Los Angeleno, producer/artist, "Buzzin" reality personality and half of Shwayze - Cisco Adler returns to LA for a Friday night celebration at Saint Rocke this weekend.
Less than a year after releasing his third Shwayze album, "Island in The Sun," and after just finishing his first solo record "Aloha", Cisco is set to rock the South Bay stage for an intimate crowd that can also enjoy The Wheeland Brothers, Lexo The Great, DJ Speakeazy and Ikaika Beamer. You might even see some extras and special guests who just starred in his music video shoot in Venice for "You're a Fool" featuring G. Love.
Indulge in his Shwyaze classics like "Corona and Lime""Get U Home" and "Buzzin'" and check out his new material and enjoy the feel good vibes at Saint Rocke this friday night. Use code SUPERGOOD to get a 50% discount on tickets! Buy tickets here.
You can also enter a contest to win tickets by emailing contest@supergoodmusic.com or mentioning @mrciscoadler @supergoodmusic and @saintrocke in a tweet!
Los Angeleno, producer/artist, "Buzzin" reality personality and half of Shwayze - Cisco Adler returns to LA for a Friday night celebration at Saint Rocke this weekend.
Less than a year after releasing his third Shwayze album, "Island in The Sun," and after just finishing his first solo record "Aloha", Cisco is set to rock the South Bay stage for an intimate crowd that can also enjoy The Wheeland Brothers, Lexo The Great, DJ Speakeazy and Ikaika Beamer. You might even see some extras and special guests who just starred in his music video shoot in Venice for "You're a Fool" featuring G. Love.
Indulge in his Shwyaze classics like "Corona and Lime""Get U Home" and "Buzzin'" and check out his new material and enjoy the feel good vibes at Saint Rocke this friday night. Use code SUPERGOOD to get a 50% discount on tickets! Buy tickets here.
You can also enter a contest to win tickets by emailing contest@supergoodmusic.com or mentioning @mrciscoadler @supergoodmusic and @saintrocke in a tweet!
After seven years, the Doheny Days Festival returned to Doheny State Beach in Dana Point California this past weekend.Day One brought out a slightly older crowd - perhaps because of the location or the line-up? Either way, just about anyone who was legal to, started drinking the second they walked through the gates. There were multiple games for kids, shopping opportunities and sponsors like Sailor Jerry’s Rum and local radio powerhouse KROQ.
The day kicked off with SoCal locals Aloha Radio, a surf rock band whose lead singer has a Gwen Stefani feel circa Return of Saturn.The group was fun and enthusiastic and definitely got their crowd moving. With the recent release of their EP Big Wave Madness they seem to be drawing more attention to themselves.
I bailed early on Aloha Radio’s set because on the main stage the Ken Garcia Band was performing.Garcia’s Latin chill rock not only invited listeners, but his apparent ease on stage made the crowd just hang back and enjoy the music.His niece sang a very emotional version of California Dreamin’ by The Mamas and the Papas, and immediately following, Ken sang one of his many songs about his wife of 30 years.One of the last tracks the band performed was called Gypsy Nights, which Ken boldly claimed Mick Jagger stole the guitar lick from in order to pen Paint It Black.
Next, Common Sense took the stage.This engaging reggae-rock group was, in my opinion, the best act of the first half of the day.They moved the crowd throughout the entire set and even played along with them. At one point, one of the crowd's beach balls ended up on stage and the front man sat on it...before almost falling off.Their spontaneity and skill were truly entertaining.
Heading to the back area of the festival I found DJ Ean Golden spinning tracks.He was good, spinning Top 40 and even some Dubstep to change up the music some.However, he wasn’t able to draw a very large crowd considering: (a) the placement of the stage (b) Katchafire was on the main stage and (c) it was a mediocre DJ at a rock festival.I understand having a DJ for in between sets but Ean seemed a little out of place.
Realizing that the DJ set wasn’t going to be anything new, I headed over to the main stage to catch Katchafire.Hailing from New Zeland, this seven-piece reggae band has toured internationally and their album Revival went double platinum in NZ.As with the other reggae acts they delivered a solid dosage of chill, laid back fun.They ended their set with Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds, which had the whole crowd singing along and feeling at ease.
