For the last few years Kings of Leon have made it into nearly every home, business and public space through their mega hits like ‘Use Somebody’ and ‘Sex on Fire.’ I can personally attest to the fact that I put absolutely zero effort into ever listening to ANY of their songs, but somehow I still possess the ability to sing along to both without any trouble. This band is undoubtedly prolific in today’s world.
Photo by Timothy Norris for LA Weekly
All of that said, they are not a flash in the pan. They put the time in. They’ve been there and done that. This is a band that has worked for their success and it shows. To sell out the Hollywood Bowl is a feat that is undeniable, but to nail it… that’s quality. Personally, I have no interest in Kings of Leon, but I had a great time at this show. It’s simple. When the music is good, the crowd is into it. When the crowd is into it, I’m having fun.
Photo by Timothy Norris for LA Weekly
I won’t be beating down any doors to see Kings of Leon again, but if you are a fan of their music, I can promise you are going to get your money’s worth when you pay to seem them live.
I HIGHLY recommend you get to the Hollywood Bowl AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (especially if you have never been!) The atmosphere is the best in Los Angeles live music (maybe the Greek??) and the location allows for lots of pre/post-show debauchery!
Oh, God! Dirt Nasty and Andre Legacy…I (legit) woke up the next morning with mud on my legs and feet and bruised knees. Really, bruised knees? The marks were from being smashed up against a speaker by the rowdy crowd. That’s what you get for snagging a front row spot, but it just looks so wrong.
The show was opened by Chancellor Warhol and Slow Motion Centerfold. I was really feeling Chancellor Warhol – swagger, infectious beats, and I even caught a free tee! Japanese Lunchbox! The room finally got moving for Slow Motion Centerfold’s instrumental dance pop. This band has many moving parts that coexist in a rock casing. Sublime jump into my head, but they are no where near a replica of the band, and I’ve read that Red Hot Chili Peppers are an influence. If you mesh those you get an idea of SMC’s stylings…or you could just go on their Myspace page and classify it yourself.
So yeah, the crowd was roaring and ready, but also drunk and getting tossed from the venue by the time Dirt Nasty and Andre Legacy came on.
Sexiest. Men. Alive
A fight broke out clearing a path to the front of the stage. Don’t mind if I do! I was way too excited for these guys. I saw the new LMFAO video with Dirt featured the night before, and took it upon myself to make “My Dick” our Bonnaroo anthem this year. The guy rolls me, and he’s smoking hot – my latest celeb obsession. Besides that, he makes me feel better about being a party girl at my age.
Their set was short, but not lacking. I love comedy in raps and shows that tread on that line of party vs. performance. This tilted more toward party, much like an LMFAO club show. The drunken antics between songs were hilarious. People were throwing their prescription medication to Andre. Dirt Nasty was dry heaving, drinking Patron and Stella. (gag) Things got a little out of hand at the end, Dirt fell into the crowd and “lost” his phone, people crowded the stage (including yours truly), and I think some more people got kicked out for pouring water on Dirt Nasty’s head. Nobody messed with Andre Legacy. Smart.
Even with all the craziness, the guys kept saying how much they loved us. Dirt Nasty’s album comes out on August 10th, and features Andre Legacy, Beardo, Ke$ha, LMFAO, and more.
Which brings me to another point, the best thing about this group of Hollywood party emcees and DJs is that you almost feel like you’re part of their collaborative crew. The keep their fans updated through Twitter with messages in their own voice, and when they’re in town, they hang out with fans and don’t put up a wall. Be sure to follow both Dirt and Andre on Twitter. Miss the show, and miss out on life. For realz.
For weeks prior to this concert all I heard was people, especially concert bloggers, talking mad shit about MGMT’s live performance. The YTC crew had a great time during their performance at Coachella earlier this year, so I wasn’t going to let negative opinions sway me from checking out this sold out show at the Greek.
Almost immediately after arriving at the venue we ran into a fantastic fellow by the name of Chad who was kind enough to hook us up with 2 comp tix to the show. Unfortunately we had a large crew and still had to track down a few more tix and I ended up missing the first song or two of the set. Bryan waited outside looking for a few more tix and another cool dude named David gave him a couple comps. Thanks for all of the support!
Photo by Melodye
From the get go I was enjoying my self and thought the band sounded great. They played a large amount of songs from their debut album “Oracular Spectacular” with some of their newer tunes off “Congratulations”
The older songs were no doubt the crowd favorites and the tightest songs of the set. I think the more they play their newer tunes the more excepted they will become at their concerts, but they created some lulls at this show.
Photo by Melodye
As one of the people we spoke with at this concert said, “Worst crowd ever!” They didn’t know how to dance or get into the grove of the music. I am not sure they knew what to do with themselves. Nonetheless, I feel like the band did put in a large amount of effort to please the Los Angeles crowd even if they were unable to overcome the dance-less obstacle.
I was happy with the performance and remain a fan of MGMT and plan to see them again. However, they are a band I will recommend listening to extensively before seeing them live. -lorn
This past Friday, July 23rd, Rage Against the Machine played the first concert in their hometown of Los Angeles, CA in 10 years. The concert was held as a benefit for a group fighting Arizona’s Immigration law SB1070 (Sound Strike)
The show sold out almost immediately and tickets were going for up to $500 on Ebay and Craigslist. None the less, YTC was determined to rock out to Rage at the Palladium. When we arrived to the Palladium, barricades were set up blocking off sections outside the venue. About 50 people were outside and around the venue trying to find tickets. Unfortunately, tickets were scarce and security guards were being absolute dicks and not allowing anyone to stand on the sidewalks and look for tickets.
