Ben Howard proves sound expansive enough for Greek Theatre, plays fan favorites and Sharon Van Etten cover

Ben Howard proves sound expansive enough for Greek Theatre, plays fan favorites and Sharon Van Etten cover
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
October 9, 2015

Last October, I got to see British singer-songwriter Ben Howard play a sold-out gig at the El Rey Theatre just as his record I Forget Where We Were was released. It’s the kind of intimate venue that these types of musicians are best enjoyed and Howard did not disappoint – I considered it one of the very best shows I got to see in all of 2014.

Now a year later, Howard was headlining the much more expansive Greek Theatre on Wednesday night. I previously considered him to be the next Damien Rice, so it was intriguing to see how he’d compare to Rice’s own Greek Theatre gig earlier this year.

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Sasquatch! 2015 Roundup - the good, the bad and the surprising

Sasquatch! 2015 Roundup - the good, the bad and the surprising
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
May 26, 2015

This past Memorial Day Weekend, I flew from Los Angeles to Seattle for my first ever Sasquatch! Music Festival at The Gorge. I found a ride and camp mates via a ride-sharing site and arrived Thursday mid-afternoon, with the music kicking off Friday and extending all the way through the Monday holiday. It was my first four-day festival experience.

What made Sasquatch stand out from the rest of the festivals I’ve been to? It’s pretty much ONLY camping. It’s loads different from my previous music festival camping experiences at Coachella the past two years.

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The 20 Hottest Women in Indie Music (and then some)

The 20 Hottest Women in Indie Music (and then some)
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
February 18, 2015


As we noted in our 20 Hottest Men in Indie Music feature last month, it’s hard not to fall in love with a talented musician when they’re on stage giving you a memorable performance. Now it’s time to give the accomplished ladies their shine.

The 20 Hottest Women in Indie Music:

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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 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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Sharon Van Etten’s comedic banter surprises at the Indy

Sharon Van Etten’s comedic banter surprises at the Indy
Mark E. Ortega
Showbams.com
July 2, 2014


Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten sure smiled and laughed a lot on Monday night for someone who features heartache prominently at the forefront of her songwriting.

This could have been due to a combination of things. It was her second straight sold out night at The Independent, she’s riding the wave of critical acclaim of her fourth studio release Are We There, and she has managed to prove wrong those who doubted her early on.

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Sharon Van Etten dazzles, redeems at El Rey in LA

Sharon Van Etten dazzles, redeems at El Rey in LA
Mark E. Ortega
June 29, 2014

LOS ANGELES--Saturday night, Sharon Van Etten noted midway through her fourteen-song set to the packed crowd at the El Rey Theatre that she hadn't played Los Angeles in two years and was hopeful she redeemed herself from a previous performance.

Van Etten recalled that prior to that show, she had fought with her boyfriend and was glaring at him throughout her set, no doubt distracted. Van Etten could've had a Cat Power-esque meltdown at that last gig and her Saturday night return would have been more than enough to make up for it -- that is how good she was.

Van Etten played mostly tracks from her recently released album Are We There, which has made it onto many lists of 2014's best albums halfway through. Van Etten mesmerized the crowd with her often heartbreaking tunes, yet always managed to break up the heaviness with her light between song banter. Van Etten often found herself interacting with the crowd and having a good time with them, most often when coming after one of her more emotionally draining gems.

On her new album, Van Etten's songs are much fuller than in her earlier efforts where she utilized much less instrumentation behind her enchanting vocals. With a full band behind her, fans got the full effect. Songs "Afraid of Nothing", "Taking Chances" and "Break Me" are just a few of the songs that benefit from the extra production.

That isn't to say that the vocals weren't still the focal point. Van Etten and backup vocalists slash keyboardist slash tambourinist Heather Woods Broderick have immense chemistry and that was always at the forefront of any song they played on Saturday. In "Nothing Will Change", the two trade turns singing "I will reach you" in an incredibly addicting way.

Van Etten has only gotten stronger as a vocalist since I first saw her at Outside Lands Music Festival a few years ago in San Francisco (ironically, SVE once said in an interview she didn't feel like her music fit the festival atmosphere. I'll have to disagree having come into her set having known little of her and having left with her floating around in my head more than anyone else).

Though Van Etten's lyrics are often bleak and daunting, her glee and delight was very apparent from the outset. Van Etten is enjoying a career year and perhaps some of that joy is derived from the fact that she's already proven wrong those that doubted her at the beginning.

"You enjoy sucking on dreams / so I will fall asleep with someone other than you / I had a thought you would take me / seriously and listen but.." Van Etten sang in "Serpent", one of the few older songs she played on Saturday.

"People say I'm a one-hit wonder / but what happens when I have two?" Van Etten asked in her set closer "Every Time the Sun Comes Up", the first single from her new album.

There is no doubt we are already finding out what happens, Sharon. You deliver one of the more memorable LA performances of 2014.