A Refugee

Alex Carpenter casting a spell of rock upon the crowd. ©2009 Gary Livingston

Last night I got a proper introduction to the world of wizard rock. My friend Alex Carpenter has been touring with his band, The Remus Lupins, for well over a year now. He is surprisingly successful with it.

It has taken him all over the country and they entertain 50-250+ people each show. The music is all Harry Potter derived. Naturally, their biggest fans are serious Harry Potter fans, like themselves.

I saw them once before at the release of the final Harry Potter book in Los Angeles. The venue was the Barnes and Noble in The Grove. That first taste was a mix of things and it was hard to judge them as a stand alone band in a sense. The excitement, energy, and most importantly, the crowd seemed a result of the book coming out that night. But, after seeing them last night it is obvious that the book release just compounded the density of all those things. They are very much present regardless when you experience a Remus Lupins show.

There was only one person in a serious costume last night which, was a little disappointing. However, the entire crowd was no less engaged than the girl in the fairy costume. It was a really good crowd. Lots of cheering and dancing and not much caring about being judged on their involvement with a Harry Potter fan band. It was a good time for sure.

The musicianship of Alex was a real improvement from that first time I saw him play. He seems to have loosened up a bit and be enjoying himself much more in the moment on stage.The band seemed much tighter too.

All in all, it was a fun night. If you find yourself reading through the Harry Potter series more than once you should check them out. They’re the band for you.

Enjoy the photos. Not the best I’ve done. But, pretty good for dealing with a light tech that still thinks emphasizing red is an intelligent use of lighting.

Don’t forget © 2008 Gary Livingston. Ask for permission before you take, use, post, distribute, or share them or any other photograph I make. <3

I'm ready for the playoffs if we make it. ©2009 Gary Livingston

For the first time since 2002 the Kings could be playing in the playoffs.  This is the first time for many of our current players to actually have something to fight for during the final 25 or so games.

It is really exciting to be a fan.  The Kings are currently the youngest team in the NHL.  They have a lot of inexperienced players and no one expected much from any of them in terms of rising to the challenge in this first season of Kings being a truly new team compared to its past versions.  It is a lot of fun to watch young kids develop into true NHL players and come together to represent our city.

The Kings were also the worst team in the NHL last season and not much better the seasons before that.  They have seriously turned all their shortcomings around.  In many areas they were last in the NHL last season they are in the top 10.  It is great to have hope and be able to see the beginning of things to come for this organization and hockey in Los Angeles.  No one expected them to even be a contender for a playoff spot.   Yet, here we are.  Four points behind the 7th and  8th place teams and plenty  of time to disrupt things and take a spot away from one of them.

With the win over the Minnesota Wild tonight there is a lot to be hopeful about.  Keep an eye on the team.  Show your support. The team needs to know they are not just fighting for their pride but, the pride of LA.

I’ll do my best to make it out to some practices as soon as the team gets back from their road trip.

Be sure to jump over to Rich Hammond’s  LA KINGS blog: http://www.insidesocal.com/kings/

He does a wonderful job exposing the players as people and providing something more intimate to cheer for.

Keep www.atdhe.net bookmarked too in case a road game is not televised.  Most games are streamed there =)

This is long over due.  I got the pleasure of seeing some of my good friends playing together at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, CA back in January.  I expected it to be good but, it really exceeded my expectations.

The Good Cheer have been around for a while and gone through a lot of metamorphosis.  The band is currently helmed by Nate Highfield and Aaron Burch.  The band is joined by Wade Ryff on bass.  Their new batch of songs are a lot of fun and a good mix of pop rock and throw back 70s spirit.

They put on a great show in all forms but, with the addition of Jacob Fatoorechi on guitar the energy level and texture of the music multiplies to new heights.

Keep an eye out for The Good Cheer playing shows in LA.  Jacob is currently out touring with Automatic Love Letter but, I expect him to join back up for a few key shows in the near future.

You can check them out here: Click Click

Enjoy the shots.  =)