The Echo: Grand Ole Echo

I last went to the Grand Ole Echo in mid-2019 or over two years ago. I decided it was time to head over again. I was intrigued by the fact that I'd interviewed 3 of the 5 bands on the bill: Balto, Kapali Løng and Emily Rose & The Rounders. 

Opening up the afternoon was Susy Sun and Smith Allen. A duo who put out some folk tunes. The set was a chill way to start off the indoor portion of the afternoon / evening event. The two took turns taking the lead. One moment that one really has to remember is towards the end when Smith Allen left the stage, allowing Susy Sun to play some of her own tunes without his backing. Then the sound guy stated that they only had time for one more song. Susy Sun went with it and played the final song. As she was finishing up, Smith Allen returned from the Green Room and was informed by the band that they were done. 

Susy Sun and Smith Allen

Coming up next was Balto who gave a performance that got the blood going. Their music has a 70s rock / country sound to it that had them holding court on the stage. They used the full stage to put on a memorable set. There was something always going on to catch the eye. Even if they were just stationary, there was movements made; be it via a smile or a tilt of the guitars or a body lean. It just made for a set that captured the imagination of the crowd.

Balto

Kapali Løng hails from Hawaii, but has lived in Los Angeles for 12 years or so. Even though he has lived in Los Angeles for twelve years, he still had the Hawaiian influence. His music has that Hawaiian country vibe. There were more than a few "hang loose" hand signs going up throughout the set. And he ended the set with, "Aloha."

Kapali Long

Closing it up was Emily Rose & The Rounders. I just love the sultry vocals and country tunes. The steel guitar added a distinct sound with those plucks. The steel guitarist also provided a highlight. For one song, he just couldn't get the song started off correctly. It took about four tries, but he finally got things going. At the end of the song, he got some humorist praise from the band.

Emily Rose & The Rounders

In between the indoor sets, CB Brand played short sets out on the patio. They actually changed outfits for the various short sets. They even went shirtless for the final one. The band is photogenic. The drummer was smoking throughout the set (not that I recommend smoking) and puffs of smoke made for unique moments. And the lead singer made some poses for the camera.

CB Brand

I have to mention this: it was freezing in The Echo. The program lasted about 4 hours. I also got there early and so perhaps spent 4 and a half hours mostly inside (some out on the patio). By the time I left, I couldn't feel my finger tips. It took a couple hours at home to finally get the tingling feeling to go away.

Bar Lubitsch: Halle Abadi, Haiden, Jake Hays, Luna Aura, Natalie Claro

What a night at Bar Lubitsch, hosted by WFNM. Luna Aura put on the set of the night -- personal opinion. Her set was full of volcanic energy that included body contortions, hair flings, guest performers and songs that were just a bit naughty. Her music matched up with the performance, a mix of dance beats and rock triumph. It was a performance to remember.

Lune Aura

Halle Abadi opened up the night with a cover of Hey Violet's "Guys My Age." She then went with her own songs that highlighted her wonderful vocals. She has pop sensibilities that include RnB influences. She also had a great stage performance. She uses her arms and fingers to further express the emotions of her songs. It had someone screaming out, "Why isn't she famous?" I think she could be a hit on American Idol.

Halle Abadi

Natalie Claro closed out the night with the required high energy to send everyone off for the night. She performed her set playing a guitar, but that didn't prevent her from taking on percussion duties. She twice jumped on the drum set. She just pounded away in a way that reminded me of how Eastern Conference Champions would just hit those drums. Not only did she jump on those drums, but she also used the stage as her trampoline. She had the amusing moment of the night where she called up her boyfriend to take a group shot using an iPhone. Problem, he couldn't figure out how to get the flash working. Hey, I have the same problem as I don't use Apple product and don't take photos with my Android phone anyways.

Natalie Claro

Jake Hays set was filled with jazzy pop vibes. His vocals were as sweet as honey. His vocals better have been as sweet as honey as he was consuming a lot of honey during the set. In a move I'm not sure I've seen before, he bought a bottle of honey and kept chugging from it -- three times. He also had a water bottle where he mixed the honey into the water. He joked to the audience, "If you're wondering, I'm not drinking urine. That's honey inside."  

