Concerts

Concerts

Actor Rob Morrow and his RMB band rocks the Santa Monica Playhouse.

May 21, 2018

Patrick O’Heffernan   (Santa Monica) The beloved actor Rob Morrow bought his funky country blues band RMB to the Santa Monica Playhouse’s community theater stage,  playing for a small audience as part of the gig by  the extraordinary, eclectic country-jazz-pop band We Are the West’s.  This was WAW’s second concert at the historic Playhouse as part of the Playhouse Sessions, a concert production which raises funds for arts education & community outreach in LA.  It was the first time I  had seen RMB and Morrow and they were hot!   RMB has been around for some time and  played at local La clubs like The Mint, the Viper Room, Molly Malone’s and even at the Venice Beach Art Walk. Rob himself is a crackerjack guitar player, first class songwriter and a proficient singer.  The band – Carlos Calvo on guitar and also co-writer and backing vocals, Sam Aliano on drums, Carlos Costa on bass, and Jason Libs on keys – is also crackerjack.  They play like they have been doing all their lives with Morrow, [Read More]

Concerts

CONCERT REVIEW: Long Live ‘Monks Of Doom’ @ LA’s Café NELA

May 21, 2018

Written by Jessica Klausing Monks of Doom are back on tour. Yes, you read this correctly. The surrealist progressive rockers are back in support of their newest album, The Bronte Pin. This album is the first of new material released in 25 years. The long wait, though highly frustrating, was indeed worth it. Victor Krummenacher (vocals, bass, and guitar), David Immerglück (vocals, guitar, bass, and mandolin), Greg Lisher (guitar), and Chris Pederson (drums, percussion) pulled listeners into a post-rock world of cryptic hysteria and psychedelic instrumentals at LA’s Café NELA. From the psychedelia opening chimes of “Cherry Blossom Baptism,” off the 1991 album, Meridian, this was a strong performance with Lisher as the driving force, well supported in rhythm by Pederson on the back beat. Krummenacher and  Immerglück kept the crowd totally encapsulated and mesmerized with their intricate guitar magic. If there was ever any doubt, this powerful opener just proved that the Monks are still in fine eccentric musical form. The backdrop acted as a screen for colorful patterns that worked with the simple [Read More]

Concerts

Enjambre live at The Roxy, no opener, no warm up , just pure excitement.  

May 16, 2018

  Patrick O’Heffernan (Hollywood) If you have never seen Enjambre play live your life is not be complete.  That is a bold statement, but this is more than just a bold group of musicians who have been rocking fans for over a decade.  Enjambre is an innovative band for the 21st century built on a solid foundation of hits that make its live performances pure, unadulterated excitement.   They proved that at Hollywood’s The Roxy recently in one of the most astonishing performances I have seen in a long time. No openers, no warm-ups, no introduction – just one of the best Latin rock bands in the world delivering an incredible 19 songs and two encores over two hours of non-stop music in an intimate venue to a lucky 500 people who managed to get in. . I knew that this was going to be something special when I arrived at the club early and found that an hour and half before show time the club was almost full and there was a line.  This [Read More]

Concerts

COASTCITY at the Echoplex in LA:  language and musical divides disappear.

May 9, 2018

  Patrick O’Heffernan There is no other way to say it: COASTCITY blew away the Echoplex Thursday night.  The Grammy-nominated multilingual Puerto Rican duo of Danny Flores and Jean Rodriguez  brought pure fun to the spacious stage of one of LA’s best sounding clubs to an audience completely at home with the band’s  parallel languages and music forms. They also brought a full band complete with horns.  And if that wasn’t enough, they brought rapper Álvaro Diaz, who joined them onstage for two songs before his own set.  The result was a solid set of ten songs – some new, some familiar – that kept fans clapping, singing and screaming “otra vez” for an encore (they got it, but more on that later). Flores flashed his mischevious grin behind the keyboard as they opened the act with a new song, “Countach”.  Rodriguez moved back and forth across the stage, jumped up and down, called out greetings, pumped his fist  to the audience and generally poured electricity into an already energetic room.  Moving on to their [Read More]

Concerts

MUSIC NEWS: Powerful and crowd-pleasing set by Myles Kennedy at Slim’s in SF

May 6, 2018

Myles Kennedy is out on his solo tour in support of his album, Year of the Tiger. The tour made a highly anticipated stop in San Francisco Saturday night at Slim’s. The venue was packed and ready for a great night of music. The night kicked off with a spectacular performance by Thomas Wynn and the Believers. Siblings Thomas and Olivia filled the venue with their powerful vocals that captivated the crowd. A couple of my favorite tracks of their set were I Don’t Regret, Heartbreak Alley, and the title track of their latest album, Wade Waist Deep. Check out some photos of their set: The crowd roared in excitement as Myles Kennedy took to the stage. He started the set off with one of my favorite tracks off his solo album, Devil On The Wall. Myles charismatic personality created an inviting environment, which had you feeling as if you were watching him play in your living room. He sprinkled his set with stories and anecdotes that were pure enjoyment for the crowd.  Myles delivers [Read More]

Concerts

Bishop Briggs fuels Sacramento with her high energy set at Ace of Spades

May 2, 2018

Last night in Sacramento, the place to be was at the Ace of Spades for the sold out Bishop Briggs show. Fans lined up hours earlier and were sharing their Bishop Briggs tales of past concerts, favorite songs and fan memories.  It was great to see that the crowd had no specific demographic, as Bishop’s music is a fave for all.  There were parents who brought their young 5 – 10 year old girls who couldn’t wait to see the show. The crowd was filled with fans from ages 5 to 75, and all were in for a killer night. The evening kicked off with an amazing set by Matt Maeson who wooed the crowd with his infectious songs that brought the crowd to their feet. You can also catch Matt at the end of the month at BottleRock Napa Festival. The venue was filled to capacity and the crowd was ready for Bishop to hit the stage. As the lights dimmed once again, the crowd erupted into screams and cheer to greet Bishop to [Read More]

Concerts

Beatles Tribute band The Sun Kings bring the White album to life at House of Rock

April 28, 2018

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles White album. The double album which was their ninth studio album was written during March and April 1968 at a Transcendental Meditation course in Rishikesh, India. The album came to life as the incredible Beatles tribute band The Sun Kings performed the double album at Santa Rosa’s House of Rock last night. The band performed the songs exceptionally and delivered the fountain of youth to the crowd. As many relived their love for the Beatles, the band continued to give a spot on performance. The energy flowed from the stage through the intimate state- of-the-art venue, capturing the attention of all. The fans danced around and sang along to their favorites. Check out photos from the night by Rockin Ryan: In addition to performing the entire White album The Sun Kings treated the crowd to a couple Beatles faves, including one of mine, “Hey Bulldog”. As they played “Love is All you Need” you could see the smiles and love spread across the venue. It was a grand celebration of Beatles [Read More]