Encore ~ Entertainment and Nightlife in Orange County

Archive for February 27th, 2012

Music News: LMFAO bringing the party to Staples Center in June

February 27th, 2012, 5:24 pm by

How it is that LMFAO has risen to Staples Center headliner status so rapidly isn’t entirely hard to understand. When your latest assortment of gleefully vapid dance smashes boasts two chart-toppers, “Party Rock Anthem” and “Sexy and I Know It,” plus you’ve been spotted alongside Madonna during her Super Bowl halftime spectacular, well, you’ve earned an arena-sized blowout as much as the next pop tart.

Not that it’s any less a sign that maybe the Mayans were right about 2012.

In any case, the homecoming celebration is sure to be massive when the L.A. duo of Redfoo and SkyBlu bring their Sorry for Party Rocking Tour to Staples on June 5.

They’ll be supported by their own Party Rock Crew, along with a slew of opening acts, including breakout electro-pop act Far East Movement and dance team the Quest Crew (Season 3 champs of MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew) as well as DJ Sidney Samson and two newcomers, Eva Simons and Natalia Kills.

Tickets, $29.50-$69.50, go on sale Saturday, March 3, at 10 a.m. Pre-sales for American Express card-holders runs from Wednesday at 10 a.m. until Friday at 10 p.m. Live Nation pre-sales start Thursday at 10 a.m.

The full outing kicks off May 22 in Columbus, Ohio. Also catch it June 9 at Valley View Casino Center (formerly San Diego Sports Arena) as well as June 6 at Sacramento’s Power Balance Pavilion and June 8 at Oakland’s Oracle Arena. All of those dates also are on sale Saturday.

Read more entertainment news and reviews on the Orange County Register’s Soundcheck Blog.

Photo by Rob Carr, Getty Images.

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Slideshow: Musink tattoo portraits

February 27th, 2012, 4:48 pm by

For the last two years, Orange County Register photographer Leonard Ortiz and I have set up camp on the first day of the annual three-day Musink Tattoo Convention & Music Festival at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa to shoot tattoo portraits of Musink patrons.

We’ve met dozens of interesting characters, each with a story to tell about the ink they’ve had permanently etched onto their skin. Take a spin through our portraits slideshow from Musink 2010 and 2011.

If you have awesome body art that you’d like to show off in one of our portraits, we will be onsite again this year in a small photo booth area located in between the concert hangar and tattoo convention hangar on Friday, March 2. Stop by and say “Hello!”

We’re even giving one lucky reader the chance to win two three-day VIP passes to Musink on March 2-4 here.

This year’s event features hundreds of tattoo artists from around the globe, skate and BMX demos and live music each evening.  Southern California-based rockabilly trio Tiger Army (pictured) will headline on Friday night along with Guanabatz and Howlers, New Found Glory, Yellowcard and Bayside will be featured on Saturday and Alkaline Trio, Against Me!, Hell or Highwater and the Darlings will close out the event on Sunday.

For more information on Musink, go to Musink.org.

More on Musink:

Slideshow: Musink portraits from 2010
Slideshow: Musink portraits from 2011
Interview: Kat Von D brings Musink to O.C. (2008)
Review: Musink Day 1 (2008)
Review: Musink Day 2 (2008)
Preview: Musink returns to OC Fairgrounds (2009)
Review: Musink Day 1 (The Cult/2010)
Review: Musink Day 2 (The Buzzcocks/2010)
Review: Musink Day 2 (Thrice and Circa Survive/2011)

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Show News: Eddie Izzard tops fourth April Foolishness lineup

February 27th, 2012, 10:12 am by

KROQ revealed details first thing this morning: Eddie Izzard, Bob Saget and (no joke) Larry King — yes, that Larry King — are among the comedians slated to make their debut appearances at Kevin & Bean’s April Foolishness. Now in its fourth year, the modern rock radio station’s Weenie Roast of funny returns to Gibson Amphitheatre on April 7.

Izzard, the 50-year-old English star who last summer became the first stand-up comic to headline the Hollywood Bowl, isn’t the only import on the bill: Australian jokers Jim Jefferies and Tim Minchin also will perform. Also, after three years of somewhat repeated lineups, this one is almost entirely new; Jay Mohr is the event’s only veteran act.

King, the renowned talk-show host who retired from his CNN post at the end of 2010, staged a one-man, autobiographical show last year (Larry King: Standing Up) under the guidance of Kids in the Hall creative director Jim Millan. He’ll bring some of that to April Foolishness, though how it will go over with the typically tough crowds this fest attracts is anyone’s guess.

Even some of the sharpest wits in the game have bombed at this big-scale gig, as Sarah Silverman and Aziz Ansari did two years ago. Time slots, choice or challenging, can be determining factors, but more crucial is a comic’s mental flexibility and how he feeds off the room’s energy. Given how the turnout typically skews young, that could prove tricky not just for King but even seasoned comedians like Izzard and Saget.

Also expected to make attempts at knocking ‘em dead are Last Comic Standing champ Felipe Esparza, frequent Kevin & Bean morning-show visitor Eddie Ifft, and O.C. native Brad Williams, best known for his turns on Comedy Central’s Mind of Mencia.

As always, Jimmy Kimmel’s house band Cleto & the Cletones will serve that same purpose at Gibson — though Kimmel himself, who made appearances all three previous years, isn’t listed among the talent this time.

Tickets go on sale Thursday, March 1, at 10 a.m. exclusively to KROQ Street Team members. Prices weren’t readily available, but we’ll post them here soon; typically they run $30-$100. Proceeds will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project and the Cedars-Sinai NICU.

Read more entertainment news and reviews on the Orange County Register’s Soundcheck Blog.

Photo by Craig T. Mathew, The Associated Press.

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