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Concert Review: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

April 25, 2013 By 1 Comment
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club played brand new songs off of their latest album in San Diego this week

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club played brand new songs off of their latest album in San Diego this week

By Kayleen Fulton

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
House of Blues, San Diego
April 23, 2013

 

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club began in 1998, which would put their most loyal fans in their mid-thirties, and damn it if those thirty-year-olds didn’t remember what a great crowd was like at the House of Blues this past Tuesday. The band drew a crowd of good-natured people (Strangers hugging strangers at the end of songs? What a great site…) of all different age groups and played a diverse set list composed of old songs from their Howl era and songs from their brand spankin’ new album Specter at the Feast. Songs alternated between ambient psychedelics like “Fire Walker” and old favorites like “Ain’t No Easy Way” and the three members were just as enthusiastic as the audience, who were dancing and singing along. I have to say, it’s difficult to play a psychedelic song right, especially in a bigger venue like the House of Blues; but Robert Levon Been executed his slower songs absolutely beautifully and captivated the entire audience with his clean sound.

I wouldn’t recommend passing this band up when they come back through San Diego!

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Concert Preview: Allah-Las, Tomorrow’s Tulips, New Mexico and Barbarian

February 23, 2013 By 1 Comment
Courtesy of RVCA

Four surf-rock bands hit the Casbah on Feb. 23

By Eden Frost

Allah-Las, Tomorrow’s Tulips, New Mexico, Barbarian
The Casbah
February 23

Don’t miss the Allah-Las, Tomorrow’s Tulips, New Mexico and Barbarian all at The Casbah this Saturday, February 23.

This Saturday night at The Casbah some of the surf scene’s raddest bands are hitting the circuit. The Allah-Las, Tomorrow’s Tulips, New Mexico and Barbarian make up the set list for Saturday’s tunes and this isn’t a show you will want to miss. Surf-punk and psychedelic sounds permeate the room wherever these bands play. You can feel the music, like you’re riding a wave.

The Allah-Las have a complete throwback sound.  Their music, recording aesthetic and music videos are all reminiscent of the beatnik era. From a very 60s fitted suits and rock and roll vibe in their song “Tell Me (What’s On Your Mind)” to mellow surf scenes present throughout their tracks, the Allah-Las are a beacon of musical hope and groovy tunes in a time of over produced and synthesized music. The Los Angeles band came together in 2008 after three of its four members met working at the legendary Amoeba records. The crew knew what it took to achieve a real sounds and didn’t cut any corners on the production of their record released on vinyl. After all, what they say is true…everything does sound better on vinyl. The band’s EP released in April of last year, Tell Me (What’s On Your Mind) kills it with four addicting tracks you can listen to over and over again. (“Catamaran”, “Long Journey”, “Sacred Sands” and “Tell Me (What’s On Your Mind)”) And their self-titled album “Allah-Lahs” released this past September adds 8 new songs to become addicted to. You can hear a likeness to The Byrds coming through on the instrumentals on some tracks such as “Vis-A-Vis” off their debut album. While I pick up a bit of The Zombies with their style, this band is 100% unique, doing things the right way and working hard to achieve their sound of sorrowful, hypnotic and body swaying music.

The surfer element is heavy in Tomorrow’s Tulips with professional surfers Alex Knost (vocals and guitar) and Ford Archbold (bassist) fronting the band. Heads of long blonde locks shake like crazy when the band isn’t sporting some of their more festive headgear of sunshine and smile cut outs, and watching them play makes you feel like you’ve left land for a little while. They, too, have a sound from the past, a little Velvet Underground meets a surf-heavy garage punk. Their female vocalist Christina Kee definitely carries that Nico-esque vibe and it is rad to see a girl hold her own in a band of guys, dominating on the drums as well. Their two albums, Tired released in 2010 and Eternally Teenage capture the bands live sound, but seeing them play is half the fun of experiencing the band.

San Diego bands New Mexico and Barbarian keep with the surf-vibes and raw, garage-band sounds of the night while adding a bit more of a punk element. Barbarian recently released their debut 7” vinyl, Daze of Youth, with Manimal Vinyl. They describe their sound as “coldwave” which mixes varying levels of punk and pop with garage rock overtones. Both sides of this album showcase a different sound to the band. The raw instrumentals are met by lead singer Andrew Mills’ alarming vocals. New Mexico is described in a similar vein as Barbarian with this garage band punk dominating their sound.

