Carlita Loves Music

Come with me on my musical journey…

Me, Myself and I at Paid Dues- Black Hippy, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Talib Kweli, Immortal Technique et. al at San Manuel Ampitheatre April 1, 2013

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When I heard about the Paid Dues music festival a few years ago, I was mildly curious but passed due to the venue selection. Exclusively hanging out in a concrete parking lot, standing for hours just wasn’t my idea of a good time anymore. I was going to pass this year too but the lineup was too enticing plus I wanted to support Murs (who I discovered had various meet and greets and walked through the crowd very approachable during the day) and indie hip-hop. Still not thrilled with the venue selection of the NOCC Center, when I learned of the San Manuel Ampitheatre venue change, I was optimistic. I had never been there before but having a seated ampitheatre earned a few points in its favor. I sat down with the artist schedule and set my plan for the day- a few meet and greets, a few sets and I’d be all set. A lingering bummer stayed at the back of my head that I’d miss Lalah Hathaway at Club Nokia to attend Paid Dues but the choice was made.

Planning to arrive around 1:30 PM to attend the first meet and greet of the day- Jean Grae and Joey Bada$$, things did not go as planned. Snaking traffic caused by a bad accident on the 215 and the traffic around the one lane road to get into the parking area prevented me from doing so. When I arrived at the parking area, I was told there was VIP parking and VIP VIP parking which was $20 extra and not included in the VIP ticket I purchased (Strike one). After the long walk from the VIP VIP parking and a big hike uphill to the venue entrance (Strike two), I went from one line to the next to finally get what I needed to start the day. By that time I missed Jean and Joey so I sulked my way to the Paid Dues stage to catch The Internet and The Grouch and Eligh. Not sure how far the Dues Paid and Monster Energy stages were, I decided to investigate after meeting The Grouch and Eligh. G&E’s set provided one of the highlights of the day.

Held in the VIP tent which had dope DJs playing all day, the meet and greet started with each artist being asked by the staff when they arrived to sign 40 posters for whomever which put some in a bad mood before greeting their fans. Not sure whose idea that was but that should have been done beforehand and discreetly. G&E were friendly as usual and accommodating to fans who had several memorabilia pieces for them to sign and posed for pics. Was happy that The Grouch remembered me from our interview back in December so that made me smile. After checking out a bit of De La Soul’s (my first time seeing them solo) set, I set out for the long trek to the other stages. Saw a bit of Joey Bada$$’ and Killer Mike’s sets but it was a little hard to concentrate as the stages were right next to each other with competing soundsystems. Hiked back to the Paid Dues main stage to catch the tail end of Talib Kweli’s set who was joined by Jean to do a song and met him in the VIP tent. He seemed a little shy but I was thrilled to meet the second half of Black Star so of course I awkwardly blurted out I was a big fan and he smiled. Ran back to the main stage to catch Immortal Technique who made the crowd say “Viva La Revolucion!” at the end of his set and then went back to the VIP tent to meet Hopsin. I missed his set but he was so nice, I made it a point to check out his music when I returned home (He’s dope!). Ended the night with Tech N9ne, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and Black Hippy (with Kendrick taking a backseat to the other members until the end). Had heard third-hand about the hype around Macklemore and his set wasn’t what I expected at all. He danced, made funny comments about white people being sunburned at music festivals and set up each song well. He was a pleasant surprise. All in all, it was a relatively fun experience minus the logistical items and the best part of the day was listening to new artists and reconnecting with familiar ones. Rock The Bells it was not but was still worth the time and effort.

 

Do You….Like Fallin’? – Miguel and Alicia Keys with surprise guest Kendrick Lamar at the Staples Center March 13, 2013

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You know the feeling when you haven’t seen two of your favorite artists for a while and they announce they are touring together? It’s a dope feeling. I smiled when I got the e-mail Miguel and Alicia Keys were touring the world in 2013. Working on each other’s albums released in 2012, this partnership makes sense and has sounded dope so live would sound no different.

