Monday Night Music Review

Tonight’s musical entertainment at the House of Blues was commenced at the cocktail party by Limelife, the winners of the Uber.com “Battle of the Bands” competition. The South Bay Los Angeles natives beat out over 2,000 other acts to gain the coveted designation and you could tell the crowd was impressed by the trio’s melodic rock.

Next up was a DJ turn from The Crystal Method, who came to MUSEXPO after performing a set on the final day of the Coachella Festival. It must be said that the difference probably couldn’t have been greater–after inspiring thousands to move and groove to their delicious DJ stylings out in the desert, they were hard-pressed to get more than a half-dozen folks at a time onto the dancefloor during the cocktail party. A sad commentary on the state of the stereotypically stodgy music exec…or testament to the fact that folks hadn’t drank nearly enough yet to release their inhibitions upon the dancefloor? Alas, we suspect it was a bit o’ both.

The evening’s musical showcases commenced with an electrifying set from England’s Headway. The Hucknall, England natives had the crowd crashing the stage, the better to hear their supremely melodic, intimately confessional songs of yearning. It’s easy to see why the recently reunited Matchbox Twenty hand-picked Headway to serve as support during their six-gig UK tour–the groups’ sounds are quite complementary, and fans of either should certainly support the other.

First act in the Foundation Room tonight is English/Italian singer/songwriter Jack Savoretti, who drew high praise indeed during Saturday’s special live “Passport Approved” broadcast from the HoB: Sire Records co-founder Seymour Stein had nothing but good words to say about Savoretti’s songs, while NBC Universal VP Music Alicen Catron Schneider lamented the fact that the Writers Guild strike had delayed the exposure of Savoretti to the masses. The audience for his performance was probably the most rapt and attentive that I’ve witnessed in four years of attending MUSEXPO; one could have literally heard a pin drop during his performance.

This just in: the Los Angeles Lakers, looking to sweep the Denver Nuggets, are up by 10 at halftime. Thanks to HoB booking guru Paul for giving the blogosphere a heads-up on where to catch quick glimpses of the game!

Due up on the main stage are Australia’s Small Mercies, whose story reads somewhat like a fairy tale: they were discovered on MySpace by renowned producer Matt Wallace (U2, Pearl Jam’s Ten). Their SonyBMG debut, Beautiful Hum, will be released next month in North America. Their anthemic, inspirational numbers have quickly proven a fan favorite amongst the MUSEXPO attendees this year, drawing an enthusiastic response from the crowd. A fellow artist performing at this year’s MUSEXPO, who shall remain nameless, suggested that the group could be called “Three Doors Down Under”…which isn’t really a bad comparison, truth be told…and if they were to equal the sales figures of that namesake, I’m sure all would be quite happy!

Not to be confused with Small Mercies are English group The Small Hours, the second act to provide Foundation Room entertainment this evening. I was just chatting outside with a couple of the lads in the band, who were quite personable and overall very nice blokes (sorry, when I speak with Brits I tend to lapse into the Queen’s English). The Foundation Room was jam-packed and captivated by the group’s driving, emotion-filled music, heads bobbing and toes a-tappin’ throughout the room.

Hey, hey, great news…the Lakers sweep the Nuggets! Now, they get a week off to prepare for, most likely, the Utah Jazz…sparing me to get back to business.

Estonian metal mistress Marya Roxx is getting ready to dominate the Main Room audience. She won a national singing contest before the age of 10 and went on to achieve considerable success with an all-girl group in her native land, but she felt the call of the wild and opted for a solo career focusing on her true passion: metal!!!! She’s assembled an all-star backing band, consisting of former Anthrax axemeister Paul Crook, ex-Armored Saint bassist Joey Vera and drummer John Miceli, who’s previously played and toured with Meat Loaf.  Fascinatin’ fact: Your Humble Blogger once served as an editor for Joey Vera back in the day, when both worked for the late, lamented SHOCKWAVES indie ’zine. The group’s propulsive set has the crowd rockin’ and ragin’: hushhush ATTACK’s own Little Sara is leading the fist-pumping horde in front of the stage.

