www.festizio.net
www.myspace.com/festizioband

When I was a kid, I dreamt of designing ambient restaurants with exotic food where people could escape into. I love art for similar reasons – a poignant painting reflects a refuge for the soul where one can get lost and disappear. 111 Minna exudes creativity and classy crowds, and thus it’s set apart from other bars in the nightlife scene.

(The only nametag I had on all night read, “Angela B.” That is, in fact, not my real name.)

The Yelp/OurStage Elite Event was obviously my best Minna experience (though I’m not complaining about the “Nude Girls” exhibit). Minna serves as an excellent music venue with a spacious and artistically decorated stage, and a separate bar area for more casual listeners.

(Someone threw a pair of women’s underwear on stage that had a mouth hole in the front. Dear You, where can I get more?)

A huge thank you to Jessica Morris of OurStage and Nish for the invitation, and to Jeremiah of Minna for the superb sound support. But really, it’s the brilliant Yelp Community that effectively stole the show.

(VIDEO: FESTIZIO BLOG)

If I could create just one beautiful escape for the world before I die, I’d be set.

www.performermag.com
www.myspace.com/westcoastperformer

Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas glows like a beacon at the intersection of I-15 and Route 95, but besides brilliant bright lights and never-ending excess, the local scene provides ample opportunity for touring rockers of all sorts. From hip downtown lounges to the swagger of saloons, Vegas also hosts festivals like Amplify!! Independent Music Comp Fest, First Friday, a nightlong celebration of the arts, the explosive Halloween fest Vegoose, and the UNLV-sponsored Las Vegas Music Festival, with a student-filled lineup of compositional music. Vegas’ close proximity to Los Angeles offers an easy flow of traffic between the two cities, allowing local acts the potential of hitting it big. Not surprisingly, Vegas serves as the hometown for established artists like The Killers, Panic! At the Disco and Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis. An iconic, hot destination, Vegas also offers an excellent communication line for promoting music to visitors from around the world, so what happens in Vegas might not necessarily stay in Vegas. (more…)

www.superfurry.com
www.holyfuckmusic.com
www.myspace.com/hereheremusic

Once again, I’m at GAMH and it’s an all-ages show. Luckily, I have a (paying) job this time, and can afford the comfort of quality booze.

The show opened with Here Here, a San Francisco seven-piece band. I missed their performance at the Make-Out Room during January’s Performer Presents show, so I appreciated the chance of finally catching them in concert. They utilize a slew of instruments in indie-pop fashion. And while the tunes were fun and novel, the flood of instrumental noise drowned any hope of recognizing just what the hell the guy was singing. Still, I thought they were cool, and wouldn’t mind seeing them again. Less is more, guys!

“Holy Fuck” is both the worst and most brilliant band name in terms of marketing. It’s bad because you can’t talk about the group in certain places, like Toys ‘R’ Us or Chuck E. Cheese’s. You know, all my favorite haunts. Conversely, it’s brilliant in that you’ll never forget them. When your friend stubs his toe and yells, “Holy fuck!” you can immediately recall the band and respond, “Yeah, ‘Royal Gregory’ is a kickass track!” Also, they exude a cool electro-nerd charisma on stage. Good times.

If ever there was a band that could make The Fratellis seem like boring tax collectors, it would be Super Furry Animals. Immensely wacky, the lead singer appeared on stage wearing (and singing through) a giant Power Rangers helmet. Occasionally, random animal noises would fill the stage, encouraging the audience to reply with their own hoots and caws (cawing like a crow never stops being funny – one of few things I learned during college). I enjoyed myself relatively well given I knew nothing of SFA. And I know they’re referred to as “SFA,” because I saw this kid with that abbreviation scotch-taped to the bottom rim of his tilted-up cap…

All-ages shows, yeah! It’s morphin’ time!

Our first band recording in almost a year… In the past, we labored endless nights recording and editing separate instrument tracks. This time we just set up a couple of area mics in our rehearsal space and did a quick live recording (I recorded the vocals at home for audio cleanliness). It’s not as flawless as multi-tracking, but indie rock isn’t about flawlessness… just as much as it isn’t about any substantial effort (lazy).

www.will-i-am.blackeyedpeas.com
www.myspace.com/williamofficial

Will.i.am, the founding member of Black Eyed Peas, composed this clever video utilizing speech clips from Barack Obama. And while you may not agree with the politics, you can certainly appreciate the craftsmanship (and Scarlett Johansson). We should be thankful not all BEP members are as annoying as Fergie…