Review: Cody's Program does the walk-off at The Goldfish

Cody's Program had a packed crowd at The Goldfish during a Rocknite LA night. It was partially driven by the backing vocalist Kelly Rose Golden (in a band called Rigby) who had a gaggle of friends surrounding her on stage while the band was setting up. I was hanging out at the stage with my camera, waiting for the band to start their set and I was gently edged out of my spot due to her crowd of friends. I wasn't upset by it. I just found it amusing. As the DJ played the tunes over the sound system, many of them were dancing. 

Cody's Program at The Goldfish

NFV Song Spotlight: Lower Merion's Wolf Shirt (How I Picture Dallas)

Lower Merion is the brainchild of Ryan Pollie. Playing alongside him are Ben Absent, Brooke Tannehill (who plays under the moniker Brookelen), and Pearce Gronek (who plays with Tannehill in the band We Shrunk). 

Lower Merion at The Goldfish

NFV Song Spotlight: Destiny Petrel's Dirtbag

Destiny Petrel hit the Bar Lubitsch stage during a WFNM night with a distorted metal walk-on guitar intro. It was like a moment on a Sunset Strip stage. "How are we feeling, guys?" That got some yells from the crowd who packed the venue. What a way to get the blood pumping both for Petrel and the crowd. She then launched into "Trippin In Chanel." It is an unreleased song, but it needs to be released. It started off with a quiet opening -- far different than her intro. Then one knew it was just about to explode. The lyrics got stretched out and the vocals peaked, an indication to her backing band that it was time to blast the ear drums. 

Destiny Petrel at Bar Lubitsch

Review: Muscle Beach Brings European Expressionism to the Zebulon

I took off to Zebulon on a recent Friday night to catch Agender's record release show (you can read the write-up I did of their set here). Prior to heading out, I took mild notice of the opening band Muscle Beach. By mild notice, I mean I glanced at their Instagram page just so that I knew what the band looked like. I walked into the venue not having a clue about what to expect. My assumption was that they were likely a punk band or based on their band name perhaps something in the line of Bonavega. 

Muscle Beach at Zebulon

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): May 25th - May 31st

A Handful of Show Alerts

Sunday, May 25th: Rachel Goodrich at Permanent Records Roadhouse. Doors at 6 p.m.

I covered Rachel Goodrich for Buzzbands during Echo Park Rising 2018. You can see my photo here. 

Tuesday, May 27th: Mo Dotti at Zebulon. Doors at 8 p.m.
I covered Mo Dotti's 2024 set for US Rocker Music. You can read that here.

Wednesday, May 28th: Sakshi Chopra at Hotel Ziggy. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my "Not My Fault" Song Spotlight here. 

Wednesday, May 28th: Tino Drima at Gold-Diggers. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my "Life on the Patio" Song Spotlight here.

Thursday, May 29th: Agender at Gold-Diggers. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my "Damaged Girls" Song Spotlight here.

Friday, May 30th: Andy Clockwise and The What Four at Gold-Diggers. Doors at 7 p.m.

I've followed Andy Clockwise for years. The What Four recently played Bigtop Bandstand, you can read my review here. 

Friday, May 30th: My Veronica and Annie Jets at The Goldfish. Set times start at 8 p.m.

I listed My Veronica as one of my favorite new bands of 2024. You can read that post here.

You can read my Annie Jets' "Avalanche" Song Spotlight here.

Friday, May 30th: The Mormons at Redwood Bar. Doors at 8 p.m.

I always have fond memories of seeing this band playing outside music festivals as fans were heading home.

Saturday, May 31st: Jagged Baptist Club and Julez and the Rollerz at Permanent Records Roadhouse. Doors at 9 p.m.

I covered the Jagged Baptist Club at Happy Sundays Long Beach 2024 for US Rocker, which you can read here. I covered Julez and the Rollerz's Is This Where The party Is? EP release party at Non Plus Ultra for US Rocker Music.

NFV Song Spotlight: Agender's Damaged Girls

Agender's record release show for Berserk at Zebulon was the third time I came across this band. The first two times were memorable moments. My first time crossing paths with the band was at The Echo during one of the last Monday night residencies held at the venue (oh how I miss those nights). It was Crook's 2023 residency and the line-up included Iress and Silent Mass. Iress is a band I've followed since 2019. The first time I saw the band was at Echo Park Rising and lead singer Michelle Malley played the set in a sling around her right arm. As for Silent Mass, I've been following lead singer Ammo Bankoff for years through various bands. She has a new project, I'll be there -- well, actually, she's in New York City these days so I guess technically if she comes out with a new project that plays a Los Angeles set, I'll be there. 

