The Scenestar

Live: Julian Casablancas @ Spaceland

ARTICLE BY OSCAR RANGEL
PHOTOS BY CHRIS ALVAREZ

NOV. 2 | SILVER LAKE—Just when you thought Monday was just like any other day, there’s buzz in the air about something big. Scenestar favorite Happy Hollows just returned to Los Angeles to start their November residency at Spaceland, and while updating the concert calendar for this addition, I noticed there was a subtle slot for a special guest. Usually it’s reserved for other local bands whom the residency band may be friends with. But the world of Twitter was hinting otherwise.

Live: Sunny Day Real Estate @ Music Box

ARTICLE BY CARLY DEVERY
PHOTOS BY DESMOND HSU

OCT. 11 | LOS ANGELES—“Epic” would be the only way to describe the show Seattle rockers Sunny Day Real Estate performed tonight at the Music Box at the Fonda. With rumors of a reunion tour being posted earlier this year, it was confirmed in June that indeed Sunny Day Real Estate would be touring with the original lineup. And it was especially exciting that the band would be stopping in California, having not toured here very much. Nine years after disbanding and 15 years after Diary was released, the sold-out venue tonight was packed with undeniable energy.

Photo Gallery: Monsters of Folk @ Greek Theatre

 
Photo by Leslie Kalohi

Once the red curtain parted at the Greek Theatre, revealing the members of Monsters of Folk (Conor Oberst, M Ward, Jim James and Mike Mogis) in suit and ties, the stage was set for an elegant night of music. The formality on stage seemed to affect the audience, as later in the night My Morning Jacket's Jim James thanked those in attendance for being so respectful at this evening of "folk."

With no opening act, the men of Monsters of Folk entertained for two and a half hours with songs from their recent self-titled debut album, as well as several selections from each established member's catalogs. The real treat was hearing new interpretations of these favorites, whether stripped down with minimal accompaniment or lushly layered with everyone contributing, giving the chance for each member to take turns on vocal duties. When the curtain closed, calling an end to the concert, those in attendance knew they experienced something truly unique and special.

Photos from the evening can be viewed in the gallery below:

Photo Gallery: Monsters of Folk @ Greek Theatre

Live: A Place To Bury Strangers @ Echoplex

ARTICLE BY SOPHIA PORTIER

OCT. 16 | ECHO PARK—Tonight at the Echoplex was a night full of the forlorn and frantic fire that is Brooklyn’s finest reverb-masters, A Place to Bury Strangers. Two words could sufficiently sum up the complexity of APTBS and its unique brand of indie-shoegaze pop-rock: beautiful noise.

Photo Gallery: Fever Ray @ Music Box

PHOTO BY CHRIS MOLINA

One might find it quite difficult to conjure up the words that best describe a Fever Ray concert. It might fall somewhere under Norse mythology crossed over with a suggestive tone from the film The Fifth Element—sandwiched together in a pagan ritual with scattered vintage lamps. Either way, Fever Ray performed one of the most memorable concerts to have passed through L.A. this year. A very amusing following decked out in costumes and face paint scattered throughout the sold-out Fonda to pay respects to pseudo high-priestess Karin Dreijer Andersson.

Live: Aimee Mann @ Campbell Hall

ARTICLE BY JOELLE WAGNER
PHOTO FROM AIMEEMANN.COM

OCT. 8 | SANTA BARBARA—Aimee Mann revealed tonight that in preparation for this tour, she listened to all of her old records and selected the tracks that she “actually liked.” Luckily there were a few! Aimee and her two band mates, Jamie Edwards and Jebin Bruni, graced the UC Santa Barbara campus at Campbell Hall in an evening of music from all corners of her career map. The first half of the concert consisted of her selected songs, and for the second half, she asked audience members to write down on a piece of paper anything they would like to hear.

Live: Everest @ Troubadour

 

ARTICLE BY JON BUCHANAN

SEPT. 18 | WEST HOLLYWOOD—As if by design, the populace of the ordinarily bustling Santa Monica Blvd. abruptly abandoned the corridor, creating a dire need for the sort of familiar warmth radiated by Everest, one of the city’s most beloved comfort bands. The comatose scene outside the Troubadour didn’t deter the band’s local followers, who were treated to the musical equivalent of a big, fluffy blanket. Tonight Everest performed a set dominated by tracks from 2008’s Ghost Notes. And I must say that the physical release of Ghost Notes on 180 gram vinyl is a truly beautiful thing, and even the pine cone eclipse cover art continues Everest’s theme of inexplicable familiarity.

Live: Phoenix @ Greek Theatre

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY JOELLE WAGNER

SEPT. 17 | LOS ANGELES—Despite the fact that French rock group Phoenix has been around for more than 10 years and at this point are pros at what they do, there is still a glint of childlike excitement in their eyes as they look out at the large Greek audience—proof of their vigorous and rapidly growing fanbase in the U.S. Before the release of recent album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, their last sensation, It’s Never Been Like That, created a considerable buzz in America in 2006. After a gap of three years, listeners’ enthusiastic responses to the new album have confirmed that Phoenix’s music possesses a unique quality, a certain je ne sais quoi that we want to keep hearing more of. They’ve found an untouched niche in the rock spectrum that makes their music universally listenable and enjoyable, yet at the same time keeps it from falling into the generic pool of what one might consider mainstream rock.

Photo Gallery: Rodrigo y Gabriela @ Orpheum Theatre

 
Photo by Leslie Kalohi

Perhaps it was just the nature of the seated Orpheum Theatre that prompted Rodrigo Sánchez, of guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, to comment that the audience was so well-behaved.  Yet, it didn't take long into the band's set to bring the sold out crowd to their feet, an occurrence that was frequent throughout the evening.

Playing a mix from their self-titled debut and their recently released sophomore effort, 11:11, the group effortlessly displayed the celebrated intricacies of their guitar-playing.  Despite just being a band of two, the sound brought on by the Mexico City natives (who now call Dublin their home) still managed to be rich and full, supported by Gabriela Quintero's ability to utilize every bit of her hands to create sonic masterpieces.

Photos from the evening can be viewed in the gallery below:

Photo Gallery: Rodrigo y Gabriela w/Rocco DeLuca @ Orpheum Theatre, September 25

Live: The Duke Spirit @ El Rey Theatre

ARTICLE BY JONATHAN BUCHANAN

SEPT. 1 | LOS ANGELES—On a smokey, late summer evening, the words “The Duke Spirit” glowed through the haze from the El Rey Theatre’s Spanish Deco marquee and the incandescence didn’t end there. After a canceled show on Sunday in Orange County due to the tour-savaged vocal cords of Miss Liela Moss, the English five-piece limped to the finish line of a tour that has been rolling along for seemingly forever. The band’s last LP Neptune was designed to bring the group to the masses, and although that didn’t quite happen, The Duke Spirit’s live show is a crusade to persuade, and maybe that’s why they’re so damn good at it.