Fitz Update

Just found a video on YouTube from last night's show:

New Foo

Today the first single from the Foo Fighters' new album Wasted Light (rel. date April 12) was released. I like it quite a bit. The new album has generated a lot of buzz. They recorded it in Dave's garage not digitally using ProTools (as is the standard these days), but they went old school and recorded it directly on tape. They used producer Butch Vig who recorded Nirvana's Nevermind. In recent years the Foo Fighters have experimented with their softer side, releasing an acoustic album, but the new material is definitely a return to their rock roots which I'm excited about.






Rope by Foo Fighters



The new album art was released today as well which I honestly have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of (Gasp!)  For album and t-shirt art I've never been a huge fan of the band using photographs of themselves. If you picture some of the most classic album covers, none of them feature band photos. Not that I get any say in the matter....just my own personal rant!

Fitz & the Tantrums - 2.22.2011

I saw Fitz & the Tantrums open for Flogging Molly at Red Rocks in September 2009 and have been a fan ever since. Rarely does an opening band really make an impression on me, but their unique sound and style certainly did. They released an EP and were signed to Dangerbird Records. In August 2010 they released their first full-length album and have really exploded in popularity ever since. They've been hitting the tour circuit hard. It's been really neat to follow them from under the radar to the top of the alternative/indie charts.

They're from Silverlake, but have been on the road since I moved to Los Angeles. I recently purchased tickets to several of their local shows in April which I'm very much looking forward to. On Saturday I became aware of a contest that a local radio station was having. The station, 98.7, has a penthouse apartment and patio at the Hollywood Tower where they occasionally have private intimate shows with different bands. In the past they have had Cage the Elephant, Linkin Park, Mumford & Sons and Vampire Weekend. You can win tickets to these events by listening/calling in or by entering the contest online. I entered online and received an e-mail Monday morning letting me know I'd get to go!  

I arrived to the Hollywood Tower and was greeted by free valet parking. (Parking in Los Angeles is nearly impossible / very expensive so this was fantastic) I had to sign in and received my credentials. I entered the hotel lobby and rode the elevator upstairs. The elevator is the one that the Hollywood Tower of Terror ride at Disneyworld is based on!

I rode up to the fifth floor and walked out onto the patio which was very attractive. They had an open bar set up as well as catering. To the north you could see the Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory and to the south you could see many Hollywood landmarks including Capitol Records and the Roosevelt Hotel. There were only about forty other people so it was a very intimate setting!

The band came out and performed "Don't Gotta Work It Out," "Breaking the Chains of Love," "L.O.V.," and "Moneygrabber." There was an MC who asked the band questions provided by audience members in between songs. Some of the questions were serious ("Who is your greatest musical influence?") and some were more fun (To Noelle: "What's the best pickup line you've ever gotten?")  After the show fans could pose with the band for a picture. Since there was a line I didn't get to talk to them long, but made a point to tell Fitz (lead singer's real name: Michael Fitzpatrick....hence the name Fitz) that I had seen them at Red Rocks and how fun it had been to watch them grow in popularity and really develop. That for them had been a very memorable show and he seemed impressed that I saw them "way back then." He made a point to tell several other band members that I had been at that show. I'll be seeing them at small bars April 1 and 2 and will hopefully have a chance to speak to them more then! (Some of the pictures are mine and some were taken by the radio station)

I took video of the intro to "Moneygrabber." I've also attached videos of several other songs they played (from other live performances)

What I like most about them is their different sound and the dynamics between Fitz and Noelle. They not only perform the songs, but they truly are entertaining to watch. Fitz had a vision of what he wanted his band to be and it's not like every other band coming down the pipeline. They truly have created something special with a fusion of funk/motown/indie-pop. Even though I love the guitar, I very much respect them for creating a full sound as a band without using a guitar (only a bass). They've just announced spring tour dates, and if you ever get the chance to, I highly recommend going to see them! Since the show was over I headed back downstairs. 

