MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE HITS ALL THE RIGHT NOTES ON OPENING NIGHT OF KIA FORUM RESIDENCY

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MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A SOLD-OUT FIVE-NIGHT RESIDENCY AT L.A.’s KIA FORUM

TRB WAS AT OPENING NIGHT LAST TUESDAY

READ THE FULL SHOW REVIEW WITH CONCERT PHOTOS BELOW…

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Gerard and that dang Flamethrower

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For a band that first came onto the scene at a time when it seemed like many of that generation were carbon copies of each other or just very surface-level. My Chemical Romance has easily been the band that has stood the test of time astutely navigating an increasingly challenging music industry. One where bands come and go or quickly lose their identity and creative freedom somewhere down the line. So to hear that My Chemical Romance was to return in 2019. A band that stuck their roots AND experimented. The band whose songs many of us adored in our teenage and young adult years when we felt unsure or worse about ourselves was back. Waiting two more years would only cause the feverish excitement around this reunion to grow.

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On each of the five nights, the band featured different opening acts. Night one, they had Youth Code, an EBM (Electronic Body Music) and Industrial music duo, and then the band Taking Back Sunday. Youth Code shook up the crowd. Unfortunately, much of it was still arriving. Lead vocalist Sara Taylor has a visceral and fierce stage presence. Something that truly opened up the show and what would ultimately be five nights of incredible music. Taking Back Sunday took to the stage next, with the crowd slowly filling up and even TBS taking note of that. The guys of Taking Back Sunday put on a fast-paced, energetic eight-song set. Frontman Adam Lazzara pulled out some sweet dance moves with every swing of his microphone. They ended with their 2006 classic and biggest hit, MakeDamnSure.

You could feel the weight of the two-and-a-half years reverberating throughout the forum. Hearing the crowd chant MCR! MCR! as The Foundations Of Decay familiar signature buzzing sound began to whirl until silence. My Chemical Romance takes to the stage under the cloak of darkness, with frontman Gerard Way walking out dressed as a cheerleader holding an actual flamethrower! Wait... what just happened? Before anyone can digest that, the band launches into The Foundations Of Decay, the first new song from the group in years, and it sounded just as harrowing and insane live. It was the perfect way to reintroduce the band in a city that can quickly become jaded. The band has never sounded better and more in sync with each other live. The band said early on that they were playing whatever they wanted each night, and that's what they did.

My Chemical Romance proceeded to hopscotch through their back catalog, playing with finesse and intensity. The crowd sang along, chanting, dancing, and even crying. Nostalgia had hit hard for many as the band went from songs like This Is The Best Day Ever, which has a harrowing punkish lean. To the power pop strut of Na Na Na, each of these tracks are two albums apart. Other songs like Planetary (GO!), DESTROYA, and Teenagers had the audience go from head banging to straight-up booty shaking. Also, that night the band pulled out, Desolation Row for the first time since 2011. One of the most unique and edgy Bob Dylan covers. The show ended with a two-song encore with songs from their first album, I Brought You Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. The moving heartache of Skylines and Turnstiles and the haunting euphoria of Demolition Lovers. Songs that both truly encapsulate why we fell in love with the music in the first place.

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BASTILLE RETURNS TO LOS ANGELES WITH THE ULTIMATE FUTURISTIC DANCE PARTY

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Last Friday Brit Pop genre-blurring kings Bastille made their return to Los Angeles with the Give Me The Future tour.

It's not often you find a band quite like Bastille. First off, It was the purest form of a Bedroom Pop project started by frontman Dan Smith. Now they're four albums in with over 11 million records sold and over 1.5 billion streams. The band explores new territory not only with the Give Me The Future album, but the tour as well. It's a modern treatise on A.I., technology, social media, modern anxieties, connection in its many forms, and the human condition. It's all told through the lens of a futuristic dreamscape with limitless possibilities. Now after over two years of dealing with loss, change, and bittersweet moments of joy and learning how to connect and live in this new and different world of ours. Bastille is back on tour, returning to a joyous crowd eagerly awaiting them since their last gig at The Greek Theatre.

The band took the stage at a new venue, the YouTube Theater in Inglewood. Although expectations were high, Bastille rose to the challenge exceedingly well as did the opener. Opener Alice Merton was well-suited musically for the opening spot. Merton's spirited Indie-Esque Dance Pop tunes quickly got the crowd on their feet and dancing. Her eight-song set flew by and included newer tracks like "Same Team" and "Vertigo" both digging into her Alt-Rock roots. Pop numbers from Merton's 2019 debut Mint, like "Lash Out" and "No Roots" all sounded big and amazing live, with the latter song crafted for the perfect anthemic closer.