Annoyed that I arrived at 7:40 because I missed Miguel’s tweet to get there at 7:30, he was already onstage singing “The Thrill” once I got to my seat. Finding a ticket at the last minute in the perfect location five rows up from the floor, eye level with the stage, Miguel transitioned into “All I Want Is You” soon after. He asked the crowd, “Who’s here to see Alicia Keys?” and a group of girls behind me screamed , “We’re here to see you!” Dancing, doing splits in a typical high energy fashion, he referenced it was good to be home several times. Performing 45 minutes and ending his set with “Adorn”, of course I wished he played longer.

Last time I saw Alicia Keys, it was my first time and she was radiantly pregnant and glowing. In 2013, she truly is a girl on fire, confidently sensual and more mature as a wife and mother. Moving all around the stage, she had a ballet dancer and male backup dancers flanking her, gliding through her discography from old to new. Showing her unparalleled piano prowess, she made the crowd sing along often and we gladly obliged. One of the fav moments of the night had to be when Kendrick Lamar came out to do “Poetic Justice” and “Swimming Pools”. I can think of 101 reasons why I’d see Miguel and Alicia again!

 

Rock and Roll is Def Not Dead- Looking Back on Love Lenny Kravitz Doc at Arena Cinema Theatre March 11, 2013

Filed under: Music — carlitasconcerts @ 6:43 am
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For as long as I can remember, I’d listen to classic rock, funk and soul on annual road-trips during the 80′s. Those songs will remain forever imprinted in my cerebellum. Then along came Lenny Kravitz who was clearly also influenced by these genres and blended them perfectly in 1989. I too wanted to “let love rule” and go whichever way he was going at the time. As he’s aged, can’t really think of any other artist that is sexy just reading a book ( for anyone who bought his last tourbook, you know what I’m talking about). When the opportunity arose to watch his “Looking Back on Love” documentary about making “Black & White America”, I’d “come on get it” ASAP.

Showing two screenings of the documentary at Arena Cinema including a Q&A with the director Matheiu Bitton, it was the perfect small setting to get a glimpse into a relatively reclusive artist’s life. I knew Lenny was at the core a cool person but I didn’t know he was this cool. Chillin with the natives on Eleuthera, the Bahamian island where he lives, hanging with his family, he’s as laidback as they come. Even his dog is badass confirming the fact he’d be on my list of people with whom I’d love to spend a day.

Had no idea he played other instruments besides guitar (he also plays piano, bass and drums in the film) and he was a collector of classic recording equipment (like stuff from Abbey Road). Was a honest, humble picture of a great artist. After the movie, Matheiu the director fielded questions about Lenny’s family, the process of making the documentary, his studio right on the beach, the touching scenes with Herman Leonard and more, even joking about not having Lenny’s 6 pack abs. Was a nice chill night paying homage to the ultimate “supersoulfighter”.

 

Putting It Down- Brandy at Club Nokia February 23, 2013

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Have you ever listened to a song and you remember exactly where you were when you first heard it? You remember what you were wearing and who you dedicated it to at the time. For me, Brandy is one of these artists. Her first two albums are still two of my favorites and helped me through my unrequited love filled teen years. She had it all- a hit TV show, hot videos (I so wanted to be a backup dancer in her “Baby” video) and lots of girls imitating her hairstyles. She remained elusive live so when she announced she was performing a few months ago, I def had to go.

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Beginning the show, Bridget Kelly opened doing some covers and ended with her single, “Special Delivery”. I’d never heard of her before but she sounded pretty good. Next up was B Rocka who got everyone on their feet including her parents, her daughter and even Ray J, sitting a few rows away from me, who were all there to support her. Everyone knew every word to every Brandy song and roared back lyrics from all of her albums including classics like ” Baby”, “The Boy is Mine”, “I Wanna Be Down”, “Full Moon”, “Who Is She 2 U” and ended her 60 min set with ” Put It Down”. She even worked a Whitney Houston tribute medley in there, leaving the audience craving more and wishing the set was longer but she was def on “top of the world” last night.

 

Saving My Black and Blu Soul- Gary Clark Jr. at the Roxy February 11, 2013

Filed under: Music — carlitasconcerts @ 2:06 am
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One of the best perks as a music fan in LA during Grammy weekend, even though a lot of it seems inaccessible to the average person, is the ridiculous amount of live shows going on, for four straight days. Blues, pop, rock, soul,EDM- pretty much everyone was playing this weekend. Holding out because I thought there might be a Roots pre-Grammy jam, I waited to the last minute to decide which to attend. But once I saw the complete group of shows on the Saturday before the Grammys, the choice was pretty easy (though Santigold down the street was pretty tempting) . Gary Clark Jr.

