Bootleg Theater: Polartropica with The Colour Coast and Holander

The colorful Polartropica residency continued at the Bootleg Theater. Lights were bright, which is unusual for the Bootleg Theater. Of course, it helped that Polartropica brought floor lights along with reflective panels that were on both sides of the stage. And the fashion of the musicians emphasized the colorful, as well.

The Colour Coast opened the night with their Latin dance music. Their music had their lead singer Marley dancing away. She did so much dancing that she tripped and stumbled at one point. She recovered quickly and replied, "That's the first time I've ever fallen on stage." Well, hey, there's a first for everything. It is always nice to catch this band's dance tunes. The band is always in action, which makes for some fun photography.

The Colour Coast

This was my first time seeing Holander. I was previously invited to catch her set a couple weeks earlier at the Moroccan Lounge, but had other plans that night. One has to love her energy on stage. Her 30 minutes were spend putting on a stage performance worthy of praise. And that pink stretch outfit of hers reflected the stage floor lights, turning her into a bright star.

Holander

Polartropica mixes in Asian sounds with Western pop. And kept the pink fashion going. There was an amusing moment in the set that came in the very first song. Ihui came up on stage with a trumpet. Now she was using it as a prop for the back-up sounds. Well, during the song she put the trumpet down. As the song was coming to an end, she picked it up just a split second too late. She was going to do a prop blast of the trumpet, but the back-up sounds beat her too it. You could tell from her facial expression that she was thinking, "I missed the beat." But hey, onward and upward.

Polartropica

Weekend Overload: Queen Kwong, Annie Hardy, The Colour Coast and many more

The weekend started with a Friday trip to Redwood Bar. I was looking forward to this night. I randomly noticed that Queen Kwong was playing that night. The last time I saw Queen Kwong was in 2013. It was in San Francisco of all places. I was temporary working up there for 4 months and she happened to be playing a set in the city. Soon after, she moved out of Los Angeles. I was definitely going to catch her set.

The Great Sadness

The first band I saw at the Redwood Bar was The Great Sadness. This two piece band gives some raucous noise. Then up came Annie Hardy. I swear she looked familiar. It is always possible that we've crossed paths at various venues before, but she looked like someone I'd seen before on stage. Her music was a touch on the minimalist side. A keyboard. A guitar. Soft vocals. Then she happened to ask the crowd what they'd like to hear next. She gave three options. One was a Giant Drag song. "Wait a second," I thought, "I've seen Giant Drag before." Saturday morning, I spent time looking through various photos and blog posts and finally found out that I had seen Giant Drag way back in 2011. It took awhile, but I finally caught up with her again. I'll keep an eye out in the future for Annie Hardy.

Annie Hardy

Queen Kwong closed out the night. Her set started out with a bang as she launched into a full blown rocking queen set. I was blown away, realizing what I'd missed for so many years. She took control of the Redwood Bar. If it was the stage, she was on her knees screaming into the microphone. If it was in the crowd, she was up there climbing the rope ladder that hangs on the wall. Sometimes, you just can't believe how much you've missed a favorite musician.

Queen Kwong

Saturday night was a double hitter. It started out at the American Barbershop where I caught 3 bands: Beers 4 Fears, Speed of Light, and The Lungs. Beers 4 Fear had a dark fantasy set. There was the thick book filled with -- I do suspect -- ingredients to potions and brews and perhaps a few scary prophecies. Speed of Light is a young tween band that knows how to rock and put on a show. They're more than willing to give the camera a smirk. The Lungs gave the night some solid heavy and fast beats. And plenty of hair flings.

Beers 4 Fears

Speed of Light

The Lungs

With that, it was off to The Hi Hat to celebrate The Colour Coast's single release party. I got there in time to catch Glacial Palms and their beautifully structured harmonies. Then it was on to The Colour Coast. There was a heightened sense of energy radiating from the band. The packed house no doubt got them going. While shooting from the side, an individual came over and suggested I take video of what was going to happen next. Obviously, he had a sixth sense about what was going on. I ended up taking a quick video of the crowd singing and clapping to the tunes of the band.

Glacial Palms

The Colour Coast

Sunday just kept the music weekend rolling. Of course, I first had to watch a very stressful Duke basketball game. Mercy, Duke nearly got taken down, but they survived and advanced in March Madness. Hopefully, they are able to play better basketball this coming weekend. As soon as the game ended, I rushed over to The Hi Hat to catch Michelle Young's birthday bash. I was able to catch the last two acts. James Byous, who mentioned that he's known Michelle Young since high school, gave a set filled with sweat and emotion. Then Michelle Young closed out the afternoon. Of course, it being her birthday, there were some candles to blow out. A doughnut from Donut Friend did the trick for a cake substitution. Her singer-songwriting sets are always filled with enthusiasm. And there were some special guests. One special guest was Heather Cole. I've seen her name splashed around various music bills, but I've never gotten to see her. I'll need to make an effort to catch one of her sets. Moment of her set has to be when her feet were in so much pain she just had to take off her high heels and finish out the set barefoot. She didn't want to do it, but sometimes you just got to do it.

