Tag: Los Angeles

We Barbarians Bid Farewell

After 7 years as a band, We Barbarians have posted that they’re playing their last two shows tomorrow (September 19) at the Wiltern with Cold War Kids and on Friday at Culver City’s Paul Loya Gallery.

In 2010, I got to meet the band during their show at Spaceland with my friends Sucker for Pumps – who were also playing that night as part of a residency. The Union Line and The Fling also joined in that night of local performers.

It was really fun hanging out with the bands between their sets and asking them about their music. I also got some of my best photos from there. This was when I had first started blogging and photographing concerts. I was still really new to it all, and it was cool that these bands I hadn’t met before let me pretend to be a music writer while snacking on tamales that someone was selling near the door.

The respect I was given  as a “music journalist” (even though I was a complete amateur with posts containing too many exclamation points) by all the bands and especially by We Barbarians – who were the headliners was amazing and also very encouraging for me at such an early part of my music writing experience. For that, I’m extremely grateful to We Barbarians.

See ya We Barbarians – and thanks for the great music!

We Barbarians – White from WE BARBARIANS on Vimeo.
 

 

Kitten Announces Upcoming Tour with Charli XCX and Little Daylight

Today, Kitten announced their upcoming tour supporting Charli XCX with Little Daylight.

Check out the dates for this BoxSpeaker Favorite triple-threat tour below:

AUGUST:
30 Vancouver, BC Venue Nightclub*
31 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge*

SEPTEMBER:
1 Seattle, WA Bumbershoot Festival – Fisher Green
3 San Francisco, CA Slim’s***
5 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre***
6 San Diego, CA House of Blues***
7 Las Vegas, NV Vinyl – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino***
9 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue*
10 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
12 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club*
13 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
14 Meadow, MI Meadow Brook Music Festival
16 Toronto, ON The Hoxton***
17 Montreal, QC La Sala Rossa***
18 Cambridge, MA The Sinclair***
20 Asbury Park – Wonder Bar**
21 New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre***
23 Columbus, OH The A&R Music Bar*
24 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge*
25 Atlanta, GA Vinyl*
27 Houston, TX Fitzgerald’s
28 Austin, TX The Parish*
29 Dallas, TX Club Dada*

OCTOBER:
2 Orlando, FL The Social –

Follow Kitten on Facebook for more updates and check out their music on SoundCloud and their official site.

“Pilgrim” by Mø – Remixed by MS MR

MS MR released a sexy remix of Mø‘s track “Pilgrim” today:

For BoxSpeaker readers in the UK: Check out Mø’s “Pilgrim” Single Launch Party on Thursday, February 28 at Electrowerkz. (Hint: If you look listen enough for the only American accent in the venue, you’ll probably see BoxSpeaker in real life.)

Readers in the US: Check out Mø opening for BoxSpeaker favorites CHVRCHES at the Echo on March 12!

“Apparition” by Frank + Derol

As all 4 of you know, I’ve really been into ghost songs lately.

Here’s another ghost-related song called “Apparition” by Frank + Derol.

Frank + Derol are a semi-electro / dreampop / garage rock sounding Los Angeles duo – Codi Caraco and the as of yet lesser-known Cyrus daughter Brandi Cyrus.

They’re opening with Kitten at tonight’s Sir Sly show at the Casbah in San Diego!

Rilo Kiley Sunday Evenings: “Emotional (Until Crickets Guide You Back)”

Last year, I started music theme days. I need to continue that. “Emotional (Until Crickets Guide You Back)” by Rilo Kiley was a Rilo Kiley Saturday Morning song in December, but I only posted that on Facebook. So let’s make it music blog official and state that today, which is actually a Sunday, is a Rilo Kiley Sunday Evening.

This song reminds me of how a friend of mine was telling me about never really being able to figure out where home is. As I write this, I remember someone I dated a few years ago who also said that she “do[es]n’t have a sense of home.” It makes me wonder what exactly “home” is. But I’d rather continue on about that on a different post with a different song.

Anyway, this song is amazing. It’s one of three songs that… makes me cry. I’ll have to explain that in a different post, too, I guess.

Jenny Lewis never fails to bring out the raw emotion in any of her songs (Rilo Kiley, solo work, or The Postal Service – especially in “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight”). And honestly, this is one of the best examples of it – probably also why it’s called “Emotional.”

I feel my heart break deep in my chest every time I get to the 1:53 mark.

Jenny sings “And you’ve lost your way home and it feels familiar and crickets guide you back. And you hear them calling and it sounds familiar and they might help you out.” And that just makes me think of every single girl I’ve ever heard tell me about not feeling like anywhere was home.

Then in the middle of the instrumental build up at 2:43, Jenny just screams “IT’S SO HARD!” and that’s usually when I just start crying whenever I listen to this song while feeling very emotional…