Pinback @ The Avalon (Feb. 21)

i went to this show w/ no expectations and luckily i enjoyed it if only i knew the lyrics i would have been to totally rock out



Pinback is exactly what i needed during that rainy and cold night as i had to endure the overpriced parking lots around the area...if it wasn't the twenty dollar lot next door it was the twenty five dollar lot across the street...i didn't have a ticket to the show before arriving so i was concerned it would have been sold out...so the parking lot attendant was kind enough to give me half of the twenty dollars if i wasn't able to get a ticket...what a nice guy.



i can't say i would attend another Pinback show but i know exactly when i'll be listening to Pinkback...the following list are top five occasions when i'll turn on some Pinback:
1. I'm driving east of this place to some unknown destination but by no means do i feel lost just happy to be where i once was.
2. overlooking one of the seven wonders of the world
3. while walking on the moon (just need to save another $19,999,999,80 in the bank)
4. on a rainy day
5. when life is taking another course which you thought you had already decided and you can't remember where you came from and where you're going and how you're going to get there...

i'm listening to Pinback right now.

"moses suppose his toses are roses"

i ended up smashing things saturday night so i haven't had the time to think of something to write about pinback...this blogging thing isn't as easy as you think...i'll have something promise i'll be watching the oscars tonight so i'm sure i'll be more inspired...thank you for your patience

Pinback @ the Avalon

i was so busy at work today that I didn't have time to write a review. i'm sorry i'll have something by the end of the weekend...that's if i don't go to any concerts :) thank you for your patience

this is a picture from my cellphone...as you can see i'm in amoeba and to my delight Liam Finn was performing...i was in the electronica aisle and Liam Finn was announced so I went over and I enjoyed a great in store performance...as you can probably tell from the picture well probably not there were only two performers on stage: Liam Finn and E-J but from the songs they perform it sounds like an entire band is on stage....Liam Finn creates an instrumental layering effect by using a looping effects pedal so he'll record (on stage) a guitar riff and loop it and then move to the drums record that and move back to the guitar for a badass guitar solo while E-J records the bridge...it's pretty cool to see and hear and i enjoyed it..



The surprise of the show: Liam and E-J ran off stage to look at the total lunar eclipse and of course they didn't leave the audience hanging:

..my favorite part liam comes back and pounds on the drums...sweet!


a Hives Jam

some of his songs i didn't get because i couldn't understand what he was saying (there was a lot of screaming of the lyrics) out of the six or so songs he sang there were probably two that caught my ear and got me moving...but for the most part i was glad to have seen them through a free in store performance at amoeba...just not my cup of tea.

upcoming concerts

well, unfortunately i won't be able to make it to DJ Shadow this evening I will be going out of town and if you live by airport codes like I do this sort of stuff just happens. I'm sadden because it would have given me the opportunity to hang out with some coworkers who I haven't seen in a while because of the wga strike...but i have hope there will be a next time...

nothing really substantial coming up except Cat Power at the end of the month. I'm excited except I've never been to a Cat Power concert...from what I read online she dealt with alcoholism and depression so every performance before she was intoxicated...she since gone to rehab and acknowledges Mary J. Blige as one of her heroes...an appearence on Oprah helped her get through rehab....proof once again the healing power of Oprah...cat power has released a new album but honestly her cover songs are what struck me...




and here's one of my favorite of her songs:

RocknRoll Dating

i'm on the fence whether i'm going to do it or not but it's probably a really great idea and since i have no valentine then probably a really really good idea

RocknRoll Dating

Von Iva

when the slow melodic sounds of your favorite crooner is a bit emotionally draining go to your playlist and play Von Iva...if you don't have Von Iva on your playlist it's time to climb out from under the rock and wake up:

and you're having trouble waking up just turn on a Von Iva song and you're good to go:

disco rock 'n roll with a lot of soul...unless you're a cylon you have no reason to jump up and down to Von Iva...as a little girl i dreamed of my own rock band (appropriately modeled after Jem! "glamour and glitter fashion and fame!")


...and now as a young adult seemingly wiser of cultural favorites i dream of my own rock band majorly influenced by Von Iva (even if a recent discover)..


there are times in your life when you're just bored of your everyday; when you're on the 405 north of la tijera or east of woodman on the 101; when you've stepped on freshly chewed gum or a pile o dog pooppie or just when you want to rock out you listen to Von Iva and all of the crap will just go away..

next performance: March 1 @ El Cid...have fun it's an experience just shake yo ass!

Jim Bianco

my first encounter with Jim Bianco happened at the Bordello Bar (which during the beginnings of the city of Los Angeles was a brothel)...when i was a little girl I had only two dreams: 1. That someday my children won't be judge by the color of their skin but by the content of their character; 2. I would meet and fall in love with the man of my dreams all on the same night....present day reality check: we're still working on the former and someday it WILL happen as for the latter I found him in the form of Jim Bianco...granted the meeting part hasn't officially happened but with certainty i've fallen in love. now granted i haven't had the slightest idea about the character of Jim Bianco but i know his music and if his music is any indication of Jim Bianco then i'm sold (no pun intended) ...and so it happened on the eve of the next morning the very sweet music of Jim Bianco bestowed upon my ears, mind, body and soul...his raspy voice deteriorated from a chain-smoking-bottle-swigging evening off the wagon all the while hunched over any old upright...now i can't promote any of his actions but you get the whole great horn spoon package with Jim Bianco...just sexy.

members of the group include: Professor Beeg (clarinets, accordions, trumpets, producer, etcetera...), THe P.I.P (skins), Joe Easy (doublebass), The Ubiquitious Kenny Lyon (guitars), Matty D (sax and what-nots),

