Debi Del Grande

Bjork
Hollywood Palladium
June 2, 2013

Bjork transformed the Palladium last night. 

In both a geographic and metaphysical sense, everything about it was different. For the first of Bjork's four appearances in Los Angeles, a stage was set up in the middle of the floor. Every corner had a musical set up: a harp, marimbas, electronic drumkit, programming gear. Four 10-foot pendulum harps were installed on one corner, and on another side, a conical screen rose up to the ceiling, housing twin musical Tesla coils. 

Double-sided jumbotrons were arranged in a halo above the stage, screening images from Bjork's educational app suite of music (and album), Biophilia. Seats snaked around the set up, making for a helluva tight show -- intimate yet visceral, cerebral yet wholly organic.

Timothy Norris

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.

Andrew Youssef / OC Weekly

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.

Andrew Youssef / OC Weekly

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."

Andrew Youssef / OC Weekly

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.

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.

Andrew Youssef / OC Weekly

Quicksand

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

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