Judson, Tenlons Fort and Torches Triumph at Troubadour - June 20, 2012

Well that was pretty damned impressive! Three of my favorite local bands making it to The Troubadour and delivering a classy, inspiring and satisfying evening of some of the best our East Side friends have to offer. And the audience that trundled half way to the coast to toast these three success stories made The Troubadour feel more like The Satellite or The Echo.

I'll begin with Tenlons Fort because that's where the evening began. I got there early as I had no intention of missing one minute of the action. The club was fairly empty when I arrived but by the time Jack Gibson and his merry band of pranksters took the stage, friends and fans were filing in. Since Jack has been back in town, I've seen him play a few times, and if the first few sets were a little rusty, now, as a band of six, Tenlons Fort has hit it's stride. His preternatural ability to select from some of the best players in town really payed off last night.

In addition to musicians like Sheridan Riley on drums, John Seasons on bass and vocals, Jillinda Palmer on keys and vocals, he brought Nate Cole back to the local stage to provide powerful harmony vocals and it was great to hear his voice again. He and his wife have recently transplanted themselves back to California and this is most welcome news. His band, Castledoor, was one of my favorites in the early years. Together, they made Jack's compositions soar to the rafters of The Troubadour as song after song seemed to reach it's perfect state. I'm more excited than ever for them to play my next Lot 1 show on July 7. What a wondrous bunch of musicians and I hope they'll record together.

Jack's delivery is so earnest and open and completely without pretense, that his heartfelt lyrics are all that much more touching. And the whole band is so tight and together the music is filled with variety and invention. An all-round great set!


But it was Judson's night. He was the reason this whole evening came together with such a talent, top-heavy bill. Like Jack, Judson McKinney has assembled a stage-full of wonderful musicians (John Seasons again! and violinist, Kaitlin Wolfberg) and it's beginning to look like the Judson McKinney Chamber Orchestra.

Beginning simply with just two players in a duet of trumpet and keys, a quiet, baleful little melody set the mood as all the other musicians walked on stage to take their places. I noticed they have expanded to a band of eight. Launching into a full set of familiar and some newer material, they held the audience in thrall.

His way with an American style, folk ballad and his ability to orchestrate for however many musicians he's playing with has always been a hallmark of Judson's music, but here was an army. And if his music sometimes has a tendency to ramble, it's pretty nicely orchestrated rambling, and he always returns to the song in time to wrap it up tightly, sometimes with an unexpected whispered breath. Bridgette Moody of Torches joined them onstage for one of the last songs and added steady, guiding harmony vocals with the same technical polish she brings to her own band. Beautiful song. Of course, Judson brought the house down with "William Jennings Bryan", as they usually do. It makes rocking out mandatory.

By the time Torches took their turn, the audience was primed. Riding high from the glowing reaction to their new album, Heads Full Of Rust, and the superlative write ups of their set at last week's Make Music Pasadena, they take the stage with confidence and burst into their first number.

I've watched with a kind of wonder over the last three years as this band has metamorphosed from an indie rock quintet into a psychedelic trio that is both diffused and hard edged at the same time. It seems to be Eric Fabbro's drumming that provides the forward propulsion, while Azad Cheikosman writes the hypnotic melodies for his twinkling guitar and his steady voice and thoughtful lyrics are aided by Bridgette dreamy vocals and prominent bass playing. I always marvel at how they manage to get that shimmering sound as if they were a band of six to eight players.

I love their album and have enjoyed hearing these song be born and watched them mature. Their sets now sound like a series of "hits". As if that wasn't enough, they pulled Kaitlin back on stage to add violin to the final two songs, though sound problems plagued their rendition of "Heads Full Of Rust" the song has such a beauty it came out fine. I'm so happy for this band success, and they have the chops to run with it.

The sea of familiar faces made it one of the most enjoyable nights I've ever spent at The Troubadour. Among the crowd were Seven O'Fourblog, Avi Buffalo, Matthew Ward, my Radio Free Silver Lake co-conspirator Kathryn Pinto, Laura Velez, Matthew Teardrop, Rob Danson, Ryan Fuller, Todd McLaughlin, Ashley Moon, Nic Garcia, Ray Andrew, Doug Kresse, Jason Tovar and so many more, I can't remember. Kevin Bronson of Buzzbands oversaw the night and he should be proud.

whrabbit

(I took the pictures myself, so forgive the occasional blur. I'll get better)

THE FOURTH ANNIVERSARY!

