Orange County Music Blog

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Last Night: A Fine Frenzy, Landon Pigg, Among the Oak & Ash at the House of Blues Anaheim; Nov. 18, 2009

Better Than: Watching any one of a bevvy of vacuous female piano torch singers in today's wasteland of a music market. Way Better.


It was one of those nights. In what potentially was a portent for the rest of the evening, the burly bouncer at the House of Blues' entrance told us our photo pass was denied and that we would have to either check our camera downstairs or hoof it back through the mammoth Disney parking lot and stow it in our car (we checked it).

Inside, the sound system predictably piped in Death Cab for Cutie as clusters of 20 somethings sat around small tables sipping overpriced drinks.

The venue floor was a bustle with hipsters too cultured for the throngs of tourists pushing strollers around downtown Disney, and too well-groomed for the Silverlake set. It was one of those nights indeed.

Yet when the stage curtains parted, revealing crimson-haired stunner Alison Sudol and her band, A Fine Frenzy, things seemed to take a turn for the better.

Delivering songs in the tradition of such fem-fronted ensembles as Rilo Kiley, or Regina Spektor, A Fine Frenzy presented a set that was at all times dazzling, occasionally sentimental and dare we say, manic.

Beth Stirnaman

Don't be fooled! This picture was taken in May at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa, during Frank Black's Grand Duchy show; his project with wife Violet Clark.

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Last Night: The Pixies, No Age, at the Hollywood Palladium; November 4, 2009.

Better Than: Watching the Pixies play other notable albums celebrating their 20th anniversaries this year (Girl You Know It's True, Electric Youth, Dr. Feelgood).

Chattiest Pixie: Kim Deal, but not much of a contest, because she was the only one who really spoke to the audience at all.

When the Pixies reunited five years ago, it was like music nerd fan fiction come true, delivering something that never really seemed possible. In the next five years, speculation turned to what the next chapter might be, with on-and-off reports of the band working on a new album never leading to anything but scraps--like wacky 2004 single "Bam Thwok."

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I told you last Friday that Alex's Bar was the place to be this weekend. For those of you who didn't listen, here' s a recap.

San Diegan rock 'n' roll extravaganza the Night Marchers hit Alex's Bar on Friday night for a 45-minute set comprised of killer tunes, humorous banter and even a little bit of beer thrown into the crowd. The band - singer/guitarist John Reis, bassist Tommy Kitsos, guitarist Gar Wood and drummer Jason Kourkounis - opened with "Closed for Inventory" and "In Dead Sleep" before diving headfirst into "Jump in the Fire." Wood strummed the opening chords to "You've Got Nerve" while Reis instructed the crowd to put its thumbnails together to create a quiet rhythmic sound. This, he explained, came from his third grade teacher Mr. Slater, who would have hyperactive students do this act whenever they were getting out of line.

Reis later asked the audience how the band was sounding and said if anyone had any constructive criticism, they could leave it in the white porcelain suggestion box inside one of the tiny closets at the back of the room. By the end of the set, the singer/guitarist took a tall can of Tecate and sprayed the audience, then announced, "I hope you all get DUIs!"

Similar to any band Reis is in, the Night Marchers brought a big sound that most can't handle. Rumor had it, if Alex's Bar opened its doors during the set, the tunes would still be floating through the air, on their way to China by mid-Tuesday. Again, that's just a rumor, but as I stood five feet from Reis, I can attest that this might in fact be the case.

Timothy Cochrane

Don't be fooled! This picture was taken at the 2006 Latitude Festival in England.

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Last Night: Regina Spektor at the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles; October 28, 2009.

Better Than: Moving to Regina, the second-largest city in the province of Saskatchewan.

MVP of the Night: Dancing dude that got right in front of the stage and up in Regina's grill during show-closer "Love, You're a Whore." It took security way longer than you'd expect to react to him; either because they figured he was ultimately harmless or because they were mesmerized by his moves.

Is Regina Spektor just too cute for her own good?

Let's consider the evidence: Wednesday night at the Greek, she wore a poofy white dress with a large black prop bow tie. She said things like "it's so amazing to be here!" and "this is exciting!" so many times, that she sounded more like a contest winner than someone whose fifth studio album, Far, debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 this past June. When moving to her Yamaha on stage right for "Dance Anthem of the '80s," she childishly uttered "I'm in the dark" until a spotlight focused on her ("now I'm in the light," she replied).

