Jane's Addiction at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre

Check out my photos of Jane's Addiction at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre over at OC Weekly.

My review is also on OC Weekly.

The Big Pink at the Detroit Bar

Check out my photos of The Big Pink at the Detroit Bar over at OC Weekly.

The Big Pink at the El Rey Theatre

The Big Pink easily made one of my favorite albums of 2009 along with The Horrors and A Place To Bury Strangers. The El Rey Theatre had slowly filled to capacity to see the US debut of The Big Pink with support from Crystal Antlers and IO Echo.

IO Echo




IO Echo continually impress with their live performances. They have come so far from the first time I saw them back in August 2007. They most recently had the honor of opening for the final Nine Inch Nails show at the Wiltern. On this night, they rolled out three new songs "Chelsea Smile", "Poison Apple", and "The Leaving Kind (William)".

"Poison Apple" was a dark and moody tune accentuated by the plumes of smoke on stage. IO (Vocals) seemed cramped on stage, so she took her vocals up the the ceiling when she climbed the scaffolding on the side of the stage. "She's So Heavy" and "Addicted" were performed as tightly as ever with the final closer being "Doorway". I really think its time they release these songs as a proper full length album.

Crystal Antlers





Crystal Antlers manage to have different line-ups every time I catch their shows. Two guitarists, then one guitarist, and most recently a new keyboard player. The one consistent factor is that Damian Edwards (Percussion) is still the most entertaining bongo player on the scene with his drum stick twirls mid beat.

Crystal Antlers worked through most of their debut album Tentacles. I have to commend Johnny Bell (Bass, Vocals) for crushing his Fender Telecaster bass too hard as he snapped his "E" string. Johnny wins the prize for the quickest restring job in a live concert setting all year. I hope the downsizing of their label Touch & Go won't impact the release of any future albums.

The Big Pink






The wait seemed to take forever. Suddenly, the curtains drew and the loud smack down drum beat and shrieking guitars of "Too Young To Love" blasted the audience. Blinding strobe lights and chest rattling bass immediately gave the impression that The Big Pink were going for a darker almost industrial vibe.

Robbie Furze (Vocals/Guitars) had some insanely modified Fender guitars (one Telecaster and one Mustang) and a slew of pedals that I couldn't make out from my vantage point. Milo Cordell (Synthesizers/Programming) had a full table of pedals to accompany his laptop and keyboard controller.

The chirping synthesizer squeals of "Frisk" funneled into a drone of guitar feedback while Leopold Ross (Bass) hammered away on his Gibson Thunderbird bass. I give credit to Leopold for pulling double duty having shredded with his Gibson SG earlier in the evening with IO Echo.

"Velvet" had a more tactile sensation as the bass and drums overpowered Robbie's crooning vocals but the crowd up front rhythmically pulsed to the beat. I couldn't quite discern the hooky synthesizer swells "At War With The Sun" but did hear Robbie's cutting distorted guitars.

Robbie did thank the crowd for waiting so long since they were having some technical difficulties. I had heard that they had lost some of their samples/patches on their laptop and had to recreate a lot of sounds prior to the show which had to have been extremely nerve wracking. This could possibly explain the minimalist versions of some of their songs.

The ice cold guitar lines of "Crystal Visions" was propelled by the throbbing electronic pulses of synthetic bass. "Count Backwards from Ten", "Tonight" and "These Arms" closed out their main set. I assume they might have lost the samples for the highly synthesizer processed "Golden Pendulum" which was omitted from the setlist.

People immediately started bouncing up and down upon hearing the drum shuffle of "Dominos" that unravels into its sexy synth hook. The volume seemed to be a tad bit higher during the song as you could feel the kick drum. I expect it to be pretty crazy when they play the Detroit Bar tonight.

The Big Pink Setlist at the El Rey Theatre (11/18/09)
"Too Young To Love"
"Frisk"
"Velvet"
"At War With The Sun"
"Crystal Visions"
"Count Backwards To Ten"
"Tonight"
"These Arms of Mine"
"Dominos"

IO Echo at the Echoplex

It is still refreshing to see that the Indie 103.1 Check One.. Twosdays at the Echoplex was not cancelled in the wake of Indie 103.1 going off the air. The line-up for this night was an eclectic offering of three bands that managed to draw a large crowd with IO Echo headlining the bill.

