Friday, February 25, 2011

falling through darkness






ps 3 years ago today was a frightening day. brain surgeon drilling into my skull to attack the 5th cranial nerve. collapsing after surgery. seeing my family flash in front of me in the darkness. i made it because life wanted me!
ps ps i still fight the hell out the 5th cranial nerve and i will win eventually! hey mr. 5th cranial nerve take that....

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

travis' fran healy and sea wolf's alex brown church @ the culture collide block party 10.10.10


ps it was near the end to the block party. took myself for a run over to the echo park methodist church for a listen to fran healy and alex brown church acoustic sets.
healy's decade-plus career with the venerable scottish quartet travis charted numerous singles; "sing," "why does It always rain on me?," and "driftwood" to name a few. we were lucky enough to hear healy sing ''writing to reach you", "sing", "dear diary", "driftwood" and new solo songs "buttercups", "sing me to sleep", "as It comes" this evening. he released his debut solo album,
wreckorder, in 2010 with contributions from paul mccartney, neko case and tom hobden from noah and the whale. healy is an amusing, chatty, sweet lad. many words spoken before, between and ending his songs, complete with story telling and jokes. healy swore frequently in church without a second thought. at one point he stopped a song to shout out, "shut the fuck up! fucking hipsters! i'm from glasgow. don't mess with the 'wegies!" standing ovation at the end! why can't church mass be like this every week?

follow fran healy:
http://www.myspace.com/franhealy
http://twitter.com/franhealy
http://www.facebook.com/franhealyofficial?v=app_178091127385
http://www.franhealy.com

hear me share fran healy's music http://blip.fm/CreepingElm

















sea wolf is a folk rock-indie band led by alex brown church based in los angeles, ca. church played an acoustic set to end the evening. this was my 2nd time seeing him live. alex with his deep lyrics that swoon with gentle reflection, introspection and sentimental thoughts echoed throughout the church. sea wolf's last album "leaves in the river" was released in 2009.

follow sea wolf:
http://www.facebook.com/seawolf
http://twitter.com/#!/seawolfmusic
http://www.myspace.com/seawolf
www.seawolfmusic.com

hear me share sea wolf's music http://blip.fm/CreepingElm


sea wolf ~ wicked blood


sea wolf ~ you're a wolf



Monday, February 21, 2011

Sunday, February 20, 2011

beach house @ the music box 2.16.11



ps beach house is an indie band made up of victoria legrand (vocals, organ), alex scally (guitar, keyboards), and with live percussion by daniel j franz and graham hill, and more keyboards! i must say that legrand has uniquely powerful vocals. her voice is fascinating. the songs are filled with passion with an aura of a psychedelic influence. with that being said, the colors and starry backdrop were stunningly atmospheric. this music is dark, dreamy, and alluringly hypnotic.
the group has released three albums: 2006 “beach house”, 2008 “devotion” and “teen dream” in 2010.
ps ps thanks for whomever told legrand that the audience was good looking... hehehe yes legrand i believe that we all had one sweet dream that evening just as you told us to.

follow beach house:
http://www.facebook.com/beachhouse
http://twitter.com/#!/BeaccchHoussse
http://www.myspace.com/beachhousemusic
http://tickets.beachhousebaltimore.com/

hear me share beach house ~ http://blip.fm/CreepingElm
















Saturday, February 19, 2011

papercuts @ the music box 2.16.11



ps sadly to say the music box doesn't allow professional cameras in their venue. completely bummed was i. they made me take it back to the car. me without a camera in my hand at a show is like a drummer without a drum. iphone had to play the role of the camera for the evening.
pleasantly enough the indie band, papercuts, was the opener for beach house. the members of this band are jason quever with graham hill (drums), david enos (keys), frankie koeller (bass) and others... i find their sound to be ethereal-like with quever's whispering vocals and guitars. their music put the crowd in a very tranquil state of mind.
papercuts - fading parade is their 4th release ....release date is march 1, 2011.


follow papercuts:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Papercuts/129634500431437
http://www.myspace.com/thepapercuts
http://papercutsmusic.tumblr.com

hear me play papercuts at http://blip.fm/CreepingElm













riches of love untold wakening the day from black to gold...

Friday, February 18, 2011

the decemberists @ the wiltern 2.12.11



ps the decemberists are a folk rock band made up of colin meloy, chris funk, jenny conlee, nate query, and john moen. on board for their tour is nickel creek's sara watkins (described by meloy as a sixth decemberists), providing fiddle lines and support on guitar and drums.
they opened their show with a tribute to la, "los angeles i'm yours", from their album her majesty at the wiltern theater on 2.12.11. thank you colin for greeting all of us that were seated at the top of the mezzanine. i loved that he asked the audience to make noises as if we were being swallowed by a whale preparing us for participation during "the mariner's revenge song", an over-the-top sea tale from 2005's picaresque.
the concert ended with "june hymn" from the king is dead, their most recent album released on 1.17.11
a big thank you for a lovely show that i will remember for a lifetime! and colin your quirkiness is adorable. btw, la will be waiting for your return, even if you have to swim under water to sing to us.
ps ps if you haven't seen them live get out there and find tickets!

follow the decemberists:
http://www.facebook.com/thedecemberists
http://twitter.com/thedecemberists
http://www.myspace.com/thedecemberists
http://decemberists.com/

listen to me play the decemberists http://blip.fm/CreepingElm