Matt and Kim at the Observatory in Santa Ana, 3/8/13

Ziba Z, the host of Our Digital Future airing Thursdays 9:30am-10:00am, recently saw Matt & Kim @ the Observatory on March 8, 2013. Ziba's show review from the night can be found below. Check out more from Ziba at ziba.kuci.org

The crowd was an all ages mix of hip thirty year olds and ‘OC Teeny boppers’.  Matt and Kim are taller than I realized, the images I have seen online previously are of them sitting on stage (Kim behind her drums and Matt behind his keyboards).  Kim was all smiles in her yellow plaid pants, red belt, black skinny tank top, and extremely buff arms.  Witty banter ensues as Matt makes fun at Kim's supposed attempt at showing off her non existent cleavage.  I was surprised at how energetic they were from the minute they jumped on stage to the ninety minutes up to their finale.  Kim started the show by running on stage and hopping on top of her drum set while fist pumping her drumsticks in the air to say hello.  Matt also jumps up on his keyboard stool often, as he plays the keys and sings, I half expect him to lose his balance because of his height but thankfully he never does.

I first heard of Matt and Kim when they came out in 2006 with their hit single 'Yeah Yeah' off the 'I Heart Comix' record label.  That was when I knew of them as two indie kids singing simple happy songs.  Since then they have blown up in popularity and grown up in age but not lost their childish energy.  Matt is the main vocals behind their electro pop indie rock sound.  They throw in intro covers and hype music like 'harlem shake' to get the crowd going between the songs they perform off their album. Trap music and 'Chapelle show' intro sounds are some examples among the plethora of recognizable tunes sprinkled in throughout the night.  They covered the 90's techno hit "Better Off Alone" (vocals by Kim).  

These pair of lively musicians are from New York and really know how to get the crowd going. "We don't throw a show we throw a party" says Kim, which is evident with the multi colored mechanical confetti throwers and balloons present.  Kim passed/threw out handfuls of 'Matt & Kim' labeled balloons for the crowd to blow up and toss around in the air during their following song.  Their show is definitely a party and great dance time for all in attendance.  Overall fun act live I'd highly recommend. Thank you KUCI for allowing me the press coverage opportunity to review and photograph this anticipated performance.  Check out these great images from the pit courtesy of pro photographer Dave Jaranilla.

Mean Jeans, Audacity, Long Knife and Tumult at the Unit B Skatepark in Santa Ana on February 13, 2013

DJ Meow Mix, the host of Raw Rawk airing Friday's 12:00pm-3:00pm, recently attended a Blundertown presents show featuring Mean Jeans, Audacity, Long Knife and Tumult at the Unit B Skatepark in Santa Ana. Her show review and photos are below. For more from Lesley visit http://rawrawk.tumblr.com/.

I had the privilege of seeing Mean Jeans at one of my favorite venues right now in the OC area. Unit B Studio is primarily an indoor skate park, but at night it becomes a place where underground bands can come and play in a cozy setting. Located in Santa Ana just down the street from the Observatory, it is a new venue on the rise. Check their schedule often because they book bands all the time! My favorite part about it is the entertainment it provides in between sets: you can walk upstairs to watch the skaters either eat it or pull off some crazy moves in the bowls. They also have the merch tables set up in a bowl which is a pretty unique sight.

Anyway, enough about the venue. The main attraction of the night was Mean Jeans! They don’t come down to Southern California all that often since they are from Portland. It was extra special for me because I’ve been wanting to see them for the past 4 years or so. I’m a big fan of their first album and luckily they played a lot of songs from it: Case Race, Slime Time, Party Animal, Born on a Saturday Night, and on and on. I always knew what songs were coming up next because their giant set list was on the ground, and because they would shout the title before every song. In summary of their style, they are basically a Ramones reincarnation band that sings about partying a bit more. Needless to say it was a blast.

