Tonight in L.A. (October 7, 2012)

The first Sunday of October doesn't just bring more football - but also more festivals including the final day of Filter Magazine's Culture Collide, Fool's Golds' Day Off Party and the Abbot Kinney Festival.

The third year of Filter Magazine's Culture Collide may be the gem of the day boasting a line-up of international talent that also includes the very late addition of homegrown L.A. talent like Poolside (they are replacing Bonde Do Role) and other American acts like School of Seven Bells, Class Actress, The Royal Teeth, ProbCause and more - as well as gangs of foreign artists.  S.O. Terik presents the dayfest - which is free for all with an RSVP, although a $5 donation is suggested if you did not purchase a festival pass.  After the festival wraps up - roll to Bootleg for a free Mono/Poly show or go to Echoplex for after party.





Fool's Gold Day Off will also be a rager, of a slightly more electronicized and hip-hopped out variety, in downtown L.A.  Their list is closed - and the 2-8 pm soiree will likely reach capacity before its 2nd hour, so go early if you're into the likes of A-Trak, Cool Kids, Danny Brown, Casey Veggies, Nick Catchdubs, Chromeo (DJ Set), Congorock, Donnis and more.  Fool's Gold's event likely will be the epicenter of swag this Sunday - and a lot of festival attendees are likely to roll from downtown to Chuck Inglish's Sounds Like Fun event at The Central SAPC.





Last but not least is the westside's Abbot Kinney Festival.  Running from 10 am to 6 pm - the free westside shindig enters its 28th year and features a smattering of L.A. artists including Nite Jewel, American Royalty, Them Jeans, DWNTWN, and even westside residents Guns in the Sun DJs.   If you're there - consider rolling your evening into Del Monte Speakeasy - where Dustbowl Revival takes over the basement speakeasy.



For those staying in to catch football and relax on Sunday - the standard concerts are nothing to shake a stick at either.  Florence & The Machine rock Hollywood Bowl for the first of two nights - with additional help from The Weeknd and The Maccabees.  Roll from there to W Hotel and catch the end of Dim Mak's weekly event at Drai's with beats from Bag Raiders this week.  eAlso in Hollywood is an intimate indie at The Hotel Cafe with tastemaker Nic Harcourt - who has invited The Lonely Wild and a few other acts to perform.  

Other noteworthy shows include The Hood Internet at Los Globos, Steel Pulse at House of Blues - ANaheim and !!! at Alex's Bar.  A full list of L.A.'s musical offerings for October 7th is below.  

• FILTER MAGAZINE’S CULTURE COLLIDE FESTIVAL w/ Of Montreal, Niki and The Dove, Poolside, Class Actress, Icona Pop, The Wombats, School of Seven Bells, DIIV, The Royal Teeth, ProbCause, Colorfeels, Chancellor Warhol, Morning Parade, Gold Fields, Half Moon Run, Terminal, Kyst, The Standards, Monster Cat, Marit Larsen, Efrat Ben Zur, Mimes of Wine, Go Back To The Zoo, ProbCause, Sudden Weather Change, Resplandor, The Moog, Optic Yellow Felt, Coldair, The Kavangahs, Huddle, The Trouble with Templeton @ CULTURE COLLIDE STREET FESTIVAL (FREE w/ RSVP)

• FILTER MAGAZINE’S CULTURE COLLIDE FESTIVAL AFTER PARTY @ The Echoplex (FREE w/ Culture Collide Wristband)

• Part Time Punks – The Cure Tribute Nite @ The Echo

• FOOL's GOLD DAY OFF w/ A-Trak, Danny Brown, Chromeo (DJ Set), Cool Kids, Casey Veggies, Congorock, Oliver, Donnis, Kingdom, Nick Catchdubs + Special Guests @ Downtown LA (FREE)

• Mono/Poly, ELOS, Fat Albert Einstein, Kone, Jincallo, Dave Betamax, Heru @ Bootleg Bar (FREE)

• Six60, Tempest (Gabrielle Wortman) @ Bootleg Bar

• New Order, Run Run Run @ Greek Theatre

• Florence & The Machine, The Weeknd, The Maccabees @ Hollywood Bowl

• Imagination Movers @ Club Nokia (2 PM; 5 PM)

• Max Schneider @ The Roxy

• Fire At Play, Taro Heart, Jadapod, Fine @ The Viper Room

• Break Science, Michael Menert, Ancona @ El Rey Theatre (CANCELLED)

• Rock The Walk L.A. – Music Activism to End Aids @ Rock The Walk L.A.

