I first came across Jade Duncan who releases music under Blu Jay and The lovebombs in December 2023 at a WFNM night at Hotel Ziggy. The band did a June 2024 residency at Harvard & Stone and I was able to catch the last night of the residency. I noticed that the band was supposed to play a Monday night at Harvard & Stone in January, but for some reason the band ended up not playing that night. Like it is in the Los Angeles music scene, you always get another chance. I noticed that the band was playing a WFNM night at Bar Lubitsch a few days later and so I circled the night on my calendar.
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| Blu Jay and The lovebombs at Bar Lubitsch |
Now a little bit of a conflict popped up after I circled the date. I was asked if I could cover an LA Gives Back: Fire Relief event at The Bellwether. Okay, so the event was on a Wednesday night and Blu Jay and The lovebombs was playing on a Thursday night. What kind of conflict is that? Hear me out. I'm not a party animal (I like my sleep) and the LA Gives Back: Fire Relief was a dance party that went until 2 a.m. I have a regular job that sometimes has the most crazy conference calls. It so happened that I had a 7:30 a.m. conference call. Who schedules these sort of idiotic early morning meetings? I don't even want to get into it.
I did duck out of The Bellwether prior to 2 a.m., but when everything was said and done I ended up going to sleep at around 2 a.m. Then it was waking up at 7 a.m. to log onto my computer for that 7:30 a.m. call. Would I even have the energy to get to see Blu Jay and The lovebombs? I decided to ping Grant Owens (WFNM) and see what time the band was going on stage. He responded 9 p.m. A strategy started to form. Luckily, I was working at home on Thursday. I mean, seriously, if I'm having to get on a 7:30 a.m. conference call, I can at least work from home. The strategy: as soon as the clock hit 6 p.m., I was taking a nap. And so I did.
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| Blu Jay and The lovebombs at Bar Lubitsch |
I ended up getting to Bar Lubitsch at 8:30 p.m. I immediately regretted (sort of) having taken that nap, because Max Davey was finishing up her set. A very poignant folk set from what I could tell. Unfortunately she resides in Philadelphia so it might be a very long time before I ever catch another set.
Blu Jay and The lovebombs actually came up a little after 9:00 p.m. So either I could have slept a little longer or I really should have shown up earlier to catch Max Davey. I don't know. What's more important: sleep or catching live music? Of course, that depended on having some balance in life and not driving yourself too hard.
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| Blu Jay and The lovebombs at Bar Lubitsch |
The band started off their set with the song "Trees" that has a perfect electric keys hook to start off the song. The song has a wonderful blend of the singer-songwriter vocal simplicity along with the backing of a band. The band also played "All Fuh You" which is a collaboration between Duncan and Jack Xander (who plays keys in the band). At the time of the performance, the song held the number one rank at aBreak Music, which focuses on indie artists.
Other than hitting that musical balance between singing and backing band, Duncan has also taken on that sad girl attitude. I'm not the only one that has noticed. The band played a set at Madame Siam in Sept 2024 that was promoted as the Sad Girl Club. Her sometimes sultry, sometimes husky, and sometimes tender vocals emphasize the attitude. Her willingness to let her vocals adjust to the needs of the lyrics and music provides added intrigue to the band's songs.
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| Blu Jay and The lovebombs at Bar Lubitsch |
I'd say all the above is perfectly wrapped up in the band's latest release, "Money Power Sex Fame." When the song was introduced, there was a smile (opposite of the sad girl attitude, but who says sad girls can't enjoy life), "This next song is called 'Money Power Sex Fame.'" Someone in the audience yelled out, "What's it about?" That elicited some laugher from the audience and band, "All the good things, you know." I feel that was said with a touch of irony.
Money Power Sex FameAll these drugs don't feel the same
Give you one last chance to change
Was Duncan friends with someone who reached goals that were beyond the imagination and it changed their personality to such a degree that Duncan felt the need to end the friendship? A warning to all to keep yourself grounded no matter what?
Partial Setlist: Trees, Loose State of Mind, Money Power Sex Fame, All Fuh You, Untitled Unreleased Song, All In My Head.
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