Paris’ Pompidou Centre is sweeping out the men’s works, locking them up and displaying artwork done by women exclusively for an entire year, effective immediately called “elles@centrepompidou.” Camille Morineau is heading up the ambitious project that will include 500 works by over 200 artists from the 20th and early 21st century. It’s the year of women. Rather than looking upon this as an overwhelming feminist front, its simply a rewriting of history as Camille might put it. Its revolutionary yes, and the first of its kind on this scale. Even for myself, as I first read about it, I didn’t even recognize the names of the supposedly most important women artists. That has to say something in and of itself. Names including Mariko Mori, Alexis Smith, Hannah Wilke, Suzanne Valadon, Pipilotti Rist and Lygia Pape. It will be spread across two floors where the permanent collection normally resides and organized chronologically and by theme. Morineau certainly has been working for this a long time. Having studied art, gender issues and women’s studies at Williams College in Massachusetts over twenty years ago, her eyes were opened to the alternate history and women’s struggle. When she came back to France and the issue never came up, she realized that in France things were different. People rarely even noticed when there was a complete lack of women in a collection, if it wasn’t in the already recorded history, it didn’t exist. She worked at L’Ecole du Louvre for ten years with no success in building a gender issues class and it took six years at Le Centre Pompidou to achieve this exhibition. The exhibition will be on display for an entire year with periodic rotations.  I say take advantage of the low airfares and use this as the final excuse to get to Paris.  And maybe google Hannah Wilkes. *** More information on the official website: elles@centrepompidou.

[caption id="attachment_19731" align="alignleft" width="246" caption="Photo Credit: Lauren Whisnant"][/caption] River of Life Café - Irwindale, CA Live Review: 5/1/09 *** Candles and couches, the anti-hipsters fill the River of Life Café in Irwindale, CA on Friday, May 1st to hear Armár play along with bands Set to Sea and Brother for the First Fridays set scheduled for the beginning of every month. The crowed hushed as Omar Arellano and Arthur Pacheco readied themselves on multiple keyboards a slew of electronic equipment. Watching them fiddle with knobs, buttons and experiment with tapping on plugs to make beats and looping their own voices is just as intriguing as watching Arthur play a guitar solo. With a mesmerizing quality similar to electronic band Tycho, it’s music you want to fall asleep to, and I mean that in the best possible way. While at times during the show, some technical difficulty delays were, ahem, annoying, it was worth the wait. “Untitled” was a favorite. Ten minutes long, it sounds like an afternoon in late fall, when its raining and you can hear distant voices from the hallway as you drift off to a nap. “Canteen”as well proved to be a beautiful and slow, with Yorke-ish vocals, as well as “Panda,” some of it so sweeping and light as Sigur Rós. A major highlight, however, was four lads joining at the stage apron to sing four part harmonies into already enlightening ambient rock. Equally as entertaining was watching Arthur zip around, dancing and hopping between machines. Hitting a note on the keys while stretching his leg to tap a pedal; bounce while singing a falsetto note and looping it with the sound of an unplugged cord tapping on his fingers. Slightly awkward in their young twenties, Armár is an innovative approach expanding on recent rock geniuses and the live show is truly rewarding. Maybe a legitimate CD will be released soon, but for now you’ll have to enjoy them via free myspace music streaming, where you can also check out when they’ll be playing next. I’ll probably be there. *** You can find Armár at www.myspace.com/theunconformed. First Fridays is held at the River of Life Café every first Friday at 8pm, more information on the Facebook First Fridays page.

