MUSEXPO 2009 A&R Worldwide Artist Showcase: Monday Night

As I stuffed my face with the last piece of pizza in my photographer’s car and gulped down the last drop of Sparks (yes, I know that’s a bit juvenile but we were on a tight schedule – and don’t ever get sugar free – it’s disgusting), I was wondering what the second night of MUSEXPO 2009 had in store for us. Would it be a bit busier than Sunday night? Would be it be less busier since it was Monday night? Would I find the artists in tonight’s showcases more impressive than the selected few I saw the night before?

I wouldn’t know until I walked into the beginning of the first set at the Viper Room. Check out how my entire night went below! Live photo gallery included!

Artist Showcase: [Monday, April 27th]

ANDREW PAUL WOODWORTH 8:00 The Viper Room

With a full band backing him up, Andrew Paul Woodworth was going full force with his opening song in The Viper Room. It was instantly obvious he was a talented musician as I watched him play guitar and listened to his lush arrangements. Apparently, this musician has worked with the greats such as Robert Plant and John Paul Jones, and his lyrics are definitely heartfelt without being over the top just as they said. Displaying diverse songs, “Pleasure To Meet You” was definitely my favorite out of the set. Although the beginning sounded a bit like No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak,” it turned out to be a very worthwhile listen. Towards the end of his set, he introduced the song that gained him original attention from both the Beastie Boys and a German record label who heard it at 2006’s conference. The song was none other than the famous”Fight For Your Right To Party!” Of course, it was his own cover rendition, and it was a gorgeous arrangement. I can definitely see why some people took a liking to it. However, as a Beastie Boys fan, slowing a song down that much, and taking the tenacity out of the song by making it pretty, the message of the original definitely got lost in the translation. I am still not sure how I feel about his breakout cover, but it was obvious that Woodworth deserved to come back as an alum of MUSEXPO.

http://www.myspace.com/andrewpaulwoodworth

DEREK MILLER 8:30 The Whiskey

Often described as “Hank Williams and Link Wray on peyote,” Derek Miller made me walk into the Whiskey Room with a smile on my face. Miller was definitely a musician I was looking forward to that night ever since I found out he had recorded an album with Double Trouble of the Stevie Ray Vaughan fame. It’s been a while since I took out any Double Trouble records out for a spin, but Derek Miller’s first song automatically made up for that lost time. Dressed in a pin-stripped vest and pants over a sharp silver button down shirt and tie, Miller was melting my face off with his intricate guitar licks and his gritty vocals. There will always be a soft spot in my heart for the gritty blues-rock, and his set was definitely giving me flashbacks to late high school evenings when I was doing things my parents would never have allowed me to do. The highlightS of his set were absolutely “Devil Came Down Sunday” and “Girls.”

http://www.myspace.com/derekmillermusic

GIN WIGMORE 9:00 The Viper Room

When I walked back into the Viper Room, I was a little worried when I saw that the only female performer of the night was standing in a hot little red dress and just dancing while she sang. Australian, blue-eyed, Gin Wigmore was definitely a bombshell moving to her own beats like it was the best of her night, and I admired her for that. (Someone once told me, “if you can’t listen to your songs a million times over and over again, no body else will.”) However, I was initially worried because I wanted a female musician to also be up to par with the rest of the guys in the showcase, and as much as I loved her enthusiasm and incredibly addicting voice, I wanted to see her pick up an instrument. Finally, for the second song, she picked up her acoustic guitar and I was satisfied. First off, because she sounded great and completely kicked ass while she played. Ssecondly, she was one of those musicians who knew how to joke around (“This song would sound really good in a movie [...] This song would be good for a funeral… so if anyone’s dying…) She was just a joy to watch overall. With a raspy voice that is a combination of Macy Gray and Lykke Li and a gorgeous look of both Amy Winehouse and Duffy, Gin Wigmore made my somewhat feminist concerns melt away.

