Tag Archives: Live Music

Funk Fest Line-Up to Invade Downtown Long Beach Saturday, August 7

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It's hard to believe that it's already here, but tomorrow, August 7, from 11 AM to 10 PM, the streets of Downtown Long Beach will be packed with the performers and fans of the most legit Funk Festival this side of the Mississippi. Some of the country's most entertaining and well-respected funk performers will be tearing it up all day long in the midst of dozens of fine dining and drinking establishments, so check out the restaurant and parking map, get there early and plan to make a day of it. The show is FREE, so that leaves plenty of dough in your pockets to grab lunch, dinner and drinks throughout the event. Check out the full schedule below: (links go to MySpace) 11:00 AM : World-class DJ’s, including Gazoooo, Clifton, Remitch, Ervin Arana, Able, Marvski, Glen Redd, Luman, Monalisa, Endo, Thomas PM, Cocoe and Renato, start to spin 12:15 PM : Orgone ::: 1:15 PM : Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown with special guests ::: 2:35 PM : Lil Big Ups 2:50 PM : Weapon of Choice ::: 3:50 PM : The Original Stone City Band ::: 5:00 PM : Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band ::: 6:10 PM : Jimmy Castor and the Bunch ::: 7:35 PM : Bloco Nove featuring Delta Nove with special guests ::: 8:50 PM : Ladies of P Funk featuring Brides of Funkenstein and Parlet ::: For more information about free concerts in Long Beach put on by Summer and Music, visit summerandmusic.com. Check out the King Cotton video "Funky Party" from the Roots & Blues concert on July 3 to get you in the mood.

Summer and Music Features Roots and Blues Saturday July 3

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Residents and visitors of Long Beach will converge on Pine Avenue for another evening of live music this Saturday July 3 from 5-9 p.m. This week's concert is titled Roots and Blues and features legendary blues artists James Harman and King Cotton as well as Long Beach's own supergroup, The DIBS. (links go to MySpace) The show is free and family-friendly, and it's a great way to spend a Saturday evening. Free bike valet parking provided courtesy of Long Beach Cyclists. Future Summer and Music Concerts include: Swing Saturday July 10, Battle of the Tribute Bands July 11 and Church of Rock & Roll July 17. Visit the Summer and Music events page for details.

Summer and Music Festival 2010 Kickoff – So Many Wizards Video

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It was a smooth-groovin', fun-flowing day of live music on Saturday June 12 as the Summer and Music Festival kicked off it's 2010, 13-concert series. The first show of the summer was called Future Legends and featured local, up-and-coming acts such as Deep Sea Diver, Jay Buchanan and So Many Wizards (see video). Saturday's concert took place on a closed-off section of First Street between Elm and Linden in Downtown Long Beach. The sound and lighting equipment were solar-powered with help from Sustainable Waves and there was a free bike valet on site (not to mention easy access to a bar, a coffee shop and Chinese food). As the day progressed, the street filled in with an assortment of Long Beach characters. The people-watching opportunities alone made it well worth the trip. The crowd ranged from 2 months old to 85. Toddlers ran from their moms, teenaged girls danced in a circle and I, of course, wore pink and roller skated. DJ Lithuanian Prince made sure there would be inspiration for roller skating and dancing, as he poured out a non-stop musical selection of hard-to-find, easy-to-jive-to vinyl picks. The day had a soul-filled family picnic feel to it. One of my favorite bands of the day was So Many Wizards. Here's a video of one of their songs from this Saturday's live performance. If you missed the Summer and Music kick-off, have no fear; Rockabilly on Pine is coming this Saturday, January 19 from 5-9 p.m and this year's itinerary features 13 eclectic music events, including some favorites from last year, such as Battle of the Tribute Bands and Funk Fest. Concerts will span the genres of folk, jazz, pop, rockabilly, funk and beyond, bringing together artists and art enthusiasts of all kinds. For details, visit www.summerandmusic.com.