All four bands compliment each other perfectly and build off of each other’s sounds. Saturday’s crowd in guaranteed to have a great time, submersed in the culture and sounds of some of the sweetest surf and garage bands SoCal has to offer.

For more information on the band’s and getting tickets check out these links.
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/events/2013/feb/23/55600/
http://www.casbahmusic.com/event/4023/

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Concert Preview: The Donkeys

November 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Donkeys play this weekend in San Diego and will return later in December. Photo courtesy of Dead Oceans.

By Eden Frost

The Donkeys
Dead Oceans Record Label

San Diego-made band The Donkeys make their way home this weekend playing a free show at the Whistle Stop Bar in South Park, San Diego on Friday. If you’re around this isn’t a band you’ll want to miss. If you’ve heard of The Donkeys you know what an incredible sound this band of pals has to offer and if you haven’t, it’s time to take a listen! Friends and music lovers since high-school, Anthony Lukens, Timothy DeNardo and Sam Sprague were joined by Jessie Gulati in the early 2000′s to form this enchanting and soulful band. I first heard them playing on a Pandora station and immediately pushed the thumbs up icon. I was delighted with the stream of songs that followed. Surf vibes, funky guitar riffs and hypnotizing choruses make The Donkeys a band you can’t stop listening to. Song after song I am amazed at how diverse and simply great this band is. Their sound ranges from a funky country rock with psychedelic undertones, sounding out of this era, to electric trances combining elements of reggae and mellow blues. The lyrics are witty and the vocals are the perfect counterpart to the rad instrumentals this band emanates.

Each of The Donkeys three albums showcase a different part of their sound, yet there is a consistency to be heard throughout. The Donkeys self titled debut album was released with Antenna Farm Records in 2006. “Lower the Heavens”, a purely instrumental piece that builds from guitar and percussion to a powerfully rhythmic wordless chorus captivated me at first listen and has become one of my favorites from the band and definitely off this album. Another one of my favorites off The Donkeys’ debut has to be “Black Cat.” The mellow guitar and light quality of the instrumentals juxtaposed with the dark lyrics make for such an interesting vibe that is present throughout the album.

Their second release, Living On The Other Side was put out in 2008 with their current record label, Dead Oceans. This album took a step in a mellower direction but with just as much soul and the same groovy vibes heard in their previous work. Songs like “Boot on the Seat” and “Nice Train” give us an inside to the sentiments of the band’s Southern California beach life and some everyday events that are a part of this friendship and quartet.

Dead Oceans put out their third album Born with Stripes in April of 2011 and the music is just as rad as the album cover, featuring a striped bullfrog amongst swirls and spots and new blue stockings. The more you look at the cover the more you see a part of each of their songs. “I Like The Way You Walk” was one of the first songs I heard on Pandora and is one of my favorites on this album. It’s sweet lyrics are full of unique compliments that go with the upbeat funky melody. “Bullfrog Blues” and “New Blue Stockings” with their tambourine shaking and twangy guitar sounds round out my top picks on this album but the sitar playing is ridiculous on both East and West Coast Raga’s.

I can’t say there’s a song of The Donkeys that I don’t like. Their two EPs “Split” and their most recent release this past April, “Won’t Let You Down” keeps with the band’s incredible sound. I only wish I’d get to see their charisma and energy in person. ( Sadly I’m still few years or a fake ID short of getting in to any of their 21+ shows.) They’re a killer band with some serious talent that we don’t see or hear enough of these days. Keep it up guys! The band will be back in San Diego December 28, playing at The Casbah.

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Concert Review: El Ten Eleven

November 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Songs from El Ten Eleven's latest album, Transitions, were featured during the duo's recent show in San Diego

By Drew Parrish

El Ten Eleven
The Irenic
November 17, 2012

Welcome to the Irenic, a small converted church in residential San Diego and home to the last stop on the latest El Ten Eleven tour. Where hard copy tickets are unnecessary, and drinks are sold out of a cooler. It was here, under stained glass windows, that I finally got to experience the brilliance of El Ten Eleven.

 

When I first discovered their music, about a year and a half ago, I binged. Hard. Every time I opened my computer or turned on my iPod, it was as if my fingers were out of my control and immediately played a selection from El Ten Eleven. I craved their distinct brand of instrumental post-rock, and only more El Ten could satisfy me. So when I walked into the Irenic on Saturday night it was not without plenty of anticipation, and I did not leave disappointed.

