Timothy Norris

Delta Spirit
Playboy Mansion
May 10, 2013

Sometimes you have to go to grungy clubs to review rock bands. Fortunately, on this particular night, Delta Spirit was playing a private industry event at the Playboy Mansion. Sponsored by Jack Daniels, the event coincided with a fundraiser for Operation Gratitude, which provides care packages to U.S. service members. How could I turn down the opportunity to see a great show with even more entertaining surroundings?

In case you didn't know, one doesn't just pull up to the Playboy Mansion. After going through tighter security than TSA, you are shuttled into the world of bunnies. Four beautiful Playmates (Hiromi Oshima, Pamela Horton, Raquel Pomplun, and Nikki Leigh) were available for a photo opportunity as you walked in, making it a unique souvenir and my best Instagram photo ever. While it was enticing to walk around the grounds and fraternize, my main objective was to see Delta Spirit.

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Andrew Youssef / OC Weekly

The Postal Service
Fox Theatre Pomona
April 15, 2013
With the news of the horrific Boston Marathon bombing, seeing two police cars parked in front of the Fox Theatre Pomona produced an eery calm to the evening. The exhilaration of surviving Coachella quickly dissipated upon hearing the terrifying news. Fortunately, The Postal Service provided an enchanting evening of escapism. The Postal Service are currently celebrating the tenth anniversary of their platinum selling debut album, Give Up with an extended tour that has sold out nearly everywhere they have been booked to play.

The band were definitely one of the highlights of Coachella and seemed to be gathering steam as they had the entire crowd in the palm of their hand with the electronic pulses of "The District Sleeps Alone." The entire audience knew the album so well that it was difficult to find a spot on the floor where someone wasn't singing along.

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Andrew Youssef / OC Weekly

How to Destroy Angels
Fox Theatre Pomona
April 10, 2013

Primed with a midnight set at the Mojave tent this Friday at Coachella, How to Destroy Angels orchestrated a visual and auditory assault at their debut show at the Fox Theatre in Pomona that make them a must see act at Coachella. One could sense the electricity in the air when the lights dimmed at the Fox. The curtain finally pulled back to reveal streams of electric lights four sheets deep as Alessandro Cortini, Atticus Ross, Mariqueen Maandig, Trent Reznor and Rob Sheridan worked in the shadows conjuring up the opening notes of "The Wake-Up."

How to Destroy Angels refer to themselves as a collective with all members contributing equally to their visual and auditory aesthetic. They recently added Cortini to their live band to help take on some bass guitar duties as well as extra synthesizer wizardry. All the members were hunkered over their work stations and grooved in time to the snarling synthesizer bass of "Keep It Together."

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Jena Ardell

311 knows the secret to maintain a loyal fan base for over 20 years: tour nonstop; build a solid online community; then invite fans on a Caribbean vacation. It helps to have a band name consisting of numbers that can coincide with a month and day so your band has an excuse to host an annual (or bi-annual) event. If you haven't noticed, 3-11 Day (March 11th) is considered an international holiday among fans.

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Andrew Youssef / OC Weekly

Morrissey
Staples Center
March 1, 2013

Originally slated to appear with Iggy and the Stooges, but ultimately rescheduled and substituted with Patti Smith, Morrissey easily sold out the Staples Center. The show seemed to be in jeopardy when various volleys were exchanged over whether meat would be served at the show. But all the drama fully subsided when Patrick Dempsey of Grey's Anatomy appeared onstage to introduce Morrissey, as the arena roared in approval.

In a dapper dress shirt and jeans, Morrissey crooned "Mama I'm a Singer!" before indulging the audience in the Smiths' classic "Shoplifters of the World, Unite." After being sidelined for a couple of months while battling ulcers and anemia, Morrissey returned with his lovely singing voice, which boomed throughout the arena.

