This week we continue where we left off last week – feeling all giddy about the killer live shows that we get to see here in So Cal. If you read last week’s ‘Listening To’ post, you’ll remember that we were flying high after seeing Wilco at The Greek. Here’s a little snapshot of how that went down:
Here’s Wilco:
And here’s our faces:
Obviously, since we practice making good decisions, we couldn’t let the party stop there. Which leads us to the week’s playlist – also based on some stellar shows.
We had heard that the band HoneyHoney was playing a show in a barrel room up in wine country, north of Santa Barbara. So we hustled on up to Standing Sun Winery to drink some wine and listen to some great tunes.
This band. Wow…we are new fans. Suzanne Santo offers her commanding vocals while playing banjo, violin and acoustic guitar – not all at the same time. But, indeed at the same time, add Ben Jaffe to the mix. The combination of his raw, grungy, slap echo guitar sound juxtaposed against Suzanne’s more acoustic Americana stylings gives them a unique and compelling sound. This fierce duo just released their 3rd album, which they titled ‘3’. How did they come up that..?…oh…never mind.
This was their last show on a 12-week tour that they organized themselves. They also drove themselves across the country, and handled their own merch. This is one hard working, seasoned, little indie outfit.
We bought ‘3’ on vinyl – which really captures the richness of their songs. If you need to have a teaser before dropping $ on vinyl, you can listen here.
Ok… so the night in the winery was fun. But why stop there? I mean summer is coming to a close…and our motto is: MILK IT! So tonight we are going to see Blake Mills and Alabama Shakes at The Greek Theatre.
Anyone who knows us well, knows that we are freaks about Blake Mills. But you may not be familiar with him – as he is not necessarily making Ryan Seacrest’s Top 40. So, the best way to share the sheer genius that is Blake Mills is to just show you:
And if that intrigues you, check out his latest album, ‘Heigh Ho’. Blake is not only one of the most unique and stunning guitarists of his generation, but he’s a compelling songwriter and gifted producer as well. He just so happened to produce the new Alabama Shakes record, Sound & Color.
Lastly, though we’ve never seen them live, we are pretty confident that Alabama Shakes is going to completely blow our minds tonight. I mean seriously:
Sound & Color is one of the freshest sounding records we’ve heard this year. This record is worth a listen even just for the drum sounds, let alone the great guitar riffs and explosive vocal performances.
We hope you check out this week’s playlist and enjoy the party along with us!
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