• Nic Harcourt Presents Laura Marling, Florence Hartigan, The Lonely Wild, Kita Klane @ The Hotel Café

• B’z @ Gibson Amphitheatre

• Chuck Inglish Presents: Sounds Like Fun w/ Chuck Inglish, DJ Sour Milk, DJ Drew Byrd, Very Special Guests @ The Central SAPC

• The Hood Internet, Body Language, Kid Static, Oscillator Bug @ Los Globos

• Roger Clyne, PH Naffah, Danny Hamilton @ Saint Rocke

• !!!, Special Guests @ Alex’s Bar

• The Toledo Show @ Harvelle’s

• Ampersand, Smooth Hound Smith, Jet Pilot Jerry, Paul and the Kir @ TRiP (FREE)

• The Lumineers @ The Observatory

• Bag Raiders, Fashen, DJ Metric @ Drai’s

• Circa Survive, Touche Amore, Balance and Composure, O’Brother @ Fox Theater Pomona

• Mono, Chris Brokaw @ The Glass House

• My Life with The Thrill Kill Kult @ Constellation Room

• Zoobombs, The Stanleys, The Condors, Plastic Soul @ Redwood Bar

• Letlive, Silver Snakes @ Slidebar (FREE)

• Dustbowl Revival @ Del Monte Speakeasy

• ABBOT KINNEY FESTIVAL w/ Nite Jewel, Living Things, American Royalty, Them Jeans, DWNTWN, Ethio-Cali Ensemble, Slow Magic, Tutu Sweeney & The Brothers Band, Bixel Boys, Guns in the Sun, Chicano Batman, Pharoahs, Carousel, Aaron Embry, Keith 2.0 @ Abbot Kinney Festival

• Tapioca & The Flea, Warships, Blonde Summer, Fay Wrays @ CicLAvia Party

• Dr. Dog, Cotton Jones @ Pappy & Harriet’s

• Steel Pulse @ House of Blues – Anaheim

• Melissa Etheridge @ Terrace Theater

• Haochen Zhang @ Pepperdine University

• Kenny Wayne Shepherd @ Canyon Club

• Further @ Santa Barbara Bowl

• Lloyd Cole @ McCabe’s Guitar Shop 

Pacific Festival Video Recap

Check out what you missed at the third annual Pacific Festival at The Dunes in Newport Beach...soundtrack courtesy of Poolside.

Pacific Festival Review

Labor Day weekend - a few SUPERGOOD supporters attended Pacific Festival 2012: The Dunes, featuring Mayer Hawthorne, Poolside, Bag Raiders, Capital Cities and many more to vibe out at the Newport Beach Marina.   Zach Siegel-Eisman of Before The Bigs brings us his coverage below....

Arriving shortly after 2pm, we snagged media passes and briefly saw Tijuana Panthers rock out before moving onto the Identity Village, which was a dance party on the sand that DJ Metric was getting started.   I don't remember much of DJ Metric's set as we snuck into the VIP area and, after getting as many free drinks before security told us to leave, we were on to the next act.  (Note to self - get VIP pass next year)

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Stream and download DJ Metric's latest sound cloud mix below.

After Metric, we rushed to the other end of the festival grounds to catch up-and-coming indie/alternative pop band Wildcat! Wildcat!.  However when we got there, we found that the acts from the Camm Stage were running behind schedule so we went to the Main stage to see American Royalty.

Los Angeles alternative electronic indie rock band American Royalty has been bubbling on the scene for a hot minute, as Filter Magazine has used the lead singer to DJ many of their parties and the band just finished a residency at The Echo earlier this year.  Their mp3's do not give their live music justice as they straight up jam out with various sounds that are easy to get down and dance to.   I didn't leave their set remembering any of their songs but left feeling satisfied with how they organically blended on stage, with the lead singer switching from keyboard to guitar and all three members of the band singing and injecting emotion into their songs.

My favorite song because of it's more electronic mixed with rock appeal is "Lately". Stream that below.

Catching up to Camm Stage - we indulged in the last three songs from Wildcat! Wildcat!. 
I love how they have two vocalists, the most interesting instrumentals and great stage attitude.  They continue to remind me of MGMT before MGMT went mainstream.  They were one of my favorites during the day - stream and download "Mr. Quiche" and "The Chief".

We meandered by Fool's Gold's set a couple times and I enjoyed the chill alternative beach pop vibes.   After checking out their songs afterwards, the song I most remember enjoying from the festival was "Surprise Hotel", which has such soothing chill instrumentals. Watch the video for it below.

Next I saw Mr. Little Jeans perform. This was the only disappointment of the day.   The Swedish artist performs mostly slow pop songs that generally don't get people dancing and leave you aching for something more upbeat.  After hearing two songs including her hit "Runaway", I left to grab a bite to eat. Watch the video to "Runaway" below.

