Music Festivals

Dirty Penni Fest

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On Saturday, July 23, I opted to beat the L.A. heat by attending this indoor show hosted by Dirty Laundry TV and Penniback Records at the Echo and Echoplex.

Since I had only heard of 3 of the bands in this 18-piece lineup, I was excited to discover some new great local bands. I figured most of the bands would be in the punk rock style, but man this show was punk af!

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Sunstock Solar Festival

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This past Saturday, I braved the heat to attend the first ever Sunstock Solar Festival at the Autry Museum inside Griffith Park. I arrived just in time to beat the crowds, armed with my ticket, purchased at 50% off on Groupon, before Gateway Drugs went onstage. At this time, the audience was still taking cover from the heat, relaxing on a picnic blanket, or taking selfies with the glittering art installation, so there was ample space in the pit. Continue reading →

Primavera Sound

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I was in Barcelona for just over one week—first and foremost to see Primavera Sound. I arrived on my own for my first 3-day solo trip, both excited and anxious for what was to come. I did what any self-respecting tourist would do and rode the double decker bus to see the sights, and after 3 days of solo exploration, I was joined by my boyfriend who would come to see this epic music festival with me. Continue reading →

Broke LA

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Do you like music? Art? Food? Comedy? What about puppies? The one-day Broke LA festival, formerly known as “Brokechella” offered all of the above. Taking place during the Coachella Weekend #2, the first “Brokechella” event was hosted 6 years ago in service to showcasing a sea of local bands at a non-Coachella price. This year was my first time attending Broke LA, and for the $20 admission, it totally over-delivered.

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GIRLSCHOOL Field Day Weekend

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GIRLSCHOOL Field Day Weekend was a three day festival filled with some of the strongest female-fronted acts I’ve seen. The event was spearheaded by GIRLSCHOOL Collective, the project of Anna Bulbrook of The Bulls, the Airborne Toxic Event, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, who’s mission is to celebrate the females who are out there making music, art, and sharing their voice. Proceeds for the event went to Rock N Roll Camp for Girls, LA, which gives young women the opportunity to learn to play instruments and rock out together. The weekend kicked off with a panel of influential women in the music industry including band members, journalists and radio hosts, including KROQ’s Kat Corbett. These women shared experiences of being a female in a predominantly male industry of alternative rock, about what it means to express feelings with male and female counterparts, about inequality in the industry when it comes to pay and respect. Several also spoke about the latest scandal from Life or Death PR—speaking up about sexual harassment that occurs within the industry, and some shared the experience of being assumed as groupies or girlfriends before they are band leaders, members, and journalists.

The entire weekend was incredibly uplifting and inspiring, each day building upon the last. There was a very “just be you” vibe, as young women and men from hipster to normcore swayed, moshed, and chilled to the wide variety of music being showcased. When you have a night kicking off with Jade, a folky woman-with-a-guitar act and ending with the screams and metal riffs of Dead Sara, you’re guaranteed to be exposed to something new.

The entire event featured around 20 bands, from folk to hardcore punk rock and everything in between. Miya Folick graced the stage with a presence that was incredibly charming, yet dangerous at the same time, as she uninhibitedly belted during several of her choruses. Kitten jammed out and validated Shakespeare’s theory,”and though she be but little, she is fierce.” Dead Sara riled up the crowd and owned her hardcore sound. Nina & Louise from Veruca Salt gave us an intimate duet performance. White Sea revealed her full range of exquisite vocals, and Gothic Tropic’s guitar solos would give shred-envy to literally any band. Needless to say, there was no shortage of performance highlights from the weekend.

However, what really stood out the most in this weekend was the level of love and devotion these women have for their craft. Whatever the music genre, these women gave the performances their all, and felt their sounds and lyrics in their entirety. Thank you to Girlschool Collective for putting this event together—I am already looking forward to the next one!

