The Movies at Spaceland

Malcolm Sosa (Vocals/Guitars) from Rademacher might have been serious when he said Timothy James (Vocals/Guitars) from The Movies wouldn't take the stage unless there were 300 people at Spaceland. Luckily, Spaceland had filled out as The Movies celebrated the release of their album Based On A True Story.

Sarah Negahdari and the Sad Solids





As a faithful fan of The Happy Hollows, how could I not appreciate the acoustic fueled Sarah Negahdari and the Sad Solids. I should also mention that I unfortunately missed the Happy Hollows Imaginary EP release show but now is my chance to mention you should download their EP and tell five friends about it in the process.

Sarah evoked flashes of Kaki King like guitar wizardry on her Taylor acoustic guitar as she furiously fingerpicked out the notes during the set. Sarah was fighting a cold but still managed to put together a solid set with a few dedications in the process. Sarah dedicated her cover of "Heart of Gold" to Nikon D3 packing LAist contributor Jeff Koga. Sarah also dedicated a song to the "Hollowbodies" which I previously highlighted in my review of their Detroit Bar show. I envision a time in the future where The Happy Hollows will play a show opening for themselves as Sarah Negahdari and the Sad Solids.

Your chance to check out a plugged in set by The Happy Hollows is rapidly approaching as they are playing the ridiculously loaded Christmas Sweaterfest at the Echoplex on December 13th with The Pity Party, The Deadly Syndrome and much more.

Rademacher






Rademacher made the trip down from Fresno to enrich the Movies residency. Rademacher wrapped up their successful Echo residency in October as they celebrated the release of their EP ERA released by JAXart Records.

Malcolm fired up his Epiphone guitar for the scattered notes of "Arkansas" augmented by the propelling bass groove of Greer McGettrick (Bass). "If U Know" was my favorite song from the set as Greer and Malcolm combined their vocal talents. I was hoping to hear "What Yr Used To Back At Home" but did enjoy the woozy jangle of "Cool Kids". Rademacher will be hitting up Spaceland again on January 17th.

The Movies






My first viewing of The Movies dates back to February 2007 when they opened for Sparta at the Echo. I was highly intrigued to say the least. The Movies were in a festive spirit celebrating the release of their album Based On A True Story.

The Movies need to be experienced live in their full 3D IMAX glory. The typical role of frontman is shattered as Timothy James (Vocals/Guitars) was a caged animal unleashed. Karate kicks over the microphone stand, autographing female audience members, leaving the stage to get beers and twirling jumps are just some of the many weapons in Timothy's arsenal.

Despite Timothy's antics on stage, one cannot overlook the musical genius in their songs. Mark Pez (Guitars) used an Oberheim Voltage Control filter and an Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron pedal to alter his guitar tone to fit their delightfully bizarre tunes. Opening with the lofty swagger of "Timothy James", The Movies had Spaceland in the palm of their hand. The penned setlist took a turn as Timothy broke a string on his lefty Rickenbacker guitar and they opted for "If I Had The Cash".

Brian Cleary (Keyboards) was behind his throne of keyboards including his trusty Kurzweil PC 88 while Jessica Cove (Bass) brought the thunder with her Danelectro bass. One talented guy handled the drums. "When I Was In Nam" will automatically make you laugh every time as Timothy would reenact the lyrics on stage, as he crouched behind some amps as if he was stuck in a foxhole. The Movies play Spaceland every Monday this month and I will check them out again on December 22nd. You only have a few chances left to see The Movies for free.

Afternoons at Spaceland

I was flattered when Spaceland took my review of The Afternoons to promote their Monday residency at Spaceland. I was hearing reports that the Afternoons had packed Spaceland every week. I can confirm Spaceland was packed on this particular night.

The Boxing Lesson



The Boxing Lesson are space rock purveyors hailing from Austin, Texas. They were an intriguing trio with just guitars, keyboards and drums. Paul Waclawsky (Vocals, Guitars) had a Fender Jazzmaster dialed into his Roland Space Echo with a bizarre Triwave 4ms pedal in his signal chain. Paul's guitar tone would switch from light breeze to Texas tornado as he had a wide spectrum of frequencies to cover since they don't have a bassist. Jaylinn Davidson (Synthesizers) would not be outdone by Paul as she had a Korg MS2000, Novation keyboard and a MiniMoog Voyager. Jaylinn had her left hand on the Moog playing bass lines while using her right hand for atmospheric pads, and leads. The Boxing Lesson played a majority of songs from their new album Wild Streaks & Windy Days. "Dark Side Of The Moog" had hints of Failure, The Album Leaf and Airiel as the band soared through different galaxies with dense melodies. It was good to see Texas representing with some space rock.

The Happy Hollows





Was this The Happy Hollows Spaceland residency? No, but The Happy Hollows played liked it. The room was nearing maximum capacity as the Happy Hollows blazed through a set that was peppered with new and old songs. Some of the new songs such as "Labyrinth" and "Shark" were atypically typical tunes that whetted my appetite for a new album from the Happy Hollows. "Colors" was a crowd favorite as all band members chanted the various colors named off in the song. Sarah Negahdari gives Juliana Hatfield a run for her money as she wielded her Gibson SG like a battle axe. It is up for debate if the band is trying to keep up with Chris Meanie (Drums/Vocals) or if he is trying to keep up with them. Charlie (Bass/Vocals) crushed his vocals on "Delorean" to slam dunk the ending of their ferocious set. I see many big things ahead for the Happy Hollows once they release their next album if the thunderous applause and chants for an encore are any indication at the end of their set. I am excited to see them again in a few days with Bloodcat Love at the Detroit Bar on July 7th.

