Devo at the City National Grove of Anaheim

Check out my photos of Devo at the City National Grove of Anaheim over at OC Weekly.

My review is also at OC Weekly.

MGMT and Surfer Blood at the US Open of Surfing

Check out my photos of MGMT and Surfer Blood at the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach over at OC Weekly.

Weezer at the Pacific Amphitheater

Check out my photos of Weezer at the Pacific Amphitheater over at Stereogum. The picture above is Rivers rocking my hat during "Surf Wax America".

LA Rising at the LA Coliseum

Check out my photos of LA Rising at the LA Coliseum featuring Rage Against The Machine, Muse, Rise Against, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Immortal Technique and El Gran Silencio over at Stereogum.

A Perfect Circle at the Gibson Amphitheater

Check out my photos of A Perfect Circle at the Gibson Amphitheater over at OC Weekly.

My review is also over at OC Weekly.

Thurston Moore at KCRW Studios

Check out my photos of Thurston Moore at KCRW over at Stereogum.

Cold Cave at the Ukrainian Cultural Center

Check out my photos of Cold Cave at the Ukrainian Cultural Center over at Stereogum.

Soundgarden at the Forum

Check out my photos of Soundgarden and The Mars Volta at the Forum over at Stereogum.

Rock It OC! at South Coast Plaza

Check out my photos of Rock It OC! at South Coast Plaza presented by Music for A Cure over at OC Weekly.

Puro Instinct at the Detroit Bar

Check out my photos of Puro Instinct and John Maus at the Detroit Bar over at Stereogum.

Eddie Vedder at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach

Check out my photos of Eddie Vedder at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach over at Stereogum.

Blonde Redhead at the El Rey Theatre

Penny Sparkle was one of my favorite releases from 2010. Blonde Redhead continue to modify and adapt their musical style while retaining their characteristic sound. The album is chock full of oozing synthesizers floating over sparse shimmery guitars. Touring for close to a full year, I previously caught Blonde Redhead at the Music Box for two nights (Night 1 and Night 2) and at the Glass House.


Bass Drum of Death




It is gutsy to call your band Bass Drum of Death and not include a bass player. But these boys from Mississippi knew how to kick out the jams utilizing a twin fuzzed out guitar attack supported by rapid fire drums to amuse the audience. Their debut album GB City was released by the venerable Fat Possum label barely clocks in over thirty minutes.

The Luyas





The Luyas scored points just by busting out Moodswinger which is a 12 string zither that conjured ambient stacked overtones. Hailing from Montreal and using such eclectic instruments as the French Horn and a stack of analog synthesizers, it was difficult not think of Arcade Fire.

Lead singer Jessie Stein was absolutely delightful working through a batch of songs. Their latest release Too Beautiful To Work was added to my stack of albums that garner a closer look.

Blonde Redhead




The trademark red curtains of the El Rey Theatre pulled back as the haunting pads of "Black Guitar" soon ricocheted around the venue as Amedeo Pace traded vocals with Kazu Makino. Having been on the road for so long, Blonde Redhead were super tight and the sound was perfect.

Simone Pace's dexterous drumming superimposed on a skeletal electronic drumbeat hypnotized as "Here Sometimes" continued to seduce the audience. The winding staircase guitars of "Dr. Strangeluv" were entrancing as Makino swayed with the music.

Makino would grab her white Gibson Sg and assist Amedeo in the sonic department for "Spring and By Summer Fall". Whipping her hair around, Makino swayed in time to the dark keyboards and percussive beat of "Not Getting There".

Under the cover of dark blue light, "Spain" had the perfect combination of melting guitars and whirling keyboards. Amedeo used a whammy pedal for some deep guitar bends during "23" as Makino's vocals echoed. Makino would grab her Teisco six string bass for the Amedeo led vocals of "Falling Man".

"Silently" and "Penny Sparkle" closed out their encore which still didn't satisfy the crowd. The crowd desperately clamored for more, but having seen Blonde Redhead multiple times they always leave you wanting more.

Incoming: M83 new album teaser

M83 blew me away with their last album Saturdays = Youth. As I anxiously await their follow up album, M83 just posted a goosebump inducing new teaser video titled "Echoes" featuring a glimpse of Anthony Gonzalez's beautiful collection of synthesizers along with some stunning visuals.

Incoming: Jimmy Eat World at the Wiltern

After a blistering stop at Coachella, Jimmy Eat World return for a performance at The Wiltern where they will play their album Bleed American in its entirety on September 29th. The presale tickets go live on Tuesday June 28th at 10am while the general tIckets go on sale on Thursday June 30th at 10am PST.

Okkervil River at the Wiltern Theater

Check out my photos of Okkervil River, Titus Andronicus at The Wiltern over at Stereogum.

My Morning Jacket at The Village Studios

Check out my photos of My Morning Jacket at The Village Studios for KCRW over at Stereogum.

