Archive for Reviews
PHOTOS / RECAP: Animal Collective / Micachu and The Shapes @ Paramount, Seattle 9/18/12
Performing inside a giant recreation of the cover art from its new album, Centipede Hz, Animal Collective enticed the Paramount into a trance Tuesday night. The fantastic stage setup featured four colorful, conical sculptures surrounding the band, and rows of massive teeth above and below where it stood. After... more
CONCERT RECAP: Bombino @ The Mint, Los Angeles, CA 9/18/12
Tuareg guitarist Omara “Bombino” Moctar was born in a nomadic encampment in Niger in 1980. Some 26 years later he was playing alongside Keith Richards and Charlie Watts in California. The here to the there and now is an amazing life of cultural and political conflict, creativity and inspiration that... more
CONCERT RECAP: Pretty Lights and DJ Shadow @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, CA 9/14/12
Pretty Lights visited the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco this Friday with supporting acts DJ Shadow, Marty Party, and Paul Basic in what ended up being a floor-to-ceiling sold out show of Glitch Hop, Dubstep, and lasers galore. It’s hard to say if the already sizeable indoor auditorium... more
FESTIVAL RECAP: Catskill Chill 2012
Two words coming back from this year's Catskill Chill: CHILLED OUT. This unique festival brings out the best in everyone lucky enough to be a part of it. I felt nothing but amazing vibes and pure talent the whole weekend. You really couldn't ask for a better lineup. Yonder flew... more
Marco Benevento Set to Kick Off his ‘Tigerface’ Fall Tour + GIVEAWAY
Marco Benevento officially kicks off the first leg of his Fall Tour in Rochester, NY tonight. Marco just played Phil Lesh's intimate club, Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafeal, CA this past Friday the 14th to a sold out crowd, lending itself to more of a party than a full... more
CONCERT RECAP: Hot Chip and YACHT @ Paramount, Seattle 9/14/12
The Paramount Theatre was the scene of an infectious dance night on Friday. This wasn’t your typical Skrillex-inspired bro-step, however, but a night of indie pop electronica sing-alongs and bouncing melodies. Openers YACHT, made up of Jona Bechtolt from Portland, OR and Claire Evans from Marfa, Texas, were the perfect... more
PHOTOS / SETLIST: STS9 Axe The Winery @ The Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA 8/25/12
A few weeks back on a beautiful Saturday night in the Bay Area, I was one of the lucky individuals that knew that STS9 was playing a special, intimate Axe the Cables show down in Saratoga at the Mountain Winery. I was lucky, because what I witnessed was absolutely... more
CONCERT RECAP: The Revivalists @ The Mint, Los Angeles 9/11/12
Surprise moments at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival can happen any time. One of mine came this year when The Revivalists kicked off the Fest from the Gentilly Stage before noon on the opening Friday. While the New Orleans band has played the Fest the past few years,... more
PHOTOS / SETLIST: Florence and the Machine @ Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA 9/14/12
Florence Welch opened her show in Mansfield, MA in proper fashion by performing “Only if For a Night” off her latest LP Ceremonials. The crowd responded with shouts and cheers as soon as they saw the English superstarlet's silhouette appear on stage. Florence fans (complete with facepaint whiskers, glitter and... more
CONCERT RECAP: Future Islands, Gardens & Villa, Vox Mod @ Neumos, Seattle 9/8/12
Seattle artist Vox Mod, a.k.a. Scot Porter, started off a multi-faceted evening of music at Capitol Hill's Neumos. Despite the small early crowd for a Saturday, he wore a huge grin and launched into his set, headbanging and swaying. The crowd grew exponentially as Porter's music drew them to the... more
CONCERT RECAP: My Morning Jacket @ The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA 9/11/12
Maybe I'm feeling the effects of an after show glow, but this one may belong in the same conversation with some of the more standout shows from MMJ's storied 14-year history. After a none-too-special start, the band ripped through "Lay Low" and barraged the place with a dark, heavy, all... more
PHOTOS / RECAP: Rootwire Music and Arts Festival 2012
All words and photos by Alicyn Lane... Papadosio’s third annual Rootwire Music and Arts Festival manifested again last weekend in the foothills of Appalachian Logan, Ohio. It’s clear that this festival has made groundbreaking constructive transformations towards one giant conceptual higher feeling. Like other festivals of their shared and like-minded nature,... more
FESTIVAL RECAP: FYF Fest 2012
Words by Sam Nachbar || Photos by Joey Serxner Speaking to a markedly young and trendy group of twenty-somethings during his late-afternoon set at FYF Fest (a.k.a. Fuck Yeah Fest), Father John Misty used his time in between songs to relate to the crowd with humor. By impersonating an old man... more
SETLIST / FYF / RECAP: Phish @ Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Colorado 8/31/12
Phish just played a signature show, good for any era, last night at Dick's in Colorado. Opening with (F)irst Tube and proceeding to spell out "FUCK YOUR FACE" over the course of the night, then capping it off with the song itself and a "Grind", "Meatstick" encore. Read on... more
SETLIST / PHOTOS: Celebrating Peace (Herbie Hancock, Carlos Santana & More) @ Hollywood Bowl 8/29/12
Last night was another one-of-a-kind performance at the historic Hollywood Bowl here in Southern California made possible by Herbie Hancock, who put forth the "Celebrates Peace" jazz event, and also serves as the LA Phil Creative Chair for Jazz. The show will certainly go down as one of the... more
CONCERT RECAP: Divine Fits @ Masonic Lodge in Hollywood Forever Cemetery 8/28/12