Agender at Zebulon

NFV Song Spotlight: Sakshi Chopra's Not My Fault

Sakshi Chopra stood off to the side, dressed as a modern day genie, while her guitarist played a quiet reflective intro. She then walked onto the staged, standing barefoot on a carpet that took on magical qualities. Standing there, she looked a touch nervous to start off the Hotel Ziggy set (a WFNM night). That nervousness quickly ended once she started to sing and dance through her opening song "Hypnotized." The song mixes in traditional Indian music with modern pop and R'n'B. The set got support from a huge fan base that was beyond capacity of the venue and had many standing in the hotel lobby area.   

Sakshi Chopra at Hotel Ziggy

NFV Song Spotlight: Trent Peltz's Wish I Knew How To Find Her

Doing some research on Trent Peltz, I came across an article that mentioned that he backs Grace McKagan on bass. I've seen Grace McKagan a handful of times and so I decided it was time to glance through some photos. (If interested, I covered Grace McKagan for Buzzbands, which you can read here when she opened for Irontom.) And yes, indeed, I do have photos of him on bass. He also played with her in the band The Pink Slips. I'm going to tuck that piece of information away as those who read my blog know that I love referencing the intertwining of musicians across various Los Angeles bands.

Trent Peltz at Bar Lubitsch

NFV Song Spotlight: Maddie Ross' Trash Fire

It was a Rock Nite LA night at The Goldfish. It was my second time heading out to this weekly (Wednesday) night of free music. So far, Rock Nite LA is two for two in my book.

Maddie Ross closed it out on this particular Wednesday. Playing with her was Zach Bilson. I bring this up, because there used to be this music festival called Brokechella that was forced to change their name to Broke LA for a legal reason. The festival focused on the Los Angeles music scene. Anyways, back in the 2017 version, Bilson played in 4 or 5 bands. That is just a memory that stuck in my head. What also stood out that year was that it was the first time I came across my favorite American Idol, Zealyn. It was also the first time I came across Thumpasaurus. Got to say, it was a solid festival line-up.

Maddie Ross at The Goldfish

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): May 18th - May 24th

A Handful (Bucket Full) of Show Alerts

Sunday, May 18th: Goon (3:10 p.m.), Hailey Wild (5:30 p.m.), Madam Bombs (2:00 p.m.), Maybellene Ryder (5:45 p.m.) at the LA County Fair. 

Sunday, May 18th: Emily Rose & the Rounders at The Echo. Doors at 5 p.m.

You can read my "Too Much Too" song spotlight here.

Sunday, May 18th: Osnova at Non Plus Ultra. Doors at 7 p.m.

One of my favorite "New to me, but maybe not to you" bands from 2024. You can read my list
here.

 
Monday, May 19th: Bitter Half at Harvard & Stone. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can read my "FY IMY" song spotlight here.

Tuesday, May 20th: King Mala at The Roxy. Doors at 7 p.m.

One of my favorite "New to me, but maybe not to you" bands from 2021. You can read my list here.

Tuesday, May 20th: Soft Palms at Genghis Cohen. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my "Rainbows" song spotlight here.

Wednesday, May 21st: Miya Folick at the Lodge Room. Doors at 7 p.m.

I covered her 2024 set at Echo Park Rising for US Rocker Music. You can read that article here.

Thursday, May 22nd: Easy Love at The Goldfish. Doors at 8 p.m.

Used to be part of Summer Twins, a one time favorite band of mine.

Friday, May 23rd: Escape-ism at Zebulon. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my "Charge of the Love Brigade" song spotlight here.

Friday, May 23rd: Isabel LaRosa at The Belasco. Doors at 7 p.m.

I covered her 2024 set for US Rocker Music. You can read that article here.

Friday, May 23rd: Jeffertitti at The Goldfish. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can see one of my photos maxed out on his prior band's Instagram page, The Entire Universe.

Friday, May 23rd: L.A. Witch at the Lodge Room. Doors at 7:30 p.m.

I covered their 2022 set at the Lodge Room for Buzzbands. You can read that article here.

