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Showing posts with label los angeles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label los angeles. Show all posts

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Outasight at The Roxy



Show: Outasight, The Ready Set, 2AM Club
Venue: The Roxy- Los Angeles
Date: 3/8/13
Show #9

A few weeks ago I went to see Outasight and The Ready Set play at The Roxy here in Los Angeles. I had been actively checking Outasight's Facebook page for the last year or so, patiently waiting for him to make an appearance in so cal. Day after day, still no dates added. It was beyond frustrating when I'd see dates added that were no where on the west coast. I was determined he just hated California, then FINALLY the day came, and The Roxy popped up as a date on his tour to support his debut full length album, Nights Like These! I also might add that I skipped out on going to the massive Swedish House Mafia farewell tour stop here in LA that same night to go to this instead, and it was very, very worth it.

I didn't get to the venue until a little after 9pm and I ended up catching the end of 2AM Club. They kind of sound like Shwayze and The Ready Set meets LMFAO, or in other words, feel good party music. Their big song is called "Too Fucked Up to Call" and damn is it catchy. Watch their video, and try not to have it in your head for the next 3 days.


I ended up meeting one of the lead singers after the show:


























Next up was The Ready Set. All I really knew about The Ready Set going in to the show was that I'm obsessed with their song "Give Me Your Hand" and I was pretty stoked to see them perform it live. Unfortunately, the only 2 songs I really enjoyed was that one and "Love Like Woe", the other song I knew going in to it. The rest of their set was sort of...ehh. I think if I listened to them enough they could grow on me but for a first go around I wasn't that impressed.

Sorry for the shakiness, but I was getting my jump on during "Give Me Your Hand"!




Finally it was time for Outasight! If you're not familiar with Outasight he's known for his hit "Tonight is the Night", which many of you probably know from being featured in the huge Pepsi commercial which included Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey and Britney Spears. This commercial basically launched his career. 


Anyways, I quickly became infatuated with the song and everything else I could get my hands on by him. I then found out he's a NY Giants fan (as am I) and that just sealed the deal for me, I was in love. Naturally I had to wear my Giants shirt to the show. I even waved my Giants lanyard around during the show which caught his eye and gave me a smile and a nod, which made me gush like a school girl. My full on school girl freak out came when he was performing "Night's Like These" and all the sudden bent down and put his head up to mine (literally) and I died a little. Watch the video of it here! It happens around 1:16.


The show was a non-stop party full of jumping, dancing and singing along. If you ever get the chance to see Outasight, I highly recommend it! Even if you don't know any of his songs you can't help but dance to it.

























After the show I waited around a bit to see if I could catch him leaving the venue, and while I was waiting, these 2 guys came up and started talking to me who were apparently in the first band of the night, Kelsi Luck. They were passing out free song cards and talking a mile a minute and were just very entertaining so I had to get a pic with them.



There was no sign of Rich (Outasight's real name) so I decided to call it a night and leave. As I pull up to a red light next to The Roxy, I look to my left and I see him outside taking pictures with fans! I pulled over immediately (parked in the red) and ran over there. He was walking away and the guard wouldn't let me past him so I yelled "Rich!" and he turned around and came back, yay! I told him how long I had waited to see him come to Cali and he apologized for it taking so long and told me he'd be back again over the summer for Warped Tour, which I now have to go to. All in all, a fantastic night and I can't wait to see him again! 


Thursday, February 21, 2013

Ed Sheeran at Nokia Theatre



Show: Ed Sheeran 
Venue: Nokia Theatre
Date: 2/17/13
Show #7

Last week I went to see an artist who has quickly become one of my favorite acts to see live, Ed Sheeran. If you're not familiar with Ed Sheeran, he's an immensely talented singer/songwriter from the UK, most recently known for his Grammy nominated song "The A Team". I hate categorizing someone as amazing as Ed as just a singer/songwriter because he's so much more than that, but you have to listen for yourself to believe it. I personally fell in love with him for his song "Kiss Me" which came on my Pandora station last year and I've been hooked ever since.

