1,2,3 @ The Silverlake Lounge and The Like @ The Echo (05/10/10)

free concert(s) monday night special. the silverlake lounge has become the new el rey theater. the el rey use to be good to me except now gordon has resigned, greece is about to go under, and the 2011 microsoft worldwide conference is coming to los angeles...bad. but there's hope with the likes of the smaller music venues/bar. there's sort of a think globally act locally mentality that preserves the intentions of the real musicians and not of the shallow industry. i've never been into the stadium shows..painting by the numbers and not connecting to the people is not my cup of tea. unless, its green and with a drop of honey i'm not drinking it. unless, it has alcohol.

fortunately, as of late, the silverlake lounge has been bringing quality shows to their makeshift barstage. more so than just a dive bar but has become a bona fide music venue. which can be hard if there's already more than one music venue to choose from in the area (the echo, echo curio, echoplex, spaceland.) too much of a good thing is rare in this dog eat dog world. try asking toys r us, yahoo, bed bath and beyond, etc. but they all work. especially for me. the itinerary of the free concert(s) monday night special included 1,2,3 @ Silverlake Lounge 9pm then The Like @ The Echo 10pm. a mile apart from each other it was conceivable but in los angeles anything is possible so much could happen to interfere with the plan. exploding crotch bombs, alien invasions, earthquakes in the valleys, lead singer of phantom planet having pizza at the table across from you (one of the aforementioned did occurred that night..to my witness). the first stop was the silverlake lounge to see 1,2,3. they were the first of the evening. but the only band i wanted to see live on the show list. i'll be honest i had only heard their first song on their myspace music player, Confetti. there's soul, there's rock, there's something special with this band. so i proceeded to the silverlake lounge. they mentioned this was their first show and we were there to pop their live show cherry. except i really can't pick up what their putting down because they were really good. the first time is full of mistakes and regrets..oh wait just me? Or maybe i just couldn't get pass the idea that the lead singer (Nic Snyder) looked a little like joaquin phoenix and ed westwick of gossip girl..you can see why they couldn't do no wrong (heeheexoxoheehee). maybe it was their first Los Angeles show. this pittsburgh band did alright. Nic was from a band called Takeover UK which i'm anxious to hear and criticize. but that's for another time. thumbs up for 1,2,3. they'll be back June 30 to play at the bootleg theater (jury's still out whether i like this venue or not..but maybe i'll check them out).

The next show was The Like at The Echo. I saw more of The New Fidelity which was fine except i wasn't to thrilled about their music. eh not for everyone. honestly, how many songs can you really have about California. don't get me wrong my favorite states out of all but i have lot more going on in my life than the california sun. So then The Like was on stage. fun good stuff. didn't stay for the entire set but they're here for the month of may w/ a residency at the echo. i highly suggest you make it out. if you heard The Like before better take a listen to them again because they're not what the use to be.

enjoy the music.