Dome-shaped Home - Alta Dena, CA Live Review: 4/25/09 *** Domestock. It sounds important. A music and art festival held in and around the dome-shaped home of some Alta Dena residents. You didn’t hear about it? Shame. Up in the hills of San Gabriel on Saturday, several local bands and artists came together to play music, paint each other’s faces and celebrate the 50th anniversary summer of Woodstock 1969. Folk, Reggae, Blues, it was all there. While resembling more of an outdoor barbeque with twenty-somethings in midriffs and handle bar mustaches, bar bands played to the happy, buzzed Domestockers, including the Azusa-based band, Brother. Kids with beers and cigarettes, they tuned up against the backdrop of a dome-shaped building, a setting sun and the San Gabriel Valley out ahead. Opening with the crowd-pleasing “It’s All Happening,” Brother woke up the early evening slump with vocal harmonies and an old, classic folk-rock vibe worthy of the original Woodstock. Covering the Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down,” was also a highlight, switching the last verse to before the solo, Shawn Morones rips a doozie and shows off his talent as a soloist. Just to wind things up as the sky darkens with an Allman Brothers-ish intro into “I Got Blues.” This band just can’t stay away from insane harmonies. Jason and the Rockernauts stepped up behind Brother, admittedly worried about following but as the party goers drank more, the more they played and dancing was a requisite. With Reggae/Funk influences and covers having nothing to do with the genre, they played on into the early morning hours. Beer pong, mural painting, city views, eclectic music and debauchery. If only we can make this a yearly event.

Coachella seems to ignite a passion in almost everyone I meet. Whether you are for or against. You are either desperately awaiting the famed desert weekend or exclaiming in disgust how grateful you are not to be there. A friend of mine bought tickets for Friday as soon as they went on sale, he camped out all day to stand in the front for Paul McCartney’s anticipated performance. A guy who hangs out at my bar, when the festival was mentioned, said, “Bad music.” I politely (whilst bloodying my tongue) pointed out Animal Collective, Beirut, M.Ward and Paul. He looked at me and said, “Bad music.” I walked away. For all of us who didn’t appear at Coachella this weekend, while we may have crowded ourselves with regular Friday night beers and general debauchery, there was always the thought in the back of your head, of where else you could possibly be. Like hearing one of Beirut’s songs from the new March of the Zapotec under warm Indio stars. Or feeling the pain of My Girls coming on the iPod shuffle and remembering, “oh yeah, Matty is there tonight.” Or getting a voice mail of Blackbird at 1am. For me, its a twinge of sadness, having not seen most of the bands scheduled, especially as an avid Beatles fan (obsesser?) I just don’t know when Paul is going to die and while it doesn’t seem like it’ll be soon, I just don’t want to read the headlines when it does and think “But I never saw him in concert!” With our luck, Ringo is going to be the last remaining, and what I want to know is, how is that fair? Point being, passionate sides of the scale for Coachella, and for those of us who were in the “desperately awaiting” crowd but couldn’t find the way in, it was a strange weekend indeed. A little sad, terrifically optimistic and utterly nostalgic (I’ve listened to the voicemail four times now). Now then, when Paul comes back west coast, who is going to buy me front row seats?

Amoeba Records - Los Angeles, CA Live Music Review: 3/31/09 *** “Bloody hell,” Dhani says as he saunters on stage at Amoeba records, Tuesday March 31st in Hollywood. Heir of Beatlemania, Dhani’s band, thenewno2, met a hipster, or ahem, hippie crowd in the middle of the famous record store. Should I waste time in the first paragraph of this article discussing how Dhani is the spitting image of his father? Let’s skip to the better part. Rumor has it that thenewno2 (the new number two, I didn’t know how to say it either. I think my friend kept saying the new note) plays great live. It’s unfortunate that they had so many sound problems at this small gig. Despite the keyboards and John’s vocals momentarily shutting off for well, most of the songs, the music was still great and an enormous leap from the very demo sounding 2007 EP001. But of course you come a long way when you add three people and five instruments. In the bands earlier days it was simply a team of Dhani and Oli, a guitar and a drum kit. Now with synths, keyboard , three guitars, drums, bass and multiple vocals, can I be straight with you and just simply say...it’s better? Even his myspace lists the Beatles as an influence. But he’s almost more Lennon inspired than anyone else and on some songs, I felt it very Abbey Road-esque, heavy guitars with a slow intense beat behind it, I kept hearing “she’s so heavaaayyy!” in the back of my head. But in between the bad clipping and a very patient Dhani repeatedly asking for the monitors to be turned on, they played this electric warble behind subtle harmonies while proving he listens to a lot of Radiohead. Just to open the next song with this Zeppelin fuzzy guitar buzz. Very cool. I really wish that he would leave behind the whiny voice and stick to the kind of rock and roll shout all the while continuing to bob his head adorably in the same fashion as dear, sweet George. Now if only he had spelled my name right when he signed my poster. I’m left with a giant X on it over the extra ‘e.’ *** For more info on the band, visit: http://www.myspace.com/thenewno2

