Happy Sundays LBC

For the second year, I ventured over to Anaheim St, in my own neck of the woods, to catch some of the Happy Sundays LBC festival. Started three years ago, the festival is a great opportunity to watch some up-and-coming smaller acts, especially a few I missed a couple weeks back. A number of the bands the last few years have also graced the stages of Echo Park Rising. This time around, I only caught a handful of acts, since my very busy fall semester began on Monday. The acts were spread out through various venues, as far west as Alex’s Bar, and as far east as DiPiazza. Most of my time was spent at the venue in the lot next to Analog Records and Commodity Coffee. Here are some highlights from the bands I watched:

• Velvet Starlings are a band I had heard great things about, so I was excited to have them in our own backyard. And they were fantastic. Since they were only playing with two members, they definitely gave off a White Stripes garage rock sound. This was a slight spin on their normal retro/60’s sound. And the lead singer/guitarist/keyboardist is only 16. Watch them live if you ever get the chance.
• The Gems was not a group that I’d originally planned on seeing, but the heat guaranteed that I was going to stay at the venue and have a few beers. They had a relatively larger crowd than the rest of the bands I watched, with their new wave/rock sound.
• Lily Waters was the 3rd act, and one I’d been wanting to see. The band sounded great, and lead singer Gabbi Green was charismatic fronting the group. Check out their song below.
• The last act I caught at Analog was Triptides, bringing their breed of psychedelic jams to Happy Sundays. They sounded impressive, and tight as a unit. Definitely watch them if you ever get the chance. It might have been the combo of beer and heat, but they were reminiscent of early Tame Impala.
• After hiking over to DiPiazza in the hot late afternoon, I finally caught Janelane. I featured one of Janelane’s songs in a previous blog, so I was stoked to catch their set. They entertained with a set of songs I hadn’t yet heard, except for the or two I caught online. I’m a fan of lead singer Sophie Negrini‘s style, and can’t wait for their next release.

All in all, my only regret was not watching more acts. With this many bands only a few miles from where I live, it was nice to not have to drive (and park) way up in LA. Next time, I’ll try to watch more. These five acts were great; give them a listen, and catch one of their live sets. And LB peeps, I’ll see you at the next LB music event!

Clockwise from Top (Janelane, Triptides, The Gems, Velvet Starlings, and Lily Waters)

Albums/Playlists Currently Spinning

Coachella Weekend 2 Set – Aphex Twin // Someone on Reddit recently posted the Aphex Twin set from Coachella, that I attended. This captures some of the awesomeness of his show, minus the extra weirdness from his visuals.

Fear Inoculum – Tool // After 13 years, Tool has finally released this long awaited record.

Norman Fucking Rockwell! – Lana Del Rey // Not going to lie; I’m digging the latest outing from Lana Del Rey. There’s speculation that she’ll be at Coachella next year, off the heels off this new album.

I Used To Know Her – H.E.R. // The latest offering from H.E.R., who had one of my favorite sets at this year’s Coachella.

Tracks Currently Spinning

Zachary – Emma Cole // I first saw Emma Cole perform last year at Happy Sundays LBC, and loved her voice. Here’s her newest cut, named after her late cousin, Zachary.

Venice Bitch – Lana Del Rey // Yes, this song’s been out for almost a year, but I’m digging it in 2019.

Darling – Lily Waters

 

Other Music Stuff…

I’m taking a break from music fests the next couple weekends (I’ve been at them three weekends in a row). But I will be visiting Del Mar for the 5th KAABOO festival. While this is probably my least favorite lineup, I am excited to catch Dave Matthews Band for the first time at a festival (I’ve seen them 8 times in the past). I’ll be blogging about past KAABOO fests in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here’s the 2019 lineup:

Also, I don’t typically pay much attention to MTV anymore, but I did catch Missy Elliott’s performance at the VMA’s. Wow, that was refreshing to watch! I saw her a couple years ago at FYF, and she killed it then. Here’s the clip of her VMA appearance (where she performed while under the weather). Could she be a possible headliner for Coachella? I’m all in if she is. Enjoy.

Here’s my ongoing playlist, updated weekly with both new and old tracks I’m listening to.