Writing this as Outside Lands goes on literally right down the street (yes, now that we live practically at the entrance to the festival, we opted not to get tickets this year). Listening to the music from the couch while wearing sweatpants is pretty cool, I must say...although I could do without the horde of drunk people outside the apartment at 11pm. I must be getting old.
OSL or not, it's been an excellent week for live music. On Wednesday, The Spencer Owen Timeshare opened for New Zealand-based Andrew Keoghan at the Hemlock, and it was so much fun (also, I learned how to make Instagram stories, so y'all better watch out). Andrew Keoghan and his band were really great, and of course the Timeshare were on point too. Rumor has it this is the last show in a while, which makes me sad (but excited for potential recordings to come!).
Then Thursday night we saw Cornelius at The Fox, which was incredible. I didn't know much about Cornelius (real name Keigo Oyamada) going into the show, but was almost immediately won over by his eargasmic sonic landscapes (take, for instance, The Micro Disneycal World Tour).
I am a sucker for intricately choreographed shows (see: OK Go, Stop Making Sense, drum corps), so I was especially blown away by auditory/visual synchronization of this show. I have no idea how they do it, but the band manages to sync these crazy tight songs perfectly with the videos projected behind them throughout the entire show. This is a good example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK-71-b7NSo
I did some reading up today and learned that Cornelius came out of the Japanese Shibuya-kei scene, described by Wiki as "a kitsch revival of 1960s culture" and by LA Weekly as having a distinct "'60s-meets-'90s vibe." So basically, it's the perfect combination for the 60s enthusiast in me, the 90s enthusiast in Alex, and the Japan enthusiast in both of us.
I can't wait to listen to more. Also, I really really want to go back to Tokyo.