Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger. HARD returns July 19 with an all-star genre-bending line-up, featuring hip-hop/rocker heavyweights N*E*R*D and electro kings MSTRKRFT, at a new location – The Shrine Expo Hall in downtown Los Angeles. The all-ages, all-night spectacular will take place across two stages from 9 pm until 4 am.
The HARD electrodome will host the skittish sounds of MSTRKRFT and their electro brethren Steve Aoki, Italian up-and-comers the Bloody Beetroots, German techno star Miles Dyson, KCRW’s Jason Bentley, electrohouse New Yorker Kill the Noise and the grand architect of the evening Destructo, all performing in front of a giant, 30-foot screen with live visuals provided by video jockey Vello Virkhaus, best known for his eye-popping work with Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Police and Sandra Collins.
HARD is pulling out all the stops for their second event, this time adding a mini skatepark, adjacent to the HARD Outdoor stage with live performances by Philly party starters Spank Rock, Chi-town rapstress Kid Sister, Kanye West’s right hand man A-Trak and showstopping headliners N*E*R*D.
www.hardfest.com
SEA WOLF’S JOURNEY BEGINS MAY 17 IN TUCSON
Alex Brown Church and co. are packing their guitars, cellos and airborne, then hitting the road for their first-ever headlining tour, starting in Tucson, Arizona May 17. The gypsy folk sextet will shoot a video for “Black Dirt,” just before departing for their month+ journey across the States.
Church recently contributed an exclusive track, “Song of the Magpie,” to the audio book for Augusten Burrough’s new novel, “A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father.” The song, along with exclusives from Patti Smith, Tegan Quinn (Tegan and Sara) and Ingrid Michaelson, can be heard on Burroughs’ site here.
LUCHA VaVOOM TAKES THE SHOW ON THE ROAD; HIGH-OCTANE SUMMER NACIONALES MELDS MASKED MEXICAN WRESTLING + VINTAGE BURLESQUE
Ladies and gentlemen start your engines. The masked Mexican wrestling and saucy striptease phenom that is Lucha VaVOOM returns this June with Summer-Nacionales, their homage to drag racing.
Kicking off June 24 at the Mayan in downtown LA, the show will run for three days before heading south to the Grove in Anaheim for its one-night-only Orange County debut June 27. The mayhem will conclude June 29 at the fabulous Fillmore in San Francisco.
For the Summer-nacionales, Mexican Wrestlers from all over Mexico, Los Angeles and Texas will battle for ring supremacy, the honor of their hometown and the coveted Summer-Nacionales cup. In between matches, astounding burlesque acts will dazzle and amaze. Hula hoop hotstuff Karis is back by popular demand.
For more info: www.luchavavoom.com
UK ELECTRO DUO BLAMMA! BLAMMA! NEWEST ADDITION TO DOVECOTE RECORDS’ VINYL CLUB
Dovecote Records is celebrating the timelessness and aural beauty of the vinyl record with a newly-launched vinyl club. The emerging NY-based indie label, home to Ed Harcourt, Mason Proper, Tim Williams and others, has just released the 12-inch three-track, The.P EP, by English electro-rock upstarts Blamma! Blamma! as their first foray into the dance-music world. The double-named duo have created remixes for The Teenagers, Maximo Park, Scanners and more.
The release is limited to 500 pieces and sold exclusively through Dovecote Records’ site.