March 4, 2008 Jim Bianco is releasing his new album, "Sing," which i'm uber excited about he will also appear (where i won't be too far behind) at Amoeba Records Hollywood In Store Performance. can't say to go because Jim Bianco's music is best served in a dimly-lit-feel-the-heartbeat-of-the-person-standing-next-to-you -while-holding-a-jack-and-ginger kind of venue...Amoeba just isn't that intimate but still worth going to. I will also see Jim Bianco at the Hotel Cafe Tour on April 12th at the Henry Fonda Theater (did i mention my disdain for the ticketmaster convenient charges)

The Airborne Toxic Event

for some reason i've never felt any urgency to see a band that has a residency at a venue cause I figured they'll always be there next week...however my school of thought changed when I first saw The Airborne Toxic Event @ Spaceland. unfortunately, I only saw this band once while they had a residency at Spaceland during the month of January. Life got in the way of good music which forever now there'll be a hole in my heart for those missed shows...it's only february and i can say that The Airborne Toxic Event is THE band of 2008...and any other band will have to fight to the death to even try to be considered. The Toxic Airborne Event has all the making for greatness and that it should be included on a future Guitar Hero's setlist. when the end of the world comes you can hope that deep within the rubble of all that has been destroyed there will be a single ipod which will hold the key answers of humanity...music from the likes of The Beatles, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, Nirvana, Tupac, and The Airborne Toxic Event...

Ingrid Michaelson

I first heard of Ingrid Michaelson sometime in February of last year (show was sold out at The Hotel Cafe so I didn't even get to hear her) since then I've been to almost every show she's had in Los Angeles (which for most artists it's a hard fight to get Angelinos out of their niche) - maybe borderline obsessive for me? still, whatever side of the law you stand on I enjoy Ingrid Michaelson's shows...the cute banter between Allie Moss (accompanist) and/or audience (however repetitive) makes the show even more enjoyable...but let's not steer away from the music. Ingrid Michaelson is a singer slash songwriter. No If's, And's or But's about that she knows her stuff. Her increased visibility into the mainstream and often sold out shows makes me want to say, "that was soo five days ago" but you can't cause her music keeps you wanting more...caveat: if you plan on attending one of her shows be prepared to participate there's no room for those who stand, stare and just listen...really there's no room...i'm rather a small height girl and I can't stand anywhere without getting a drink spilled upon or an elbow in the eye..seriously where do all these tall people come from and what did they eat/drink as a child? sometimes you wish that she would perform in a larger venue space but the intimate smaller venues is the only way to listen...the intrigue, danger, and romance of Ingrid excites even the most skeptical...

imagine this if you will (based on a true story): there's a place that exists that can only be best described in a Hunter S. Thompson novel which I have never read but only somehow it has been engraved into my memory... the novel describes of a place with which I expect all my visits to be and anything short of this is considered a disappointment. my character and bank account were often tested in which i partook in activities i normally wouldn't do...from casinos to buffet lines to games of chance to those chances of the "game" (i'm thinking of those moments of hubris in which "i'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her") just short of immoral and illegal I ended up in a hallway of excessiveness being bombarded by everything frightening except at this moment i was stopped by this faint sweet sound through an in-ceiling speaker well over 30 feet away which through this chaos can be not only relieving but imperative to my sanity...soon after "The Way I Am" finishes I came back to my senses and I regained hope that the fortune cookie that I received two days ago will come true: "You will live long and enjoy life."


beginning march 6th - april 12th Ingrid will be joining the rest of the amazing singer/songwriters of today on The Hotel Cafe Tour personally i'll be attending the april 12th show at the henry fonda theater (if only ticketmaster didn't bend me over and force the convenient charges on me I'd be really excited about going)

the following is an excerpt from a ichat conversation between a friend and I about attending our first Ingrid Michaelson show:

ME (4:26:00p.m.): so the first time i planned going to ingrid was at hotel cafe
erik and i got there
and there was a line outside the door
most were female...
so we waited almost an hour
STEVEN (4:26:15p.m.): cha ching
ME (4:27:00p.m.): and ingrid started to sing
so erik and i decided to go somewhere else
but from what i heard from the alleyway she sounded pretty good
so i vowed i'd go to one of her shows
do you think there will be some single "sensitive" guys for me?
there has to be, right?
STEVEN (4:27:15p.m.): well i am going, so there must be others
STEVEN (4:31:00p.m.): wow no snide comments
ME (4:32:00p.m.): sorry

Alex & Sam @ Tangiers

this is why i enjoy taking the time to find new music because once in a while I find music that I will listen to for the rest of my life: Alex & Sam (website)
I don't know about you but I categorize my music accordingly (just a sample of my playlist titles): Music for Running, Music for Dancing, Music for Partying, Island Music (if i was deserted on an island what music would i bring and i'd be happy). Alex & Sam make great music together they're definitely on my Island Music Playlist...not only do you get Alex & Sam you get an entire band that brings the accordion, a trumpet, drums, vocals, bass, and keyboards ...if you don't already know I'm biased towards music that hits your soul...Alex & Sam's music hit you so hard you'll have to take many moments to remember to breathe.



they have a residency at Tangiers on Hillhurst so for the entire month of February you have a chance to check out this band ($10/ticket)...you will not be disappointed...The Tangiers has a back room for their live shows it's what you would expect from a speakeasy without all the secondhand smoke, organized crime and corruption...
as bad as your day could ever be the music of Alex & Sam make it better..they're what's good on this at sometimes ugly world...if you haven't heard of Alex & Sam you will and very soon..



the end.

i also wanted to post this second video to show the kind of message Alex & Sam give..it's strong but it doesn't enrage you...it makes you think and feel all in a cool, calm and collective state: