Omar Velasco at Standard for FREE - 12/28

Handsome songwriter Omar Velasco brings his talent to The Standard on Wednesday night, and hopefully this music video helps you understand why you might just want to be there. Not only is the event free, but the member of A Fine Frenzy will be churning out soul imbued songwriter ballads that may just make you melt. Could just be the perfect soundtrack for your final Wednesday of the year...

Electronic Music's Next Huge Thing: Porter Robinson

If you felt like you were late to the Skrillex party last year, don't make the same mistake twice. We hope you learned your lesson and are already hip to Porter Robinson because he could be the next act to blow the roof off of electronic music. The 19-year-old’s accomplishments thus far rival many seasoned veterans’ and may we remind you he’s only 19?!?

Having just completed a tour supporting Tiesto in which Robinson performed for the largest DJ event in US history (approximately 26,000 were in attendance), his peers are already touting him as one of the nu-breed saviors of electronic music. Porter Robinson was featured on Billboard’s “Top 21 Under 21” list, and managed to crash Beatport’s servers when he released his Spitfire EP earlier this year. He’s already remixed the likes of Lady Gaga and Avicii with several more A-list offers rolling in. What’s that, you want to see Porter Robinson live? Well you’re in luck because he’s stopping by The Music Box Saturday December 3rd (get tickets here).

If you can, clear your schedule on the 3rd…you won’t be disappointed.

Win A Free Trip to New Zealand to Hang With Naked & Famous

Naked & Famous aren't just an awesome act from down under parading through Los Angeles' The Music Box in a few weeks (October 17th) with The Chain Gang of 1974 and White Arrows. They are actually a smashing act from New Zealand who are getting lots of deserved recognition back in their homeland. We’re super excited to share that they've invited us to participate in a contest sponsored by Air New Zealand that would take some lucky fan to New Zealand to see them perform on their own turf.

Air New Zealand is giving only TWO fans of The Naked and Famous a chance to fly to New Zealand and get the VIP treatment for five days. But - it gets better. On top of paying for the flight from LA to NZ both ways, Air New Zealand (@FlyAirNZ) is paying for five nights of hotel accommodations and tickets to The Naked and Famous’ headlining show at Auckland Town Hall on November 4^th. The prizes keep coming…

On November 3^rd the winners also get to attend the New Zealand Music Awards (think the Grammy’s) as VIP guests of the band, a tour of Waihiki Island, a visit to South Island and the city of Queenstown and a traditional Maori experience on the West Coast. It sounds like an indie rockers honeymoon.....

All this in order to hang out with an amazing band who, by the way, currently has over 20 million views on YouTube. Their 2010 release, Passive Me, Aggressive You, peaked at 91 on the Billboard 200 and reached number 1 on the New Zealand Albums Chart. TNAF is also nominated for six New Zealand Music Awards: Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Best Group, Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Best Alternative Album and the People's Choice Award. Check out the video for "Young Blood" below:

So, let’s recap shall we? If you enter you could win Air New Zealand’s The Naked and Famous contest which includes:

·Two round trip flights to Auckland from Los Angeles or San Francisco (departing Nov 1 and returning Nov 6)

·Exclusive Air New Zealand airport lounge passes

·Five nights hotel accommodations in New Zealand

·VIP tickets to the New Zealand Music Awards at the Tuis at the Vector Arena (Nov 3)

·VIP tickets to The Naked and Famous’ headlining show at the Auckland Town Hall (Nov 4)

·Waihiki Island excursion

·West Coast Maori Bush walk

·Flights and accommodations to Queenstown (South Island)

All I ask, is why wouldn't you enter this contest? To enter go here by 11:59 PM EST Friday October 14^th. The winners will be announced on Monday October 17^th.

Good luck and, if you win, take me - please.

by Brandon Dorsky

Breaking Out: Brooklyn's Baby Brother

Blues and punk meet pure rock in Baby Brother’s debut album, Strange Things. They are a Brooklyn-based band whose tunes pay homage to their current city while staying true to the roots from which they hail.

On Strange Things you can hear influences from big names such as The Ramones, Richard Hell, and John Lennon (circa the Double Fantasy album). It’s rock ‘n’ roll and it’s raw, no electro pop fusion here - the music is as naked and honest as the subject matter. Their lyrics pine and whine about love and loss, fucking up, having your heart broken, getting mad, going mad and being hopeful.