I wanted to grab a cup of coffee so I went across the street to the 101 Coffee Shop which I've heard of, but never been to. It has the vibe of an old-school diner. I got French toast with fresh berries which I hadn't had in years, but was quite good!! Fun fact: Fitz has a menu item named after him here. The "Mikey Fitz" is two eggs, two pieces of bacon, and three silver dollar pancakes or a piece of French toast. Apparently, he used to live around the corner from here and ate at least two meals a day here. When the band is in town they still frequently come out to eat here afterwards!

Banksy Strikes Again

I have to admit that a week ago I was unaware of the elusive artist known as Banksy. He directed a documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop, about the rise in popularity and prevalence of street art (different from graffiti/tagging). This documentary is up for an Academy Award next weekend. He is unique in that he remains anonymous and that even for interviews he often has a dark hood or a monkey mask. The Academy Awards have assured him that he is welcome, but they don't want him wearing any disguises to receive his award. 

He lives in England, but appears to have arrived in L.A. (and made his presence known!) His work popping up has created quite the buzz. He began by hitting a billboard along Sunset Boulevard on Wednesday. The work was promptly removed and rolled in a ball (which is a shame because it could have apparently gone for six figures). The company who paid for the billboard has asked for the art and plans to display it in Las Vegas. 

Next he did two figures: one of Charlie Brown with a gas cannister and the other of a dog. "Charlie Burn" sold for $8,100 on eBay and the owner of the building has actually cut the section of concrete out of the building. 

The work creating the most buzz is an image of a boy soldier with a gun, but rather than bullets the gun shoots crayons. This work is on the side of an Urban Outfitters store in Westwood. 

The store already was selling an art book with photographs of his work (which they promptly sold out of) and they are known for supporting alternative culture so many people think that this store should keep the art. Many people have also flocked to it for photographs before anything happens to it. Overnight on Friday someone dumped paint on it, but on Saturday a local cafe owner came to clean the work. Ultimately the owner of the building will decide on the work's fate. This has become one of the most popular stories this week. People anxiously await more of his work popping up or to see if he appears at the Oscars. Granted I don't generally support the direct violation of property, but it's been interesting in that the art (and documentary) opened my eyes to a world that I really didn't know existed. I didn't know that people put that much effort into the art work (and also learned the difference between street art vs. graffiti/tagging). Some of these street artists have also developed loyal followings and have had art shows that have brought in huge figures. 

Coming soon...

Cha Cha Lounge

Downtown Independent

All-Star Weekend

Key Club

Pink's

Foo Fighters - The Troubadour (2.15.2011)

After Dave basically saying during the last show that the final gigs were to be at the Echoplex and the Troubadour, I was awaiting clues all weekend (although I honestly planned to skip Echoplex and go to the final show). Arcade Fire (Grammy Album of the Year winners!) were having a secret show. I thought about trying to get to that, but it involved camping out overnight which wasn't going to happen. I had already fun myself down a bit over the previous few days and wanted/needed to chill.  Word got out that the Echoplex show had been canceled due to Dave's voice being strained (which I'm not surprised about at all.) With going to Europe, he needed to be rested and ready to rock. My friends and I discussed that we had been lucky to see the ones that they had done and perhaps around the time of the album release they'd do one more show.

Sunday, they debuted a homemade low-budget music video they made for a song on the new album, featuring Lemmy of Motorhead driving the now infamous white limo. The fact that they are big huge rock stars, but can still goof around with a video like this is why I love them. They never get too full of themselves or adopt your typical "rock star attitude." Even the crew guys are very nice and down-to-earth. You honestly couldn't find a better group of people as far as rock bands/roadies go.



Monday evening the Foo twitter came back to life (much to my surprise!):

This came in about 8:30 Monday evening. There was a band lined up to play that night at the Echoplex along with five other bands listed as the Super Secret Midnight Band. Some people freaked, thinking that this was Foo. They hurried to get their bills from their Valentine's dinners and go to the venue. I doubted they would announce a show that late, but figured there were more than a few upset significant others being ditched on Valentine's Day!