Jake Hays

I put Haiden at the bottom here just because I previous caught him a couple weeks back at another WFNM night. So in this short period of the return of music, this was my second time catching a set of his. He mentioned last time that he was doing his debut set. So this would be, duh, his second time on stage. His swooning vocals were the same, but those first time jitters had disappeared. I've got to say, there was a much improved level of confidence in his stage performance. He's a fast learner. Can't wait to see where his skill levels go come two years from now.

Haiden

Zebulon: Walt McClements, Patrick Shiroishi and Barry Johnson

Walt McClements had a recent record release at Zebulon. He uses the accordion as his main musical instrument. He also used a trumpet for a couple songs. I've got to say I grew up not exactly liking the sound that came from the accordion. But after first coming across Sugar Rum Tantrum a few years back and now Walt McClements, I have a much greater appreciation for the accordion. The way he played it brought forth such intriguing sounds. His music had that quality where I pictured his music playing during a philosophically revealing moment in a motion picture. As for the trumpet, he played both the trumpet and accordion at the same time. For some reason, that feels rather like a complex exercise.

Walt McClements

Patrick Shiroishi opened up for Walt McClements. His cousin had died that day and so he dedicated his set to his cousin. The set started with him blowing very softly into his saxophone. It was like a gentle wind was sweeping through the venue. He also did something I've never seen done: he removed the mouthpiece and just blew directly into the barrel of the saxophone. The set, influenced by the loss of his cousin, had a feeling of sadness.

Patrick Shiroishi

Opening the night was Barry Johnson. I only got to catch two of his songs. I did want to catch his full set, but trying to figure out set times at the Zebulon is a bit difficult so I always show up at around 9:30 p.m. I just figured that was when the first set starts, but I was wrong. He must have started around 8:45 p.m. or so. Oh well. What I caught was some well sung tunes.

Barry Johnson

I'm Up on CaliforniaRocker: Warbly Jets at The Echo

I'm up on CaliforniaRocker with a review of Warbly Jets first residency night in August at The Echo. A favorite band Kevin opened the night. The night also included sets by MOTHÉ and Don De Vore.

Los Angeles Music Scene: Live Nation reports Q2 2021 results

This might be my last look at Live Nation's financials. COVID-19 is spiking across the United States, but it doesn't appear like we'll be seeing a shut down of music venues anytime soon. Just because live music is back doesn't mean that all is well in the music industry. I think that can be seen by the fact that Live Nation ran a $20 all-in ticket promotion for nearly 1,000 shows. We also know that some planned 2021 tours have recently been postponed (Stevie Nicks and Lynyrd Skynrd are examples). Yet, at least for now, venues are open for those who want to tour and those who want to attend. Also, as can be read below, it appears that Live Nation sees itself as having a solid concert pipeline for the next few years (which means a solid revenue pipeline).

As with prior looks at their financial statements, my main interest is their cash flow situation. Here's the key quote from their August 3rd earnings call:

Looking at free cash and liquidity. As of June 30th, we had total cash of $4 billion, including $1.1 billion in ticketing client cash and $1.8 billion in net concert event related cash, leaving free cash of $1.1 billion. This was flat relative to our first quarter reported number.

Our free cash, along with $971 million of available debt capacity, gives us $2.1 billion in readily available liquidity up from $1.6 billion at the end of 2020, and steady with our Q1 ending liquidity. Benefiting our free cash position, the second quarter was $161 million in favorable timing, largely the result of classification of our event-related deferred revenue between short-term and long-term.

Our total free cash usage in the quarter was $163 million or $54 million per month, which included $115 million per month of operational burn up from $100 million per month in the first quarter, as furloughed employees returned to prepare for our reopening and we reinstated full pay for most employees, plus another $58 million per month of non-operational costs, including investment in capital expenditures, acquisitions and artists and ticket client advances to give us $173 million average per month in gross burn. In Q2, we had $119 million average per month cash contribution margin, double our Q1 average.

Now I'll admit that in my Q1 2021 review, I anticipated that cash would drop by $500 million. Instead, it dropped by only $163 million.

What drove my $337 milion miss in cash usage? First, their cash contribution margin increased by $180 million versus the first quarter. I didn't think this would happen as concerts in the United States (at least in California) didn't start up until July. Also, they had a $161 million favorable cash timing due to "event-related deferred revenue between short-term and long-term." I'm thinking this means that if events are only a short period off in the future, they can shift cash that is related to advance ticket sales into the free cash part of their cash flow statement.

