my helen stellar addiction @ spaceland – 4.19.10 & 4.26.10

massive band crush alert: helen stellar

no words can describe how fucking great the last two mondays of april were during the helen stellar residency at spaceland. this band has easily climbed into my top 5 list of BEST BANDS IN LA right how. i shot digital the first week (photo above) and PHOTO LINK!

then i went back and shot film the second week (photo above.) this was my first live show using a film camera, and the lighting at spaceland is notoriously horrible, so i am pretty excited to have ANYTHING to show online. PHOTO LINK!

helen stellar also played a gorgeous cover of lindsey buckingham’s “trouble” that is so beyond radio-worthy, they NEED to record it ASAP and let my parents experience the past in the present.

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playing catch-up big time – march + april 2010

i keep ending up at shows that i have no intention of going to – and then totally loving them. it’s a good habit to have! i landed last-minute at voxhaul broadcast (photo above) and saint motel (photo below) on 4.10.10 at echoplex.

i loved voxhaul’s music, and i was enthralled by saint motel’s “alien inspired” stage show. between the two bands, the audience was beamed to a far away place where ladies lavishly threw their bras and astronauts took the stage. sadly, no aliens were summoned. PHOTO LINK!

first fridays at the natural history museum have been pretty damn fantastic over the past few months. fitz & the tantrums opened the april lineup, and while many in the audience had no idea what they were in for, by the end of the set, fitz had the entire hall of mammals dancing. breakestra followed up their soulful set, and while not nearly as inspiring for me, breakestra’s collective stage presence ever so engaging to watch. PHOTO LINK!

i have not been to hotel cafe in ages, so it was a fortunate last-minute surprise to swing by and see honeyhoney on april fool’s day. i had never heard of this charismatic LA band before…. nothing like stumbling upon something new and ever so sweet.  PHOTO LINK!

i headed down to hermosa beach at the end of march to catch AM play a very intimate show at saint rocke. fancy digs down there, great food, and lots of flat screen TVs broadcasting the stage show. turning a former sports bar into a live music venue isn’t always easy, but saint rocke made use of the flat screens in a very creative way. the space itself had a very “castle” feel to it, complete with candles adorning the stage. i’d like to see more good bands play there – it’s a nice little retreat from LA. PHOTO LINK!

i’m still not quite sure how i felt about the morning benders show at the troubadour in march. maybe that’s why i have failed to post photos or write about the show for weeks now. i think i was disappointed, but there were moments of goodness too, so maybe it was all a wash in the end? either way, i love these boys recorded, but the live version of “promises,” a song that is in my top 5 for 2010, was so drastically redone, i had a hard time stomaching it. PHOTO LINK!

in early march, synchronicity space hosted a fun little EP release party for tenlons fort. how i love this band. recorded or live, the experience is one i can put on repeat for days. PHOTO LINK!

the rouge @ griffith park – 3.27.10

last summer, denver band the rouge was in LA shooting a music video, and in a last-minute turn of events, i ended up on set shooting the video stills. super fun day. so when the band rolled through town for a show at the viper room at the end of march, we decided to meet up for another impromptu photo shoot in griffith park. it was a film and digital day, lots of laughs, and we even took a magical trip through fern gully. the photo above was shot on film as the boys were leaving, and it’s one of my favorites, as it has that 70’s laurel canyon vibe all over it. i need to shoot more film. PHOTO LINK!