I went to see Hollywood Holt at the El Rey last night to kick off a night of what I hoped would be exceptional music and performances. Holt definitely delivered on those expectations, but in doing so, he shined over the acts that followed.
Holt came out aggressive and demanding that the crowd participate. After running out to what he felt like were only a few cheers, he barked at the crowd, told them there response was not good enough, and retreated backstage to enter again. As he took the stage a second time, a small roar filled the constantly growing crowd and Holt was ready to harness that energy.
He is active, animated, charismatic and even has a sense of humor on stage. He is so good at working the crowd as a rapper and charmer that he does not even need a hypeman; his own swagger carries the performance. He thinks he is fresh, he is not camera shy and he is a handsome looking man. If Kanye West can somehow become handsome in the eyes of consumers, Hollywood Holt definitely will be. I wouldn't crown him as the next rapper of the moment just yet, but he has a lot going for him....
The animated performance and personality, the ability to work the crowd between songs and get them participating in songs they don't even know, the chemistry between him and his DJ, his great diction/enunciation in live performance and his general swagger all are necessary ingredients to a successful touring career as a rapper. If Hollywood Holt continues wrecking crowds like he did last night, it is only a matter of time before he is a household name.
Holt's performance overshadowed both Chester French and Lady Sovereign. While neither turned in a bad performance, Chester French just does not look as comfortable on stage as you would've liked to see. He plays some of his bangers and more popular songs, and girls close to the stage get excited, but something seems slightly off. The band was decent, but never seemed to have great chemistry. The way Chester moves on stage he doesn't look like he is having the best time (it is possible that Chester just is not a very good dancer) and he just didn't have the charisma that Hollywood Holt did. All in all I left Chester's performance thinking I much prefer Chester French on record then in person. Perhaps it was just an off night for the band, perhaps Chester French is just now getting his live performance down and there is significant room for improvement, but if his performance last night is indicative of what his performances will be like in the future then, unless you like poorly executed live pop or you like seeing Archie Bunker look-alikes, I'm not suggesting people go see him.
Lady Sovereign headlined the show. The set arrangement was simple and typical for a rapper of Sovereign's stature; she had DJ Annalyze with her as well as a drummer. Sovereign worked the crowd from side to side spitting her laid back grimy European flow and she captured the crowd in the beginning. She played a few bangers that people would want to hear, but as the show wore on and Sovereign did not switch her style much or engage the crowd often, the show seemed to get repetitive. All in all, her performance was decent - but nothing to write more than one paragraph about.
If I could do it all over again, I'd put Holt at the top of the bill. He has officially arrived and he is awesome.
8/08 – Rock The Bells feat. Ice Cube, Nas, Big Boi, Busta Rhymes, The Roots, Reflection Eternal, Common, K’Naan, RZA, GZA, Raekwon, The Knux, Eyedea & Abilities, Pete Rock, KRS-One, Supernatural, Murs, Chali 2na, Evidence & Alchemist, and others…@ San Manuel Amphitheatre
8/08 – Morris Day & The Time @ Greek Theatre
8/12 – N.A.S.A @ El Rey
8/12 – Dr. John, James Cotton, Buddy Guy @ Hollywood Bowl
8/13 – Eric Krasno & Chapter 2, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk @ Key Club
8/23 – Dave Koz & Friends, Tower of Power @ Hollywood Bowl
8/26 – Cake @ Henry Fonda
8/28 – Ted Leo + The Pharmacists @ Echo
9/02 – Hall & Oates @ Nokia Theater L.A. Live
9/05 – Bob Weir & Ratdog w/ special guest Jackie Greene @ Greek Theatre
9/08 – AC/DC @ Honda Center
9/18 – Pink w/ The Ting Tings
9/24 –Beastie Boys @ Hollywood Bowl
10/4 – Kylie Minogue @ Hollywood Bowl
10/25 – U2, Black Eyed Peas @ The Rose Bowl
10/31 – Steve Aoki, Major Lazer, Diplo, Switch @ The Forum
WORD?!?!?
Gangi, who just played their last FREE MONDAY at Spaceland on Memorial Day, is not very good.The critic in me hopes it is the duo’s last appearance at Spaceland, and for any bill that I am going to take my time to attend for that matter.How did that duo ever get the highly coveted Spaceland residency in the first place?!?!?They were absolute garbage.The main MC could barely get the crowd to put their hands up - not even his friends would do it...and this was at the last show of the residency.Their vocals blew.To call their integration of electronic drums (and other effect) into their pop-ish sound mediocre would be an overstatement.I didn’t see one group of people in the crowd who were thoroughly enjoying Gangi’s music.It felt as though half the crowd was there to see Local Natives continue to generate more hype for their machine.They are playing June 19th at the El Rey Theater and hopefully will be well on their way after that.The quintet is certainly talented, as exhibited by their ability to seamlessly move in between each others instruments.The other half of the crowd was most likely there to see Warpaint play after Gangi – word on the street is that Warpaint is not to be missed…unfortunately, I had to leave early.
