Eulogies at the Hotel Cafe

It was Dangerbird Records night at Hotel Cafe with La Rocca, Eulogies and Ed Laurie. Eulogies was celebrating the release of their new EP Tempted To Do Nothing.

La Rocca




The Baillie brothers of La Rocca played a short but sweet set debuting some tracks from their new album OK Okay. Bjorn Baillie (Vocals/Guitars) was strumming his acoustic guitar and demonstrated his broad vocal range with "Non-Believer" as his brother Simon (Bass) impressively held down the background vocals, foot stomping and the melody driven bass line. Bjorn would later hop over to the piano for "Love Under Key" that resonated well with the attentive Hotel Cafe audience. If they were this good without two members of their band, I will need to check them out with the full line up.

Eulogies





I have reviewed Eulogies four times now and have never been disappointed by any of their sets. The stage was cramped as Eulogies has augmented their line up by adding Drew Phillips (Guitars) for another shade of sound. Tempted To Do Nothing is their new four song EP that is available as an awesome vinydisc that is a combination of analog(Vinyl) and digital(CD).

Eulogies exceeded the usual decibel levels at Hotel Cafe with a fully plugged in set. Peter Walker (Guitars/Vocals) led the charge with "Bad Connection" off their new EP as he played his Gibson hollowbody guitar plugged into an Orange amplifier. A few tracks from their debut album were mixed into the set as I enjoyed "Running In The Rain" and the jangling guitars of "Life Boat". The strategic wandering guitars of "Is There Anyone Here?" meshed well with Peter's lyrical content. Eulogies is heading out for a couple of shows back east for CMJ.

Ed Laurie





Having recently seen Jose Gonzalez and his nylon string guitar wizardry, I didn't know if Ed Laurie could measure up. I quickly realized that Ed is in a class by himself with his earnest heart revealing sincerity. Meanwhile In The Park is Ed's latest album and "Julia" was captivating as his songs fit the mood of Hotel Cafe. "Down To The Sea" made you forget about his nimble guitar work as Ed's voice pulled in the audience. There was a cone of silence after Ed finished his set because everyone seemed speechless. Dangerbird Records has a lot of good things going for them.

The Fratellis at the Troubadour

It was ironic that after just coming back from the U.K. that four British bands would be playing on a Monday night in Los Angeles. The options included Amy Winehouse at the Roxy, Bloc Party at the Wiltern, The Horrors at the Echo, and The Fratellis/The Pipettes at the Troubadour. I opted for The Fratellis/The Pipettes. I had seen adverts all over the underground promoting The Fratellis album Costello Music. La Rocca opened the festivities with their Irish anthems led by Bjorn Baillie rocking out on his Epiphone Casino running thru an Orange Amp. I enjoyed their set and after some research was not surprised that they were on Dangerbird records(home of the Silversun Pickups). If Dangerbird had stock I would probably invest in it due to its recent signing of Sea Wolf and all of its other bands on the roster. I will pick up La Rocca's debut "The Truth" soon. The Pipettes came up next. As the Amateur Chemist, I was impressed by the name The Pipettes as it hit close to home. The Pipettes came up with their '60s inspired Motown girl pop. Some of the songs played were "I Like a Boy in Uniform", "One Night Stand" and "Your Kisses are Wasted On Me". It was interesting to note that Jon Falcone was wearing a Blink-182 shirt to match his Mark Hoppus Fender Bass. If I told you about a band that was featured in an ipod commercial and the lead singer/guitarist had an afro you could answer Wolfmother or The Fratellis and be correct. The Fratellis recently took home the NME award for British Breakthrough Act and are invading the states. John Fratelli did a great job ripping out the riffs on his Fender Telecaster and thru a Hiwatt stack. I also detected a Small Stone phaser that he would use to sprinkle some color on his solos. It was a straight ahead rock show with little to no banter in between songs. When John did talk though, it was a thick Scottish accent that was difficult to decipher in the first place. Stand out tracks included "Chelsea Dagger", "Flathead" and "Henrietta". I think they might have been a little road weary from the blitzkrieg of South by Southwest but I am still looking forward to their shows opening for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in May.