I can’t finish this review without mentioning Audacity – one of the opening bands that put on a hell of a show themselves. Seeing them is not as much of a novel experience since they are from Fullerton and play tons of shows around the area. Nevertheless, it’s always a treat to watch them live because they kill it every time. You could tell which songs the small crowd liked best because they would start bouncing around together, such a feel-good atmosphere. One guy from the crowd even got to guest sing in one of the songs!

Photos: Electronic Sound Spectrum @ Proof Bar

Dominica, the host of Delirium Drop airing Tuesdays 8:00-10:00pm, recently attended Electronic Sound Spectrum at Proof Bar in Santa Ana on January 31, 2013 and took a few photos. Check them out below and for more from Dominica visit her blog http://dancedomain.kuci.org/.




Dennis Simms from Riders of the Plastic Groove airing Fridays 10pm-12am.






Rubrene the host of Telesthesia: Sound System Circuitry airing Fridays 12:00 - 2:00am.

KUCI Ticket Giveaways!

Ticket giveaways brought to you by KUCI! Tune in to 88.9 FM in Irvine or kuci.org worldwide for a chance to win!

3/14 - Doctor P, Precept – Yost

3/14 - Steel Panther with Hillbilly Herald - HOB Anaheim

3/15 - Daniel Kandi, D Seven - Yost

3/16 - Matt Costa – The Constellation Room at The Observatory

3/16 - Beyond Wonderland - San Manuel Amphitheater

3/17 - Ferry Corsten - Sutra

3/18 - The Joy Formidable - The Observatory

3/18 - The Thermals and Joyce Manor, Dunes, Death Hymn #9 - Echoplex

3/19 - Chelsea Light Moving featuring Thurston Moore, Grass Widow, Waxahatchee - Echoplex

3/20 - Wavves, FIDLAR, Cheatahs - Echo

3/21 - The Spits, Useless Eaters, Smelly Tongues - Echoplex

3/21 - Merchandise, Ducktails, Wet Hair, Mark McGuire - The Echo

3/22 - Doldrums, Blue Hawaii, Sean Nicholas Savage - Bootleg Bar

3/22 - Burgerama II – The Observatory

3/23 - Burgerama II - The Observatory



3/26 - Flume, Para One, Duawd - Echoplex

3/28 - DJ Carnage - Ten Nightclub

3/28 - Lucky Date, Stark & Banner, Kickback - Yost

3/28 - Midnite, All Night Pressure, Lyons Den - The Coach House

3/29 - Foxygen - Echo

3/29 - Nerdist Podcast Live with Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray and Matt Mira - Grove of Anaheim

3/30 - Daedalus, Twofresh, Ryan Hemsworth, Samo Sound Boy - The Glass House

3/30 - Poolside, Yacht, Kisses, Baio, Kisses, Guns in the Sun, DJ Mario Cotto - Santa Monica Pier


4/2 - Widowspeak - Echo

4/5 - Mac DeMarco - Echo

4/6 - Clint Mansell - The Orpheum Theatre
4/6 - Mac DeMarco - Constellation Room

4/7 - Talib Kweli - Yost

4/20 - Desert Daze - Mecca, CA


4/23 - Floastradamus - Observatory

4/25 - Alkaline Trio with Bayside - Observatory

4/27 - Lydia, Indian Lakes, Sweet Talker - Constellation Room

4/27 - The Dear Hunter, Naive Thieves - The Glass House

5/4 - Blundertown presents The UV Race, Lamps, Burn Book feat. Hunx & Johhny Make Up)

5/9 - Yo La Tengo - The Fonda

5/14 - Gold Panda - Echo

5/18 - Black Angels - Glass House

5/24 - Boris play "Flood" - Echoplex

5/25 - Black Moth Super Rainbow, The Hood Internet, Oscillator Bug - Echoplex

5/26 - Subhumans, Total Chaos - Observatory

5/29 - The Kids, The Stitches, Cyclops, Black Mambas - Los Globos

Clint Mansell @ The Orpheum Theatre 4/6 Ticket Giveaway

Tune in to KUCI 88.9 FM or kuci.org for a chance to win tickets to Clint Mansell performing at The Orpheum Theatre on April 6. For more about the event visit http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0900494503A9A566.

