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Music News: No Doubt plans six-night L.A. stand for fall

September 4th, 2012, 5:14 pm by

Savvy fans of Gwen Stefani and the gang who regularly check their website have already taken notice: With no fanfare to hail it, No Doubt quietly posted late on Labor Day that the band has planned a six-show stand at Gibson Amphitheatre, launching just after Thanksgiving.

It will be the group’s first series of shows in Southern California following the Sept. 25 release of Push and Shove, ND’s eagerly awaited new album, its first in more than a decade, since 2001′s Rock Steady.

The gigs occur ever other night across a two-week period: Nov. 24, 26, 28 and 30, then Dec. 2 and 4. Watch the minute-long clip above for the announcement, complete with canned cheers and laughter. (Or was there an audience watching? I can’t quite tell.)

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That timing also helps rule out at least one weekend (Dec. 1-2) that KROQ might have held its annual Almost Acoustic Christmas. Dec. 8-9 seems the likeliest candidate, unless having it begin on the first night of Hanukkah leads the radio station to pick Dec. 15-16 instead, though that would be later than usual.

Wouldn’t surprise me if No Doubt turns up at AAC as well. But about these coming Gibson shows: There’s not yet a public on-sale date, but the band is promising that the “best seats in the house” will be sold exclusively through their ND2012 Club pre-sale, which starts Thursday, Sept. 6, at 4 p.m. and ends Monday at 4 p.m.

Members may purchase tickets for one or more of the shows, as many as they wish, during that stretch for an all-inclusive rate of $115 per ticket, with a four-ticket limit per show. Both reserved seats and pit access will be available. Additionally, the pre-sale package scores you early entry into the venue and a commemorative pin and postcard set.

Some details worth noting: All ND2012 Club tickets are nontransferable and must be picked up the night of the show at the designated club entrance. You must present a valid photo ID that matches your will call name and have all guests present, as your party must immediately enter the venue upon ticket pick-up … thus fending off anyone thinking about scalping the ticket for a higher price.

Read more about the pre-sale and how to become a fan club member here.

My guess is that remaining tickets will go on sale next weekend, either Sept. 14 or 15. Stay tuned for more.

Find more music news and reviews on the Soundcheck Blog.

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Slideshow: FYF Fest 2012 wrap-up

September 4th, 2012, 11:16 am by

The two-day 9th annual FYF Festival took place over the weekend at Los Angeles State Historic Park and featured performances by Cursive, the Faint, Desaparecidos, M83, Refused, Quicksand and more.

Click here for a full review and photos from FYF Fest Day 1 on the Soundcheck Blog.

Click here for a full review and photos from FYF Fest Day 2 on the Soundcheck Blog.

Photos by David Hall and Drew A. Kelley, for the Orange County Register

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Slideshow: Rock the Bells successfully expands

August 21st, 2012, 12:20 pm by

For the first time in nine incarnations, hip-hop’s Mecca festival, Rock the Bells, expanded to two days, the first of its three regional events taking place Aug. 18-19 in Satan’s Sauna, San Bernardino’s frustratingly hot NOS Events Center. (The fest hits Mountain View this weekend and Holmdel, N.J. just before Labor Day.)

Click here for more photos from Rock the Bells.

Another big change: Alongside RTB veterans such as Nas, Common and various Wu-Tang Clan members, this year’s roster embraced a significant number of more radio-ready acts – most notably J. Cole, Kid Cudi, Tyga, 2 Chainz and Wiz Khalifa. All of them are more likely to turn up at a Powerhouse at Honda Center than this traditionally underground-focused bash.

Organizers claimed they wanted to construct a lineup that fulfilled an old-school-meets-new-school theme. But given that Day 1 comprised mostly mainstream players and Day 2 predominantly underground and classic artists, it’s debatable whether that goal was actually met.

Regardless, what was achieved amid that milieu was what Rock the Bells does best: draw in rare performances and reunions that continue to solidify it as the world’s highest-tier hip-hop and rap gathering.

On Saturday, the strongest of all performers – absolutely uncontested – was Eve’s return to the stage alongside fellow Ruff Ryder star DMX. Not that it wasn’t a blast witnessing the latter rapper hype fans with the ever-aggressive hit “Party Up (Up In Here),” but it was infinitely more thrilling when Eve, exuding more beauty and confidence than ever, strutted down the main stage’s center catwalk, downright killing it on her verse of “Ruff Ryders Anthem.”

Read more on Rock the Bells on the Soundcheck Blog.