Here are some other key comments that I picked up from the call:  

What does Live Nation have to say about consumer behavior? People are buying more food and beverage. We're selling more VIP packages, more upsells. So, in general, the pocket books are open.

What do they think about their calendar? And we're not -- we're very content with our 2022 lineup right now. We're talking mostly about what to add now into 2023 and 2024. So that idea that -- it's just one year of -- our bigness isn't really true. We've got three, four years here of strong demand that we're going to smooth out over the time, so everyone can get the right markets and the right Friday nights and the right dates.

Zebulon: Flaccid Mojo

I do believe that Zebulon is the last music venue in Los Angeles to open up. They finally opened up their doors on Wednesday, August 11th. And on Thursday, August 12th, it was the return of live music. I was hanging out at WFNM to catch some bands and then rushed out. It was a rush from West Hollywood to the edges of Frogtown. I wanted to at least capture one band that was playing Zebulon on this night.  

The band I caught was Flaccid Mojo, the final band of the night. The duo are members of Black Dice. (From what I can tell, Flaccid Mojo does not have an Instagram page so I can't link directly to them.) First off, the band had images shown on the screen behind them. As can be imagined by the band name, there were a lot of penis images. Anyways, the two members of the band used electronic synths to create the most hard punk sounds imaginable. It was electronic, scratchy, somewhat irritating like a finger nails down a chalk board, head slamming, wild music one can hear. Yes, it was disturbing and triumphant all at once. 

Zebulon was rather packed for the band. What a perfect way to re-open Zebulon, which to me is known for bringing in bands that are well known across Los Angeles and mixing in nights of experimental exploration. 

Bar Lubitsch: Zee Machine, Courtney Paige Nelson, YVR, Goodboy Noah, Joe Daccache

It was a diverse night of WFNM curated music at Bar Lubitsch on a recent Thursday night. Zee Machine started it off by putting on some dance moves for the crowd. His fashion sense was very snazzy with a jacket that stole the show with its black and white graphical designs. He was impressed with seeing five photographers show up for his set.

Zee Machine

Courtney Paige Nelson brought along a stuffed animal along to calm her nerves. She is a former contestant in America's Next Top Model (2016-2017) so she definitely knows what to do when it comes to lowering stress levels. Dealing with stress came in handy when the WFNM staff rushed on stage to deal with some equipment malfunction. Her set was her with a microphone and a friend on guitar. They played the set with backing tracks for some songs and going acoustic on others. I've gotten to see a lot of former American Idol alumni playing across Los Angeles and so it was rather cool to catch someone who was a contestant for America's Next Top Model.

Courtney Paige Nelson

YVR is a band I've seen a couple times before -- at WFNM events. This band is a husband and wife duo with the husband hitting the synths / guitar and the wife singing the music. I'll say this band stole the show on this particular night. The crowd responded with loud cheers throughout their pop set. They definitely showed a high level of confidence in their skills as tune makers.

YRV

Goodboy Noah really had a creative way at building his Instagram fanbase. He told everyone who wasn't following him to follow him. Out of those that followed, he told them he'd give away a t-shirt at random. I think he got around 10 new followers. This is something I've seen done at street fares where you show someone that you're following them and then you get a discount off your food or something like that. Got to give him props for doing some creative marketing while being featured by WFNM.

Goodboy Noah

Joe Daccache has crooner level vocals. His vocals soared like few others are able to do (and keeping it all in tune while doing it). He has lung power, as well, as he let his vocals just carry for the longest time. Okay, someone must have taken his vocal lessons seriously. No way someone just does that self-taught, right?

Joe Daccache

Little Joy: Lavalove, Easy Sleeper, and Cook

It was off to Little Joy to catch some bands. I'll be honest that the main reason I headed out to Little Joy on this particular night was to once again catch Lavalove (a band I first ran across a few weeks back). I wasn't alone as the venue filled up for their set. Lead singer, Teala Rose Coy, has some enchanting vocals that wonder around the music in the most interesting directions. As I mentioned previously, the music reminds me of a former Los Angeles band called Summer Twins. One thing I noticed was that lead guitarist, Jenny Quay, knows how to pose perfectly for a photo. I got a rather cool photo while she purposely set the pose and then gave me a look to see if I'd nod that I got the shot. I did indeed nod back. In the audience was the band Moonily, which recently opened up for The Paranoyds at The Echo. 