All very cute, and all possibly just a bit too precious to handle over 100 minutes of a live performance if not for the simple fact that Spektor is phenomenally talented.

Andrew Youssef

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Last Night: U2, at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena; October 25, 2009. (More photos here!)

Better Than: Any other stadium tour I have witnessed.

Historic. Epic. Magical. These are just a few of the words that come to mind in describing U2's performance at the Rose Bowl. Even as I watch the rebroadcast of the concert streaming on Youtube, nothing will be able to convey the spine tingling and electric moments of being in a stadium with close to a 100,000 people.

Is U2 the biggest band in the world? Undoubtedly, I would say yes. Their massive $25 million dollar stage was a spectacle to behold but ultimately it was their songs that made a bigger impact.

Bono was in his attack stance on stage during the opener "Breathe" from their new album No Line On the Horizon. "Get On Your Boots" and "Magnificent" translated much better in the live setting and worked the crowd into a frenzy.

The envelope-filtered guitars of "Mysterious Ways" fully uncorked the evening as everyone was seemingly on their feet dancing along. "Beautiful Day" was fitting, as I can't remember a warmer day this late into October.

Bono usually sneaks in parts of other songs into their set and slyly inserted parts of "Stand By Me" during "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." The whole Rose Bowl floor was bouncing during "Elevation" which probably was the most rocking portion of the evening.

"Unknown Caller" had the lyrics scrolling on the large LCD screens to enable the crowd to sing along for one big karaoke jam. Bono was in top form literally and figuratively when he quickly lapped the stage perimeter before immediately breaking into "City of Blinding Lights" without losing his breath.

Andrew Youssef

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Review By: Andrew Youssef
Saturday Night: Echo & The Bunnymen at the Nokia Theatre (10/24/09)

Better Than: Joining the sea of Tapout shirts at UFC across the street at Staples Center. (Editor's Note: Which, funny enough, we did actually cover. Heh.)

A shroud of darkness covered the stage as shadowy figures reached for their musical instruments. The conductor of a small orchestra waited for Ian McCullough (Vocals) to position himself behind the microphone.

Andrew Youssef

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Saturday Night: Sunny Day Real Estate at the House of Blues, Anaheim; October 10, 2009.

Better Than: The Creed reunion.

The Promise Ring, The Get Up Kids, and Sunny Day Real Estate all made waves in the early '90s with their heart-on-a-sleeve lyrics and alternating quiet/loud guitars to be unfairly tagged as "emo." While bands like Fall Out Boy have sullied the genre, it is good to see these bands come back on the scene and reclaim their glory.

Andrew Youssef

These masked men are Miike Snow.

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Green lasers pierced the thick fog as the mercury started to rise. Bodies next to me writhed in time with the pulsating synthesizers. The euphoric combination of heat, sound and lasers bombarding the senses provided a rush similar to being in the Gobi tent at Coachella with a few thousand of your closest friends. After seeing Thom Yorke at the Orpheum two nights in a row, how could my week get any better? Miike Snow was the answer.

Lamps, lasers and impossible-to-see band members

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Last night: Fever Ray at the Glass House in Pomona; Tuesday, October 6, 2009.

Better than: The Disneyland Haunted Mansion when it's turned terrible around Christmas time with Jack Skellington crap.

Think back: What exactly was the best hint that this Fever Ray concert would be spooky? Was it the picture of main woman Karen Dreijer Andersson wearing a terrifying avian grim reaper mask for her other band, The Knife? The series of staggeringly creepy music videos released for this year's self-titled debut? The fact that it was going to be in October?

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OK, surely by now you've read our cover story from last week's Weekly on Anaheim's Burger Records, the history of the label and their new store opening in Fullerton this past Saturday?

Well, it opened as scheduled (never a sure-thing when it comes to opening up a retail operation), bringing out a healthy crowd and a good deal of rad used records along with their own vinyl and tape releases. Audacity played a reliably rowdy set, music was purchased, and a fun time was had by all. Here are some photos!

