Ruby Red Specs
Photography by Cortney Armitage
ALABAMA SHAKES @ BARKER HANGER 11_6
Posted on December 2, 2014
Brittany Howard sings and plays guitar as if compelled to do so by another force. Building that illusion of possession is easy for her, but what makes her a master magician is her timing of when she lets us in on the trick. On Thursday night during a break in the Alabama Shakes hit song “Hold On,” she looked up for a split second to give the crowd a wink, and in that moment of anticipation, her maneuver was transparent. She was in complete control of us. Alabama Shakes was a force at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica were the band made the entire hangar scream and shout as they touched down for the Mercedes-Benz Evolution Tour.
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- AlabamaShakes@BarkerHanger
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- Alabama Shakes @ Barker Hanger
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- AlabamaShakes@BarkerHanger
YOUNG THE GIANT @ BARKER HANGER 11_6
Posted on December 1, 2014
My coverage for LA Record:
http://larecord.com/photos/2014/11/08/alabama-shakes-young-the-giant-barker-hanger
Opening for the Alabama Shakes and in for a quick home town stop was Young the Giant. In an atmosphere of fog and colored lights, frontman Sameer Gadhia created a mood as he danced passionately between two microphones in front of a giant screen of abstract graphics, All members of the band could be seen exchanging grins with each other in response to the cheerful crowd. Highlights of their set came with their hits “Cough Syrup” and “My Body.”
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- YoungTheGiant@BarkerHanger
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- YoungTheGiant@BarkerHanger
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- Young The Giant @ Barker Hanger
MARIACHI EL BRONX @ THE EL REY THEATRE 11_6
Posted on November 30, 2014
My coverage for LA Record :
“It all started as a weird experiment.” Lead singer Matt Caughthran reminisced, almost in amazement, at Mariachi El Bronx‘s accomplishment. Fans at the EL Rey were presented with the band’s third album, appropriately titled Mariachi El Bronx (III). Basking in almost every moment throughout the set, Caughthran slowly paced around the stage. He pointed, kneeled, and engaged in some warm-hearted trash talk to seemingly all who were there.
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- MariachiElBronx@ElRey
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- MariachiElBronx@ElRey
TIJUANA PANTHERS @ THE EL REY THEATRE 11_5
Posted on November 29, 2014
My coverage for LA Record :
Although some hardcore Tijuana Panthers‘ fans were clearly missing as the pit was a little subdued, that fun-loving trio from Long Beach that we adore, kicked off with their high energy set of fusion surf and punk. Playing some tracks off of their own third album Wayne Interest, the tunes inspired some head bobbing and swaying.
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- TijaunaPanthers@Elrey
The Electric Sons @ The Roxy 11_2
Posted on November 28, 2014
Delta Spirit @ El Rey 10_30
Posted on November 13, 2014
My coverage for LA Record :
Projections of stars and trees danced and mingled with symbols and static on the white verticals behind the stage. They changed and morphed like a kaleidoscope for 18 songs as Delta Spirit‘s Matthew Vasquez (lead vox/guitar), Jonathan Jameson (bass/vox), Brandon Young (drums/percussion), Kelly Winrich (multi-instrumentalist/vox) and William McLaren (guitar/vox) went on a relentless high energy set as it was sort of a homecoming show. Pausing only twice – once to let us know that “Bushwick Blues” was the end of the first half of their set – and again, when mid-song into “Children,” some adult children broke into a fight. Vasquez noted “Most of our fans aren’t assholes.” The good fans knew all the words to the old favorites and were just as ecstatic for new tracks off the indie rock bands fourth album Into the Wide that was released in September. Although they now call Austin home, they made a little mini tour of LA with stops at The Satellite, The Troubadour and final stop here at the El Rey Theatre.
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- DeltaSpirit@ElRey
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- DeltaSpirit@ElRey
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- Delta Spirit @ El Rey
Deep Sea Diver @ El Rey 10_30
Posted on November 12, 2014
A very still, stone-faced man sat at the edge of the stage during Deep Sea Diver‘s set. It was a mild distraction, but Jessica Dobson (who is also guitarist for The Shins) kept our attention with her sweet vocals. Dobson asked the crowd if anyone knew Nick Cave and then owned her version of his “Red Right Hand.” On the very last song of the set, the stone-faced man leaped up and started dancing some pretty impressive moves before ascending into the crowd as Dobson revealed that it was her brother, whom she loves very much. As he made his way into the crowd, he acted as the band’s ambassador and the love was shared all around.
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- DeepSeaDiver@ElRey
Placebo @ Club Nokia 10_24
Posted on October 31, 2014
My coverage for LA Record: http://larecord.com/photos/2014/10/26/placebo-the-moth-the-flame-club-nokia-theatre
Photos and words by Cortney Armitage
The lights came up on Brian Molko (vox/guitar) at Club Nokia and washed his pail skin green. As he approached the mic, the corners of his mouth turned up with a wicked grin. He paused, baiting the crowd, then unleashed “B3″ and the ground under our feet started pulsing like the beginning of a slow earthquake.Placebo fans had lined up for hours before the doors open to watch their favorite band, which also includes founding member and guitarist-bassist Stefan Olsdal and drummer Steve Forrest, who explained how they change names of the protagonists to protect those in their songs. It had been a yearsince Placebo last visited Los Angeles, and this time upon concluding their set, Forrest took center stage and held up one of his drums, on which was written in large black letters,”THIS ONE’S FOR YOU MOM,” but it felt like it was for all of us.
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- Placebo@ClubNokia
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- Placebo@ClubNokia
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- Placebo @ Club Nokia
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- Placebo@ClubNokia
The Moth & The Flame @ Club Nokia 10_24
Posted on October 30, 2014
My coverage for LA Record: http://larecord.com/photos/2014/10/26/placebo-the-moth-the-flame-club-nokia-theatre
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- TheMoth&TheFlame@ClubNokia
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- TheMoth&TheFlame@ClubNokia
WildCat! WildCat! @ El Rey 10_21
Posted on October 29, 2014
My coverage for LA Record: http://larecord.com/photos/2014/10/23/wildcat-wildcat-the-el-rey-theatre
Photos by Cortney Armitage
Finally! Wildcat! Wildcat!‘s debut album No Moon At All is out and a party was had at the El Rey Theatre for the big celebration.
Dedicated fans were very supportive of the local band as they played on a darkened stage with soft projections. Jesse Taylor (vocals, bass), Michael Wilson (vocals, keys) and Jesse Carmichael (vocals, drums) have been friends since at least their high school days and have that something special. “Circuit Breaker!!!” cried one attendee. Wilson cried back “Ask and yee shall RECEIVE!” The crowd received so much more. One of the many highlights was their cover of Tears for Fears “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”
Here’s to much success in the near future.
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- WildCat!WildCat!@ElRey
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- WildCat!WildCat!@ElRey
Ruby Red Specs 