Lavalove

Cook started the night off with a solid jazz set. There was no singing, just a straight off musical set where improvisation took the lead. They were followed by Easy Sleeper who took a turn towards indie rock: both in fashion and sound.

Cook

Easy Sleeper

Redwood Bar: Warm Honey, Hellrose, Cosmic Kitten

Redwood Bar: one more music venue I can check off my list of venues that I'm getting myself re-acquainted with. It was off to the Redwood Bar on a Sunday afternoon to catch Warm Honey, Hellrose and Cosmic Kitten.

Cosmic Kitten was the headliner. I previously saw them at The Satellite back in early 2020. I've got to admit, they were much heavier than I remembered. The drummer's arms had to have been worn out by the time the set ended. He was slamming his drum set that hard throughout. The guitarist and bassist switched off during the set. Apparently, this set was supposed to be played at another venue. I'm happy they played it at the Redwood Bar.

Cosmic Kitten

Hellrose is a band that I got acquainted with at Potty Mouth's recent DIY event. The lead singer, Nikki Martinez, happens to be an informal member of Potty Mouth. The music has a fun punk feel to it. Interesting thing that I noticed was that the bassist appears to be responsible for making sure that everything is set up correctly on stage before they start playing. He was caught off guard when he forgot to properly set up Nikki's acoustic guitar for one song and he had to run off stage to get the missing item. This was their first set ever and Nikki's parents showed up to support.

Hellrose

The first band of the afternoon for me was Warm Honey. A three piece band that rocked out. Their music has a Doors vibe to it. 

Warm Honey

Madame Munchie: Potty Mouth, Ramonda Hammer, SLUGS

With so many venues having closed down in Los Angeles and a couple other venues that have just started re-opening, DIY events are a way to catch your favorite bands as they get back into playing 30 minute sets before a live audience. That is how I got to catch Potty Mouth, Ramonda Hammer, and SLUGS. They played in what I gather is the outdoor patio of Madame Munchie's facilities.

Of the three, Potty Mouth is the band that I hadn't seen in the longest time frame. I swear when they started playing their song "Smash Hit," I just felt this swell of emotion hit me. To me, that is one of the great Los Angeles indie songs. The song has punk origins with melodies and rifts that just catch your attention. Seeing Ally hopping up and down while playing the bass . . . seeing Abby mosh pit it with the crowd . . .  seeing Victoria slamming the drum kit . . .  please, this band needs to break out big time.

Potty Mouth

Ramonda Hammer organized the early evening event. They were the most recent band I saw of the three. I happened to catch them in November 2019 when they were playing as part of the bill for Rosie Tucker's Bootleg residency. Rest in Peace, Bootleg Theater. Lead singer Devin's vocals just bring out the pain of the lyrics all while singing at the top her lungs. Even though the music is filled with pain, she mentioned that throughout the set she couldn't stop smiling. Yes, we all were smiling because we were seeing one awesome line-up of bands. They introduced a new song called "All for What." It was so new that there were written lyrics on the concrete. And I can't end this by saying that Andy Hengl is one of the most entertaining bassist to photograph.

Ramonda Hammer

Opening up the afternoon was SLUGS. Since I'm mentioning the last time I saw bands, I last saw SLUGS at the Moroccan Lounge when they were opening up for Illuminati Hotties. I shot that show for Buzzbands back in March 2019. The band was a last minute replacement. They played their set as a two piece. They were so last minute that lead singer Marissa Longstreet told the audience that Devin had called them up and asked if they were free for a Friday set and that she was happy to say that they were. Someone out in the audience just had to point out the obvious, "But it isn't Friday." No, it was Saturday. Is this bad to say, I love Marissa's facial expressions. It is like we're all on an inside joke.

SLUGS

Over-all, a gathering of friends that included members of bands such as Broken Baby, Gypsum, Illuminati Hotties, Iress, Spare Parts for Broken Hearts, Suzie True, Taleen Kali and probably a few more that I am over-looking.

WFNM: Taylor Felt, Heather Rivas, Slush Puppy, Arden Jones, Hand Made House

Taylor Felt was first up at WFNM this past Thursday. Definitely an artist to keep an eye on. Her vocals are just angelic. She played her set on an acoustic guitar with a backing band that included a violinist. I just love it when a musician includes a violinist in their band. Her song "Once in a Blue Moon" emphasizes those vocals and got her fans screaming out: "T." 

