FLOATING ACTION

When Jim James tells me to listen to something, I do it & you should too. Thanks Jim :-)


50 Lashes


Eye of The Needle/Well Hidden

Eastern Conference Champions @ The Hammer Museum – 7/7/11

In early May, I was surfing Facebook when I saw my friend Taylor’s post about how ridiculously awesome the new ECC album was. Naturally, I had to ask who ECC was &, ever since then, I’ve been hooked on Eastern Conference Champions.

Last night was my 1st ECC show as well as my 1st time attending 1 of KCRW’s Also I Like To Rock free concerts at The Hammer Museum in Westwood. It was difficult for me to accept missing the 1st Santa Monica Pier concert of the summer in order to see Eastern Conference Champions but, boy, was it worth it! Plus, The Bangles are playing at the pier next Thursday night so I’m more than happy to have THAT show be my 1st beach concert of the summer :-)

ECC were fun, playful & super energetic on stage & they rocked the Hammer’s courtyard…HARD. Both Melissa & Josh were constantly switching up instruments which is something I always love to see/hear &, when the Los Angeles-based trio ended their set with all 3 of them simultaneously going nuts on drums, the crowd went wild. If some people in the audience didn’t know who Eastern Conference Champions were before last night, there’s no way they’ll be able to forget them now.

The Beta Band

Dog's Got A Bone

Dry The Rain

B + A

My Morning Jacket @ The Santa Barbara Bowl - 7/2/11

Last Saturday night, I had the pleasure of seeing My Morning Jacket again at the BEAUTIFUL Santa Barbara Bowl. It was my 1st time going to the SB Bowl, my 6th time seeing MMJ & my 1st time buying a concert poster which is soon to be framed & hanging on a wall in my bedroom because it is SO sick! When I see MMJ for my 7th time in August at Lollapalooza, they will officially be tied with LCD Soundsystem for the most times I've seen any 1 artist. And, since LCD is unfortunately dunzo (although James Murphy is definitely not), MMJ is sure to eventually take the coveted #1 spot.

My Morning Jacket's live shows NEVER disappoint. The show was small & intimate & was probably the closest I've ever been to Jim James...although I plan to get even closer one of these days! They played a 14-minute rendition of Dondante which is my FAVORITE MMJ song & not one that they play every show. Randomly, at 9:01pm, in the middle of Dondante, the International Space Station flew directly over The Bowl. Everyone in the audience watched as a panning white dot soared overhead while we all lost ourselves in the music. Be sure to watch the Dondante video that I "borrowed" below so you can better understand just how fantastic it was.

Since I didn't record a single video of MMJ's Pantages show, I made a point to only record 1 song during their SB Bowl show. My Morning Jacket is SO mind-blowing live. They deserve 100% of everyone's attention. I already can't wait to see them in August (for my 3rd time this summer alone!).

Other Lives @ The Satellite - 7/1/11

When I went to Sasquatch over Memorial Day weekend, I was told by several different people it was imperative that I catch Other Lives' Sunday afternoon set. At the time, I knew nothing about the band except that they've been around since 2004, are originally from Oklahoma & used to be called Kunek.

I'm SO happy I didn't disregard my friends' recommendations because Other Lives' set at Sasquatch as well as their show last night at The Satellite in Silverlake were both phenomenal! Every member of the band plays multiple instruments which is something I always love because it adds so much variety to a band's music. They utilize everything from guitars to strings to the piano to finger cymbals & each song is uniquely beautiful.

It may have taken many years for people to finally start realizing just how solid Other Lives but I can guarantee they're about to blow up. How do I know this? Well, I think the fact that I was standing about 10 feet behind Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips at Other Lives' Sasquatch set & then was standing about 3 people to the left of Danger Mouse last night at The Satellite pretty much proves my point! ;-)

Thanks to Other Lives, I have now gotten the closest I've ever been to 2 of my all-time favorite musicians & it's no coincidence that both Wayne & Danger were checking OL out. Mark my words...big things are about to happen for Other Lives &, if you know what's good for you, you'll go see them the next chance you get!

SF peeps - They're playing this Wednesday 7/6 at The Independent. I highly recommend you go!

Michael Feld's One Big Holiday Featuring My Morning Jacket

You could set just about anything to My Morning Jacket music & I'd automatically like whatever it was at least 10x more. Despite that fact, the MMJ soundtrack in One Big Holiday (the 30-minute documentary included in the deluxe edition box set for MMJ's 6th studio album release Circuital that I previewed here a few weeks ago) is only one of the MANY reasons I absolutely loved the film! My friend Michael Feld directed One Big Holiday &, in my opinion, he did a BAD ASS job.

A few of my favorite moments, quotes & details include (& I'm just gonna do this bullet-point style because I'm no film critic):

-The opening montage is beautifully shot & perfectly cut. It hooks you from the very start. And, once you see it, you'll know why I want a baseball bat that says, "One Big Holiday - Louisville Slugger".

-The conductor of the Louisville Youth Orchestra, Jason Seber, clearly is THE most excited person to be working with MMJ on their Louisville show at The KFC Yum! Center. His excitement is cute & contagious.

-When the crew interviews Jim James outside on a grassy hill, you can see their reflection in his mirrored sunglasses in every shot. It looks cool & definitely wasn't an oversight.

-When talking about the local Louisville record store that really helped MMJ get exposure in their hometown, Jim says, "Ear X-tacy is the heartbeat of our community. For us, it would've been impossible to get off the ground without Ear X-tacy."

-The owner of Ear X-tacy, John Timmons, says, "I really think that a band like My Morning Jacket kind of epitomizes what's great about owning a record store...is to have a band like that start off locally & then grow nationally & now internationally."

-Wax Fang, the Louisville band that opened for MMJ at the Yum! Center, is a new fave. They're strange yet intriguing. They perform in Tron costumes & the saxophonist sports a silver jumpsuit & white motorcycle helmet WHILE playing. He kinda steals the show ;-)

-In reference to Wax Fang, Patrick Hallahan says Wax Fang "doesn't sound like 1 thing ever. They're all over the place." Speaking of Hallahan...his hair & beard ROCK.

-The live concert footage is cut seamlessly back & forth with rehearsal footage & occasional commentary & it's awesome :-)

I could go on & on but I have to get to another concert right now so just take my word for it when I say that, if you're a MMJ fan or even just a fan of good music documentaries, you need to get your hands on a copy of the Circuital deluxe edition box set so you can see this film!

P.S. If you're intrigued but can't quite swing the price of a box set, send me an Email & I can probably get permission from Michael to send you a private link. Yeah, I'm hooked up like that ;-)

Here's a taste of WAX FANG:

Plastikman @ Electric Daisy Carnival 2011

According to a very credible source, Mr. Bobby Bender, Plastikman (a.k.a. Richie Hawtin) was, by far, THE best act at Electric Daisy Carnival 2011 &, from what I can tell by the footage I've seen online, I'm pretty sure he's right.

If you aren't already going to see Sasha at The Avalon in Hollywood or My Morning Jacket at the Santa Barbara Bowl (LIKE ME!), you should definitely catch Richie Hawtin at The Music Box on Saturday night! Why, oh why can't I be in 3 places at once???