Pretty excited that today marked the release of Room To Run, the debut album from States. Definitely looking forward to giving the record a few spins over the next days but so far totally digging Mindy White’s vocals and the track “As Good As It Gets.” The rock outfit is sort of a hybrid of two bands consisting of White (formerly of the band Lydia) and three members from the band, Copeland.
States – “As Good As It Gets”
Recently I had the chance to catch up with Mark Pontius of Foster The People to preview their October 20 concert at The Cosmopolitan. Take a look below or click HERE to read the interview as it appeared in the October 13 issue of Vegas SEVEN.
Prior to the concert check back at DoYouHearTheMusic.com for my full interview with Pontius.
Thanks to a couple of friends I was turned on to Allen Stone, a really great up-and-coming soul singer. Just last week he released his self-titled record (his second full length disc) and wow, he has a sensational voice. I’ve had the album on repeat the entire day and I’m still loving what I’m hearing. Below is a video for “Say So,” which right now is my favorite track on the record.
If you are a fan of Stevie Wonder, James Morrison, Raphael Saadiq, Ryan Shaw, Matt Nathanson, Matt White, Matt Wertz and similar artists, you will definitely dig Allen Stone.
Added bonus, pick it up on iTunes for $5.99 right now.
It was another music filled weekend in Las Vegas and I had the chance to catch shows at three of my favorite venues in town. First up was Young The Giant at The Joint where the Cali kids rocked it and sounded fantastic during their 40 minute set. Opening for Incubus put them in front of a great crowd and I’d say garnered them a heap of new fans.
Next up was ditching Incubus to race up the road to The Cosmopolitan to catch the Smashing Pumpkins, a band I had never seen live until Saturday night. They sounded good but it was all new material so not hearing the hits I had grown up listening to was a disappointment but good friends and hanging out made the evening complete.
However last night was the highlight of my weekend as I ventured over the Pearl at Palms to catch the main man, Lupe Fiasco. The Chicago MC tore through his catalog of hits including: “Words Out Of My Head,” “Show Goes On,” “All Black Everything,” “I Gotcha,” “Kick, Push,” “Go Go Gadget Flow,” “Superstar,” “Daydreammin’, “Hip-Hop Saved My Life” and a whole lot more. The only disappointment on my end was not hearing “Paris, Tokyo,” my favorite Lupe jam. Also Ashanti Floyd, his violinist was off the hook and really left his mark not just on me but the entire crowd.
First two Young The Giant photos by Scott Harrison of Retna, Smashing Pumpkins photos by Erik Kabik of Retna (@Erik_Kabik on Twitter).
Set your DVR so you don’t miss Foster The People performing this weekend on Saturday Night Live! Ben Stiller is hosting so it should be a great show all around.
Two things to note. Watch the preview video below and you’ll learn that FTP will be performing “Houdini” and there will be a special guest joining the band tomorrow night.
If you follow the blog you know I am a huge fan of GROUPLOVE and I wanted to share the official video for “Lovely Cup” which is my favorite song off Never Trust A Happy Song. Love that the video showcases the band during an array of gigs to capture the energy and excitment they bring to each and every show.
Any chance to see Bob Weir and Phil Lesh is a special treat and with Furthur rolling into Las Vegas, I was excited like a kid in a candy store. However the evening didn’t start off nearly as planned as it took no joke, 50 minutes to get into The Joint as the ticket/security line was not moving. After missing the first three songs (which included “China Cat Sunflower“and “Maggie’s Farm”) of set one, I made it inside. As expected, a festive crowd on hand and it was all song and dance for the next three hours. Highlights of the first set for me had to have been hearing “Welcome to the Dance” for the first time live and “Like A Rolling Stone” and “Casey Jones” back-to-back. Second set, easily “Viola Lee Blues”>”Midnight Hour”>”Viola Lee Blues”>”Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?”>”Viola Lee Blues” and a little later in the set “Scarlet Begonias”>”Fire On The Mountain” which was just icing on the cake for a great evening. I just hope I don’t have to wait another year to see the guys again.
Here is the official set list as well as fantastic images from good friend, Erik Kabik of Erik Kabik Photography.
Quick little note to let you know that in support of their latest album, King, O.A.R. will be performing on Today on NBC, tomorrow, Thursday, October 6. Consider this your reminder to set the DVR on your TV.
Hands down one of the best marching band performances I have seen. Love that the Ohio University Marching Band performed their rendition of LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” at halftime of the recent football game. Genius and entertaining!
Check it out, “Shake It Out” the second track released from Florence + the Machine’s upcoming album Ceremonials slated for a November 1 release. More words and information HERE via Spin Magazine including a comparison of the video to Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut.
Do You Hear The Music? 