Author Archives: Special to TVD

WORDS AND IMAGES: MANUEL GAY | Los Angeles reggae fans were treated to an unforgettable night of music on October 2, as the legendary UB40 brought their timeless sound to the historic Orpheum Theatre. Joining them was none other than The English Beat, another iconic band from Birmingham, making this a double bill of pure ’80s magic. From the moment the first note hit, the evening was a celebration of reggae, ska, and the enduring power of music to unite and uplift.

The English Beat (known in the US under this name to avoid confusion with another band) may not have had the same longevity as UB40, having split in the early ’80s, but their impact during their short run was undeniable. The audience’s enthusiasm when they took the stage was so undeniable that you could have mistaken them for the headliners. Singer-guitarist Dave Wakeling, the sole remaining original member, leads this version of the band, now billed as The Beat starring Dave Wakeling, and they are a well-oiled machine.

Their forty-five-minute set was packed with fan favorites, including “Rough Rider” and “Ranking Full Stop,” which had the entire venue dancing. They also performed a couple of tracks from Dave’s side project, General Public, including the 1984 hit “Tenderness.” Back-up singer Antonee First Class added a unique touch by improvising a cappella melodies between songs, creating a seamless flow to the set.

Dave took a moment to pay tribute to former band members who have passed away over the years before delivering a heartfelt rendition of “Can’t Get Used To Losing You.” The band closed their set on a high note with their hit “Mirror In The Bathroom,” which sounded absolutely incredible live and left the crowd buzzing.

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WORDS AND IMAGES: SEAN McCRACKEN | If you’re looking for a night of electrifying music, nostalgic vibes, and a journey through the realms of psychedelic rock, then this review is for you. On Thursday, October 2nd, The Dandy Warhols headlined an unforgettable show at The Observatory, with support from the equally mesmerizing Kula Shaker.

The evening was a perfect midweek escape, offering fans a chance to immerse themselves in the kaleidoscopic sounds of two iconic bands that have mastered the art of blending retro influences with modern energy. From Kula Shaker’s trippy visuals and hypnotic grooves to The Dandy Warhols’ crowd-pleasing anthems and magnetic stage presence, this was a night that reminded everyone why live music is such a powerful experience. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a curious newcomer, this show had something for everyone, and it’s worth reliving every moment.

The night kicked off with Kula Shaker, who set the tone with their signature blend of psychedelic rock and Indian-inspired melodies. As the lights dimmed, the stage came alive with a swirling psychedelic background projected across the screen, creating an otherworldly atmosphere that immediately drew the audience in. The visuals weren’t just confined to the screen; they were superimposed across the stage, enveloping the band in a vibrant, trippy glow that perfectly complemented their sound.

Kula Shaker’s 14-song setlist was a mix of fan favorites and surprises, showcasing their ability to transport listeners to another dimension. They opened with the ethereal “Hey Dude,” a track that set the mood with its dreamy instrumentation and haunting vocals. The crowd swayed along as the band transitioned into “Knight on the Town,” one of my favorites from their set.

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WORDS AND IMAGES: CHRIS LOOMIS | The Kia Forum shook like never before when Pantera stormed the stage on August 27, proving they still reign as the undisputed kings of groove-metal and that their fury has lost none of its bite. This wasn’t just a concert, it was a full-on celebration of the Abbott brothers, Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, gone too soon but cemented as the creators of Pantera’s resilience and longevity. The packed arena filled with a raw, aggressive aura made sure the energy never dipped for a second even as openers King Parrot and Amon Amarth destroyed the stage.

Back in 2014 timeframe, King Parrot caught the attention of Phil Anselmo and the band has had several touring opportunities with Anselmo’s various bands as a result. Led by vocalist Matt Young, these Australian grindcore masters were the perfect band to open this show with their onslaught of heaviness. The appetizer has been served, Amon Amarth up next.

The Swedish melodic Death Metal Vikings, Amon Amarth have been a touring machine the last few years as the last time they played the Kia Forum was in December 2022 as a headliner. The band hit the stage opening with “Guardians of Asgaard” then the Viking knights appeared for “Shield Wall.”

Vocalist Johan Hegg greeted the Los Angeles crowd and the band played all the hits including the crowd favorite “Put Your Back Into the Oar” that had most of the standing room only floor sit down and row like they were crossing the Klarälven river in Sweden. The band ended with Hegg slamming his larger than life “Thor hammer” onto the stage and a killer rendition of “Twilight of the Thunder God” ended their time onstage.

