Darienne Savoy opened up a December night at Hotel Ziggy the right way for the WFNM crowd. Her R&B vocals were smooth and polished, delighting all. Joining on keys and backing vocals was her producer Noriko Olling while Kaili Sincere and Aaron Junior provided additional backing vocals. And I should not forget that hidden off to the side was guitarist Yohei Nakamura.
 |
| Darienne Savoy at Hotel Ziggy |
They/Live took the stage at Zebulon on a December night. It was an interesting route to Zebulon on my part, but I'm glad I made it. The previous night, I got a last minute request to cover a set in DTLA. I pinged my contact the next morning (being the night of the They/Live set). I was told that everything was a go with a photo pass and ticket at the box office window. I got to the venue at around 7:30 p.m. I went to the box office booth and was told I had a ticket, but I wasn't on the photo list. I spent the next 45 minutes trying to resolve the situation. I sent texts to my contact. I sent Instagram messages to the two performers that night and even sent a message to someone I know who occasionally works at the venue. It just wasn't meant to be.
 |
| They/Live at Zebulon |
Sunrose (lead vocalist and guitarist Jaxon Rose, bassist Tripp Bowers, and drummer Jax Kemp) had drummer Kemp take to the El Cid stage for a Whiplash solo percussion opening. Got to love it when a band let's the drummer open up the night. On that early December date, the band's aggressive style was the perfect setup for headliner Devon Thompson (you can read that review here).
 |
| Sunrose at El Cid |
Jesse Detor might have been the opening artist at El Cid in early December, but as soon as the doors opened to let the crowd into the venue, many of them rushed to the front of the stage in anticipation of her set. That enthusiasm for her music was reciprocated with pop-punk energy on her part. The rocker recently moved to Los Angeles, having grown up in Minneapolis and attended the Berklee College of Music.
 |
| Jesse Detor at El Cid |
Child Seat (the duo of Madeleine Mathews and Josiah Mazzaschi) kicked off the night at The Goldfish in a celebration of girlish figure's music video release for "Please Her For Pleasure." You can read that review here. I've followed the band since 2022, but I've known about both Mathews and Mazzaschi for much longer. I came across Mathews via MAWD in 2019 and I've followed Mazzaschi since 2011 (oh yeah, I've been hanging out in the Los Angeles music scene for way too long) via Light FM and then in 2018 via Bizou. Interesting fun fact about Bizou, bassist Nicole Fiorentino is known for playing with Garbage and The Smashing Pumpkins. Circling back to Child Seat, I've always loved the band and in 2024 I covered their record release show for their sophomore album Dancing at The Disco, which you can read here.
 |
| Child Seat at The Goldfish |
I've been hanging out in the Los Angeles music scene long enough that when I saw the band Font was playing Zebulon, I immediately flashbacked to a band called LA Font. That was a band that played the Los Angeles music scene from around 2008 to 2018. I believe I saw that band band four different times between 2011 and 2014.
 |
| Font at Zebulon |
