Quarantine Online Sets: Version 72

It has been a very long while since I last watched a Desert Nights' Instagram Live. There was a long break and then I missed a night. Anyways, I got to catch ADY on a recent Wednesday night. There was apparently an audio glitch between ADY and Valida at the beginning, a synching issue. To be honest, I didn't notice any audio glitch. I guess that's the world of technology.

With her boyfriend working the camera, ADY started off with an R'nB sound. At times, when not working the camera, the boyfriend could be seen walking in the background. Cherry Glazerr showed up in the comments -- cool friends in high places.

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 47

Wednesday night meant heading over to Desert Night's Instagram to catch a couple artists.  

Brendan Willing James opened up the night. His music has a Glen Hansard quality to it. There is also this lullaby softness to them.

Throughout the set, he tossed in some thoughts about his life. For example, he's spent this time in COVID-19 lockdown planting a garden. He also moved out to Ojai (not sure if this might have been done way prior to COVID-19). This is the second musician I've heard has moved to Ojai. Very interesting as the town has a population of less than 10,000.

Brendan Willing James

Justine Bennett closed out the night. Her vocals and music has a real warmth. During the middle of her set she did a cover of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind." Throughout the set, she dedicated songs to friends she noticed were watching online. A fun classical folk set. 

During the set, there was this beeping sound that kept popping up. Initially, I actually thought it was coming from my work phone and I was getting notices. No, it was coming from her boyfriend's / husband's computer. She and those online had some fun comments about that. The beeps showed how much effort she put into the set. They had set everything up via a software package on the computer and then connected it to the phone. 

Justine Bennett

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 46

Husky from Australia popped up on Desert Nights Instagram live. I had never heard of them, but of course had faith in Desert Nights. I was blown away. What peaceful tonal sounds. They threw in a wonderfully done cover of "Need You Tonight" by INXS. A cool Australia shout out.

As can be seen in the photo below, their set was played in a clean white painted living room. There was a wood floor, a fireplace and a painting hanging from the wall. A look that matched the style of the band. 

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 36

The following online sets took place nearly two weeks back, but I still have fond memories of a recent Wednesday night. It started off with WFNM and Disco Shrine. This is the second time Disco Shrine has played an online set for WFNM. I'm pretty sure I got a shout out at the start of the set. I love getting shout outs. It only happens on rare occasions. What's so cool about her online sets is that they're so similar to her live sets. She spent the set dancing to the camera with microphone in hand. A highlight song was her recent release, "Future Memories."

Disco Shrine

Next up was Royal and the Serpent. I just recently came across them via a Buzzbands' Spotify playlist. On the playlist was the song, "Overwhelmed." I was immediately overwhelmed by the song. I couldn't get it out of my head. The lead singer has rather unique vocals. For WFNM, I loved her interaction with the online audience. A very memorable set. 

Royal and the Serpent

Karmic closed out the night on WFNM. The whole band got together for their set. The two lead singers just have the best vocals. They blend together for some New Age Jazz sounds. There is also the undercurrent of Latin influence. This is the type of music you play while on a drive up the California coast. 

Karmic

After Karmic, I switched over to Desert Nights to catch Lauren Barth. While she played, I imagined myself sitting at a coffee house. I was drinking hot chocolate and eating chocolate chip cookies. And I was scanning a photography book while the beautiful music drifted through my ears. Someday.

Lauren Barth

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 28

In pre-COVID era, I seldom jumped venues on the same night. I'd just stick with one venue and catch the bands for the night instead of jumping to catch a favorite band at one venue and then jump to another venue to catch another favorite band.

Well, for this Version 28 of online sets, I did just that on a Wednesday night (July 15). I jumped from the WFNM online live stream to Desert Nights and then back to WFNM.

I started off with Nightly. They're a band from Nashville, but their lead singer was playing a set from Philadelphia. He was in Philadelphia, because his sister just gave birth. What a talent. Those pop - folk vocals just had a perfect pitch.

Nightly

Devin Kennedy had a nice solo set-up going on with a microphone stand, high chair and a stacked drum set that he didn't use other than for a glass of water. There was the rug and maroon curtains. The set with just lower lights would have worked perfectly at Hotel cafe.