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WORDS AND IMAGES: SEAN McCRACKEN | On Friday, August 15, Slightly Stoopid turned Great Park Irvine into a sun-soaked celebration of music, community, and good vibes. Supported by Iration and Little Stranger, the evening felt more like a laid-back festival than a traditional concert. With the scent of ganja in the air and a crowd ready to dance, the night was a perfect blend of reggae, alternative, and hip-hop, showcasing the unique sounds of each band while creating a collective experience that left everyone smiling. From the playful energy of Little Stranger to the smooth grooves of Iration and the genre-defying jams of Slightly Stoopid, this was a night to remember for fans of feel-good music.

The evening began with Little Stranger, an alternative/hip-hop duo originally from Philadelphia, PA, now based in Charleston, SC. Known for their playful lyrics and infectious energy, the duo wasted no time getting the crowd moving. Their set included fan favorites like “Simply Business,” “Coffee and a Joint,” and “Sunburn.” The audience was fully engaged, dancing and singing along to the duo’s creative and upbeat tracks.

A standout moment came during “Coffee and a Joint,” when the air filled with smoke, perfectly complementing the song’s laid-back vibe. The duo’s chemistry and charisma were undeniable, and their ability to connect with the audience set the tone for the rest of the night. They were even joined by Kyle McDonald of Slightly Stoopid for a collaborative performance of “Way of the Ghost,” which was a highlight of their set. Little Stranger’s unique blend of alternative and hip-hop, combined with their playful stage presence, made them the perfect opening act for the evening.

Next up was Iration, the Santa Barbara-based band known for their smooth fusion of reggae and alternative rock. Their laid-back sound was the perfect follow-up to Little Stranger’s high-energy set, and the crowd swayed along to hits like “Automatic,” “Summer Nights,” “Turn Around,” and “Reelin.”

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WORDS AND IMAGES: DANIEL GRAY | The beginning of May means it’s time to hit the beach—Redondo Beach, that is—for the annual BeachLife Festival, a three-day celebration of music, art, and beach life culture. The 6th annual BeachLife Festival took over Redondo Beach from May 2–4, 2025, delivering a first-class festival experience under the warm California sun. As one of the premier festivals in the country, BeachLife once again exceeded expectations with a spectacular lineup and unforgettable vibes.

Day three of BeachLife Festival started a bit gloomy and overcast weather-wise. But that in no way affected the performances or the crowd’s enjoyment. Kicking things off at noon on the Hightide stage was Lily Meola. The Maui-native brought her own sunshine and being the opening act didn’t stop her from walking through the center ramp and interacting with the crowd.

Next, it was the Lowtide stage for Big Head Todd and the Monsters. This veteran band out of Colorado was a great contrast to Meola. Namesake Todd Park Mohr provided ripping guitar work, and Jeremy Lawton on lap steel guitar made sure the audience was awake and moving.

Marcus King continued the guitar work at 2:20. Hailing from South Carolina, King’s soulful voice and soaring guitar playing, combined with Drew Smithers’ incredible slide guitar, brought more and more people to the Hidetidestage. More than one audience member walked away in awe of what they heard and saw, and more than a few were still talking about the performance at the end of the evening.

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WORDS AND IMAGES: CHRIS LOOMIS | The beginning of May means it’s time to hit the beach—Redondo Beach, that is—for the annual BeachLife Festival, a three-day celebration of music, art, and beach life culture. The 6th annual BeachLife Festival took over Redondo Beach from May 2-4, 2025, delivering a first-class festival experience under the warm California sun. As one of the premier festivals in the country, BeachLife once again exceeded expectations with a spectacular lineup and unforgettable vibes.

The 2025 edition of BeachLife featured headlining sets from Lenny Kravitz, Sublime, and Alanis Morissette, as well as performances from Aloe Blacc, Train, The Pretenders, Jackson Browne, The Beach Boys, and many more. The festival curates an eclectic lineup spanning rock, indie pop, country, new wave, punk, reggae, and everything in between, making it one of Southern California’s premier music events.

The festival grounds were set up with four stages strategically placed to maximize the experience. The Hightide and Lowtide stages hosted the larger, well-known acts, while the Speakeasy stage offered intimate acoustic performances from punk legends and indie artists. The Riptide stage mixed established artists with up-and-coming acts. What sets BeachLife apart is that the Hightide and Lowtide stages never overlap performances, and each artist gets a full 60 minutes on stage, eliminating the tough decisions of choosing between acts.

Gates opened at 11:30 AM on Saturday, and Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds kicked off the day at noon to a light crowd. By 2:00 PM, when Sugar Ray hit the Hightide stage, the area was already jam-packed. Frontman Mark McGrath knows how to work a crowd, and the band, decked out in all-white suits, opened with a cover of Ginuwine’s “Pony.” Their set was full of hits, including “Fly,” “Someday,” and “Every Morning.” Hailing from nearby Newport Beach, Sugar Ray is the only band to have played every BeachLife Festival since its inception.

