
Maggie St. Thomas

Tripping at the Troubadour: Hilton Honors Presents: Portugal. The Man
Words and Photos by: Maggie St. Thomas Grammy award-winning artists Portugal. The Man played an exclusive event for Hilton Honors members in Beverly Hills on Friday night at The infamous Troubadour, their last LA show this year. Upon arrival, I was greeted to a line of fans waiting outside, once credentials were approved I was handed a Hilton Honors lanyard. Doors were open to guests at 8 PM where complimentary food services such as macaroni and cheese, spicy tuna tacos and mini cheeseburger sliders could be enjoyed with open bar. related content: Finally Admitting It’s Real: Portugal. The Man At The Shrine At 9 pm Portugal. The Man came out swinging with full intense energy to a much anticipated packed audience. Their introduction included a clip of Beavis and Butthead on the background screen while they began their set with “Damage,” and then went into Pink Floyd’s “Brink In The Wall” and then the song morphed into “Pink Yellow Red Blue.” Another song that captured immense live energy was “Live In The Moment.” Portugal. The Man included a consistent flow of sound and energy matching a joyful aura with a more sophisticated rock demeanor, and with a colorful laser light show.

Smokin’ in the Rain: One Love Cali Reggae Fest at the Queen Mary
Words and Photos by: Maggie St. Thomas The fourth year since its inception, One Love Cali Reggae festival is held annually at the historic Queen Mary of Long Beach. Boasting its luscious landscape of the city skyline with a view of palm trees, the Queen creates the perfectly chill atmosphere and vibe rain or shine – and we had plenty of both. This reggae fest was a treat being so close to home with powerful headliners featured throughout the weekend on two stages including legends and power hitters in the reggae circuit including artists likeRebelution, Slightly Stoopid, Stick Figure, and Yellowman. related content: Make America Green Again: The Great American Smoke Out Parking was surprisingly painless and easy, and the shuttles to and from the festival were quick. Vendors were plenty, including an Organic Truck with their fried avocado and vegan dishes, a Swisher Sweet booth, and MMJ dispensaries including Long Beach’s local One Love. LBPD was definitely present, but everyone seemed to be having fun and their presence didn’t prevent the crowd from responding to the positive energy, music, and ganja love. Iya Terra performed on the SMKFLWR stage on Friday, they ordered the audience “Let me hear you scream as loud

Off Without a Hitch: Elvis Costello and the Imposters at House of Blues Anaheim
Words and Photos by: Maggie St. Thomas I was escorted into the Anaheim House of Blues by Professor Steve Nieve himself, who came out to greet his daughter, my date for the night. We walked into the venue and backstage through production to the Green Room, adorned with english teas and candies, and just under a 1/2 dozen Elvis Costello mugs and Grether’s Pastilles on the table. A man walked by who I introduced myself to. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it. My eyes lit up when I saw him enjoying a small cup of espresso in the greenroom. I asked if I too could get a cup, and within seconds a tiny mug of espresso was in my hand. I am almost too embarrassed to admit I thought this was a roadie due to his friendly and accommodating demeanor, I figured it out long after my espresso had kicked in, when the man I mistook for a roadie walked onstage to the sold out venue to take the microphone, and the band kicked into “This Year’s Girl.” related content: Falling In Love All Over Again: Sparks At The Palace Theatre The Anaheim House of Blues didn’t keep fans

Kick Out The Jams: MC50 at the Observatory
Words and Photos by: Maggie St. Thomas The innovators of punk were the Motor City 5, known for their high energy live performances, being aggressive revolutionaries of the 1960’s and the house band of the White Panther Party. The MC5 recorded their first album Kick Out The Jams live on October 30th and 31st 1968 at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom. In May 2018, Brother Wayne Kramer announced the MC50 tour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Kick Out the Jams across the world with a supergroup line-up including himself, and his partner of this guitar army Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Billy Gould on bass (Faith No More), pounding drum beats by original MC5 drummer Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson and joining him to his right was drummer Brendan Canty (Fugazi). Replacing Rob Tyner on vocals with the towering 6’7’’ frame and image reminiscent of the late lead singer stood Marcus Durant (Zen Guerrilla), and Billy Gould on bass lines (Faith No More). related content: Teen Angst Never Dies: Alkaline Trio At The Observatory Nearly 50 years to the date of recording, Saturday October 6th, 2018 in Santa Ana, we paid tribute to this all star line-up that sounded rude and unhinged as ever with domination firing off notes like rockets within the walls of the OC Observatory. Brother Wayne Kramer delivered

A Calling for Club Shows: X at Marty’s on Newport
Word and Photos by: Maggie St. Thomas It was standing room only for punk rock legends X, featuring an all star line up of all original members Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom and DJ Bonebreak, and with Craig Packham on drums for two songs, allowing Billy Zoom to serenade us with his saxophone with DJ Bonebreak’s primal percussion and vibrating bars. related content: OC’s Alright If You Like Saxophones: Psychedelic Furs and X At The Pacific Amphitheatre Celebrating their 40th anniversary and wrapping up a tour with The Psychedelic Furs, X packed Marty’s Cocktails in Tustin to maximum capacity. Quite the change of scenery from when I last saw X at OC Fairgrounds. X seemed to be full of delight at being back in a packed small club. Their powerhouse performance, commanding power beats, and vocals blasted out of the amplifiers at an unapologetic volume while they belted out their hits like ‘Must Not Think Bad Thoughts,’ ‘Los Angeles,’ and ‘New World.’ John and Exene shared the spotlight while their harmonizing vocals playfully complimented each other and intensified the energy just as well as any of their studio albums. Billy Zoom shredded the chords of his guitar with his signature ear to