Vivian Girls @ The Smell - 2-22-2011 (with Austra, Catwalk and Cold Showers)- AH LIVE Review

 This review simulposted on LA Record

On Tuesday February 22^nd at The Smell in Los Angeles, FYF gave us an amazingly line-up: Cold Showers, Catwalk, Austra, and Vivian Girls. This was Vivian Girls’ of Brooklyn’s first show in LA in over a year (according to Katy Goodman bassist/vocals), so the show was very crowded with devoted fans. The Smell usually offers 5 dollar shows, and since this one was going to be a quickly sold out show it was 8 dollars. I waited outside for about 20 minutes next to a dumpster that reeked of piss, and the doors opened right at 8:30 just like they said they would. 

Cold Showers got the night started a few minutes after 9, had a short set, and my immediate response to them saying “We’re Cold Showers” was “I like hot showers” in which my friend responded “taking this a bit too literal.” We enjoyed their very 80’s sound. They often gave me a Pixies or Joy Division feel, and I was pleasantly surprised since this was the first time I had heard them. Their songs were generally slow-paced and sort of quiet, but a few of them kicked in and got me dancing.

Next up was Catwalk, a three piece band of guys that are obviously very passionate about their music. The singer always had a very intense face, and the drummer looked like he was psyched to be there as he kept giggling and looking at his band mates. My favorite song they played was their second, “Please don’t break me.” They harmonized beautifully, with bass that was very complimentary to the guitar; not just following it but taking on its own sound. Catwalk followed Cold Showers wonderfully with that similar 80’s sound that we all adored. Another I really loved was their last song, “Baby Please,” which the singer really gave his passion in and they all ended their set happily which made us all feel good as well. This band was also new to me, and I was really overjoyed to have heard two new phenomenal bands whose shows I could now frequent.

The third band up was Austra, an electronic band from Toronto. This band was definitely 80’s reminiscent, but in a different way from the previous bands. It contained backtracking, keyboard, bass, drums, and the very powerful voice of Katie Stelmanis. My first impression was that their music was far more serious than fun and upbeat like the previous bands, and that Katie’s voice is very beautiful and has a lot of range. The song that stood out from their set was “Beat and The Pulse” which reminded me heavily of an Annie Lennox song. The bass was pulsating and strong, just like Katie’s voice. Being the complete opposite of serious, I felt a bit out of place with such serious music and attitudes of the band members. Yet I was definitely pleased at how talented all members are, and how catchy they had been; another band that I will keep tabs on.

And finally, the Smell suddenly got super crowded to the point where I could barely move. Vivian Girls quickly got on stage, and they started out with “Never See Me Again” from their first album Vivian Girls. This song is incredibly fast-paced, and the crowd was ecstatic about it and began moshing right away. Next was “Can’t Get Over You" from their second album Everything Goes Wrong, a song that gets stuck in your head very easily and also at a pace that had us dancing and moshing. They then played the slower 2^nd track “I Heard You Say” from their new album due in April Share the Joy. I hadn’t heard this one yet, and I really liked Katy’s harmonizing backup. Another from Share the Joy, “The Other Girls” was played which is their first track off this album. This song is very playful, and guitarist/vocals Cassie Ramone sings with her out-of-tune-in-the-best-way-possible style. They followed with a track from their 1^st, “Wild Eyes” which is my favorite song by them. It is very upbeat and catchy and embodies their noise. Next was “Lake House” from Share the Joy which has their common kick-snare-kick-snare drumbeat, and the addicting pairing of Cassie and Katy’s voices. They played a pattern of Share the Joy- Everything Goes Wrong- Share the Joy- Everything Goes Wrong with “Death,” “When I’m Gone,” “Sixteen Ways,” and “Survival.” “Death” reminds me of “Institutionalized” by Suicidal Tendencies because Cassie straight up talks in the beginning of it. “When I’m Gone” has an addicting drum beat, and “Sixteen Ways” is another new hit, and “Survival” an old favorite. They slowed things down with “Before I Start to Cry” from Everything, a song about “ex-boyfriends” and “love.” They played “Dance (If You Wanna)” from Share the Joy which reminds me of an Okmoniks type 60’s garage song. They came out for an encore that the moshers went crazy for and went back stage where I followed to talk to the current drummer Fiona Campbell about their superb set to finish off my FYF night at The Smell.