Taylor Felt

Heather Rivas came up next with a guitar and keyboards. There was a mixture of pop and jazz in her music. She mentioned that this was her first time on stage. Even though it was her first time, she knew how to hold that microphone in just a way to make for the perfect imagery.

Heather Rivas

Slush Puppy came up next with a friend yelling out about his "wife beater" shirt. He replied by pointing out, "I like your wife beater shirt, also." I noticed that he recorded a song with Royal & the Serpent. That is definitely a good sign.

Slush Puppy

Arden Jones had his two sisters and girlfriend right up at the front of the stage. One sister lives in San Francisco and had said on social media that she was sad that she wouldn't be able to see her brother play his set. She surprised him by flying down. Now that's a close family. 

Arden Jones

Hand Made House closed it out. That band got the crowd pumped for the after-party. I loved the fact that the lead singer would duck to the back and let the other band members take center stage. They really knew how to play their guitar and bass in an entertaining way. 

Hand Made House

Quick Hit Band Interview: Blue Rose Rounders

Photo take at the Bootleg Theater

Interview with the band (with Emily Rose)

How would you describe your sound? Borrowed from Patsy, Waylon and George, written on long nights or long drives.

Do you find greater enjoyment writing a great song or performing a great song? Why the choice. I could never choose. I don't know that I would want to do one without the other. Writing is essential but sharing what you write and seeing how other people feel about it makes the experience infinitely more meaningful.

Own final thoughts: Hmmmmmm . . . my favorite band is Gun Club. And I'll always choose “Miami” over “Fire of Love.”

New Music Alert: Jess Joy's "bless your name"

Jess Joy, formerly of Moon Honey, is out with a new song called "bless your name." Jess Joy continues the Moon Honey combination of atmospheric, poetry, and vocal uniqueness. That's a perfect trio that belongs on college radio stations across the country. 

Lyrics of the song: what an odd pour of poison! when I punish me curled in my cell when every door is free 

The title of the song would seem to imply this is a song about God and the lyrics indicate a unsettled feeling towards God. The video also shows hands in prayer. Yet, I sense that the song deals with personal doubts about life in general. Doubts that cause you to lock yourself away from life even though it would be so easy to walk right pass those feelings. 

Photo of Moon Honey at the Levitt Pavillion

U Start Here Benefit Show: Ariel Beesley with Somme and Foxx Bodies

Ariel Beesley headlined a benefit show for her U Start Here nonprofit, which is an "organization geared towards healing survivors of sexual assault through community." The night was at Junior High in Glendale, which is also a non-profit entity. 

Opening the night was Foxx Bodies. I previously caught this band in late 2019 at another non-profit location called Sunspace, which has now closed down due to the pandemic. The band sings the music with a beat poetry stance that has the backdrop of punk sounds.

Foxx Bodies

Next up was Somme who I also last saw in 2019. Her music has a wonderful mix of pop rock sounds. The guitar playing definitely gives it a rock sound while those vocals have pop qualities. The vocals are especially musical, hooking you in from the start.

Somme

Ariel Beesley was amped that the benefit show had sold out and it showed in her set. She twirled, kicked and sprawled on the floor as she sang her way through her set list where every song is well written and has the perfectly catchy hook. There was one amusing moment where she forgot how to start out her song, "Palm Springs." Ha ha, she only released that song back in late 2019. Anyways, she asked her guitarist who wasn't sure and then the drummer whispered something into her ear. She amusing admitted to the audience what was going on. After her set ended a few minutes before the 10 p.m. curfew that is imposed on the venue, she asked everyone to have fun dancing until closing time.

Ariel Beesley

Little Joy: Dutch Honey, The Night Owl Collective, and Satellite Repairmen

A night at Little Joy brought together some diverse music styles. Dutch Honey and The Night Owl Collective brought the rock with some Spanish influence. Satellite Repairmen hooked it up with some free flowing jazz.

Dutch Honey had the guitars playing cool melodies with vocals that shined. Vocal leads were shared by three of the band members.

Dutch Honey

The Night Owl Collective had the coolest one-liners. When it came to their music, "Drink more beer. We sound better when you're drunk." When there was a demand for an encore, the response was, "The next band is up. The next band is up. We can't be dicks. We can't be dicks."

The Night Owl Collective

Satellite Repairmen sent the audience home in a relaxed mood. Their songs were in the 10 plus minute range and just hit the relaxing notes just perfectly.

Satellite Repairment