Saturday was SoundWalk 09, a free event that takes over the East Village Arts District for a few hours every year. Similar to years past, the event is a good idea that never reaches its maximum potential. So, for SoundWalk 10 organizers, here are a few suggestions.

Andrew Youssef

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Last Night: The Horrors, Japanese Motors at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa; September 30, 2009.

Better Than: Well, I don't think Creed were ever nominated for a Mercury Music Prize...

Best Free Snacks: The Popchips given away outside the venue. They were giving them away at Street Scene, too. I have never actually seen them for sale.

It's been a good year for the Horrors. Their sophomore release, Primary Colours, has received nearly unanimous critical acclaim, shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize, and the UK band toured with the Kills and opened for Nine Inch Nails at their New York City "Wave Goodbye" shows.

Now on their own headlining tour, they're simply left to bask in the glory of their many recent successes--which is essentially what took place last night at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. Though it was a lot more entertaining than that might sound.

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Saturday Night: Iris DeMent at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center at California State University, Long Beach; September 26, 2009.

Better Than: Plenty!

Iris DeMent is country because in the country is where you still find things living tough and wild; tonight she wore a polka-dot dress and eggshell-blue cowboy boots and when she pumped the pedals on the piano, her heels would dip and scoop like she was bouncing around on top of a horse.

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We talked to On Blast earlier in the week, so the next natural step? Seeing their show at Alex's Bar last night.

Andrew Youssef

Last Night: Brian Eno at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center at California State University, Long Beach; September 20, 2009.

Better Than: A majority of my lectures in grad school.

Download: "Trope," Brian Eno's new app for the iPhone, and visit Eno's installation of "77 Million Paintings" at the University Art Museum in CSULB, on exhibit through December 13.

Copernicus, screwdrivers, haircuts, drugs and sex. Brian Eno covered all of those topics during his only US lecture for the exhibition of "77 Million Paintings" at Cal State Long Beach.

The exhibit's a relaxing visual journey generated by a computer--four individual unique storage banks of 100 images drawn by Brian Eno are weaved and assembled together into "77 million paintings" that morph continually. Eno elaborated that he was attracted to the impermanence of the project, in that he was constantly losing art by the inherent generation of new images from the computer.

Frankie Alvaro, looking flustered.

My girlfriend is part of the newly formed Long Beach Roller Derby, which meant I really couldn't say no when she asked if I wanted to attend their Friday night fundraiser at Que Sera. Luckily for me, I went, and unlike her work Christmas parties, this wasn't a drag at all. It was really fun.

Not knowing what I was in for, I grabbed a flier near the entrance and discovered the fundraiser was actually part of a new monthly event called Rock Box Long Beach. On this particular evening, DJs Frankie Alvaro, Neko, Saratonin and Soozee were spinning a range of house music to '80s re-mixes to Biggie Smalls hits. Somehow, it all worked.

Andrew Youssef

No, you da man.

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Last Night: Blink-182, Weezer, Taking Back Sunday, Asher Roth at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Irvine; September 17, 2009.

Better Than: Growing up.

Hostile Territory: Blink-182 is doing a huge promotion with the T-Mobile Sidekick, and advertisements were plastered all over the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater.

Blink-182 and Weezer both released their first albums in 1994. They're both two of the most successful "alternative rock" bands of the last couple decades. Both bands have had a ton of hits, but Weezer a bit more--more albums, too. Weezer's been part of the public consciousness a lot longer, hitting big with their self-titled debut and songs like "Buddy Holly" and "Undone (The Sweater Song)"--it took until 1999's Enema of the State for Blink-182 to truly break the mainstream.

So why was Weezer opening up for Blink-182?

Beth Stirnaman

(Don't be confused. This picture is from this year's Coachella.)

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Last Night: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Yacht at the Fox Theater, Pomona; September 15, 2009.

Better Than: Your third-straight in-tribute viewing of Road House.

Karen O Fashion Report: Pretty conservative: a white dress with primary color patterns, and a matching shawl that she came out wearing like a cape.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O seems to be strikingly earnest when it comes to her emotions. She looked like she's crying in the "Maps" video; and by contrast, she looked so genuinely happy jumping up and down during "Zero" Tuesday night at a sold-out Fox Theater in Pomona, that it was hard not to be happy watching her.