Last night, new indie super group Divine Fits played their ninth-ever show in the Masonic Lodge at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. As guitarist and Wolf Parade frontman Dan Boeckner reinforced early on, (to paraphrase) this was indeed one of the weirdest/coolest venues I've (or anyone I spoke to) ever seen... more
RECAP: Terence Blanchard Quintet @ Catalina Jazz Club, Hollywood 8/17/12
Photos and Review by Jim Brock There are few musicians I can point to who are more visually evocative than Terence Blanchard (and I’m not just talking about his 20+ year filmography). Blanchard paints fully expressed textures with sound, creating jazz that is emotive, vibrant and at times, startlingly beautiful. I... more
FESTIVAL RECAP / PHOTOS: moe.down 13
Words by Senor Martin, Photos by Nick Irving Veteran jamband moe. hosted its annual three day music festival dubbed moe.down over the weekend of August 10th through 12th, with this year's fest scheduled earlier in the summer than in previous years and returning to its long-time home at the Snow Ridge... more
RECAP / PHOTOS: Equifunk 2012, The All-Inclusive Music Festival
Equifunk was a funkin' blast! What a way to design a music festival! From the moment of arrival people settled in to their sleep-away/summercamp style bunks and began to get funky, this festival was so well set up! You had beer/drinks when you wanted it, music all the time, great... more
CONCERT RECAP / PHOTOS: Honey Island Swamp Band @ The Mint LA 8/14/12
Review and Photos by Jim Brock / Jim Brock Photography It’s apropos that the Honey Island Swamp Band would return for a summer gig at The Mint following an appearance at Outside Lands the weekend before. After all, the Bay Area figures so prominently in this NOLA band’s origin story: Stranded... more
Watch The ILLUSION Build a Spaceship, Review Phish LBC Show
I think it would be an understatement to say that we at Live Music Blog are big fans of the man/myth/legend Hamish Patterson, better known as The ILLUSION. Ever since seeing his epic 23+ minute video blog of last summer's Hollywood Bowl show, we/the Phish fan base has grown more... more
REVIEW / PHOTOS: Buddy Guy and Jonny Lang @ Grove of Anaheim – 8/10/12
Photos and Review by Jim Brock / Jim Brock Photography Into the blues or not, it was impossible not to look forward to the crossroads on the road summit of Buddy Guy and Jonny Lang - two giant slingers for the ages. Myself, I’ll get me some 8/12-bars all night long... more
REVIEW / PHOTOS: Phish @ Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA 8/15/12
Last night Phish kicked off the second part of their 2012 tour in front of a Southern California crowd that was anxious from the get go, and just like that another must-hear tour opener is in the books with yet another legendary second-leg-second-set "Rock and Roll" for the record books.... more
RECAP / VIDEOS: Sigur Rós @ Outside Lands 2012
On Saturday night of Outside Lands, Sigur Ros provided the crowd with a musical experience of a lifetime. Tucked back in the corner of the grounds on the Twin Peaks stage amidst a beautifully lit forest blanketed in fog, the band played one of the truly special sets of the... more
FESTIVAL RECAP: Outside Lands 2012
Still lots more coverage to come from Outside Lands 2012! From the first notes of FUTUREBIRDS' "Johnny Utah" at their set down in Hellman Hollow on Friday at high noon to the Stevie Wonder-led "My Girl" singalong closer on Sunday, Outside Lands 2012 was a resounding, across-the-board success. The peak-level quality... more
REVIEW / VIDEOS: Skrillex @ Outside Lands 2012
Many fans of the blog and friends alike were aghast on Sunday night when I tweeted out the following: https://twitter.com/livemusicblog/status/234870860433997825 In full comprehension of the notion that I'm going to get flamed so unbelievably hard for even trying to write this post, I believed that tweet to be more true than many... more
REVIEW / PHOTOS: Sigur Rós Plays Spirited Show @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery 8/12/12
"We've never played a cemetery before...It's pretty spectacular." --Jonsi of Sigur Rós 8/12/12 On Sunday night, Sigur Rós rolled into Los Angeles after playing a landmark set at Outside Lands (more on that to come) and continued the impressive concert series set forth by the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Having gone to... more
RECAP / PHOTOS: Wilco @ The Bushnell, Hartford, CT 8/1/12
It was a rainy and muggy Wednesday over Hartford, so thankfully Wilco would be playing INSIDE at The Bushnell in Hartford on this otherwise ordinary evening. Across town at The Arch Street Tavern, Nectar's Presents welcomed folk/rock duo Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion for the OFFICIAL Wilco AfterParty!... more
HIGHLIGHTS / PHOTOS: Newport Folk Fest 2012 Day Two (My Morning Jacket, Alabama Shakes and more)
Last weekend marked the 53rd Annual Newport Folk Festival and the unofficial 100th birthday party for Woody Guthrie. Newport for me is like Summer Camp and I'm not referring to that other music festival in Chillicothe, IL. I mean those memories of campfire sing-alongs with familiar faces and laying... more
REVIEW: Dumpstaphunk, Zigaboo Modeliste @ New Parish Music Hall, Oakland 8/4/12
Bay Area fans of New Orleans funk were in for a treat on Saturday night as the five-headed behemoth of booty shaking known as Dumpstaphunk came rolling through town for their first ever gig in Oakland. Their destination: The New Parish, a club that opened its door less than two... more
RECAP: My Morning Jacket Soundcheck Party @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre 8/4/12
Perhaps you've noticed that we've amped up our MMJ coverage over the past couple of weeks. It's for good reason too - the band has been tearing it up this summer and the Spontaneous Curation Series shows at Red Rocks Amphitheatre that went down this past weekend are already being... more
