Posted June 5th, 2011 by Meg
Although I usually prefer to post chronologically, I will backtrack for special occasions that I want to remember forever. The special occasion I am referring to is Yelle, the delightfully fun & French electropop band that performed at The Music Box on 5/21/11.
Yelle is pronounced like the word “Yell” (the e is silent) BECAUSE the band was originally called “Yel” as an acronym for “You Enjoy Life” but after finding out there was already a band in Belgium (”eurocrunk” style) using that name, the French band feminized the name into Yelle. Currently, the band consists of the lead singer, Julie Budet (who goes by the name Yelle); GrandMarnier (Jean-François Perrier/drums); & Tepr (Tanguy Destable/keyboard).
I remember first hearing “Je veux te voir” around 2006-07 through the archaic website some of you might remember called MySpace (the one thing MySpace was good for - helping bands get their music heard). And then sometime in 2008, I heard “Ce Jeu.” To this date, these are two of my favorite Yelle songs (I don’t think I’m alone in that statement).
When I found out Yelle was playing in Los Angeles, I did not think I was going to be able to get tickets. A combination of having never been to Music Box before and it being only days before the show led me to assume I wouldn’t be able to get the tickets. Fortunately, my pessimism only allowed me to be that much more excited and pleasantly surprised to find that the tickets were available. Overall, Yelle was great live and helped kick start my fun summer. I hope to see them again someday in the future (preferably in Europe)!
Les faits saillants:
- Easy and free street parking! [I hate paying for parking]
- The tickets only allowed me upstairs in the balcony section. Although some would be upset that they were not near the stage, I loved being able to relax upstairs, sip my Heineken, take the time to look at the crowd and the crazy art on the wall, and just enjoy my personal space. [Not usually a fan of being in sweaty, albeit dancing, crowds]
- The French man selling shirts was very nice to me and didn’t hate me for asking so many questions [I usually have a lot of questions]
- Yelle, the band, put on a great show! There were the Safari Disco Club costumes, fun dancing and crazy lights. Even the Tchiki Tah Man showed up (from the “Que veux-tu” video)!
- Yelle, the person, is an adorable femme fatale. She owned the stage with dance moves that transcended grace, all the while oozing awesome and sex appeal. Yelle also made a reference to the highly publicized rapture that was supposed to occur that day. The icing to the cake was her repeated angelical voice stating to the crowd “Thank HUUUUUEEEEEEEEE!”
Posted September 24th, 2008 by Meg
Last Thursday my roommate and some old friends went to see Vampire Weekend at the Wiltern. Before the show, we stopped at Casa Bianca in Eagle Rock and got some of “the best pizza in Los Angeles.” I have not tried enough pizza in the city to know if this statement holds true, but I do know I like their pizza. I ordered the Wheat Crust with Cheese and Eggplant. I was expecting the eggplant to be cubes or slices that were baked in with the pizza, but they turned out to be isosceles triangles that were either fried or just soaked in some oil before they were baked on top. Regardless of how they were cooked, it worked well with the wheat crust. I don’t know if I will get the wheat pizza again though because it was a little too dry for me. Sometimes in the battle between health and tastiness, you should just go for the tastiness. I learned my lesson! My roommate ordered a medium pizza Half Tomato, Garlic, Artichoke and the other Half Mushroom and Sausage. I got to try a piece of his, and the Tomato, Garlic, Artichoke tasted so fresh!
After dinner we headed over to see Vampire Weekend perform at the Wiltern. For those of you know familiar with Vampire Weekend, they are an “indie” band from NYC that formed after they graduated from Columbia while working full time jobs. Although they fall under the “indie” genre, it’s not your typical indie, not to my ears at least. Nicholas Thorburn (The Unicorns, Th’ Corn Gangg, Islands, Reefer, and Human Highway) calls them “trust fund frat rock,” but I don’t really agree with that….Maybe we’re thinking of different frats. They are bouncy, lyrical, happy, and remind me of summer. The song that gets played most on the radio is A-Punk:
Three interesting facts:
1. They became popular through blogs; Yay, the power of blog!
2. They were on the cover of Spin Magazine (March 2008) with the caption: Year’s Best New Band BEFORE their debut album was released!
3. They were dubbed “the Whitest Band” by Christian Landor, the creator of Stuff White People Like in a Salon.com interview (click on the link to read their interview! I especially like the last question: “The white people who like your site — are you just giving them another way to feel self-congratulatory? “)
It was their second night there and they played a fun set. It was short, but sweet. Even though they do not have many songs to perform (they only have one album under their belt), it seemed like everyone knew them, creating a warm sense of unity. Or something. They did play a few songs that have not been released yet which I found to be catchy and a sign that their next album will have at least one good song on it. As you can see in the picture of the stage, I was not close nor did I try to push my way to the front.