Their twangy rhythms and bluesy vocals are off-set by the sporadic appearance of heavy power chords and quick, harsh tempos. Most of their songs clock in at about three minutes leaving no time for drawn-out gimmicks. Instead Baby Brother pay tribute to the past few generations by hitting upon the three major music markers of the last century: blues, punk and rock ‘n’ roll.

Big Brother may be watching you, but Baby Brother is the one to watch. Their debut album Strange Things is currently available on iTunes with their follow-up album set to be released at the end of this year, and if it’s anything like their first, it is sure not to disappoint.

Review by Lauren Lomma

Pacific Festival Post Fact - Part 2 (recap by ZSE)

Part 1 of my Pacific Festival review consisted of acts that performed during the day. Part 2 below consists of acts that performed at night.

After Calvin Harris got the party starting on the main stage, Steve Aoki continued the party with his bangers ranging from "Turbulence" to his stellar remix of "Pursuit of Happiness." He had by far the greatest stage presence. Here's my favorite song he did, his remix to Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness".

Pursuit of Happiness (Steve Aoki Remix)

After seeing Aoki, I scrambled over to see Aussie house duo Bag Raiders. They were one of the up-and-coming acts I was most excited to see. What I didn't expect was that their sound would be so exceptional, not only with the instrumentals but the vocals as well. "Way Back Home" appeared to pump the crowd up the most as the duo both were banging on drums and the catchy chorus was hot and dope!

Bag Raiders - Way Back Home

After Bag Raiders, we went back to the main stage to see Ghostland Observatory. If you're looking for a group that not only sounds good but has amazing visual effects as well, look no further than Ghostland Observatory. While I don't remember all the songs they performed, I won't forget the amazing light show and lasers during their performance, which made their set pretty much amazing. Here's my favorite song I heard from them live, "Midnight Voyage".

Midnight Voyage - Ghostland Observatory

Ghostland was a great pick me up act for west coast hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg. Even though we had to wait over 30 minutes for Snoop to get on stage, his performance was off the chain. Seriously Snoop Dogg is a legend and if you're a fan of hip-hop, you must respect Snoop's music, his swagger and his status. He played mostly his older tracks, which I personally loved and while there was a couple older tracks he didn't play ("Deep Cover" and "Gz and Hustlers"), he still was great. Here's video we got of his performance:

Lastly Australian act Cut Copy came to the stage as headliners of the festival. I was surprised as anybody why Snoop Dogg wasn't the closer, but after seeing Cut Copy jam out with the energy they had, I left with a great appreciation for Pacific Festival and their scheduling. I enjoyed almost every song Cut Copy did and really absorbed the energy from lead vocalist Dan Whitford. Here's my favorite song from Cut Copy, "Take Me Over", just a great song for a road trip or any other adventure you embark on.

Cut Copy - "Take Me Over"

Review Post by Zach Siegal Eisman (BeforeTheBigs)

Pacific Festival Post Fact - Part 1 (recap by ZSE)

After being anointed with my VIP Press/Media pass courtesy from the organizers of Pacific Festival, I proceeded into the festival and went to see Hanni El Khatib on the Pacific stage. I'd intended on listening to him perform a few songs from his set as I wanted to walk around the festival and get an idea of where I would be spending most of the day. I was struck by the first song I heard, which was his best, the rocking "Build. Destroy. Rebuild." Here's "Build. Destroy. Rebuild".

Hanni El Khatib- Build. Destroy. Rebuild.

After Khatib and orienting myself to the festival grounds, I saw !!! (chk chk chk), a dance-punk group whose lead singer had incredible stage presence. He connected with the crowd and elevated the energy by getting off the stage and dancing/walking his way to the first 75-100 fans in the front rows. Their energetic and animated performance definitely earned my respect.

AM / FM by ChkChkChk

Disco-house duo Poolside were still dropping beats after !!! finished, so I jogged and caught the last song of their set. Although I don't remember what that song was, here's "Do You Believe" which I assume they played.

Poolside - Do You Believe

Poolside overflowed into The C90s - who performed on top of the shagedelica bus, that was covered with white fur on nearly all of the interior and exterior of the bus. It was an interesting site to see and getting access to dance on top the bus while The C90s performed Disco/Electronica/Dance was a unique experience! Here's "Shine A Light".

Shine A Light by TheC90s

Read more for my review of three of my favorite acts during the day, Fred Falke, Phantogram and Calvin Harris.

