LA Weekly Detour Festival Review

I don't know if having my favorite band headline the Detour Festival was a good or bad thing. On paper, it looked like a day full of new bands to check out culminating with the icing on the cake, The Mars Volta. What happened though, was that I was so anxious to see Mars Volta I wasn't really feeling any of the opening bands!

Waiting for the Volta


So, in brief, Datarock were still wearing the same red track suits. If their new song was any indication of the rest of their forthcoming album, I must say "I'm glad to have seen them when...".

Datarock


Bitter:Sweet were pleasingly KCRWish-thanks for the tickets BTW ;)

Bitter:Sweet


Hercules and the Love Affair provided disco beats that bled from one song to the next. They were a great way to warm up our dancing shoes.

Though I've been intending to check out Gogol Bordello for quite some time, when it came down to actually watching them, I just wasn't feeling the gypsy punk amongst the aforementioned disco beats and the anticipation of the Volta.

I'm sorry Teresa, I know they're your new favorite but Cut Copy were passable-at least in the festival setting. They essentially played backup to their CD. What happened to LIVE MUSIC??

Mars Volta. What can I say? I'm partial. They played a beatiful set beginning with a 30 minute Drunkship. The band has been known for providing sub-par performances at festivals but that was not the case here at all. With family and friends-including John Frusciante-watching from the side stage, TMV played as if they're year of constant touring was all practice for this final US performance.

A new song was introduced before Wax Simulacra which wasa along the lines of the mellow Asilos Magdalena. The band were in great spirits with smiles all around. Omar was the maestro of the evening-he apperaed as if he should have had a conductors wand instead of a guitar at times by the way he controlled the direction of the improvisations.

And for those who say they can't ever hear Ikey's keys or Ardrian's horns, they were both given extended guitar-less solos during the closing 30 minutes Goliath jam. Long live the Volta! It wasn't all jams though, "old" favorites Viscera Eyes, Meccaamputechture, and The Widow were played along with Ouroboros and Ilyena

Ouroborus


New Song! and Wax Simulacra

Nice surprise at Molly Malones

I had gone to watch a co-workers band play and sat down to watch the band before them. They were a nice rock/jazz/singer-songwriter quartet called The Jane Carrey Band. Well, it turns out that it was Jane Carrey's birthday and her dad Jim was sitting at the table next to us!

What was great was that no one bothered him about autographs or pictures. It's very nice to see that in this city people can still go out to enjoy family events despite their recognition (see Flea's attempt to get a beer in my last post).

Jane Carrey Band

John Frusciante & Flea Rock The Troubadour

My improv-jam-god wish list just got shorter Thursday evening when Jon Frusciante and Flea spontaneously announced a secret show at the Troubadour.

The first act of the night, Weave, seemed to be riding on the "So bad we're good" coattails of No Age. I'm not buying it. They belonged in a high-school quad.

The middle-child though, was of another school entirely. Warpaint is one of the freshest acts I've seen in a while. Fronted by three beautiful girls (not that that matters, right?), their music was complex, ethereal, and grooving all in one. I was captivated and can't wait to see them again.

Warpaint


Flea and Frusc were in the house from early in the evening. Between Weave and Warpaint, Flea attempted to get himself a beer walking through the floor and was immediately mobbed by fans looking to update their myspace (facebook) defaults with cell-phone pictures of them and their favorite Chili. Needless to say, Flea went thirsty for a little while.

When the jammers finally took the stage (as if the Troubadour wasn't always on schedule-another reason why I love them), the venue was sold out to it's 300 person capacity. Frusciante was donning a full Jesus beard and grandpa pants hiked up to his belly button. But more importantly, he had his beautiful vintage Strat. He and Flea gave each other a count-off and the jam was on.

The first song lasted nearly 7 minutes and set the tone with a complex rhythm that was trademarkedly groovy at the same time. The amazing Stella Mozgawa of Mink provided the drums alongside Josh Klinghoffer who was primed to give us some spaced out sounds. Sadly, Stella's thumping ruptured her bass drum about 25 minutes into the set. Her tech swapped out her drum with Josh's but that left a noticeable void coming from his kit. Then, sadly, his effects seemed to not work for the rest of the evening either.

Once these technical difficulties presented themselves, John seemed to become a bit distracted but still managed to fill all our heads with his sweet sounds. The entire set was around 50 minutes and like all great bands, no encore was provided-though that could be more to do with half of the musicians performing with broken instruments.

Tickets were readily available at the door thanks to the Troub only allowing fax or cash orders. THAT is how secret shows should be done.

John and Frusciante - Intro Jam

The truth about the Republicans lies this week

from Truth Fights Back:

This is what’s wrong with our politics. At the Republican convention, speaker after speaker just flat-out lied, and our news media isn’t calling them on any of it. YOU CAN’T GET THE STORY FROM THE PUNDITS.


They smeared Barack Obama repeatedly and told lies big and small.


Here’s just a few of them:

- Sarah Palin and John McCain claim that Barack Obama wants to raise our taxes, but the vast majority of families are way better off under Barack Obama’s plan. JOHN MCCAIN ACTUALLY WANTS TO TAX OUR HEALTH BENEFITS!!! Barack Obama’s plan only raises taxes on people with individual incomes over a quarter-million dollars.