JJAMZ




JJAMZ is not an electro rap group like their name may suggest. Instead, JJAMZ is acronym for Jason Boesel (Drums) from Rilo Kiley, James Valentine (Guitars), Alex Greenwald (Vocals/Guitars) from Phantom Planet, Michael Runion (Bass) and Z Berg (Vocals) from The Like. Even though their myspace page dates back to November of 2006, this was their first show.

In the sound department, JJAMZ pulls influences from their respective bands for a rambling laid back feel good batch of tunes. I can't imagine how they could find time to rehearse let alone record, but JJAMZ has such a high caliber of musicians that they pulled off their performance like cagey veterans. Z Berg and Alex traded off vocals for a number of songs, but Jason and Michael also had their turn with lead vocals on their own songs. It will be interesting to see if this becomes a full time project, but judging by the smiles on all their faces at the conclusion of the set, you will see JJAMZ again.

Zaza






Something was familiar about Zaza. It seems like I had just saw them somewhere. It turns out my instincts were correct as Jennifer Fraser (Bass) was helping out the Raveonettes at the Henry Fonda a few days ago. I failed to mention in that review that Jennifer did an excellent job with her Rickenbacker bass lines interlocking with Heisenflei's rock solid drumming.

Zaza doesn't stray too far from the sound and setup of the Raveonettes with Danny Taylor (Vocals/Guitars) and an accompanying drummer with a stand up kit. Sonically, Zaza mesmerized the audience of spindles of delay soaked floating guitars and humming bass lines. The vocals were slightly buried in the dense mix of guitars but forced the listeners to concentrate more on the music and carry the audience away. Danny turned his Yamaha hollowbody guitar into a dream machine with the help of his Line 6 Delay pedal.

It honestly took me two songs to be completely sold. Zaza would strategically bleed each of their songs into each other, which kept the audience in trance like state. Zaza has released an EP Cameo which is available as a free download from their website. I urge you to download this now before you have to pay for it later. Zaza will be playing with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart on February 7th at the Mercury Lounge.

IO Echo




Things keep moving in a positive direction for IO Echo. My history with IO Echo dates back to August 2007 when they played the Viper Room for Indie 103.1. Io Echo continued to impress when they opened for the Duke Spirit at the Hammer Museum.

IO Echo unveiled an assortment of new songs sprinkled in with their usual live staples. I have been waiting for a full-length album for quite sometime but you can download "Addicted" from itunes. One of the things that I noticed off the bat was that IO Echo continues to refine their songs and added a lot of nuances to help improve their songs. "Addicted" was especially solid with Leopold Ross (Guitars) adding pick scrapes of noise to parts of the song.

I unfortunately didn't catch any of the titles of the new songs, but the songs traveled various sonic avenues that make it more difficult to pin down their overall sound. IO (Vocals) was as captivating as ever, sprawling across the stage and climbing the scaffolding. "I'm On Fire" was another refined song that burned down the audience. IO Echo will be back on the club circuit March 20 at the House of Blues San Diego and March 21 at the House of Blues Anaheim.

The Polysics, Io Echo and Black Gold at the Roxy Theatre

A triple bill of buzz hit the Sunset strip in the form of Black Gold, Io Echo and The Polysics. It has been awhile since I dropped by the Roxy Theatre but the huge line to get into the club alerted me to the fact that I wasn't the only person aware of the buzz.

Black Gold




Did you happen to catch the free itunes download of "Detroit" by Black Gold? Eric Ronick (Keyboards/Vocals) and Than Luu (Drums) are the masterminds behind their genre-jumping project Black Gold. They recently released an EP Tragedy and Legacy on Red Bull Records.

I was immediately impressed on how tight they were as a relatively new band. This could be attributed to Than's precise drumming as he was mixing it up behind the drum kit. Eric was energetically rocking out on his Rhodes piano. The crowd was familiar with "Detroit" and its combination of jangling guitars and layered vocals. Their live performance had a sharper edge compared to the slick production on their recorded output. Black Gold will be back with The Polysics and Jaguar Love on November 14th at the Glass House in Pomona.



Io Echo




I last caught up with Io Echo when they opened for The Duke Spirit at the Hammer Museum. It was easily the best performance by the band that I have witnessed dating back to August 2007. Io Echo raised the bar even higher as they won over the crowd with a haunting set.

"Enter To Exit" set the mood early as Leopold Ross (Guitars) was whipping his hair around on stage while crouched over his guitar. Io (Vocals) has honed her stage presence to the point that it is difficult to take your eyes off her. The bass was popping for "Addicted" as the guitars crawled across your skin. "She's So Heavy" was tighter than ever with everyone chiming in for the chorus. IO Echo debuted a new tune that had been produced by former tour mates She Wants Revenge. They capped their set with another new song "Scare Tactics" that quickly moved to the top of my favorite Io Echo tunes.