http://www.myspace.com/ginwigmore

FLOOR THIRTEEN 9:30 The Whiskey

Seeing Floor Thirteen’s flyers lying around in the beginning of the conference gave me high expectations for the band. Often paired up with EA games to promote their songs, I was hoping this Canadian band would appropriately fill up The Whiskey with their alternative sounds. Running a little late because acts had begun to overlap, I rushed in to see a young group of good looking guys rocking it out as hard as they could for the Los Angeles crowd. If they were to fit in anywhere or with anyone in the city of angels, one word would describe it all: Buckcherry. It was kind of shocking to hear how similar they sounded to a local artist. Big sound, solid songwriting, and good energy. I wasn’t worrying too much about this band. They’ll go beyond Sims games and be able to tour with the big boys soon enough.

http://www.myspace.com/floor13

SORGENTE 10:00 The Viper Room

Color coordinated in green shirts and pants, I had six German dudes staring back at me from the stage. Only they weren’t just staring back, they were totally giving off these crazy funky grooves. I just laughed to myself, because earlier in the night, an elderly man had told me he cancelled about ten things just to see this band again. They were “that good!” It was a bit shocking to see that this band was in his musical palette. Although the three members who chose to wear shades distracted me for a bit (were the lights were too bright, boys or are you just bad ass?), I could see his point. I heard fantastic harmonies and definitely felt the soul exuding from all members including the bass player – who I could barely see – and the keytarist. Yes… there was a keytar on stage. I knew it would only be a matter of time before I saw a foreign band pull out a keytar. However, it seemed like he was singing more than playing the keytar, so that was okay with me! Although their set was strangely diverse and their lead vocalist had a moment where he held his arms out like a Messiah while he rolled his neck form side to side (Stevie Wonder IS considered to be God to many people), their set was definitely the funnest one by far. I’m not gonna lie… there was some two-steppin’ going on. How did they end the set? With all band members crouching down for a crazy ass long drum solo and guess what? More cowbell. Funktastic.

http://www.myspace.com/sorgentemusic

THE BLUE VAN 10:30 The Whiskey

The Blue Van gave me a very comfortable feeling when I entered The Whiskey again. As I mostly cover local indie bands on the Eastside, this band made me feel at home with their sound. What’s funny about that is that they’re not from LA but from Copenhagen, Denmark. Not only did they look like the local LA hipsters, but they had a very nonchalant sound that was incredibly catchy. I could easily hear all their songs being requested on Indie 103.1, and I would imagine myself wanting to cover another show of theirs if they were here for a tad longer. Their set was chock full of great songwriting and the vocalist was impressively on top of his game. As I prepared myself to go outside for a smoke, I stopped myself when I heard “Silly Boy.” Now at the time, I thought they were doing a cover because I knew this song was used in a Samsung phone commercial. It was catchy but still credible. To my surprise, I found out it was actually their own original song off of their album, Man Up. Aside from the fact that one of their salmon colored pants-wearing band members was forcing me to clap along to their songs, The Blue Van made me wish they were a band who would stay around town for a while.

http://www.myspace.com/thebluevan

ADDEBOY VS.CLIFF (FEATURING ADAM TENSTA) 11:00 The Viper Room

To be honest, I had no idea that the last act of the night had started while I was grabbing my last drink. I noticed there was fog coming out of the curtains but I was not aware that they had actually opened. When I finally did realize the act started, I was so glad I went up to the front early on. Addeboy vs. Cliff was without a doubt a perfect way to end the night. Last night we ended with Tigarah spitting us some lyrics, but tonights’ hip-hop act was a guy on guitar in the middle of the smoke accompanied by drums and a DJ. It was a bit reminiscent of Ratatat, but as soon as Adam Tensta, Eboi, and DJ Rooftop were all there on stage collaborating together, it was nothing less than explosive! Pretty soon, I became one of those girls without any shame dancing at the front of the stage. Lyrics haven’t been relayed through the mic that fast since Mystikal or Twista. Did I mention this act is from Sweden? Damm, the Swedish know how to close out the night. Addeboy vs. Cliff. I’m officially a fan.

http://www.myspace.com/addeboyvscliff

LIVE PHOTO GALLERY:

Photography courtesy of Taylor Loftin

My favorite three acts of the night: It wasn’t as easy to choose as the night before, so there is a tie – 1) Addeboy vs. Cliff (featuring Adam Tensta) 2) The Blue Van or Sorgente 3) Gin Wigmore

What are yours? We’ve got two more nights of international artists! Stay tuned for a coverage of tonight’s artist showcase!

To find more info, you can go to the official MUSEXPO website.