- Sarah Palin and John McCain lie and claim that their plan is better for people like us. They don’t cut taxes for us hardly at all, and wipe out that cut with their plan to tax our health benefits!!!! Barack Obama actually cuts middle class taxes to try to restore fairness that was lost under Bush.


- Sarah Palin lied when she said Barack Obama had authored “no major law, not even in the state senate.” This is just a bald-faced lie. In fact, just in the US Senate, Barack Obama passed the most sweeping reform package since Watergate, and reached across party lines to pass, with Senator Lugar, legislation to help keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists and, with Senator Coburn, legislation to create a revolutionary database that makes government more transparent and accountable.


- Sarah Palin and John McCain continue to lie about Barack Obama’s energy plans. They keep pushing more drilling as the main answer to our problems, when it won’t do anything to lower the price of gas. And then they claim Barack Obama, in the words of Palin, “is against producing [more energy]. Barack Obama is for producing more clean energy and ending our addiction to oil. He has the most comprehensive energy plan of any Presidential candidate in history.


- The Republicans keep attacking Barack Obama’s plans for Iraq, even though the Iraqi government AND THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION just signed an agreement that follows the plan Barack Obama has been advocating for months.


- It’s the same thing on negotiations and diplomacy. Sarah Palin attacked Barack Obama for holding the position that the Bush Administration has belatedly been forced to adopt: holding direct talks with Iran. We’re too strong a country to be afraid of talking to Iraq.


Let’s pass this along and let everyone know what’s really happening.

Time to play catch up.

It seems like I haven't done anything in the last 2 months. Looking through my camera though, I guess I'm wrong. Here's a recap of what's been going down.

July 24th - Tokyo Police Club @ The Hammer Museum

Hooray for free shows. Plans to stay home and catch up on some R&R? Sorry. There is just really no excuse not to go see the free music at the Hammer. This past Thursday Canadians best mis-named band, Tokyo Police Club, played to a packed house in the courtyard for the last of this summer's I Also Like to Rock series hosted by Indie 103.1. People unfortunate to have exercised their "Who goes to shows on time?" philosophy sadly had to wait in line on Wilshire Blvd (and wrapping around the corner) until TPC were halfway through their set.

Openers, Afternoons, were like a bad version of The Arcade Fire and Modest Mouse without any of the quirkiness that make either band enjoyable. Do they really need 2 drums? I guess if you're nly half as good as you're supposed to be...


Tokyo Police Club played all their sprightly, youthful, anthems in pretty much the same manner as their show at the Troubadour a few months back. Nothing new in their set but they were still enjoyable to watch. I still feel as though their songs titles should all be appended with an '(unfinished)'. All in all...well, all in all, it was free. And the John Lautner exhibit is amazing!

Kids from Tokyo


Balcony Seats


July 19th - Glow at the Santa Monica Pier

Complain all you will but I thought it was a good idea. Sure, way too many people showed up, the DJ's stopped playing at 2 (I mean who was really planning on staying till 7 am?), and don't get me started on the traffic. I took the bus and it was still bad. I can't imagine what it must have been like to drive with parking lots charging $25. The interactive art was quite cool in my opinion though. In particular the shadow puppets on the moon and the voice activated visualizer projecting on the fountain were worth getting my shoes sandy on this Saturday. And...it's the first time the SM Pier has ever been allowed to host an event. History people, history. The Dark Knight will still be in theaters.

The crowd and I @ Glow


Jack in the Moon


THe new Ferris Wheel

Beck Cancelled due to Schedule Conflict??

What happened? Did Tom spring a "must-attend" Dianetics seminar on the group? Oh well, you don't want to piss off Xenu.

Two Girls at the Wiltern! with Beirut as Background

Dear Drunk Blonde #1 and your friend Drunk Blonde #2,
I wanted to apologize on behalf of everyone at the Wiltern Friday night who thought they were there to see Beirut. We didn't realize it was just another bar with a live band and a $30 cover charge. I'm sorry if Zach Condon and the rest of his magnificent Balkan-esque orchestra was preventing you from hearing your own voice. Thankfully you're able to shout loud enough so your friend can hear you! Also, Thank you for helping make our roads safer by completing all of your texting during Beirut before you got in your car and tried to do it while driving home.

Did you happen to meet the guys to my right? They had very loud voices too. It's a good thing because they had a lot to say as well. I think the four of you would have a grand ol' time discussing how many beers you were able to drink and how tubas kind of sound like farts.

Watching the development of this one time bedroom composer was very inspiring. For such a young musician, Condon scraps the rote pop music formula and substitutes the rote guitar and bass, for trumpets, ukuleles, mandolins, and French Horns. His art seems to belong in a waltz ballroom just as much as it does in the Wiltern.



What I could hear from Beirut over my neighbors was wonderful. The pit section was aglow with the displays of digital cameras and cell phones when Beirut took the stage at 11:00. They/He opened with Nantes and followed it not long after with the other single from The Flying Cup Club, A Sunday Smile. The rest of the evening was sprinkled with tunes from both of his albums with Maestro Condon at times merely conducting his talented orchestra. The first of two encores demanded by the raucous crowd began with Postcards From Italy.

I'm glad the two blonds appeared to finish their conversation and I'm glad they were able to share the concert with whomever was on the other end of their Blackberry. Because after all, what other purpose does going to a show have other than being able make your friends who aren't there envious?

Postcards From Italy
.