‘Big Youth’ at Ragga Muffins Festival Saturday in Long Beach

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Big Youth at Ragga Muffins Festival, Long Beach 2010 On Saturday, I attended the Ragga Muffins Festival in Long Beach. Michael Zampelli took some photos for The District Weekly and I snagged a few for this blog. My favorite musical act of the day was Big Youth (pictured above). This man exudes more verve and childlike enthusiasm than most people a fraction of his age. He's got a groovin' rap style and smooth moves to go with it. Go to Big Youth's MySpace page if you want to get in the groove. Gal Vanized with Funnel cake at the Ragga Muffins Festival Happy Child I also felt childlike and care-free wearing my Gal Vanized get-up and eating funnel cake. I decided that I was going to surrender myself to the IRIE vibes and absorb as much of the experience as possible. The crowd was very diverse and fun. Everyone was relaxed and having a good time. It was like sitting in a big huge living room. No problems whatsoever. I wasn't the only one there with pink hair, click on the photo below to see a larger version of the audience. the audience at the Ragga Muffins Festival in Long Beach, 2010 ********************************************* Get your free download: Songs to Galvanize Your Mind ********************************************* Here is Michael Zampelli's photo gallery of the event:

Sunday Afternoon at Farmer’s Market in Long Beach

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This afternoon I strolled the long aisle of produce and food vendors that comprises Long Beach Farmer's Market. I had my new Christmas present, the Flip Ultra HD Video camera, in tow. This is my first Flip production and I'm looking forward to more. See the HD version of the video on YouTube, it gives you a sense of the quality of the Flip Video. I've been wanting to shop at the Farmer's Market more often but sometimes I forget. I'm grateful to the folks at everythinglongbeach.com who recently listed all the Long Beach Farmer's Markets. I'm going to re-post the link here for any Long Beach residents who are interested. I find the Farmer's Market not only health-conscious, but an enjoyable experience as I hope I've captured in this video. By the way, the band in this video is TED Bluegrass Band. They play every Thursday night from 7-9 p.m. at Cafe Ambrosia, 1923 E. Broadway, Long Beach CA 90802. You can hear more of their music on MySpace.

White House Concert Showcases Diverse Musical Talent

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First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a workshop and concert with classical musicians, young and old, as part of the White House Music Series on November 4, 2009. The audience consisted of what First Lady Michelle Obama referred to as "classical music superstars of tomorrow" in her opening speech. She spoke about how "The White House is the people's house. It's a place that's steeped in history but also a place where we like to start new traditions and to bring people together in different ways because nothing mixes old and new quite like classical music." She commended the musicians on their dedication to achieve musical excellence and said, "It's through that struggle that you find what you truly have to offer to your instrument or to anything in life". "You'll learn that if you believe in yourself and put in your best effort, that there's nothing that you can't achieve. And those aren't just lessons about music. These are really lessons about life" she said. The concert featured Sharon Isbin on guitar, Awadagin Pratt on piano, Alisa Weilerstein on cello and Joshua Bell on violin. These musicians are considered the best in the world and have been playing their instruments since childhood. This hour-long concert featured an eclectic mix of musicians and music lovers. The attendees were young and old, male and femail and ranged a wide spectrum of ethnic diversity yet they were united by a common love: music. Each of the musicians is clearly passionate about and connected to their music and their enthusiasm shines through during their performances. You simply don't want to miss Alisa Weilerstein on cello at 40:55. She truly embodies what it means to be in the moment of creativity.

A Night of Music at SUB-Mission in San Francisco

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[caption id="attachment_1349" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Sitting on the pot, taking a shot at SUB-Mission in San Francisco"]Sitting on the pot, taking a shot at SUB-Mission in San Francisco[/caption]A few weeks ago I went on a road trip to San Francisco. It was great to get away and hang out with my brother. We visitied a new club called SUB-Mission and had a rip-roaring good time. As the bands (Skitzo/Savage Machine/Farticus/Cretacious/Fluff Grrlz) spewed out their version of 80's hardcore metal/punk, and as guys and gals stood watching with their arms crossed and heads bobbing, I pranced around in the audience, pink flower in hair trying to nudge people into action. The highlight of the night is when I was running around in circles creating my own mosh pit and the singer from Farticus basically jumped me. The two off us were locked tight, she was singing, I was holding her and time stood still as I thought to myself, "holy crap, what do I do now?" What I did was set the singer back on stage and go on about the business of actin' a fool. The next day, as my brother and I recounted the evenings events, I said, "now that's life...THAT is living in the moment." I can guarantee you, it will never happen again. Evidently, someone caught my insanity on video. I'm the blur that you see going by during the video and the one who the singer, Vag jumps on at about 1:56. I'm not sure if I'm proud or humiliated but one thing is for darn sure, I had fun! So get out of the darn house once in a while and have some fun. If you're in San Francisco, check out SUB-Mission. It's located in the Mission District and the SUB stands for: Strength, Unity, Brotherhood.