Category: Concert Review (Page 2 of 8)

Diego Garcia @ The Troubadour

November 6, 2013 / aftertheshow

Diego Garcia headlined the Troubadour last night, playing a good selection of tracks from his new album Paradise.

Diego kicked off his set with “Darling Please” and played other new songs like “Donde Estas” and “Tell Me.” The audience sang along to the newer songs as well as older ones like “Laura” from his 2011 release of the same name.

Diego switched between singing only and singing while playing guitar.

“Truth Will Ring” definitely stood out with all its nice guitar string work, but the highlight of the concert was the last song, “Sunnier Days.” The chorus sounded amazing live, especially the “ohhh, you’re not too far away” part.

+ Check out DiegoGarciaNYC.com for more upcoming tour dates.

The Sanglorians @ El Cid

August 18, 2013 / aftertheshow

I saw The Sanglorians play a great set Friday night at El Cid in Silverlake.

A six-piece LA-based band, The Sanglorians started their set with “Seventh Avenue.”

Songs that stood out were “My Subconscious,” “The Only Way Out Is In,” and “Everybody Likes A Pretty Girl.” The band played with lots of energy, and the songs really benefited from the use of violin and occasional trumpet.

Their penultimate song was a cover of “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding.” The cover featured powerful distorted guitar sounds and a violin melody line that initially grounded the song but then elevated it to another level.

The Sanglorians plan to release an album in mid-October. For more info. check out Sanglorians.com

Vic and Gab @ Pianos

June 5, 2013 / aftertheshow

Vic and Gab were the first band on a great line-up at the Wild Honey Pie show at Pianos last night.

An indie-pop band of two sisters from Milwaukee, Vic and Gab played guitar and bass with 2 other band members — a drummer and a percussionist/Korg player.

They’re a really young band, and it’s exciting to see a band with a lot of potential at the early stages of its career.

They could talk more in between songs so there’s not dead silence, but I was impressed by the electric guitar playing and the intricate drum beats.

“Anything For You” is their catchiest song — the second vocals that come in at the end (“I’ll try, for you”) are perfect:

++VicandGab.com

Milk Carton Kids @ Largo (5/9/13)

May 11, 2013 / aftertheshow

Photo Credit: Brendan Pattengale

Last night I saw The Milk Carton Kids play the second of two consecutive shows at Largo in LA.

The Milk Carton Kids, the duo of Joey Ryan + Kenneth Pattengale, are touring in support of their new album The Ash & Clay, and they played new songs like “Honey, Honey” as well as older favorites (“New York,” “Charlie,” and “Girls, Gather ‘Round”).

The audience at Largo was really eclectic — people of all ages, and everyone seemed to really enjoy and appreciate the duo’s repartee between songs.

The crowd even (audibly) recognized “Michigan,” the penultimate song of the set, from the song’s very first guitar notes.

Joey focused more on strumming chords and was smoother in his presentation than Kenneth, who was slightly more spastic in demeanor and did more finger picking.

See upcoming tour dates at The Milk Carton Kids website for San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, NY, and Australia dates!

Ex Cops @ Troubadour (5/8/13)

May 10, 2013 / aftertheshow

Photo Credit: After The Show

Ex Cops played their first ever LA show last night, opening for Bleached at The Troubadour.

The band kicked off their set with “Ken,” followed by “You Are A Lion, I Am A Lamb,” which set the tone for their band as one of controlled energy, dreamy guitar tones, and lush male-female vocals.

Ex Cops (Brian Harding and Amalie Bruun) were backed by 3 other musicians, and they played to a packed house (mostly full of teenagers).

Photo Credit: After The Show

They played a brand new song that sounded good — nice bass line and chord changes. Ex Cops’ penultimate song was “James,” which sounded way too rushed! “James” is such an amazing song but I couldn’t appreciate it when it was played so fast.

Check out: Ex Cops’ official website + Twitter for 2 more LA dates + the rest of the tour.

The Henry Millers @ Webster

April 2, 2013 / aftertheshow

The Henry Millers opened for Hey Ocean! last night at the Studio at Webster Hall…and I’m so happy I saw their set.

The Henry Millers is led by John MacCallum and Katie Schecter, both on guitars and vocals. The band performed songs from their album Daisies, like the second song they played, “Diamonds,” as well as “Predator.”

I loved that they played “Treehouse” too — the female vocals that come in at the end take the song to another level.

I wish the album/studio versions sounded as full, powerful, and clear as the live versions.

The band finished their set strong with “Mr. Flash Gordon.” The echo in the choruses of “Gordon, Mr. Flash Gordon” and the interplay between both vocals sounds amazing (it’s more muddled and harder to hear on the recorded version).

+Check out TheHenryMillers.com and on Facebook