Music helped save lives Friday night at the Yost Theater in Santa Ana, with a host of local bands brought together by non-profit Turkey and Friends raising more than $2,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The bill offered everything from intimate twee (I Hate You Just Kidding) to propulsive indie anthems (We Are the Pilots) to Muse-like energy (The Relative Strangers) to nu-hair-metal (Beta Wolf). Still buzzing after being crowned OC Music Awards’ Best Pop Artist, singer-songwriter Stacy Clark evoked both Zooey Deschanel and Avril Lavigne, smiling through smudged mascara to deliver a sweet-as-pie set.
Speaking of mascara, Stereofix closed the night with their baffling blend of non-ironic male makeup and KROQ-ready, Killers-cribbing jams. Hopping about for 30 or so devoted fans, singer Ray Alexander personified Stereofix’s cheesy-but-gutsy blend of self-confidence and self-consciousness. When he came into the audience to sing, he glanced back to the stage. “I want to see what this looks like,” he said, looking up to where he’d stood moments earlier. You got the sense he’d been wondering all night. From April 5 blog posts by Danielle Bacher and Spencer Kornhaber.
A HOMEY DEBUT FROM THE NEW LIMB
Before giving the public a gander at the pretty, pastoral songs from their debut Sounds People Can Hear at the House of Blues last Saturday, Costa Mesa quartet the New Limb invited friends and family to a listening party at their shared abode for a peek into what’s been consuming the band since the fall. Seeing their Four’s Company setup highlighted the fact that for members of the New Limb, there are no excuses and no sick days. Happily, the hard work and close quarters have paid off. Sounds People Can Hear is butterfly-beautiful, fragile like Fleet Foxes, but as strong as Super Glue. From the finger-picking opener “Autumn Leaves” to the stunning cover of New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle” mashed with Cyndie Lauper’s “Time After Time,” it’s hard not to get sucked into their sensitivity.In some ways, Sounds People Can Hear is the spellbinding soundtrack to what’s going on behind closed doors in Costa Mesa. From an April 1 blog post by Arrissia Owen Turner.
COACHELLA’S LATE-NIGHT SPECIAL
Coachella ended abruptly last year, with the Cure getting the plug pulled in the middle of their third encore at about 33 minutes past midnight. Why? Might have something to do with the fact that festival operator Goldenvoice was to be fined $1,000 by the city of Indio for every minute that the band played after 12. There’s less a chance of embarrassing blackouts for headliners at this year’s festival, though. The Indio City Council recently voted to push Coachella’s curfew to 1 a.m. for Friday and Saturday nights. The downside: Goldenvoice will have to pay $20,000 for the first five minutes past closing time, plus $1,000 for each minute after that. From a March 31 blog post.
