We Got Yer Holiday Spirit Right Here
Eat My Blog: Blogger Bake Sale Will Benefit LA Foodbank
Sobriety Checkpoints Tonight, Saturday Night
Howie Mandel Opens up About OCD with 20/20 Tonight
A Weather WTF?!: Storm Warning Issued for LA Region
Written and photographed by Joey Maloney for LAist
Did you know that starfish are not really fish? In between rocking out to Ima Robot there were things to be a’learned at this month’s First Friday event at the Natural History Museum. Just a bit of back story, I have heard about the First Friday events since I moved to Los Angeles just over two years ago but never made it down to the ‘hood to attend. I have also heard the band Ima Robot on Indie 103.1 and through friends since I moved here just over two years ago, but never once attended a show of theirs. Friday night the planets, stars, Paris Hilton and everything else seemed to align and the union of the two got my ass to a museum on a Friday night! There are puns abound when you see a rock concert in the depths of a Natural History Museum, for this review and for the readers sake I will refrain from them (or at least try).
Amidst the ruble of generations of civilizations and creatures, Ima Robot frontman Alex Ebert’s warbley falsetto voice echoed and rocked the place to its very bones! (LAME!) As the band reached a high point with the lead single, “Creeps Me Out” off their latest release Monument to the Masses, It became an odd scene as Ebert gyrated and caressed his chest in front of the surprisingly young crowd, who ate up every ounce of it. What this crowd lacked in age they made up for in enthusiasm and energy. They jumped, screamed and sung along like good li’l hipsters-in-training and the place began to feel more like Spaceland or The Troubadour rather than a museum. In the shadows of elephants and lions, Ima Robot brought their brand of electric energy to the lifeless, albeit stuffed, mammals, who seemed completely captivated by the event. (LAME!)
I honestly didn’t know what to expect when going to this event, how often do you hear of rock concerts in museums? But I was surprised, entertained and I even learned! It is a genius move by the people at the NHM to make people aware of their exhibits and events and something that everyone should check out next month, the last for the season.
many more photos of the show on Joey's Flickr page
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Loads of fun. The March show with Ghostland Observatory was also good.
can't get a show at a real venue ? these wannabes opt for a museum . is that considered jumping the shark for a band that pulled a fonzie the day they screeched about black jettas in 12 year old girl whines five years ago ?
I was at this show, and I had a slightly different take on the evening. While the taxidermy made a great backdrop for any band to perform, and although there was a vocal coterie of die-hard Ima Robot fans in attendance, the band's lead singer made it pretty clear he thought it was beneath him to be playing the show. The band still put energy into the show, and overall they sounded good and it was a fun mellow time (who can complain about a show that only costs $9 for 2 people?). But the lead singer's attitude was SHITTY!
Dear Greasy, Skinny L.A. Hipster Musician Dude,
If it's so declassé to be playing a museum gig for the washed, middle-class masses, then turn down the show and don't cash the check. But if you're gonna play the show, don't act like a whiny, little bitch about it.
Sincerely,
A Regular, Boring, Old Music Fan
That photo of the elephant diorama is amazing.
I thought Ima Robot was the Secret Machines. (Boy was I disappointed). I kept a discreet distance from the inaudible noise coming from the stage.(What a terrible group).
I did like the First Fridays concept and enjoyed the lecture and looking around a museum which I haven't been to since I was a kid.