 

El Ten Eleven consists of two members, Kristian Dunn and Tim Fogarty. At first listen, their music may sound like these guys spend a lot of time with their laptops. With electronic sounds, exact layering of loops and precise drums the music has all the makings of an innovative computer artist. However, when these two men walked out on stage, Fogarty sat behind a drum set and Dunn strapped on a double-neck guitar/bass and they proceeded to jam out all their instrumental music live. They brought an incredible amount of energy considering the abilities and tasks required to perform their music; it was quite the display of multi-tasking. Loop pedals for repeating melodies, effects pedals, timing in and out of loops, and playing their instruments all in front of a light set up of flashing colored squares cannot be easy, but they did it masterfully. I could not stop dancing, grooving, and swaying to the succinct precision of El Ten Eleven. Their musicianship was extraordinary; at one point during the set Dunn used a cello bow on the bass half of his guitar creating atmospheric sound to accompany the detailed plucking he would do on the other half. At another point he was able to play both guitars at the same time. It was the kind of performance that has the potential of instilling a certain sense of inferiority in the viewer.

 

With no lyrics in their music, the band did not say much, however at one point Dunn spoke into the microphone and said that the next song is about being in love. The song “The Sycophants Are Coming! The Sycophants Are Coming!” was a journey through an upbeat soundscape that rocked with huge bass lines, and acoustic drumming, yet was not without those atmospheric low fi tones. It occurred to me at some point in the night that the music of El Ten Eleven just feels good. That point may have been when they played their crowd favorite masterpiece “My Only Swerving.” After they played it, Dunn asked the audience jokingly, “Could we ever not play that song?” Probably not, the song might just be perfect.

 

Before the guys played “Yellow Bridges” (a song from their recently released album Transitions) Dunn said that it felt good to be home in San Diego, and that the next song was written about the city. When a band plays in the place they call home, something special seems to permeate the venue; it generates excellent atmosphere and connection between audience and performer. It was certainly a special show, the kind of show where the best parts may be when you closed your eyes and it was just mind and music. El Ten Eleven is doing something incredible for the music scene, and they proved it Saturday night at the Irenic.

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Concert Review: FUN. and Walk the Moon

November 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Walk The Moon opened for FUN. on tour in Madrid

FUN. played many of their hits during their show in Madrid, including "We Are Young"

By Tyler Sivero

FUN., Walk The Moon
Sala Marco Aldany, Madrid, Spain
October 21, 2012

 

Recently, I had the pleasure of being able to attend a sold out show for FUN. with Walk The Moon as the opener. As if this isn’t a feat in itself, I was able to see them abroad in Madrid, Spain. As a student studying abroad in Madrid it’s great to be able to see a show in a foreign country. Especially when the bands are from America. It helps to give you a little taste of home; even if you are thousands of miles away.

As I arrived to the show it became apparent I wasn’t the only American there. For as big as FUN. is in America, and for however many times they did play “We Are Young” on the radio, the band’s popularity did not fully transfer to Spain. It seemed there were about 60% Americans and 40% Spanish. Both bands still made an effort to recognize where they were and give their best shot at recalling what little Spanish they learned in high school. The amount of Americans was not the only thing I first noticed upon arrival. Once I was inside I was blown away by how small the venue was. FUN. had sold out large arenas in southern California just a few months ago. Lawn seats sold for $60 and up at these shows. I had bought a ticket for less than half of that and was standing five people from the front. I knew I was in for a treat before the show even began.

Walk The Moon started soon after I entered and definitely got the crowds energy up for being so little known, especially in Spain. Their hit song “Anna Sun” was played largely on the radios over the summer and has boosted them to a widely recognized and famous band. Their backdrop featured their recent album cover which is something similar to a watercolor painting. It also matched their MGMT-style face paint. They dressed in short-sleeve collared shirts while the bassist preferred leopard pants and a tank top. I was getting a very hipster look and indie-rock sound. I had nothing to complain about. Most of their songs had a quick tempo and classic indie-rock much like Two Door Cinema Club. Most songs fast and featured heavy drums with a release of distorted and high electric guitar notes. Overall, I got a real lively and energetic feel that left me wanting to listen to more even in anticipation of FUN.. Towards the end of the set the band even offered to meet with the audience after the show. This is something that definitely goes a long ways today since many bands seem to have a real loose connection with their fans.