At first glance, Ed Sheeran looks like a punk, high school drop out, probably because he was! He actually dropped out of school at the age of 16 and spent time moving from city to city performing at open mic nights until moving to LA and found someone willing to take a chance on him, and the rest is history. He's now 22 (as of the date of this show actually) and is just getting started.

Last Sunday was a big show for Sheeran as not only was it his 22nd birthday, it was the last show of the tour and his biggest headlining US show to date. His BFF Taylor Swift even tweeted Ed to wish a happy birthday to one of her "favorite humans" and good luck at the show.



Opening the show for him was another an Irish singer/songwriter named Foy Vance. I had heard of Foy only because of the last time I saw Ed at The Wiltern in October, he raved about how big of a fan of his he was, and that he would be joining him on his next tour. I had meant to look him up after that but forgot, and now I'm wishing I had. Like Ed, Foy Vance is a one man band. All he needs on stage is his guitar and a loop pedal. At one point he actually used a violin bow on his guitar! It was my first time seeing an opening act get a standing ovation, from a room full of teenage girls nonetheless!

Here are a few videos I recorded of Foy:


Next up was a pop/rap duo from the UK called the Rizzle Kicks. I had such a great time with these guys! It was a nonstop party from beginning to end. The highlight being when they performed their hit song "Mama do the hump" which is catchy as hell!


Finally it was time for Ed to take the stage. Earlier in the day he tweeted asking everyone coming to the show to dress up

Ed ended up coming out in a pirate costume, which I thought he was change or at least take his hat off after a few songs, but he kept it on the whole time.


Foy Vance joined Ed on stage for my favorite song, "Kiss Me"

Ed worked in 2pac to his song "Grade 8" and it was bad ass. This video also showcases what I mean when I say he's a one man band. He has his guitar rigged to provide a bass beat when he strikes it. Also watch for his rap break around 3:09.


The Rizzle Kicks and Foy Vance joined ed on stage for part of "You Need Me, I Don't Need You":



Moral of the story is, go see Ed Sheeran if you ever get the chance! You will be glad you did!

Monday, January 21, 2013

Ryan Cabrera, Tyler Hilton and Teddy Geiger at The Roxy




Show: Ryan Cabrera, Tyler Hilton and Teddy Geiger
Venue: The Roxy- Los Angeles, CA
Date: 1/19/13
Show #3

Yes, you read that correctly. The show I went to Saturday night could have easily been mistaken for a a dream team of a show in 2005, but in fact, I got to flash back to my senior year in high school and see 3 singer/song writer heartthrobs from yesteryear. All of which might I add, only got better with age.

I've been a Ryan Cabrera fan longer than I can remember and always go see him every chance I get. This may have been my 8th or 9th time seeing him. Here are a few pictures I got with him over the years.
























Anyways, enough reminiscing! So Saturday night, I got to The Roxy around 8:30, and there was still quite the line outside to get in. I then overheard that the show ended up selling out, which made me both excited for the guys and upset I didn't get there earlier so I could be closer to the front.  I got inside, and it was packed! I hadn't seen the Roxy that packed in a long time. I had missed the opening act but got there just in time to see Teddy Geiger take the stage! If you're not familiar with Teddy, you may have heard his song "For You I Will". It came out in 2005 and it was EVERYWHERE.

I look TERRIBLE in this picture, but here's Teddy and I at a radio station (107.9 The End, Sacramento) meet and greet in 2005. Fun fact about me.. when i'm nervous, I get red and blotchy (TMI? Maybe), and if you notice in this picture, i'm not exactly my normal pale self. You could say I was rather excited to see him!