Returning to Camm Stage we found the daytime disco vibes of Tropicool DJing. Although there was only about 25-50 people in the area, people were still dancing or bobbing their head while finding a place in the shade to lay down. Stream Tropicool's latest mix below.

Since Poolside began before Capital Cities, we opted to catch  the greatest daytime disco act jam out. On record, Poolside is composed of the duo of Filip Nikolic and Jeffrey Paradise.  In a live setting the band is a four piece with Nikolic on lead vocals and bass and Paradise on electronics, and the duo is joined by drummer and percussionist Jason Pipkin and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gold.

My first introduction to Poolside was at last year's Pacific Festival, in which they DJed before Fred Falke on one of the smaller stages. This year Poolside performed with their full band on the main stage and I couldn't have been happier. Witnessing them as a full band just enhanced the whole experience by creating this groovy dance vibe that anybody can enjoy. They were one of the three best acts I saw at Pacific Festival and can't wait to see them perform next! Since I love all the music from Poolside, here's 9 tracks to stream and mostly download from them. Sit back and relax.

We dipped on Poolside's set early so we could catch the last couple songs from Capital Cities, one of our favorite genre-blending dual vocal bands ever. While I didn't get to catch "Kangaroo Court," we did hear "Safe and Sound" and had the pleasure of hearing a horn solo too.  Everybody was dancing and singing along and they were one of my favorites of the day with their electro pop rock dance vibes. Stream "Safe and Sound" below.

In between destinations - we briefly caught Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.  Hearing them live was great. Although it was brief, I enjoyed everything I heard and recommend catching them live as they sound a little more natural and than listening to their song releases. Watch their latest video, "Simple Girl" below.

We arrived to Bag Raiders set and immediately noticed it was overcrowded with cigarette-smoking bros and couples that were complaining about a music festival on a beach!  I was still pumped to see their DJ set but completely turned off by the Newport Beach locals, who all smoked cigarette's and were distracted by their phones or significant other to enjoy the music.   They need to wake up and hear these beats.   Stream the latest mix from Bag Raiders below.

Post Bag Raiders we caught several songs from Steed Lord. Before Pacific Festival, I thought Steed Lord was a couple DJs who created electro house vibes and didn't know it was Steed Lord until after the festival. Upon hearing this synth pop trio (which won my award for best dressed), I've become a huge fan! Steed Lord consists of two DJs (Demo and Mega) and one beautiful lead vocalist (Cali, pictured above). Their blend of electro pop instrumentals with vocals from Cali is spectacular. If you like Empire of the Sun but want a female vocalist, Steed Lord has that kind of vibe but less rock and more dance. Listen to "B4 U Walk Out Of My Life (Steed Lord Diva Edit)" and "Hear Me Now" below.

After Steed Lord, we then caught Sneaky Sound System. I thought Steed Lord was amazing and then once I heard Sneaky Sound System, I knew I redefined what amazing meant! While Steed Lord has a great vibe, Sneaky Sound System was even better; very catchy and easy to sing along to. My favorite was "We Love" which will be on commercials and anywhere else it can get placed if it hasn't already. Watch "We Love" below.

From the catchy performance of Sneaky Sound System it was time from the neo-soul crooning of headliner Mayer Hawthorne and The County. He has such a clean-cut act with the band choreographed dancing and a great set-up with the lighting experience as well. Mayer Hawthorne has this cool personality that reminds me of Justin Timberlake when he does on-air interviews. Overall Mayer Hawthorne didn't disappoint but if you are going to see him, go with somebody you want to hook up with as he has some sweet baby-making vibes that would be a perfect fit if you're on a date. Watch the video to my favorite song below.

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The above review was from Zach S-E of BeforeBigs.com. Follow @BeforeBigs and instagram for more photos from Pacific Festival.

Pacific Festival Preview: Poolside

Fun and water loving "daytime disco" act - Poolside - bring their talents to the beach this coming weekend at Pacific Festival.  Before they get their feet in the sand they also make a pit stop at The Echo on Wednesday night.  You can still get tickets to the former by clicking here (use code supergoodmusic for a $5 discount), but The Echo show is more or less sold out (there will be a few walk ups allowed).

And its sold out with good reason as the increasingly popular duo have been riding a wave since the release of "Pacific Standard Time" in July.   The summer smanger includes the chilled out, slo-mo electrogaze "Slow Down", their original hit "Do You Believe?" and 14 other juicy tracks highlighted by shiny synths, based-out chill grooves, lo-fi vocals and infused with that SoCal ethos and chill swagger that makes it the perfect soundtrack for hanging out next to a pool....

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.