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 WORDS AND IMAGES: CHRIS LOOMIS | The beginning of May means it’s time to hit the beach—Redondo Beach, that is—for the annual BeachLife Festival, a three-day celebration of music, art, and beach life culture. The 6th annual BeachLife Festival took over Redondo Beach from May 2-4, 2025, delivering a first-class festival experience under the warm California sun. As one of the premier festivals in the country, BeachLife once again exceeded expectations with a spectacular lineup and unforgettable vibes.

The 2025 edition of BeachLife featured headlining sets from Lenny Kravitz, Sublime, and Alanis Morissette, as well as performances from Aloe Blacc, Train, The Pretenders, Jackson Browne, The Beach Boys, and many more. The festival curates an eclectic lineup spanning rock, indie pop, country, new wave, punk, reggae, and everything in between, making it one of Southern California’s premier music events.

The festival grounds were set up with four stages strategically placed to maximize the experience. The Hightide and Lowtide stages hosted the larger, well-known acts, while the Speakeasy stage offered intimate acoustic performances from punk legends and indie artists. The Riptide stage mixed established artists with up-and-coming acts. What sets BeachLife apart is that the Hightide and Lowtide stages never overlap performances, and each artist gets a full 60 minutes on stage, eliminating the tough decisions of choosing between acts.

Gates opened at 1:30 PM on Friday, and husband-and-wife folk duo Shovels & Rope kicked off the music at 2:20 PM with a low-key set of folk-infused rock and roll with a country flair. Over on the Speakeasy stage, Phantom Planet delivered the first up-close, intimate performance of the weekend. Meanwhile, old-school hip-hop trio Digable Planets brought the funk to the Lowtide stage, with Butter Fly, Doodlebug, and Ladybug Mecca trading rhymes. Their set closed with the Grammy-winning single “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat).”

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WORDS AND IMAGES: CHRIS LOOMIS | The summer of 2024 ended in epic fashion on Labor Day weekend as the reunited Grammy Award winning rockers Creed headlined The Summer of ’99 and Beyond Festival with eight other bands at the historic Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino, CA on Saturday August 31. Touring for the first time in over a decade, Creed is selling out dates across the country with 3 Doors Down and Finger Eleven but on this day in California, Creed corralled several additional bands that have been special guests on the tour in various cities and the show was a day long celebration and no doubt the largest of the 40-date tour.

It was a hot one with temperatures right at 100 degrees, but the performances were hotter as Verve Pipe, Vertical Horizon, Dorothy, Fuel, Hinder, and Daughtry were the added guests to this show which made it a must see to end the summer. With doors at 1PM, the music started at 2PM and for the next nine hours, Glen Helen was rocking like the summer of 1999.

Melodic Rock veterans Verve Pipe kicked off the day of music in solid fashion as the band took the stage with all members in all white outfits as vocalist Brian Vander Ark and his brother on bass Brad Vander Ark led the band through a short set that included hits “Photograph” and “The Freshmen” as the Verve Pipe diehards braved the mid-afternoon heat—a successful start to the day. Vertical Horizon served up a bit of alternative rock with a country song mixed in next with original vocalist Matt Scannell sounding fantastic.

The incredibly beautiful Dorothy and her soaring voice delivered a bit more of an upbeat set followed by Fuel who took the oomph up a notch as frontman Aaron Scott prowled around the stage as founding guitarist Carl Bell shredded through the hits that included “Shimmer” and “Hemorrhage (In My Hands).” Now, as killer as all the bands have been up to this point the highlight of the early afternoon was Finger Eleven as these guys played the most powerful and energetic set so far as they blasted through 35-minutes of beautiful chaos. With Scott Anderson’s powerful vocals and the insane guitar antics of James Black and Rick Jackett—especially Jackett who constantly looks like he is in a battle with his guitar—Finger Eleven infused a new energy into the day.

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WORDS AND IMAGES: CHRIS LOOMIS | Death metal in an arena . . . YES it happened in epic form on Saturday, May 25 as the Viking Metal Gods Amon Amarth made the final stop of their Metal Crushes All Tour 2024 at the 18,000 capacity Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. This culminated the 24-date trek across North America that had fellow Death Metal heavyweights Obituary and Cannibal Corpse in direct support with Dallas Texas youngsters Frozen Soul opening the show. This was without a doubt the must-see heavy metal event of the year.