The Denouement Unsigned (2008) *** The Denouement’s Low Tide has to be the best electronic/rock album I’ve heard sine Radiohead. And while most bands these days point to Radiohead as a major influence, few bands pull it off while having a sound that is uniquely their own and maintain to play their instruments well. But The Denouement does it. And while they never talk about Modest Mouse as an inspiration or a sound to emulate, live show goers immediately notice the similarities. Their sound is enchanting and sometimes abrasive. Rough guitars juxtapose the soothing ambient electronic and keyboard melodies which could lull you to sleep on the slower songs. “Sleepwalking” and “Clotted Together” have this soft mesmerizing quality. The lyrics are intriguingly disturbing “stuck my fingers in, oh these mortars burn,” “like blood they are like blood,” and “I’ve got wrinkles and knots in my spine.” Lead singer, Malachi has a voice thats hesitantly confident, round and fluctuates between strong and fragile. And his wife, darling Keiko, provides gentle soprano harmonies and perfectly melded violin adding to the diverse overall sound that The Denouement is. Slightly creepy, magical and always surprising. You’ll feel like drifting away in a grey-blue ocean one moment and then be alarmed by hair-raising guitar riffs. “Addition” is one that will literally be hypnotizing you and then shaking you into reality with a steady beat, lurking melody in soft, sweet tones then breaking everything up in syncopated drum beats and spontaneous screaming. In fact, they sound much like Malachi’s paintings look. And you can have a look at http://malachiward.blogspot.com. The Denouement is the most talented undiscovered band I’ve come in contact with. Listening to their album will make you alive with excitement and then depressed that no one yet knows about them. The Denouement is based out of Azusa, California and plays shows around Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley. You can buy their album Low Tide on iTunes. You can find them at www.myspace.com/thedenouement or at thedenouement.com. “Ok Okinawa” is my favorite. Listen. Enjoy.

“Fight back! Fight back! Fight back!” was being chanted as a few thousand angry people gathered at Hollywood and Vine to protest the occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and Israel on Saturday, March 21st, the sixth anniversary of the unlawful invasion of Iraq. Sponsored by Answer LA and a host of other student organizations, the event started with a rally, continued to a march and ended near Hollywood and Highland at a military recruitment center where mock coffins draped in the flags of the U.S., Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and Israel where carried in a procession and placed at the entrance. Back at Hollywood and Vine, speeches from every walk of life were made. Carlos Alvarez, the 22 year old recent graduate who ran for Los Angeles Mayor, a mother of a disabled Iraqi veteran, leaders of student organizations all over LA county and so many more. I was overwhelmed at the anger in the air. So much hatred, frustration, and fight back mentality. And justifiably so. I too, would like to see Bush and Cheney prosecuted for war crimes, and I too, want to see justice. I too, want to see the wars end, now. But I was still deeply disturbed at the undeniably lack of love and peace I expected to see. Standing with a few of my friends, Rachael leaned over to me and said she’d wished she’d grabbed the painting off the wall in her bedroom with a peace sign that said, “I am love,” because to me, this march did not seem like it was truly about peace. I understand that you must put up a good fight to get what we want, and to stand up for what is right in the world. But you can’t fight fire with fire. And I think a lot of what Martin Luther King, Jr. did, is starting to be forgotten. Are we forgetting his legacy? Have we forgotten the study of peaceful protest? Of civil disobedience? I agree with the cause. I agree that we need funds for jobs, education, housing and not for war costs. I do. I believe in that. But I was terribly discouraged at the amount of hate fostered at this protest and as we marched, Shawn grabbed my hand and we looked up at a building where in large letters was written, “what fools these mortals be.” *** AnswerLA.org