It's impossible for me to believe that this blog is four years old (May 9th, actually), but even after all this time, my life in the rock and roll community just keeps on ascending. I'm involved in a few special projects, keep up the Radio Free Silver Lake Show Low Down every Monday morning, attend as many shows as I can muster the energy for, oh, and work a full time career during the day. People often ask me where I get the energy and I have to admit, I just don't know. I can only say that the energy and passion I see in the local music scene, fuels my commitment. And music has always been an inspiration to me.

I managed to secure the talents of Malcolm Sosa of Rademacher to help coordinate the show and as the date got closer, and my schedule busier and busier, he stepped up and found most of the players for the night and I am so grateful. Because he has helped put together a line up I'm incredibly proud of. He will be playing a solo set to get the evening off on a high point at 9 PM. Jonathan Price picks it up at 9:45 and Niilo Smeds, who I haven't seen before but am a fan of based on his recordings, takes the stage at 10:30.

My good friend Harley Prechtel-Cortez has played for me before, numerous times, and he has played some of my previous anniversary shows, so it's appropriate to have him do the 11 spot. As brilliant as his bands, The Weather Underground, Red Cortez and Just An Animal (to name three) have been...and are, his solo sets are no less electrifying. Dan West played for my Lot 1 night a couple of months ago and I love his solo work, as well as his contribution to Azalia Snail. When he told me he had another band project and was anxious to get a show, his selection was natural. Sidewalk Society will close out the night at midnight and I promise it will be worth staying to the end.

There's so much more I'd like to say, but I'll tell you all about it at the show. Enough incentive?

whrabbit

Presenting Downtown/Union

I'm super happy to be presenting the third residency night of Downtown/Union at Casey's Bar on Friday night, April 20. After attending the last two installments of this residency, I can tell you, they've been rocking this downtown bar with their downtown music, bringing along a host of bands offering some fine sets including The Hectors on 4/6 and The Lonely Trees (who I'd not seen but was immediately impressed by) and Radars To The Sky on 4/13.

Who needs Coachella!

Bo Bory asked me to present this week's session as a Feed Your Head Event. I'm glad to comply. This week Downtown/Union comes with a built in blast of hard partying with Manhattan Murder Mystery and The Health Club in the bill. It's a lot of fun and even slightly treacherous trying to get your way out of downtown L.A. around 2 AM after partying with Matthew Teardrop. Good luck to all concerned. And I just learned Animal Raps will be an added attraction. Yipee!

Here's another flyer:

This will be inaugurating my return to constant concert-going as next week I intend to see a show every night, beginning with the Origami Vinyl all-day celebration of Record Store Day at The Echo on Saturday, April 21. Featuring hot bands like The Henry Clay People, Jenny O and Races, this should not be missed. And it's free! Starts at noon.

whrabbit

Feed Your Head Night 8 at Lot 1

I'm super-excited about my show this weekend at Lot 1 for the chance to introduce an audience to Auditorium. They are just about the most exciting new group I have seen in quite a while. Pristine vocals combine with wonderfully imaginative songwriting for a sound that is all their own. Lauralaura will be opening the night at nine o'clock and this is a new band featuring John Seasons and Jacob Summers, who John describes as sounding like a combination of The Kinks, Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Velvet Underground. Warm Weather are a band I've not seen, but I'm intrigued by what I hear on Bandcamp and they fit well into the evening's program with stylized vocals and curiously interesting songs. They're soon to embark of an East Coast tour. Ryan Ellis is the moniker for solo act of the guy who played drums for Escalator Hill at my March 3rd show and own music couldn't be more different. He'll be closing out the night with a set of songs to sent you out into the night.

It'll be:
Lauralaura at 9
Warm Weather at 10
Auditorium at 11
Ryan Ellis at 12

Don't miss any of it.

whrabbit

Little Red Lung by Little Red Lung

From the first swirl of noise you know you are in for a listening experience that probably has no borders. When the lyrical warbling of Zoe-Ruth Erwin kicks in, along with that Brechtian-style of discordant/industrial/cabaret melodies, the drenched atmosphere makes you feel like you are in some underlit cellar club with bricks on the wall and a single candle on each table. Think Hotel Cafe, but underground...and in Europe. (I happened to see Little Red Lung there for the first time back in January) Listening to the album one is immediately struck by the distinct assurance of this weird amalgam of American/English Punk, Berlin-style Cabaret, Lewis Carroll upside-down logic, and Broadway theatricality. Zoe-Ruth Erwin has obviously been a student of all these genres and ultimately distills them into her own personal style.