After a short waiting period FUN. came out with a grand welcome. The small venue once again provided a real connection to the band as band members looked up to the balcony and back to the fans at their feet. Each band member seemed to display their own style in dress whether it be a jean jacket worn by Nate Ruess (lead singer) or the drooping tank of guitarist Jack Antonoff. FUN. itself is a collaboration of members from different bands. Many know that Ruess is the former lead singer of The Format but few know that Jack Antonoff is from Steel Train and Andrew Dost (pianist and horns) is from Anathallo. This diversity and combination of these different bands provided for a great array of different talents and definitely contributed to the depth of the show. It was evident that they all were uniquely talented and their different talents showed. For example during slower ballads Dost pulled out a trumpet and various horns where in other songs Antonoff broke off into improvised solos.

In general, the band and especially Ruess put out an incredible amount of energy. Ruess would belt out high notes, jump around and put his whole body into the song. It seemed there was never a dull moment. The small venue seemed to contribute to the impact on the show for the band members as well. Constantly, Ruess would stop, look up and smile at the crowd or have to pause in between songs to make comment at how taken aback he was. It turns out the show was special for them indeed, as Ruess’s parents were in attendance, all the way from Iowa. These factors combined made for a once in a lifetime show thousands of miles from home. But the night didn’t end there.

I ended up getting a chance to speak with some of the members of Walk The Moon after the show. Lead singer Nicholas Petricca and guitarist Eli Maiman were kind enough to sign autographs, take pictures, and talk with their fans. I even had the chance to sit down and talk with both of them after the signing for a little while. After asking about the explosion of their hit song “Anna Sun” and their reactions I got a different answer than I was expecting. Maiman explained that even with that huge boost into fame it doesn’t mean that they stop promoting themselves. This went along with the fact that once you’ve had a hit song things don’t necessarily go the direction you think they will and it’s definitely not easier. Regardless, being a smaller band from Ohio they are stoked to be climbing up in the music world and to be doing European tours with such a big name as FUN. Petricca told me that one of his favorite things of the European tour is getting to go see and experience different places even if for a short time. He expressed his short but amazing time in Germany and how he hopes to return one day. Overall, the guys were overly nice and really care about their fans. They are also undoubtedly working in every aspect to make a name for themselves in the music industry. Definitely qualities that many of today’s artist have lost sight of.

Walk the Moon will be playing a show at the House of Blues San Diego on November 14. I strongly recommend going to see a great show with a group of guys that really care about music and their fans. You won’t regret it.

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Concert Review: Escape From Wonderland

October 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Escape From Wonderland delighted guests with spooky haunted houses and excellent electronic music

By Aidan Meehan and Will Jernigan

Escape From Wonderland
October 27, 2012
NOS Event Center
San Bernardino, CA

 

In only its second year, Insomniac Events brought nearly 50,000 people to their Halloween-themed festival Escape From Wonderland, which has sold out both its years of occurrence. After attending, we can see why this member of the Wonderland family is by far the most popular. Electronic music enthusiasts love one thing more than dancing the night away, and that is doing so in bizarre, carefully constructed costumes. Halloween presents the ultimate opportunity for outlandish wear, and festival-goers did not disappoint at Escape, sporting the dress of historical figures, Alice and her Wonderland friends (fittingly), and cult movie icons of past and present.

Escape From Wonderland offered attendees much more than just another chance to dress up and party. State-of-the-art production, a mind-blowing line-up and revolting décor all contributed to one of the most unique and memorable Halloween experiences possible.

Upon entering through the ghastly gates of the festival, we scouted out the haunted stages, ending up at the Ghoul’s Graveyard stage, hosted by Steve Angello’s own Size Matters Records. Rising progressive house stars Third Party had just begun their set, mixing with a Dutch House style that included tracks such as Afrojack’s new anthem “Rock the House”, and even mixing in Zedd’s heavy-hitting remix of Skrillex’s “Breaking A Sweat”.  Continuing into a more progressive sound later in the set, they dropped some of their own productions, playing “Feel”, their famous remix of Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Otherside”, and finally put the crowd into a frenzy with their new collaboration with Steve Angello “Lights” .

After Third Party finished, we found a small window of opportunity between artists to wander the festival and check out the haunted houses. The first stop was The Looking Glass 3-D Maze, where chainsaw-toting zombies and unearthly demons were hidden among twisted neon 3D landscapes. The house’s ‘victims’ held back screams of terror as the most gruesome of wonderland’s inhabitants appeared almost out of the walls to horrify the unsuspecting. Five minutes of recovery time and we launched into the pleasantly short and quick-moving line of the next house, Alice’s House of Horror. In Alice’s House lurked insane doctors, a room of hanging clowns and pitch-black hallways that created an atmosphere all more nauseating than the previous house. After escaping the clutches of the monsters inside, we left the haunted houses thoroughly impressed with their quality and presentation.