Brother (Unsigned) 2008 *** On the outskirts of Los Angeles and heading east, emerging from the Azusa Canyon, echoes the folk-rock sounds old Dylan and the Beach Boys from a small undiscovered band, Brother. Early summer optimism prevail in this young, talented group. The self-titled opening track is nothing more than party sounds, an anthem piece starting, “if you’re down, if you’re out..” friends yelling background expletives with a single acoustic guitar and tambourine, it’s the sound of camaraderie. The rest of the album’s sound is richly Californian (think Brian Wilson, maybe even a little CSNY), sans the beachy swells or Hollywood pretension of the overwhelming influx of hipster we see in this city. The simple and catchy Dylan-esque choruses are made for sing-alongs and the lovingly added harmonica has beautiful solos of its own. With All Things Must Pass guitar sounds on songs like “Mexico, Mexico” and “Devil On Your Back,” frontman, Shawn Morones combines the 1960’s with modern ideals of the youth in America, slide guitar with Brian Wilson oohs and ahhs and harmonized guitars on “I Got Blues.” And with guitar riffs that are invigorating instead of harsh and brassy, Morones says he’s no longer a lead guitar player, he’s evolved into a rhythm guitarist. And you can hear it. It results in a balanced album so the solos are refined, and not overwhelming like the kind of Chili Pepper riffs that just make you go “o.k., stop now.” “Going Down” despite the dirty insinuation, is not, in fact, about oral sex but it will melt your face off, in the Jeff Tweedy sort of way, however hearing it live is another story and you’ll have to experience it for yourself. And the drum sound, is incendiary, thanks for RCE DeLong’s syncopated crashes that illuminate each track. Save for the drumless “Water” which sounds like it was recorded in the kitchen or bathroom; with heavy breathing, squeaky doors and ambiguous, thoughtful lyrics accompanied with single guitar strumming and the occasional folk harmonica. Crowd favorite, “It’s All Happening” is the catchy I was talking about, a sing-along shout, also gives us the album title which snuck in there. This entire album lies in that category of when you’re feeling nostalgic right in the moment; when you look around and realize how much you adore the people you’re with and how delightful the laughter. Just relaxed and sunny with enough sweet melancholy of a kid in love with everything he experiences, and the sour heartache that follows. Vocally (and lyrically), it draws heavily from M. Ward and Wilco, with harmonies reminiscent of Fleet Foxes and their baroque-pop-ambient-folk-mountain-man sound. With lines like “and all my friends have done the same, we sold our souls, saw the world and changed our names,” ‘“it ain’t so hard to dance with the devil on your back,” “we’ve been here before, seen it all and we want more,” or “hell even Jesus cried” the lyrical content is poignant, understated poetry of hitting the road à la Kerouac, chaotic relationships, polaroids, kissing, losers, the blues, night owls, debonair and the exploding vibrant now-or-never carpe diem attitude that will bewitch you from track to track and have you begging to grab your best friend by the hand and say these are the times of our lives. My advice would be, to “take it now,” as Brother would say. Their hand, and this album. Now. Like right now. The album Better Days by Brother is available through iTunes, cdbaby.com, emusic.com and Amazon. All songs written and arranged by Shawn Morones. You can find Brother on myspace at myspace.com/thebrothercircus, on their blog http://thebrothercircus.blogspot.com or hanging around shoddy bars and venues around Los Angeles.