I went into work at 7 so I could get in full-day and get off in time for the show. I was nearly positive it was going to be a Troubadour Tuesday, but was waiting for a confirmation. That morning, they posted a link to Donna Summers' "Last Dance" (indicating the last show).  They also tweeted:
"Another day...looking forward to another beautiful night..."
My boss asked if I had seen them anymore this weekend. I said that I had not, but mentioned awaiting clues for the show that evening. He's been more than accommodating and actually has encouraged me to go ahead and just leave in order to make the show. I stayed to finish up my whole shift, but really appreciate his flexibility! Very cool!  I had several friends on the way so I headed out as well.  We weren't allowed to line up in front of the venue, so had to circle around a park next to the venue.

We were about 100 people back. Capacity was 500, but knowing that it's in West Hollywood there's bound to be a huge VIP list.  Several other friends arrived and I met some new friends. We saw their gear truck behind the venue, but they didn't seem to be unloading anything. There was a rumor spreading that this was a hoax and they were going to switch venues (which I totally support when the word gets out so early, but know that it's not an easy task!)  The truck started to pull away. We already had a plan....smartphones in hand..in case we had to jump in the car to get tickets elsewhere. A friend walked behind the venue though and could tell they were soundchecking. They just couldn't the truck back there so pulled it around to the side. Whew!

There hadn't been any actual clues regarding the venue so everyone was there on a leap of faith. Several picture clues began to come through. All were typical except the map. We wondered if it indicated a different venue (ironically the location where the crosshair is is very close to my apartment), but then I recognized the next picture as the route I had taken through Laurel Canyon (another area with a great amount of rock'n'roll history).

At 5 a verbal clue was released saying that the show was indeed at the Troubadour and that Mariachi El Bronx would be opening. They opened the first show in Santa Barbara so it was fun to see them again!  The crowd had grown so much that it wrapped around the park (almost 600 people). We happily received our wristbands, but found out they were only giving out to 150 people. 

We had agreed to go have dinner at the Abbey down the street. One friend that I'd met at the Roxy remained in line. He kept me up to date via text message. Apparently the 450 people who didn't get wristbands were pissed enough that they basically charged the front of the Troubadour. Four security guards tried to calm everyone down using a megaphone which didn't get them too far. Eight police showed up (including the West Hollywood sheriff for a reported "insane fan") and threatened riot police if those without wristbands didn't disperse. I've never been to a Foo show remotely that intense!  I also think that's just not the way to go about things. I've had a lot of friends not get wristbands, chill, and once the venue sees how many VIPs show/don't show they'll let a few more in if you're cool. Charging security "Braveheart-style" is not smart!!

Although I was second to enter the venue, I lingered about 5 or 6 rows back. Majority of the seating is on the balcony. It's quite a small venue - only about 200 people can fit downstairs. It's yet another venue with a lot of history. In the 1960s, it was a major center for folk music. In 1970, Elton John played his first U.S. show here. Steve Martin was discovered here, as were Guns n' Roses. Janis Joplin partied here the night she died. Other alumni include the Eagles, the Byrds, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carole King, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, George Carlin, and Arlo Guthrie. It's still thought of as one of the better clubs in L.A. to find new up and coming talent. 

Interesting Troubadour History Highlights

Foo played through the new album, and then really mixed up the remaining set. They added Long Road to Ruin and Best of You. During the encore (typically three songs), they played their three standards and kept going. By the end of the night, they played 33 songs (record longest Foo show!). They also played Butterflies which Dave recorded in 1992 solo and hasn't played live in 16 years. It was very special to see that!  This show was 15+ so there was definitely a younger crowd (who needs to learn concert etiquette a bit better). I quite enjoyed this article today from LA Weekly:

Guide to the pit

The kids indeed to learn that deodorant is good, you don't need to mosh to every song (it's no longer the 90s) and slow-dancing in a mosh pit is a very poor idea. Words to the wise. 

Before coming to L.A. I'd seen Foo seven times, and now have seen them 12 times. And still love 'em. It's been cool to see them transform as a band and musically, but they're still incredibly talented and put on an incredible show regardless of whether you're seeing them in a 290 person venue (Spaceland) or at a 65,000 person venue (Milton Keynes Bowl in England - two sold out shows this summer). 

The official premiere of their documentary will be in March at South by Southwest in Austin (which I would love to attend...perhaps next year). There has been a rumored release in L.A., as well as a record release party. I've also heard that the production for this tour is going to be incredible, and that whenever they play a bigger venue (Staples Center / the Forum) that it's going to be a must-see show. I've gotten quite a good Foo fill for a bit ... but always await my next show!