Suburban Nirvana Club had its first ever Multi-Day Concert Event this weekend playing host to Carmel Helene, an up and coming singer/songwriter, on Friday and featuring the pleasure inducing tunes of rising shoegaze immigrant-pop band The French Semester on Saturday.With a well lubricated crowd and no visits from the police, the suburban festival was a wild success.
Lady Sovereign, Chester French and Hollywood Holt are performing TONIGHT at Henry Fonda Theatre.This should be a banger folks; in my opinion hip-hop/hip-pop line-ups in L.A. generally aren’t this good from top to bottom.Hollywood Holt is a rising hip-hop artist who hails from Chicago.His performances are charged with energy and he is one of those rare hip-hop openers that is actually should not be missed…so get there early.Chester French is one of Pharrell Williams’ artists whose been popping up more frequently in the music scene, including on several remixes and on Common’s most recent release.Lady Sovereign is the tiny foreign female rapping phenomenon who packs a lot of verbal ammunition in a petite package.
What is up with airplanes flying over the beach trailing advertisements for up and coming concerts????Is that really an efficient promotional expenditure?Doesn’t it cost a lot of money to just have a plane fly over the beach for a few minutes?Do those dollars really translate into that many more ticket sales that would otherwise not occur?I’m not claiming to be an advertising or marketing guru – but I’m down by the Santa Monica beach this weekend when I saw flyovers promoting tickets for Pink featuring The Ting Tings.It just seems a bit too expensive of an advertising push – and I think it has the opportunity to backfire.I generally don’t like seeing those flyover advertisements, let alone the planes that are trailing them, when I am trying to enjoy a clear day of sunshine and the ocean breeze.If I was on the fence about that show, I no longer am. I wouldn't go unless I were to get a free ticket.Then I’d go.Cause I’ll go see music if it is freeJ
Green Day will be playing their first show in support of their new release, 21st Century Breakdown, on June 4th at the Music Box at Henry Fonda. It is a hot ticket; I tried to buy some within 15 minutes of their going on sale and got no love.Green Day won’t play another show for more than a month, so this night should be a real treat for anybody who was lucky enough to get tickets.Speaking of, anybody have an extra?
Ben Harper and Relentless7 is playing The Wiltern on Thursday.Their recently released debut album is absolutely fantastic.If you have not had the privilege of seeing these guys in action and you are a fan of rock n’ roll and/or Ben Harper, you must go see this band!Just as a bonus, they’ve got The Henry Clay People opening for them – an LA group that has received a lot of buzz since SXSW.
Passion Pit comes through L.A. at the end of the week – rocking Troubadour on Thursday night and Echoplex on Friday (both shows are sold out – if you have an extra or an in at the Troub – PLEASE LET ME KNOW).If you have never heard of PP, check out their exceptional song “The Reeling” from their full length album Manners.FYI, a free remix of it should still be available for download at rcrdlbl.com.
Lisa Donnelly has her CD RELEASE PARTY at The Roxy on Friday May 29th.I caught her for the first time a few weeks ago.She has a great vibe going with her band and her voice is pretty.If you’re looking for good tunes, but something that isn’t aggressive L.A. indie rock, check her out.
Roy G and the Biv will be in town this week.They’ve made the trek all the way from Texas and hopefully L.A. embraces this fun, hip-hop influenced electro-pop group because I like them and want them to come back.They will be at Silverlake Lounge tonight, Spaceland on Wednesday and The Prospector in Long Beach on Thursday night.Check out “Runnin” or “In My Cards” here http://www.myspace.com/roygandthebiv.
Normally, I love the Lefsetz Letter and often agree with what Bob has to say, but he is really starting to tick me off with his Streaming vs. Ownership argument.
He calls those of us who defend physical ownership as "those who haven't experienced the future." That is loaded bullshit.
Those of us who defend physical ownership are people who understand that music isn't all about the future, but about the nostalgia past music possesses. Lefsetz is taking a moneyed position, and sure the future of big money very well may be in streaming, and not in physical pressing. BUT if there was no money in pressing vinyl, why did Radiohead publish IN RAINBOWS on vinyl? Why does J Dilla post-humously publish on vinyl? Would these artists still publish CDs? Would indies publish CDs if it was a loss?