U2 at Angel Stadium Night 2 (6/18/11)

Check out my photos of U2 at Angel Stadium on Night 2 (6/18/11) over at Stereogum.

U2 at Angel Stadium Night 1 (6/17/11)

Check out my review of U2 at Angel Stadium over at OC Weekly.

A slideshow of my photos are over at OC Weekly.

Deftones at the Fox Theater in Pomona

Check out my review of the Deftones at the Fox Theater in Pomona over at OC Weekly.

Florence and the Machine at the Greek Theater

Check out my photos of Florence and the Machine at the Greek Theater over at OC Weekly.

Deftones at the Hollywood Palladium

Before I went on medical hiatus, I warned everyone about the Deftones selling out and destroying the Hollywood Palladium. While I am far from being back to full health, I was determined to absorb the healing power of Stephen Carpenter's crushing riffs on his custom ESP guitars.

Le Butcherettes




Like an uncontrollable tornado, Le Butcherettes crashed onto the stage. Led by Terri Gender Bender, Le Butcherettes attacked their audience to gain their attention. It was interesting spotting Jonathan Hischke on bass who I recognized from Broken Bells and the highly overlooked Dot Hacker project with Josh Klinghoffer. Sin Sin Sin is their debut album and contains the energy and fury that the band unleashed on stage. While deftones fans are staunchly loyal, Le Butcherettes definitely won over some ears.

Dillinger Escape Plan




Angry. Confrontational. Chaotic. These are just some of the words that come to mind when describing a Dillinger Escape Plan performance. Photographing the chaos on stage is a dicey proposition as Greg Puciato leaped into the crowd seconds into their show.

Using bizarre time signatures and calculating razor sharp guitar riffs, Dillinger Escape Plan bludgeoned the audience with ungodly heaps of volume. They had a core of faithful fans singing along to "Panasonic Youth", "Farewell, Mona Lisa" and "43% Burnt". I was hoping they would toss in their cover of Nine Inch Nails "Wish" but they stuck to their catalog.

Deftones





Deftones have long been one of my favorite bands since I saw them at the Warped Tour in support of their debut album Adrenaline. While many of their contemporary bands have faded out or fallen off, the Deftones have consistently released solid albums and continue to sell out large venues.

Their latest release Diamond Eyes sonically stretches and continues to carve different niches in their overall sound. Opening with the title track, Chino Moreno was enthusiastically jumping all over the place while a screen showed the video behind the band. Having extensively toured with Alice in Chains and Mastodon, the Deftones were tour hardened and flawless in execution. "Rocket Skates" was violently performed with Moreno screaming "Guns! Razors! Knives!".

A double barrel shotgun blast of old tunes "Engine No 9" and "Birthmark" kept the crowd moving at a fevered pitch. As I exited the pit after three songs, I spotted the security guards pushing back the barricade to keep it in place. Sequentially moving up their catalog, "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)" thrashed relentlessly as Sergio Vega slammed his Fender Jaguar bass making Chi Cheng proud. The tempo momentarily slowed for the slow burn of "Digital Bath" but quickly returned with "Knife Party" that featured Terri from Les Butcherettes adding curling screams.

The highlight of the evening was the oft kilter thrash of "Korea" with Carpenter mutilating his ESP guitar. "Minerva" had some extra zest as Moreno dedicated the song to Chi Cheng. Carpenter was back in the spotlight again with the pulverizing notes of "Bloody Cape". The shimmering notes of "Cherry Waves" filled the Palladium and I can't remember the Palladium ever sounding better.

Greg from Dillinger Escape Plan came out to sing "Passenger" before the Deftones closed out their main set with "Back To School". Dipping back to Adrenaline, "Root" and "7 Words" finished up the encore as the Deftones wrapped up another stellar show. They stop by the Fox Theater in Pomona this Wednesday and I expect the same devastation.

Death Cab For Cutie at the El Rey Theater

Check out my photos of Death Cab For Cutie at the El Rey Theater over at Stereogum.

Archers of Loaf at the Troubadour (6/4/11)

Check out my photos of the second night of Archers of Loaf at the Troubadour over at Brooklyn Vegan.

Archers of Loaf at the Troubadour (6/3/11)

Check out my photos of Archers of Loaf at the Troubadour over at Stereogum.

Arctic Monkeys at the Fox Theater in Pomona

Check out my photos of Arctic Monkeys at the Fox Theater in Pomona over at Stereogum.

Sonoio RED album pre-order

One of my favorite unheralded releases from last year was Alessandro Cortini's (ex-NIN keyboardist) solo project Sonoio Blue album that featured songs encased in infectious glitches ,blips and beeps from his Buchla synthesizer rig.

Alessandro has followed up this release with a new album Red which demonstrates his growth as a songwriter judging by the four songs that are available for download.

I opted for the Geek bundle that includes a mini synthesizer packed with samples from the album. The synthesizer alone is worth the price let alone the music. Click on the pre-order link to reserve yours now.