We quickly stopped at the Chopping Block Dubstep Stage to have our eardrums pounded by Crizzly’s bass-heavy set, which featured a hype man and full-sized teddy bear bouncing around on stage. We then headed to the main stage, Slaughter House, to see the Australian twin female sensations Nervo. Miriam and Olivia came out in police uniforms, with enthusiasm double that of most DJ’s and mixed a set to remember. The sisters played many of their famous songs, including “The Way We See the World”, “You’re Gonna Love Again”, and their latest release “Reason”. Our personal favorite was Nervo’s hit “We’re All No One” sung over Hook N’ Sling’s club jam “Take You Higher”. The light show at the Slaughter House added to the already memorable set, complete with seven LED backboards that went through everything from a live fan/DJ cam to a realistic thrill ride, twin lasers, ghosts and spider webs floating from the top of the tent, smoke, strobe lights, flood lights, and confetti and streamer cannons.

Back at the Size Matters stage, progressive house legend Steve Angello stole the show with an epic hour and a half-long set full of EDM classics and freshly released hits. He opened with his #1 track “KNAS” and segued into Alesso’s track “Clash”. Frequently pausing the mix to talk to the crowd, Angello spoke about the upcoming Swedish House Mafia tour while playing the supergroup’s hits “One”, “Greyhound”, and “Leave The World Behind”. Every vocal hook of the set was sung along to and every drop evoked zeal from the crowd. Closing with the latest SHM single, “Don’t You Worry Child”, Angello left Escape From Wonderland fired up for the rest of the evening.

We hung around after Angello’s set to catch German mastermind Thomas Gold.  He surprised us by entering the stage with a full 8-piece drum line of evil clowns, who stayed on stage with him throughout the first two songs, performing live percussions along with his mixing of heavy progressive house beats. He played many of his signature tracks, including “Alive”, “Eyes Wide Open”, and “Walking Alone”.  From there we briefly stopped at Calvin Harris’ set, which was engaging, but quite crowded, and finally headed back to the Chopping Block Bass Stage to close out our night with the infamous dubstep heavyweight Borgore.

Borgore surprised no one with a particularly raunchy set, full of heavy, grimy bass lines, and images of scantily clad women and junk food (comical floating ice cream cones and cakes).  He pleased the crowd with Flux Pavilion’s well-known “I Can’t Stop”, and surprised us with a bit of Knife Party’s new track “Centipede”.  He also played many of his own famous songs, including “Ice Cream”, “Love”, and ended the night with his latest major release, “Decisions”.  During the final track, hundreds of girls flooded the stage and danced along with him, with security being unable to hold back the onslaught.  Borgore’s set was a powerful and unique experience, and a great way to end the night at Escape from Wonderland.

In conclusion, the Wonderland series of events is continuously impressive. Both Nocturnal and Escape From Wonderland have offered incredible experiences in a relatively small and safe festival setting. Insomniac continues to deliver musically and logistically, setting the standard for music festivals across the country. I highly recommend trying out one of the Insomniac festivals in the near future, either this New Year’s at White Wonderland or at any of the Electric Daisy Carnival events. Escape From Wonderland’s haunting melodies and brutal drops brought out Alice’s evil side, even if just for one frightening night.

 

 

5-5:30 Schoolboy

5:30-6:30 Third Party

6:30-7 Explore and Stuff

7-7:45 Crizzly

8-9 Nervo

9-9:30 Haunted House

9:30-10:45 Steven Angello

10:45-11:15 Armin van Buuren

11:15-12:15 Thomas Gold

12:15-12:40 Laidback Luke

12:40-1 Calvin Harris

1-2 Borgore

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Concert Review: Bombay Bicycle Club

October 22, 2012 By 1 Comment

Bombay Bicycle Club's show featured songs off their newest album, A Different Kind of Fix

 

By Aidan Meehan


Bombay Bicycle Club
House of Blues San Diego
October 17

When most people hear the terms “indie pop”, or as the British call the genre “twee pop”, images of crooning melodies, melancholy lyrics and a slow gentle performance are evoked. While this may hold true for some of Bombay Bicycle Club’s studio recordings, their live performances are the perfect opposite of the indie pop image. Both times I have seen Bombay have out-classed even the most high energy shows in terms of stage presence and crowd participation. During the group’s hits “Always Like This” and “Beg” even the venue security joined in song.

