Sunday’s Lollapalooza was what music festivals are all about: quality, variety and … well, quality and variety. It rained early in the day, then turned sunny and mercilessly muggy. Only the Windy City’s breeze and Lolla’s generous portions of shade kept this geezer from wilting. But my schedule had me too excited to notice my […]
Is there any better band to see on three hours’ sleep than the Morning Benders? That’s how my Saturday started. It got better too. Even got the chance to sneak up behind some homies (that’s Dawes, pictured). Highlights: ‣ Not sure that I can capture the magic of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros’ set, […]
My first trip to Lollapalooza (where I was on assignment for SPIN.com over the weekend) was a quite the adventure, as my sore feet and calf muscles can attest. As a six-time veteran of Coachella, I was frequently asked over the weekend to compare the two. My answer? It’s a push. Coachella’s desert vibe makes […]
“You should check out the band that’s going to play outside in a little while,” a man told me in a bar early Saturday evening. “They’re something special.” I had ducked into a restaurant in Rainbow Harbor, a haven for tourists, families and chain joints on the waterfront south of downtown Long Beach. The man […]
To say that I am not much of a dance-music guy would be an understatement. But the opening of the Robyn/Kelis “All Hearts” tour on Friday night at the Music Box – which old pal Lina Lecaro tells me was attended by a lot of gay men – was one impressive display of disco dynamite. […]
The 2010 edition of the Also I Like to Rock series at the Hammer Museum ended in typically raucous fashion on Thursday night, with energetic sets from local indie-rockers Voxhaul Broadcast (who soldiered through a broken guitar string and a busted effects pedal) and Chasing Kings (who were accompanied by live painter Norton Wisdom) and […]
It was a night of sweaty soul and furious funk on Thursday at the Hammer Museum, where the third installment of this month’s Also I Like to Rock series paired local sensations Fitz & the Tantrums with gritty U.K. outfit the Heavy, playing their last date on a U.S. tour. Both bands had spent time […]
Gallery, recap by Scott Dudelson Trailed by the dust of several canceled dates and lackluster ticket sales, the Lilith Fair stumbled into Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on Saturday. Attendance may have been modest, but there there were plenty of musical highlights, notably the sets by the legendary Emmylou Harris, headliner Sarah McLachlan and Brandi Carlile. The […]
Another big crowd turned out Thursday night at the Hammer Museum for this month’s second installment of Also I Like to Rock – this one the tour kickoff for Admiral Radley, the new quartet featuring Jason Lytle and Aaron Burtch from Grandaddy and Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray of Earlimart. Ad Rad’s set of lush, […]
Photos, review by Jeff Miller Steel Train are like a scrappy little fighter who keeps challenging Mike Tyson to matches: Even in the face of extreme adversity, you can’t help but root for them. Now almost 10 years old, the upbeat New Jersey quintet has battled lineup changes, heartbreaking contract disputes, and a name that […]