Michelle Young

James Byous

Wild Riot in the afternoon/The Hi Hat in the evening

It was off to Wild Riot's Summer Sessions. I've learned, after going to the prior week's version, that the Summer Sessions is all about music genre mashup. On this specific afternoon you had The Millennial Club and The Colour Coast who bring the indie grooves. Sherif Serag and the Time Travelers and Glam Skanks pumped up the volume.

Weather. So it wasn't as hot as the previously Summer Sessions. Hot, but manageable.

Interesting occurrence. If someone was to blow the electricity, you'd think it would be either Sherif Serag and the Time Travelers or Glam Skanks. Nope, it was the indie grooves of The Millennial Club that blew the electricity. Luckily, Wild Riot was able to find another electric outlet that was working. It just happened to be in a corner that was furthest from the stage. Who says that Wild Riot doesn't come prepared. They brought out multiple electrical extensions and had things up and running in no time.

The Millennial Club

Couldn't help but notice: The Colour Coast was a total family affair. Wives/girlfriends/children. It was a big family affair. Funny moment was when the bassist started to look and play in my direction. I noticed him indicating with his eyes. I looked over to my right and his daughter had a smart phone in her hand. He was obviously wanting her to take a cool picture. I think she was feeling intimidated, because she made no move to take a photo, instead looking a touch shy.

The Colour Coast

You've got to notice fashion choices sometimes. For Sherif Serag and the Time Travelers, we have a 4 member band. Three of the band members were in all black: pants/shirts. One band members decided to go against it all. He wore black pants, but went with a Hawaiian t-shift. And there was a nice wind blowing that brought in the cool air. It blew just enough to bring down the Wild Riot signage that was set against the wall behind the drummer. For the last few moments of the set, the drummer picked it up and put it over his head to show that this was a Wild Riot event. Amusing.

Sherif Serag and the Time Travelers

Sometimes you run into a musician once every 3 years. The bassist for Glam Skanks looked incredibly familiar. I couldn't for the life of me place it. I had to do a little snooping. I went to her Instagram page and noticed only two similar connections. From there, it wasn't difficult to figure out. I'd seen her once before at Hotel Cafe, playing in a band called Spectacular Spectacular. One of my other connections (friend) was playing back-up during that specific night.

Glam Skanks

In the evening, it was off to The Hi Hat. More than a couple weeks had passed since my last stop at The Hi Hat. It was time to return. Leggy Peggy was having an EP release and brought the Americana sounds to the venue. Boots, cowboy highs, Western style skirts. And there was a song, I believe, titled "New Mexico." With that all, it was a singer with her guitar and raspy vocals.

Leggy Peggy

Opening up was The Terns. Per Hannah (Leggy Peggy) it was a family affair as her brother is the drummer for this band.

The Terns

Quick Hit Band Interview: The Colour Coast

The Colour Coast at The Satellite

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

How would you describe your sound? Tropical indie rock.

Is there a specific decision the band has made (good or bad) that it feels other bands/artists can learn from? Always putting an emphasis on community building and supporting other artists.

Own Q&A: Where are you all from? Canada, Argentina, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Miami, Bay Area, Minnesota.

A Friday Night (1/26/2018) at The Satellite

This was a night that I wanted to catch at The Satellite. Why? Three of the four bands that night were bands that I'd seen before and enjoy catching live. The fourth was having a release party and bands bring it when they're having a launch party.

MetronOhm opened the night with their jazz tunes. Lead singer Annabelle gives her best when she goes with her Audrey Hepburn inspired avant-garde dance moves.

Comment one of the night: You're all so quiet. So respectful.

Comment two of the night: You're all awake, right? That's good. It's a long weekend ahead.

MetronOhm

TwoLips followed up with some jazz/R 'n B sounds. Their lead singer has the most fascinating fashion style. Part of me thinks Dr. Seuss. Then the other thinks The Simpsons. Finally, I end up thinking Madonna wearing long sleeve gloves. Well, she puts on dance moves that would impress Madonna.

Moment of the set: On my secondary Instagram account, I post photos of shoes that musicians wear. So during the set, I was photographing a shoe of one of the musician's shoes. When I took the shot, I looked up and the musician had a smile on his face. I couldn't help but suspect that he'd kept his feet in place to let me get the shot I wanted.

TwoLips

The Colour Coast was the band having a release party and The Satellite was nicely filled for them. They brought the pop flavors with a sprinkling of Central/South American sounds. Katy Perry would be proud with the swaying dance moves that sent arm sleeves floating across the stage. As the set ended, there was a group dance party on stage, which included the three lead singers from the other bands of the night. 

The Colour Coast

Livingmore closed out the night with their country-inspired rock sounds. Since I seem to be on this singer/actress trend here, let's say that lead singer's Alex Moore's thigh high boots would make Shania Twain jealous. To end the set, Alex went to The Satellite floor and engaged the audience in some joyous post-midnight dancing. 

Livngmore

Noticed: There was an elderly gentleman in the audience who was really into the music, but as the night progressed became more and more drunk.