With an early start at 6:30PM, Frozen Soul took the stage as fans were filtering into the venue, although the first third of the floor was already jammed packed with death metal die-hards. Vocalist Chad Green wasted no time getting the early-birds fired up as he belted out some serious guttural vocals and demanding the crowd to do push-ups in the pit. The band squeezed in seven killer songs in their short 30 minutes on stage and proved they are indeed part of the next wave of death metal giants to carry the metal torch for years to come.

Having toured with Amain Amarth on The Great Heathen tour in late 2022, Florida’s Obituary took the stage next with a seven-song set that weighed heavily on their latest album Dying of Everything. Opening with the killer instrumental “Redneck Stomp” then into the brutal track “Barely Alive,” John Tardy owned the stage with his unique Death Metal vocals. Tardy joined his brother Donald on the drums for the killer rhythms of “Slow Death” as the band proved their longevity in the death metal scene is not a fluke and that Obituary in 2024 is delivering their most brutal music and stage performances of their 30-year career.

Now things were about to get exponentially more brutal as Cannibal Corpse took the stage. From the first note of “Scourge of Iron” to the last beat of “Hammer Smashed Face,” Honda Center may have just experienced the most brutal performance in the venue’s 31-year existence. Vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher not only has the thickest neck in death metal, the most haunting, guttural voice in death metal, but he can headbang and do hair whips like no other human being can.

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WORDS AND IMAGES: CHRIS LOOMIS | The 5th annual BeachLife Festival took over Redondo Beach for a three day celebration of music, art, and beach life culture. The 2024 edition of BeachLife included headlining sets from Sting and Incubus as well as performances from Seal, ZZ Top, Devo, Dirty Heads and many more. BeachLife curates its performances with an eclectic grouping of artists who span everything from rock to indie pop, country, new wave, punk, reggae and everything in between which makes for one of the premier festivals in the state of California.

Set up with four stages strategically placed throughout the festival grounds, the Hightide and Lowtide stages cater to the larger well-known acts, the Speakeasy stage allows for intimate acoustic performances from punk legends and indie artists while the Riptide stage mixes established artists and up and coming acts. What makes BeachLife standout amongst festivals is the Hightide and Lowtide stages NEVER overlap performances, and each artist gets a full 60 minutes on stage so you don’t have to make those tough decisions on what artists to watch and which to miss.

In addition to bringing top live musical acts to fans, the festival gives back to the community by partnering with nonprofit organizations in the area as well as offering multiple levels of VIP options, special culinary choices while dining side stage, galleries with art created by members of the music community, beautiful SoCal beach scenery, games, shopping and the opportunity to say “I was there” . . . what’s better than music on the beach.

While the weather was partly sunny and mild on Friday and overcast on Saturday, Sunday was plagued with high winds which ultimately forced the festival to shut down early (about 5:30PM) as dangerous wind gusts kicked up forcing Fleet Foxes, Trey Anastasio, and Sunday’s headliners My Morning Jacket to not play their respective sets—an unfortunate situation for paying fans and the bands, but safety first always wins.

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WORDS AND IMAGES: DANIEL GRAY | It was a rainy Sunday night in downtown Los Angeles, but that didn’t stop Porno For Pyros from setting The Belasco on fire. (Figuratively, of course.) The packed house was there to see the group in what was billed as their farewell tour: Horns, Thorns, En Halos. Even though it was touted as such, it was a joyous occasion. Before the show, smiles could be seen on everyone’s faces all throughout the venue in anticipation as to what was to come.

Porno For Pyros brought along two opening bands (both three-piece) that were appreciated by the audience and seemed to fit The Belasco well. The first was Los Angeles-based, Glossy. They describe themselves on Instagram as, “3 smelly mfs scarin Karens on the west coast.” Next up was Tigercub from Brighton, UK. Jamie Stephen Hall, vocals and lead guitar, James Allix, drums, and Jimi Wheelwright, bass, were a bit more melodic than the opener and had the crowd ready to go for the headliners.

But let’s face it, the crowd was on hand to see Perry Farrell on vocals, Peter DiStefano on guitar, Mike Watt on bass, and Stephen Perkins on drums. They burned through (another fire pun) a sixteen-song set with most coming from their two studio albums. Rounding out the band on stage were touring keyboardist Robin Hatch and backup singer Etty Lau Farrell (Farrell’s wife). Farrell entered the stage with a bottle of red wine in his hand and while he took periodic swigs, this wasn’t a wine sippin’ type of show.

The alt-rock veterans brought the energy, the groove, and the power. Farrell was in fine form and voice. DiStefano showed his range whether it was using a bow on the opener, “Orgasm,” or wailing on “Meija” right after. Perkins laid down beats that propelled the band the entire night. Even sitting down, Watt thundered on bass in a way that matched the stormy evening outside.

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