If I Didn't Love That Accent So Much...

The Subways 11/28/2005 Spaceland

There are two kinds of “rock” bands from the UK: the Britpop bands and the actual rock bands. The Subways walk a fine line between both. They aren’t too poppy like the Maximo Park, nor do they sound like Nine Black Alps (hot, young UK Nirvana rip-off). Their single, “Rock n Roll Queen,” is their poppiest song. The band is super cute and super young (the bassist and the drummer aren’t even 21) which means they have loads of energy on stage, which works to their advantage by drawing the crowd in. For a Spaceland show the crowd was ever so slightly more enthusiastic than usual, no jumping or hooting, but plenty of polite clapping. The Subways put on a decent show. There's no real mind-blowing moments, but they seemed to hold most people's attention. It’ll be interesting to see how they’ll grow as a band or if the relationship between the singer and the (girl) bass player will break up the band.

B-A-N-Aw screw it...

Travis Barker’s Birthday Party presented by DC Shoes @ LAX 11/14/2005

The white (as opposed to red) carpet complete with MTV interviewing people should have been sign enough. “Beware: cheesy party ahead.” The initial excitement of being at Travis Barker’s birthday party wore off pretty quickly after the partygoers were herded to the door (next to the ice sculptures of Mr. Barker’s ghetto blaster tattoo) to await the over-mohawked birthday boy. Travis and his wife (Ms.lies in bed and gets pregnant) walked into a complete “shit is bananas,” marching band playing Hot hot Heat and Happy Birthday. (Marching bands are the new hip-hop apparently.) Luckily the party was open bar so everyone was too drunk to notice the music the dj was playing. (Pon De Replay, anyone?) The party turned out to be a fashion fuck fest. Anywhere I turned I met someone who repped a t-shirt line or worked for a street wear label. Steve-O eating a hot dog and that Asian kid from Hook made for some pretty poor gossip, kids. Imagine my delight at the end of the night when I was asked to sign a hold harmless for “Meet the Barkers.”

And Another...

I like this one too. Bunny and I helped out with the LA Record cover shoot for Go Go Go Airheart. I'm glad someone loves Sparks as much as I do. The band. Not the drink. Duh.

Christening Photo

So, I finally set up a photobucket for my blog. I found this picture I took of Carlos D at the last Motherfucker I went to in NYC. I thought I'd share it with y'all. Enjoy.

Johnny, no!

AFI's Johnny Depp Tribute 11/11/05

I think the same thing that fascinates people about Hollywood can also bore them to death. I love Johnny Depp. The only person who rivals him in my DVD collection is Joaquin Phoenix, which is why I was super excited to be invited to attend AFI's tribute and actually get to see Johnny in person. Unfortunately the night was not nearly as exciting as I was hoping. Yes, Mr. Depp was there. And, yes, he did discuss his career. But there was no glitz! No glamour! No co-stars gushing about how great he is. No big Hollywood stars period. (Unless you count Harvey Weinstein, and in that case big it is!) They started off by showing a montage, then they had a question and answer with the chairperson of AFI, then they showed another montage. And the clips they chose were completely typical. Benny and Joon (how'd you do the Charlie Chaplin, Johnny?), Edward Scissorhands (yes, Tim Burton was Edward.), Pirates of the Carribean (Keith Richards, blah, blah, blah). I was surprised the actually threw in Ed Wood, then I was disappointed that they totally dismissed Dead Man, which is one of my personal favorites in general. It was very hard to keep my eyes open til the end montage. Maybe next time they should do a roast...

Tomorrow in Hollywood

Diamond Nights 11/14/05 at the Troubadour

What do you get when you cross Thin Lizzy with ZZ Top with some hipster attitude? Diamond Nights, that’s what! They might not be the most innovative sound around but they’re pure fun with no pressure. Maybe you’ve caught yourself boppin’ along to “The Girl’s Attractive” while you make those rock and roll kissy lips. (God knows I’ve been known to.) Maybe you've been wondering what the next big NYC thing will be. Maybe you just want less of an "Ordinary Life." Give into the temptation and go see one of the best “get wasted and party without being in a fraternity” bands around. Morgan, on vox, is one of my favorite drunks around and you’ll wonder how guys can take themselves so un-seriously. How these guys aren’t from LA, I’ll never figure that out. Set your self for "Destination Diamonds!" I dare you to uncross your arms and go see Diamond Nights.

