Best Live Shows 2015
It's been almost 8 freaking months since I've moved to LA to get into the music industry (say whaaaa) and I have averaged about 4 nights a week going out and listening to live music, so I wanted to reflect on 3 seriously life-changing shows I saw this year. In chronological order:
1) ALOKE [Friday, July 15, 2015]
Aloke's performance kicked off my ongoing love affair with live music. That night, I was going through a crisis in confidence and questioning whether or not I had the guts to stick it out in LA. So, instead of forcing my cat to suffer with me, I decided to go to the Echoplex in #hipsterland on a Friday night and expected to see some mediocre band. Boy, I am so glad I went out that night! To this day, Aloke, a New York band fronted by GROUPLOVE singer Christian Zucconi, is still the best grunge rock band I have seen live. Their most recent album "Alive" is a great body of work. Some of my favorites include "Gold Coast", "Old Lady", "Married on a Farm", and "Unresolved." I listen to that album in its entirety at least once a week.
3) Classical Remix ft. Daedelus, Alfredo Rodrigues, and Ray Ushikubo [Saturday, August 15, 2015]
There are only a few select programmers in this world willing to push the boundaries and take chances on a regular basis. Grand Performances Programming Director Leigh Ann Hahn is one of those gems. I can only describe the Grand Performances Classical Remix night as truly magical. Beat-maker Daedelus and pianist Alfredo Rodrigues took the stage and began to improvise a "classical remix" experimental sound. They alternated with world-renowned classical pianist and 14-year old Ray Ushikubo (who incidentally made all of us feel like we needed to step up our game in life). After a time, the "remixers" took Ray under their wing and he began to improvise with them. You could literally see the artists growing with each other on stage. The experience was one-in-a-lifetime and that feeling of magic reminds me why I'm so in love with live music.
2) American Aquarium [Tuesday, August 18, 2015]
One day, while jabbering about everythang music-related with the Hunnypot peeps, John Anderson mentioned that the Troubadour was one of his favorite venues. I immediately decided to check it out that night. With my ripped jeans and rocker shirt, I headed to the heavily metered, reality star ridden (I speak the truth) West Hollywood. Thankfully I wore my pink Jordans (phew*) so at least I was semi-dressed up by WeHo standards (I think). I had no idea what to expect when six members of American Aquarium walked on stage with a calm demeanor that belied any preconceptions I had about a rock-n-rock band. I was mesmerized throughout the entire performance. This North Carolina band is part country, part rock-n-roll, 100% heartfelt. The lyrics from their past coming-of-age album "Wolves" touched my soul. I have listened to this album more than any other this year. "Man I'm Supposed to Be", "Losing Side of Twenty-Five", "End Over End", and "Wolves" are my favorite songs. Also, huge kudos to lead singer BJ Barham who has been sober for over a year!