Doldrums opened for Crystal Castles at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, CA, on Friday, April 26th. Playing to a sold-out, all-ages crowd, the duo entered the stage amidst a spewing haze backlit by neon purple strobes, like an epileptic sunset at a rave festival and immediately began churning out hits from all three LPs, including set opener “Plague,” “Alice Practice” and “Not In Love.” Without pausing for the entire set, they cranked up the bass and shook the Palladium to its foundation, much to the delight of the audience, who couldn’t get enough.
Read more…
By Marv Watson Posted in Reviews, Show Reviews Crystal Castles, doldrums, edm, Hollywood, mrvphotography, mxdwn, palladium
Fresh from their headlining slot at week one of Coachella 2013, French band Phoenix, beloved of hipsters the world over, played a short, intimate set to a gathering of prize-winners at the Red Bull Sound Space at KROQ Studios in Los Angeles, CA.
Read more…
By Marv Watson Posted in Features, Los Angeles KROQ, Los Angeles, Phoenix
Santigold brought her eclectic, infectious brand of grooves to a sold-out crowd at the legendary House Of Blues on the Sunset Strip, Los Angeles, on February 9 2013. Showcasing her talents as a musician and entertainer, she performed a near-constant medley of hits over approximately 80 minutes, accompanied by, at various times, two backing dancers, about 40 dancing members of the audience and a pantomime horse (!).
Read more…
By Marv Watson Posted in Reviews, Show Reviews Santigold
Public Enemy brought the inaugural ‘Hip-Hop Gods’ tour to a climax at Club Nokia in Downtown Los Angeles, hours after accepting their nomination into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
Read more…
By Marv Watson Posted in Reviews, Show Reviews awesome dre, Chuck D, flavor flav, leaders of the new school, monie love, Public Enemy, schoolly d, son of bezerk, wise intelligent, x clan
Texas-based rockers Sparta stopped off at The Troubadour in Hollywood, as part of their first tour since going on hiatus in 2008. A mixed-age crowd of fans packed the iconic venue, which as ever allowed the early-comers to get within a hair’s breadth of the band. Read more…
By Marv Watson Posted in Reviews, Show Reviews At the Drive-In, atdi, Hollywood, jim ward, Sparta, troubadour
Chicago-based rock band, Chevelle, rolled into Los Angeles to play a typically subdued set, yet somehow managing to play loud, heavy rock in their patented quiet-is-how-you-play-loud manner. They played through a set including songs from their latest offering, Hats Off To The Bull along with a smattering of older, better-known favorites, including “The Red” and “Send The Pain Below”, both from their most popular second record Wonder What’s Next. While the crowd seemed to get into the music for the popular numbers, one couldn’t help but feel like this was a band going through the motions, once again, with singer/guitarist Pete Loeffler’s vocals straining to be heard above the music. Read more…
By Marv Watson Posted in Reviews, Show Reviews Chevelle, Club Nokia, Dead Sara, Los Angeles, mrvphotography.com, rock
Swedish pop rock outfit The Sounds brought their infectious fusion of indie rock and electronica to a packed house at The Wiltern last Wednesday. Ever-energetic frontwoman Maja Ivarsson literally strutted her stuff in a short black dress and high heels, much to the delight of the males at the front of the house; her perfect-front woman repertoire included drinking beer between songs, smoking cigarettes during them, and crawling along the front of the stage on her hands and knees. She must get plenty of Red Bull. Read more…
By Marv Watson Posted in Reviews, Show Reviews The Sounds
In addition to our recent review of the LA Rising festival day in July, photographer Marv Watson has a few more shots to share from the day… Read more…
By Marv Watson Posted in Features LA Rising
Coheed & Cambria wrapped up their American tour in Los Angeles playing their debut record, the Second Stage Turbine Blade, in its entirety on it’s 10th anniversary, at LA’s Club Nokia. The evening started with a 45 minute-long acoustic set, and no support act, so this really was about paying homage to the band’s fans. The crowd was treated to 8 stripped-down versions of some of the band’s quieter moments, including “Mother Superior,” “Wake Up,” and a cover of “Who Watches The Watchmen,” by lead singer Claudio Sanchez’s other band, The Prize Fighter Inferno. Read more…
By Marv Watson Posted in Reviews, Show Reviews Coheed and Cambria
Scottish rockers Mogwai brought their unique brand of instrumental rock to Los Angeles’s historical Mayan Theatre, a fitting venue for this blend of white noise, reverb and crunching riffs. Despite the band looking bored out of their minds for the duration of their set, they cranked the volume up to 11 for an entirely vocal-free evening of some of their biggest numbers, closing the set with an encore of “George Square Thatcher Death Party” and “Mogwai Fear Satan.” Everyone in the audience will surely have had sore necks the next day, from constant appreciative nodding, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Read more…
By Marv Watson Posted in Reviews, Show Reviews Mogwai