Meaghan Smith is up next in the Foundation Room; she’s already made quite the favorable impression at this year’s conference, both during her appearance at the “Passport Approved” live broadcast and during Sunday night’s well-received set during the kickoff cocktail party. Despite that familiarity–or, perhaps, because of it–she attracts an overflow crowd. One can’t help but suspect that Seymour Stein and Sire Records have added yet another winner to their lengthy list of success stories; Meaghan’s retro stylings are ripe to be enjoyed once again by 21^st century audiences.

Swedish dynamo Linda Carlsson, a.k.a. Miss Li, never fails to deliver an indelible performance. She’s been a “Passport Approved” favorite for the last six months, and it’s obvious by the way the audience is reacting that they’re quite familiar with her catalogue. Dressed in styles reminiscent of nothing so much as the “Rat Pack” era of the early ’60s, her backing players, consisting of guitarist, drummer, upright bassist and saxophonist, add the perfect sartorial flair to Miss Li’s own shocking-pink “That Girl” type of wear, accented by her touches on the organ (musical instrument, that is…get yer minds outta the gutter, punters!). Fans of the likes of Amy Winehouse and Duffy will absolutely love this act. The dual piano duet with her guitar player had the audience hootin’ and howlin’, a nice prelude to the capper of her scintillating set: a jaunty, jumpin’ take on her song “Oh Boy,” which had the masses in the Main Room pleading for more.

Closing out the evening’s entertainment in the Foundation Room will be N-Euro, the Estonian electro non-stop party personified. He easily sports the coolest hairdo of any of this year’s MUSEXPO attendees, a multitude of mile-high spikes providing the crowning glory upon his cranium. His positive, good time party tunes have been filling the dancefloors in hipper Euro clubs for several years now, and MUSEXPO marks his first foray into the North American market. Judging by the ecstatic reaction of the punters, he’s going to have as many “Lovers on the Line” in America as he does in the EU…how can you resist a guy who confesses onstage, “Well, I’m a bit of a slut”? Needless to say, the decadent, debauched Tinseltown crowd roared their approval.

News Flash: We aren’t even midway through the conference, but the thirsty Australian contingent has already completely depleted the House of Blues’ entire stock of Foster’s. Considering that nation’s brew-loving reputation, one can only suspect that this is a spectacular lack of pre-planning rivaled only by our government’s feeble response in the wake of Hurricane Katrina…not that I’m bitter, or anything…it’s just, hell, man–the comforting feel of that oversized can in one’s hand is not to be taken lightly at a conference featuring bars as crowded as these. Thus, I’ve switched to bourbon…hopefully, the blog won’t suffer, and may even gain an added edge o’ entertainment.

(As an aside, I really can’t believe how well I’m typing at the moment…who says alcohol impairs motor skills?

Well, okay…maybe the fact that the previous comment initially contained a word spelled, roughly, “alcoshgoogt,” indicates that I was a bit premature with that sentiment (sentijjent?)…moving on….)

Our final act in the Main Room this evening is The Vibrants. Musical abilities aside, they’ve proven to be among the most genial companions at this year’s MUSEXPO thus far, always ready to toast a drink or share an amusing anecdote…which will hopefully be taken into account when I render this admittedly drunken report on their set.

So, now that I’ve made my way back to my gallery seat after the glorious finale to N-Euro’s set, I’m happy to report that The Vibrants possess a most pleasing sound, energetic, inspirational and…dare we say?…vibrant, for want of a better term. (Those in favor of truth in advertising will thus love this band.) Added bonus points in their favor: they just dedicated a number to Stevie Wyatt, who’s previously played at MUSEXPO with Bassboosa back in 2006 and is a great all-around gent to boot.

Another fantastic evening of entertainment at MUSEXPO thus comes to a close, filled with spectacular musical moments…now, off to the Swing House after-hours party at the Hyatt featuring Meiko, Astra Heights and Scissors for Lefty. No more bloggin’ for this camper, though… I hear a bottle o’ bourbon callin’ my name….

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