Beer, Food, Music, Life

Jack Johnson in SoCal

June 19th, 2008 bobby g

Jack Johnson will be making four stops in the Southern California Area coming up in late August.

  • Wednesday, August 27th - Harder Stadium @ UCSB - Santa Barbara, CA
  • Friday, August 29th - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - Irvine, CA (KROQ Sponsored)
  • Saturday, August 30th - Cricket Wireless Amphitheater - Chula Vista, CA
  • Sunday, August 31st - UCLA Intramural Field - Los Angeles, CA (KROQ Sponsored)

Tickets go on sale to the general public for these shows on Saturday, June 21st at 10AM. For the KROQ sponsored events you can get your tickets now using the presale password: KROQALLATONCE

I’ll keep my ear to the ground for the other shows to find the presale password. I’ll update this post if anything should surface. Click the image to go to ticketmaster’s listing for Jack Johnson.

Feist and Thievery Corporation Hollywood Bowl Presale Info

May 6th, 2008 bobby g

If you are interested in attending either Feist or Thievery Corporation at the Hollywood Bowl the presale password is BOWL. Same as Beck.

Both artists are partaking in KCRW’s World Music Festival.  If you are not familiar, six Sunday evenings each Summer KCRW brings great music to the bowl from around the globe. You can also bring in your own food and wine/beer and enjoy it at your seats while enjoying the show.

Thievery Corporation will be headlining June 22, 2008 and Feist on July 20, 2008. Just click the images above and it will take you to Ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets.

****UPDATE 6/21/08****

If you are trying to score the $20 KCRW Member seats use the password ‘kcrw’.


Groove Armada - Los Angeles City Hall

April 6th, 2008 bobby g

“Enter and we dance. Plug it in and we begin.”

My favorite thing to do in Los Angeles is to attend live shows. Because of our location we get great music almost all year round. Now that the weather is getting warmer, outdoor concerts are starting to pop up. Los Angeles has 4 or 5 great outdoor theaters so last night was really a surprise since it was not at one of the usual venues.  On Saturday night my friend and I headed downtown to check out one of our favorite artists Groove Armada at Los Angeles City Hall. The ‘Los Angeles City Hall’? The one and only.

South Stairs and Stage

The stage was setup on the South staircase and was sponsored by KCRW. Since this was a very unique setting for a concert my friend and I were a bit skeptical on how it would be pulled off.

After a quick dinner in Little Tokyo we headed over to City Hall (1st and Main).  The show kicked off promptly at 6PM and started with a DJ set by KCRW’s very own Jason Bentley.  Jason had the slot from 6-8PM and the task of warming up the crowd on an unusually brisk Spring night in LA.

While it was billed as a DJ set, Jason did more ‘Macbooking’ than spinning on the 1’s and 2’s. While this lead to a lame joke by me, Jason Bentley got the crowd moving and warmed up. One of the highlights of the set was Jason mixing ‘Nasty Girl’ by Vanity 6. My friend decided that if she was a stripper that would be her goto song. If you don’t remember ‘Nasty Girl’ listen below. 

At about 8:30, after the crowd was sufficiently warmed by Jason Bentley and an ample supply of booze, Groove Armada took the stage and did not disappoint.

crowd watching groove armada

The tour was billed as a DJ Set for their latest album ‘Soundboy Rock’ so we were not expecting the full lineup of Groove Armada characters as when we saw them at the Hollywood Bowl over the Summer. True to our expectations they transitioned without a break in the action and put on a great show.

The acoustics were a nice surprise and the setup provided great clarity. Although we couldn’t hear each other talk during the car ride home (note to self: get earplugs), Groove Armada provided a great night downtown. The first 2/3 of their set was mostly a DJ set however they began mixing in their greatest hits for the last third of the show. When they mixed in ‘Super Stylin’ the crowd reached their feverish peak.

Close-up on Groove Armada

The crowd was filled with your KCRW subscriber types (thirty-something hipsters, yuppies, eco-friendly moms and dads) and a few of the just turned 21 crowd. Everyone meshed well together and the party was in full swing for close to 3 hours. During one of the last songs the stairs in front of the stage were opened up and everyone rushed the stage to groove as close as possible to the action. They wrapped up their set around 11PM at which point we retreated back to the Westside to rest from a long night of dancing. 

In all, Los Angeles City Hall provided a unique venue and Groove Armada provided the perfect soundtrack for an evening in an urban environment. While it was a bit chilly the dancing kept us warm all night long. These kinds of nights make me wonder why I don’t do more things downtown.