Maybe the revenue stream is diminishing and labels are investing too much in physical production, but there are loyal purchasers who purchase physical music. I am one of them. I hate buying DRM encrypted stuff and I would rather go out of my way to get the physical item. People count on me to know and have the hot shit when it comes out (if not beforehand) and I didn't buy Eminem's RELAPSE digitally. I bought it physically, at Best Buy, because my favorite local mom and pop or corporate record shops (Starbucks' Hear Music, where you at?) have mostly closed and I didn't pre-order it and I didn't want to wait several days for it to come in the mail.
If you go entirely digital and no new physical pressings, what happens to all those vinyl DJs? What happens to the people that like to possess something physical, even if it is just a disc with digital information? Why can't labels start selling flash drives with music and extra content? Can't the fucking industry thinking of a way to keep physical production viable, profitable and hip!?!?!?! AHEM - FLASH DRIVES! KEYCHAIN FLASH DRIVES! CREDIT CARD SIZED FOLD OUT FLASH DRIVES THAT LOOK LIKE BUSINESS CARDS! ALL SORTS OF FLASH DRIVES! (Not only are they useful because they can store information too, but you can make them look different very easily)
Nothing can replace the physical possession of music. True music heads know what I am talking about. If it goes all digital, people won't have the knowledge of culling through crates or looking at massive stacks of CDs and seeing some wacky artwork. It is not like you go to a party and pick up the hosts i-pod and scroll through the whole thing. BUT, you come to my parties and you see all my CDs stacked by the wall, and my autographed CDs on display, and my favorite pieces of vinyl. We talk music BECAUSE you see music. The industry can't let that die EVEN IF it is not as profitable as it used to be.
Lefsetz opines that physical production won't die, but it won't be a profitable medium at all. He says that you have to get iphones/Sonos or Spotify to truly experience this revolution, and I have to tell you, I have a Blackberry and I stream on Pandora. Does that mean I am not experiencing the revolution? I'm witnessing it, I'm just not being fooled into thinking that only streaming is acceptable for a true music head like myself. My friends think I am a fucking music encyclopedia. I can tell you what half the songs you are hearing are before your i-phone can figure it out. BUT, I wouldn't have that knowledge if I only streamed music, and I wouldn't have that knowledge about new music if I didn't continue to buy it and seek it out and own it physically so I can read the liner notes, etc.
Maybe I am not experiencing the same revolution as Lefsetz, but I am here and I am on the battlefield with the people creating the music. I don't think they want to see physical production die. When the musicians of today are 90 years old and their kids have some unimaginable gadget that we can't even think of yet, will they want to show them an old, non-functional computer and say "my music used to play on things like these all over the world" or would they rather hold up a CD, a piece of vinyl, or a fucking flash drive - something that has a logo, that has character, that can be grasped - and say "millions of people used to listen to this." I think most musicians would rather have the latter.
If you're a fan - when you're telling your children or your grandchildren or whomever about the music you used to love, the best concert you ever saw, etc., don't you also want to be able to hold something in your hands and share it? If there aren't CDs and vinyl, there aren't CDs and vinyl to be autographed. There aren't those physical pieces that end up capturing and meaning so much more than just the music that is contained within them. They come to signify a time in your life, an event, an experience, a culture, your musical identity.
Your musical identity shouldn't be on some companies server that could shut down at anytime. Your musical identity needs to be where you can access it, no matter what happens. If the server goes down, if the electricity goes out - those of you who stream are screwed. Those of you whose i-pods and i-phones are juiced, only have a few hours. Me, on the other hand, I may have my streaming music, I may have i-pods too, but I've still got a discman with batteries in the drawer just in case shit happens.
That's my two cents. If you want to hear Lefsetz's, go to http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/.
It's official. The release date is set. Billboard posted it. AUGUST 11TH, 2009 the infamous Raekwon hopefully makes a return to his near flawless flow on ONLY BUILT 4 CUBAN LINX 2.
With largely unheard of (and disappointing) releases following the original Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Rae is finally making it back to his old form. It is rumored that Dr. Dre produced a track for the album, as well as the late, great J-Dilla, as well as Pete Rock, Marley Marl, Erick Sermon and others.
Of course RZA lends his hands to production as well. A couple of his productions, including the single "New Wu" featuring Method Man and Ghostface, should be on the album.
