The Mowgli's at The Roxy

Show: The Mowgli's (+Terraplane Sun)

Venue: The Roxy- Los Angeles, CA

Date: 5/8/12

Show #31

Ahh The Mowgli's. A friend of mine highly suggested I came with them to see one of their favorite bands, The Mowgli's. Given I'm always excited to find new bands to love, I agreed to go, and I'm so glad I did.  The Mowgli's are an 8-piece (yes, eight) band from Southern California that are all about having a good time. The show was  an album release party for their debut album "Sound the Drum". From beginning to end, the entire venue (myself included) turned into a non-stop dance party. Their music is so contagious and fun, you physically can't stop moving, smiling and singing along. They're a group of close friends who pride themselves on spreading the love and that definitely radiates on stage. I highly suggest you check them out!

I recorded 3 songs from that night, Slowly Slowly , Carry Your Will and We Are Free.

I got to The Roxy in time to see 2 opening acts. One of which was Samuel Larsen, the winner of the Oxygen TV show, The Glee Project. Not having ever seen the show, I didn't know who he was and for the life of me couldn't figure out why there were hoards of screaming girls freaking out over him. Glee aside, he's actually a very talented singer/songwriter. He even covered a Coldplay song (video here).

While I was impressed with Samuel, nothing could have prepared me for the band to follow him. I saw them setting up, not thinking anything other than "please don't suck", which is what I say to myself about any opening band. When they actually started singing, I was talking to a friend, but the second I heard the lead singer's voice, I stopped mid-sentence and gave my undivided attention to what was happening on stage.

Their name is Terraplane Sun, also from Los Angeles, and they sound like the Black Keys had a baby with Cage the Elephant and grew up in the South. The lead singer's voice is refreshingly different, which is what first drew me into them, but the variety of different instruments used (harmonica, mandolin and trombone to name a few) and catchy lyrics with swag are what turned me into a fan. Their song "Get Me Golden" has been featured in a few movies recently such as 21 Jump Street and What to Expect When You're Expecting. You can see the video I recorded of it here.

Now for photos!

Samuel Larsen

Terraplane Sun

The Mowgli's

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros at The Greek Theater

Show: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Venue: Greek Theater- Los Angeles, CA

Date: 5/4/12

Show #29

It was opening night at The Greek Theater in LA, and I was so excited to be seeing Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. You couldn't have asked for better weather on that Friday night either. To top off the pre-show excitement, I scored the coveted front of the line parking spot for stacked parking, meaning I wasn't going to have to wait an hour for cars around me to leave after the show in order to pull out. High fives all around!

I had seen Edward Sharpe once before, on the Railroad Revival Tour with Mumford and Sons last year and they were so great, I had to see them again. In case you're not familiar with them, you may know their hit song "Home".

They look like a bunch of vagabonds who fell off a train somewhere in another era, and I love them for that. Edward Sharpe is a messianic figure of the imagination of lead singer Alex Ebert who according to Alex, "was sent down to Earth to kinda heal and save mankind...but he kept getting distracted by girls and falling in love." That pretty much sums up the persona of the band right there.

Opening the show was actually a former member of the 10+ piece band of Edward Sharpe, Aaron Embry. Given he was part of the band, I thought "He must be good!". Right? Wrong. As you may have noticed, I can usually find a bright side of just about any artist and find a way to enjoy myself, but I really really struggled with Aaron. The purpose of an opening act is to get the crowd warmed up and ready to go for the headliner, and Aaron more just put them to sleep, and just made them feel sorry for him. You needed a chainsaw to cut through the awkwardness in the air when he was on stage.

(Photo credit: Rozette Diaz of Restless Cities)

He seemed visibly nervous and unsure of himself. It was also just him, and no backup band. Just him and a guitar. There are few even well established artists that can pull off the solo, acoustic, singer/songwriter act at such a big, historic venue such as The Greek, so for a new act like Aaron, I think it was just a poor choice to throw him up there. Once that train wreck was over, it was time for the main event!

As I mentioned before, the one other time I saw these guys was on The Railroad Revival Tour, which if you're not familiar with that tour, it was one giant party on stage at all times, and SO much fun. So going into this show, that's what I had expected. This show was unfortunately a little slower paced than that one. Still good, I guess I just had some high expectations of the show that were not met.

(Photo Credit: Black Vinyl Magazine)

I think it was a the cadence of the show that made it weird. Alex at one point said that they had no set list for that night, they were winging it. Which if I were to be told that beforehand I would have thought "That's awesome!". But instead it just made for long drawn out moments of silence to give time for discussion after each song to figure out what they wanted to play, which then took setup in order to get the appropriate instruments in place. If they had written out a set list, I think they could have gotten at least 5 or 6 more songs in, that's how big the gaps were. It really interrupts the flow of the show when that happens. A great song will finish and you just wanted it to keep going, but instead it was talking, random banter, and stagehands running around.

One of the best moments was when Alex jumped off the stage to dance with his mother:

Wow this is getting long. Ok so in summary, I'd still suggest you see them live if you've never had the chance. Here are a few videos from the show that I recorded:

Fiya Wata

That's What's Up

Mayla

(Written about Aaron Embry's Daughter, Mayla)

Their latest album Here, is out now!

