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Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Panic! At The Disco ignites The Greek for fans both old and new


Panic! At The Disco ignites The Greek for fans both old and new
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 27, 2014


Tuesday night, I took a trip back to my high school days. No, a DeLorean and Doc Brown weren’t involved. All it took was a trip to the Greek Theatre to see Panic! At The Disco, a band whose popularity first emerged when I was still a teenager with little life experience.

One thing that struck my right away: though a decade has passed since I really was into this band, their target demographic has not changed. A new generation of teenagers comprised more than half of the crowd at the Greek as 15-year-old girls were in every direction.

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Monday, August 25, 2014

The Strokes put stamp on FYF Fest with festival-ending romp


The Strokes put stamp on FYF Fest with festival-ending romp
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 25, 2014


Julian Casablancas and Albert Hammond Jr. did double duty at FYF Fest, playing with The Voidz and Albert’s solo act (respectively) on Saturday night before headlining the festival’s final night with the rest of The Strokes.

The crowd grew uneasy as 10-15 minutes passed after the listed 10:25 pm start time, but once they took the stage, things got started in a haste. “Barely Legal” began the set, perhaps serving as a reminder to the many underage attendees that were skirting their curfew to catch one of the influential bands of their older siblings’ high school days.

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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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Blood Brothers wax nostalgic on FYF Fest crowd, show no signs of rust


Blood Brothers wax nostalgic on FYF Fest crowd, show no signs of rust
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 25, 2014


It’s likely a fair amount of people that saw The Blood Brothers’ reunion at FYF Fest on Sunday night sustained some injuries — but it is equally fair to assume that the bloodshed was worth it.

“I had been trying to get them for two and a half years,” FYF’s Sean Carlson told the LA Times earlier in the week. “I’m so, so happy that they’re doing this at FYF.”

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Thundercat takes FYF Fest on a bass-filled adventure


Thundercat takes FYF Fest on a bass-filled adventure
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 25, 2014


Los Angeles-based bass guitar extraordinaire, Thundercat’s FYF Fest set was filled with incredible solos on Sunday later afternoon, but the former Suicidal Tendencies member showed there is much, much more to him than the metal stylings of his former band.

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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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Sunday, August 24, 2014

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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Phoenix's FYF performance seizes night even though set ends ten minutes early


Phoenix's FYF performance seizes night even though set ends ten minutes early
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 24, 2014


Phoenix’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix album was the album of my 21st summer. Their FYF Fest headlining set on Saturday connected to me on a personal standpoint, as they played their numerous hits from that album, putting into perspective just how things have changed in those five years since.

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Grimes proves authentic at FYF Fest


Grimes proves authentic at FYF Fest
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 24, 2014


Looking all the part of a Japanese anime character — her hair flowing like she was about to be swallowed up in a tornado — the Vancouver-based Grimes took the crowd on a journey that jumped from place-to-place. On appearance alone, you wonder if Grimes is a gimmick, but moments into her FYF Fest set it makes you feel quite stupid for ever having suggested the thought.

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Julian Casablancas delivers a gift to FYF Fest on his birthday


Julian Casablancas delivers a gift to FYF Fest on his birthday
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 24, 2014

“I’m not a big birthday guy, but thanks,” said Julian Casablancas on the main stage at FYF Fest upon receiving a birthday cake on Friday, playing with The Voidz.

The Strokes front man celebrated his birthday in style, playing a wide assortment of differing tunes from his repertoire.

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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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Little Dragon revs things up at FYF Fest in a big way


Little Dragon revs things up at FYF Fest in a big way
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 24, 2014


There is a moment at every music festival where you realize that it’s fully about to be on. At FYF Fest 2014, that moment was when burgeoning indie darlings Little Dragon launched into “Ritual Union”, a song that had the crowd singing along.

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Connan Mockasin calms people’s “new FYF” frustrations with a dreamy set


Connan Mockasin calms people’s “new FYF” frustrations with a dreamy set
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 24, 2014


As people slowly filtered into Exposition Park for FYF Fest 2014, New Zealand’s Connan Mockasin played a dreamy, well-received mid-afternoon set.

Listening to Mockasin play, it felt as though he had taken the crowd on a journey into the thick of Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides. There is no doubt Mockasin’s catalog would have fit as a perfect backdrop to that ’70s-based flick.

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Friday, August 22, 2014

The Naked & Famous outperform Echoplex underplay


The Naked & Famous outperform Echoplex underplay
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 22, 2014


At Coachella earlier this year, New Zealand’s The Naked & Famous attracted one of the biggest late afternoon crowds of the weekend and didn’t fail to deliver a killer set.

This made their Thursday night booking at the Echoplex a bit of a head scratcher. The band could clearly headline a much bigger venue, evidenced by how quickly tickets sold out for their show that night.

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Monday, August 18, 2014

A goodbye to a friend I never met, but really knew

A goodbye to a friend I never met, but really knew
August 18, 2014

This afternoon, while at work (a job which, among many other things, encompasses monitoring Twitter), I came across the heart-stopping news that Glyn Leach, the longtime editor of well-regarded print publication Boxing Monthly, passed away.

Photo courtesy of @ZombieSquasher.@ZombieSquasher
The loss was met by unrelenting sorrow by those in the boxing community. A vast majority of these people never were lucky enough to interact with Glyn but were still fortunate enough to enjoy his blood, sweat, and tears, as the magazine arrived in their hands a number of ways. For me, I lost someone who could only be referred to as a mentor of sorts.

It is unbelievably tough in the dog-eat-dog world of trying to make a living on the written word. While working full-time on the graveyard shift at a retail job, stocking shelves and trying not to fall asleep, Glyn Leach gave me my first opportunity to showcase my work someplace I considered well out of reach at the time. Boxing writing was something that was still far off from paying my bills, but Glyn got in touch with me about ideas for the magazine after coming across my work on Twitter. Despite being half the world away and having never met, Glyn saw something in my writing (which was extremely rough at the time) to give me a shout. This even though I was writing for a small, lightly regarded blog at the time.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Bashaud Breeland cited for possession of marijuana


Bashaud Breeland cited for possession of marijuana
Mark E. Ortega
NFL.com
August 13, 2014


Washington Redskins rookie cornerback Bashaud Breeland was cited for misdemeanor possession of marijuana on Monday night, according to a statement obtained by NFL Media from Virginia Commonwealth University PIO Corey Byers.

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Thursday, August 7, 2014

Hot New Artist: Odessa


Hot New Artist: Odessa
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 7, 2014

Sometimes it takes just one song to be hooked on a new artist. This applies in the case of Los Angeles-based Odessa, a talented singer/songwriter that should definitely be on your watch list.

Her lone track available, “I Will Be There”, has been featured in a couple of commercial and T.V. spots over the past year. In fact, if you search the lyrics, you’ll find a number of people frantically trying to figure out who the artist is, whether they stumbled across it from a Subaru commercial or an episode of ABC’s Mistresses. There just wasn’t much out there on Odessa.

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