On Wednesday, June 15, 2016, I was at The Troubadour to catch one of my favorite Southern California bands, Beta Play, opening for Rita Wilson. The last time I saw them was back in October 2015 at their EP release show in Santa Barbara, California. Beta Play band members are: Tom Cantillon on vocals and guitar, Mike Cantillon on keyboard, guitar, and backing vocals, and Mike Dyer on bass and backing vocals. Recently, drummer Matt Palermo sadly left the band to pursue other interests and to spend some time in India. Joshua Daubin, from Nashville, expertly filled in on drums
Tag: California
There’s No Derailing Destiny
On Sunday, June 5, 2016 I was back at my favorite venue, Largo at the Coronet, to finally see Robyn Hitchcock in concert. I just missed out on seeing him at a 21+ venue that was down the street from where I lived, right before I turned 21. The last few times he has played at Largo I have had conflicts or the tickets sold out before I purchased one. Not this time though and I was ready for a night of music and strangeness that only Robyn could provide. Everything about Robyn is distinctive: from the immediately recognizable tone of
Where My Music’s Playing
On Wednesday, June 1, 2016 I headed to the historic Hollywood Bowl to see the legendary Paul Simon in concert. I am sure I heard Paul Simon songs as a child, but he didn’t register as an important fixture in my knowledge of music until I was an early teen and I began listening to the music of the Beatles fanatically. From there it was a short stretch to other artists of the 60s and thus began my appreciation of Simon and Garfunkel. I remember a friend playing one of their records in her basement; and distinctly, listening to “The
Just For One Day
I was back at Largo at the Coronet on May 27, 2016 for Jon Brion‘s monthly show. I sadly missed the April one and was feeling overdue on getting some live Jon Brion music in my ears. The stage was set with an array of instruments, including a handful of guitars, a drum kit, a miniKorg synthesizer, sampler, and two movie screens. Largo had tweeted earlier in the day that Jon had brought in his looping rig. This was most definitely going to be an entertaining night, but what I did not know was that I was about to experience
I’m Trying to Catch Some Kind of Spark
On Saturday, May 14, 2016, I headed to the South Pasadena Eclectic Music Festival and Art Walk to catch Glen Phillips playing on a free outdoor stage. This was a rare chance to hear his solo music with a backing band, as usually I catch him solo acoustic. The band was made up of Paul Bryan on bass (who is producing Glen’s forthcoming album Swallowed by the New), Chris Bruce on guitar, and Abe Rounds on drums. Singer Khäsy Modisette provided background vocals. There were a few calls from the crowd for songs from Glen’s band Toad the Wet Sprocket,