One part of the night that I especially enjoyed was the part where I finally REGISTERED TO VOTE! Yay! Right when you walk into the Wiltern there is a table of people making sure you have registered to vote. I know that in a few short weeks I will be bombarded with numerous jury duty summons, but it’s worth it! I read recently that California has slightly more than half a million registered voters now than it did four years ago. Registering totally got me pumped up! If you haven’t registered, go HERE. In California, the deadline to register to vote for an election is 15 days before each local and statewide Election Day, so that would mean the absolute last day you can register is October 21th, 2008. Anyway, that’s all I’m saying; I don’t care who you vote for or why you’re voting for so-and-so, I’m still going to make fun of you for the other decisions you make in life (like that ridiculous hat you wear every so often….) So you might as well just do it.
Casa Bianca
1650 Colorado Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90041
Get Directions(323) 256-9617
The Wiltern
3790 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Get Directions(213) 388-1400
Posted September 4th, 2008 by Meg
Last Saturday, my boyfriend and I traveled downtown to the LA Firehouse to check out the Cannibal Flower Show. Sadly, the event has nothing to do with cannibals or flowers, but what it lacks in flesh eating flora it makes up for with crazy local art of all forms! The Cannibal Flower Show is a portable venue art exhibit that occurs once a month. It started in 2000, when a couple of artists solved the problem of dealing with conventional art gallery politics (slides, pitching, jumping through flaming hoops) by using alternative, transient spaces to showcase the underground art and music of the city. In 2006, they opened a walk-in permanent location, Thinkspace Gallery, which is now located on Sunset Junction.
We arrived before the event started, but they were kind of enough to let us in early (admission was eight dollars). The featured artist of the exhibit was Eric Montoya. His art makes your eyes do the equivalent to squats and lunges; seeing things in things is how I naively describe it. More specifically, seeing hidden faces in flowers and nature. It is pretty incredible. There was one painting of his at the exhibit that I was unable to see anything beyond the nature, making me wonder if it was done purposely to mess with the observer’s brain or if there was something there, but my eyes are just unable to perceive. Please look at a few of his pieces that have obvious hidden faces in them, like Introduction or Wistful, and then take a look at Carpe Diem and tell me whether I am:
a) Blind as a bat! It’s so obviously right there!
b) Super right! There is nothing there! (or we both need to see an eye doctor)
We left before the music started playing, because we are sometimes a boring couple. In retrospect, I wish I had stayed because apparently the event turns out to be a raucous party. Maybe next month!
Cannibal Flower Show
Los Angeles, California
(310) 397-2244
theirspace
Posted August 16th, 2008 by Meg
This past Friday my boyfriend and I went to Friday Night Jazz at the LACMA. Every Friday LACMA showcases a leading southern California Jazz performance. Tickets are free with no reservations needed. The event starts at 6pm and ends at 8pm. We only made it to the last hour of the show, but it was awesome! We saw the legendary drummer, Peter Erskine play with pianist Alan Pasqua, saxophonist Bob Sheppard, and bassist Tom Warrington.
I don’t know much about jazz, but I do know that I liked what they were playing. The whole vibe of the event was relaxed, but the music was still upbeat and positive. There was a diverse selection of people there, both young and old. Alcohol was being sold on the premises, but I do not know what they were serving, just that people were willing to wait in relatively long lines. Through general observation I am assuming you can bring your own to the event too, or at least sneak some in unnoticed.
While the final songs were being played, I noticed there was an older couple rocking out by the stage. Their dancing made them stand out from the crowd not only because most people were sitting down on chairs or standing off to the side but because there was no method to their dance movements. Each arm flail was random and unique to the sporadic leg kick or swinging butt twist that may or may not have followed (Think Elaine from Seinfeld). They were so taken over by the music they did not care what other people thought of them. Or even better, maybe they were crazy homeless people that wandered into the event and thought they were fitting in. Either way, it was pretty uplifting to see people that in the end blatantly did not care what others were thinking of them and fully enjoyed their moment with the music.
I would highly recommend this event to anyone. I think it would be an awesome place to go to for a date. You could start your evening here and then go to a nice restaurant in the area afterwards. It would also be fun to go with a large group. But, it would still be enjoyable to go to solo. You cannot lose with this event. It will be no surprise to see me there at another performance before it ends in November.
I have no idea about this automobile. It was just there, in the middle of everything. So I took a picture. Looks Native American themed. Any ideas? Also, the name of this post is in regards to the name of the song they played last. Peter was like “and this last song is called something like Bulgaria.” I didn’t know if he meant the song was called “Bulgaria” or “Something like Bulgaria.” Crazy Jazz musicians!
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Get Directions(323) 857-6000
