eWorld: style

Just a little catch-up type post... Wednesday night I drove over to West Hollywood to see Erik Penny at Tempest, in West Hollywood. It was a free show, and I got a street spot, so really in terms of an LA music night that's a good outing for me right there. The venue was pretty well set up in terms of space, though it looked to me that the sound setup could be a bit better. There was a buzz coming through the speakers that was starting to bother me in the low points. Nothing major, though, and my experience there was definitely positive on the whole.

Erik was up first, accompanied by Dave Jones on upright bass and Carolin Bennett on backing vocals. I'm always a fan of the upright bass, but I was most excited to get some backup vocals behind Erik. I love going and listening to him, but the songs feel a little shallow when there's not someone back there to carry things along. Carolin did a great job of that. Afterward I asked Erik about the slower tempo of his newer work and he admitted he was indulging his desire to play some slower "pretty" songs after doing a little more rocking with PENNY the band. But a band is what Erik Penny is once more, so obviously those full-band shows are going to pick up the pace a little bit by necessity. The smaller line-up at Tempest felt a bit like "Erik Penny Unplugged."

I didn't hang around for the entirety of the rest of the night, but I did stay long enough to be highly impressed by Daniel Mackenzie. Yeah, it's pop, but he writes good lyrics and performs them perfectly. I think I had one of his tunes stuck in my head Friday, though I couldn't remember any words or anything more than the tune of the chorus.

I was talking with Erik after his set and decided I need to get serious about finding a space to bring some good LA music downtown. The area's primed for it, and I really want somewhere I can just walk to for shows. We'll see what becomes of that.