As Bastille threw themselves full-throttle into the show, making sure everyone who attended left happy. Whether you knew all of their songs or only one. Whether you were along the barricade, or way up at the top. Bastille gigs have always been a safe haven. A place to have fun, and let go of any worries you may have for the time being. There were clear-cut fan favorites like the hits like "Happier" when Dan jumps into the crowd to jump and dance with everyone.

Bastille perfectly captured the futuristic fever of the Give Me The Future album in the live show, turning it up many notches on the production and sound. For fans and music lovers alike, the electrifying setup packed a punch in the rather intimate setup at the venue. The theater also had a unique floor and three-level setup providing fantastic indoor acoustics. The band itself (and in L.A. the lovely vocalist Senab) are now all front and center all in one line. The grandest giant pill-shaped 4K screen shows various vignettes and images for each song. Performing a twenty-song set with a two-song encore, the band feverishly welcomed the crowd into Future Inc. A futuristic dreamscape of sound and vision is divided into seven segments. Opening up with the funk disco-inspired "Stay Awake?" a track that's a nod to Dance and DJ music icons Daft Punk. It's the perfect way to open up the gig, a concert that was the ultimate escape and dance party. "Stay Awake" was the perfect segue into GMTF's lead single, "Distorted Light Beam". It is one of many songs on the new album co-written with Pop hitmaker and One Republic frontman Ryan Tedder.

"Flaws" is now gorgeously stripped back. While the ultimate sing-along "Things We Lost In The Fire" remains a staple at shows. Highlights from Doom Days include the groove-laden "Those Nights" and the racing "Quarter Past Midnight". "WHAT YOU GONNA DO?" of the Goosebumps EP is Bastille's most straightforward take on a rock song. It's also an absolute banger of a jam live, with frontman Dan Smith switching up the piano for the guitar. Dystopian dance-pop punctuates most of the night and rightly so. It is Bastille after all. It was apt that GMTF's moody title track, the spacey "Plug In", and the neon-drenched haze of "Back to the Future". All helped to keep the crowd on their feet that night.

The few quieter moments gave the show proper pacing and the band a chance to catch a breath or two. An unreleased track titled "Hope For The Future" was exquisite in a way that I haven't heard from Bastille. Ultimately highlighting how much growth and harmony the band has developed over the years. The band ended the night with "Shut Out The Lights" and, a bit of audience participation in the song's chorus. It's a song about being in the moment and shutting out the world with the one (or ones) you love. So far, "Shut Out The Lights" is a fitting successor to "Pompeii" in terms of energy and crowd response. Bastille remains the only band with each gig that easily transports me to another place (see what I did there?) and brings out the inner dancer in me. They've only up the ante with this new era and the multitudes of weirdness, creativity, and talent behind it all.

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BASTILLE | SOCIALS:

INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | TIKTOK | WEBSITE

STREAM GIVE ME THE FUTURE OUT NOW EVERYWHERE

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Check all the photos I took from last Friday's gig below!

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CONCERT REVIEW + PHOTOS: GLASS ANIMALS AT HOLLYWOOD FOREVER

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The new(ish) Indie Pop/Rock band are being hailed as one of the industry’s most exciting live music acts

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Indie Rock quartet Glass Animals brought their groovy brand of heat to Hollywood Forever on Sunday with the ‘Dreamland’ tour. It’s a funky blend of nostalgic meets vaporwave that permeates the album and that shows as well. The tour featured the Electro Pop newcomer Binki as the opener. He played a short engaging set closing out with “Heybb!”. It's a song you’ve most likely heard from its prominence of being in an Apple iPad commercial. While his energy was great, it was clear the crowd was there for Glass Animals (many didn’t arrive until they were on). The Indie Pop foursome comprised of childhood friends Joe Seaward, Ed Irwin-Singer, and Drew Macfarlane is anchored by the feverishly bold lead singer, Dave Bayley. All walked out to a stunningly loud crowd full of cheers and energy that was ready to dance. Bayley who held a captive audience all night was also ready to party with us. He hovered somewhere between bewildered and emboldened, in awe of the crowd. They opened up the set with the futuristic lullaby “Dreamland”. Which segued into the tribal drum-heavy dance bop “Life Itself” and the island-tinged “Tangerine” to kick off the party. Glass Animals tore through a 17-song setlist with such aplomb. Some of the major set highlights were the tour debut of “Poplar St.”.

Where Dave Bayley forgot the lyrics (it had been a while) but powered through like a pro. “Space Ghost Coast to Coast”, which Dave remarked was a bit eerie playing in a cemetery. Their new track “I Don’t Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)” is truly the ultimate dance party. They closed out their fun albeit spooky two-day residency at Hollywood Forever with a two-song encore. Of which included the bands’ breakout hit “Heatwaves” and the glitch-inspired “Tokyo Drifting”. Overall, Glass Animals displayed exciting musicianship. Their knack for writing super catchy lyrics with dynamic pop hooks, all transferred brilliantly into a live setting. You can check out my photo gallery of the show below.

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