Dig Lounge » Music

A Wicked show at the Pantages

Matt Mitchell — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:37:42 +0000

Wicked, playing at the historic Pantages Theater, is the story of the witches of Oz, before that pesky Dorothy showed up. Now, I rarely hit the musical theater scene, but I really enjoyed this show. The performances, sets, music and direction are truly magical. And what makes it even more worth checking out is the fact that you can get tickets via Goldstar for half what everyone else pays. (Regular priced at $98, you can get them for $58). They’ll make a great Christmas gift.

With the money you save, have dinner at any one of the numerous restaurants along Hollywood Blvd. I recommend happy hour at Katsuya, nachos and a jalapeno margarita at Loteria or a delish burger and a beer at Lucky Devils.

Make sure you check it out before Wicked leaves town. The show is only here through mid January then it’s off, up the yellow brick road to San Fran. Disclosure: Goldstar is a Dig Lounge advertiser, but we still think they are rad.

* Flickr photo by j3ku used under Creative Commons license.

Front Line Failure

Matt Mitchell — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:57:35 +0000

On Saturday November 1st, come down off your sugar high and celebrate the day after All Hallows Eve by checking out Front Line Failure playing at the Halloween Harvest Festival at Pierce College. FLF is headed by 4 School of Rock students. They’ll be doing about 7 original songs starting at 7 pm. While you’re there, enjoy a 5 acre corn maze, haunted house, kids activities and rides. Check out a clip of a few of them performing Hot For Teacher at a recent School of Rock show.

How The Day Sounds at Galco’s

Matt Mitchell — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:24:13 +0000

Check out Greg Laswell’s new video (thanks to JZ for the heads up) for How The Day Sounds filmed at Galco’s Soda Pop Stop in Eagle Rock. The video features his guitarist Brandon Walters and friend Elijah Wood, plus a cameo by the owner, John F. Nese. Very clever and sort of reminds me of the OK Go music videos. If you’ve never been to Galco’s, it’s worth checking out!

How the Day Sounds

Galco’s
5702 York Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90042

Photo Credit: Franklin Ave

Ingrid Michaelson at the El Ray - June 24th

Matt Mitchell — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 05:23:01 +0000

Its officially Summer and we’re suckers for a sweet face and a good voice here at Dig Lounge. Yes, Ingrid Michaelson’s the new pop-folk darling with songs in Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill, and an Old Navy ad, but you can’t help but crack a smile when you hear her music. And since it is Summer, it just might put you in that happy go lucky, summer romance mood. She’s playing on Tuesday June 24th at the El Ray Theater (also in Anaheim and San Diego the day before and after respectively). Another reason to check it out, Dig Lounge friend Greg Laswell is opening up for her too. Tickets are only $19 and can be purchased at the evil ticket empire Ticketmaster.

If you’re so musically inclined, she involved with a Gibson and Music Nation promo, where fans belt out their best version of Ingrid Michaelson’s “The Way I Am” for their chance to win an autographed Gibson guitar. Voting starts June 23rd, I can’t wait to see how that turns out.

Live Music Series at the Farmer’s Market

Matt Mitchell — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:29:51 +0000

Summer Music is sizzling at the Farmers Market at 3rd & Fairfax. Listen to live music every Thursday and Friday evening throughout the summer for music under the stars. Check out the June line-up:

June 5: Doug MacDonald Trio (Swing, Straight-Ahead Jazz)
June 6: Blue Hawaiians (Surf, Lounge, Rock)
June 12: Ron Kobayashi Trio (Funk Jazz)
June 13: Once More (Rock & Roll)
June 19: Otis Hayes (R&B & Jazz)
June 20: Tony Galla w/ Janelle Sadler (Rhythm & Blues)
June 26: George Kahn Quintet (Straight-Ahead Jazz)
June 27: Charlie Jene & The Champion All-Stars (Blues, Jazz, R&B)

The music series is FREE and takes place on the Market’s West Patio from 7-9PM. The Market’s grocers, restaurants, bars and shops are open throughout the performances.

Camp Freddy at the Roxy

Matt Mitchell — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:55:41 +0000

By far the most amazing show I have ever seen was Camp Freddy at the Roxy. They played their final show at the Roxy last night and I am sad I missed it. I did however get to see their show last Thursday (along with my friends opening band Moving Picture Show) and it blew my mind to see so many rock legends on the stage together. Beyond the regulars of Camp Freddy; Billy Morrison, Donovan Leitch, Chris Chaney, Matt Sorum and Dave Navarro, there were an amazing spectacle of rock performances to feast your eyes and ears on.

Tiffany joined Sex Pistol Glen Matlock onstage for an amazing version of Pretty Vacant. Brandon Boyd from Incubus sang Mountain Song and Good Times Bad Times. Guest guitarist included Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains and Billy Duffy from the Cult. Brett Scallions from Fuel sang Roadhouse Blues. Chino Moreno from Deftones did a great cover of Them Bones with Cantrell. Oh and Mark McGrath was the MC and sang a few with the band too. Video after the jump.