- Alyssa Holland

Vivian Girls @ The Smell - 2-22-2011 (with Austra, Catwalk and Cold Showers)- AP LIVE Review

Oh that wonderful Smell. As I headed up the alley with that ever present l'odeur de pisse and not present Danny the doorman,(?), there were already a fair amount of people milling about, chatting up a storm, all wearing grins because they possessed tickets to the sold out Vivian Girls show. Inside things felt equally festive, amidst the art murals, the cutest little girl DJ spun awesome sounds and I partook in a scrumptious cinnamon bagel.

One of the bands you think of when you think of the Smell is Mika Miko who left their frenetic energy etched within it's walls. Former members have popped up playing with Cold Cave and Strange Boys and now Jessica Clavin has traded in her bass for guitar, producing dirty bright rhythm and leads in Cold Showers. Their sound, with the Farfisa-ish organ, ever present bass lines, tom tom beats, husky vocals and sparkly lead lines is more slow burn than fire but the "too cool to care" sound works providing a dark alluring sound scape for the movie in my mind. Cold Showers is now on my radar screen.

Catwalk, a 3 piece band from Oxnard, California fully embraces the 60's merseybeat sound infused with a dose of garage rock feel. Full of heavy melodic bass lines, pretty and potent guitar lines, (love the minor chords), solid drum work, lush vocals and sweet lyrics, Catwalk makes you want to fall in love, break up and fall in love again. In "Please Don't Break Me" he sings "I just wanna be the one for you... won't you let me love you"- in "No Room for Love" he sings "and there's nothing left to give and it kills me to live"- You get the picture, Catwalk's songs embody youthful love and loss and even stripped away my cynicism. Other standout songs were "All Around You" and "Angel".

Katie Selmanis aka Austra makes heavy synth based music that features her beautiful classical sounding vocals. At age 10 she was already performing in the Canadian Children's Opera Chorus and this is quite evident by her tonal quality and body language that allows her to push that evocative voice from all the right places. Austra's sound with the almost military marchy feel, heavy synths, bass, bottom end drumming and evocative vocals could be Trent Reznor's and Kate Bush's love child. Songs like "Beat Pulse" and "Darken Your Horse" are almost hypnotic and with the trip-hop feel I could actually see a paring of Katie and Eminem or Kanye, (producers take note).

As the Vivian Girls took the stage to play their first set in LA in a year, the audience swelled and I was firmly pressed between the brick wall and bodies so tightly that, at one point, I could not raise my arms to applaud. It was so packed that I was inadvertently groped and I could not defend my honor...eh.  But in the end it was worth it. The sheer mass of bodies in that space was a testament to guitarist/vocalist Cassie Ramone, bassist/vocalist Katy Goodman and new drummer Fiona Campbell's popularity. In fact, the Smell show kicked off VG's North American tour to promote their 3rd CD and first Polyvinyl debut, "Share the Joy" and share the joy they did playing a 13 song set to an over enthusiastic often times moshing crowd. The new songs were stellar and they performed 6 of them, "The Other Girls"- (wonderful long lead guitar strains), "Lake House", "Death"- ( (like a 50's teen tear jerker), "Sixteen Ways", "I Heard You Say", and "Dance, If you wanna".  Cassie's some times dissonant vocals sounded exquisitely punk, Katy's lovely backing vox filled out the sparse powerful arrangements and Fiona fit the bottom end like a glove. They ended their set to raucous applause and people started filtering out pretty quickly but the large amount of stragglers demanded more. Vivian Girls obliged and the encore instilled more moshing and crowd surfing. It was a fitting ending to a wonderful night of music at a wonderful venue. Thanks Mike for letting me crash the party.
-
Adler Bloom

Tijuana Panthers, The Lovely Bad Things and Pangea @ BURGER RECORDS- AP Live Review

 simulposted on LA Record
I walked in to Burger Records in Fullerton, greeted by the slimy green walls and the regal cat named Eleanor sitting on a couch. Pangea was playing with The Lovely Bad Things and Tijuana Panthers at Burger just a city away from me, for free! Could a show be any more perfect? Pangea is from Newhall Ca, and they have that upbeat surf-y sound that goes wonderfully with the similar sound that they share with The Lovely Bad Things and Tijuana Panthers.You can tell a lot about their attitude and sound from the names of their songs. They started it up with “To drunk to come,” (the appropriate spelling written on my note card courtesy of William, the lead singer and guitarist) a very fast paced mosh worthy song at first that slowsdown into a 60’s reminiscent beat. They then played “Get Away Free”, a fun song that made us all break a sweat in the ill ventilated sardine can that Burger Records became. Next was “Hold My Hand,” which forced me to take my Cosby sweater off and dance like I was an American Bandstand girl (except Pangea wasn’t lip syncing). William said “Thanks for clapping you guys,” as they then played “Shitty” which has that old surf sound with a new age twist, because obviously The Routers wouldn’t title a song “Shitty.” William said “This is our last song. Thanks for putting up with us. We appreciate it” and began their last and favorite one, “No Feelin’” which made the crowd go wild. The stop-and-start drum beat and the loud defined bass definitely didn’t stop anyone from dancing, and neither did the heat of the record shop.

