Photos and words by Debi Del Grande First off, Happy Birthday Terry Hall! The frontman of The Specials sounded better than ever and his wicked sense of humor was rolling. This was the second time the English 2 tone ska band performed in LA in 30 years. I have never seen Club Nokia packed with [...]

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Photos and words by Leslie Kalohi With a career spanning over 14 years, twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quin have no doubt made an impression, recruiting fans from all walks of life through their personal, heartfelt lyrics. This was especially evident as one heard chants of “I love you!” and saw homemade signs in the [...]

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Photos and words by Debi Del Grande Remember when Public Enemy and others held a free show on skid row last January to raise awareness of the homeless crisis down there? Not many do. There wasn’t enough media attention given, so most people didn’t even know about it. As an artist always giving back to [...]

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Photos and words by Debi Del Grande There were many musical options Friday evening, but many chose to pack Club Nokia as Seattle’s Minus the Bear brought their latest Infinity Overhead from Dangerbird live and loud. With dreamy dim lights, the guys belted out song after song with heavy bass lines and Jake Snider’s soothing [...]

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A classic Freudian father-hater, I came to the show with the possible intention of shaming John Lydon. I had jokes ready. I was prepared to say he looked like a Killer Klown from Outer Space—and you know what? With his stripey socks and orange suspenders that glowed under the black light, and his tuft of Tintin hair perched on top of his middle-aged head as he read old lyrics off a music stand, he really did. But even in his Sex Pistols days, when he aped Richard III, he’s never been the type to care whether people thought he was a buffoon. The only thing that scares him, it seems, is whether people like the music he’s making.

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“Either the place is filling up or you’re getting fatter” John Lydon said in a low voice to the Club Nokia crowd. The legendary first post-punk band Public Image Ltd (PiL) with its always-engaging commander Lydon brought out a treasure chest of music, starting out with “This is not a Love Song” and winding up [...]

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A lobster walked by a trio of men dressed as “Where’s Waldo,” a sign this was not just an ordinary Saturday night at Club Nokia. Australian duo The Presets finished a North American tour in their favorite US city with an all-night Halloween dance party. An inflatable crocodile, a cheeky nod to the band’s home [...]

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The floor was shaking at Club Nokia seconds after AWOLNATION took to the stage. That crazy frontman Aaron Bruno took total control of the crowd, thanking them for choosing this show over Madonna (who was playing next door). An a capella “Stand By Me” was a fitting end. Las Vegas’ indie-rock band, Imagine Dragons, opened [...]

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Burning Man faves Beats Antique brought its unique fusion combining live percussion and instrumentation with sampled beats and performances by some truly amazing dancers at Club Nokia. With new lighting and costume changes continuously evolving alongside the music, the effect was a mesmerizing display of visuals and sound. Photos by Justin Wise.

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As the X Games concluded just outside Club Nokia, the electro-funk-rock madness that is Ghostland Observatory was just getting started inside. The Austin duo of Thomas Ross Turner and Aaron Behrens creates an atmosphere with lasers and heavy beats which enable everyone to be completely free for a couple hours. As Turner manned the electronic [...]

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