Top 20 Favorite Shows of 2014

Top 20 Favorite Shows of 2014
Mark E. Ortega
Medium.com
December 27, 2014


Not counting music festivals, I managed to see exactly 100 live concerts in 2014. Previous to this year, I had seen in the ballpark of 25 concerts, I think? I couldn’t have ever expected to see this many shows, but thanks fo relocating to Los Angeles as well as picking up freelance work writing about music, I was able to make it to a shit ton of concerts. In August, I saw live music for seven straight days, something I wanted to do my whole life. I upstaged that by seeing shows 10 straight days in October, and all of a sudden in December, 100 seemed a realistic goal. I hit that mark with the Dec. 20 Saves the Day & Say Anything show at House of Blues on Sunset.

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Staff Picks: Grimy Goods Best Albums of 2014

Staff Picks: Grimy Goods Best Albums of 2014
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 19, 2014


1. Sharon Van Etten – Are We There (Jagjaguwar) 
This is clearly Van Etten’s best and most expansive work to date. On previous efforts, she stuck with a less is more approach but incorporated a much fuller sound on this release. The common use of a piano brings an added element, and Van Etten takes a more hopeful approach to dealing with heartbreak and moving on in many songs. There’s not a single weak link among the 11 tracks, which you can stream here.

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The Nine II Five: Volume Four

The Nine II Five: Volume Four
TheAudiologist.net
December 17, 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.

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Smashing Pumpkins wax nostalgic at Fonda Theatre

Smashing Pumpkins wax nostalgic at Fonda Theatre
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 17, 2014


Even in the prime of his band 20 years ago, The Smashing Pumpkins‘ Billy Corgan didn’t really seem like other rock stars. During the height of alternative and grunge in the ’90s, the Pumpkins got grouped in with the rest of the bands when really, they were quite different. Even then, Corgan seemed like a reluctant rocker.

Now a few decades later, Corgan comes across as a bit resistant to that handle, albeit he seems much more comfortable. Tuesday night at the Fonda Theatre, Corgan and his most recent shuffled lineup (which includes guitarist Jeff Schroeder, Mark Stoermer of The Killers on bass and Brad Wilk of Rage Against The Machine on drums.) played through 17 songs, including five from their latest release Monuments to an Elegy, which came out a few weeks ago.

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Ryan Adams and Jenny Lewis take chemistry from studio to stage at Fox Theater

Ryan Adams and Jenny Lewis take chemistry from studio to stage at Fox Theater
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 14, 2014

It wasn’t enough that Ryan Adams produced Jenny Lewis’ career-defining album The Voyager released earlier this year. Adams went ahead and brought Lewis on tour with him — and the magic that was made in the studio translated to the stage Thursday night at the Fox Theater in Pomona.

Lewis took the stage first and started her set the way she usually does with the last single from her days as the frontwoman of Rilo Kiley, singing “Silver Lining” to the awe of the crowd. Lewis was wearing her signature white blazer emblazoned in rainbow colors that graces the cover of her critically-acclaimed 2014 album that was produced at Adams’ Pax-Am studios.

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The Nine II Five: Volume Three

The Nine II Five: Volume Three
TheAudiologist.net
December 10, 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.

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ALTimate Christmas Party keeps things short but sweet

ALTimate Christmas Party keeps things short but sweet
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 10, 2014

It’s not often you can go to a show that features seven well-known acts, get in the doors at 6PM and be home and in bed before midnight on a work night.

At ALT 98.7‘s Altimate Rooftop Christmas Party at the W Hotel Hollywood, lucky attendees were treated to just that kind of experience. An exceptionally well-run event that featured performances by Bush, Banks, Cold War Kids, Glass Animals, Robert DeLong, The Neighbourhood, and a headlining performance by Fitz and The Tantrums. The event worked so seamlessly because it had alternating stages, giving you only about five minutes to catch your breath and munch on free appetizers before walking to the other side of the roof.

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Angel Olsen dazzles crowd at El Rey into (mostly) silence

Angel Olsen dazzles crowd at El Rey into (mostly) silence
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 7, 2014

A lot of people in Los Angeles use concerts as location for dates. Not a bad idea, generally. But oftentimes, people get lost in their own conversations and forget that others paid to see a show that night and cause an interruption with their chatter.

Burgeoning singer-songwriter Angel Olsen captivated MOST of the crowd for nearly the duration of her set at the El Rey Theatre this past Thursday night, as you could hear a pin drop during the many quieter moments of her performance. Unfortunately, the back part of the audience near the bar was full of chatterboxes that would not keep their mouths shut, taking the joy out of some of the quieter parts of the performance.

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Ten Favorite Festival Sets of 2014

Ten Favorite Festival Sets of 2014
Mark E. Ortega
Medium.com
December 6, 2014

In 2014, I had the luxury of attending a solid number of music festivals, almost exclusively in coverage for GrimyGoods.com. I went to Coachella for the first time (life-changing, weekend two), as well as FYF Fest, Made in America Festival, Sunset Strip Music Festival, and made a return to Life is Beautiful in Las Vegas. I decided to put together my list of my ten favorite sets from across all of those festivals, a much tougher task than I initially thought it would be.

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The Nine II Five: Volume Two

The Nine II Five: Volume Two
TheAudiologist.net
December 5, 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.

Click here to read the rest...

Video Premiere: QUI get weird with it in "Kicked Out of Mime College"

Video Premiere: QUI get weird with it in "Kicked Out of Mime College"
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 2, 2014

Ever wanted to see mimes harmonize (har-mime-ize?)? Los Angeles duo QUI has you covered in their new video “Kicked Out of Mime College”.


Qui, made up of Paul Christensen (drums/vocals) and Matt Cronk (guitar/vocals) look the part in this sometimes black-and-white and sometimes color video. At times, the two even mime them playing their instruments, I assume actually matching up to the song. Or maybe not, and that’s why it’s ‘Kicked Out of Mime College”.

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Ten Best Live Cover Songs of 2014

Ten Best Live Cover Songs of 2014
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 1, 2014

Having been fortunate enough to see around 100 concerts in 2014, not to mention a good number of music festivals, I had the opportunity to see some musicians pull out some pretty bad ass covers during their live sets. After much deliberation, I’ve broken down my Top 10 for the year, which was no easy feat.

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