I'll be honest, I hadn't kept up with Teddy over the years after his big hit, but seeing him Saturday night made me wish I had. He has so many other great songs. He performed a lot of stuff he said would be on his new album coming out in the next few months, all of which were great. I hope he comes back around to LA soon! I'll definitely be at any show he does back in so cal. I'd also like to say that Teddy, if you're reading this, I think you should bring Ryan Vaughn back on tour with you! You two made a great team on stage, his onstage banter was hilarious and not to mention, he's kind of adorable. But just my two cents.

It came to the last song and everyone gets excited because he hadn't done "For You I Will" yet, but then he says "Here's another new one for you..." Everyone looks around at each other with the look of "He's kidding right?" He was in fact kidding. The song began and it was the one everyone wanted to hear. Teddy looked pretty humbled by the fact everyone was singing along. All in all, Teddy was great! I'm looking forward to hearing new stuff from him soon!

"For You I Will"





Tyler joining Teddy on stage during his set for a song
Next up was Tyler Hilton. I also saw Tyler Hilton in... yes, you guessed it... 2005. I saw him with Michelle Branch on the One Tree Hill tour. If you're not familiar with his name, his claim to fame was being a part of the hit TV show One Tree Hill. I never saw an episode, but it was on for close to 9 years and has quite the cult following. At one point during the show, Tyler asked if there were any One Tree Hill fans in the audience and the whole place erupted. 








Tyler was another one I wish I had kept up with. Especially after he did this song, "Prince of Nothing Charming" and dedicated it to his girlfriend after apologizing for never being home. I died a little, it was that good.























At one point during his set, he said he wanted to bring Teddy back out to perform something they had been working on, which didn't seem out of the ordinary at all until he said that it was about to get sexy up in here, and possibly NC-17. I was immediately intrigued. Teddy came out with shades on, and they ended up performing R Kelly's Ignition remix! It was fantastic!























These guys all repeatedly said how excited they were to all finally get to tour together and described it as something they planned on just doing for fun and this definitely showed that.

Last but not least, we had Mr. Ryan Cabrera! I don't know what to say about Ryan at this point other than I think he's an amazingly talented singer/songwriter and I'll listen to and love anything he puts out. He said we could expect a new album this year!























He was the only one that night that had more than a 1 person band behind him. One of which, did background vocals, and specialized in the shaker. He actually explained how he met the shaker extraordinaire, which was a very cool story. He was at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and overheard the peanut/popcorn salesman singing to people to come get their popcorn. He said he was so impressed with his voice that he ran up to him and asked him to come to the show that night and sing background vocals. He ended up quitting his job to go on tour with Ryan! He even gave him his own shaker solo on Saturday:


One other highlight of the show was when he stopped in the middle of a song and asked the crowd for requests on what songs we'd like him to cover. He ended up doing about 3 on the fly which included One Direction, Fun and Britney Spears. Pretty cool!


He also did 2 new songs which will be on his new album:



Overall, it was a great show, and the lineup was just perfect. I'll be looking forward to new music from all three guys!



Sunday, September 2, 2012

Death Cab for Cutie at Walt Disney Concert Hall


Credit: Mike Lawrie/Getty Images
Show: Death Cab for Cutie
Venue: Walt Disney Concert Hall- Los Angeles, CA
Date: 5/7/12
Show #30

This was a show I was dying to go to, but the insane ticket prices were keeping me from even trying. Ironically enough, I got a call from a friend 2 days before the show who said "I have an extra ticket to Death Cab on Tuesday, it's yours if you want it." Obviously I accepted, and wished calls like that happened more often!

I had seen Death Cab before, but I was particularly excited for this show because of the unique venue, and they were going to be backed by the Magik Magik orchestra.

Opening the show was Youth Lagoon, who if you're a fan of Death Cab, you'll definitely love Youth Lagoon.  It's a guy who looks to have outgrown his keyboard, but man does he know how to use it. Youth Lagoon uses trance inducing vocals and synth pop to capture the fascination of the audience. You can't understand a word he says, yet you find yourself trying to sing along while bobbing your head. If you need something to just zone out to and relax, I recommend Youth Lagoon. He was a great pairing with Death Cab as the audience was left wanting more. Fun fact about Youth Lagoon, he recorded his debut album in his bedroom, a kitchen and 4 car garage in Boise, ID!