Hoodie Allen - "The Chase Is On"

Its really nice to see the wealth of catchy hip-hop music being dumped on our ears this summer. With "Otis" being released recently it feels like there is about to be a return to classic sampling and less than wack commercial hip-hop. One of the up and comers we like is Hoodie Allen. Check out his latest "The Chase Is On" ....

Chris Webby at Key Club (Review)

This is my first post on SUPERGOODMUSIC, so thought I would let you know a little about what I enjoy about attending music shows - I love when I see people moving around, specifically if they are waving their arms in the air, dancing or just singing along.

I have always had mixed feelings with Chris Webby, consistently going back and forth with following him on twitter. However seeing him live at The Key Club on Wednedsay, my feelings sort of stayed the same. I hate to like the kid, but he's a good rapper.

At times being among the all ages crowd made me feel like I was seeing Chris "Baby" instead of Webby but the kid can hold his own with catchy songs like "I Need A Dollar" and "La La La". However he also lost interest in me and other fans when he played "ADD" and the songs that followed. His other highlights might have been the support he had on stage with R & B vocalist Miss Deja doing hooks on a couple tracks and DJ Semi opening/hyping Webby up with a quick 3-5 minute DJ set.

Overall Webby had real good stage presence, got the crowd engaged several times but also had some yawners during his hour long set. Yet, I found some new favorites after hearing him perform. So if I had to put a value on his performance, I would say it would be worth seeing Chris Webby for $15 or less. Here's three of my favorites Webby performed.

Mac Miller - I Need A Dollar ft. Mac Miller

Chris Webby - Get Down ft. OnCue

Chris Webby - La La La

post by Zach Siegal Eisman (BeforeTheBigs.com)

Brit Week Invades Los Angeles

British electro rock band Viva City are hitting up the left coast of the states for a handful of rocking shows for Brit Week, including tonight at The Viper Room, tomorrow at Saint Rocke (5/10 - Tuesday) and Thursday at Silverlake Lounge.

I saw them once before at Viper Room, where I was wildly impressed and danced my ass off an unexpected amount. I'd strongly urge anyone who is a fan of a raucous UK band that can throw down to consider checking out one of those shows - especially the first two considering that SUPERGOOD is giving away free tickets to shows at The Viper Room and Saint Rocke. All you have to do to be considered for one of those giveaways is send an e-mail to contest@supergoodmusic.com with the name Viva City and the venue you'd like to go to or comment on our SUPERGOODMUSIC facebook page, or you can tweet @vivacityuk @theviperroom and @supergoodmusic in the same tweet. FYI, you must follow @supergoodmusic to win the twitter contest.

Check out their video for "Brother" that was posted last week -

You can learn more about the band on their website here. Their debut album, Phobia, was released last month by Vert Records.

Colorado High Notes

April 20th is the highest of holidays and one of the best days to see music in Colorado. After some of the largest smoke outs in the country go down at 4:20 in the afternoon, venues all over the state are filled with incredible talent and something to satisfy many concertgoers. The most 420 friendly venue in Colorado is Cervantes and they have Two Fresh, Lazer Sword, Mochipet, Papa Skunk, and Ecliptik for a glitch hop/hip hop throw down in the main room as well as B Foundation, Apex Vibe, Roster McCabe, Katastro, and Sober Down playing reggae in the Other Side.

If you’re looking for a different style of electronic music in Denver, check out Sphongle, Random Rab, and Lynx at the Bluebird or Sleepyhead, Salva, .anasi, Treethugger (Fisk), and Wyatt Lamond are holding it down at Club Vinyl. For all the Northern Colorado whompers, Vibesquad, Michal Menert, The Villians, and Trichrome are at the El Carousel Night Club in Greeley. Fort Collins electronic music enthusiasts can enjoy either Nosaj Thing, Break Science, Ill-Mannered, Acidophiles, and Untyed Laces at the Aggie Theater or Steve Bonez, Don Womp, Skywalkker, BathDub, and Pink Elephants at Hodi’s Half Note.

For the non-electronically inclined, you may be on of those lucky enough to already have tickets for Duran Duran’s sold out show at the Ogden Theater in Denver and for all you hip hop heads out there Collie Budz, New Kingston and Los Rakas are at the Fox Theater in Boulder. It doesn't matter if you're high or not, if you are in Colorado, there is absolutely no reason to miss out on so much amazing music this 4/20!!!