Andrew Youssef

Trent Reznor, literally waving goodbye.

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Last Night: Nine Inch Nails at the Wiltern, Los Angeles; September 10, 2009.

Better Than: The Kiss "Farewell" tour.

My calculated guess of "Last" or "The Beginning of The End" as the first song for Nine Inch Nails final show was wrong. "Home" will go down in the books as the beginning of the end.

Chris Victorio

Don't be fooled. This picture is from the Hollywood Pallaidum on Sept. 3!

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Last Night: Nine Inch Nails, Health, at the Music Box at the Fonda, Los Angeles; September 8, 2009.

Better Than: The two previous Los Angeles "Wave Goodbye" shows at the Hollywood Palladium and the Echoplex, if reports are to be believed.

Amount of People Fitting the Clichéd Nine Inch Nails Fan "Look": Honestly, not very many. I saw a couple girls that overdid it with the eyeliner, but that's about it. Mostly just normal-looking dudes. What a bummer.

I wasn't planning on doing a formal "review" of this show: it wasn't in Orange County, and I paid my $65 for a ticket and waited in line, just like all the other fans. (Albeit certainly less slavishly devoted. My loss.) But I can't help but say something about it.

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Last Night: The Used at Chain Reaction, Anaheim; August 31, 2009.

Better Than: Paying $4 billion for something.

Questionable Moral Stance: Bert McCracken encouraged the crowd to not be "pussies" and steal the album online, but to walk across the street to Target and steal it there. (Perhaps even more misguided that the only way into the show was pre-ordering the record.)

Though the Used might not quite as popular as they were doing the height of their relevance in the mid-2000s--when "The Taste of Ink" was inescapable and lead vocalist Bert McCracken was an MTV mainstay--they've remained successful, thanks to a large and loyal fanbase. The Used were able to thank this fanbase Monday night, playing a free show for folks that pre-ordered their new record, Artwork, on Smartpunk.

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Last Saturday, really: Modest Mouse and The Night Marchers at the Grove of Anaheim, Aug. 29, 2009.

Better than: Getting into a thumb war during a night at the opera. Read on...

I don't remember a whole lot from the last time I saw Modest Mouse, which was in 2004 at Soma in San Diego, but I do remember this: There were some lame people at that concert. As in, I left wondering, "Who moshes at a Modest Mouse show?" Similar takeaway this time at the Grove. But worse!  Two dudes right next to me got into a three-round fist fight, complete with pinned-to-the-ground-sorta-choking-one-another action. What the hell?

In a fundamental way, it seems ridiculous that a Modest Mouse show would be a testosterone party. After all, it's indie rock, the wussy, quirky emotional stuff that Natalie Portman is supposed to listen to. The public knows Modest Mouse as the guys behind "Float On" and "Dashboard," two unashamedly hummable, sunny-sounding songs. They like to make albums that are the color of Pepto-Bismol. Plus: Their name is Modest Mouse.

Andrew Youssef

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Last Night: Franz Ferdinand, the Blood Arm, Neverever at the Hollywood Palladium; August 27, 2009.

Better Than: Being assassinated by Gavrilo Princip.

Unfortunate Timing: Rousing Franz Ferdinand hit "This Fire," featuring a chorus of "this fire is out of control, gonna burn this city," being played while all this stuff was happening.

People still like Franz Ferdinand. Thank goodness.

My never-ending quest to have fun in the middle of the week led me to karaoke at Alex's Bar last night. The room wasn't packed, but there were plenty of people for a Tuesday around midnight.

After watching a few decent singers romp through tunes such as "Rapper's Delight," "Seven Nation Army" and "This is How We Do It," I took mental notes as to what not to do when you're rocking the karaoke mic.

The term "blues jam" sends douchechills down my spine. Typically, a blues jam is a few old white guys who've never met running through haphazard versions of some of the genre's most well-known tunes. This always (and I do mean always) is a problem because, for example, the bass player might know "Back Door Man," but he's always played it the Willie Dixon/Howlin' Wolf way, not the Doors. Or maybe the guitarist absolutely shreds Robert Johnson's "Ramblin' on My Mind," but the rest of the group knows a more Chicago blues take on the song.

