Ray LaMontagne graced The Greek with one of the tightest, most memorable performances its stage has seen. The Grammy winning singer-songwriter is somewhat akin to an athlete, moving quickly from one song to the next, with limited audience interaction and a fixed, center-stage presence. I have little information on LaMontagne, but my uneducated guess is that he’s a shy perfectionist. His band is flawless, his staging and styling were crisp, and the live mix was perfectly on point. It’s clear from the song lineup that LaMontagne was there to promote his new material. Instead of sprinkling his hits throughout his set so as to aid anticipation and distraction, he strategically placed his most-loved tunes in the center of the show, offering an acoustic rendition for fans to get a new take. In a rare, vulnerable moment, he even advised the audience not to clap too much for the hits, because it would “hurt his feelings.” There’s something understated and magical about Ray LaMontagne. He deserves every ounce of the success he’s acquired. I came to watch a good show at the Greek, and I got it.
Downtown Los Angeles’ premiere shopping and dining destination just outdid itself with a free outdoor concert by Fool’s Gold during its FIGat7th Festival. The LA based band mixes Western Pop with African rhythms, and they’re worth seeing for their electric guitar player alone. The five member band is now composed of vocalist/bassist Luke Top, guitarist Lewis Pesacov, drummer Garrett Ray, multi-instrumentalist Brad Caulkins, and percussionist Salvador Placencia. Check out two of their videos below, and before you say so long to summer, be sure to check out the last installment of FIGat7th on August 22 for The Belle Brigade.
In what can only be described as epic, Crash Kings visited The Bootleg last night for an unforgettable event. The high-energy band is led by lead singer Tony Beliveau, who’s joined by his brother, Mike Beliveau, on bass and Tommy Roslak on drums . The power-trio’s unique sound is largely a result of Tony’s very cool vintage clavinet, which the modern rockers use in place of a traditional guitar. According to Tony, “There’s quite a learning curve to playing it and bending all the notes correctly,” but that’s [his] baby and [his] go-to keyboard.” As one of the only rock bands to forgo a lead guitar, their unrivaled style is equally matched by their live performance. Tony is a mesmerizing lead, often changing his style to accommodate the venue, the crowd, and his dedicated devotees who will always get a fresh, live show.
While waiting for the concert to start, I ran into a loyal fan who commuted from Fresno to see her “favorite band” whom she discovered after a friend sent her a link for “Mountain Man,” a number one song off their successful debut album. It’s not surprising that she’d be unfazed by such a long commute. To see that two hour show again, I’d drive double the distance.
Crash Kings is currently working on their third album, and judging from the live material they played last night, it’s going to be good. Visit the Crash Kings website for more information on the band, and listen to “Mountain Man” below.
The irony of Demi Lovato being told to “lighten up” by the chick who “artistically” vomited on Lady Gaga during South By Southwest, is that she’s hardly in a position to educate anyone on normalcy. According to Millie Brown, her and Lady Gaga were simply trying to challenge one’s concept of beauty by vomiting on each other, and were not “glamorizing bulimia,” as Demi suggested. I have a few things to say. First, if Lady Gaga moved people with her music she’d make the news for something positive, instead of desperate shock & awe tactics. Second, if I were “art,” I’d be offended. Despite the now popular belief that all art is subjective, I’d like to hop off the crazy train and definitively suggest the opposite. Art is supposed to be aesthetically pleasing, and I find it extremely haughty for Lady Gaga to think for even a moment that she deserves any type of treatment in that category. Third, Demi Lovato is correct. Shoving your fingers down your throat for any arbitrary purpose is irresponsible, and I need not elaborate. Why? Because it’s obvious and I’d rather not waste my time on peons looking for attention. Lastly, I find the idea of combining genres to be captivating (i.e. ART AND MUSIC). It’s too bad Lady Gaga has no idea how to execute it. I’d post a video of the event in question or a simple picture of Lady Gaga, but I wish to no longer promote her in any capacity. This article will be the end of it.
Combined concerts always confuse me, especially when the two leads expose each other’s limitations rather than add to their strengths. Though Sting and Paul Simon are formidable titans in their own right, their attempt to align had some small issues. Simon’s sweet tone gets swallowed by Sting’s powerhouse voice, and Sting’s inability to achieve Simon’s vulnerable, quiet conviction leaves him exposed.
The duo began the show with a brief introduction into their attempt, with Simon telling the audience that by the end of the tour, he hoped to “have the body of an Adonis,” and to have sex for “hours on end.” Sting’s audience interaction was less jovial, with the mysterious music man confessing his humble respect for Simon shortly after Simon exited the stage, along with his rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘America.’ Unfortunately, that was extent of their audience engagement.
