La Roux @ the El Rey 10.19.09

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Just a warning that Elly has been feeling ill and can only perform a short set tonight...so give it up for La Roux!"

FUCK.

I was really looking forward to dancing it up tonight...especially after all that free champagne and dessert we consumed at Capitol City (Monday night sports bars, guys just wanna buy you drinks after their team wins).

I had a lovely "plot of real estate" to the left of the stage and was rarin' to go. Alas, Elly Jackson, with her signature red peacock hair and enlarged cameo necklace, announced after the cheers and hollers that she "flew all the way to Los Angeles and can barely sing" ....but put on a great show regardless.

La Roux is a duo band (tonight there were 4 on stage) with singer Elly Jackson and synth player Ben Langmaid. The band's name originates from Elly's red hair and French heritage (roux is the French male form of "redhead"). Their music is a total 80's flashback, folks...a real guilty pleasure. Who doesn't like to wear sparkles and dance to synthpop?

She opened with "Quicksand"...then went to "I'm Not Your Toy"..."Saviour"...."Colourless Color" and ended with her two hits "In For The Kill" (in which she experienced her first "dance randoms" on stage) and "Bulletproof" in which a little girl dressed in a green and blue bubble unitard sang along - and knew all the words!

Little girl in bubble outfit singing "Bulletproof"

San Francisco's Treasure Island Music Festival (Day 2)

Treasure Island Music Festival was a perfectly sized music festival. The two stages took turns with the featured bands, making it easy to meander between the two and not miss a set. Other than the music, the festival hosted a wide variety of entertainment: Mister Gnogiurzauchshoff's Traveling Midway of Curiosities and Delights (an old fashioned carnival setup with a twist), a ferris wheel, odd characters roaming about (pirates on stilts, monsters, etc) and even a hair salon – just to name a few.

Initially, we were planning to attend both days of TIMF, but a scheduling conflict prevented us from making Day 1 (we heard MSTRKRFT stole the show). Here are highlights from Day 2:

Thao Nguyen & the Get Down Stay Down impressed us. They are great musicians...and Thao can really get down!

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes once again blew us away (see earlier post from their 9.22.09 show at the El Rey). This is what live music is about.

Grizzly Bear sounded ah-mazing.

Beirut sounded different. Great, but different. You can tell that Zach Condon is collaborating more with band members and changing things up (Beirut started as a solo project).

Explore more: www.treasureislandfestival.com

Dr. Dog @ the Fonda. 10.2.09

The crowd was rowdy and impatient on Wednesday night at the Fonda while waiting for Dr. Dog to take the stage. Leading up to this moment, we lounged on the rooftop area, not paying much attention to our fellow Dr. Dog fans.

Now on the GA floor awaiting the band's set, we begin to look around and realize that the crowd's comprised mostly of bros in flannel – hence the loud chanting and foot stomping.

"They're definitely classic rock inspired...but with beautiful harmony like the Beatles," we overhear one fan describing the band to a newcomer.

As the curtains pulled back, a jungle appeared! The band was immersed in a garden of tall grasses and foliage, some members wearing goggles and peeping from behind picket fences. It was a fairy nursery that meets a Vietnam movie set.

They opened with a song we weren't familiar with, which got us thinking maybe we've been too wrapped up in their 2008 album, Fate…(but how could you not)? The bros love them some Dr. Dog! Throughout the show, they made hand gestures and even started a “Bro Train” when the band played “The Breeze,” putting their arms around each other and swaying to the music.

Dr. Dog brings out a bro's sensitive side.

Amadou & Mariam. Henry Fonda Music Box. 10.2.09

After listening to Amadou and Mariam for over 5 years, we were incredibly excited to see "the blind couple from Mali" live. We were surprised to see the Fonda as empty as it was when we arrived. Amadou, Mariam and Co. were fantastic and kept the crowd moving with their upbeat tunes. Although the crowd was small, they were one of the most enthusiastic and dance crazed bunches. We hope it doesn't take us another 5 years to see these guys perform again.