Article submitted by Dan Scheidt

Goulding's "Lights" Blind Boulder Crowd

Having seen Ellie Goulding’s name thrown around the blogosphere for the past few months surrounding the release of her album Lights and the stream of remixes that followed, coming from a slew of big names - from Chiddy Bang to Bassnectar. When I saw that she was coming to Boulder as part of her massive US tour, I was psyched, only to be let down when I learned tickets were sold out weeks in advance. Luckily I found a friend who hooked it up, and I was able to check out Ellie Goulding at the Fox Theatre this past Saturday.

I was perhaps equally pumped to throw on my dancing shoes for the opening band The Knocks, who went onstage promptly at 9:00. I’m a big fan of their music because it’s such a departure from the heavy whomps and aggressive sounds that classify most electronic music these days. The Knocks are just fun to dance to.

Also, unlike most other DJs and Producers, The Knocks use more than just computers and software to make their songs. Their set-up includes keyboards, drums, and other toys they used throughout their performance to add to the jams coming through their computers. The Knocks set included their hit singles “Dancing with the DJ” and “Something to Dance To” along with some pretty awesome remixes including “What’cha Say” by Jason Derulo. For their short 45 minute-ish set, The Knocks kept the party grooving and the bodies moving. Never have I seen the opening act get so much love, and they definitely left the crowd wanting more. I hope The Knocks get a headlining spot the next time around. They deserve it.

After a short break, Ellie Goulding’s band came on stage and started playing “Under the Sheets.” After a few bars, Ellie herself triumphantly joined them on stage. The crowd, admittedly full of mostly teenage girls, went crazy. She followed by going through most of Lights, including the hit title track and “Starry Eyed.” Throughout her set, which lasted a little over an hour, the energy was huge. Ellie did her best to belt out every word, even though she was still recovering from an illness, which forced her to cancel the previous show in Minneapolis.

I’m not quite sure where Ellie Goulding came from but she is turning into a phenomenon over here in the US. She has sold out just about every show across the whole country, people know all of the words to her songs, and the energy, at least in Boulder, was tremendous.

Ellie is going to be a full on pop star soon enough, but I’m a big fan because she’s changing the game. Her music isn’t typical bubblegum pop. Lights is full of everything from slow ballads, to electronic jams, to straight up rockers. Not only does shoe play great music, she will likely be a positive influence on teenage girls growing up with misogynistic and anti-feminist music all around them. I’m excited to see what Ms. Goulding has in store for her next.

Review by Adam Freedman (Colorado)

The Knocks Acoustic Version of "Dancing With The DJ"

Check out this chilled out acoustic version The Knocks' song "Dancing With The DJ." The song has been synched with footage from "She's All That."

Lissie with Questlove on Jimmy Fallon

The Roots are my favorite band of all time. I've seen them around 40 times. More than anyone else. Ever since Fallon launched with The Roots as his backing band, I'm a frequent watcher of late night television. You get to watch ?uestlove crush the drums, Knuckles on percussion, James Poyser and Kamal on keys, Black Thought, etc. Each night is an amazing one-off performance with some new guest musician....last night it was Lissie and it did not disappoint at all.

Lissie opted to utilize mostly her own band mates, but the maestro ?uestlove held it down on the kit with her crew. Looking damn dapper in his suit, braided hair and bowtie - he drove the rhythm while Lissie rocked with her beautiful voice. I really can't say enough about how beautiful I think this performance of "When I'm Alone" sounds...you should just watch it:

What's Not To Like About White Lies....the band that is.

Generally I’m not very big on going to show before the headliners are due to go on, especially if I’ve never even heard of the opening band before. In this case, I’m glad I showed up early. The crowd at The Troubadour on Monday night was an eclectic group of misfits - I couldn’t place it. The age ranged from fake ID status, to seasoned Bukowski wannabes saddled up to the bar. Being West Hollywood on “a school night”, the masses were less hipster, more classic audiophile.

Giant Drag took stage at exactly 8:30pm with Annie Hardy on lead guitar and vocals, Micah Calabrese on synthesizer and drums, and someone named Dakota covering bass. Gotta say, one of my favorite parts of the evening was trying to figure out whether Dakota was a man or woman. With feminine (yet make-up less) features, and heavy bangs I thought “girl for sure!”... it was the giant man-hands and lack of breasts that threw me off - and with a name like Dakota it could go either way.

