Tag: highland park
The Universe Smiles Upon Khruangbin At The Lodge Room
Rob Shepyer
March 27, 2018
Furthering my exploration and discovery of psych rock, Khruangbin, a band that completely breaks the boundaries of that genre was the next to expand my consciousness. Fusing together Thai funk, Persian psych rock, and surf rock in an alchemical equation, they are left with a solution that sounds transcendental, yet groovy; euphoric, yet cool; as if passing through the inner-inter-galactic gates of Nirvana with your shades on. It makes immediate sense that they claim Tarantino as an influence. related content: Earthless Liquified My Face At The Teragram The name Khruangbin is Thai for “Engine Fly”, but the band originates from Houston, Texas and is made up of Laura Lee on bass/vocals, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald Johnson on drums. With their debut, The Universe Smiles Upon You, the band was breaking all sorts of waves in the psych rock scene in 2015. Now, their latest release, Con Todo El Mundo (which translates to “With Everybody”), has elevated the band enough to sell out three consecutive nights at the Lodge Room in a single day. This review is based on the second night, the Friday show at the regal and sacred Lodge Room. Around 9pm, a little dynamic duo of musicians took the stage
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Creep or Charmer?: Alex Cameron at The Lodge Room
Rob Shepyer
February 28, 2018
The discovery of Alex Cameron‘s Forced Witness was a musical ray of hope for me last year. In a time where music is about the “vibe” or “feel“, Cameron reverted back to the basics and delivered an album that prioritized the wholeness of every song. Track after track, Forced Witness quenched my thirst for catchy, hook-laden songs and lyrics with a message and story. He employs irony, satire, bathroom humor, and dick jokes to make the most subtle yet thought provoking study of gender roles since Hall and Oats. The album’s narrative lets Cameron step into the skin of a protagonist I don’t think has been explored since the 80’s: the persona of the creep. Even the album title, Forced Witness, is more than a bit creepy if you let your imagination run wild with it. Our hero is a straight-white male that fumbles into precarious situations in the pursuit of love and though his intentions might be sincere, he comes off as strange, alienated, chauvinistic, homophobic, and a general nuisance. In short, the character was never properly socialized. Personally, I think any man worth their salt is a bit unsocialized when it comes to the opposite sex (that is to
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Quintron & Miss Pussycat Break From The Traditional At Ebell Club
Jonathan Reyes
July 8, 2017
Driving up to Highland Park from Long Beach, the first thing I noticed was that all-day parking was only 2 bucks. Scored points for that but lost the game when I had to park next to a guy who’s car was covered in foil and hubcaps. I hate guys like that, who’s whole personality is tied to their car. It’s like he put anything interesting about him on his car and now we have to pretend it’s nice. Walking up to The Highland Park Ebell Club, I saw old friends and now friendly competition, Cool Tite‘s Sergio and Crystal. Shout out to them. Also spotted Vice Cooler, who if you don’t know, you’re fucking up majorly because he’s so fucking original and talented, I once saw him ride a guitar on stage. I caught Feels and I’m always like why don’t I watch them more often. They never disappoint and they also remind me of like Making The Band because they all seem different from each other but also really good friends. related content: New Album Review: 1 Week With Feels Debut LP From Castle Face Records Two years ago I saw Quintron for the first time performing with his
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