Bombay Bicycle Club hails from north London and is currently on the west coast leg of their U.S. tour in support of their 2011 release A Different Kind of Fix. The main singles off Fix, ‘Beg’ and ‘How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep’, are now staples of Bombay’s current setlist. Debut album I Had The Blues, But I Shook Them Loose and sophomore acoustic release Flaws also spawned numerous singles, charting as high as 56 on the UK Singles. Bombay’s recent success in the UK indie scene led them to embark on their U.S. Tour, playing small venues and connecting with the American audience. After seeing Bombay at the Bluebird Theatre in Denver in August earlier on the tour, I knew that I had to see another show eventually, and jumped at the chance to go to House of Blues.

Walking into the venue, opener Vacationer had just begun their set of spacey indie/psych rock to a slightly unenthused crowd. Vacationer’s lead single “Trip” was accompanied by a projector displaying psychedelic visuals and oceanic scenes. The combination of the venue ambience, laid back lyrics and the visuals recalled a dreamy day on the California shore. The group did an excellent job of bringing up the energy by the end of their set, despite the crowd’s early reluctance to loosen up. I suggest listening to some of Vacationer’s tracks on YouTube if you are looking for some solid beach music.

After a quick break to change stage set up’s, Bombay entered to a roar from the audience. Opening with ‘Beg’ and ‘How Can You Swallow…’ got the audience excited enough to take a pause and introduce the band. After playing a few tracks off of I Had The Blues… the group waxed acoustic and brought out acoustic guitars and strangely enough, a banjo. Lead singer Jack Steadman then politely asked the audience “how would you like to turn this show into a hoedown” and broke out in acoustic hits ‘Ivy & Gold’ and ‘Rinse Me Down’ at a speed far beyond that of the studio recording. The audience danced in true ‘hoedown’ style as the British performers took on a Country-Western air. Other hits ‘Evening/Morning’ and Cancel On Me excited the audience even further, with the whole venue singing and shouting along to the tracks. After closing with ‘Always Like This’ the group went off stage for barely a second before the crowd demanded an encore. Bombay did not disappoint, performing ‘Shuffle’, unreleased head-banger ‘Carry On’ and the high energy punk influenced closer ‘What If’.

After the show, front man Jack Steadman, background vocalist Lucy Rose, and bassist Ed Nash came out to visit with the audience, signing tickets and answering questions. I took the time to ask them a few brief questions. Jack offered a bit of insight on the unreleased tracks, stating that the group is recording in El Paso, Texas, after the tour, and they have most of a record written and arranged, with a hopeful release in the spring. Lucy Rose spoke about her favorite stops on the tour, saying that besides San Diego, her favorite American city was New Orleans because of the vibrant music scene and unique ambience.

After my quick chat with some of the group members, I left the show feeling both energized and refreshed. I highly recommend any of Bombay’s three records to any indie music fan, their song writing is unique, emotive and fun. If you get a chance to see them in the near future, I suggest it to everyone, Bombay Bicycle Club puts on a performance unlike most other groups in the genre that is high-energy and eclectic.

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Concert Preview: Escape from Wonderland

October 18, 2012 By 14 Comments

 

By Aidan Meehan

 

Escape From Wonderland
October 27, 2012
NOS Events Center
San Bernadino, CA

 

Insomniac Events is hosting the Halloween themed festival of the Wonderland festival circuit “Escape From Wonderland” in San Bernardino on Saturday, October 27th, Escape from Wonderland. Insomniac is widely regarded as one of the premiere electronic music festival producers in the world, with other events including Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas and Electric Zoo in New York City.  The festival heralds big names in many genres of electronic dance music (EDM), and production quality of the event itself is top-tier. Three artists I am particularly excited to see are Swedish house giant Steve Angello, the ever controversial and exciting Borgore, and the Australian twin sisters Nervo, the first female artists to truly cause ripples in the EDM scene.

