Glen Hansard makes Apogee Studio crowd laugh, nearly cry

Glen Hansard makes Apogee Studio crowd laugh, nearly cry
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 21, 2015

If there’s one thing that Glen Hansard has proven to be in his songwriting, it’s that he is one hell of a storyteller.

Wednesday night, Hansard only further illustrated that point in an intimate performance at Santa Monica’s Apogee Studio for KCRW. What I expected to be an hour-long performance — including interview — turned out to be a nearly two-hour performance that included an intriguing 30-minute sit down with host Jason Bentley.

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Wolf Alice's 'You're a Germ' video an homage to horror flicks

Wolf Alice's 'You're a Germ' video an homage to horror flicks
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 20, 2015

London rockers Wolf Alice have released a video to go along with the single “You’re a Germ” from their highly-acclaimed debut full-length album My Love is Cool. The result is an awesome homage to old-school horror films, with the band going through multiple horror scenarios.

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The Bulls, Gothic Tropic blow away packed Satellite show

The Bulls, Gothic Tropic blow away packed Satellite show
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 20, 2015

Monday night, LA shoegazers The Bulls returned to their weekly residency at The Satellite, playing to a packed house.

The band — comprised by Anna Bulbrook of the Airborne Toxic Event (sometimes also Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros) and The Duke Spirit’s Marc Sails — played through songs from their debut EP Small Problems, due out on August 28. Their EP features just the two doing all the instrumentation, but in a live format they’ve added a drummer and bassist, both proved to be very talented.

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Jets guard Oday Aboushi suspended one game

Jets guard Oday Aboushi suspended one game
Mark E. Ortega
NFL.com
August 20, 2015

New York Jets guard Oday Aboushi was suspended Thursday for the first game of the season for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.

"Oday was pulled over for a traffic stop in Morris Plains, New Jersey, on Jan. 10," Aboushi's representatives said in a statement obtained by NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport. "During the stop, police recovered a very small amount of marijuana from his vehicle. Oday accepted responsibility for the traffic infraction and all other charges were dismissed."

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5 Must-See Early Afternoon Acts at FYF Fest

5 Must-See Early Afternoon Acts at FYF Fest
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 19, 2015

FYF Fest is the preeminent LOS ANGELES music festival — because let’s be real, that desert fest in April is quite a bit of ways from LA. A large part of that is how deep the undercard is stacked, and 2015 is no different than any previous year. Take a look at our recommendations for who to catch as soon as you get through the gates this weekend.

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Cold War Kids rock Annenberg Space for Photography for tepid crowd

Cold War Kids rock Annenberg Space for Photography for tepid crowd
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 18, 2015

Sometimes, I get this feeling that Los Angeles is spoiled when it comes to live music, and therefore they don’t appreciate how good they have it.

Such was the case Saturday night, when Long Beach’s own radio-rockers Cold War Kids headlined the final night of KCRW’s Sound in Focus free shows at Studio City’s Annenberg Space for Photography, a beautiful place to take in a show.

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Grace Potter sparkles and shines at Fonda Theatre

Grace Potter sparkles and shines at Fonda Theatre
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 17, 2015

On Friday, Grace Potter‘s solo album Midnight dropped to lots of fanfare. Later that night, she would headline her second of two nights at Hollywood’s Fonda Theatre to raucous support, less than five miles from where Potter now owns a home in Laurel Canyon.

Potter turned up the heat at her second show, walking onto stage in a shiny silver dress that would have my five-year-old niece extremely jealous. Potter ditched the dress halfway through “Never Go Back,” the second song of her set and one of many she would play from her days as Grace Potter & the Nocturnals.

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Hot Chip and !!! (chk chk chk) inspire Greek Theatre crowd to show their moves

Hot Chip and !!! (chk chk chk) inspire Greek Theatre crowd to show their moves
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 13, 2015

One song into Hot Chip‘s Tuesday night headlining set at the Greek Theatre, I looked around and saw a bunch of people dancing with less rhythm than Elaine from Seinfeld.

It’s really an awesome thing to see at a concert. Oftentimes, people are too self-conscious to really let loose, especially if dancing isn’t their thing. But all around me, people were “team zero f*cks given” and just GETTING IT on a Tuesday night. British electro-pop group Hot Chip had everything to do with that.

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An interview with Grace Potter: giving pop music its much needed 'kick in the ass' with new record

An interview with Grace Potter: giving pop music its much needed 'kick in the ass' with new record
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 12, 2015

When I caught up with Grace Potter via telephone last Friday, she was in Santa Fe, “the best location ever and the best mood ever, just really good vibes,” she said. Over the course of our interview, we talked about her Thursday and Friday shows at the Fonda Theatre, her upcoming album Midnight that drops on August 14, as well as how Los Angeles and California helped inform the more poppy-feel to the album compared to her previous records as Grace Potter & the Nocturnals.

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Tom Coughlin: Jason Pierre-Paul will return when he's ready

Tom Coughlin: Jason Pierre-Paul will return when he's ready
Mark E. Ortega
NFL.com
August 8, 2015

New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin said Saturday he finally spoke to star defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul.

The two had a "good conversation" on Friday according to Coughlin, who also said Pierre-Paul wouldn't return to the team until he's healthy enough to get on the field.

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Tame Impala sets bar "high" at first of two Hollywood Forever shows

Tame Impala sets bar "high" at first of two Hollywood Forever shows
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 7, 2015

After seeing them play at a handful of festivals this year, I was convinced: Tame Impala was meant to be seen outdoors. Thursday night, the Australian psych-rockers headlined their first of two nights at the renowned Hollywood Forever Cemetery and it couldn’t have gone much better.

A sheet hung in front of the stage and a green light bounced around the front of it as the intro to their set began to play. A steady build of anticipation began to mount and when the sheet came down in time for an extended version of “Let It Happen,” the packed lawn was ready.

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Wilco crushes marathon set at Greek Theatre

Wilco crushes marathon set at Greek Theatre
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 7, 2015

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect to take in Wilco‘s two-hour set at the Greek Theatre on Wednesday night.

With the sun setting behind them and pot smoke waffing all around, Jeff Tweedy and Co. roared through their latest album Star Wars — which can be had for free, I might add — from beginning to end. The new record has more of an alt-rock feel to it than previous Wilco releases and it was a nice tempo-setter for the rest of the evening.

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Ratatat turns up the heat at Sonos Studio

Ratatat turns up the heat at Sonos Studio
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 6, 2015

KCRW’s Jason Bentley apologized afterwards for the air conditioning being busted at Sonos Studio, but I’m not entirely convinced rock-tronic duo Ratatat weren’t the ones responsible for the sauna-like temperatures inside.

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Hot Band Alert: Riothorse Royale set to ignite Satellite with September residency

Hot Band Alert: Riothorse Royale set to ignite Satellite with September residency
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 4, 2015

Most of last year, I was a regular at Bardot’s weekly free-with-RSVP It’s a School Night showcase. I often went without knowing any of the bands that were playing and more often than not walked away with some new tunes to look up when I got home. Few nights fit that description better than when I saw indie rockers Riothorse Royale (known then simply as Riothorse) back on December 1.

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De la Soul and Quantic bring killer beats to KCRW's Sound in Focus at Anneberg Space for Photography

De la Soul and Quantic bring killer beats to KCRW's Sound in Focus at Anneberg Space for Photography
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 3, 2015

If you haven’t made it to one of KCRW’s free Sound in Focus shows at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Studio City yet, you’re missing out.

In its second weekend of 2015, an enticing double-bill featuring Quantic and headlined by throwback hip-hop stalwarts De La Soul took center stage.

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