It’s been a while since I got to see Sleater-Kinney. I was fortunate enough to score some tickets to the acclaimed and mostly sold-out return tour of No New Cities To Love, and let me tell you that it was a hell of an experience to watch the band back in action as if they hadn’t disappeared for ten years following 2005s The Woods. So, with great pleasure, I threw my camera bag over my shoulder and made my way to Downtown LA, The Belasco Theater, my concert home away from home to watch one of the coolest bands ever.
Film Review: “Wicked Little Letters”
Buckley, Colman shine in sharply observant period mystery
Based on a true story, Wicked Little Letters is a charming period piece that reunites the terrific actresses Jessie Buckley and Olivia Colman, both of whom played the same character at different ages in 2021’s The Lost Daughter. While they share no scenes in that film, their new movie provides a welcome vehicle for showcasing their spirited chemistry.
Single of the Week: “The Kids” by Victoria Bigelow
I’ve listened to “The Kids” about 20 times in the last week. This song is SO GOOD! It’s like shoegaze meets country, but not in a 4AD kind of way. It’s such a timeless piece of music telling an incredibly modern story. I also appreciate any time someone tells Pete Townsend that he’s wrong.
“The Kids” is available in all the places you enjoy things. And, on May 20th, her next EP, Songs For No One Vol 2, will be available to you.
Show Review: Sleater-Kinney, Palehound, Rachel Dispenza at The Regency, 3/28/24
There really are few events as glorious and cathartic as a Sleater-Kinney concert. I recently attended a Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band show, and that was close. (Oddly enough, I probably would’ve never paid to see The Boss if not for Sleater-Kinney covering “This Promised Land” in the early 00s). From my first show, when my boss at the time convinced me to go with him to see them on The Hot Rock tour in 1999, the power and dynamics of that show became a permanent part of my life. That’s when they became “my band,” and for the last 25 years, this band has been the primary thing that has helped me navigate my life. And just over 300 months later, here I am, 44 years old, seeing my favorite band again, and nothing could be better. Continue reading “Show Review: Sleater-Kinney, Palehound, Rachel Dispenza at The Regency, 3/28/24”
Film Review: “Monkey Man”
Monkey Man is a thrilling and stylistic revenge tale
It’s been sixteen years since audiences were introduced to Dev Patel in the Best Picture Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, and he’s finally getting his due, but not the traditional way. Born in England to Indian parents and ancestry, Patel often plays second string to older (white) actors, until recently when he headlined both Armando Iannucci’s The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019) and David Lowery’s The Green Knight (2021), the latter proving that maybe the underappreciated actor has more to offer. Taking it upon himself to show audiences his skillful range as an artist, Dev Patel is making his writing and directing debut with Monkey Man, a brutal action flick in purposeful and self-aware John Wick-styled tone and plotting. The film is a triumphant piece of stylistic filmmaking and action choreography, and an extremely promising launch to a thrilling new chapter in Patel’s belatedly blossoming career. Continue reading “Film Review: “Monkey Man””
Album Review: Vampire Weekend, “Only God Was Above Us”
“Ice Cream Piano” begins with a healthy dose of guitar feedback and pronounced strumming, and then the first few lines of the album soothingly unfold, “‘Fuck the world’ / You said it quiet / No one could hear you / No one but me / Cynical, you can’t deny it.” It’s a surprising, but no less strong, sequence of phrases on which to launch Vampire Weekend’s fifth studio album, Only God Was Above Us. The album explores the status quo, including international conflicts, generational attitudes, and society’s unrelenting grip on historical traumas. And yet, Only God Was Above Us, named after a headline quote in the Daily News from a real-life Aloha Airlines flight incident in 1988, is not overtly political. Rather, it’s a musical commentary about fatalism and disillusionment, punctuated by an ultimate yearning for hope and progress. It’s the most cohesively inspired Vampire Weekend album yet, with the band diving head-first into a (mostly) New York City urban soundscape of grunge and grit (see the album cover image above) while not abandoning their gleeful chamber pop origins. Continue reading “Album Review: Vampire Weekend, “Only God Was Above Us””
HEART WEST COAST TOUR with CHEAP TRICK!!!
This isn’t really a classic rock-heavy blog. BUT- Heart and Cheap Trick are probably my two favorite bands of the “classic rock” era, with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band coming in third. And it’s INSANE that Heart and Cheap Trick are touring together, kicking off their fall tour in San Francisco at Chase Center on September 26th. And it’s being dubbed the “Royal Flush” tour, because Heart + Cheap Trick = Terrible Gambling Experience?
Tickets are on sale NOW for Citibank Card Holders, and go on sale for the general public Friday, April 5th at 10am local time at https://www.heart-music.com/. Full dates below if you can get past the Barracuda: Continue reading “HEART WEST COAST TOUR with CHEAP TRICK!!!”
OUTSIDE LANDS EAGER BEAVER TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW!!!!!
It’s funny- it feels like we are waiting longer and longer every year for Outside Lands to kick off… BUT! It’s been about the same time every year. Just everyone else is announcing earlier. That being said, I look forward to this weekend every year. I love being able to sort of fully disconnect from my day-to-day existence (with proper preparation to make sure my responsibilities will be covered.)
Anyways, Outside Lands is August 9th-11th this year, and Eager Beaver tickets, which is the cheapest way to get in the door, go on sale 4/3/24 at 10am. GA are starting at $425, GA+ (Expedited Entry & Exclusive Bathrooms!) start at $665, VIP starts at $965, and the ultra-swank Golden Gate Club starts at $4,895. Past Outside Lands coverage can be found here!
Show Review: Go Ahead and Die, Bodybox, Deep Within, Hyper Psychic at Boomtown Brewery (DTLA) 03-19-2024
It’s been quite some time since I’ve covered a show at a venue for the first time. I feel like I’ve been pretty much living at the Belasco, for example, so getting an address for a different venue is always a nice change of pace, especially when it’s somewhere I’ve never been. Boomtown Brewery has been kicking in DTLA north of the arts district for a while now, but they recently started a show booking partnership with The Knitting Factory, which hopefully will bear more fruit for future shows! So I left work half an hour early to brave the even rush hour traffic across town for an evening of hardcore metal music–shocking, I know–and some tasty beer.
Single of the Week: “Love The Sinner” by Griefcat
I’m a sucker for good political satire. Griefcat has managed to hit basically everything that frustrates me about conservative culture in a concise, hooky 3 minutes. The emotional journey, surprise punchlines, everything is lovely with “Love The Sinner.” They’ve essentially picked up where the great Garfunkel & Oates left off nearly a decade ago.
“Love The Sinner” is the latest single from their upcoming full length Late Stage Capitalism, which you’ll be able to enjoy on April 19th.