How many goth kids has this band fooled on name alone? (Photos by Erik Kabik | Retna)
Name-checking, world music-dropping, Talking Heads-emulating Vampire Weekend took the stage last night at The Joint inside Hard Rock Hotel. (And which would you rather have, the borderline Paul Simon-polished “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” or the rabidly anarchic “I Zimbra?” We’re just asking.) For a band with “Vampire” in its name, they have a surprising dearth of blood-related theatrics on stage. Maybe they should take lessons from GWAR or something.
Our Vampire Weekend cover band, Frankenstein Bank Holiday, is really starting to take off.
Vampire Weekend, the band that shattered some sort of land-speed record for going from critical darling with groundswell of indie cred straight into the hipster backlash phase of their career, plays The Joint inside Hard Rock Hotel tonight at 8 p.m. They’ll try to tell you that the Oxfordcomma doesn’t matter, but they’d be wrong. So very, very wrong. Where our grammar nerds at? Holla. Click for more words and pictures »
Thornton’s back-up plan is a stint as an extra on Mad Men as Smoking Man No. 5.(Photos by Erik Kabik | Retna)
Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters played The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel Friday night, followed by a trip to Wasted Space to hand out tour awards to his bandmates. The Price is Right host Drew Carey was hanging out with Thornton, and comic Bobby Slayton stopped by as well. We’re sure The Pit Bull of Comedy didn’t appreciate Carey’s constant reminders to get your pets spayed and neutered.
Is — is she wearing a Blossom hat? (Photo by Scott Harrison | Retna)
Colbie Caillat is the anti-Tila Tequila. They both catapulted to fame through MySpace, but while Tequila’s incessant attention whoring got her a crappy reality show, Caillat’s milquetoast pop balladeering landed her a record contract. It’s like Lex Luthor and Superman warring for the souls of the 18 to 25 mouse potato demo.
Caillat, whose “Bubbly” makes upcoming tour mate John Mayer sound like early Anthrax, hit up The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel last night. We’re pretty sure security has never had so little to do at a concert before.
It’s scientifically proven that no one is cooler than jazz/hip-hop musicians. (Via TheRoots.com)
Jazz-hip-hop-soul-little-bit-of-everything-that’s-good-and-right-with-the-world veterans The Roots take the stage Saturday at 8 p.m. inside The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel. Touring their new Rising Down album, the important thing to remember about The Roots is that their drummer has the greatest name in music since Faster Pussycat’s Taime Downe: ?uestlove.
To get ready for the show, we defy you not to groove to “The Seed.”
The Sex Pistols kicked off their world tour with their only American stop Saturday night at The Joint inside Hard Rock Hotel. The band that started as a champion of working-class, disaffected youth drew its share of VIPs to the show.
Matt Sorum of Velvet Revolver and Guns ‘n’ Roses; Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci of The Killers; Billy Morrison and Billy Duffy of The Cult; Carey Hart; and Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson were all in the VIP area up in the balcony. Prior to the show Sorum and Pamela Morrison as well as Jameson and Ortiz were at separate tables at Ago. It’s all very punk. You know, the way Green Day is punk.
Later, Carey Hart played tour guide, showing Matt Sorum Wasted space, when John Lydon dropped in. On cue, Keuning, Stoermer, Vannucci Morrison and Duffy came by to scope things out themselves.
Meanwhile, Jamie-Lynn Sigler of Sopranos fame hung out with Ben Lyons at Body English for Smashtime. Rapper Flo-Rida delivered a performance that ended with a champagne bath for the crowd, but Sigler was out of the line of fire up in the balcony.
The Sex Pistols kick off their summer tour with their first, last and only stop in America at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel tonight at 8 p.m. with guests Louis XIV. Frontman Johnny Rotten (nee Lydon) may have taken his image as a bristly punk contrarian a little too far, if a lawsuit by a former female assistant is to be believed, in which she alleges Rotten hit her. Look, we love Public Image Ltd., but Lydon opened his seminal second album with the band with the sprawling 10-minute miasma of “Albatross.” Listening to that is abuse enough. For other, non canonicaly important punk band-related activities, read on. Click for more words and pictures »
They completely blame the fire woman. For everything. (Photo by Scott Harrison. Additional photos by Erik Kabik.)
The Hard Rock Hotel dedicated a case of memorabilia across from Pink Taco to The Cult on Saturday prior to the band’s show at The Joint. The band is reported to still be tinkering with the electronics to secure the patent on their highly anticipated love removal machine.
Later that night at the hotel, Colby O’Donis dropped in on Smashtime at Body English to do his “What you Got. Cowboys tackle Terry “Tank” Johnson was there, along with Cat Sadler and Jason Kennedy.
Former Young and the Restless star Shemar Moore was poolside during the day, fighting off the ladies, which raises a brilliant point about the viability of going into acting to get on the soaps. Hear that, senior year class play high school students? Forget about moving to Hollywood to get in movies. Fly under the radar with a mostly female audience. Most of the time, you don’t even have to be a good actor.
We have no idea if The Cult is still considered a guilty pleasure or if they’ve back-doored into late-career hipster appreciation or if they have art-best-to-be-appreciated-ironically cachet or whatever. Nor, frankly, do we care, because when it all comes down to it, “Fire Woman” rawks. Yes, we did just throw out the horns there, why do you ask?
What we also know is that at 6 p.m. tomorrow, The Cult will be honored with the dedication of a display case at the Hard Rock Hotel that will include one of Billy Duffy’s jackets, a White Falcon guitar, a drum head with the band’s logo and an Ian Astbury sweatshirt among other things. Click for more words and pictures »
FACT: Tonight will be a surprise set of nothing but Uncle Tupelo covers. (Via StephenMarleyMusic.com)
Tonight’s Friday Night Live Stephen Marley show, scheduled for the Hard Rock Hotel pool at 9 p.m.. has been moved inside to The Joint due to inclement weather. The forecast calls for rain, thunderstorms and frogs. OK, maybe not frogs.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and Marley goes on at 9 p.m. Tickets are $30, but seeing no fewer than 60 white guys with dreadlocks all in one place is priceless.
09.16.08 
