By Don Heckman Oct. 1 – 4. (Thurs. – Sun.) IMMORTAL BEETHOVEN. Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a remarkable, four night tour de force program devoted to all nine of the Beethoven symphonies: #1 and #2 on Thursday; #3 and #4 on Friday; #5, #6, #7 and #8 on Saturday; and a… Read More Highlights of a Long Weekend: Oct. 1 – 4 in Los Angeles
By Mike Finkelstein On Thursday night in a Center for the Art of Performance concert at Royce Hall, Snarky Puppy and Kneebody played a sold out show of what might best be called jazz fusion or simply eclectic music, though trying to label music is probably not a great idea. Still, both units had a… Read More Live Music: Snarky Puppy and Kneebody in a CAP UCLA Concert at Royce Hall
By Mike Finkelstein For years, it seems that I’ve brushed up to a nice bushel or two of “keeper” songs from Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals. These tunes are the good stuff, the type of songs people use in their weddings, and the band’s reputation as performers is similarly top shelf. Still, I never… Read More Live Music: Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals at the Greek Theatre
By Mike Finkelstein If you have even a kernel of curiosity about the legend of Janis Joplin or if you simply want to see some great rock-related live musical theater, you will want to get to the Pasadena Playhouse and see A Night with Janis Joplin before it closes on August 23. Putting this production… Read More Musical Theatre: “A Night With Janis Joplin” at the Pasadena Playhouse
By Don Heckman Los Angeles June 5. (Fri.) Eddie Daniels and Roger Kellaway. The clarinet hasn’t been one of the lead jazz instruments since before the bebop era. But when it’s in the masterful hands of Eddie Daniels, lucky listeners have a chance to hear the full potential of the instrument that Mozart loved so… Read More Picks of the Weekend: June 5 – 7 in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, New York City, London, Paris and Milan
By Mike Finkelstein Hollywood, CA On Monday evening the buzz was in the air above Hollywood Boulevard. LA’s favorite sons, Van Halen, were shooting a live mini-concert in support of their new live album, Tokyo Dome Live In Concert . This show was in front of easily a thousand or so of their most connected/lucky… Read More Live Music: Van Halen Make It Interesting As They Rock Hollywood Blvd. For The Jimmy Kimmel Show
By Don Heckman – Feb 27 & 28. (Fri. & Sat.) Stanley Clarke and Friends. Bassist Clarke’s “Friends” aren’t identified in the program for this gig. But Clarke, a world class artist with a stellar resume, can be counted on to surround himself with players capable of functioning at his Olympian jazz levels. In… Read More Highlights of the Weekend: In Los Angeles
By Mike Finkelstein Los Angeles. On a wet Saturday night, Three Dog Night rolled into the beautiful new Arcadia Performing Arts Center to take us back into the early seventies for about seventy-five minutes. Playing live is truly the most immediate strand of being a professional musician. Particularly when the money is there, it’s great… Read More Live Music: Three Dog Night at the Arcadia Performing Arts Center
As we move into the first weeks of 2015, the iRoM Picks of the Week will begin to reach beyond the Los Angeles-centric choices of the past few years. We will, of course, continue to survey L.A.’s ever-changing banquet of musical pleasures. But we will also begin to highlight and emphasize a broad range of… Read More Picks of the Week: January 5 – 11
By James deFrances A warm nostalgic breeze was ushered into Hollywood last Thursday night by Ron Dante and “his friends.” Patrons at Catalina Bar & Grill on Sunset Blvd couldn’t help but feel the energy and sing along as rock ‘n roll legends of yesteryear performed their hits on stage. The audience was comprised of… Read More Live Music: Ron Dante and more at Catalina Bar & Grill
The International Review of Music 