 

  1. Steve Angello

Steve Angello is one of the most successful and controversial figures in modern house music. From his rise to fame with Swedish House Mafia to the numerous criticisms and allegations against him from both his fans and the music community, Angello is an artist that is either adored or loathed. On June 24, 2012, Swedish House Mafia announced that their next tour would be their last. Since the announcement of the break up each member of the super group has been touring extensively as individuals, and Angello is no exception, playing festivals and individual shows all over North America. He is respected among electronic dance music lovers for his international hits (both solo and with Swedish House Mafia), such as “Leave The World Behind,” “Greyhound,” and the newly released club anthem “Don’t You Worry Child,” as well as for his live mixing skill. True EDM enthusiasts, however, have recently brought to public attention some of Angello’s artistic faults. Recent criticisms include some producers attacks on the track KNAS, because it’s main melody was taken from a publically available sample pack, and thus the percussions were Angello’s only creative contribution to the track. Despite what some die-hard fans may say about Angello selling out or bringing commercialism to house music, he and Swedish House Mafia have consistently produced powerful and innovative tracks. After seeing the two other members of Swedish House Mafia, Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso, at the last Wonderland Festival, I am excited to complete the trio this Halloween weekend with what will be a dynamic and engaging set.

 

  1. Nervo

Some of the first female producers to explode in the electronic music industry, Nervo hails from the Land Down Under.  The twin sisters from Australia began their careers songwriting, and broke through co-writing for David Guetta’s “When Love Takes Over,” winning a Grammy for their work.  After working closely with Guetta, they began producing and embarked on a two-year-long world tour, hitting major festivals including Lollapalooza in Chicago, Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Tomorrowland in Belgium, and Ultra Music Festival in Miami. Quickly becoming the hottest female duo in electronic music, they recently hit Beatport’s Number 1 song with their Tomorrowland Anthem “The Way We See The World” which they produced with progressive house heavyweights Dmitri Vegas and Like Mike.  They are now preparing for the UK release of  “We’re All No One,” a collaboration with Top DJ’s Steve Aoki and Afrojack, which features them as not only as producers, but as singers.  The pre-released music video already has over 2.5 million views on YouTube, and has hit #8 on the Billboard Club Chart in the US.  They have also just announced their own residency in Las Vegas at the Wynn Hotel Group, and are currently touring alongside superstars Kaskade, Skrillex, Avicii, and Chuckie on the IDentity Tour, which had a stop in San Diego in August. Being such an influential group in electronic music as a whole, and especially being the first female group to break through in electronic music, Nervo is sure to put on a high-energy set at Escape from Wonderland.

 

  1. Borgore

Last but certainly not least; Asaf Borgore has recently become a household name to anyone who listens to dubstep.  Born and raised in Israel, Borgore has had a surprisingly diverse music career. He began playing piano at age 3, graduated from a highly esteemed youth music programs as a saxophone major, joined a death metal band as a drummer, created a beatboxing dubstep group with Tomba, and has now become one of the biggest names in dubstep.  He launched Buygore Records in 2010 after leaving Diplo’s label, Mad Decent, and has signed many of the biggest up-and-coming names in Dubstep.  His first release, “Borgore Ruined Dubstep,” is a fitting name for his artistic personality, which is often crude and controversial, but always entertaining. He describes his own genre as “gorestep,” a branch of electronic music that tends to be even heavier than most dubstep, and features triplet bass drum pattern, common in metal music.  His latest release, Decisions EP, was a major success and featured remixes by Cedric Gervais and Dead Audio. It was recently leaked that the back-up vocals for Decisions came from none other than teen sensation Miley Cyrus.  The news of Cyrus’ involvement created waves throughout the electronic music community, generally with widespread criticism.  Borgore has constantly made news since he first stepped into the spotlight with his very heavy and crude song “Love.”  His songs have been compared stylistically to horror movies and farm animals, but despite his quirky and sometimes offensive lyrical content he is widely regarded as a major talent in dubstep.  He is currently on the “Decisions Tour,” launched after the success of Decisions, and Escape from Wonderland is the second to last stop.  Borgore is sure to put on a show to remember at Escape from Wonderland.

 

Escape From Wonderland will be a night on par with past Insomniac events, featuring a sweet line-up, state-of-the-art production and fittingly, themed haunted mazes sure to terrify even the most dedicated of ravers.

 

Leave a comment below with who you would be most excited to see at Escape From Wonderland,
and we’ll pick a winner to receive two free passes to the show! You must include your full name and email address.

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Concerts: Imagine Dragons @ USD Homecoming

October 14, 2012 By 2 Comments

Imagine Dragons played at USD's 2012 Homecoming Concert

By Alina Calva

To the excitement of much of the campus community, Imagine Dragons was the feature band to rock the USD campus. Imagine Dragons started humbly out of Las Vegas and rocketed to fame with the release of their hit single “It’s Time.” Many fans eagerly awaited the release of Night Visions, which came out September 4, 2012. The album Night Visions proved to be a great success for the band, reaching # 2 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. The album Night Visions was also a great success in that it was the best first week sales for a debut album from up and coming rock bands in over six years.