Not sure when they will be back in LA. They don’t do public performances very often, so here’s a few clips to enjoy.

Here was the set list from the night. Hello There, Song Two, Hot For Teacher, Antmusic, Pretty Vacant, Rock N Roll Star, Wild Flower, Jailbreak, Cat Scratch Fever, Roadhouse Blues, Brown Sugar, Good Times Bad Times, Mountain Song, I Wanna Be Your Dog.

Kidzapalooza Launch Event at Paul Frank

Matt Mitchell — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:05:55 +0000

From Noon-2 Perry Farrell will be on hand this Saturday May 10th to announce the Kidzapalooza line-up at the Paul Frank store on Melrose.

The TK Burger lunch truck will be parked outside serving up it’s world famous burgers. At 12:30, Front Line Failure, a group of rocking kids from the Paul Green School of Rock, will perform.

Then at 1pm, Perry and Julius will announce the upcoming line-up for Kidzapalooza. From 2-3, ice cream, cupcakes and popcorn will be served. Along with ticket and prize giveaways. Then again at 3, the Paul Green School of Rock will perform. It’s sure to be a blast! Full flyer after the jump.

Weekend Guide, music, tacos, beer and fast planes

Matt Mitchell — Thu, 01 May 2008 18:08:35 +0000

First Fridays at the Natural History Museum returns this month. Starting at 5:30, tour the Ancient Latin American Hall by Karen Wise, Ph.D. (Curator in charge of Archaeology). Then at 6:30 a discussion with Leah Krubitzer, Ph.D. entitled “How Does Evolution Build a Complex Brain?” Then from 7:30-10 live performances by Akron/Family and The Dodos. Plus DJ sets before the show by Carlos Niño and Morpho from Dublab. Admission is $9, buy your tickets now.

The folks at Indie 103.1 are hosting the Derby Brewfest at the Pomona Fairplex on Saturday. From 11am to 6pm, five bucks gets you tastings from 40 different micro brews, Kentucky Derby satellite wagering and live music.

Check out the Red Bull Air Races down in San Diego on Sat and Sun. Using the fastest, most agile and lightweight racing planes, pilots navigate a low-level aerial race track made up of air-filled pylons, reaching speeds of 400 kilometres per hour. Qualifying races are on Saturday with finals on Sunday. General Admission is $15, on up to $1k for the High Flyer’s Lounge. Tickets can be purchased online.

Celebrate Cinco De Mayo at LA’s oldest street, Olvera St. Starting Friday May 2 and running all weekend, the celebration will include traditional Hispanic music and dancing, piñatas, lots of churros and yummy food. Admission is free.

Visit Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena at the JPL Open House. This popular event celebrates JPL’s accomplishments with exhibits and demonstrations about the Laboratory’s ongoing research and space exploration. The open house takes place this Saturday and Sunday, May 3rd and 4th, 2008, 9am-5pm both days. Admission is free.

Camp Freddy at the Roxy

Matt Mitchell — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:36:54 +0000

Next month is the Month of MAYhem at the Roxy, featuring Camp Freddy every Thursday in May. I’ve seen them perform at special events and they, quite frankly, rocked my world. Tickets went on sale yesterday by the way, and were still available as of this post. Go get them on Ticketmaster now.

They are having a contest to see who should open for them. A different opening band will be featured every night. Bands submitted three songs, 2 youtube videos, a myspace page or a website, a mini-bio and a photo to be considered.

As per usual online voting tools, it will be highly skewed to those bands with the craziest fans, due to the fact that you can vote more than once. They even instruct you on how to do this. Not to sway your vote or anything, I voted for my friend’s band Moving Picture Show, but I’m just saying…

The Classical Four + 1 Accordion Quartet

Matt Mitchell — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:06:13 +0000

I was amazed and entertained on Sunday at the Carson Civic Center by the “The Classical Four + 1″ Accordion Quartet.

They’re a string-style Accordion Quartet, accompanied by Percussionist Stuart Johnson from the Cousin Lovers. They play such works as: Astor Piazzolla, Dave Brubeck, Leroy Anderson, Vivaldi, Bach, Puccini, Strauss, Faure and Widor. (”String-style” means they play string quartet music or chamber music but all on Accordion) It’s music you’ll recognize, played in such a way you’ve probably never experienced. And done so by 4 beautiful Women! Video after the jump.

More videos can be viewed here. You’ll be able to buy the entire recording of the live concert by late spring from their web site. They have a concert scheduled for sometime in the fall. Keep an eye on Dig Lounge or their web site for the announcement.

Members of the Quartet include:
Cynthia Hongpanich - Accordionist
Teresa Navarro - Accordionist
Irene Yale - Accordionist
Lucille Catabay - Cello Accordionist
Stuart Johnson - Percussionist