Reviews

scott weiland wildabouts house of blues sunset live review

Live Review: Scott Weiland @ House of Blues Sunset 5/29 (with commentary on the current Stone Temple Pilots fued)

scott weiland wildabouts house of blues sunset live review

Amazingly enough, Scott Weiland took the stage only 30 minutes after the scheduled 9:15 PM start time.  Let’s be honest, no one really thought Scott and his new backing band The Wildabouts would actually make a 9:15 start on the Sunset Strip at the House of Blues.  Not in LA, not Scott Weiland.  That’s why the 30 minute tardiness was easily excused- and actually a pleasant surprise to some who probably thought they could show up at 11 PM and still be staring at curtains over the stage.  This initial feeling summed up the night pretty well actually- some excusable moments that you just learn to live with because the highs can still be pretty damn satisfying.  So it was at Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts performance on Wednesday night at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip. (more…)

By Oliver, ago
Crystal castles palladium hollwood review

Live Review: Crystal Castles @ Hollywood Palladium 4/27

Crystal castles palladium hollwood review

Ten minutes past 11 PM… anticipation feels the historic Hollywood Palladium.  Fans are anxiously awaiting Crystal Castles’ sold out return to the 3,700 person capacity venue.  Less than six months ago the Canadian electronic duo played to another packed crowd, and that show only helped to build the hype around tonight’s engagement.  With the artwork to their latest album (III) covering the back of the stage, the lights slowly pulsated and dimmed over the crowd.  Smoke enveloped the audience, obscuring the presence of front woman Alice Glass on stage.  The other half of Crystal Castles, Ethan Kath, stepped out of the shadows to his standing keyboard.  The bass kicked in, the huge colored spotlights poured over the crowd, and the outstanding track “Plague” from their new album screamed through the Palladium. (more…)

By Oliver, ago

Album Review: The Knife – Shaking The Habitual

When I first heard that the brother and sister duo, The Knife was coming out with a new album, I thought to myself, “ Its about Goddamn time!” But, I guess like most of their albums, they come out three years apart from each other anyways. Anywho, their latest installment, “ Shaking the Habitual,” hit the shelves earlier this month under the Swedish record label, Rabid Records, with many people anticipating it. (more…)

By Shawn, ago
best-worst-coachella-2013-list

The Best and Worst of Coachella 2013

Coachella 2013 is in the books.  We went into the festival this year with a ton of questions and some doubts.  The headliners didn’t floor us, and with other festivals around the nation and in California booking some pretty amazing bands, we were skeptical.  But then we experienced two weekends of music in the Coachella Valley, and it all made sense yet again.  Coachella is about the sun, the valley, the music and the people.  If you didn’t have a good time, you did something wrong.  We went into Saturday thinking it was a pretty weak lineup, and we came out with some of our favorite shows of the weekend.  Here’s our list of the Best and Worst of Coachella 2013. (more…)

By Dexter, ago
how to destroy angels pomona show review live

Live Review: How To Destroy Angels @ Fox Theater Pomona 4/10

There were a lot of questions that we had going into the live debut of How To Destroy Angels last night at the Fox Theater in Pomona.  How would the live show differ from the visceral experience of attending a Nine Inch Nails performance?  Would fans accept Trent Reznor’s latest project featuring his wife Mariqueen Maandig on vocals?  What could we expect from a visual standpoint from some of the most creative minds in the industry?  Many of these questions were answered last night in the most positive way- How To Destroy Angels was a visual assault and sonic journey that could be enjoyed by new fans and Nine Inch Nails diehards of old.  At times the experience felt like Nine Inch Nails-lite but it didn’t detract from the mastery of the new and original songs from How To Destroy Angels.  This was a success that was worthy of standing on its own merits and the intricately woven vocals of Mariqueen with four of the industries most progressive musical minds. (more…)

By Oliver, ago

Show Alert: Mac DeMarco @ The Observatory Orange County 4/6

If you’ve heard of Makeout Videotape, then you have heard of Mac DeMarco. The obscure Canadian multi-instrumental artist will be making his way down to Orange County for a very special performance at The Observatory on April 6th. Mac DeMarco crashed into the scene with his debut album (appropriately named), “ Rock and Roll Night Club,” in March of 2012. It’s an album that requires an acquired taste but once taste is acquired, it’s pretty damn tasty. (more…)

By Shawn, ago
matthew j tow album review way of things

Album Review: Matthew J. Tow – The Way Of Things

Matthew J. Tow has built a wildly successful career since he formed the psych-pop band Drop City in the early 1990s.  The band released five albums in a seven year span from 1993 to 2000.  Tow also formed the experimental project Colorsound in 1994- releasing four more albums in a ten year period.  Most of Tow’s acclaim has come in his home country of Australia, but after touring in the United States as the rhythm guitarist for The Brian Jonestown Massacre in 2003, he started to make a name for himself stateside.  His current band, The Lovetones, was born from the West Coast psychedelic rock sound and continues to be a successful touring and recording act in Australia.  Obviously Tow’s name has made it into quite a few album credits over the years, but his 2013 offering is the first to fall under the solo category.  Released by Xemu Records, The Way Of Things is an album that spans many genres in just under 50 minutes of run-time.  While the album transitions effortlessly from song to song making each track a memorable experience in their own right, the sum of its parts is where the real beauty is. (more…)

By Oliver, ago

Live Review: Buckcherry @ The Viper Room 3/7

Thursday night was the kickoff for Buckcherry’s 3-night takeover of the legendary Viper Room on Sunset Blvd. The LA created hard rockers made it a homecoming show and looked very comfortable on the dark and dirty stage that helped launch their careers, as well as so many others. The band tore through a collection of hits and gave a live look at their new material, and somehow at the end Josh Todd’s voice was still standing. Words, music videos and more after the jump. (more…)

By Ryan, ago