Next up was The Lovely Bad Things, following Pangea complimentary with their “surf punk” music. It is impossible to be uninterested when the first song they played is about a cat named “Kevin.” This song is incredibly addicting, every instrument perfectly audible and catchy. Even when it slows down in the middle,

the crowd was still feeling it. They went on to the next track “Why” which slowed us down progressively, but it was still beguiling. This song sounds very happy, but the lyrics include “I slit your throat, and took you up to the San Francisco Bridge,” which makes it all the more badass as their overall sound is. Following was the song that everyone always feels the need to mosh to, “Cocaine Werewolf Super Awesome Fun Time.” Even though saying the title is a bitch, my adoration for this song won’t stop because it’s too fast and fun to ever let

anyone lose interest. They then played two new ones entitled “Old Ghost” and “Earnest Goes to Hamster Stratosphere,” as they all switched instruments and showed everyone each of their individual talents. Lauren belted it out in “Earnest,” and we were all able to hear her beautiful strong voice more clearly.

They played “Dinosaur Song,” which is awesome enough in sound, and the fact that it’s about the dad in Step Brother’s makes it all the more. Last was “Wematanye”, (in reference to King Of The Hill), an amazing song that puts me both on a wave, and on my couch watching King.

Next was the band we were all entranced by. I was lucky enough to be standing right in front of Tijuana Panthers, and I of course danced with Dan through their whole set. They played everyone’s favorite “Creature”, which will never cease to be a phenomenal song, because it’s just about the most fun song there

is to dance to. They played my favorite “Crew Cut,” an amusing anthem for all those cute crew-cutted men out there. I believe I was singing it so loud that the mic might have caught me. After that came “Don’t Shoot Your Guns,” which has more of a nice British pop punk sound to it. A few in the audience shouted “Bainbridge!” and they decided on “Boardwalk” instead, a song that puts you right on the pier. Tijuana did “Redheaded Girl,” which is a sweet song that put Lauren from TLBT on all of our minds. TJ Panthers once again covered “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays” by the Buzzcocks.  A classic song that’s catchy as

hell, and they do a hell of a job at covering it. They finally gave those crazy kids “Bainbridge,” as Dan danced with us, and he said “This one’s for the ladies” as they quickly went in to “Girl Gone Wild” and yes, subsequently we went wild. I hope that these three bands reunite during the summer to play their fast-fun-surf-punk-badass music and play right on the beach, and we can all go surfing together afterwards.

- Alyssa Holland

Surfer Blood and Crystal Antlers Secret Loft Show - FYF !! LIVE AP Review

This review simulposted on LA Record

Remember that amazing loft space on Maple Ave that looks like a New York flat, which Peter Bjorn and John played their secret show? Well here we are again, for another secret show with two extremely talented bands- Crystal Antlers and Surfer Blood. I owe my life to Sean Carlson because he never fails to give me the greatest shows imaginable. I don’t know how he pulls off such amazing bands, at awesome locations, for such great costs (AND he manages to provide free beer).

I arrived 10 minutes to 10:30, when the show would kick off. A woman began yelling at everyone saying, “I am going to call the LAPD and this show is canceled. Everyone go home!” My immediate tactless response was “She’s totally on her period, pee on her face!” I stood with the men in charge, and listened to Sean over the phone saying she can’t do this, and everyone should just run up to the 6^th floor where the show was being staged. We ran on in, with our fool-proof plan, and were welcomed by the two bands just sitting around trying to figure out how to get some music playing before they started. Jonny Bell of Crystal Antlers said, “Anyone have an ipod?” and this exact moment being one of my musical fantasies, I said “Yes I do!” Cora Foxx, also of Crystal Antlers, and I tried to figure out a way for me to DJ. I hooked up my ipod, and played a play list that got the crowd flowing. As if I wasn’t happy enough, Crystal Antlers began playing after just 3 songs off of my play list, and the FYFestivities began.

