It's Chili in the Woods

Most super bands of the world practice their new material in a large sound stage as to not be caught not knowing the words, or sounding less than impeccable. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are not most super bands. Following in the footsteps of their "Californication" lifestyle, RHCP fronted by Anthony Kiedis and energetically supported by bassist Flea took their unreleased tracks from the upcoming studio album I'm with You to Big Sur.


While the Henry Miller Library gives off the vibe of a venue more suited for an acoustic folk show or an intimate backyard wedding, Kiedis and co transformed the grassy starlit dance floor into a private party fit for the funk metal festival headliners. Considering that the price of a ticket to see RHCP at Club Nokia in August starts at $150, the audience shuffled in quickly and prepared for the once in a lifetime show about to start before them.

Coming on late--as every diva rock star does--Kiedis and Flea casually addressed the audience as their close friends and greatest admirers before jumping into a set comprised of 90% of unknown songs.


Semi Big Sur local Flea joked with the crowd as he started up his iconic bass playing, "If you guys know where I live, this would be a good time to rob me...because...you know...I'm not there!"

Even the most reluctant of music lovers couldn't help but get excited by hearing the sounds of a band they have heard on the radio for almost 30 years now. Whether you like them or not, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are iconic and represent the middle school years of almost everyone on the West Coast. There was a sense of warm nostalgia that pierced through the bitter cold Northern California night.

The fun sense of carefree summers can only take you so far before the audience begins to notice that Kiedis couldn't remember the words or get through an entire number without mentioning that his throat hurt. Passing most of the choruses by the end of the gig off to a second banana player, Kiedis continued to command the stage with an air of entitlement even as the light show consistently failed around them.

When they were tight and together, nothing could stop the audience from swaying and dancing, but these moments were few and far between partially because the 250 odd people didn't know any of the words of the songs played. Peppering old classics such as "By the Way" and "Californication" within the masses of new material, RHCP jump started the buzz and demand for their style and talent for their next world tour. My only hope is that they remember to play favorites like "Scar Tissue" and "City of Angels" at future shows as a thank you to the fans who have been there all along.

Track Take: "Gamma Ray" (Beck)

Bek David Campbell--better known as Beck Hansen or simply Beck--is an artist that pushed the boundaries of innovation, pop, grundge, and humor within his music for the last 20 years. While many feel that the last peak of his career occured in 2005 with the release of Guero, Hansen's 2008 album Modern Guilt continued to bridge the gap between the fun loving passion, and the incredible musicianship that make Beck albums so memorable.

From the immediate start of the Danger Mouse produced album, the "one-two" punch of powerhouse tracks "Orphans" and "Gamma Ray" lets the listener know that this is not an album to be overlooked or competed against. While the back up vocals of Cat Power on "Orphans" do add an extra layer of interest, Hansen's real genius shines solo through "Gamma Ray"

With an explosive start, "Gamma Ray" features fantastic surf guitar and bass lines: addictive and perfect. Of course a fantastic 60's style beach hit isn't enough for Mr. Beck Hansen. Enter the haunting voices that could have been escaping from the "Mystery Machine", and the poignant lyrics about a world in turmoil. The classic mixture of pop culture, musical detail, and self awareness brings the listener into Hansen's world with the help of the bouncing bass line, and catchy chorus, without becoming cliche.

In under three minutes (which is also a maturing feat for Hansen), Beck Hansen has asserted the playful and taylored tone of the album flawlessly.

4-D

Over 4,000 page views forModern Girls and Old Fashioned Men!

Thanks dudes,

J+B

Happy Independence Day!

love Bailey and Jess

Reel Talk: IFC Obsession

Within the last 2 months I have discovered the joy of the Independent Film Channel. Every single day there is at least 4 things I want to watch. My Tivo overfloweth! I have become completely obsessed with the channel, but every time that I try and share this joy, no one seems to really know if they get IFC on their tv or they don't really care...EITHER WAY! I am here to enlighten on all things great about IFC

1. Rhett and Link: Commercial Kings

Best friends since the first grade in North Carolina, Rhett and Link are advertising, film, and youtube stars who have decided to use their digital savvy to help others (and get great show material in the meantime). Each episode follows the adorable boys helping two struggling businesses that need to find new customers because of the recession. Rhett and Link get to know the owners and what they want. Beyond creating epic local commercials, there are endless hilarious moments between the film makers and the entrepreneurs. Each episode is fresh and original. It is one of the greatest new shows on television.

2. Freaks and Geeks/Undeclared block

I don't think that I need to really explain the greatness of each of these shows individually, but the brilliant minds at IFC brought the two together in a wonderful rock block of Apatow-esque humor that we love. On the downside, I become completely unproductive whenever these blocks start.

