Michael Kiwanuka Live at Bardot

December 6, 2011 at 8:55 am

I’m on a high from last night.  After standing in the cold (L.A. cold, that is) for about twenty minutes, I was one of the first few people to step through the door at Bardot for “School Night,” a weekly Monday night series curated by Chris Douridas of Los Angeles independent radio station KCRW. Michael Kiwanuka was the opening act, making his U.S. debut, but, for me, he was headlining.  He hit the stage with just him and his guitar, and his friend on bass and backup vocal.  The sound was stripped down compared to what most of us have heard from his “Tell Me A Tale – Isle of Wight Sessions” EP, which is what really embedded his sound into my mind and made me a fan.  But his powerful voice filled the room and hushed the crowd.  I would definitely check him out when and wherever you can.

Michael Kiwanuka closed out his amazing set with a cover of Bill Withers, whom he credited for really making him interested and passionate about being an acoustic guitarist.

Bauhaus “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”

October 31, 2011 at 8:00 am

I know I’m posting this on Halloween, but this is still very much an all-time favorite!

I stayed home last night with Katrina, instead of heading out to the Zombie Walk in Downtown Long Beach, so we decided to watch some Halloween flicks.  I suggested we watch “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,” and went off on how the classic scary characters were present in the film, including Bela Lugosi as Dracula.  Such a unique time in film history.

After that, I made her listen to one of my favorite songs of ALL time, “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” by Bauhaus.  I don’t even know much about Bauhaus, but I know this song came out around 1979, so I’m assuming they are a kind of pre-industrial band.  I should probably do more research about them.  Never-the-less, I LOVE this track.  Not only is it an extended 9 minutes long, there are these open moments in the track with amazing echo effects.  It’s one of those “get lost” tracks, where you just zone out in it.

I was reading that there were only 5,000 copies of the 12″ made, so now I’m on the hunt!

Dengue Fever “Uku” Live from The Troubadour

September 14, 2011 at 8:00 am

Note to self: 1. See Dengue Fever SOON. 2. Buy more live DVD’s.

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