Always a treat to see Danny Harvey and Annie Marie Lewis perform each year a the Prestige Guitars booth! No line was too long to wait in to meet guitar goddess Lita Ford and Jerry Cantrell. The holy grail of swag was the Gretsch bag in my opinion. It was nice to see JonathanLittle of Little Labs and Manic Panic in the house!
Bummed that I missed Princess Frank who always puts on a raging show. But in time for New Elvis’ show that started out with orchestrated instrumental notes blended to create a total eargasm! Kaitlin Weichsel totally kills it on the bass, while singer Bila Mashini held the audience captive with his high octane vocals. Lots of energy, and the sax player the lead gal guitarist. Catch ’em at their next show.
For those who couldn’t make it to the Derby Dolls game – well – it was a blast and the Trust Fund Babies won that nite. There were some spin outs on the rink and a few bruises and scars…and everyone had a great time!
The first thought one thinks when hearing the band name, CHEERLEADR, is that this band is an all girl band…it’s not – so just get that idea right outta your head! In fact these bad boys are from Canada and they are tearing up the stages in and around Hollywood and Vegas. I joined them on their roadtrip to Vegas and the poloraids will be posted shortly. This band is not for the weakhearted!
Patti was at the Getty and this tired jaded rock & roll heart needed to see her. Her voice saved me those late dark Philly nights years ago. She gave me direction then and I was lost so right now her timing was perfect.
Patti Smith
She was in town to talk at a synposium about her friend, Harry Smith and this evening was a night of poetry and music for Harry. There was excitement in the air and the audience was friendly. She came onstage with her son, Jackson, who sat quiet as she opened with Piss Factory (the first thing I ever heard her do). It was heaven.
She read poems, sang songs, played guitar, made mistakes, cussed, spit, looked for lost pieces of paper, and told stories about Harry and her family. Jackson joined her on guitar, they made jokes at each other, we were in thier living room. The encore was one of the most rocking raw versions of Dancing Barefoot ever. There was a private reception afterwards for Patti at the Bel Air Bar and Grille. I talked to her briefly. (How do you speak to an angel?)
She apologized to a mom who had brought her kid to the show cause she had cussed on stage. She was tired, it had been a long day, she said she was suppose to stay in LA longer to do some TV dates but her mom was really sick and she had to go home. It was a sweet surreal night. The Angels can come and get me now without a fight
Then it was off to Cindy Pop’s Kittenfreaky show at the Dangerous Curve. There was spoken word and some weird art display where you slide your credit card on the machine and if you were cool enough your name would appear rank-wise on the projected screen. Jesus’ name was on the top of the heap. Anyway, Kittenfreaky is a really cool avant garde art pop band. Cindy Pop’s vocals were amazing. Eleanor plays almost every instrument in existence during their short set, and Katherine, the drummer had some cool rolls. Fav song of the evening was “Last Supper At Denny’s”.
We stopped by the paint bomb happening, just as Paul Rosseler and Jeff was driving outta the drive way. Yep – we got there at the end…and it was still happening to check out all the photos shot that night of a guy and gal who were the targets of the paint bombs…very creative deal if you ever get a chance to check it out. It’s highly recommended to get there toward the beginning though so you can witness the explosions of the paint on the persons!
I have to say I’ve never seen so many instruments on one stage at one time, but Serah gave a great performance. Her mellow vocals were well complimented by the backup vocals in a mix of African chants and the powerful voice of her highly animated backup singer. The music was beautiful and the show a great display of musicianship. (Stephanie Fitch)
Singer-songwriter Sally Zito recently brought her strong storytelling skills and literate lyric writing to an overflowing audience at Hollywood’s Highland Grounds. Much of her material touches on the various struggles that often accompany the search for love and acceptance in a complicated world. And a tight band–including husband-and-wife team Brady and Tricia Steel on upright bass and congas, Zito herself on keyboards, and her famous baseball-playing brother Barry contributing his guitar-playing talents–really helped to make the material come alive. By the end of the show, the appreciative, standing-room-only audience made it clear that Zito had definitely hit one out of the park! (W. C. Moriarity)
