[LIVE] Rodrigo Y Gabriela @ KCRW’s Apogee Sessions

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Rodrigo Y Gabriela. I’d been hearing their names for years and probably like many of you, dismissed them thinking that instrumental acoustic guitar music wasn’t quite my thing. Then last week, upon my return from a 50 mile bike ride in Mexico (and mere hours before whatever was in that water caught up with me…) and in the perfect Cinco de Mayo mood, I got to see them live. And it changed everything I thought I knew about instrumental acoustic guitar music.

KCRW hosts these “Apogee Sessions” in recording studio in Santa Monica and it is an amazingly intimate setting to see music. I’d been lucky enough to see Vampire Weekend, Cold Ward Kids and Airborne Toxic Event there so wasn’t going to risk missing another great show. It was everything that the hype had promised.

Rodrigo and Gabriela are long time friends from growing up in Mexico and their guitars spoke and danced between each other like nothing I’d ever seen. The music itself is endlessly restless, shifting gears and genres multiple times in a song. They touch on all their influences, even giving their acoustic guitars some serious metal thrashing. Bt watching their fingers make all those sounds up close it something truly magical. I would highly recommend their live to show anyone. Although, you may not get the very special cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” that we got as encore. And you certainly wont get me singing along from the back of the room! (Relax, everyone else was singing too…)

Catch the whole set and interview tomorrow morning May 14th on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela’s new album 9 Dead Alive is out now.

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[LIVE] Breton @ Echo 4/29/2014

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The UK’s Breton came to LA last night and rocked the damn house for a sadly under-filled room. A lot of people missed out on a killer show as they ripped and romped through their offbeat indie favorites like “Envy” and “Got Well Soon”. Those of us who were there know whats up…

[LIVE] Tove Lo // Los Angeles 4.22.2014

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I finally got to see Tove Lo live last night at Popshop and it was everything awesome I could have imagined. Her voice holds up, the production was killer, and most importantly, everyone was stoked to be there.

But what did other people think!?

Bonus jams. Get down.

10 Reasons Why Lighting In A Bottle is The Festival to Be At This Year

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Blah blah blah Coachella. Thats all anyone can talk about this time of year but frankly that festival is not for everyone… In looking for an alternative to 3 days walking the desert runway (and 3 weeks fishing dust out of my nose) I saw that Lightning In A Bottle has a killer lineup this year. The festival takes place on a forest and by a lake. That is exactly the kind of setting I want for my music festivals! Keep your sand storms! I’m climbing tree, going swimming, and laying  in the shade while listening to these rad bands that you wont find is the dustbowl of Indio this weekend…

1. Moby

Call him a legacy act if you have to but besides being one of the finest (and biggest) acts of the 90s, Moby is still kicking out jams. And unlike the unfortunate Fatboy Slim set at Coachella, I bet you he wont be pandering to contemporary EDM trash with his set.

2. Phantogram

Now this is a festival band! Big sound and perfect for rocking out with hundreds of strangers who all know the words!

3. Gold Panda

Festivals are all about getting a bit weird and Gold Panda is the perfect soundtrack to any adventure deep into the forest/mind/someone else’s tent…

4. The Polish Ambassador

All the music this killer beat-smith releases is available for “name your price” which means he wont break your bank when you fall in love with his jams and need all him music after the fest.

5. Ryan Hemsworth

Time for another trip…

6. Chet Faker

Soulful and oh so damn sexual. Chet Faker is probably my favorite voice these days. Also best beard. I’m looking forward to catching both live.

7. Kraak & Smaak

8. Marley Carroll

You have no idea how excited I am for Marley Carroll! These two jams below are enough that he should be top of the bill yet somehow he hasn’t blown up yet. So damn groovy and addictive!

9. Story Of The Running Wolf

A lot of people like to enjoy mind altering substances at festivals but you may want to keep your dosage low before watching Story Of The Running Wolf perform… Just a heads up…

10. Slow Magic

Watching this music lie in a forrest will either be totally cool or totally haunting but either way its gonna feel crazy.

If that linuep doesn’t get you jazzed then check out the full lineup here! Even more awesomeness like Little Dragon and The Gaslamp Killer.

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X Ambassadors – “Unsteady” + “Free & Lonely”

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It’s been a long 2 years for the band called Ambassadors that we fell in love with at our 2012 SXSW showcase. The NoteOn remix of their mega jam “Unconsolable” ended up topping our list of the years best remixes, they then added an X to their name, and recently collaborated with Keljet and The Knocks on some great dance tracks. But all that was just the prelude.

Now we have some proper new X Ambassadors tracks and damn if the main course doesn’t blow those other snacks away. The Reason EP is wall to wall with Sam Harris huge voice and their signature pounding percussion. “Unsteady” picks up where “Unconsolable” left off, beautifully showing off what they can do with the tender side of things, stripping their sound back to those bare X Ambassadors essentials. EP opener “Free & Lonely” is a more raucous affair, perfect for singing/clapping/swaying/air-sax-ing along to. I highly recommend you do all 4 of those when you see them live soon. They are on tour now.

[PARTY] FMLYBND, Scouts, Troubadour Parade (+secret guest) 3/29 @ The Satellite

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Good thing you weren’t that into your Saturday night plans anyway because now you can drop em like cold fries and come rock out with The Burning Ear at the FMLYBND show tomorrow night! Special guests include Scouts and Troubadour Parade and one that I cant even mention…

FACEBOOK EVENT

Get into the mooood for love/fun/dancing.

SXSW Recap – March 11 & 12

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[tps_header] SXSW has been too crazy to give you guys a proper recap but here are the highlights from The Burning Ear Instagram from the first 2 days. I’ve partnered with the awesome guys at California Limited and been down here cooking up some really cool stuff for you guys. I caught some great shows and had some awesome breakfasts. Stay tuned for the full interviews coming soon and make sure you are following The Burning Ear on Instagram for all the action!

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Tuesday – 3/11

Hunter Hunted

[LA EVENT] The Burning Ear @ The Spare Room Hollywood

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If you are in Los Angeles this Thursday night then you know that the place to be is The Spare Room in Hollywood. This week I’ve got some great music lined up from TBE favorites and new comers. AJ Jackson from Saint Motel will be Djing sweet jams between sets. Nicky Blitz will be playing live and we will be hearing his latest killer song “Alex” which is awesome. And newcomer Jerome Holloway will be starting things off slow and soulful. Come out and hang with some great music and fantastic cocktails. And remember, its free!

Saint Motel (DJ)

Nicky Blitz

Jerome Holloway