The Drums are in Los Angeles for the final stop in their tour. Together with openers Part Time and Craft Spells, they rocked the first of two sold out shows at the El Rey Theatre. Part Time did a fun set which the extremely enthusiastic crowd obviously loved. They have a very chill 80s sound that’s pretty tame compared to the rest of the lineup.

Craft Spells took me by surprise with their raw live sound that’s even better than their records. Vocalist Justin Vallesteros’s voice was a bit drowned out by the music and also the noise of the crowd that got a little bit rowdier especially when they played After the Moment from the album Idle Labor. They also played a number of songs from their just released EP Gallery (which you should check out by the way).

Once The Drums took the stage, the crowd got worryingly wild as the pushing and shoving increased. They began their fantastic set with What You Were from their latest release Portamento, followed by an old favorite Best Friend. There wasn’t a downtime throughout the show which was refreshing and the crowd seemed to have brought just the right amount of energy for dancing and singing along. The encore was especially good with everyone jumping up and down as they sang along to Let’s Go Surfing. Jonny Pierce was as fascinating as ever to watch on stage with his signature dance moves and his strong voice. Nowhere to be found though was guitarist Connor Hanwick. Where could he be?

Overall, it was quite a solid night for dancing and letting loose. Each band held their own and the crowd was extra responsive (think crazy moshing and crowd surfing which got at least two audience members kicked out). If you didn’t make it to the first show, I hope you at least got tickets to the second night because this is one not to miss!

Women Hold Up Half the Sky is a remarkable project that encourages discourse on the struggles of women, particularly in developing countries, as they face gender discrimination, violence in different forms, and how changes are being made by fellow women from around the globe. As a Southeast Asian woman that has had considerable exposure to such difficulties, I appreciate the effort to increase awareness in this issue and also recognize the fact that more and more empowered women are leading the way towards change.

In support of this exhibit, Skirball Cultural Center hosted a free program featuring award-winning graphic novelist Craig Thompson. He discussed his latest book Habibi which also tackles slavery, and the whole process behind its six-year making. After an exciting and comprehensive Q&A with the author that followed his presentation, he went outside to sign books and talk to the attendees.

Women Hold Up Half the Sky will be on display until May 20, 2012. Tickets are available at the door and included with museum admission. For docent-led orientations, catch them on Tuesdays-Fridays at 1:00 and 2:30 pm or Saturdays and Sundays at 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 pm. Visit Skirball’s official website here.

The Los Angeles crowd is really tough to please so it’s always great when you’re in a show full of people that are absolutely into it. This show at The Fonda on Cinco de Mayo was one of those quite rare instances wherein you could see everyone having a great time dancing, drinking, and taking in the music.

Hailing all the way from Canada was the opener, dream pop band Memoryhouse. Theirs was a consistent set with songs flowing smoothly in to the next. They didn’t talk much, but when singer Denise Nouvion dully told the crowd how they’ve been touring with Washed Out for a while and that it’s been nice, the guy beside me remarked, “Dude, she’s so awkward.” Yes, she really was, but despite that, no one can deny the fact that it was a successful set because as soon as they were done, the crowd roared for more. An opener doing an encore is almost unheard of, but that’s exactly what they did. Good on you, LA! Weirdly enough, a slight technical difficulty occurred while they were doing their encore song which prompted guitarist Evan Abeele to say, “This is why openers don’t do encores.”

Next up was Ernest Greene’s no-fi band Washed Out. Together with a drummer, a guitarist, and his wife on additional synths, he brought his chillwave songs to a whole new level. It was interesting to see him translate his music to a live setting and do it so well. Memoryhouse’s Evan joined the band for a rather mellow version of Feel It All Around (it took me a while to recognize the song). By Amor Fati, the crowd was under the Washed Out spell. It wasn’t easy distinguishing which song was which, but some just plain stood out like Get Up and encore song Eyes Be Closed.

I’m really glad LA was in the mood that night for it made the show very memorable and an overall unique experience, definitely a chillwave show to remember.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ show last Friday felt a lot like being transported back through time when all you needed was love and floral dresses to get by. Upon arriving at the Greek hours before the show was set to start, we noticed blankets sprawled across the grassy parking lots with numerous groups of people having picnics and whatnot.

