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The Damned and T.S.O.L at Irving Plaza Made Halloween in the City Bearable
Danny Baraz
November 4, 2014
Halloween. Sorry but it just is not my favorite holiday. Well, not since I was 12. However, Halloween in New York Fucking City at Irving FuckingPlaza, featuring the likes of The Briefs, T.S.O.L. and The Damned was a treat, rather than a trick. (yes, i know -shut the hell up). They all delivered in typical fashion. The Briefs donned friendly Casper sheets to start a tight, fast and loud set from start to finish, which got this somewhat tame Manhattan crowd mobile. By the time TSOL got started, “Banana girl” and “Chicken Suit Dude” were in full swing. Yes, that was the catalog of mosh proof costumes that I witnessed and i think they worked. One gal i met got an elbow to the forehead and it was a good one. She did not enjoy the same insulation as the banana and the chicken and her lack of Halloween spirit ultimately led to her demise. TSOL live is always awesome and never complete without front man, Jack Grisham’s standup comedy action–“People are throwing candy on stage..my mother always tells me not to eat anything like this and i always listen to my mom–she pays my bills..” New drummer Matt Rainwater
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Ms Mr show “it” off at The Roxy
Danny Baraz
November 3, 2014
Sunday, November 2nd was night 2 of Red Bull Sound Select’s, 30 days in LA. The venue was the Roxy on Sunset and the line up featured headliner, Ms Mr and Redbull bands, Feathers and The Electric Sons. On Saturday Red Bull treated attendees to tacos and on Sunday, they provided pizza to make sure we weren’t drinking on an empty stomach. There was also a temporary hair dye station set up where the VIP guests usually kick it. Going to Red Bull Sound Select events is like hanging at your best friends pad who has the cool mom that lets you smoke pot in the house. The challenge that Red Bull bands have during these 30 Days In LA is turning on new fans to their up and coming bands, fans who probably just came to see the headliner. This is not a unique plight for opening acts but I’ve noticed that these people are a bit of a tougher audience for whatever reason. As Janky Smooth attempts to cover all 30 days, the bands that step up and move the crowd will be a sub-plot that we follow very closely. After all, Red Bull is taking on this
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Cut Copy Crushes Night 1 of 30 Days in LA- Red Bull Sound Select
Danny Baraz
November 2, 2014
Well, it’s here. Red Bull Sound Select’s ambitious project, 30 Days in LA launched officially in the parking lot of the Luxe Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles Last night. On the night after Halloween and after the first hard rain in Los Angeles in longer than I can remember, the air was crisp and a jacket was required for the first time after a long and exceptionally unforgiving summer. Two Red Bull bands opened the night for Cut Copy at The Luxe Hotel. Wrestlers and Gemini Club are in the midst of an undertaking that seemed impossible just 5 years ago- Making House Music cool again. With digital music pushing the envelope the past few years by enhancing knob twisting and button pushing in music, House Music with it’s loops, melodies and traditional sounding instrumentation had become a fossil in the past 10 years. But like most things that go out of style they come back around again, like the flannel shirt. Wrestlers’ set, despite the big stage and elaborate light show, reminded me of being in a tightly packed, dimly lit room of bodies pressing up against each other in the early morning hours after partying all night at
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QOTSA and The Kills blow up the Forum on Halloween Night
Janky Smooth Central Command
November 1, 2014
3 songs into a blistering set on Halloween night at the newly renovated Forum, Josh Homme proclaimed “I blow my load all over the status quo”. This lyric neatly sums up Queens of the Stone Age’s musical output for the past 16 years. Homme’s endearing sneer and tongue-in-cheek swagger powered the band through a fantastic career spanning set, with the encore featuring former bassist Nic Oliveri on vocals the only weak point. The hipsterish and indie costumed crowd (There were more H.I. Mcdunnough outfits than Heisenbergs) showed no preference between new songs or old as the band opening with “Keep Your Eyes Peeled”, perhaps the most laid back song of the evening. The band followed up immediately with “Feel Good Hit Of The Summer”, sending the mostly intoxicated audience into a frenzy of shouting all of the illicit substances in the lyrics right back at the band. Queens of the Stone Age have always been this generation of rock’s outlier; They have let mainstream success and acceptance come to them, with no obvious signs they were ever seeking it out. Although their debut album was released in 1998, Their rise is quite similar to the Seattle bands earlier in the
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