Ink and Iron Day 1 at the Queen Mary

Check out my photos from the Ink and Iron Festival at the Queen Mary over at OC Weekly.

My review is also over at OC Weekly.

Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson at the Gibson Amphitheater

Check out my photos of Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson at the Gibson Amphitheatre over at OC Weekly.

Last Shot: Meeting Meshuggah

Check out my fifteenth Last Shot column about my battle with Stage IV colon cancer over at OC Weekly.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at the Fonda Theatre

Check out my photos of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at the Fonda Theatre over at Stereogum.

Queens of the Stone Age at Apogee's Berkeley Street Studio

Check out my photos of Queens of the Stone Age at Apogee's Berkeley Street Studio over at Stereogum.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at the Observatory

Check out my photos of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at the Observatory over at OC Weekly.

CHVRCHES at the Fonda Theatre

Check out my photos of CHVRCHES at the Fonda Theatre over at Stereogum.

Fleetwood Mac at the Honda Center

Check out my photos of Fleetwood Mac at the Honda Center over at OC Weekly.

Stones Fest at the Fonda Theatre

Check out my photos of Stones Fest at the Fonda Theatre over at Stereogum.

Last Shot: The Difficulty of Updating My Friends About My Health

Check out my fourteenth Last Shot column about my battle with Stage IV colon cancer over at OC Weekly.

The Presets and Dragonette at the Avalon

The Avalon was sold out for the co-headlining tour of The Presets and Dragonette. Along with electronic producers Classixx, it was a synthesizer fueled dance party. I had missed Dragonette on prior tours and was intrigued to catch them. The Presets have long been a favorite of mine dating back to when I saw them at Spaceland in 2006.

Classixx


Classixx also have come a long way since I saw them back in 2008 opening for Cut Copy at the Echoplex. Michael David and Tyler Blake have added more live instrumentation to their engaging live set instead of hunkering behind a laptop. While their list of remix credits are impressive, Classixx recently released their own full length debut album Hanging Gardens.

Dragonette


Billed as a co-headline tour, Dragonette are still on the road touring in support of their latest release Bodyparts. Their popularity has surged due to the ever present song "Hello" by Martin Solveig that features Martina Sorbara's vocals. Dragonette got the dance party whipped up into a frenzy early on as Sorbara danced around the stage like an energetic cheerleader while nailing her vocal parts.

It was impressive to see Joel Stouffer rock a Roland electronic drum kit while Dan Kurtz handled an accoutrement of synthesizers and some bass. The audience were throwing their hands up in the air as they danced frantically to "Pick Up The Phone". Other highlights include "Live In This City", "Run Run Run", "Untouchable" and "I Get Around". Dragonette are finishing up their run of US dates and will probably be back soon.

The Presets


The Presets have never let me down in the live department. I caught them earlier on this tour at Club Nokia and was excited to see them again. Julian Hamilton was stationed behind his Dave Smith Instruments Prophet '08 and Korg MS-20 keyboards while Kim Moyes manned his drum kit for some live drumming for most of the set.

Pacifica is their third album and "Push" kicked things off with its glittery chirping synthesizers and Moyes steady beat.  Hamilton would occasionally pull away from his keyboard to get the audience stirred up. "Girl And The Sea" is still one of my favorite tracks from their debut album Beams and sounded pristine.

The Presets knew how to keep the audience grooving as they whipped through "Promises", "Ghosts", "This Boy's In Love" before dipping back into "I Go Hard I Go Home". Things really heated up when they played "Youth In Trouble" and closed out their main set with "My People".  The encore featured a slamming "Are You The One?" and a closing salvo of "Talk Like That". It was a great synthesizer night.

Boris and Deafheaven at the Echoplex

Check out my photos of Boris and Deafheaven at the Echoplex over at Stereogum.

Nightmare Air at the Echo

After shooting the Rolling Stones at Staples Center, I bolted down to the Echo to catch Nightmare Air. It has been a few years since I last saw them at the Echo back in December of 2009. Co-fronted by Dave Dupuis (Vocals/Guitars) and Swaan Miller (Vocals/Bass) along with the thunderous drumming of Jimmy Lucido, Nightmare Air were even louder than I remembered.

It was a storm of feedback and noise floating above a fuzzed out bass lines and syncopated drums. Dupuis's ability to construct walls of noise and sound isn't surprising given his pedigree of playing guitar in the dearly missed Film School. "18 Days" was monumental with Miller's swooning vocals and Dupuis's contrasting vocal screams complementing his blasts of guitars.

High in the Lasers is their debut album and it is as intoxicating as their live performances. Some of their other highly recommended tunes include "Escape" and "Icy Daggers". Nightmare Air will be back to blast your eardrums on May 30th at the Silverlake Lounge and I recommend you go and don't forget to bring your earplugs.

Queens of the Stone Age at the Wiltern

Check out my photos of Queens of the Stone Age at the Wiltern over at Stereogum.

Last Shot: The Time Juliana Hatfield Made Me Forget I Had Cancer

Check out my thirteenth Last Shot column about my battle with Stage IV colon cancer over at OC Weekly.

Arctic Monkeys at the Majestic Ventura Theater

Check out my photos of Arctic Monkeys at the Ventura Theater over at Stereogum.

The Rolling Stones at Staples Center

Check out my photos of The Rolling Stones at the Staples Center over at Stereogum.

KROQ Weenie Roast 2013 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

Check out my photos of the KROQ Weenie Roast  2013 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre over at OC Weekly.

My review is also over at OC Weekly.

Last Shot: Telling Your Friends You Have Cancer

Check out my twelfth Last Shot column about my battle with Stage IV colon cancer over at OC Weekly.

Jim James at the Fonda Theatre

Check out my photos of Jim James at the Fonda Theatre over at Stereogum.