Friday, May 23rd: Luke Pelletier at Permanent Records Roadhouse. Doors at 6 p.m. 

He was part of Pistacioland recently (same venue). You can read my review of that night here.

Friday, May 23rd: Trent Peltz at Hotel Cafe. Set time at 9 p.m.

I recently saw him play at WFNM.

Saturday, May 24th: Kills Birds at The Echo. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my "Glisten" song spotlight here.

Fans dance as Bigtop Bandstand returns to Frogtown Brewery

It is late spring, which means that country music showcases are returning from their winter break. Grand Ole Echo is currently in Season XX and you can read my recent post on one of their weekly Sunday shows here. Also up and running at Frogtown Brewery is Bigtop Bandstand, which I believe is a monthly Saturday event.

The What Four at Frogtown Brewery

NFV Song Spotlight: Kora's Far as I Can Tell

Kora (Kora Puckett) opened the night for Jawdropped on a Friday night at Zebulon.  He introduced the start of the set by saying, "Check the hands on the clock. It is 8:05, it is time to rock." He then proceeded to blast back open the Zebulon stage doors that had just closed. That did not literally happen, but it could have in an alternate universe where music has physical force. 

Kora at Zebulon

NFV Song Spotlight: Slowpoke's Tiki Dream

I was doing some research about a particular Rocknite LA event at The Goldfish. I was like, okay, I've seen Cartalk a handful of times. I've seen Maddie Ross. Who's this Slowpoke band? I took a look at their Instagram page and the faces looked familiar. Of course, this being Los Angeles, it was very possible that I just recognized the faces from other bands. That is, in fact, true when it comes to Tamara Simons who plays in the band Goon that I've followed for a number of years. When I took a look at their Instagram page, they only had 20-ish posts with their first post coming in 2022. Hmm. I decided to take a look at their tagged photos. There were a lot more photos and as I scrolled through I finally came up with the answer. Yes, I did know this band. They were previously playing under the name New Media. 

Slowpoke at The Goldfish

NFV Song Spotlight: Kesley Bou's stuck in atlanta

Kesley Bou played a recent WFNM night at Bar Lubitsch. She played a short 5 song set with three of those songs coming from her recent 2024 Bad Dream album. The set opened up with "in the dark" that has the lyrics, "You told me to move on, but I can’t let this one go." Yes, the album is filled with sadness. The next song was also from the album and got the introduction with a chuckle, "This next song is less sad. Give or take. It's called 'the end.'" This one has the lyrics, "Flowers wilting underneath. The weight of your feet." 

Kesley Bou at Bar Lubitsch

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): May 11th - May 17th

A Handful (Bucket Full) of Show Alerts

Sunday, May 11th: Brenda Carsey at the LA County Fair. Set time at 4:30 p.m.

I've followed Brenda Carsey for years. FYI: if you're wanting to head out to the fair to catch her set, make sure you head out early. I went out last year to catch Lucy & La Mer and it was traffic torture.

Sunday, May 11th: Linnea at Club Tee Gee. Doors at 8 p.m.

Read my "Tough Luck" NFV Song Spotlight here.

Monday, May 12th: Devon Ross at Zebulon. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can my 2024 review of one of her sets here.

Monday, May 12th: McKail Seely at Harvard & Stone. Doors at 8 p.m.

She's part of Harry Katz and the Pistachios. You can read my 2025 review of one of their sets here.

Tuesday, May 13th: Dove Armitage at The Roxy. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my 2024 US Rocker Music review here.

Wednesday, May 14th: Iress at The Echo. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my 2024 US Rocker Music review of their set here.

Wednesday, May 14th: King Isis at The Roxy. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my 2024 US Rocker Music review here.

Wednesday, May 14th: Paige Stark at Gold-Diggers. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my "City" song spotlight her band Tashaki Miyaki here.

Thursday, May 15th: Bruvvy at Hotel Cafe. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my 2025 review of their set here.

Thursday, May 15th: Moonfuzz at Alex's Bar. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can read my "Hell Week" song spotlight here.

Friday, May 16th: Mating Ritual at The Goldfish. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can read my 2021 Buzzbands review here.

 

Friday, May 16th: Niis at the Teragram Ballroom. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can ready my 2024 US Rocker Music review of their Happy Sundays Long Beach Festival set here.

Saturday, May 17th: Pegzilla at Supply and Demand. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can read my "Giver" song spotlight here.

