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