As you can tell, blues jams can be a mess. But, like a broken clock, sometimes they can be pretty good. Take last night for example. I was enjoying a white sangria at downtown Long Beach's Sevilla when my friend told me he got a text from another friend who was at the Liquid Lounge. I didn't want to leave Sevilla, but I also didn't want to drink by myself.

Hellogoodbye gettin' blurry with it.

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Last Night: Hellogoodbye, Fun, Limbeck at Chain Reaction, Anaheim; August 19, 2009.

Better Than: Waiting for the next Hellogoodbye album to come out (it's been three years this month since Drive-Thru released Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!).

Great Debate: Over the relative quality of District 9. Fun were incredibly turned off, saying that it was too heavy-handed and steeped in allegory. Hellogoodbye repeatedly proclaimed the sci-fi film's awesomeness and threatened to kick Fun off the tour for their dissenting opinion. Jokingly, of course. (Right?)

As pointed out in a Spencer Kornhaber blog post yesterday, Wednesday night's show at Chain Reaction was the return of two veteran Orange County bands--Hellogoodbye and Limbeck--to a venue they've played many times before. But for me, it was all about the middle act, Fun (officially spelled "fun." by the band, but we'll just stick with "Fun" for clarity's sake).

Andrew Youssef

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Last Night: Depeche Mode, Peter Bjorn and John at the Honda Center, Anaheim; August 19, 2009.

Better Than: Staying in and watching Octomom: The Incredible Unseen Footage, a two-hour "special," on Fox. Words fail me.

Music for the Masses: Not only was it a sell-out crowd, but it was a fantastic mix of ages and ethnicities (Hispanic, Asian, Brits, Americans, Germans, French). Some came alone. Some came in couples. Some came to dance. Some came to get totally off their face. Some came in wheelchairs. And at least one came in dark glasses. At night. Indoors. When has that ever been cool?

Given the cancellation of Depeche Mode's Mountain View concert last week, it was touch and go as to whether or not they'd make it to Orange County last night. Doctors orders or not, to not show up would've risked disappointing one of their biggest and most loyal followings.

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Last Night: Powerhouse 2009 at the Honda Center featuring Jay-Z, Black Eyed Peas, Pitbull, Lil' John, Flo Rida, Sean Paul, LMFAO, Kid Cudi, Far East Movement, New Boyz and Ya Boy.

Better Than: A long, shitty drive to San Manuel Casino.

Download: Pssh, like you really need ME to tell you what to download.


Striding through a police-patrolled crosswalk in a sea of skinny jeans, fluorescent tees and accessorized millennial swagger, hallmarks of hip hop's new generation were unavoidable at Powerhouse 2009. And despite the refreshingly diverse crowd that lined up for a security pat down at the Honda Center on Saturday it's even more satisfying to know that followers of glossy jerkin' jams and auto tune hooks could deal with the fact that Jay-Z, the night's headliner, isn't exactly a fan of hip hop's new candy coated aesthetic (see his overplayed radio single D.O.A.). Because at the end of the day, in the words of Hova himself, "it's only entertainment". Ain't that the truth.                                                  

No zoom on the iPhone, folks!

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Last Night: No Doubt, Katy Perry, the Sounds at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Irvine; August 4, 2009.

Better than: The three previous No Doubt shows at Verizon. Maybe. Actually, they were probably all equally fantastic, unless you hate Katy Perry.

Number of dudes dressed up in Alice in Wonderland-esque garb like Gwen Stefani in the "What You Waiting For" video: Only spotted one. Which was plenty.

Do you enjoy...joy? Well, you'd probably have had a swell time at the No Doubt concert Tuesday night. Any fan you could spot were either shrieking in ecstasy, squealing with delight or gleefully laughing, and each member of each act performing seemed to be having just as good of a time.

Andrew Youssef

Don't be fooled! This picture is from Saturday's show!

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Friday night at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater--the first of No Doubt's four sold-out hometown shows and the beginning of the end of the band's reunion tour--I sat in my seat the Irvine venue not quite knowing what to expect from these aging locals.