There was a short break after the Katchafire set that caused JJ Grey & Mofro to go on late.Turns out their bassist was stuck in traffic so one of their guitarist switched instruments in order to keep the show going.The wait was completely worth it -JJ knew how to talk to his audience and command the crowd. His songs were emotional and drew you in - with his perfect combination of blues and rock & roll making every song relatable.I was impressed and highly suggest checking out his music.
Now, unfortunately, as happens at many festivals, I had to miss an act I wanted to see - Blitz the Ambassador because I was too busy rocking out to G. Love & Special Sauce.Seriously, don’t let the name fool you - this band is just fantastic and their special sauce is no joke.There is a natural flow and energy within their music that forces you to stop and listen and the crowd was on their feet for almost the entire set. G. Love was witty and charming, and the outfit as a hole really impressed me with their hip-hop/rock styling. Part of my next paycheck will definitely be going towards buying their music.
The last two sets were Donovan Frankenreiter and Ben Harper. Although good pictures were hard to come by in the sunset, good music was not. Donovan’s set was so relaxed - it was just comfortable to sit and listen to his words. G. Love joined him at one point - which resulted in an increase in praise from the crowd. Overall Donovan was great, but you could feel the anticipation building for the final act of the night, Ben Harper. The audience was enchanted by Harper and who could blame them? There’s no doubt that his performance was the right way to end the night.
While the music was spectacular and I enjoyed my experience - it is worth noting that the festival could have been a bit smoother. Doheny attempted to control money flow by issuing wristbands with scannable parts that permitted patrons to load money onto their wristband. This was the only means by which you could purchase concessions - which resulted in unnecessary delay and a multitude of technical difficulties. Whatever savings was generated by people not stealing from the festival's coffers were lost on the decrease in efficiency and lost sales due to customer frustration and impatience. I want to be able to hand someone $10 and in return get a burger or fries or whatever overpriced item I choose - but I was not able to do that with ease.
All in all, the long awaited return of the Doheny Days Festival was kicked off right.Good music, fun, and a welcoming environment. I can’t wait to see if the festival comes back around next year.
Looking for some fun at the beach this weekend? Well cruise on down to Doheny State Beach September 10 & 11 for the Doheny Days Music Festival in Dana Point, California. This two day festival event features over 20 artists drawing from a variety of genres, including rock, reggae, chill-hop, jam and more.
Day 1 (Saturday) features Ben Harper, G. Love and Special Sauce, Blitz The Ambassador, Donovan Frankenreiter and much more! Personally I most look forward to G. Love and Special Sauce as I've been jamming out to their tunes since grade school and it is impressive to see the longevity of their career. Also JJ Grey & Mofro play some pretty bad ass bluesy rock that doesn't quite sound like anything else out there.
However it gets even better on Day 2 of Doheny Days Music Festival with Weezer, Ziggy Marley, Cake, Hyper Crush, Neon Trees and much more jamming out on Sunday. If I had to choose between attending on Saturday or Sunday, I would take Sunday in a heartbeat as Weezer's classic material is infectious, Neon Trees and Cake will certainly rock the fest, jamming out to Ziggy Marley always invites a mellow mood and dancing to some electronic pop from Hyper Crush could be the perfect end to a weekend.
This is one of the more affordable music festival choices to come our way, so I recommend looking into tickets if any of the artists pique your curiosity.
The final day of Bonnaroo started with the painful reminder that my musical vacation was coming to an end.My friend-supplied vintage tent needed to be packed up early as part of our entourage was leaving to recover before work on Monday.
The apathy of the final day was evident in the largely indie rock line-up that featured newcomers like Smith Westerns, The Head & The Heart and Nicole Atkins, as well as more established acts like Beirut, Cold War Kids, Iron & Wine and Explosions In The Sky.The angst could be felt all over the campgrounds and in the sounds emanating from the stages.Classic rockers peppered the line-up too, with Robert Plant & The Band of Joy, Greg Allman and Bruce Hornsby all performing.G. Love & Special Sauce could be added to the mix too as they are, at this point, veterans.
