Warpaint turns cozy Roxy gig into vibrant jam session

Warpaint turns cozy Roxy gig into vibrant jam session
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
February 9, 2015


If you’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing hometown favorites Warpaint in Los Angeles (or anywhere for that matter), at some point in the evening, things turn into a ritual, almost tribal-like feel. Things were no different Sunday night at The Roxy Theatre, and this was surprisingly the first time these four had graced the stage of the infamous West Hollywood venue.

“So excited to be here at The Roxy!” shouted Wayman midway through the set. “Fucking amazing, never played here before. I don’t know why we haven’t played here before — it’s much better than anything we have over in Silverlake, right?”

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Cage the Elephant slays private performance at Sonos Studio

Cage the Elephant slays private performance at Sonos Studio
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
February 5, 2015


Cage the Elephant is up for a Grammy this weekend for Best Alternative Music Album for their album Melophobia. Performing an intimate acoustic gig at Sonos Studio, the Kentucky-bred rockers proved their mettle in front of a packed house.

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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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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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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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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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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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Life is Beautiful day one capped by -- what else -- a Kanye rant

Life is Beautiful day one capped by -- what else -- a Kanye rant
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
October 25, 2014


Downtown Las Vegas’ second-year music festival Life is Beautiful kicked off Friday capped by a typically awesome and rant-filled Kanye West set.

Now three days after being just two in its inaugural year, the festival has grown in more than just length of time. The festival grounds felt like they have doubled in size and there was a much larger international contingency than last year as well. Two British gals from London told me they came out to Vegas specifically to see Kanye.

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Damien Rice breaks hearts, surprises with laughter at Cathedral Sanctuary

Damien Rice breaks hearts, surprises with laughter at Cathedral Sanctuary
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
October 15, 2014


There’s a reason why tickets were sold out within minutes of being offered for Damien Rice‘s intimate Oct. 9 show at the beautiful Cathedral Sanctuary at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church. Since emerging on the scene in 2001, people have turned to Rice’s music when needing to deal with a wide array of sad emotions. Those lucky few hundred that were able to witness Tuesday night’s performance got their fair share of eye-wiping in. They also experienced plenty of something maybe they weren’t anticipating: laughter.

While Rice ripped through a 17-song set of some of his latest and many of his greatest, he also mixed in an unexpected amount of comedic banter that kept things light. This, while just seconds before touching the depths of people’s souls with his often tragically-tuned songwriting.

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La Roux transforms The Fonda Theatre into an upbeat "Sexotheque"

La Roux transforms The Fonda Theatre into an upbeat "Sexotheque"
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
September 25, 2014

Tuesday night, English synthpop export La Roux rocked The Fonda Theatre like gangbusters. Where Kylie Minogue left things with European dance pop, La Roux picked it up and has taken it to another level.

What you get with La Roux on album is surprisingly close to what you get on stage. Singer Elly Jackson’s vocal range is impressive and her falsetto never once cracked throughout an impressively high energy set at The Fonda.

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The Bronx rage at FYF Fest with awesome crescendo and rambunctious mosh pit

The Bronx rage at FYF Fest with awesome crescendo and rambunctious mosh pit
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 25, 2014

Los Angeles’ own hardcore punk rockers The Bronx kicked off a string of sets at The Trees stage at FYF Fest on Sunday that would get rowdier and rowdier. Serving as a lead-in to Murder City Devils and The Blood Brothers, the set built to an awesome crescendo that featured a rather rambunctious mosh pit.

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Mac DeMarco's FYF Fest performance even gets security wildin' out

Mac DeMarco's FYF Fest performance even gets security wildin' out
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 25, 2014

Perhaps paying homage to the 12-day long ultimate marathon happening on FXX, Mac DeMarco donned a Simpsons t-shirt featuring Homer and Marge. His stage banter was on point on the main stage on Sunday at FYF Fest, but more importantly, he delivered the goods as he blasted through an entertaining set that had quite a crowd for it being still early in the day. DeMarco’s set certainly set the stage for all the madness that was set to take place later with Blood Orange, HAIM, and The Strokes still to come.

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Benjamin Booker gives early FYF attendees their money's worth Sunday

Benjamin Booker gives early FYF attendees their money's worth Sunday
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 25, 2014


When I saw The Naked & Famous on Thursday night at The Echoplex, who happened to be upstairs playing a well-attended set but Benjamin Booker? Though I didn’t get a chance to see him that night, enough people recommended him for FYF Fest that he became must-see to start Sunday’s festivities.

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Fans couldn't help but spark joints and grind to Kelela's sexy grooves at FYF Fest

Fans couldn't help but spark joints and grind to Kelela's sexy grooves at FYF Fest
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 25, 2014


“I was working at a call center in the valley a year and a half ago,” said a gracious and beaming Kelela on Sunday afternoon midway through her FYF Fest inside The Arena. The DC-born and Los Angeles-based R&B singer gave people an enjoyable ride as they escaped the heat for a half-hour. The coolness of The Arena was welcoming as the newly situated venue was much more accommodating following Saturday’s mess of a setup that kept many people from getting inside to see their favorites.

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Ty Segall caps off FYF day one and brings Manipulator to an intense reality

Ty Segall caps off FYF day one and brings Manipulator to an intense reality
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 24, 2014


Ty Segall’s night-capper last night at FYF Fest was such a fitting end to the first day, the hometown favorite closed things out in front of a crowd that seemed to be of the homegrown variety. If you frequent the L.A. music scene, you start to run into the same people. Those people that you keep running into, they were all undoubtedly seeing Ty Segall on Saturday night.

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Interpol take FYF Fest up a few notches with a fresh and nostalgic set

Interpol take FYF Fest up a few notches with a fresh and nostalgic set
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 24, 2014


“Rosemary…heaven restores you in life…”

That’s all it took for FYF Fest to collectively lose their shit a few songs into Interpol’s killer set. Music festival goers of a wide range finished the opening verse of “Evil”, a highlight among many from them on Saturday night.

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Slowdive gives FYF Fest a chance to recharge with soothing reunion show

Slowdive gives FYF Fest a chance to recharge with soothing reunion show
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 24, 2014


British shoegaze stalwarts, Slowdive was one of the more anticipated sets of Saturday at FYF Fest 2014, and their most recent leg of their long overdue reunion was met with lots of praise.

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Nico Vega the perfect remedy for case of the Mondays at The Roxy

Nico Vega the perfect remedy for case of the Mondays at The Roxy
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
July 22, 2014


If you had a “case of the Mondays” before showing up at The Roxy in Hollywood, Nico Vega washed them away with an enthusiastic and crowd-pleasing set featuring lots of material from new release, Lead to Light.

The show served as an album release party as the EP officially dropped the very next day, July 22.

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Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas shimmer with climbing star potential

Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas shimmer with climbing star potential
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
July 17, 2014

Just a few short months ago, Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas opened up a show at The Echo in support of soul singer Allen Stone (check out the review). Tuesday night, Hernandez and her five-piece band headlined that same venue, proving that her appearance in February did lots to raise awareness of their climbing star potential.

Hernandez’s sound is a bit reminiscent of early No Doubt with a dash of jazz thrown into the mix. In addition to guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard, Hernandez employs a full-time trombonist in John Raleeh. Each of those components are key to her sound, but Hernandez’s voice and charisma were definitely the key to a memorable performance.

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