30 Seconds To Mars | Hammerstein Ballroom (New York, NY) via Live Stream at VyRT.net  | December 7, 2011 | You can say this much for 30 Seconds To Mars: they know how to go out in style. After promoting their latest album, This Is War, on a tour spanning nearly every continent over a period of more than two […]

The Black Keys | El Camino | Rating: 8/11 | Can’t say there was a hurry to kick out a review for this album for a few reasons; One, what’s the fucking rush?. Two, the Black Keys are worth more than a 24-hour digestion cycle and three, I was busy chair-dancing to the tunes. That’s right dancing ala that uber groovy dude we’ve all come to […]

Black Box Revelation | The Wiltern (Los Angeles, CA) | December 3, 2011 | File this under “Keep it simple, stupid.” Not that there’s anything stupid about Black Box Revelation. On the contrary, they’re downright brilliant. Brilliant because they’ve figured out and put into execution the most economical band dynamic and the end result truly does not suck. For ten […]

Empires | The Satellite (Los Angeles, CA) | November 14, 2011 | Taking control of the room during the opening time slot of the venue known as the Satellite in the Silverlake section of Los Angeles is a feat not to be taken lightly, as its average crowd is often painfully indifferent towards bands whether they came to see them […]

Robert Schwartzman | Double Capricorn | Rating: 8.5/11 | The pop sensibilities of Rooney have always been foot-tapping head-bobbing finger-licking good and Rooney frontman Robert Schwartzman’s first solo effort, Double Capricorn, proves he’s not only matured but mastered the ways of pop songwriting. Double Capricorn falls just shy of 36 minutes and while heavily influenced in the ways of 80s synth (think Toto “Hold The Line”), Robert’s melodies […]

Jane’s Addiction | John Anson Ford Theatre (Los Angeles, CA) | October 3, 2011 | What can you say about a band whose 26 years old that hasn’t already been stated time and time again? A band that’s also responsible for the creation of one of the America’s best summer music festivals? Maybe that they are well-versed, seasoned professionals whose […]

Big Black Delta | Big Black Delta | Rating: 9/11 | Since Jonathan Bates (formerly of Mellowdrone) dropped the fantastical thunder dance “Huggin’ & Kissin” into the ether, he has been high on the list of “I can’t wait to hear” when it comes to album releases. Between the moments of 80s synth chill (“Put The Gun On The Floor”, “PB3”) and true warmth (“Dreary […]