Photos and article by David Hall, for the Orange County Register

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Review: The Doors steal sloppy Sunset Strip Music Festival from Marilyn Manson, the Offspring

August 19th, 2012, 3:13 pm by

The big-bash conclusion of the annual Sunset Strip Music Festival, held for the fifth time Saturday in West Hollywood, always benefits from the most authentic setting of just about any single-day blast in Southern California: a sealed-off stretch of Sunset Boulevard, from the Whisky a Go Go at the east end to the Key Club (once the site of Gazzarri’s) up a slight incline toward the west.

Click here for more photos from the Sunset Strip Music Festival.

The deeply influential history of that part of L.A. wasn’t lost on an awestruck Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman, guitarist for veteran Huntington Beach punk rock band the Offspring, penultimate main-stage performer this time and the most visible act amid a sizable O.C. contingency at SSMF 2012, including afternoon turns from the Bolts and Midnight Hour.

“We used to drive up here from Orange County to see the Ramones play the Palladium (several miles to the east) or to see the Clash play the Whisky and the Roxy,” Noodles recalled shortly into the group’s solid 75-minute turn as the sun finally set.

Read more on the Sunset Strip Music Festival on the Soundcheck Blog.

Photos by Armando Brown, for the Orange County Register

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Slideshow: Phish lights up Long Beach Arena

August 16th, 2012, 3:19 pm by

To many of their legion of fans, going to a Phish concert is about far more than the music the Vermont foursome deliver, though that’s nearly as unpredictable as ever after decades of being on and off the road. (They broke up a few years ago and it didn’t take; they’ve been reunited and going strong since 2009, although their name can still elicit “they’re still around?” murmurs from the uninitiated.)

Click here for more photos of Phish’s performance.

Phish shows are about camaraderie as much as music. The band breeds a certain tribal bonding among fans who, like Deadheads before them, understand that it’s worth sitting through good shows and occasional bad ones (though those are few and far between) to get a really great gig – or at least an unexpected moment. That’s why so many followers will see three, four, five shows or more in a single tour.

I’m one of those die-hards, but I’m also a professional music writer – and covering Phish has always been difficult because of that. How can you convince skeptics who write the band off as stoner-lazy (if anything they’re unnaturally ambitious) or just plain silly (though what’s wrong with smiling sometimes?) that it’s worth paying attention to their intricacies, their set-list choices, their inner language?

Read more on Phish on the Soundcheck Blog.

Photos by Kelly A. Swift, for the Orange County Register; Article by Jeff Miller, for the Orange County Register

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Review: Franz Ferdinand’s sizzling sendoff

August 16th, 2012, 11:27 am by

I thought I’d quenched my thirst for Franz Ferdinand – who hadn’t played a West Coast gig since the tail-end of 2009 – with a tremendous showing at the final day of Outside Lands in San Francisco on Sunday. But that performance was so convincingly fierce that when offered the chance to catch them again at Pomona’s Glass House Tuesday night, I couldn’t resist.

Given how sporadically the band has toured the U.S., how could I pass up a performance so relatively close to my O.C. base and in such an intimate setting?

This evening’s audience was apparently thinking along similar lines. So hyped were these fans that chanted, clapped and jumped along to every song, there was hardly a moment that didn’t suggest a euphoric release of pent-up love for the Scottish quartet.

That adoration was returned tenfold by the band during a 90-minute set that celebrated plenty from the group’s 2004 self-titled debut (all but three songs were performed) plus a few new cuts and the most groove-worthy bits from 2005’s You Could Have it So Much Better and 2009’s Tonight: Franz Ferdinand.

Read more on Franz Ferdinand on the Soundcheck Blog.

Photo and article by David Hall, for the Orange County Register

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Review: Kiss outshines Mötley Crüe in Irvine

August 15th, 2012, 12:01 pm by

Over the past few years Kiss has been hit-or-miss live, but Tuesday night at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, the makeup-wearing quartet more than made up for its last headlining gig, a terrible, poorly planned 2010 set at the Epicenter festival in Fontana that had zero impact after a tremendous return from Eminem.

This time the band, in full-on garb, came out with gusto, kicking off an all-killer-no-filler 13-song set with “Detroit Rock City.” The capacity crowd, which included hundreds of costumed fans sporting various Kiss looks, roared along to each track.

Click here for more photos from Kiss and Mötley Crüe in Irvine.

