August 25, 2017 — Another Friday at the end of the month, must be time for Jon Brion‘s show at Largo at the Coronet. Owner Mark Flanagan came on stage and greeted the audience, remarking “It does feel like when you’re in this room…fuck everything else! Everything’s gonna be alright.” Then he introduced special guest Zach Galifianakis to open the show with a set of stand-up comedy. Stand-up is not my area of expertise, but Zach had me laughing with his down-played, nervous-looking delivery and exaggerated life commentary and observations (at one moment opening the door to the Largo alley
Tag: jazz
You Hear That Sound
Had to take a break from blogging for a little while, but now that I’ve made it through December 2016 intact, I’m happy to recount a fantastic concert I attended back on November 25, 2016. On the day after Thanksgiving I headed to the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles to experience the juggernaut that is Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox. For the uninitiated, PMJ, as it is abbreviated and affectionately known, consists of a flexible roster of musicians taking modern hits and playing them in various musical styles that were in vogue at some time in the past. Songs are
Feels Good, Just Like It Should
I was at The Troubadour on Saturday, April 23, 2016 for a concert including three bands: We the Folk, T Sisters, and Dustbowl Revival. The first two bands were new to me. We the Folk formed at the UCLA campus and has been playing some of the small popular venues in L.A. for the past couple of years. Fronted by David Villafaña on vocals and guitar, the band on Saturday was comprised of five additional musicians playing fiddle, accordion, bass, drum kit, and percussion. The T Sisters is comprised of three harmonizing sisters — Erika, Chloe, and Rachel Tietjen — with
Put Down the Laptop and Get Outta That House
Some musicians are so much fun you have to see them more than once. Bass player, jazz scatting pro, and former American Idol contestant Casey Abrams is one of those guys. It just so happens that I was also already familiar with the two gentlemen opening for him on the night of October 7, 2015 at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach, CA. First on stage for the night was alt-country singer Danny Hamilton. I’d seen Danny a few months earlier at the same venue opening for Dana Fuchs and picked up one of his self-recorded albums. I like the quality