofelia Esparza,...
Wayne Kramer & Friends – Jail Guitar Doors Rock Out 3 Venue: The Ford Theatres – City: Hollywood – Date: September, 9th 2016 Once upon a time Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello as the Nightwatchman, the MC5’s Wayne Kramer and friends from Jane’s Addiction, Alice in Chains, Cypress Hill, Public Enemy, Ben Harper and more would gather every Tuesday night at the tiny...
Guns N’ Roses Venue: Dodger Stadium – City: Los Angeles – Date: August 19th, 2016 Reuniting for the first time since 1993, Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan came back in full force with a surprisingly powerful set that clocked in at almost 3 hours. While Axl Rose’s Chinese Democracy era and this year’s Guns N’ Roses’ Coachella set were said to not be...
New Order Venue: Shrine Auditorium – City: Downtown Los Angeles – Date: March 19th. 2016 Touring in support of their excellent new album Music Complete, New Order was in town turning the Shrine Auditorium into a crowed 80’s post-punk/dance club for a couple hours. The band included three original members, Bernard Sumner, Gillian Gilbert and Stephen Morris, supported by a second guitarist and a bass player taking over Peter...
The Cult Venue: Tower Theatre – City: Downtown Los Angeles – Date: February 2016 The Cult was kicking off their new tour with a show in Los Angeles on the day their new album Hidden City was getting released. Following their big show at the Hollywood Palladium just a few months before, the beautiful but worn out Tower theatre definitely offered an intimate and ghostly setting. The band delivered...
Duran Duran Venue: Hollywood Bowl – City: Hollywood – Date: October 2015 Celebrating the release of album Paper Gods, Duran Duran were kicking off their official US tour at the Hollywood Bowl. Opening with the excellent new moody track “Paper God”, they delivered a hit-filled show including most of their classics and a few new cuts. The crowd was ecstatic, dancing throughout the 80’s tinted set, slow...
Silversun Pickups Venue: Fingerprints Music – City: Long Beach – Date: September 2015 Celebrating the release of their excellent, electronic-tinted, new album Better Nature, The Silversun Pickups came down to one of my favorite local haunts, the great Long Beach record store Fingerprints Music – where I stop by every Friday – to deliver a stripped-down set. Singer Brian Aubert and Bass player Nikki Monninger offered energized acoustic versions of some of their...
Rival Sons Venue: BuskerFest – City: Long Beach – Date: September 2015 Rock ‘n’ roll revivalists Rival Sons have been enjoying quite a successful career around the world, touring relentlessly – including opening for emblematic bands such as Black Sabbath – but surprisingly they remain quite unknown on our shores. As a result, you can’t help feeling lucky when you get the chance to catch...
The Jesus And Mary Chain Venue: FYF Fest – City: Los Angeles – Date: August 2015 Of course you might argue that this is my favorite band and that I’m biased, but The Jesus and Mary Chain delivered by far my favorite set at FYF Fest, playing their debut album Psychocandy in its entirety along a few of their most emblematic songs including “April...
Bloc Party Venue: FYF Fest – City: Los Angeles – Date: August 2015 The British Post-Punk bank Bloc Party made waves 10 years ago with its album Silent Alarm and, as you could expect, the crowd was quite massive at the lawn stage. Delivering a tight set filled with hits such as “Helicopter” and “Banquet”, they however suffered from being too formal – their live cuts are...
!!! (Chk Chk Chk) Venue: FYF Fest – City: Los Angeles – Date: August 2015 While the Sacramento post-punk band !!! (Chk Chk Chk) gained recognition for its infectious dance-punk tunes – and ungoogleable name – seeing them live brings their music to the next level, mostly thanks to their goofy leader’s antics! Wearing a simple shirt and shorts that seemed way too small, singer Nic Offer...
La Femme Venue: FYF Fest – City: Los Angeles – Date: August 2015 Known for its new wave tropical tunes, French band La Femme is a fine representative of the French touch, singing breezy tunes with a charming French accent. The band delivered a fine set for their first FYF Fest appearance, seducing the audience with its dancy beats, joie de vivre and light...
Los Master Plus Venue: Grand Performances – City: Los Angeles – Date: July 2015 It’s not hard to believe that this tongue-in-cheek band from Guadalajara, Mexico has become an Internet sensation. Dressed in leopard cowboy outfits, they revisit popular songs such as No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak”, not only translating them into Spanish but also rearranging them. The result is, unsurprisingly, a lot of fun and the...
The Gaslamp Killer Experience Venue: Grand Performances – City: Los Angeles – Date: June 2015 Originally from San Diego and now based here in L.A., the Gaslamp Killer delivers an intriguing blend of world music, psychedelic and electronic beats. Performing as a DJ backed by a full band, Gaslamp Killer looks like some crazed 60’s guru and, unsurprisingly has quite a hippy following which came to the...
Robert Plant and The Sensational Space ShiftersVenue: The Greek Theatre – City: Los Angeles – Date: June 2015 Growing up in the 80’s as a New Wave kid rejecting anything heavy metal, I certainly didn’t develop your typical relationship with Led Zeppelin. I first got into Led Zeppelin through Led Zeppelin II, mostly thanks to “Whole Lotta Love”, a song which, to this day,...