As usual, bassist Gene Simmons and guitarist Paul Stanley, the mainstays of the long-running group, gave everyone quite the show, the former often whipping out his slithery tongue while demon stomping across the stage in gigantic, thigh-high boots, the latter strutting around, fluffing up his hair and shaking his behind toward the screaming 20-something (yes, 20-something) women in the front row. Simmons is 62, Stanley turned 60 in January, and still young ladies try to do everything they can to get backstage – even in Irvine.

Kiss’ production remains pure spectacle, from their kabuki get-ups to the many massive fiery explosions, plus risers that hoist the band into the air and jumbo screens that ensure even fans in the furthest corners of the lawn had a decent view.

Read more on Kiss and Mötley Crüe’s performance on the Soundcheck Blog.

Photos by Kelly A. Swift, for the Orange County Register

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Slideshow: Stevie Wonder, Jack White and more cap Outside Lands

August 14th, 2012, 3:22 pm by

Even if you disagree with my initial assertion that this year’s Outside Lands lineup is the best of any multi-day festival this year (I’m still backing that claim), there was no denying by midday Sunday – the 5th annual event’s final third at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park – that at the very least, this last afternoon was on a path to proliferate some of the most stellar sets of the weekend.

Really, though, who would expect anything less from such an immensely talented slate of players – chiefly Franz Ferdinand, Regina Spektor, Jack White and Stevie Wonder – to close out the main stage?

Click here for more photos from Outside Lands.

There were plenty more noteworthy acts to see elsewhere (Big Gigantic, City & Colour, Amadou & Miriam, Santigold and Dispatch all had satellite sets), I was determined not to miss as beat a the massive Lands End stage, planting myself there just in time to hear L.A. group fun. close on a highly energetic cover of the Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

Read more on Outside Lands on the Soundcheck Blog.

Article and photos by David Hall, for the Orange County Register.

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Slideshow: ‘Weird Al’ returns to Pacific Amphitheatre

August 13th, 2012, 11:46 am by

 In just over two hours Sunday night, “Weird Al” Yankovic showcased his talents as comedian, singer, songwriter, music video pioneer and accordionist before yet another delighted near-capacity crowd at Pacific Amphitheatre, this time on the closing night of the OC Fair.

Yankovic, 52, has been a trailblazing satirist since the dawn of MTV but has been able to successfully evolve with the subsequent arrival of the Internet and growth of social media to remain relevant.

Click here for more photos from Weird Al’s Pacific Amphitheatre performance.

In the ’80s and early ’90s he would merely skewer artists with popular parodies bolstered by accompanying videos. He has extended that approach over the years to include creative clips in which he’s seen interviewing everybody from Robert Pattinson and Jeff Bridges to Uma Thurman in a gleeful bashing of celebrities, along with take-downs of Craigslist and eBay and, in the piece “Another Tattoo,” the body-art trend. All of that played a major part of his show in Costa Mesa, allowing him to make quick costume changes at key points.

Mirroring how technology has quickened the pace of our lives, Yankovic’s show raced along as swiftly as features on a smart phone. The blend of live music, effective lighting, wide-ranging videos and rapid pacing all enhanced a series of great one-liners, with even some of his most effective satirical classics (including “My Bologna,” his send-up of the Knack’s “My Sharona”) folded into medleys. Yet the performance was never overwhelmed by that speediness, with Yankovic knowing when to let the show breathe.

Read more about Weird Al’s performance in Costa Mesa on the Soundcheck Blog.

Article by Robert Kinsler, for the Orange County Register; Photos by Kelly A. Swift, for the Orange County Register

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Slideshow: Metallica, Norah Jones and more from Outside Lands Day 2

August 13th, 2012, 11:38 am by

As many might have guessed, Day 2 of the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco was all about Metallica. Given that Golden Gate Park was likely the only hometown venue the Bay Area quartet hadn’t performed at during its 31-year career, their day-capping show took the cake for most historically significant of the weekend.

Click here for more photos from Outside Lands.

Though it’s certainly debatable, I’d say the outfit’s two-hour, pyro-packed, fireworks-filled set – comprised chiefly of highly regarded ’80s classics – easily beat out Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s powerhouse performance on Friday and is likely to trump Stevie Wonder’s sure-to-be impressive event-closing concert Sunday night.

Frontman James Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Lars Ulrich were clearly out to prove something with selections that began and concluded with their oldest and most thrash-focused material, avoiding anything post-’97 save for “Hell and Back,” from last December’s Beyond Magnetic EP.

Read more on Outside Lands on the Soundcheck Blog.

Article and photos by David Hall, for the Orange County Register.

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