Miguel channels David Bowie during special intimate School Night performance

Miguel channels David Bowie during special intimate School Night performance
Mark E. Ortega
Grimygoods.com
January 26, 2016

I arrived at Bardot on Monday night for a special edition of School Night at 7:30 PM in an effort to nag a great spot in the tiny Hollywood venue. R&B singer Miguel was announced as the special headliner just an hour or so earlier, and I knew the place was going to be jam-packed.

By the time Miguel took the stage around 11:30 PM, my feet were beyond wrecked by the unforgiving hard floor. But the wait was immediately made worth it when the Los Angeles native launched into a cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” (watch the video below) supported by nothing but an acoustic guitar. There was audible excitement as Miguel worked through the first couple verses before segueing into his song “Waves.”

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Duran Duran, Metric, Clean Bandit deliver top Life is Beautiful day two sets

Duran Duran, Metric, Clean Bandit deliver top Life is Beautiful day two sets
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
September 28, 2015

Day two of Life is Beautiful was the most jam-packed day of the downtown Las Vegas festival schedule-wise. It makes sense. People that drove in from LA or flew in from elsewhere get to enjoy a full day’s worth of music whereas the other two days are sometimes eaten up by traveling to and from home.

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Mumford & Sons' Bonnaroo redemption highlights Saturday

Mumford & Sons' Bonnaroo redemption highlights Saturday
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
June 16, 2015

Two years ago, Mumford & Sons were set to headline Bonnaroo at the peak of their success. When bassist Ted Dwane had to undergo emergency brain surgery, the band had to cancel their appearance just two days before the festival.

If redemption was what the London-based folk rockers were after, they got that in spades after a lengthy main stage performance to one of the biggest crowds of the weekend.

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Kendrick Lamar tops Bonnaroo highlights, freestyles with Chance the Rapper during Earth, Wind & Fire

Kendrick tops Bonnaroo highlights, freestyles with Chance the Rapper during Earth, Wind & Fire
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
June 15, 2015

Of all the festivals I’ve traveled to the past few months, I felt least prepared for Bonnaroo. Flying in from LA I could only bring a small one-person tent and carry-on bag but I lucked into camping with people a bit more prepared.

We got into the line of cars to pull into the campgrounds at 4 am Thursday morning and didn’t park until close to 10:30 am. Despite that and no sleep, I rallied to see some awesome stuff the first night as well as a jam-packed Friday.

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SXSW Wednesday: Courtney Barnett, Ryn Weaver, Action Bronson & more

SXSW Wednesday: Courtney Barnett, Ryn Weaver, Action Bronson & more
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
March 19, 2015


After taking a bus from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and flying into Austin from there (cheaper flight, y’all), I hit the ground running for South by Southwest (SXSW) on Wednesday.

After waiting in line at the House of Vans at Mohawk for about an hour, I finally got in and was able to see Denver-based Son Lux. Lead man Ryan Lott utilizes a lot of interesting sounds — both on his vocals and on his keyboards — bringing together a sound that can best be described as a more electronic-heavy version of The Killers. The set-closing song “Lost it to Trying (Mouths Only Lying)” was the strongest track of the set and had the small bar-filled crowd really feeling it.

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Death From Above 1979, Future Islands, & More to Headline Red Bull Sound Select's 30 Days in LA

Death From Above 1979, Future Islands, & More to Headline Red Bull Sound Select's 30 Days in LA
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
September 10, 2014

Ask any venue booker how difficult it is to set up one show and they’ll tell you it can be a huge pain in the ass. Extrapolate that over the course of 30 days in one city across multiple venues, and the task seems downright impossible.

Tuesday, Red Bull Sound Select announced that they’ve managed to do just that with their #30DaysInLA, a series of music-related events that will take place all across Los Angeles in November in mostly intimate venues with extremely affordable ticket prices featuring a number of more than solid acts involved.

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