Pats' Edelman, McCourty, Amendola, Chung ruled out

Pats' Edelman, McCourty, Amendola, Chung ruled out
Mark E. Ortega
NFL.com
December 26, 2015

The Patriots have ruled out four key contributors for Sunday's game against the Jets.

New England ruled out wideouts Julian Edelman (foot) and Danny Amendola (knee), as well as safeties Devin McCourty (ankle) and Patrick Chung (foot) on Saturday. Amendola, Chung and McCourty were previously considered questionable, whereas Edelman was doubtful to play.

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Twitter reacts to Kirk Cousins' end-of-half kneel down

Twitter reacts to Kirk Cousins' end-of-half kneel down
Mark E. Ortega
NFL.com
December 26, 2015

The Redskins were ahead 16-10 with six seconds remaining and no timeouts while deep in the red zone. Quarterback Kirk Cousins decided to kneel down, which brought the half to a close and left points on the board.

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Jennylee steps out of shadow of Warpaint with killer solo show at The Echo

Jennylee steps out of shadow of Warpaint with killer solo show at The Echo
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 17, 2015

The Echo was pretty packed, as could be expected given the peanut butter & jelly-type complement that Warpaint and the buzzy LA music scene have enjoyed since the mid-2000s. There are Tumblrs dedicated to Jenny Lee Lindberg – she’s got that Silver Lake aesthetic to go along with her killer bass jams. Her solo project was received with a warm welcome as she worked through the material off the album, *as well as throwing in a Warpaint deep cut cover of “CC.” 

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Jessie Ware, Ryn Weaver, Cashmere Cat, Tory Lanez play LA’s El Rey in February for Friends Keep Secrets showcase

Jessie Ware, Ryn Weaver, Cashmere Cat play El Rey in February for Friends Keep Secrets showcase
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 15, 2015

Friends Keep Secrets – the label fronted by producer Bennie Blanco – will be putting on a showcase on February 18 at the El Rey Theatre featuring Jessie Ware, Ryn Weaver, Cashmere Cat, Tory Lanez, BenZel and more. Ware and Weaver’s sets are listed as acoustic on the ticket page for Goldenvoice.

British singer Jessie Ware released her second full-length album Tough Love earlier this year. The album featured collaborations with Ed Sheeran, Dev Hynes, Miguel, Emile Haynie and others.

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Cage the Elephant’s raucous sold-out El Rey gig promises a strong 2016

Cage the Elephant’s raucous sold-out El Rey gig promises a strong 2016
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 14, 2015

Cage the Elephant began their banner 2015 by celebrating a Grammy nomination. On Sunday night at the El Rey Theatre, they showed fans that the future looks bright for the alt-rock five-piece as they performed some songs from their upcoming album Tell Me I’m Pretty — due out December 18 and produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach – as well as favorites from the past.

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The Weeknd, BANKS, Travis $cott turn The Forum into Madness; Lana Del Rey guest appearance

The Weeknd, BANKS, Travis $cott turn The Forum into Madness; Lana Del Rey guest appearance
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 11, 2015

Is there anyone in music who’s had a bigger 2015 than The Weeknd?

Wednesday night’s show at The Forum – the second of two sold-out shows on The Madness Tour at the 17,500 capacity venue – was further evidence that the answer to that question is no.

With a nearly two-hour set, The Weeknd – aka Abel Tesfaye – proved his merit and vocal prowess. Perhaps the highlight of the hit-filled set was the shocking surprise in the form of a Lana del Rey appearance at the end of his set to perform their track “Prisoner” from his critically-acclaimed 2015 record Beauty Behind the Madness.

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Zella Day rocks LA, Fleetwood Mac cover among highlights at high-energy Fonda Theatre set

Zella Day rocks LA, Fleetwood Mac cover among highlights at high-energy Fonda Theatre set
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 10, 2015

Sometimes, pop music doesn’t make sense to me.

Tuesday night, emerging alt-pop artist Zella Day headlined at the Fonda Theatre, supporting her debut album Kicker. It’s an impressive debut record with catchy tracks featured all throughout. I’d put it up against some of the better-performing stuff in the genre.

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Best Debut Albums of 2015

Best Debut Albums of 2015
Mark E. Ortega & Sandra Burciaga
GrimyGoods.com
December 8, 2015

This past year was a great year for debut albums, and especially a mammoth year for women in music. About 65 percent of our debut selections are from some very talented women. While we could have easily added a few more records to this list, we like to keep it selective. When it comes down to what exactly makes a “best debut album of 2015”, there are a lot of factors at play, but for us, all the debut records listed below were constantly on repeat throughout the year. From hip hop, rock, pop, electronica and more — these debut albums were each extraordinary in their own way.

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Best Coast, Wavves, Cherry Glazerr announce Los Angeles date at Fonda Theatre

Best Coast, Wavves, Cherry Glazerr announce Los Angeles date at Fonda Theatre
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 8, 2015

An enticing tripleheader has been announced by Goldenvoice for Thursday, March 3 at the Fonda Theatre.

After a string of successful shows on their own in 2015, SoCal indie rock favorites Best Coast and Wavves will co-headline the Fonda Theatre in 2016. LA darlings Cherry Glazerr will be featured in an opening capacity.

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Animal Collective announce Los Angeles date at Fonda Theatre

Animal Collective announce Los Angeles date at Fonda Theatre
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 7, 2015

Experimental pop-group Animal Collective have announced a Los Angeles date for March 8 at the Fonda Theatre, for which tickets will surely move quickly.

The group is touring in support of their 10th studio album Painting With – of which they debuted at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport to much fanfare. Matt Baetz wrote in an Instagram post that the album could be best heard in the bathrooms, some observation areas, pre-security and the big lounge after going through security. Credit them for getting some much different marketing ideas.

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Gary Clark Jr. delivers virtuoso performance at Fonda for third sold-out night

Gary Clark Jr. delivers virtuoso performance at Fonda for third sold-out night
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 7, 2015

Gary Clark Jr. might be the best American guitarist going these days.

That was my main takeaway after witnessing the virtuoso both Friday and Saturday nights at the Fonda Theatre – the second and third of a three-night sold-out stint at the famed Hollywood venue. Saturday, I was covering the show for Grimy Goods and it meant I was seeing Gary Clark Jr. for four hours overall this weekend. No complaints.

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Remembering Scott Weiland: 1967-2015 — one of the greatest rockers of our generation

Remembering Scott Weiland: 1967-2015 — one of the greatest rockers of our generation
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 4, 2015

Some will say that Scott Weiland lived many years beyond what was expected, given his hard and fast lifestyle as one of the biggest rock stars of the 1990s. It didn’t make it any less sad when the former Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver singer was found dead Thursday in his tour bus at the age of 48, just hours before he was supposed to take the stage.

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Nicki Minaj surprises Teragram Ballroom crowd at final Red Bull Sound Select 30 Days In LA

Nicki Minaj surprises Teragram Ballroom crowd at final Red Bull Sound Select 30 Days In LA
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 2, 2015

Monday night, Red Bull Sound Select‘s second-annual #30DaysInLA culminated in a secret performance at the 600-capacity Teragram Ballroom.

All that was known heading in was that it was a hip-hop / rap performance with rumors swirling that it could be The Weeknd, Missy Elliott, or Nicki Minaj. By the time 10:30 pm rolled around, nobody in the crowd near me was 100 percent sure. Once the pink lights started hitting the stage, people came around to the idea that it was going to be Nicki Minaj. It was confirmed moments later when she walked out on stage, rapping the opening verse of “Superbass” to the heavy excitement of the crowd.

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