Afternoons





I got a feeling watching Airborne Toxic Event at Spaceland that they were going to break out into the national scene. The Airborne Toxic Event were playing as if their life depended on it. I got this feeling once again after watching Afternoons demolish the stage at Spaceland. Afternoons charged right out of the gates with "Love Is A Western Word". Claire Mckeon (Vocals) voice crosses over into Theremin territory with its astounding vibrato. Afternoons mastery of the guitar jangle was evident during "The Intervention of Daniel Fields". The gentlemen of Afternoons have intently studied the playbook of Johnny Marr and John Squire. "Say Yes" rivals Arcade Fire in intensity of performance as some members of the Silversun Pickups assisted by banging on some drums. I also have to mention the multiple keyboards on stage including an Arp String Ensemble. "Line Em Up" had Claire's haunting background vocals meshed against interweaving guitars and bashing drums. The Afternoons will be opening for Tokyo Police Club at the Hammer Museum on July 24th. Tokyo Police Club better bring their "A" game or Afternoons are going to steal the show.

The Movies





The late night slot at Spaceland can often have some people make their way to the exit. This was not the case for The Movies. It is hard to believe I haven't seen the Movies since February 2007 at the Echo. Timothy James (Vocals) is a natural born front man that commands your attention. Sporadic jumps, a cadre of bizarre faces and jerky moves are some of the many tricks in Timothy's arsenal. Jessica (Bass) seemed to have lost herself in her performance as she pounded on her Danelectro bass. Brian Cleary (Keyboards) has augmented his Kurzweil keyboard with another Yamaha keyboard as he pulled out a variety of intriguing patches to go with their quirky songs. "Rock In The Slingshot" welcomed the audience into the bizarre indie rock of The Movies. "Nam" was just as hilarious as I remembered it, but even better in the dynamics department. The stuttering keyboards of "Missed Opportunities" played like a call to arms as the song could actually be used in a motion picture. Based On A True Story is The Movies soon to be released album that may prove to be too smart for the average listener. I also need to check out some of their side projects Tables and Chairs and Very as well as helping out Adeline and the Philistines.

Sparta, The Movies, The Press Fire at the Echo

The Press Fire

The Movies


Sparta




Early shows are good ideas in my opinion, especially when I can be home at 11:00. The Echo listed a show time of 6:00pm for the nice line up of Sparta, The Movies, and The Press Fire. The Press Fire were up first and had a slew of band members on stage. Mi Jin Gregory(Keyboards) was rocking the Roland Juno-D adding textures to their indie punk songs. I likened them to The Sounds because of their incorporation of keyboards, punk like guitars, and rapid fire vocals courtesy of Nicole Hajjar. The cowbell even made an appearance during their set. Their album New Dress, New Rules was produced by Tony Hajjar(Sparta) and can be found on itunes. The Movies were up next and were quite the spectacle. Silversun Pickups are big fans of this band and even covered "Creation Lake" on their Pikul album. Brian Cleary(Keyboards) was sprinkling keyboard lines via a nice Kurzweil PC 88. I haven't seen a Kurzweil on stage since the days of Fear Factory. They reminded me of the Talking Heads with some Kraftwerk like electronic bleeps and bips percolating thru the songs. Timothy James(Vocals) was pacing around on the short stage while managing to mix in some onstage jumps. Timothy was also trying to entice the monitors to feedback by waving his microphone in front of them.The Movies lyrically are hillarious. Check out such gems as "If I Had the Cash", "Ed", "Timothy James" and "Nam". One sample of their lyrics taken from "Nam" was "When we were in Vietnam, we partied in Saigon". The Movies will be playing the Viper Room on 2/26. Sparta hit the stage to a rapturous applause and the opening chords of "Untreatable Disease" rang out. Just like Stellastarr*, Sparta has had some record label problems before finally partnering with Hollywood records for their latest release "Threes". Besides the fact that "Threes" is their third full length release, I imagine that it is a reference that bad things happen in "Threes" in terms of the departure of Paul Hinojos and Jim Ward(Vocals/Guitars) mentioning at prior concerts how he wanted to dissolve Sparta completely at one point. Sparta always puts on a superb performance and tonight was no exception. Unfortunately they didn't play some of my favorite songs "Rx Coup", "Vacant Skies" but masterfully played "Air", "Taking Back Control", and "While Oceana Sleeps". "Guns of Memorial Park" was remarkable due to the hyperkinetic drumming of Tony Hajjar. His drumming is highly regarded and it was easy to see why. Jim Ward played almost every make of guitar as he switched between a Fender Telecaster, Gibson Hollowbody, Rickenbacker, and an Ibanez Jet King. Both Jim Ward and Colin Keeley(Guitars) were stomping on their Line 6 Delay modulation pedals all night to help augment their sound. Sparta is now going out on tour with mewithoutyou and Aloha so catch them while you can.