I begin my day attempting to catch The Head & The Heart, but I got sidetracked by Smith Westerns who had been a curiosity of mine for a while.Without any reference points, I enjoyed the rather melancholy indie tunes – nothing offensive, but nothing that was wildly happy and energizing.It fit the mood well enough to keep me from leaving.
As they finished, I wandered to catch the high-pitched sounds of G. Love & Special Sauce at Which Stage, before chopping it up with Erik from Dope on Plastic for a while and meeting some of the principals behind LiveProfile, a music service gearing to bridge the gaps between social media networking and live music events.I was intrigued enough to drag the LiveProfile camp to Galactic on the Main Stage.
The highlight of Day 4 for me was definitely Galactic.Playing Bonnaroo for their ninth time (they’ve only missed it once), they covered a handsome smattering of their library with Corey Henry lending some help on trombone and a new guy (not sure of his name) doing vocals.While new guy was no Houseman – he had some chops and he kept the funk grinding long enough for Stanton Moore to take over.
Moore, at one point, unscrewed his snare and approached the crowd.Perching it on top of his feet he busted out into a street style jam before other members of the band came to his aid with more percussive props.The end result – an impromptu spanking in how to get funky with a limited set.
The people I stood next to, as well as the LiveProfile crew, had never had the pleasures of a Galactic performance and I am pretty convinced they’d become fans for life after what they witnessed.It was a healthy enough dosage of music that I was willing to take a step away for a few to finally pack down all of my things before returning for Dan Auerbach’s SUPERJAM and Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
I packed my bags in my fateful ride and handed out my last handful of SUPERGOODMUSIC.com stickers before returning to Centeroo one last time for my last handful of shows.I caught Robert Plant & The Band of Joy and Explosions In The Sky first for a few songs each.Both were amidst inspired performances – keeping the crowd that stayed to endure all of Sunday interested.
As the clock approached seven I wandered into the Sports Bar for the beginning of coverage of what I hoped would be the last game of the NBA season.My Cleveland raised blood was boiling at the thought of Lebron James being successful in Miami in year one.Thankfully, much of the crowd that gathered shared my disdain for the man who took his talents to South Beach.Before long, the first quarter was over and I realized I’d missed about half of the SUPERJAM…or so I thought.
Scrambling out of the air-conditioned and comfortable Sports Bar – I made my way to That Tent for what I thought would be a set that was halfway over.What I discovered was the supergroup had just recently gotten underway and that I was in for a healthy serving of Dr. John and New Orleans inspired bluesy jams.Although I couldn’t tell the titles of the songs that were covered, Auerbach and Dr. John, along with their arsenal of talented friends, painted a musical landscape that rivaled the slightly sticky weather with its funkiness and captured the magic of four days of unique musical experiences in less than two hours.
The sun was setting creating a very cool hue. Although the once in a lifetime line-up was cranking out some quality licks, the feeling that the second half was underway again sucked me into the Sports Bar.It was a good decision.The energy level inside the cooled viewing station was stepped up a notch with a handful of Texas natives excited at the prospect of becoming the title town of the moment.“Let’s Go Mavericks” cheers were supported by “F*ck the Heat” chants as Miami supporters numbers shrank amongst the crowd.
The energy in the Sports Bar was a high as I’d seen it all day at the festival and I was enjoying the moment of camaraderie amongst strangers.As the Mavericks lead swelled and the final seconds ticked off the clock – I celebrated with faces I’d never see again before escaping to catch another celebration – Widespread Panic on the Main Stage to close out Bonnaroo 2011.
Quite fitting to have some of the original headliners grace the stage as the tenth anniversary came to a close.Performing a set list filled with crowd pleasers and atypically designed to perhaps draw some new fans – Dave Schools and friends provided some healthy jams for a Sunday evening.I’m pretty sure they even had Bruce Hornsby join them for a little bit as they provided the soundtrack for the departing ‘Roo citizens that included favorites like “Tall Boy” and “Up All Night.”The latter was my last song before departing the grounds for a ride to Chattanooga.It was a fitting number as that about described my entire Bonnaroo experience.I can only hope it describes next year too….
Purchase advanced tickets for Bonnaroo 2012 here.They’ve already announced the dates.