Playing the live festival circuit intensely last year, I encountered him at UCLA’s Jazz Reggae Festival and stood in immediate awe. Pretty much most people with guitars should pack up and go home in comparison. As Gary said, “There ain’t no one like me around”. Raw and natural, he doesn’t need many words . Coming onstage last night at the Roxy without acknowledging the crowd, he picked up his guitar and hit the first notes of “When My Train Pulls In”, making the crowd go apesh-t. How many people do you know that can do that? Playing for 90 minutes in jam style where songs last 5-10 minutes, his guitar wailed, cut like a DJ scratching and filled my ears with such bad-ass goodness (yes, such a thing exists), I closed my eyes at times and let it wash over me. Accepting shots from the crowd periodically during the set, he smiled and cheered, in between songs. Firmly slotted in my #1 spot for top concerts of the year, it will take a force to unseat him at this point. Thanks for bringing blues back into the mainstream and am happy to see “things are changin’” once again.

 

Passing Torches and Playing It Forward- Lupe Fiasco, Ed Sheeran, Lianne La Havas, Leanne Rimes et. al at the Saban Theatre February 10, 2013

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In case you live in Los Angeles and haven’t noticed, award season is in full effect right now, with the Grammys touted as the biggest event in the music world each year. Falling into this world by accident, hearing about a Grammy hip-hop event through a random tweet three years ago, it’s become something I now pencil into my schedule each year. Although I don’t always agree with the nominations nor taking some ethnic categories away in one fell swoop, I admit they do know how to throw a party. Or several, over an action packed four days.

One of these events is the Grammy Foundation’s Annual concert which features different themes each year. This year’s theme focused on influencers that impacted or will impact future generations. My favorite reason for going to their shows (it’s my third in a row) is that I end up discovering someone I absolutely love. Starting with Dionne Warwick, we’d end up seeing Yolanda Adams (who brought us to “chuuch”), Ann Marie Simpson and Mike Einzinger, Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell (who will be releasing a duet album soon), Kenny Wayne Shepherd (he was awesome despite tech issues) and Leanne Rimes (doing a cover of “Summertime”), Lianne La Havas (she was great), Ed Sheeran (the more I see him, the more I like him), George Thorogood and the Destroyers (still “bad to the bone”) and Guy Sebastian and Lupe Fiasco ending with a rousing version of “Battle Scars”. Minus the mildly boring speeches (during one of them, this guy sitting nearby asked his gf, “WTF is she talking about?”), it was a fun show.

At the reception afterwards, you could see the crowd of the small community of record label execs, producers, marketers and musicians all schmoozing with each other. They were all decked to the nines and as BB King would describe in one of the videos they showed during the show, they were dressed like “they were going to the bank to borrow some money”. Of course I stood out like a sore thumb in the room but really didn’t care. Still Lol at the guy who stopped me to tell me I had an “interesting look”. I was pleasantly surprised I had the pleasure of meeting Emmylou Harris and gushed sloppily about admiring her contributions to music, to which she graciously thanked me and agreed to take a pic. Very cool lady. Clearly, this little D-list (move over, Kathy Griffin) music peon enjoyed mingling with the “A Team”.

 

Carlita’s Fav Live Shows of 2012 January 1, 2013

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2012 was quite the year for the live show lover like me. It had a tough act to follow with Prince’s 21 nite stand upstaging everyone else in 2011 but artists still found their own ways to rep to the fullest.  If I had my way, I would have been at a live show every day (Resolution: def need earplugs in 2013). Lots of national tours, smaller shows, I saw it all in the Bay, LA and Vegas(ok, almost all).

10. Alanis Morissette and Souleye at Fox Theater Pomona

Love, love, love Jagged Little Pill and loved, loved, loved hearing it live. Alanis possesses a contrasting strong and mellow power on stage. Was happy to belt “Head Over Feet” and “Ironic” along with the rest of the crowd.

