Kristen’s Playlist

The British Are Invading

I returned to the Hollywood Bowl recently to enjoy the LA Philharmonic play cool Britanica music. I didn’t know the genre existied but sure enough, it’s pretty cool to listen to a live orchestra play various scores from James Bond movies. They also performed some tunes from Austin Powers but the other tunes were a bit more sleepy than cool.

The big draw for the night was Jamie Cullem. I love him and he played with the orchestra. He sounded brilliant! He wasn’t as crazy as he usually is when it’s just his band but he did a good job showing off his talents to the somewhat older crowd.

What a cool night.

Picnics & Music

People have been enjoying picnics at parks for centuries. It is a sure sign of summer when you’re packing up some chicken, salads, cakes, and cold bubbly drinks.  I’ve been to some great parks that attract people to pull up a blanket and unwind with food. Parks like Austin’s Zilker Park (home of ACL Festival), Washington DC’s National Mall or Manhattan’s Central Park (of course).

Well, LA has a few great parks too, one of them being the Arboretum in Santa Anita (and even though I’m a native of LA, this was my first visit). An estate of open land originally owned by Elias “Lucky” Baldwin and converted to a park in 1947. The park has developed into a beautiful collection of trees and botantical plants.  For several summers now, the California Philharmonic has offered a summer series of thematic musical adventures. It’s a great show and pretty inexpensive to get general seating in the park area ($20 for the lawn, seen above). Bring your own eats and enjoy the view.

What’s your favorite park to picnic at? I’m hoping to check out as many as I can before the summer ends.

Summer Time: Santa Monica Pier Concerts

Santa Monica kicked off it’s 23rd year for the Summer Dance Series. I snapped a photo of Brandy Shearer who opend for David Lindley. Though we got a little fog that night, the rest of the summer should be full of beautiful sunset performances. If you’re in the LA area, the Santa Monica pier is not that far away.  Plus, it’s a free show and definitely a “must-see” event.  Other performances this summer will include Patti Smith, Arrested Development and Los Lobos.

John Mayer in the Open Air

It wasn’t my first time seeing John Mayer, but it was my first time listening to him at the Hollywood Bowl. There’s something magical about the Bowl. Not only is the sound amazing but your nestled in with the crowd and tucked in with swaying tall trees. You forget that your in the heart of Hollywood and its just you and the music.

As people were still arriving and the sun was slowly setting, Rocco De Luca and Ben Folds took the stage. They were entertaining, I preferred Rocco’s sound though. He has one of those rough, early Bruce Springsteen voices. Ben had a fun piano beat but sounded kind of like he was just trying to jam on nursury rhymes. His magic was lost on me.

Then the stage changed its look. Rugs were rolled out.  Extra instruments were set up. And then there was anticipation. One thing you can count on with John, he’s always late. When he finally arrived, you forgot about the wait and just enjoyed the music. His new album Continum is awesome. Some blues, some guitar, some slow and some fast tunes. But they’re all good. He mixed up his last few albums in the set and talked for a few stretches with the crowd. He joked at one point that he has a theory that love is on the way but had no clear evidence of it yet (I guess a nod to his recent break up with Jessica?)…hmmm. You can guess, it was an intro to his song “Love Is on the Way.”

In his encore, he did an accoustic set. And he sounded perfect. He is such a talent he even blogs!. You have to see him once. Dont’ be threatened that chicks love him, who doesn’t want to be around a bunch of hot ladies on a night with drinkind and dancing? Come back soon, I’m seeing the Police this weekend. YEAH!!!

Triple Door- Seattle

My first time to Seattle was a couple weeks ago, with Tommy, and we took the city by storm. Maybe not really by storm but we walked all over downtown, ate our way through many restaurants (love Tom Douglas), scoured the fish market, witnessed the underground, sailed the lakes, rode the monorail, skyrocketed to the Space Needle and slipped into the Triple Door.  The hard part about visiting a new place is having to find the cool gems of the city.  The Triple Door is one of Seattle’s gems. In looking over their acts, you can tell they don’t really book main stream artists but the scene and stage are such an artistic vision itself that you don’t really need an amazing singers or bands to enjoy it. 

I especially love that the Triple Door was inexpensive to get into and there weren’t any drink minimums even though they seat everyone in these cool, old school half-moon booths.  You step into the basement of this old hotel and step back into time.  I half expected a crooner to come on stage. It’s a sight to see.

The night we were there, we watched Sean Nelson (in Nelson Performs Nilsson). Talk about a random act! But he has a great voice and he is actually quite entertaining. He has great stories and he’s funny as hell. If he comes to your town, check him out or just check out his MySpace page.

What’s your favorite live music venue in Seattle? I’ll be sure to check out it out on the next trip.

Maroon 5 Private Jam

Here is your sneak peek at an upcoming Yahoo Music/Nissan Live Set with Maroon 5. See image above.  Ok so it’s just a photo but let me tell you- it’s worth a thousand words, so here goes.

-First time they played new music live (Fox Studios in Century City, CA)

-Fans are still loving the band

-Adam Levine sounds even better than last time

-Their new song, I think it’s called The Reason, will catch on like wild fire

-The other few new tracks they played were just as good, get the CD when it’s released

Loving the Disney Concert Hall

Forgive the unclear image, I took this with my Treo.  If you haven’t been to the Disney Concernt Hall, add it to your new year’s resolution list. This hall is BEAUTIFUL. From the lobby to the seats, you feel enveloped in a true music experience.

I recently attended a Lyle Lovett concert there and the sound was awesome. There wasn’t really a bad seat in the house since they are all pretty close to the stage. The walls that surround the inside of the hall are made of wood carvings, which make it feel outdoors-y and home-y. It reminded me of Butter (a NY restaurant, check it out if you head out there).  I only wish there was a campfire around.

Check out more info here.