That being said, I’m pretty sure Hardy was really high. With her drawn out, high-pitched stoner voice you couldn’t help but liken her to Lamb Chop, the sock puppet. However, you can imagine my delight when in the midst of her chaotic ramblings (“Don’t worry. I’m not crying. I’m not Cat Power. I’m not gonna’ freak out!”) she referred to the mysterious Dakota as a him! Finally, the truth was out!

With the “man vs. woman” debate finally cleared up I could actually relax and listen to the music, and therefore officially say that Giant Drag is a pretty great band. Their sound is a mix between Hole and Cat Power... or some sort of My Bloody Valentine hybrid. They opened with “You Fuck Like My Dad”, and then went on to “High Friends in Places”, but one of my favorites for the night was their classic cover of Chris Isaac’s “Wicked Game”. Regardless, they’re worthy of being checked out - whether live or via the interwebs. However seeing them live would make you prive to Annie Hardy’s muffled rantings, and perhaps to Dakota, the breast-less bass playing wonder.

An hour later White Lies took the stage, and the once half-filled Troubadour was now completely packed. Two chords in and I had fallen in love with lead vocalist Harry McVeigh. With his boyish looks (he’s only 22), his baritone voice, and British accent, what wasn’t to love? Though I must say the other four members of the band (Charles Cave, Jack Lawrence-Brown, Tommy Bowen, and Rob Lee) were also most excellent. I’ve heard their album before, but White Lies is one of those bands that just sound so much better live - a welcome change to the over synthesized records that can be put out these days. Their sound is a bit Depeche Mode, a bit Joy Division... If anything, I’d call them an off-shoot to New Order - a more modern and electric version of a classic throwback.

The band was super professional - no sound problems, no banter with the crowd, just straight-forward and clean cut. Sure, I would have loved if Harry McVeigh had spotted me through the sea of people and asked if I wanted to come back to his London flat, but he didn’t. Even as heartbroken as I am, their new (and second) album Ritual just dropped a little over a week ago and I can most certainly recommend checking it out. Better yet, check their tour dates and go ogle my boyfriend in person.

Lying in general is never good, but White Lies? Always amazing.

post by Lauren Lomma

Baby Digs Dog Days

@stephiebri put me on to this video, which had somehow escaped me. Babies loving music always makes me happy - especially this one spazzing in his car seat to Florence & The Machine's "Dog Days Are Over."

Odd Modern's Playful "Wallflowers"

Local electro indie duo Odd Modern is back at it again with the cool music videos, this time with 'Wallflower.'

In the absence of a famous person cameo (Steve O was in their "Contrary to Popular Belief" vid) - the duo had to step up their cinematography a notch to generate a similar buzz. S0 what's the video got? Warehouse? Check. Choreographed dances? Check. Cool camera tricks? Check.

Certainly a fun effort from a band that gives away all of their music for free at www.oddmodern.com.

The driving synth, Gerardo's smooth drums and Vanina's pretty voice provide the musical backdrop after their dance coordinator walks you through how exactly to do the "Wallflower." While not every person in L.A. will have what it takes to bust out the Wallflower - the 8 point moves aren't too complex and the only way you'll learn 'em is by watching this video...

The Wallflowers by Odd Modern from Gerardo Herdstagerd on Vimeo.

'Tis The Season...

We hope you all had fantastic Thanksgiving weekends. Since its not yet Hannukah or Christmas, you may not have gotten the gifts you were hoping for yet.....and we're here to help with the gift of music. FREE MUSIC.

FREE MUSIC can come in the form of concert tickets or free downloads or just a free CD or a free flashdrive with music loaded on it. There are definitely more than a handful of other ways to get FREE MUSIC that I haven't even mentioned. Mention another way you can get FREE MUSIC in the comments section, or on our facebook page or mention us in a tweet on twitter (@supergoodmusic) and you could get some FREE MUSIC just for being part of the SUPERGOODMUSIC family.

We've got tickets for:

Taylor Locke & The Roughs at The Mint on Tuesday November 30th - Adam Bones, The Trews and The Wellingtons support.

John Butler Trio at The Wiltern on December 2nd.

Charlie Hunter Trio at The Mint on December 3rd and 4th.

Marco Benevento at The Mint on December 5th with support from Kashmere and Rami Dearist.

We've also got giveaways coming up for Reckless Kelly, The Bad Plus, Iration, Tomorrow's Bad Seeds and more - so check back soon!