Blitzen Trapper. El Rey. 9.28.09

So many things go right at Bon Iver Sunrise Concert

Special Guest Bloggers Ian Chili & Erin Gogger cover the Bon Iver Sunrise Concert at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery (9.27.09)

At 6:04 am I received this text from an East Coast friend: “You live the most random life.” This was of course after I told her that Buddhist Monks were blessing me as I sat in a cemetery. Yeah it was random, and it was very LA, but it was also one of the best things that I have ever done. For those of you who were not lucky enough to get tickets I would hate to say you didn’t miss anything, but ya did. -Erin

It’s not very often that the perfectly advertised evening goes perfectly as advertised. I was psyched for this concert from the moment I read about it in my friend’s Facebook status update. I ended up hanging with people I knew, but not intimately. At least not in a “let’s hang out in a cemetery, drink and smoke” kinda way. But it didn’t matter. This night was about experiencing something new. – Ian

Justin Vernon, tried his best to mastermind the evenings’ events as to maximize his morning performance, but he got an assist when Mother Nature decided to add her two cents to an already eventful evening. The gates opened at midnight and shortly after a DJ set composed by Mr. Vernon himself either lulled you to sleep amongst the others taking their eternal rests or primed you for what would be a night you would not soon forget. The fog rolled in at 0 dark 30, right after the screening of Bottlerocket, during the second DJ set and shortly before the moment I realized I needed to start drinking water (for the record, the latter never actually happened but should have…the discount beer from Trader Joe’s and red bull vodkas were just hitting the spot).

The next 2 hours were spent discussing what to do for the next 2 hours, getting more alcohol and finding inventive ways to drink it. The final solution was Asshole. We ended up telling more stories than playing cards, but we somehow managed to drink just as much with every story ending in a social. We also managed to make our way through the mist to the port-a-potties, glo sticks and bird calls were involved, and if you had forgotten for some reason that you were in a cemetery the security guard yelling please keep off of the headstones, brought it right back to you.

At 5:30ish Buddhist Monks came to bless the crowd and the stage. At first we thought that this was going to be weird, and the kung fu jokes began, but after a few minutes their chanting just mesmerized us and set the stage perfectly for Bon Iver. At this point, we had an overwhelming sense of accomplishment though we were too far gone to know what we actually did. It wasn’t til B.I. was setting up that it finally hit us. All that matters is that we’re here.

The concert was flawless. There was a special appearance by Justin’s old band Megafaun and Bon Iver perfectly delivered every song in their repertoire; the sun came up as best as it could with the marine layer blanketing us and everyone finally got a chance to see who had been camping around them the whole night. It was a sea of flannel, American Apparel hoodies and beanies in case you were wondering. As we headed for the exits, the only thing left on anybody’s mind was a pillow. Or perhaps a bloody mary, depends on whom you talk to. (We get 500 BLOG points for using “whom” correctly!)

You can try to recapture the magic on youtube.com if you want. Videos are already popping up. I’ve watched a half of one and it’s hard to capture the scope of the event on a crappy video camera from the back row. Luckily our friend Cam took some pictures.

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes @ the El Rey 9.22.09

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes were everything we expected and wanted their show to be. The nearly dozen strong band had such zeal for each song and the crowd could not have encouraged them more. The El Rey was packed and the energy high.

Lead singer Alex Ebert, in his classic white jeans, jumped and danced around the stage, his voice unfaltered. Jade Castrinos was absolutely adorable and had a childlike excitement for every song. The band as a whole moved around the stage with ease and excitement while being orchestrated by Ebert.

After the encore and the band clearly wanted to call it a night, Ebert did not want to leave the stage. Nico (the guitarist) came back out on stage for “Brother.”

The posse were closing their first tour and happy to be back home in Los Angeles. There was even an onstage proposal (not within the band)! It was a superb homecoming!

The LA Ladies Choir opened