Fleetwood Mac rock The Forum like it's 1979

Fleetwood Mac rock The Forum like it's 1979
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
November 29, 2014

In order to see Fleetwood Mac at The Forum on Friday night, I had to give up my New Year’s Eve so that someone else would cover my shift on short notice at my full-time job. After seeing them play nearly three hours on the first of two nights at The Forum, I can say that I made the right choice and that I have zero regrets.

This was the first time since the original lineup played in Los Angeles together in years. Mick Fleetwood (drums), John McVie (bass), Stevie Nicks (vocals), Lindsey Buckingham (lead guitar), and — for the first time since 1998, Christine McVie on the keyboards. They had some help by a talented group of backup musicians, but this was who everyone came to see and they didn’t fail to deliver.

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The Nine II Five: Volume One

The Nine II Five: Volume One
TheAudiologist.net
November 26, 2014


Remember mixed tapes? Mixed CDs? Recording songs off the radio? Nowadays, it’s too easy to try and make a playlist on subscription-based streaming sites that spiral out of control.

Every playlist I’ve made climbs to crazy numbers, sometimes into the hundreds. This can be nice, for many reasons. But there was a certain difficulty and passion that came all my life with making mixed CDs. There’s an art to it — being able to move from track to track without something feeling far too out of place.

925… It’s the area code where I grew up in northern California’s Bay Area. It also works as “nine-to-five”, commonly known as the working person’s grind Monday-through-Friday. I’m taking that number and using it as the formula for a mix I hope to continue creating every week.

The Formula:

1. NINE - Nine songs from acts that are either a) unknown b) currently breaking out or c) about to break out. My main hope is that people will discover some music that they otherwise weren’t aware of.

2. TWO - Two specialty songs. This could be covers, live versions, unreleased tracks, remixes, acoustic versions, etc.

3. FIVE - Five songs from established and well-known acts. Doesn’t necessarily have to be well-known songs by those acts, however. Just named that people will know. There is no set order to the playlist. The track listing will be based on how well each song transitions into the next. Usually, I’ll try and keep a central theme to each playlist.

Justin Timberlake provides a cure for the Mondays with exhilarating performance at The Forum

Justin Timberlake provides a cure for the Mondays with exhilarating performance at The Forum
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
November 25, 2014


The last week of November is one that is usually looked forward to by a large majority of Americans. Thanksgiving is just a few days away, which means for most students, a full week off from school and for most adults, a shortened work week. For anyone that was still not satisfied, Justin Timberlake’s performance at The Forum in Inglewood took care of their case of the Mondays.

Let me preface this show review by saying Timberlake isn’t my usual cup of tea. I’ve had the good fortune of seeing a large volume of live music this year. Most fall into the “shows” category. Some are large enough to be considered “concerts”, but Monday night, Timberlake showed me what it was like to turn a night of live music into an “event”.

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Tegan and Sara share unreleased "When I Get Up" from 10th anniv. of So Jealous

Tegan and Sara share unreleased "When I Get Up" from 10th anniv. of So Jealous
Mark E. Ortega
November 25, 2014
GrimyGoods.com


It’s quite hard to believe when you realize Tegan and Sara‘s “So Jealous” album is nearly 10 years old. The indie rock done good sisters are commemorating it with a 10th anniversary deluxe edition of the album to be released on Dec. 23, called So Jealous X.

The deluxe album will include additional material like remixes, demos, and covers, like The White Stripes doing a version of one of Tegan and Sara’s early breakout hits “Walking With a Ghost”. It’s been a crazy year for the two as they opened up for Katy Perry on her stadium tour (including dates at STAPLES Center) and played the Hollywood Palladium just recently.

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Justin Blackmon pleads no contest to misdemeanor

Justin Blackmon pleads no contest to misdemeanor
Mark E. Ortega
NFL.com
November 21, 2014

Suspended Jacksonville Jaguars wideout Justin Blackmon pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of marijuana possession on Thursday, according to The Oklahoman.

Blackmon was arrested July 23 when police pulled over the troubled receiver for a traffic violation and found an odor of marijuana emanating from his vehicle. Blackmon admitted to smoking in the vehicle while driving.

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Listen to Henry Wolfe's new EP "Encino" - smooth and easy listening

Listen to Henry Wolfe's new EP "Encino" - smooth and easy listening
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
November 18, 2014


In a 2012 interview with Metro, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Henry Wolfe noted that modern music plays a very limited role in his life.

When listening to his new EP Encino, his first release in three years, it is obvious he draws influence from music of yesteryear. From the opening moments of the title track, I can’t help but think this is something Brian Wilson would have really dug.

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Tame Impala don't let Shrine technical difficulties deconstruct their set

Tame Impala don't let Shrine technical difficulties deconstruct their set

Mark E. Ortega

GrimyGoods.com

November 14, 2014

Australia’s Tame Impala are so psychedelic that when you see them live, you feel as though you’re on drugs — even when you’re not.

Wednesday night at The Shrine Auditorium, they showed that the jammy and acidy sounds of Cream and other super bands of the ’70’s are still much sought after. Except for the very top, The Shrine was packed tight with a crowd that was mostly twentysomething or younger.

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The Black Keys at The Forum: Living up to being one of America's biggest rock bands

The Black Keys at The Forum: Living up to being one of America's biggest rock bands
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
November 7, 2014

If there is one major realization I made Thursday night at The Forum in Inglewood, it’s that The Black Keys are in the running for America’s most popular rock band.

As Thursday was an important day politically, it felt as though these Akron, Ohio-bred rockers were on the campaign trail themselves. After seeing them blow through an impressive sold-out set at one of Southern California’s larger indoor venues, one could certainly make the case that they are in the hunt. In fact, outside of the Foo Fighters, I can’t think of a single American rock band that is as wide appealing as Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney.

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Between two show reviewers: Courtney Barnett at Red Bull Sound Select #30DaysinLA

Between two show reviewers: Courtney Barnett at Red Bull Sound Select #30DaysinLA
Ziv Biton and Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
November 6, 2014


Courtney Barnett played the El Rey for the 4th night of Red Bull’s Sound Select #30DaysInLA series. After getting loads of Red Bull swag, munching on empanadas, and getting strung out on vodka Red Bulls (THERE WAS SO MUCH RED BULL) I bumped into fellow Grimy Goods contributor Mark Ortega. Below we discuss the shows highlights, varying giveaways, openers, closers and Courtney Barnett’s performer resemblance to Girl Cobain.

Feature by Ziv Biton & Mark Ortega / Photography by Misha Vladimirskiy (Red Bull Sound Select)

ZB: I only bumped into you a bit later in the night. How was it your first half? Did you get there in time to swag a screen-printed Courtney Barnett poster?

MO: No! I thought those were just for people that won them via the scratchers? I got one of the #30DaysInLA posters though — No. 2 in my collection.

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Ben Howard spreads magic at sold-out El Rey Theatre performance

Ben Howard spreads magic at sold-out El Rey Theatre performance
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
November 6, 2014


I didn’t know very much about Ben Howard going into his show last Monday at the El Rey Theatre. I’d taken a quick listen to his latest album I Forget Where We Were and saw how quickly tickets were gobbled up to his one of two U.S. shows this month and was very intrigued.

What I didn’t expect was to hear just how full Howard and his band sounded. What I experienced was the kind of emotion that Damien Rice was able conjure out of me earlier that month.

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