Greetings from Laurel Canyon!
Amazing weather and rock ‘n roll action has not let up this week in this here city. Bands are on tour and the town is in full swing as the music biz makes its final push to close out the year before the holidays.
I’ve been out to shows five nights in the last week. I did Day of the Dead in both The Hollywood Forever Cemetery and the Hardfest. I saw a blood soaked Wayne Coyne with Lips and Tame Impala, and great sets from Diego Garcia and Blitzen Trapper. Even The Meat Puppets rolled thru our offices for some pizza, beer, and a few songs.
In the wake of Halloween shows and death of Lou Reed, I’ve had some recent revelations. I’m calling it, “the rock ‘n roll spectacle,” and from what I’ve recently seen at big shows, it’s the new “end all.” Like the effect of making a great video during the height of MTV, creating a spectacular live event is where it will be in 2014.
Take last Saturday’s Hardfest set by Italian EDM giants, The Bloody Beet Roots. You just stand there amid the pure communal experience of music, lights, and human energy…it’s what I believe we seek from our rock stars of 2014 and beyond. Maybe this is all obvious, but the word that comes to mind is “fascinova!”
I thought I’d take the week to look back at the last six or eight months and see what music had come and maybe gone—sort of a preview to the onslaught of year-end lists.
Maybe we can figure out “fascinova” beyond Cuban lox and bagels?
The Idelic Hit of the Week:
Blitzen Trapper – Ever Loved Once