Photo by Alberto Martin / EPA
After a good hour and a half of looking for tickets, they started a line and let the first 5 people into the venue for free. Which was very cool, but def a bummer, because none of the YTC crew was in the first 5. We were shooed away from the venue once again and decided to head out. We walked to the far side of the venue to see if we could, at least, HEAR the band. When we got there their was a few people hanging around and jamming out, but, alas, security eventually found us standing on a sidewalk (that was not marked as closed as other sidewalks in the area were) and told us we needed to get off the sidewalk.
We used the old ‘this is a public sidewalk’ bit, and were told that it didn’t matter and we had to move. The gentlemen who were talking to us were in street clothes and had little earbuds in. While they were yelling at us to disperse, I asked if they worked for Live Nation or a private contractor. They would not respond and yelled at us again to leave. I asked my question again; I simply wanted to find out if they had any actual jurisdiction over the public sidewalk.
They yelled at us once more, and I asked for the 3rd and final time. The gentleman then said he was going to arrest me if i didn’t leave. I, then, asked to see his badge, to which he said, “Screw It,” and pulled out a pair of cuffs and reached for my arms. I threw my hands in the air, took a step back and said ” I don’t know who you are, I am not letting you cuff me unless I see a badge.” He did not present a badge, but simply grabbed on to me again. I remained calm during this entire time (because I am good like that) and asked in a loud voice, “Let me see a badge.” Finally, a gentleman with some sort of badge appeared and I let him cuff me without hassle.
They detained me for about 5 minutes, and after having no reason whatsoever for detaining me, they let me go. It was just a flex of their power.
I am still not sure if the gentleman who originally pulled out the cuffs and grabbed me was a cop or not, nor did I see any identification. I have, however, seen this gentleman at several Live Nation events, and am very interested if he is an employee or contracted by Live Nation. I understand the need for someone to possibly utilize handcuffs within the venue or on the venue’s property, but on a public sidewalk? I also understand that there was high security needed at this show because it was Rage Against The Machine, but in all honesty, how hard is it to flash a badge when wanting to get some kids (who just want to listen to a song or two outside of a venue) to disperse?
I just hope the next time Live Nation has a concert like this they get all of the necessary sidewalks closed off so there isn’t a question on where people are (or are not) allowed to stand when trying to get into a concert.
I hope everyone that made it in to the show had a blast. Please comment on this post and let us know how it went. Keep on rocking in the sorta free world! -lorn
My first lost episode! This show happened at the end of May, and somehow I misplaced the video card. BUT, I found it, so here we go…CONVERGE! When I was around 13 years old and going through my hardcore phase, Converge was the cat’s pajamas. Sure, we had our local Wormtown (Worcester, MA) scene with bands such as Thundercock, Stoolface, and of course, GodFlaw (my old school crew’s former band); but Earth Crisis, Hatebreed, and Converge were the role models.
I recall hanging at the creepy abandoned factory repurposed into “band rooms,” and I could be making this up, but I’m pretty positive members of Converge were hanging out with us. When I saw Converge was playing in Nashville, I felt a mosh down Memory Lane was in order, even if I listen to about one hardcore song per year now.
I guess Converge has changed a lot in the past 15 years, executing alterations in both sound and members. The singer looked different than I remember, but apparently, Jacob Bannon has been there from the start – so, one whammy for me. It was former guitarist, Aaron Dalbec, that was the major change since my heyday. Dalbec has since moved onto the band Bane (playing Rocketown on September 3rd). Fun Fact: an old neighborhood friend of mine played in Bane for a while.
Photo Credit: Bekah Cope
It’s difficult for my ears to pick up on differences from then to now, but what I hear in today’s Converge is faster, more complex and advanced thrashing metal. What I grew up on was easier to thump your X-marked hand against your heart to.
The stage show is still as crazy as it was. Bannon is a machine, but I remember there being more screaming. He may have been wanting the audience to “sing” too much of the show. I heard a comment or two about that from the sidelines of the pit. Naturally, this type of music does a number on your voice, and depending on the shape of the singer’s instrument that night, he might need to modify to prevent complete blowout. Besides that, Bannon’s style is a higher trill so it can get lost in the mix easier than a deep howl.
Photo Credit: Bekah Cope
It’s all forgivable though, because between the sweat, violent leaps, crazy eyes, and power of the voice we did hear – Bannon was all in. The sound check was entertaining, doubling as a Q & A with the audience. I’ve seen a few acts add this type of banter to their sets lately, and it worked really well as part of the soundcheck. It always seems awkward when the headlining band comes out and does their own soundcheck, then leaves the stage, and comes back. Many times the band ignores the audience, and that’s silly. Address the crowd and make it part of the show.
Consensus from the people I talked to was that Converge is the best hardcore band ever, and Gaza kicked ass too. True statement. I didn’t think I was going to be able to handle the opening bands, so I came late and caught the end of Gaza. They were a lot like what I was used to. Slower paced, not headsplitting (not saying Converge was, but some hardcore/metal bands are, for me anyway), full and controlled vocals – an even contrast to Converge, like the other end of a hardcore hourglass.
It was gratifying to see all those kids living miles upon miles from Massachusetts come out for a band I saw at their age. I selfishly felt like I had something to do with their success. Just let me have my glory, people! I hope these guys keep it up and continue to rep us right.
Converge Quote of the Night: “To all you guys with asymmetrical haircuts, prepare to look back in your yearbooks and be bummed out.”