NFV Song Spotlight: Sagittaire's Hi, It's Caroline

This was my second time catching Sagittaire, the brainchild of Ivan Mairesse. The first time was at Resident DTLA. That was back in August 2023. I so enjoyed the set that I listed Sagittaire as one of my favorite "new to me, but maybe not to you" bands of 2023. At the time, I described the music as a touch above subliminal.   

Sagittaire at Zebulon

NFV Song Spotlight: Kill My Coquette's Put Me in Your Movie Quentin Tarantino

It was time to head out to a Swyndle LA night at Harvard & Stone. This night was my first time in 2025. Kind of strange, especially since they've booked bands that I enjoy catching such as Blu Jay and the lovebombs. Something always got in the way and so I finally decided that no matter what, I was going to go to a Swyndle LA night. 

That's how I came across Kill My Coquette, the moniker band name for Natalie Denise Sperl. The band started off the set with "Slipped Him a Mickey." It's an homage to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. That's a book that I finally read last year. I picked it up used at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. I've seen both the 2009 and 2011 movies and so it only took me a decade plus to finally read the book.

Kill My Coquette at Harvard & Stone

Long Beach's Happy Sundays Festival (August 23rd / 24th) Announces First Round of Bands

Since 2018, I've always put the Long Beach's Happy Sundays festival on my calendar. The organizers of the festival (wife-husband team of Julia Kugel and Scott Montoya) recently announced the first set of bands for this year's edition, which will take place over the weekend of August 23rd - 24th. If you weren't aware, starting last year, the festival expanded to a two day festival. 

Grand Ole Echo is Celebrating Season 20 at The Echo

 

Grand Ole Echo is celebrating their 20th season of Americana and country music at The Echo. A couple years back, Los Angeles Magazine wrote up an article about how country music is a growing scene in the local music community. That is likely true, but even when country music wasn't at the forefront of the community, the Grand Ole Echo stood tall. 

Review: Bruvvy Loves Their Fans at Davey Wayne's

Bruvvy recently concluded their Tuesday night residency at Good Times at Davey Wayne's. I went out the last two nights of the April residency. I jumped venues for both of those nights and it was rather convenient. I started off at Hotel Ziggy (I actually saw the band play at Hotel Ziggy in 2024) and then drove east to Davey Wayne's and then continued east towards my bed.  

Each year I write up my "New to Me, but maybe not to You" list. The band made my 2024 list. Also, on that list are some musings and statistical info that relates to the year. One of the statistics that I always mention is which bands / singers have I seen the most times during the year. Bruvvy ranked second (along with a handful of others) at 3 times in 2024. After April 2025 ended, I've already seen Bruvvy 4 times. I see them one or two more times and they'll definitely end up on top of that ranking for 2025. In my mind, it would be well deserved, because I have so much fun catching this band live. Hopefully, this doesn't make me into too much of a groupie. There have been two other sets that I just skipped on purpose (meaning I could be at 6 already), because I don't want to be a groupie. I'm a bit too old to be a groupie. 

Bruvvy at Good Times at Davey Wayne's

NFV Song Spotlight: Jawdropped's Skully

As some people know, I've tried to put limits on how many times I go out to catch live music each week. I mentioned in my 2024 wrap-up, "I went out way too much this year doing photography. I’m going to need to cut that back in 2025 – fortunately or unfortunately." Have I been all that successful in cutting back how many times a week I head out? As of the end of April, I've gone out 10 fewer times than as compared to 2024. Not bad. Of course, I've replaced going out with the re-boot of this blog site, which had remained dormant for a couple years. 

Jawdropped at Zebulon

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): May 4th - May 10th

A Handful of Show Alerts

Sunday, May 4th: Maryze at Gold-Diggers. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my "Playing Dress-Up" Song Spotlight review here.

Sunday, May 4th: The Doohickeys at The Echo. Doors at 5 p.m.

You can read my "This Town Sucks" Song Spotlight review here.

Monday, May 5th: Los Rock Angels at Zebulon. Doors at 8 p.m.

I covered the band in 2024 for US Rocker Music.

Tuesday, May 6th: Hailey Wild at Hotel Ziggy. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my "Wake Up" Song Spotlight review here.

Wednesday, May 8th: Ughh at Non Plus Ultra. Doors at 8 p.m.

I covered the band for Buzzbands when they played the 2023 Happy Sundays Long Beach Festival. You can read my article here. 

