Los Angeles residents love their Peter Bjorn and John – so much so that the Swedish indie rock trio was able to pull off two shows at the El Rey in one night, selling out the first. May 14th’s early set brought a flood of excited fans into the venue as soon as the doors opened.
Apologies to all you gorgeous party people, I’m afraid this week’s post is going to be a bit on the short side; was one of those highly infuriating weeks where there just wasn’t that much to write about and very few new tracks that I actually enjoyed. Although Sade (who doesn’t love a little Sade action?) announced the release of a second greatest hits album (no released date yet) and she finally agreed to collaborate with my future BFF Jay Z on a track for it. So that’s rather magical.
Young Jesus might consider themselves to be an average bunch of Joe’s from the Midwest, but Red Bull thinks they’re pretty sweet. The Chicago-based band won an opportunity to go head to head against Brighton MA in a national showdown called Rock The Route. Touring across Route 66, the bands competed every stop along the tour and earned points based on performance, fan interaction, fan base, and overall rock factor. A slew of celebrity judges, like the band’s new arch nemesis, the Shiny Toy Guns, offered their feedback and fans also texted in to cast their votes. At the end of the competition, Brighton MA slid into first but Young Jesus had a hell of a ride along the way.
I caught up with the guys at Red Bulls Studios where they were recording two new songs. The guys bum rushed the break room fridge and stocked up on Red Bulls, I slammed an energy shot, and then it was officially Rock The Route story time.