Next it was time for Death Cab to take the stage! The addition of the orchestra put a refreshing spin on old classics. They didn't use the orchestra for every song, but when they did, it filled the concert hall with a sound I can only describe as enchanting. Yeah it's cheesy, but seriously.

I recorded a ton of video! Sorry about the shakiness, and bad framing, but cameras were not allowed, so I was slouched down in my seat covering the back of my camera so the brightness of it couldn't be seen by security or bother anyone behind me.

I Will Follow You Into the Dark w/ orchestra (Favorite performance of the night by far!)

Codes and Keys w/ orchestra


Steadier Footing
Different Names for the Same Thing
What Sarah Said
Title and Registration
Cath

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros at The Greek Theater


Show: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Venue: Greek Theater- Los Angeles, CA
Date: 5/4/12
Show #29

It was opening night at The Greek Theater in LA, and I was so excited to be seeing Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. You couldn't have asked for better weather on that Friday night either. To top off the pre-show excitement, I scored the coveted front of the line parking spot for stacked parking, meaning I wasn't going to have to wait an hour for cars around me to leave after the show in order to pull out. High fives all around!

I had seen Edward Sharpe once before, on the Railroad Revival Tour with Mumford and Sons last year and they were so great, I had to see them again. In case you're not familiar with them, you may know their hit song "Home".



They look like a bunch of vagabonds who fell off a train somewhere in another era, and I love them for that. Edward Sharpe is a messianic figure of the imagination of lead singer Alex Ebert who according to Alex, "was sent down to Earth to kinda heal and save mankind...but he kept getting distracted by girls and falling in love." That pretty much sums up the persona of the band right there.

Opening the show was actually a former member of the 10+ piece band of Edward Sharpe, Aaron Embry. Given he was part of the band, I thought "He must be good!". Right? Wrong. As you may have noticed, I can usually find a bright side of just about any artist and find a way to enjoy myself, but I really really struggled with Aaron. The purpose of an opening act is to get the crowd warmed up and ready to go for the headliner, and Aaron more just put them to sleep, and just made them feel sorry for him. You needed a chainsaw to cut through the awkwardness in the air when he was on stage.

(Photo credit: Rozette Diaz of Restless Cities)

He seemed visibly nervous and unsure of himself. It was also just him, and no backup band. Just him and a guitar. There are few even well established artists that can pull off the solo, acoustic, singer/songwriter act at such a big, historic venue such as The Greek, so for a new act like Aaron, I think it was just a poor choice to throw him up there. Once that train wreck was over, it was time for the main event!

As I mentioned before, the one other time I saw these guys was on The Railroad Revival Tour, which if you're not familiar with that tour, it was one giant party on stage at all times, and SO much fun. So going into this show, that's what I had expected. This show was unfortunately a little slower paced than that one. Still good, I guess I just had some high expectations of the show that were not met.

(Photo Credit: Black Vinyl Magazine)

I think it was a the cadence of the show that made it weird. Alex at one point said that they had no set list for that night, they were winging it. Which if I were to be told that beforehand I would have thought "That's awesome!". But instead it just made for long drawn out moments of silence to give time for discussion after each song to figure out what they wanted to play, which then took setup in order to get the appropriate instruments in place. If they had written out a set list, I think they could have gotten at least 5 or 6 more songs in, that's how big the gaps were. It really interrupts the flow of the show when that happens. A great song will finish and you just wanted it to keep going, but instead it was talking, random banter, and stagehands running around.

One of the best moments was when Alex jumped off the stage to dance with his mother:

Wow this is getting long. Ok so in summary, I'd still suggest you see them live if you've never had the chance. Here are a few videos from the show that I recorded:

Fiya Wata

That's What's Up

Mayla
(Written about Aaron Embry's Daughter, Mayla)

Their latest album Here, is out now!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

James Morrison at Avalon



Show: James Morrison
Venue: Avalon- Los Angeles, CA
Date: 5/3/12
Show #28

I'm going to let this post be mostly photos, but just in case you're not familiar with James Morrison, let me give you a little background. He's a singer/songwriter from the UK. He was most well known for his song "You Give Me Something" in 2006.