3. Sunday's Best
True to their landmark dedication to film, IFC is not just great because of it's television blocks, but also because of its choice films. One of it's best film series is Sunday's Best. A wonderful mixture of classic movies and small flicks, Sunday's Best gives you and your family a great thing to do while lounging at the end of the weekend.
Examples of films offered: Pulp Fiction, Meatballs, Monty Python at the Hollywood Bowl, Tremors
Please everyone join my IFC obsession. Mostly so I can have someone to talk to and watch more tv with.

Love Bailey

Summer of Springsteen

Summer in Southern California is exactly all of the clichés you have seen on TV, plastered up on billboards and postcards, or even read in the pages of an Isherwood or Pynchon novel. It’s hotter than hell, but you’d be hard pressed to find someone who would trade the magic present in those four months (yes, even May and September count as part of the summer in Los Angeles) for any other climate. With the sand filled shoes and smell of Coppertone stuck to fabrics even after a thorough wash, a Los Angeles summer is defined by what music is radiating out of your car stereo into the warm air.

While other artists have made their small mark on certain summers of our adolescents such as Sugar Ray and Girl Talk, the crown of summer will always be held by Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys sound. The combination of the subject of the surf, bikinis, fast cars, and the direct influence of the early Phil Spector sound has proven Wilson’s genius as lovely and timeless again and again. While our problems don’t actually melt away with our sunscreen, they do seem to sting less (which in itself is a miracle). It’s a fresh start that no other season can provide; the arbitrary start of each New Year in the middle of winter can’t inspire nearly as much as a drive down PCH can. The anthems of puppy love and endless sunshine has continued to represent the innocence and hope that each summer brings us.

Sometimes the tinkling sounds of Brian, Dennis, Carl, Al, and Mike just don’t cut it in the rapidly approaching “real world” that seems to encroach on even our most sugary summertime thoughts. It is when these feelings arise that we need a new summer muse; someone who understands the necessity of playfulness, but not at the expense of heavier subject matter.

Enter Bruce Springsteen.

Complete with his E Street Band of misfits, Springsteen’s song book is filled to the brim with summer anthems for kids in emotional transitions, and adults in turmoil, just desperately trying to hold on to the ideals and conviction that spurred them on years ago. While the classic “Glory Days” might come to mind when thinking of our parents and their friends listening to the Boss, we can’t simplify the need for Bruce to one perfectly compartmentalized song. His early sense of struggling hope continues to push the rest of us along with a driving beat and usually a killer sax solo from the late Big Man Clarence.


From break out hits on Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town, to the quiet and introspective Nebraska, and even the semi recent The Rising, Springsteen masters the artist/audience relationship building a connection to last a music lover’s lifetime. Just listening to “Badlands” once on a failing car stereo, you feel like you immediately know who Springsteen is and you understand his driving frustration when he sings lyrics like this with such fire and brimstone:

You better get it straight darling:
Poor men wanna be rich, rich men wanna be kings,
And a king aint satisfied till he rules everything.
I wanna go out tonight, I wanna find out what I got.

It seems simple and cliché, but isn’t this how everyone feels when they are down on their luck? This universal connection is what keeps Bruce in our hearts and on our radios when the hot summer months aren’t as carefree as they were in our salad days.


With the passing of Clarence Clemons—the E Street Band’s saxophone player—there is a hole in the sparkling lineup of Bruce’s band that will never be fully replaced, but never forgotten. To quote my father: “energy can neither be created nor destroyed which means that the love and actions of the dead are never gone”. Every time that you drop the needle (or press play) on a Springsteen album the magic of Clemons and the heart of Bruce continue to entertain and affect us deeply.

It is in this use of the laws of energy that a summer of Springsteen is more comforting than that of the gorgeous harmonies of Wilson and the Beach Boys; it is the connection of human struggles and the triumph of the rebellious spirit.

Reel Talk: Beastly

I know that we haven't been updating as much as usual, but now we are back and ready for action. Sorry for the delays!

As for Beastly the Vanessa Hudgens driven car crash, I saw this on an airplane yesterday and wanted to gouge my eyes out.



You might say, "Come on, it really couldn't be all bad!"
I would have to counter you by saying "Yes. It was ALL bad."

There was nothing redeeming at all about this Beauty and the Beast "kool kid update" including casting Neil Patrick Harris as a blind tutor. Don't get me wrong, I love NPH as much as the next lady, but this was just such a sad career choice.

Now that is all I am going to say about this mess of a movie, because honestly this is probably as many minutes the writers spent on the script.