Panel Discussion

 Steady Holiday

 The Bulls

Miya Folick

Dead Sara

 Nightjacket

Alina Bea

Maria Taylor

Kim and the Created

Conway

Kera and the Lesbians

Gothic Tropic

Beach Goth 2015

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Beach Goth. The annual party that is equal parts Beach and Goth hostbeach-goth-4ed
acts ranging from the electro-pop styles of Grimes to the ghastly metal act appropriately named, “Ghost.” Top performances for me included Warpaint, the Drums, Mac Demarco, Moving Units, Grimes, and DIIV. Also, with the Adicts and Subhumans in the line-up, the show took me back to my high school punk years. Upon arrival at the venue, the Orange County Observatory in Santa Ana, long lines of concert-goes dressed in their creative and scantily clad costumes, as requested by the event curators. It was a sea of hipsters, punks, and weirdos alike. If you didn’t have tattoos, piercings, and dyed hair, you simply wouldn’t fit in. I would suggest watching the main stage from the beer garden–you’ll be at a side-view, but you’ll be closer to the stage and less crammed into the main crowd (where you’d likely get dehydrated or tired of being pushed around by the mosh pit and have to get a security guard to eventually lift you out of the crowd). The indoor secondary stage hosted smaller acts, such as Moving Units, Corners, and the Alla-Lahs, but with equally enthused an audience. Side-shows included the Rocky-Horror Picture show and a Dub club in the smaller Constellation Room and in the outside patio.
We arrived just in time for the Adicts playing “Viva la Revolution” which set the tone for the weekend. After a brief stint with Mr. Twin Sister, we caught The Aquabats who’s performance included a stage show with a dancing alien and what looked like one of those monsters from little shop of horrors, and a memorable last song of a cover of the Pixies, “Where is my mind.” Warpaint was next, and they promised the, “best 30-minute set” of our lives, a promise they did deliver. They started the set with one of their newer hit singles “No Way Out,” and played fan favorites including “Love is to die” and “Disco//very.” They always put on a great performance. My friend and I met some Warpaint fans at the show who were just there to see that band, a young married couple. They seemed to be happy with their money’s worth–at a $100 show, that might’ve been a lot to ask for. The Drums took the main stage after Warpaint with another 30-minute set. Donning his yellow tropical print satin jacket and blue bowl cut, Johnny Pierce was the embodiment of “Beach Goth.” One good thing about a 30-minute set time is that the bands are most likely going to play their fan favorites. This was also the case for the Drums, as they played “Surfing,” “Days” “Money,” and “Best Friend,” much to the crowd-surf loving audience’s approval. I wasn’t much of a fan of the next band, Ghost, who donned black skeleton pope and devil-ish costumes for their heavy metal set. But, next was Mac Demarco, who charmed the audience from his sound check to his classic final song “Together.” And just when the sounds of Mac got everyone feeling mellow, Grimes took the stage, equipped with a lightshow, heavy dance beats, and a theatric on-stage presence. To my dismay, we did not catch the Growlers, as the beer was kicking in and it was time to head home.
The following day, we arrived a little earlier to catch acts, “Corners” and “DIIV,” both of which we’d seen multiple times. Corners were on the “Graveyard” indoor stage. This local band from Echo Park had a full house of punk-indie-rock appreciative fans complete with mosh pit. We went outside to catch DIIV, who performed several new songs with their classic intro “we’re called DIIV….we’re from New York…this is a new song…” in addition to several tracks from Oshin, their first and only album (so far). The sounds washed over the crowd in a haze of reverb, and much head swaying was spotted. After DIIV, we went inside to catch Moving Units, whom I hadn’t listened to in at least 5 years, but their sound was instantly recognizable, and suddenly I remembered the chorus to “Between Us and Them.” They performed with high energy on the neon-glowing slightly-demonically dressed stage. Outside we caught the pop-punk act, FIDLAR, whose members ironically appeared in identical suits
as they sang songs about 40 oz beers, bills, and babes. Their catchy song, “west coast” had the entire audience pogo-ing. It was such a fun, light-hearted set. We stuck around to catch Julian Casablancas, whom I hadn’t really listened to much before, as I’m not a huge strokes fan. However, listening to them now, their set just seemed to be a wash of loud sound and was difficult to make out the songs because the voice distortion was pretty hard on the ears. We left early to catch the Allah-Lahs, whose simple 70’s inspired surf-rock had the crowd swaying. We went outside once more to catch some of Die Antwoord’s performance, which included all kinds of artsy videos and choreography to back their experimental electronica style.
Overall, with several impressive acts, this event was not to be missed. Yes, the crowds were a bit much at times and the food was just okay, but it’s that DIY, low-budget production that gives the event it’s true charm. The bands all started on time for the most part, and there was an act to please everyone. We’ll see you next year, Beach Goth.