He put on a great show! I was really impressed with him and taken back a bit due to the fact I was expecting this scraggly/nerdy shy guy because for some reason that's the impression I get from his first album cover from 6 years ago. I guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover because he was charming, hilarious and had a cool swagger about him, far from the perception I had built up in my mind. The one pre-notion I had about him that was correct though, was that his powerhouse of a voice would be just as good, if not better in person. Highly recommend you see him if you get the chance!

By the way, you'll want to make it to the bottom of the post for a little surprise. :-)

Videos recorded:
You Give Me Something
Up
One Life
Slave to the Music
In My Dreams
Broken Strings

His opening act was a band named HoneyHoney, a country/folk group from Los Angeles. An odd choice I thought, since it didn't seem like the same fan base between the 2, but people enjoyed it. They're a little too country for my taste, but appreciate that they seem crazy talented, and I see why people loved them. I recorded a video of their song "Ohio".


















Oh yeah, and this happened


Sunday, June 24, 2012

Dan Layus at Hotel Cafe


Show: Dan Layus (of Augustana)
Venue: Hotel Cafe- Los Angeles, CA
Date: 4/4/12
Show #21

There's something about simple shows, in small intimate venues that just blow major productions out of the water. Sometimes all you need is a guitar and some kick ass lyrics. That was the case when I saw Dan Layus of Augustana perform a solo set at Hotel Cafe.

If you're not familiar with Augustana, you probably are and don't know it. This was their big hit in 2005:


Armed with just a guitar and light piano accompaniment, Dan Layus proceeded to captivate the attention of everyone in the room that night. Usually at that venue there's always an annoying group of hipsters standing in the back chatting away, but that wasn't the case at this show.

He of course played the big hits such as Boston, and Fire, but he also debuted a few brand new songs that did not disappoint. I recorded a few:

Love in the Air
Need a Little Sunshine





Monday, May 28, 2012

Matt Nathanson and Kelly Clarkson at Nokia Theater



Show: Matt Nathanson and Kelly Clarkson
Venue: Nokia Theater- Los Angeles, CA
Date: 4/3/12
Show #20

I've been a fan of Matt Nathanson for a while now, so I can't believe this was my first time seeing him live. But to make it even better, he was performing at the wonderful venue that is Nokia Theater, opening for one of my favorite ladies, Kelly Clarkson!























I have to say that he completely exceeded my expectations! His set was so much fun! He totally had the audience in the palm of his hand too. He definitely won over the audience with his adorable personality, sense of humor and his feel good pop rock vibe. Oh, and he's pretty damn sexy too. He's quite the hip shaker when he performs, and I thank him for that.


*Sigh*




He sang all the songs I wanted him to which included Run, Room At The End of The World (which included a mash-up of I Just Wanna Dance With Somebody and most importantly Wedding Dress. Click on the song names to check out the video I recorded of each.





Once he was finished, it was time for Kelly Clarkson to come out. Wow wow wow is all I can say. That girl just has it all. She's one of the most talented, down to earth, humble performers out there today. She's not afraid to make fun of herself, and gives it 1000% when she's up on that stage. I have so much respect for her and hope she'll be putting out new music for many years to come.

This show had the most surprise guests i've ever seen! See below for all the videos:

You Love Me
When You Believe (Feat. Tamyra Gray)
Till the World Ends (Britney Spears Cover!)
Leave the Pieces (Feat. Michelle Branch)
Don't You Wanna Stay (Feat. Blake Shelton)
Because of You (Feat. Reba McEntire) 






















Check out Matt Nathanson's album "Modern Love" out now!
mattnathanson.com