Slutever/Childbirth/Lisa Prank at Lolipop Records

SLUTEVER

CHILDBIRTH

LISA PRANK

LOLIPOP RECORDS

ECHO PARK, CA

14 JULY, 2014

Sitting on Glendale Ave. in Echo Park, in the shadow of the Sunset Blvd bridge, Lolipop Records is easy to miss, but once the music starts, it becomes a beacon. The red carpet was out on this particular evening for LA's Slutever, along with Seattle's Childbirth and Lisa Prank (Robin Edwards), on the quintessential 'get in the van' adventure. Lisa Prank got the ball rolling with her low-fi guitar goodness, backed up with some beats to keep the rhythm. Not unlike LA's Colleen Green, she's found her method of expression, and she's sticking to it. Childbirth is a meeting point between Julia of Chastity Belt and Bree from Tacocat, backed up by drummer Stacy Peck, and that pretty much pins down the sound, a thrilling hell bent for leather power trio that peeled the metaphorical paint off the wall, or made the sharpie graffiti run, or something...LA duo Slutever adhered to the same template, blowing off the dust after a hiatus, and got up to speed quickly with the home audience cheering them on. It was a brilliant night of noisy fun in a tiny, but welcoming venue, and we'll look forward to catching all the disparate parts of the bill in action again.

SLUTEVER

 

CHILDBIRTH

Jurassic 5: Word Of Mouth Reunion Tour

JURASSIC 5

DILATED PEOPLES

MC SUPERNATURAL

SANTA BARBARA BOWL

13 JULY, 2014

What started as a handful of festival performances last year, including SF's Outsidelands,  has morphed into a full-blown tour. Jurassic 5 is officially back, right down to their new single, "The Way We Do It", produced by Heavy D. The wonder of their initial tour dates was that they could still be so incredibly tight, and now, with many more shows behind them, including a command sunset performance at Glastonbury this summer, and freed of festival time constraints, they were an absolute monster. The double-shot of "Quality Control" and "Concrete Schoolyard" remains a high-water mark, and watching them navigate the dense lyrical thickets never gets old. With all the old crew in tow, they turned the Bowl into a party zone for the hardcore.

Support for the evening was provided by MC Supernatural, who made many converts with his freestyle skills, capping his set by having the audience hold up objects from their pockets, which he proceeded to work into his verses. LA's own Dilated Peoples held down the center slot, providing a sneak peak of their forthcoming LP, Directors Of Photography, due next month. Based on the reception that their new single, "Show Me The Way" received, it would appear that they're on track. Rewarding the hard core, a notable set moment was them pulling a cat named James out of the audience to hold his own on some verses. As a mission statement, it worked to encompass the whole evening as a reminder of a time when Hip Hop was about family.

DILATED PEOPLES

James, from the audience, (center), taking care of business

MC SUPERNATURAL

Eyes Glowing In The Dark: Sharon Van Etten In LA

SHARON VAN ETTEN

JANA HUNTER

EL REY THEATER, LA

28 JUNE 2014

Sharon Van Etten came to Los Angeles on the West Coast swing of a tour promoting her brand new release Are We There.  Words on the show come courtesy of The Owl Magazine, along with some primo pictures from Jennie Tan. She and her band have only gotten tighter since the last time we caught up with Van Etten, touring her last LP, Tramp, and putting in an appearance at Outsidelands, in Golden Gate Park. Stellar support was provided by Jana Hunter, (Lower Dens), working with guitar and laptop to weave a spell, and set the tone for the whole evening.

JANA HUNTER