James Morrison at Avalon

Show: James Morrison
Venue: Avalon- Los Angeles, CA
Date: 5/3/12
Show #28

I'm going to let this post be mostly photos, but just in case you're not familiar with James Morrison, let me give you a little background. He's a singer/songwriter from the UK. He was most well known for his song "You Give Me Something" in 2006.

He put on a great show! I was really impressed with him and taken back a bit due to the fact I was expecting this scraggly/nerdy shy guy because for some reason that's the impression I get from his first album cover from 6 years ago. I guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover because he was charming, hilarious and had a cool swagger about him, far from the perception I had built up in my mind. The one pre-notion I had about him that was correct though, was that his powerhouse of a voice would be just as good, if not better in person. Highly recommend you see him if you get the chance!

By the way, you'll want to make it to the bottom of the post for a little surprise. :-)

Videos recorded:
You Give Me Something
Up
One Life
Slave to the Music
In My Dreams
Broken Strings

His opening act was a band named HoneyHoney, a country/folk group from Los Angeles. An odd choice I thought, since it didn't seem like the same fan base between the 2, but people enjoyed it. They're a little too country for my taste, but appreciate that they seem crazy talented, and I see why people loved them. I recorded a video of their song "Ohio".

Oh yeah, and this happened

M83 at Fox Theater

Show: M83
Venue: Fox Theater- Pomona, CA
Date: 4/12/12
Show #23

This was a super last minute show for me. I got a call from a friend at 7pm the night of the show saying he had an extra ticket. I was in Downtown LA at the time, and not being one to turn down a free show, I accepted and hauled ass down to Pomona and made it in the nick of time!

Downside is no pictures, just one video:

If you're not familiar with the name M83, you may know their big song "Midnight City". Watch the video regardless, it involves creepy children with special powers escaping from a mental institution. 

If you ever go see M83 live, don't worry about being close to the stage, everything is so dark, you can't see anything anyway. Maybe just don't get tickets in a seated area because when you stand, people around you get upset, but I couldn't care less and did it anyway. :-)

 They have a cool setup on stage with lasers and lots of smoke, and keep things dark which  plays to the overall mystique of their music. Fun show, check them out if you get a chance!

Mat Kearney at The Canyon Club

Show: Mat Kearney
Venue: The Canyon Club- Agoura Hills, CA
Date: 4/5/12
Show #22

So unfortunately, it looks like I accidentally deleted all but ONE picture I took at this show. I remember deleting them thinking I already uploaded them, but I was wrong. Bummer! Oh well, they all looked pretty similar to my other post on him from The Mayan, so if you really need to see more of him, you can go there.

I managed to get the set list.... by climbing on stage afterwords to grab it :-)

Luckily I took some videos and didn't delete those before uploading!

All I Have

Runaway Car

Ships in the Night

You Can Count On Me

Talking about the show "Ancient Aliens"

Matt Nathanson and Kelly Clarkson at Nokia Theater

Show: Matt Nathanson and Kelly Clarkson
Venue: Nokia Theater- Los Angeles, CA
Date: 4/3/12
Show #20

I've been a fan of Matt Nathanson for a while now, so I can't believe this was my first time seeing him live. But to make it even better, he was performing at the wonderful venue that is Nokia Theater, opening for one of my favorite ladies, Kelly Clarkson!

I have to say that he completely exceeded my expectations! His set was so much fun! He totally had the audience in the palm of his hand too. He definitely won over the audience with his adorable personality, sense of humor and his feel good pop rock vibe. Oh, and he's pretty damn sexy too. He's quite the hip shaker when he performs, and I thank him for that.

*Sigh*

He sang all the songs I wanted him to which included Run, Room At The End of The World (which included a mash-up of I Just Wanna Dance With Somebody and most importantly Wedding Dress. Click on the song names to check out the video I recorded of each.

Once he was finished, it was time for Kelly Clarkson to come out. Wow wow wow is all I can say. That girl just has it all. She's one of the most talented, down to earth, humble performers out there today. She's not afraid to make fun of herself, and gives it 1000% when she's up on that stage. I have so much respect for her and hope she'll be putting out new music for many years to come.

This show had the most surprise guests i've ever seen! See below for all the videos:

You Love Me
When You Believe (Feat. Tamyra Gray)
Till the World Ends (Britney Spears Cover!)
Leave the Pieces (Feat. Michelle Branch)
Don't You Wanna Stay (Feat. Blake Shelton)
Because of You (Feat. Reba McEntire) 

Check out Matt Nathanson's album "Modern Love" out now!
mattnathanson.com

The All American Rejects at The Troubadour

Show: The All American Rejects
Venue: The Troubadour- Los Angeles, CA
Date: 3/30/12
Show #19

Friday marked my 3rd, and sadly final All American Rejects adventure for that week. This was the one I had been looking forward to the most. The Troubadour is one of my favorite venues in LA, so to see one of your favorite bands there, in such a small intimate setting is just the best.

I won't say too much about this show and let the pictures speak for themselves, but if you've seen All American Rejects live before, you know just how amazing they are live. One of the best live acts around. They put on the type of show where you feel like you can't sing loud enough, jump high enough, or scream loud enough. You're a crazy sweaty mess after an AAR show, and it's fantastic.

Videos recorded:
Heartbeat Slowing Down
Fast & Slow (Feat. Audra Mae)
Beekeepers Daughter
I For You

 W/ Audra Mae (As heard on Fast and Slow)

And of course, I got a set list!