Vocalist Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman from Imagine Dragons worked USD’s Homecoming Stage. I have only been around for one other homecoming concert; however, this is one of the biggest and most active crowd I have seen show up for any USD concert. Torero Program Board did great work lining up such an amazing band that the students were excited to see. Vocalist Dan Reynolds really interacted with the crowd and the response was great. When Dan Reynolds told the crowd to crowd surf, students immediately followed his instructions and crowd surfed like never before; when Dan Reynolds said get loose and crazy, the crowd swayed and grooved and moved around like jello. What made the concert especially enjoyable was the feeling brought from the beating of the drum. The percussion sounds brought into their music made it impossible for your body not to rock to the music.

The entire concert experience was great. The band has a great diversity of music from slower more acoustic songs to more upbeat and synthesized music; the order in which songs came up in the set was well chosen and kept the crowd wanting to hear more. The students were so pleased that the band got cries for encore and performed one last song before exiting the stage. I am pleased to say I have only heard rave reviews, and I hope for the continued success of Imagine Dragons in the years to come.

Check back here on Monday to see our interview with Imagine Dragons – a collaborative effort between USD Radio, USDTV and The Vista.

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Concert Review: Big Gigantic

October 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Big Gigantic's stop in San Diego was one of the first in a lengthy U.S. tour

By Drew Parrish

Big Gigantic with GRiZ
House of Blues, San Diego
October 4, 2012

 

I walked out of the House of Blues around midnight unable to hear properly, exhausted, dripping in sweat, and utterly refreshed. The music I had just experienced rejuvenated my relationship with electronic dance music; it reminded me why the rise of electronic dance music (EDM) makes perfect sense, and why it can be so awesome. When I walked in, the opening artist GRiZ had just dropped the song “Smash the Funk” (a personal favorite of mine off his recently released album Mad Liberation). A song that has quintessential dubstep drops, danceable hip-hop breakdowns, a jazzy live saxophone, and title that was conveniently ironic, because what this show brought to San Diego on Thursday night was the funk, in a completely reimagined way.

 

For the rest of the GRiZ set I proceeded to dance like a fool to the high energy music produced by Grant Kwiecinski (GRiZ) and revel in his ability as I recognized intricately layered samples, from artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., accompanying the sonic minefields that typify dubstep. This fusion of genres ignited the dance floor and very nicely prepared the audience for the headlining act, Big Gigantic.

 

As long as I am using ironic titles to talk about the night, let me just say that music of Dominic Lalli and Jeremy Salken pretty much lives up to the name of their musical project, Big Gigantic. The brainchild of Dominic Lalli, Big Gigantic was born in Boulder, CO in 2008 and developed when Lalli wasn’t playing saxophone for Colorado’s genre bending jam-masters The Motet. But Lalli did not leave the sax behind when he pursued Big Gigantic, rather he made it the group’s trademark as he laid soulful and melodic sax playing over a torrent of dance beats. Add Jeremy Salken on a live drum set, and dubstep just got downright groovy.

 

From the moment Big Gigantic started, they didn’t let up and neither did the audience. The energy was palpable as they expertly wove and ploughed their way in and out of songs like “Sky High,” and “Beginning of the End.” As if the audible stimulation was not enough, the boys brought to town an expansive light set up featuring two towers of screens that produced choice images and lighting effects. However, the most sensational aspect the show was being apart of the audience. It was as if we were puppets attached to strings made of music. At one point when Big Gigantic played their remix of “I Need a Dollar” by Aloe Blacc I immediately saw dollar bills being waved and thrown. We even passed around a dollar and the person to have it at the end of the song got to keep it (or so I thought when I passed the bill to the girl standing behind me). By the end of the set, the crowd was so pumped that the wait for the encore was the shortest I have ever seen. Lalli and Salken did not disappoint when they charged back out and dropped an epic remix of the popular song “I Can’t Stop” by Flux Pavilion.

 

It is obvious why electronic dance music has exploded in popularity, what person doesn’t want to dance like a hooligan sometimes? The atmosphere is infectious. Yet I have often been alienated by the EDM genre because it seems as if artists sometimes sacrifice creativity and innovation in their work for popularity. This show featured artists that garnered popularity because of their creativity and innovation, and so I was refreshed and ready for more.

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