Friday, May 9th: Night Talks at The El Rey Theatre. Doors at 8 p.m.

I covered the band in 2022 for Buzzbands. You can read it here.

Saturday, May 10th: The Paranoyds and Bushfire at Alex's Bar. Doors at 8 p.m.

Like with Ughh, I covered both bands for Buzzbands when they played the 2023 Happy Sundays Long Beach Festival. You can read my article here.

Saturday, May 10th: The What Four at Frogtown Brewery. Doors at 6 p.m.

I covered the band recently at Permanent Records Roadhouse. You can read it here.

NFV Song Spotlight: Ryan Fuller's Lover n' Friend

The main reason I went to a recent Swyndle night at Harvard & Stone was because I learned that Bruvvy was on the schedule. I have to say they're one of my favorite bands at the moment. You can read one of my articles on the band here. I was also interested in the other two bands. The opener had recently played a WFNM night that I wasn't able to attend. I was thinking, "Oh yeah, I get to catch them at Harvard & Stone." The other band follows me on Instagram and I figured it would be a good time to catch a set. 

Ryan Fuller at Harvard & Stone

NFV Song Spotlight: Maryon King's What's a Girl To Do

Maryon King hit the WFNM at Hotel Ziggy with Sabrina Carpenter vibes. Born in Moldova and raised in Italy and London, King now hangs out in Los Angeles. That seems like an interesting life. That makes my life seem so boring. I did spend three months living in Rotterdam, Netherlands so my life hasn't been 100% boring. I'm not sure this has me wanting to pack everything in a moving van and head off to Nashville or Austin, but it does get me thinking about that dusty passport that I haven't used in years. The jumping across Europe explains her accent. It sounds British, but not really British.  

Maryon King at Hotel Ziggy

She opened up the night with the breezy pop song "Naked" that she dedicated to the singles in the audience. In November 2024, she mentioned the following on Instagram:  I wanted it to feel like a flirty anthem and this song is for anyone who’s been in that messy space between fun and feelings. How flirty are the lyrics? Don't go catching feelings babe. I just wanna see you naked. She ended the song by saying, "Some of you guys are getting naked tonight. Or what am I doing?"

What I loved about her set is that she gave brief intros to all her songs. For example, "Bankrupt" is about being in a relationship where one person is putting in all the effort and the other person is not reciprocating. "You're left feeling empty. Basically, left bankrupt."  

Maryon King at Hotel Ziggy

Her set included a handful of unreleased songs. "Guess Who's Laughing," "Grass Is Greener," and "Ice Cream" will be on an upcoming EP that will be released in the summer. "Grass Is Greener" is about dating someone while at the same time thinking about meeting someone else who might have better qualities. She wrote the song "about being present in the moment and enjoying it." "

For "Understatement," she asked the crowd to dance and called out specifically one of her friends. It definitely is song that would get clubbers dancing. I don't go clubbing at all, but I did recently get to hang out at a dance night to raise funds for the Los Angeles fire victims (you can read it here) and I could imagine people jumping around while singing the lyrics out loud.   

Maryon King at Hotel Ziggy

She ended the set with Radiohead's "High & Dry." Talk about a club atmosphere ending. She had the crowd singing with her, "Don't leave me high. Don't leave me dry." 

The song spotlight "What's a Girl To Do" is her latest release. She introduced it by saying, "I usually talk about relationships and 'Oh, he f*cked me over. I'm so sad. Oh my God.' But I basically wrote this song for my ladies in the room. I grew up in a very strict family where sometimes I had to behave in a certain way. Be the good girl. Follow all the roles. This song is about the double standards that women have. Be pretty, but not too pretty. Be smart, but don't be too intimidating. Have babies, but also have a career. Sometimes all this pressure is too much." It is an emotional cry of frustration from a 24 year-old. That song has a staccato beat to emphasize the hair pulling of it all. 

It's enough to drive me crazy.
Can't keep up with these rules.
What's a girl to do.

Audience comment of the night. When she decided it was too "hot" to wear a jacket, a friend yelled out, "I agree." 

Maryon Kings comment of the set: I'm out of breath. I'm feeling the vibes. 

Setlist: Naked, Bankrupt, What's a Girl To Do, Guess Who's Laughing, Grass Is Greener, Understatement, Ice Cream, High & Dry (Radiohead cover)