Again, I just want to remind all the readers in the westside area that Carbon, located across from Inn N Out on Venice Blvd., hosts a free Monday night event, FUNKMOSPHERE, where the DJs spin only vinyl. The break dancing and b-boying starts to pick up around 11 pm, so if you are just going for the spectacle (and not the tunes), don't come until then.
If you have not checked it out yet, swing by Hunnypot Unlimited's every other Monday radio broadcast on Monday June 1st to check out The French Semester and meet some people in the industry. Then, once the Hunnypot broadcast ends and the crowd filters out, head over to Carbon with me for a good ol' fashioned boogie-down production.
Other FREE MONDAYS: Key Club; Echo; Spaceland; The Mint and others.
The French Semester @ Suburban Nirvana Club (AKA The HippiePalace – email me at brandon@supergoodmusic.com for details; capacity limited)
Oh No Oh My @ Echo
Nomo, Those Dancing Days @ Spaceland
Winter Flowers, Bex Marshall @ Redwood Bar & Grill
Dredg, Torche @ Troubadour
Quadrance @ Sante Fe Café
Raiz do Samba, Pau Hana @ Sainte Rocke
DJ Oggy @ Tatou
Amy Kuney @ The Hotel Café
Celia Chavez @ Room 5
Cubensis (Grateful Dead Tribute) @ The Blue Café
Lez Zepagain @ Fiesta Hermosa
Nick Daugherty @ The Lighthouse café
Culver City Dub Collective, Pimps of Joytime @ The Mint
Big Sandy!! @ Redwood Bar & Grill
The Dears, Great Northern, Eulogies @ Echoplex
Fischerspooner @ Avalon
Leon Russell @ Brixton
Sawyer Brown @ HOB – Sunset
Corb Lund @ McCabe’s Guitar SHop
Pau Hana @ Sainte Rocke
Sunday May 24th
Flight of the Conchords @ Greek Theatre
JazzReggaeFest JAM DAY – Erykah Badu, De La Soul, Leela James, People Under the Stairs, Nino Moschella, Pangea Collective, Mateo, Ayo @ UCLA Intramural Field
Hollywood Stones (Rolling Stones Tribute) @ Sainte Rocke
Part Time Punks – Smiths/Morrisey Night @ Echo
Barrio Tiger @ Spaceland
John LeBlanc @ Echo Curio
The Believers @ Crane’s Holylwood Tavern
Johnny Sketch & The Dirty Notes @ Café Boogaloo
Paul Chesne @ Venice Whaler
Justin Townes Earle @ McCabe’s Guitar Shop
R.I.S.E.,Mari Rosa @ Fais Do Do
Rookie of the Year, Hollywood Heathrob @ Knitting Factory
Los Duggans @ Alex’s Bar
Gojira, The Chariot @ Key Club
Kerusso @ The Roxy
Winter Flowers @ Redwood Bar & Grill
Monday May 25th
JazzReggaeFest REGGAE DAY – Mavado, Peetah & Mojo Morgan, Machel Montano, Assassin, Tanto Metro & Devonte, Eljai, Nola Darling, Cherine Anderson, Dan Marcus I, The Dirty Heads @ UCLA Intramural Field
The Meters Experience w/ Leo Nocentelli @ Topanga Days (3 pm)
8/08 – Rock The Bells feat. Ice Cube, Nas, Big Boi, Busta Rhymes, The Roots, Reflection Eternal, Common, K’Naan, RZA, GZA, Raekwon, The Knux, Eyedea & Abilities, Pete Rock, KRS-One, Supernatural, Murs, Chali 2na, Evidence & Alchemist, and others…@ San Manuel Amphitheatre
8/12 – N.A.S.A @ El Rey
8/26 – Cake @ Henry Fonda
8/28 – Ted Leo + The Pharmacists @ Echo
9/05 – Bob Weir & Ratdog w/ special guest Jackie Greene @ Greek Theatre
9/08 – AC/DC @ Honda Center
9/18 – Pink w/ The Ting Tings
10/4 – Kylie Minogue @ Hollywood Bowl
WORD?!?!
Napster offers a $5 subscription fee.Trying to compete with other sites, like emusic.com, that charge you a monthly fee and let you keep the music you download even after your subscription expires, Napster is offering you five songs per month with essentially no DRM with the $5 subscription fee.If you would like to read more about it, go to pollstar.com or napster.com.
According to several sources, Radiohead are currently recording a new album with producer Nigel Godrich.Don’t know about you, but I’m excited.I’ll post to the blog as I hear more about it.
Congratulations to all the USC students that graduated this weekend!