Just as they do at their live shows, they transport you to another land, full of new and unusual sounds and surrealistic lyrics. Dripping with mood and always bolstered by a large and varied assortment of guest musicians on instruments like the violin, xylophone, wood blocks, cello, even a trombone, the sound is always surprising and unexpected. Zoe-Ruth's mastery of the keyboard and piano is the leading force along with the regular musicians who form the basic solids in the stew. Ali Nikou on guitar, Nathan Kondor on drums and Rob Hume on bass, but it's Zoe-Ruth's voice, and stage presence, that is just witchy and weird enough that she reminds me of Stevie Nicks.

Soaring melodies and graceful harmonies take off in the first song, "50 Fingers" who' s subject matter remains mysterious as you're lifted up by the clouds of music, the ascending chords wrapping you up in their atmosphere. Six songs later you're astonished at the range of skill and wanting more. Charlene Huang' violin and Cecilia Miller's cello are welcome additions to the orchestral nature of the compositions, both live and on the record. Ali Nikou recorded and mixed the record beautifully at Master Blaster Productions and it's rich and clear sound is at a highly professional level.

I don't know that I can single out favorites yet, but the variety of songs afford opportunity to explore, from the haunting "Fang" to the confrontational "Into a Landfill" to a kabuki-like "Strangling Tree" . I've come across a lot of wonderful music in the last few weeks, but this one is a stand out. It's music like this that keeps me thinking that Rock and Roll as a genre may only now be hitting it's creative apex. Or is that just a hallucination brought on by listening to this Little Red Lung record too much.

whrabbit

Tonight, Saturday, March 3

Thanks, Rob.

whrabbit

Two Shows For Two Days

Feed Your Head is hosting a couple of shows this weekend. On Friday, March 2, I team up with Radio Free Silver Lake to present the "local" CD release show for Continuity Girl by Modern Time Machines. I have an advance copy and I can highly recommend it. Combine the fuzzy, atmospheric punch of Silversun Pickups with the gently hushed vocals of Film School and the harmonies of a band like Gliss, then layer them one upon the other and you find Modern Time Machines. I'm enjoying it more each time I play it and it's becoming indispensable to my daily listening routine.

Continuity Girl won't be released nationally until May 17, so here's a chance to get a jump on the rest of the country, cause this album could take off and they'll have advance copies available at the show. This band can be very impressive live and I'm looking forward to hearing this new material. They have the support of their good friends, The Monolators as a supporting act, and it's been way too long since I've seen them perform.

The Pity Party have been part of my regular concert-going experience for about six years and they always elicit some of the strongest reactions from audiences. Those not attuned to what they sound like are often off put by the strange, exotic, wailing and trashing that goes on during one of their sets, but I assure you, when you dig a little deeper you get a sense of the dark, disturbing, surrealistic terrain they explore. There's a certain catharsis to their sets.

LA Font are becoming one of the most reliable bands locally and always deliver thoroughly enjoyable sets. I'm looking forward to this show, and if you see Marion Crane taking a shower on the stage of The Satellite...tell her to look behind the curtain.

My seventh Feed Your Head night at Lot 1 was a bit of a challenge owing to my masters degree in the fine art of procrastination. I was thrilled to line up Escalator Hill to headline this show on Saturday, March 3, as I had missed their recent set at Silver Lake Lounge. They'll be the anchor to a show which has ended up featuring Harley Prechtel-Cortez doing a solo set, plus maybe some numbers with his offshoot project, The Petting Zoo to open the evening's festivities.

I was so lucky to get Rob Danson to agree to an encore performance of the set Death To Anders played at Casey's Bar last weekend where they covered The Pixies' Surfer Rosa album front to back. The band is back (they played my first Feed Your Head night last September) and I hear faint rumblings that this is going to draw quite the crowd. They jumped on this show at the last minute and I couldn't be more grateful.

Escalator Hill are a band whose increasing buzz is well deserved for their catchy, indie/country music that has an expansive quality owing to the opulent orchestral flourishes they employ. The creamy smooth vocals of Antony Benedetti gives the band a warmth and a homey feel that distinguishes them from other alt country ensembles.

Finally, Dan West will serenade the crowd with his folky psychedelia. After he performed with Azalia Snail at my December show, I was given his solo CD which immediately became a staple of my music listening. He manages to combine the sophisticated writing of so much of the current music scene with a real credible recreation of the analog sound of '60's psychedelia. I was amazed when I heard the album because it sounded like a lost recording of someone forgotten from 1968 only to be rediscovered in the back of someone's garage. It's experimental, yet completely self assured at the same time, and has astonishing range. I have another new, favorite songwriter. Come hear him and all these others on Saturday night. Admission is $5. and showtime is at nine o'clock. See you there.

whrabbit