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Elena de la Cruz

Ramon Ayala

It came as no surprise that on Friday night, a plebeian crowd congregated at the House of Blues in Anaheim to unwind, get inebriated, and sing along to the tunes of Ramón Ayala, the King of the Accordion. Historically, musica norteña/conjunto norteño--combining strings, percussion and the accordion--has been the sound of Mexico's working class, the common folk, especially men. In generations past, it was played exclusively at bars in the motherland, as men drowned their sorrows of love lost, or from juke boxes in SanTana cantinas, as immigrants reflected on their mortality. And although the venues and generations have changed, it is evident the timeless themes of Ayala's songs resonate for his fans just the same.

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Andrew Youssef / OC Weekly

Quicksand

Quicksand
The Glass House
January 23, 2013

It still felt surreal seeing the first performance of Quicksand in fifteen years at the Revelation Records 25th Anniversary party at the Glass House in June of 2012. Even though their five song set had me drooling for more, one could never imagine that Quicksand would embark on a full scale reunion tour. Their inclusion on the bill at FYF Fest last year made it imperative that I witness a longer set. As expected, Quicksand were one of the highlights of FYF.

Since Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega also plays bass in the Deftones, I figured a full scale reunion tour was unlikely given that the Deftones just released their latest opus Koi No Yokan a few months ago and were busy touring but to my suprise Quicksand were able to route a nice tour of the States. They returned to the scene of their reunion with an astounding performance at the Glass House.

*Quicksand - The Glass House - Review 6/10/12
*Deftones - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre - Review 9/22/12

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Andrew Youssef / OC Weekly

Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Cosmopolitan
December 31, 2012

As tempting as it would be to hang out with Kim Kardashian at some upscale club in Las Vegas, seeing the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Cosmopolitan seemed like a great way to usher in the New Year. The Chelsea Ballroom was packed with party revelers and fans alike for an intimate show.

After a three-hour opening DJ set, the crowd exploded like a champagne bottle once the Red Hot Chili Peppers hit the stage. "Monarchy Of Roses" stirred up the mosh pit with Flea deftly bouncing across the stage without missing a note on his bass. Clad in a number thirteen shirt and his trademark OFF! baseball cap, Anthony Kiedis had an equal amount of energy to his bass playing bandmate as he tightly clutched his microphone.

See Also:
*The Black Keys - The Joint - Review 12/30/12
*No Doubt - Gibson Amphitheater - 12/6/12

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Wyatt Boswell

Fist pumping with Brandon Flowers

The Killers

The Cosmopolitan

December 29, 2012

Going to Las Vegas to party for New Year's has long been the southern Californian's go-to tactic for no-frills debauchery in a state where it pays to be a degenerate. And while most of the time ringing in the new year is reason enough to brave the traffic, long lines and legions of bobbleheads dawdling around virtually every square foot of sin city, sometimes there's actually a special event that draws people to the desert this time of year. This year, it was The Killers'  two night stint, Dec. 28th-29th, at the Chelsea Theater inside the Cosmopolitan hotel.

Being that the Killers originally hail from Las Vegas (read: homecoming show fuckery abound) and the fact that the only southern California tour dates they've designated was one show at the Henry Fonda theater in LA back in September (on a Wednesday night, no less) and then two festival appearances this past month (91X's Wrex the Halls in San Diego & the KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas 2012), with no further SoCal dates posted on the band's website, catching the Killers in their hometown seemed the only way for an OC Killers fan to go.

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Andrew Youssef / OC Weekly

Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys

The Black Keys
The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas

December 30, 2012

It was pretty obvious that theThe Black Keys were in a league of their own this year. Some of the highlights of their year include a top slot at Coachella, selling out the Madison Square Garden and numerous nights at Staples Center along with a stop at the Honda Center. In order to cap off their excellent year, The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel were lucky enough to book The Black Keys for two nights as they prepare to say goodbye to 2012.

See Also:
* The Black Keys at the Honda Center - Review
* The Black Keys at the Honda Center - Slideshow - 10/9/12

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