Devin Kennedy

Then came the jump to Desert Nights to catch Rachel Goodrich. The set was played at Valida's house (host of Desert Nights). This has to rank as one of the most humor filled sets during quarantine. Rachel Goodrich played both full songs and then did partial demo songs. In between that, she'd run into the house (she was playing outside) to give Valida a hug. There was a whole WiFi conversation that would make for a perfect comedy sketch. It was like watching late night TV.

Rachel Goodrich

After Rachel Goodrich, I jumped back to WFNM to catch Cailin Russo. The set was played in what looked like someone's back yard. It was a full band set with friends (maybe family, as well) hanging out watching the set. With it being 9 p.m., the set was played under the bright porch lights. The country-tinged sounds gave the perfect setting to call the evening a time well spent.

Cailin Russo

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 27

This past week of online sets was a bit more muted for me than normal. My usual online venue of choices were shut down this week: WFNM and Los Angeleno. But that didn't mean I wasn't able to catch some sets. Lauren Lakis was up on Jam in the Van. Of course, she wasn't jamming in a van. She was jamming in her living room. I love how the sunlight blasted through her living room window. It is always hard to determine the true sound of a singer when they're doing their songs solo versus with a backing band. Yet, I get the sense that Lauren is switching up her sound from one of punk-rock to one with a bit of psychedelic influence. Unfortunately, her set had technical difficulties at the end so I think the set is lost for good.

Lauren Lakis

On Wednesday, I went over to Desert Nights to catch Monogem and Ryan Levine. Desert Nights does things a little different than other online venues. Those sets are a mix of music and conversation. I've seen Monogem a couple times, but not anytime recently. It is always cool to catch back up with an artist. Ryan Levine played with emotion. And wait, did he say that Meryl Streep showed up at a set?

Monogem

Ryan Levine

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 18

It was off to various online music sessions this past week. On Monday, Livingmore was doing a combined Facebook and Instagram set. They were doing it from their home. I'm telling you this, lead singer Alex has the best vocals. Those vocals are pure gold. One thing I've learned watching online sets is that a lot of lead singers just don't have the vocal chops. I could be wrong on why I'm noticing this now, but I feel that acoustic sets expose a lot of faults. Maybe it is the lack of reverb? Maybe backing musicians cause the ear to focus on multiple sounds at once? Anyways, it makes me appreciate this band all the more.

Livingmore

Wednesday night was spent jumping around Instagram. First, it was off to Desert Nights where I caught Jadea Kelly and Daniel Blake. Their sets were a mix of conversations with Desert Nights' host, Valida, and music. Jadea Kelly is a Canadian who is living in Los Angeles at the moment. The conversation revolved around if she would consider visiting Canada again during this time. The answer seemed to be no as Canada requires people to go into a two week quarantine so it wouldn't be very convenient for her to do so. What I loved about her set: her top cabinet doors in the room she was playing in were wide open. So I'm not the only one with cabinet doors that just randomly open up? And there was the moment after she finished a song where she started to cheer for herself. Hey, those watching were no doubt cheering her along so why not provide some actually proof?

Jadea Kelly

Daniel Blake was celebrating his new song release, "Heartbreaker." The song was inspired by Tom Petty. The song was written to honor the singer after he passed away. He had the background lights going along with a tiny plastic cactus in the background. The cactus provided reference to the cactus that is the symbol for Desert Nights.

Daniel Blake

It was then a jump over to WFNM to catch a couple bands. First up was Powers. I'm guessing the band has been working on new material lately and has been on hiatus from live shows as I noticed that their Instagram account has been silent since July 2019. Well, I think their fans were wanting a live show, because a number of viewers showed up for their set. The set started out rather moody, but then soared into moments of meditation. Their sound was the perfect blend of piano and harmonies. To keep things light, the band did a toast for remaining positive. LP showed up in the comments, which got a shout out by the band.

Powers

Ninet Tayeb played from Israel. So though it was nighttime for us, it was the early morning for her. She spent time throughout the set, sipping coffee. Her music hits some emotional high points. What I noticed was how some artists want assurances in this world of online sets. I think that applies to Ninet Tayeb. After her first song, she asked Grant Owens, the host, if everything was running smoothly.

Ninet Tayeb