August 27th: Butthole Surfers at The Echoplex

Two weeks ago I was gearing up to go to the Sunset Junction when I heard it got cancelled. Luckily I did not buy a ticket yet. Though I wanted to see Melvins, Helmet, Barrio Tiger, and the other bands, the band I really wanted to see was the Butthole Surfers. I had never seen them and when they came here last time I hadn't been into them yet, so I was disappointed when the city didn't give the permit for the festival. I got excited again when they said they would play the Echoplex. I got the ticket, though another speed bump happened... 18 and over, one of my drawbacks. I got in though thanks to John Ramirez! I saw the opening act, 400 Blows, whom I thought was good  though I thought their songs kind've sounded the same, but I was into them. Then the Butthole Surfers went on and were just crazy good. They had great visuals of horror movies in the background and they sounded great! They played songs off pretty much every record except for Weird Revolution, which funny enough, the next day was the 10th anniversary of its release. I like also how they worked a small part of their hit song "Pepper" in "Lady Sniff" I liked that because it seemed to me like they didn't really care about playing that song. They played some of my favorites like "Mark Says Alright" "Who Was in My Room Last Night" and "Goofy's Concern." I had a really great time, got an awesome BS shirt, went to a show in silverlake the next day, and then Fuck Yeah Fest a week later!

August 26th: The Terrorists, Mutations, and Dirty Eyes at Beauty is Pain Boutique

Last Friday I was invited to see Dirty Eyes a band I've been hearing about for the past few months and being acquaintances with a few of the members I decided to go see them at Beauty is Pain Boutique. I got there early as I enjoy seeing most of the bands on a bill. The first band was the Terrorists, a garagey kind've punk band. The microphone they were using made it sound like they were singing through a 1930's radio. I liked them a lot and I got a really rad cd from the singer Ernesto! They are touring and I would definitely recommend seeing them and getting their cd. The next band was Mutations. They are straight up Garage and I love'd them. These guys played a really cool cover of "Lucifer Sam" by Pink Floyd. They are all under 20 and hopefully my band will be playing with them in October, a show you cant miss haha! The last band I got to see was Dirty Eyes and the consistency of good music did not stop at this band. I cannot describe them much more then straight up Rock 'n' Roll. With that kind of genre I'm always a little cautious about because I feel usually the band is doing nothing new. This band has, of course taken influence from the genre but I really feel this band is changing it up and making some really rad music. I wish I could have seen the other bands but sadly I had to leave after Dirty Eyes was done. This night was the start of my crazy rock 'n' roll weekend!

August 23rd: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks at Amoeba Music Hollywood

After being crazy in love with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks' song "Senator" I decided to go see them play for free at one of my favorite places to shop, Amoeba Music in Hollywood. Thanks to my good friend Theo, My friends and I got into the VIP section, which basically means we got to go straight to the front. The band goes on soon after starting with the first track off of their record "Tigers" an almost straight out pop song. They then commence to play songs like "Forever 28" which Stephen called, "A live favorite," (The song never being played before made this comment amusing) They played a few other songs and a clean version of "Senator" where the lyrics are "I know what the senator wants/ What the senator wants is a corndog." The set was good, but I wish it was longer. After their set they did a signing and I crawled back under my rock waiting for new shows to come up.

Buy Mirror Traffic at your local record stores or off the internet!

ALBUM REVIEW: Barry: Yawnin' in the Dawnin'

Here's another one in the folk-rock genre! Yawnin' in the Dawnin' is a superb first release! This record is a very emotional record and it really shows that there are still bands out there who can put out music that you know that they really felt what they were writing. Songs like, "Three Years in Carolina," "Love Something Too Much," and, "Great Unknown," are really powerful tracks with sweet vocal harmonies and the instrumentation backing that up very well. I'd also like to note that there was harmonica on a few tracks which made me really like the band, and the added organs make this record even better. It really feels like a record that came from the south. Its no surprise that this was recorded in a converted barn. I've listened to this record a few times already in the day I've had it. It shows a bright future for the upcoming releases of this band!

You can buy this record on iTunes!

P.S. Thanks to Sean Schrader and Ben Barry at 100% Records for sending me this album for review!

ALBUM REVIEW: Portugal. The Man: In The Mountain In The Cloud

The seventh record by Portugal. The Man has a new feel and I like it! I've loved this band since 2009 and I have to say that they have changed on almost every record since then. This is their major label debut (they got signed to Atlantic Records in 2010) and I think this is their most accessible album. This, I mean in a respectful manor, as I feel that P.TM should be very successful and  hopefully this will be at least a precursor to them being a really popular band and hopefully radio play. There were a few things that I found interesting about the album, like the normal cd is just a digipack and just opens up. Of course the deluxe edition has more flash, but I feel that when they were independent they were putting out higher quality and cooler packaging. Besides that this is overall a really good album. The record is less psychedelic than their past few releases but still has the Portugal. The Man feel and I'm glad they didn't make a drastic change when they signed with Atlantic. There was more instrumentation on this record which was really cool. My favorite tracks are "So American," "Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)," and "Sleep Forever." I really do have to note "Sleep Forever," because this is such an amazing song! I always feel overwhelmed listening to it as it builds throughout the song. I really like this album a lot, so go and get it at your local record stores or over the internet!

July 22-23: Two Nights With Ty Segall

Waking up early is painful since I went to bed at around 2 o'clock the past few nights. Friday, I went over to Center of the Arts Eagle Rock to try and see Ty Segall finally even though it was sold out. The reason I was still going was because last time I went to see Thee Oh Sees, they let me in even though it was sold out. That was not the case Friday. We had to leave but the promoter said if we came back at 10 he would probably let a few people in. 10 rolls around and the guy is nowhere in sight, just the security guard. Luckily there is a window where we can watch Ty and hear him perfectly. After about four songs they lower a screen to cover the window. My friends and I start walking to the Starbucks across the street when the security guard came over to tell the people on the side to leave. There was no one at the door, so I sneaked into the show. I came in to a great show. Ty Segall was super noisy playing some of my favorite songs. At one point he jumped into the crowd while playing a solo and crowd-surfed for about a minute or two. Another highlight was Steven McDonald of Red Kross came up on stage and played a few RK covers. Ty then ended with "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath. I met the band and they are all super nice! I am set to interview Ty very soon. The next night at the Smell was also great! I got to see the opening bands and I think my favorite had to be White Fence. They were just really awesome but I would also check out Crazy Band and Audacity both bands are good. Ty again was super good, played some different songs and that was cool. I thought the set was to short though, but a great show nonetheless!

ALBUM REVIEW: Fleet Foxes: Helplessness Blues

The sophomore release of this Seattle-based folk band Fleet Foxes is a superb record. The layered vocals over the 6 piece band is nice to listen to, especially at night. It is a calm record, one that I think a listener could go to sleep to. Of course I mean this in respect. The record is peaceful and pretty uplifting. My favorite thing about this record is the instrumentation (Most of the players taking on at least two instruments) and the way they played each instrument not exactly like the other as some bands will do. Each guitar part was different and so was the bass. The vocals are also less hollow then their earlier releases. They are now more rich I think, with a sweeter tone than they usually have. My favorite tracks off of the album would have to be, "Bedouin Dress," "Battery Kinzie," and "Helplessness Blues." The record seems to go well with summer evenings in my opinion. This album is great and if you're looking for the new folk record this is it!