IHC Presents Check Yo Ponytail with Com Truise, XXYYXX, & Giraffage on 2/26/13

Shro, the host of Tokki Sounds airing Wednesday's 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm, recently attended the IHEARTCOMIX Check Yo Ponytail with Com Truise, XXYYXX and Giraffage at the Echoplex on February 26, 2013. Her show review and photos are below. For more from Shro visit http://tokkisounds.kuci.org/ .

IHC Presents Check Yo Ponytail with Com Truise, XXYYXX, & Giraffage

By Shrota Sharma

IHC put on a Check Yo Ponytail event at the Echoplex. Com Truise headlined the show, preceded by XXYYXX, a 17-year old lo-fi, R&B-influenced beatmaker from Florida and Giraffage, another lo-fi, chillwave-esque producer.

Giraffage was the first to perform, while I personally didn’t make it to his set, from a few show-goers stated he was vibing hard. He’s definitely making waves in the beat scene with his sit-back-and-relax summer tunage. If the genre ‘chillwave’ had to be used, Giraffage most definitely would describe one of the likes of the metamorphic genre.  Similarly, XXYYXX took charge of the crowd with the same smooth, R&B sensibilities, working his controller in front of kooky visuals of Spiderman getting crunk. The dichotomy of the music and visuals were polar opposites, yet the overall experience during his set put everyone at bliss. Things began to pop when one of he began playing his biggest track, About You. Arms were in the air and the causal sway transitioned into thrusts of the arms and hips; it was a beautiful sight to see and I, too was enjoying the sweet melodies of the young producer. He mixed it up a bit for those keen to those grimy sounds with the edits of 2 Chainz’s Birthday Song and molly-inspired track from Three Loco. In all, XXYYXX had all sounds us beat-enthusiasts were looking for.

 

Lastly, the rugged and bearded Com Truise took the stage, along with his drummer.  He played his best tunes from Galactic Melt and the supplemental noise from the drums made the songs hit so much harder. The fog set in the end and again, us listeners were grooving with our arms above our heads. Who knew 80’s spacey synth had such an influence? It was a galactic melt, indeed. That being so, if any of these beatmakers are to be near you, jump on the chance to see them. 

Orientation LA: Flosstradamus, AraabMUZIK, gLAdiator, Congorock, Noizfiend, Alex Bustamove and Mature Content @ Club Nokia on 2/27/13

Lily, the host of Beatification airing Tuesdays 10pm - 12am, recently attended Orientation LA with headliners Flosstradamus, AraabMUZIK, gLAdiator and Congorock at Club Nokia on February 27, 2013. A review of the show and photos follow. For more from Lily visit beatification.kuci.org.

Trap heads united for Orientation LA this past Wednesday at Club Nokia. The interactive concert series featured a college DJ battle followed by main headliners. This edition of Orientation LA had Noizfiend representing USC, Alex Bustamove from UCLA and Mature Content from UC Riverside. Each DJ went head to head in a fierce battle before headliners Flosstradamus, AraabMUZIK, Congorock and gLAdiator took the stage at Club Nokia. This line up was full of trap and hip hop inspired heavyweights. Gladiator the LA based duo, kicked off the night with a few tracks from their latest EP called NEW. The entire EP can be found as a free download on soundcloud.com/gladiatormusic.




Congorock know for tracks featuring elephant inspired bass was up next. If you don't know what I mean by elephant inspired based check out Ivory and then you'll know.



AraabMUZIK was armed and ready to beat up his Akai MPC with all he had. The crowd was pumped after his set and ready to see the godfathers of this latest wave of trap, Flosstradamus. The smoke began to rise on stage and the Chicago duo ran on to the stage while their track Lana's Theme opened the set. This was a sweet intro to a bass filled night.



The event was definitely 'turnt up' especially for a Thursday night. For more events from Orientation LA check out their facebook at www.facebook.com/orientationla and for a full line up of Club Nokia events visit www.clubnokia.com/events.