         Crystal Antlers initiated playing “Knee Deep,” a song fitting to be played at night time on a carousel in the middle of the city. The guitar definitely takes a hold of this song, with the clear passionate vocals of Jonny. Next they played “Summer Solstice,” where Kevin Stuart and Cora shine with drums that force your hips to sway, and keys that make you swoon. Everyone was definitely on point, and Jonny’s vocals were again heard perfectly. The percussionist Damian Edwards was hitting hard and strong, while dancing and giving his energetic vibe to the audience. They followed with “Two Way Mirror,” another song that is additively dance inducing and compelling. The whole band got energized for this one, which affected the crowd as well. Lastly they bestowed upon us “Baby Blue” a Bob Dylan cover. They do this song wonderfully, a faster paced harder version of Dylan’s. It was a nice way to end their set, with something that sounded completely different from the previous songs, to amuse all of those Dylan fans bustling about in the loft space.

            Surfer Blood commenced their set with all songs from their album Astro Coast and three new songs. First was “Fast Jabroni,” a wonderful upbeat song that wakes you up. J.P the singer/guitarist moves while he is playing as if he is posing, as he sways back and forth and stops in different directions. He embodies his music, and everyone joins in. Next up was “Floating Vibes,” a song that has a heavy Sonic Youth sound, yet it still has a surf influence. The drums are at a medium tempo, and the guitar has that subtle distortion that personifies grunge. J.P thanked us saying, “Thank you guys all for coming out, I know there’s a lot of confusion. It’s that damn basketball game.” as they went in to the next tune ‘Twin Peaks,” which is playful and tropical, yet hard and commanding at the same time. J.P. said “Everyone say your favorite team in unison. 1 2 3 BASKETBALL!” which roused up the crowd for the next song. This song is new, and J.P. told me that it doesn’t have a name yet. It sounded like it upped the ante from their first album, staying true to their sound but becoming a bit more powerful. They followed it with their most well known song “Take it Easy,” and it sounded fucking amazing. This song is definitely something that no one can deny in terms of dancing, with that surf tropical resonance. They played “Swim,” which was well received by the audience and played with effortless energy. Another new song entitled “I’m Not Ready,” was played next, and the crowd seemed to like it just as much as their well known songs. They played “Catholic Pagans” after that, a song that absolutely bleeds surf. We couldn’t get enough, and J.P. said “Another new song, why not,” and played another phenomenal untitled. They ended their perfect set with my utter favorite “Anchorage,” and I sang along devotedly as the crowd bounced. This song is also very Sonic Youth influenced, therefore it’s lovable and gets in your head. It is unquestionable that Surfer Blood bleeds surf, and Crystal Antlers, crystallizes antlers...(?)

- Alyssa Holland 

Yuck and Smith Westerns @ the Echo 2-11-11 - AP LIVE Review

 This review simulposted on LA Record

  As music and other art forms move forward into the future it seems artists always have the urge to step back, to pull styles from decades before. It is a practice that is as old as time and it was evident when I watched Yuck and Smith Westerns at the Echo. I only wish the LA traffic pulled it's flow from decades back because I arrived terribly late to the venue and missed Therapies Son who I really wanted to see perform. My apologies to Alex Jacob.

 The Echo was at near capacity, absolutely packed. I eased my way through all the bodies and loud chatter and found a sweet spot right at stage left. Minutes later I was arms length from North Londoner Daniel Blumberg, the often referred to wonder kid who, along with Max bloom, had indie success with their band Cajun Dance Party back in 2007- 2008 when they were in their teens. While traveling through Israel, Daniel met an afro adorned drummer from New Jersey, (Johnny)- Max moved from bass to lead guitar... somehow they hooked up with bass player Mariko, (from Hiroshima), and in 2009 Yuck was born. From all indications it was a healthy birth and, from the solid set they played at the Echo, the baby is definitely thriving.

Yuck started their set with "Holing out", a trashy pounding song that made me think of 80's bands like Sonic Youth, the Pixies and Smashing Pumpkins. While the sound is retro it feels completely fresh and immediate. In songs like "The Wall" and "Georgia" - the combination of heavy bass lines and full electric rhythms tempered with absolutely folked out vocals make you day dream of days gone by. The alt ballad feel is also evident in "Suicide Policeman" where the strains of Daniel's and Mariko's vocals sound quite beautiful. Key to Yuck's sound is Max Bloom's superb guitar work that often times is full on sustain notes, (with slide and without), that sound potent and dreamy at the same time. Other stand out songs for me this night was "Milkshake" with it's wonderfully placed minor chords and guitar hooked "Operation" which was by far the heaviest song of the evening. I am now officially a Yuck convert and will be heading out to purchase their latest CD- "Yuck" from Fat Possum records.

