Reflections on a Music Filled Weekend
by Armando Ortiz
A few weeks back I went
to see different performers and bands that played in and around LA back to
back. It all started on Thursday July 24th when I went to see Kevin
Gates perform at The Roxy and ended my Sunday at the Silverlake Lounge where
The Cotton Jones band performed. It was a memorable weekend for me, and
hopefully I get to do this again in the future.
That Thursday I drove to
The Roxy Theater to see Kevin Gates aka Luca Brasi, who was promoting his album
By Any Means. He is a Southern rapper
from the roughest part of the US. I was the odd man out, not wearing the right
clothes for the event wearing slacks, dress shoes and a dress shirt. Everyone
was hip-hoped out, wearing jerseys or shirts with strange start up names of
record labels and cliques.
There were two artists
before him, the first was King Menz and he was cool. He used a beat from one of
Kanye West’s most recent album, keeping it honest and real, showing signs of a
good future. Then it was another rapper, Chevy Woods. His beats were too loud
for the room, so I had to step out of the venue and chill outside, smoking a
bit for a while. I went back inside to listen to his music, but now he was
making threats to someone in the crowd - that’s when I decided that I was not
ready for his music.
Kevin Gates put on a
really good show. He looked like a menacing tiger with the grills that he wore,
singing various songs that most of the crowd knew well, and towards the end of
his set jumped from the stage, to the ground area and finished his performance in
the middle of the crowd that cheered him on. For a moment I feared that he
would move towards my direction so I stepped back as everyone else rushed to
shake his hand. I met some really cool people there, like the two ladies that
were teachers who took photos with him at the meet and greet. It seems that the
ladies were smitten by his words. |
| Santa Barbara Bowl |
The next day took me to Santa
Barbara. I left Los Angeles at eleven thirty and got there at four thirty in
the afternoon, but not before stopping at the Camarillo outlets to buy a pair
of jeans and have some lunch. The Santa Barbara Bowl was awesome with stairs
made of stone and the amphitheater being intimate, though some would complain
about the walking and climbing, but the overall vibe was good and chill. The
show started at around six in the afternoon, the audience side of the hill cast
a shadow on the ground floor where the fans were, and slowly crawled to the
stage, where Stephen Marley, Cypress Hill and finally Slightly Stoopid
performed. They put on a great show, giving fans a taste of their music and their
versatility in creating punk, rock, and reggae styled beats. It was my first
time seeing all those that performed live. One of the highlights of the night
was when Damian Marley came out and performed with Stephen. In addition,
Slightly Stoopid’s set was diverse and included some really good grooves.
 |
| Missing Persons |
Saturday I met up with
friends in Downtown Los Angeles' Pershing Square. That was where an 80s band the
Missing Persons performed a full set of hits and singles like, Destination Unknown. They performed for about an hour, and after their set we went to the beer garden where
the booze and other drinks were sold we chilled there, where I tried to talk to
some ladies that were in lounge chairs but alas they were in another dimension
of thoughts.
 |
| Cotton Jones Performing |
Sunday took me to the Silverlake
Lounge a local spot in Silverlake, Los Angeles there is saw the Cotton Jones
band, made up of Michael Nau guitarist and song writer, Whitney McGraw organ
and electric piano, and Greg Bender who was on bass, and opened up with his own
band. They performed to a packed audience. I was walking to the bar and saw
Michael Nau from far away, but thought why bother going talking to him, let him
be, but then 20 minutes later he walked into the bar from the front door, so I
said hello to him and told him that his music and lyrics were excellent. Later
some friends, Ismael and Roxy, showed up and mentioned that they had seen him
outside in the parking lot, and that they wanted to take a photo with him, I
tagged along and also got a picture with him.
 |
| Michael Nau and I |
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