I Shot Myself in Reno

Walk the Line World Premiere and After party 11/03/05

Who’da thought the story of Johnny Cash and June Carter could’ve been made into a classic Hollywood romance? Married man meets soul mate, gets addicted to drugs, wife leaves him, soul mate saves him and they live happily ever after, raise each other’s daughters and have one son of their own. (The movie only goes as far as June agreeing to marry John, but they let the audience know how it turns out in the end.) Walk The Line, directed by James Mangold (Copland, yes Copland), is the glossed over, Hollywood version of how Johnny Cash met and married June Carter. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon put their hearts and souls into this movie and it shows. They both give touching performances as the two main characters. Joaquin Phoenix becomes so much like Johnny Cash it’s almost over the top. Also notable is Ginnifer Goodwin as Vivian Cash. Overall the movie is a little too light hearted for most hardcore Cash fans and the audience seemed to laugh a little too much in inappropriate places. Phoenix and Witherspoon fans will definitely want to see the movie. Cash fans may want to stay home.
The after party at the Vanguard played a bit like the movie. Fun, but not as fun as I was hoping. Not much of the cast showed up. Only secondary players like Tyler Hilton (a very young, thin Elvis),Ginnifer Goodwin (Vivian Cash), and some of the more minor cast. The only celeb I noticed who wasn’t in the movie was that guy who plays Rory’s boyfriend on Gilmore Girls. Ladies, he wasn’t with any young women, but don’t breathe a sigh of relief yet. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of my beloved Joaquin, but no dice. Next time I suppose…

Back Entries!

Bauhaus 10/30/05 @ The Wiltern

Some bands are meant to play together forever. Bauhaus is one of those bands. They took forever to reunite and forever to tour again, but 8 years after their last tour they still sound haunting and fantastic. Peter Murphy and company were in top form (except for Daniel Ash’s lame Kangol hat). Peter Murphy wore an amazing red coat for the encores and David J never removed his sunglasses. They played a typical set filled with popular tunes with no real surprises (I only wanted to hear She’s in Parties anyway), but that was fine by the crowd, which was mostly older, but no less involved than any other crowd. The lighting was spectacular, as was the lighting guy who never stood still. It was amazing. Even the most clichéd song, the one everyone knows, Bela Lugosi is Dead was so engaging and gothic with out being cheesy and I practically forgot Ziggy was a David Bowie song and then I almost cried.


Blackest of the Black Tour 10/29/05 Gibson Amphitheater

Glenn Danzig is one frightening s.o.b. Positive or not, he puts his heart into his shows. Although Danzig starts off a little slow, (the audience has already been subjected to 5 hours of music, mind you) once Doyle hits the stage and they start playing classic Misfits songs the show picks up a little momentum which keeps it going til they close with Die Die My Darling. That’s the problem with seeing a tour on its last day. Everyone’s tired and it shows. Which is what happened to the majority of the bands. Chimaira, from Cleveland, is a typical hardcore/death metal band. They just happened to have their shit together and have a singer that can yell with the best of them. Even while smoking, his voice showed little strain. Behemoth, from Poland is frightening. All the songs pretty much sound alike and I can not for the life of me understand the singer although I presume he was speaking English. The best thing about this band is their intimidation factor. They have it all. Costume, make up, shtick, you name it. Just not interesting music. Himsa, from Seattle were adorable. Which is strange, because that’s hardly what one would call a death metal band. For some reason, they seemed to look miniature on stage and although the singer’s style was typically hardcore they had that guitar metal sound that is reminiscent of early Metallica or Megadeth. Unfortunately the band with the most potential was the most misunderstood by the LA crowd. Mortiis is an industrial band hailing from Norway. They have the typical Norwegian theatrics (makeup, blah, blah, blah) along with the naivety that seems to encompass Norwegian bands although that’s probably far form the truth. They seem ready to end the tour. If you like industrial, pick up their cds or download some songs All in all, the night was full of testosterone, sweat, and maybe some tears of joy.