While Yuck's influences seem to be embedded in the 80's, some of Smith Westerns' seem to pull from an earlier time. These baby faced Chicago rockers produce a glossy polished sound but with enough heart and swagger to have one foot still in the garage and I like that. From their first song of the night, "Still New"- Max Kakacek lead work takes me back to T-Rex, Be Bop Deluxe and even a bit of George Harrison and Cullen Omori's vocals are breathy and intimate. Songs like "Imagine Pt 3" and "Be My Girl" with it's pure pop sensibility sound like they could be the theme songs for a tween TV show but also have enough bite and melody to be a whole lot more. "Tonight" has a decidedly 50's shuffle feel. "Smile" and "All Die Young" with the floating keys, melodic guitar leads and lush vocals could be tunes off John Lennon's "Walls and Bridges" album. They played a full 14 song set to an appreciative audience, ending with "Dye the World". I loved the dreamy feel of their set, I loved hearing guitar leads which you don't often hear in current alternative music and I loved hearing a bit of glam sprinkled on their alt pop sound. In the end whomever Smith Westerns considers to be influential in their music should be honored that Omori and the boys are crafting these wonderfully evocative songs.

- Adler Bloom

What the hell???

This made me throw up in my mouth a little bit....
- Adler Bloom

Coca Cola Recipe Revealed ala Wheezy Waiter

This man will end up quite famous and on television someday.

Arcade Fire @ The Ukranian Cultural Center - FYF Secret Show- 2-11-11- AP LIVE Review

 This review simulposted on LA Record

 As I was still high off of the two Peter Bjorn and John secret shows at the Lovely Bad Pad and at the LA 819 Maple Loft space on January 29th, Sean Carlson threw yet another FYF secret show at me. Arcade Fire. YES, Arcade Fire, (in town to perform at the Grammys), was playing at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in LA on February 11th, at 9pm for a mere 30 dollars. AF shows generally range from 80 dollars to 400 dollars, and the audience size is usually about 10 times larger than the quaint high school dance gymnasium feel of the UCC. I knew deep in my heart that if I didn't attend, I would hate music for the next several weeks. The night before the show at 9pm, clues were released on Arcade Fire's twitter of where the tickets to this show would be sold. All 3 pictures contained zipcodes, and (extremely obvious) "clues." People immediately lined up and camped out at Fingerprints in Long Beach, and Origami Vinyl and the El Rey in Los Angeles. I thought I was doomed, but thanks to some fantastic friends who were about 10th in line, I was able to get tickets, (I almost peed my pants).

    I got to the venue at about 8pm, and was welcomed by free cotton candy, soda, and water, which I ignored and went straight to the floor. The doors opened at 7:30 so there was already a large crowd on the floor so I devised a plan for my friends and I to get closer to the front. We laughed like Scooter Rechid, the surfer from Spongebob, and, in an effort to get away from us, the crowd parted. It kind of worked, but we ended up being behind some guy that would not stop farting. It seemed like we only stood their for 5 minutes, and around 9:05 Arcade Fire walked on to the stage and their energy was immediately palpable. The audience, most whom had stood in line for 10-15 hours became a single entity of die-hard fans screaming their heads off.

    Arcade Fire started out with the song "Month Of May" from their new album The Suburbs, that was first released on a double-sided single on May 27th 2010 (one day after my birthday. Destiny). Approximately 90% of the audience sang along and danced to this fast paced song, and it was the perfect way to start out the show and get everyone going. Arcade Fire's obviously top notch equipment combined with their talent and blatant passion, made an absolutely perfect sound. It wasn't loud at all; it was as if we were in the recording studio with them. They went right in to the classic "Rebellion (Lies)" from their first album Funeral, as everyone cried out not expecting one of their "old ones." We all sang along, calming down our dancing to belt it out. Even though this song isn't as upbeat as the first track they played, the crowd still cheered and danced with deep infatuation for the live music that graced our ears.