Foo Fighters - Spaceland (2.08.2011)

After two shows in four days, I never dreamed that would become three shows in five days! The day started with more twitter action:
-"that was fun, thanks roxy. hmm what should we do tonite..."

I had heard speculation as far as the remaining venues. Much speculation included the Echoplex, Viper Room, Spaceland, or even the Roxy again. While I was at work some friends were texting me as locations were discussed. I checked Twitter and someone had driven by and seen the crew unloading gear. Since I had gone to work early, I was able to cut out early. Capacity at Spaceland is 300 (a drastically smaller venue) and I knew it would be even more competitive to get in for a show here! I was shocked to be the first person in line. Little did I know we were about to be tricked. The band/crew was frustrated that word had spread like wildfire about the previous day's show and they wanted to put some fun back into it which I was all for. The first two shows were so secretive I felt bad that the third one had been ruined. Plus a bit of a scavenger hunt would kill time rather than standing in a line!  I was told that the show would be there, but you had to go somewhere else within a five-mile radius to buy the wristbands.  Several other Foo friends showed up around the same time so we decided to hang together and take one car. We started brainstorming where they would hand out wristbands. We thought independent record stores made the most sense. Then we received a clue via Twitter:

We all busted out our various smartphones to search pizza places in Silverlake. Although I've hung out in this area a fair amount, there are a vast variety of places to get food in L.A.! One person said that there was a pizza place named Two Boots attached to the Echoplex (a venue close by owned by the same person as Spaceland). We went inside, but the employees were clueless. We found Garage Pizza which we thought made perfect sense (the new album was recorded in Dave's garage). The guy working seemed high and was rather elusive (although very nice). He seemed slightly suspicious so we thought we might have found the right place. To kill time, we decided to grab a slice and he put on the Foo Pandora station (how nice of him!) If nothing else, we were all having fun on a random adventure. From a friend of a friend, we heard there was a growing line outside the Echoplex. We hopped in (already about 100 back) when we were led into the venue, down the stairs and out back, to the white limo and wristbands! About that time several pictures of space came through via Twitter. I found this to be indicative of Spaceland as the venue, but Dave recorded a message saying the show was at Echoplex. Everyone was super confused now!  Once we received our wristbands, we had our "Psych!" moment:

We went back over to Spaceland and had dinner at a Thai place next to the venue. No one was supposed to line up before 7:30, but since people always hover nervously we wanted to be close in case they allowed a formal line to form. To kill more time we walked down to Lamill Coffee and I had quite possibly the best mocha of my life. It was rich and velvety. (Granted their drinks are rather pricey, but you get extremely good quality. A nice splurge once in a while!) We ran into the Foo guitarist, Chris, there and made some small talk.  Since it was a rather small venue I hung about halfway back on the side. Scream opened up yet again. Celebrities included the band No Doubt, Gavin Rossdale, Darryl Hannah, and McLovin (from Superbad). I almost walked right into Nick Oliveri, ex-guitarist for Queens of the Stone Age. It was a nice change to not be worried about being up front. It was a small enough venue (very tiny!) that you could go get some water, go to the bathroom, and come back, and have no problem getting back wherever you wanted to. It was also by far the hottest/sweatiest show I've probably ever been to. By the end of the evening, everyone was absolutely drenched (and it was rather smelly! Yuck!) There was a bit of a pit that formed in the center....so you could mosh/crowdsurf if you wanted to, but those that didn't weren't affected which was nice.  They cut several songs from the set (one's that would strain Dave's voice)  Something special about this show was that Foo played their first L.A. show ever at Spaceland (on the club's opening night) and this was the last night Spaceland was open (before switching names and management). They've really come full circle!  Afterwards I said goodbye to my crew friends and left. I was absolutely exhausted and ready to swandive into bed! I've loved all the shows for different reasons (and feel very lucky to have gotten to see them all), but this was one of my favorites since it was the smallest / most intimate. (and I've never been able to get out of the crowd to go get water in between songs) It's small enough that there isn't even a backstage area -- before/after the set the bands just hang out in the bar!