The Greek is of course a massive place which very slowly filled up as Aaron Embry did a very earnest opening set. He brought to mind a mix of Bob Dylan and the sincerity of Elliott Smith. His delicate voice always seemed to be on the verge of tears as he sang quietly about hearts breaking (his and ours). It was touching to see from the pit, but imagine how much better it would be in a much smaller and more intimate setting. (For the record, we missed him unintentionally last time when he opened for Parenthetical Girls and Perfume Genius and we really regret not making it on time.)

The main event was of course worlds away beginning with Alexander Ebert’s stage presence that was all over the place in a strangely fascinating way. Let me first state that this was my first Edward Sharpe experience so these observations might seem obvious to the common fan. It definitely seemed like a cult gathering with the crowd constantly raising their hands to touch his and religiously singing along to most of the old songs and attentively taking in the new ones. There were set lists taped to the floor, but the band decided to just make it up along the way which caused a lot of downtime in between songs (sometimes awkwardly long), but the audience didn’t seem to mind. Jade Castrinos, the other lead of the band, really impressed with her strong vocals and enigmatic personality. Jade and Alex have such a powerful chemistry onstage that it made me wonder out loud many times if they were together in real life too. I mean, surely they must be with that kind of connection. They were so perfectly in tune with each other the whole time. Alex also performed Truth, a wonderful song off his 2011 solo album. Near the end of the set, they asked the crowd what song they wanted to hear and everyone shouted in unison, “Home!” Once the whistling started, the crowd went wild and those few minutes really felt like we were part of something big and special.

Here’s a note from the director:

Like what Gaby said in the film, no matter how much she talks about it, there’s really nothing like being there. Nothing can compare to having the experience within you and I suppose the film is like an invitation to experience what our country has without exploiting the place. The natives kept mentioning respect and I guess that’s the most important thing. Respect. Humility. We were humbled by the place.

There is a moment in every Ben Kweller show when even the most iPhone video greedy audience member has to stop recording and just watch. At the El Rey show, it was during Ben Kweller’s haunting piano solo of the song Thirteen, from his self-titled 2006 album. After the song, the woman beside me turned and said, “I wanted to cry.”

It was a great night and a well-orchestrated show. Starting off with true to form rock-n-roll band The Dig, which took the audience effortlessly from after-work beers to music-induced excitement. Halfway through, a girl behind me vehemently urged everyone to dance, and it was easy to oblige as the four-piece California band rounded their set with Black Water, one of the songs from their upcoming album Midnight Flowers. The second act Sleeper Agent was an energy octave higher than The Dig. A six member band from Kentucky, Sleeper Agent’s youth and fun rhythms pumped up the crowd even more. In the middle of their set, the engaging Alex Kandel announced that they will play a cover of The XX’s VCRs next, which the crowd enjoyed with more dancing. On top of the other songs from their debut Celabrasion, their set was definitely the most energetic with their punk infused pop rock music.

Ben Kweller‘s one hour set was a delectable medley of old and new songs, beginning with a track from his latest album Go Fly A Kite. My favorite part though would have to be the emotional crop of songs he played on the piano one after the other– Falling, Sundress and Thirteen. You can tell that it was a very loyal room of fans as everyone sang along with gusto. Ben Kweller took the stage with a kind of shy candor and a little bit of humor, asking the LA crowd to hook him up with Dave Mustaine from Megadeath because ‘that guy can shred’. He admits, though, that he can probably write better love songs, and well, I agree.

Post-punk indie rock band We Were Promised Jetpacks hailing from Edinburgh, Scotland played the Glass House in Pomona, CA on April 18, 2012. Being in foreign land did not entail any sort of loss for the four-piece as they performed an eight-song set. Their mastery of tempo changes and heavy hooks captivated the audience as attendees watched and listened closely. From fast-paced songs such as Short Bursts and Roll Up Your Sleeves to their gut-wrenching post-rock anthem Sore Thumb, WWPJ flawlessly owned the night. If there’s one thing this band is special for, it’s their ambient guitar parts with smooth bass lines and well-placed drum riffs. Especially, of course, Adam Thompson’s unmistaken brooding baritone that conveys any and every emotion brought about by the band’s uncanny songwriting. What struck me the most was their sharpness; they sounded even better than what was on their albums. Bands like these don’t come often, pulling off each and every sound and magic from their albums and making them unique in live play. WWPJ ended their set with the famous It’s Thunder And It’s Lightning, wrapping up a perfect keep-warm song as Explosions In The Sky grazed the night with their deep, atmospheric melodies. EITS played a ten-song set, including an exquisite light show patterned intelligently to their song arrangements.