    Once the song ended and the crowd quieted down, Win Butler said his thanks as they switched their instruments around, and told us "It was below 10 when we left Montreal, so I can honestly say were extremely fucking happy to be here." After these uplifting words they went into "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)" a song from Funeral which we all once again went fucking crazy for. The sound of everyone singing along almost brought me to tears, but I felt stupid so I stopped myself. The strings on this song sounded phenomenal, while the percussionists played drums on anything they could hit, including the stage scaffolding. They then played one of my favorites, "No Cars Go" from their 2nd album Neon Bible. I was happy to hear Regine Chassagne's cute voice clearly, and extremely happy to hear the whole crowd screaming "HEY!" and "LET'S GO!" whenever Arcade Fire did so. I can't even express how fun that was. Win threw an open water bottle at the audience, and Regine then gave us more when they played "Haiti" from Funeral, where she sings in scattered French and English, beautifully. I sang along because I speak French, and it was funny to hear people trying to sing along to this one (heh heh). Arcade played "City with No Children" next, off of The Suburbs. Surprisingly, a lot of the audience knew these lyrics more than they did with Haiti, but it was again pleasing to hear everyone singing, and clapping along. Win then mentioned that 1 dollar of every ticket for this show, was going to Haiti to "bring baby Doc to justice" (learn more here:  https://ijdh.myetap.org/fundraiser/bringbabydoctojustice/ ). Yet nothing compared to the excitement that their next song "Intervention" evoked, which was the first track released off of Neon Bible. Being one of my favorite songs (ever), I almost cried again. Everyone sang along solemnly, yet Win's heavy vocals were still heard impeccably. They followed it with the first track off of their first album, "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" as the audience went utterly insane. I kept trying to snap pictures of Win during this song, because he sings it so passionately. Next up was another new song from The Suburbs called "We Used to Wait." As soon as the keyboard was heard, we all knew what was coming, as this is one of the most popular songs off of their new album. It reminds me a lot of the Funeral sound, dramatic, powerful and hopeful, and maybe that's why it's so well-liked. They then played another off of The Suburbs, entitled "Suburban War." This song has amazing percussion, and being a drummer, I definitely died for it. The guitar sounds very 60's like a Byrds song, and the lyrics are also reminiscent of that era. After this, Win said "If you camped out you're fucking crazy," and they played their most well known song "Wake Up." We all freaked out some more as if we hadn't already died enough. Not one person wasn't singing, and it was an emotional experience that we all cheesily shared. Then it was over.

    Just kidding, they gave us an encore after 2 minutes of being backstage, since we had our team effort and clapped and screamed until they came back out. They played "Ready to Start," off of The Suburbs, like the show was starting all over again and everyone happily sang along with their success of an encore. Then came another exciting upbeat classic, "Keep the Car Running" with those exciting drums that made everyone whip out some 80's dance moves (or at least I did). Arcade Fire ended this surreal show with the song off of The Suburbs, that I literally listen to everyday and fantasize about performing it, "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)." This song is so 70's disco-y in the best way possible, and I believe we all danced harder than we ever have. When I saw Regine getting ready and I heard the synths, I couldn't help it and I said "Are they going to play Sprawl II....FUCK YES!!" Regine danced in another one of her gorgeous sequined dresses, and tossed her giant rainbow pompoms around as the lights flashed, and Win continuously said "Cut the lights....CUT THE FUCKING LIGHTS!" which are lyrics from the song, but he was fucking serious. The lights cut, and the show was sadly over.

    What j'adore most about Arcade Fire, is their endless passion for the music they play. They love the songs just as much as their fans do. A lot of bands I have seen (which is, A LOT), just seem as if they're going through the motions of playing another show. Arcade Fire plays like it is the last time they will perform, with the smiles, gratefulness, laughter, and energy of young children playing together. All I can hope for in life, is to fall in love with an amazingly talented man and be in one of the best bands ever with him, as Regine has with Win.

- Alyssa Holland

Jack Rodriguez - Peter, Bjorn and John Pics

Amazing photographer and one hell of a nice guy, Jack Rodriguez, posted Peter, Bjorn and John Pics on his blog site of both the Lovely Bad Pad and the Loft Space Show-  Awesome- THANKS JACK!
Jack Rodriguez Photography

"Milkshake of My Mind" - Yuck @ the Echo 2-11-11

It was as hard as hell to get to this show but luckily I arrived at the Echo just in time to see YUCK. The room was at capacity but I politely shimmied my way to the stage. Unfortunately I could only make it to the left side of the stage, (I am not one of those pushy photogs who wedge their way in front of people who have set claim to to the hot spots), and shot what I could. Enjoy! A full review to follow later.

Peter, Bjorn and John Secret Show Pics looking "Vintage"