While I might have picked someone like James Taylor to be Simon’s touring partner, there’s a few easy fixes that might make this a more cohesive collaboration, rather than what felt like a competitive showdown of living legends. First, because Paul Simon and Sting are simply unable to effectively harmonize together, they should exchange verses in each other’s songs and severely limit the harmonies. This tactic was more widely used in the second half of the show, which made it exponentially better than the first. Second, if each artist is going to sing each other’s song, then the arrangement should be changed to accommodate their individual vocal style. Sure the audience expects the original, but there’s plenty of picks in their solo set to fulfill that expectation. It was; however, extremely interesting to see Sting sing, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water,’ given its intense vulnerability and the simple fact that it’s an Art Garfunkel vocal staple. I desperately want to ask Sting if he felt tremendously challenged by the idea of taking a different approach to his larger-than-life style. It was certainly an exercise in restraint. Lastly, the live mix had problems. While Sting’s voice can be easily heard among his band, Simon’s cannot. This can be easily rectified, but it’s something that should be taken into consideration with two vastly different voices.
Despite these aforementioned issues, this show is certainly worth seeing. Absent some collaborative conundrums, the thirty plus song set gives you two for the price of one, with Simon singing his legendary staples, including, ‘Graceland,’ ’50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,’ ‘Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes,’ and many more. As for Sting, he tore the house down with ‘Message in a Bottle,’ ‘Roxanne,’ and ‘Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.’ It’s not often that two of the world’s most iconic artists share a stage, so take advantage of the momentous milestone in history and purchase your ticket. For more information visit, Sting’s website, Paul Simon’s website, or their tour website.
By an overwhelming demand, San Francisco natives, JOURNEY and the STEVE MILLER BAND have added a L.A.-area show at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on Saturday August 2nd in addition to their concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Not only will the bands be performing a second show but Tower of Power will also appear as a special guest.
“We are all so looking forward to playing again for you in 2014 with the great company of the Steve Miller Band and Tower of Power,” said the members of JOURNEY. “It’s going to be a San Francisco musical delight from the past and present, moving full speed ahead into the future!”
Tickets for the newly added show will go on sale Friday February 7th at 10 AM and will be available through ticketmasker.com and livenation.com.
Debuting at #1 on the Billboard charts, singer-songwriter Jack Johnson has announced his 6th studio album titled From Here To Now To You headlining a world tour including performances in South America, Australia and Europe. Throughout the tour, Johnson will be joined by artists such as Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Amos Lee, Michael Kiwanuka, ALO, and Bahamas. Since founding the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation in 2008, Jack Johnson has offered solutions to support sustainable local food systems as well as plastic free initiatives by collaborating with over 125 community groups across North America through his All At Once campaign. With this campaign, Jack Johnson had offered to match donations up to a total of $2,500 per group. Concert-goers can also participate in his global green effort by taking environmental action with local non-profit organizations, sharing environmental commitment photos, and can even enter to win a chance to watch Jack Johnson’s performance the from the stage. For more information about his green efforts or to buy tickets to see it all in action, visit jackjohnsonmusic.com for more details.
It’s always the kindest ones that have the biggest bite. William H. Macy visited Kelly and Michael to promote Rudderless, and he ranted about One Direction instead. In a hilarious summary of his daddy duties, Macy recounted his experience at a One Direction concert with his daughters, which entailed watching Harry Styles eat a sandwich on stage, among other things. Watch below and enjoy.
“I’m tired of seeing the old rich guy in the front row with the hot girlfriend. And the hot girlfriend, you know, with her boobs hanging out,with her beer in the air, just screaming the whole time. The old rich guy is standing there like he could[n’t] care less. It’s a very common theme at Kid Rock concerts.” Kid Rock, on why he’s withholding tickets to the first two rows at his concert for die-hard fans only.
Ray LaMontagne graced The Greek with one of the tightest, most memorable performances its stage has seen. The Grammy winning singer-songwriter is somewhat akin to an athlete, moving quickly from one song to the next, with limited audience interaction and a fixed, center-stage presence. I have little information on LaMontagne, but my uneducated guess is that he’s a shy perfectionist. His band is flawless, his staging and styling were crisp, and the live mix was perfectly on point. It’s clear from the song lineup that LaMontagne was there to promote his new material. Instead of sprinkling his hits throughout his set so as to aid anticipation and distraction, he strategically placed his most-loved tunes in the center of the show, offering an acoustic rendition for fans to get a new take. In a rare, vulnerable moment, he even advised the audience not to clap too much for the hits, because it would “hurt his feelings.” There’s something understated and magical about Ray LaMontagne. He deserves every ounce of the success he’s acquired. I came to watch a good show at the Greek, and I got it.
