Anti-Monday League feat. French Kicks, The Broken West, Army Navy @ Casbah, 2.23.09

I skipped a couple nights of shows because I instead opted for a day long pub crawl (using the #11 city bus) that took us to The Ken Club, Ponce's, Blind Lady, The Alibi, The Ruby Room, Wine Steals/Taste, Taang! Records, and The Wits End. I tweeted about it all day and apparently we will be having another one soon, so when we lay it out, I'll post the date and our planned route and anyone can join us along the way. It really was fun for a mere $5 all day bus pass.

Anyway, after a couple nights without shows, I went back to the Casbah on the 23rd for Anti-Monday League to check out Black Lips, The Broken West, and Army Navy. For the full post, click 'keep on reading'.

Army Navy



I was really there to see Army Navy. Not that I wasn't into the other bands, but I saw Army Navy at the Beauty Bar a while ago and have really enjoyed their self titled album. They're very pop driven and their feel good music would be well suited for fans of The Morning Benders, or locally with bands like The Modlins and Gray Ghosts. I thought they gave a great energetic performance, though I could do without their cover of the 1975 hit, "Right Back Where We Started From", not because they don't do it well but just because the song has always grated on me. Blame endless family roadtrips listening to oldies stations.



The Broken West was great as well, though I almost missed part of their set as some guys chatted with me on the patio about how awesome they are. The singer had great charisma onstage and I thought they had a kind of Squeeze or Crowded House style to them which to me was a winning sound.




The French Kicks headlined the show, but sadly unlike last time I saw them with the lights up, they had the lights really low and red and the singer is so tall that the low light was mostly on the band's torsos, so I put my camera away and just enjoyed the show and the company of fellow Anti-Monday Leaguers.

Overdue Recap: The Shys, Army Navy @ Beauty Bar, 11.22.08

From Sight & Sound I went to the Beauty Bar to see Takeover UK, Army Navy, and The Shys. Mostly I was there for Army Navy. I had a great time at the show and the bands all delivered a great night of music. Unfortunately I was inhibition free and by the number of pictures I took (with flash, sad to say), I'm surprised someone didn't kick me in the head, especially the bands. I was having fun and when I have fun I go a little crazy with the camera. I caught only the tail end of Takeover UK and certainly not enough to write about, but I was there for all of Army Navy and The Shys and they definitely kept me smiling ear to ear for the night.





That is sometimes difficult, too, because when I see new-ish bands based on recommendation or press releases, I sometimes only get one or two songs to listen to beforehand, and I prefer being familiar with an entire album so I'm not blindly walking into something, though lately that seems to happen a lot for me and I just have to go with it. I thought Army Navy were great, and I was especially impressed by the guitarist's energy while playing since he had a broken foot and didn't seem to slow him down.



The Shys followed with an equally engaging set. Though I think this was a pose of "Good God, Woman, STOP TAKING PICTURES!"
The rest if you 'keep on reading'


I had the chance to see The Shys at the Beauty Bar once before and it was nice they came back. There are a lot of bands around right now with a similar pop/rock/dance thing going on and these boys do it well.






Slowly but surely I will catch up with all of these way overdue posts. 13 more to go.

Tonight: Army Navy @ Beauty Bar with The Shys

I intended to post this earlier this week. My bad.

Army Navy - "My Thin Sides" (feat. Paul Scheer)


From the press release:

Army Navy has released the music video for their first single "My Thin Sides" off the self-titled debut album. The album of some of the sweetest power pop was produced by Adam Lasus (Yo La Tengo, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah). Two songs off the album are featured in the critically acclaimed film "Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist." The video directed by cult web-video director Jeremy Konner known for his hilarious Drunk History series, stars comedian Paul Scheer from MTV's "Human Giant" and "Best Week Ever."

After a successful week of performances at CMJ Music Marathon in late October, Army Navy kicked off their first nationwide tour. The tour's final date end this week on November 21st in San Diego.

Army Navy frontman Justin Kennedy moved to Los Angeles from Seattle after co-fronting the band Pinwheel with Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard. While in Los Angeles, Kennedy concentrated on developing his own project that soon found its way into LA's music scene.