9. New Edition at Nokia Theatre

Saw my favorite childhood crush group twice this year, singing and dancing through every minute of it. Revisiting solo songs like “Poison”, “My My My” and group songs from Bobby and Johnny eras of New Edition, I was in no rush to “cool it now”. The after party situation was a little disorganized but meeting Johnny Gill there made me forgive and forget.

8. Allen Stone and ZZ Ward at the Troubadour

It goes without saying that Allen Stone(loved his “Sex and Candy” cover and we know bro’s got soul) brings it live but was pumped to discover ZZ Ward opening for him. Was so dope getting a chance to interview her a few months before her album, “Til The Casket Drops” dropped, in an eerrily empty Avalon Theatre.

7. Raphael Saadiq and Lenny Kravitz at Nokia Theatre

Could not have smiled any bigger when I found out these two were touring with each other. Although I wished Raphael’s set was a little longer, he set the tone for the show doing his signature blend of classic and neo soul. Seeing Lenny do a mini set the year before, I was ready to rock out royally for 90 minutes. I can always thumb through the concert souvenir book I got with shirtless pics to reminisce.

6. The Roots Pre-Grammy Jam

Frustrated the year before the Grammy Jam wasn’t open to the public, the Roots remedied the situation, getting an assortment of dope people to come through like Childish Gambino, Elle Varner, India Arie, Trombone Shorty and more, though the night started off somberly. We will always remember this night in LA as this was the night Whitney Houston died.

5. James Morrison and HoneyHoney at Humphreys By The Bay

Seeing James at a secret show in February, he returned to do a full set of songs from all of his albums, exhibiting some dance moves and his sense of humor (he told a funny story about writing “Slave to the Music”) between each song. HoneyHoney, a country pop duo, set him up nicely.

4. UCLA Jazz Reggae Fest featuring Gary Clark Jr, Selah Sue, Shaggy and the Roots

Getting media passes to attend this at the last minute, I knew the music would be great (ahem, Gary Clark Jr and the Roots?) but everything else turned out to be gravy. Gratefully got to pop my correspondent cherry interviewing Selah Sue, Sonnymoon, Thundercat, Cris Cab and platinum reggae artist Shaggy there too.

3. Fiona Apple at the Greek Theatre

Addicted to “Tidal” as a teen, this was a long time coming. She suspended her world tour because her beloved dog Janet is dying so I felt grateful to be able to see her on an unusually hot night at the Greek. Brash, awkward, insecure, all of this played out on stage as she played piano and banged drums at times through her nostalgic set.

2. Rock The Bells Mountainview featuring Common, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, Ice Cube, Immortal Technique, 2 Chainz, Kid Cudi, The Grouch and Eligh, Salt-N-Pepa, Bone Thugs and Nas

RTB always tends to be towards the top of my list from the sheer volume of talent and I debated long and hard about whether I’d travel to the Bay for this show (I liked this venue better). Meeting a variety of artists I always loved -Common, Big Daddy Kane, Naughty by Nature, Bone Thugs, DJ Scratch- and would grow to love -Zion I, Eligh and The Grouch who I just interviewed, it was a phenomenal time. Nas wrapping up the fest was the cherry on top.

1. D’Angelo at HOB Sunset/ MJB/D’Angelo/Melanie Fiona at the Sleepy Train Pavillion and Gibson Ampitheatre

17 long years I had to wait to see one of my favorite artists of all-time. The guy who dropped two of my fav albums of all-time. Seeing clips from his earlier shows in Europe, I couldn’t sit still waiting for him to play a show in my city. When July 4th rolled around, I was jumping out of my skin in anticipation. Getting to hear him soundcheck before the show hyped me up even more. As expected, the next two hours would blow my mind and make me eager to hear his complete “James River” album.

Immediately arranging to see him again (sitting front row center in one show-couldn’t believe this one) on the Liberation Tour with MJB (who I’d end up meeting in Concord) and Melanie Fiona, I was exhausted, hoarse and beaming after the weekend was over. That’s all you can ask for as a music fan.

Some big tours lie on the horizon in 2013. Will they outdo 2012? We shall see.

 

 
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