I was at Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles, CA on October 27, 2016 to see Jonathan Kingham and Glen Phillips. The show was scheduled for 7pm, but didn’t start on time, giving a chance for the crowd to build and allowing some time for socializing. This was a pretty low-key show put on by two easy-going singer-songwriters for an attentive Thursday night crowd. Jonathan took to the stage and announced, “I’m kind of the appetizer. This song is about food, more about fried chicken, hot chicken.” I don’t know if those guys didn’t eat before the show or maybe they
Tag: Hotel Cafe
To See How Far We’ve Come
Hotel Cafe announced a benefit for an employee battling cancer just a couple weeks before the date of the show, August 12, 2016, which would feature members of Dawes playing solo acoustic. The musicians waived their fees and the bar staff donated all their tips for the fundraiser. While not just being a rare opportunity to see some great songwriters in an intimate setting, it also was a night of feeling the love and support for another person as everyone involved in organizing the night showed their generosity and caring for one lady. Opening the night, Joe Purdy summed it
I Bleed You and I Know You Know I Do
I was thrilled that Beta Play booked another L.A. show just a couple weeks after their previous one at The Troubadour. They played on The Hotel Cafe main stage in the middle time slot on Tuesday, June 28, 2016. They were once again playing with new drummer Joshua Daubin and so the set list was the same as at The Troubadour to cover all the songs he has already learned. No matter, it was a fantastic and energetic set list, including their best and newest songs: “The Way We Play,” recently released as a single on iTunes “Innocent,” from Only Human
Gather ‘Round and Stomp the Floor
On Saturday, February 27, 2016 I caught The Dirty River Boys playing at Hotel Cafe. Having been encouraged to attend by a friend, I knew nothing about this band going into the show, other than they hailed from Texas. They played a good mixture of songs in varying tempos that I would categorize under the Americana genre, with flavorings of cowpunk, country, and even Celtic rock. Guitar players Nino Cooper and Marco Gutierrez, and bass player Colton James, traded off singing lead for various songs. Often times the whole group was singing together, producing solid harmonies and sonorous vocals. The