The Polysics






The Polysics destroyed the Roxy. It was chaotic. When members of the audience are dressed up in orange jumpsuits, it is guaranteed to be an interesting show. Hiroyuki Hayashi (Vocals/Guitars) was a ball of energy that could not be contained as he thrashed away on his Epiphone SG guitar dotted with energy dome Devo stickers. Kayo (Synthesizers) looked and acted as cool as a Terminator as she mechanically alternated between her Nord Lead and Roland vocoder keyboard. Fumi (Bass) could barely keep her straight-bar sunglasses on as she was banging her head all night.

The Polysics put on show that is guaranteed to make you pogo. We Ate The Machine is their latest album released by Myspace music. The electronic stuttering demented beat of "Iron Rocks" launched things into a wild frenzy as I was already won over by Kayo's vocoder vocals. I couldn't understand a word of "Peach Pie On The Beach" but was jumping along as Kayo busted out some pom poms to get the audience to cheer along. I don't know how they kept up the energy that long for an eighteen song set.

Their cover of "My Sharona" was hilarious and the younger leaning crowd seemed to know the song very well. "I Ate The Machine" was tackled with punk ferocity. The Polysics also hit my soft spot for Moog synthesizers when they played "Moog Is Love". I couldn't have agreed more. "Digital Coffee" had a girl in the front of the audience with headbanging away in her Pikachu costume. The synthesizers roared during "Electric Surfing' Go Go" as the temperature in the Roxy was quite warm. If you like synthesizers, Devo or just a good time, go see The Polysics.

The Duke Spirit at the Hammer Museum

I really regret missing The Duke Spirit when they opened for Queens of the Stone Age at the OC Fair back in 2007. The Duke Spirit teamed up with IO Echo for a packed to the rafters night at the Hammer Museum for the "Also I Like To Rock" series sponsored by Indie 103.1.

IO Echo





IO Echo is becoming a force to be reckoned with. Indie 103.1 has been supporting IO Echo dating back to August 2007 when I saw them at the Viper Room when they played a Monday Night Check One..Two showcase. When I caught them in November of 2007 at the Viper Room, I was impressed by their growth as a band. On this particular night, IO Echo completely won over a new audience with a fine tuned set of their post-punk goth spiked tunes. Leopold Ross (Guitars) was a whirlwind of hair as he bashed on his Fender Telecaster and ventured on top of the speakers. IO (Vocals) was all over the stage with the only restraint being self-entanglement with her microphone chord. Salvatore Romano (Keyboards) had a two layered keyboard setup consisting of Korg Triton and a Roland keyboard to add various layers and pads to their ethereal tunes. "Addicted" was a crowd favorite with its driving semi-fuzzed bass line and tight wire guitars. "I Want You (She's So Heavy) was also warmly received as their set came to a close all too soon. IO Echo needs to release a full-length album soon to continue to capitalize on their stream of steady buzz.

The Duke Spirit


Liela Moss (Vocals) is so captivating that it hard to take your eyes off her. While Liela is striking in her own right, The Duke Spirit has the musical punch to knock you off your feet. Neptune is The Duke Spirit's latest musical offering that begins with the hymnal "I Do Believe" before shifting into overdrive with the roaring "Send A Little Love Token" that sounds like a Queens of the Stone Age song if they were fronted by a female. This might be due to the fact that their album was produced by Chris Goss who has worked with Queens of the Stone Age associated project entitled "The Desert Sessions".


The Duke Spirit did not relent during their performance at the Hammer as they nailed "Lassoo". A combination of Gibson Firebird and an Epiphone hollowbody guitar dialed in the appropriate fuzz and blues tones that were impressive as they meshed together. Luke Ford (Guitars) and Robin Ford (Guitars) had an impressive collection of fuzz pedals incorporating a Fulltone Soul Bender, Pro Co Rat distortion pedals and an extremely rare Colorsound Tone Bender.


Liela continued to work the crowd as the ever present tune on Indie 103.1 "The Step and The Walk" was absolutely joyful. Delicate chords and twinkling melodies of "Sovereign" gave the audience a chance to breathe as Liela displayed her impressive vocal range. "This Ship Was Built To Last" was a droned out fuzz masterpiece that ebbed and flowed like the morning tide. "Neptune's Call" and "Cuts Across The Land" capped a perfect evening of free fuzzy rock courtesy of Indie 103.1.