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Pell: KZSC Show Reviews

Arriving at the Catalyst Monday night, a place I have struggled for air let alone space to dance, I was thankful to see a moderate sized turn out. The venue took on a new atmosphere with the comfortable not compacted situation. The few that did make it to the show were obvious die-hard fans and for good reason.

Originally from New Orleans and a Hurricane Katrina survivor, Pell is not the typical sound we hear coming out of that region. He works with more electronic beats switching vocally, as he says, from “affectionate wordsmith to hook-smashing crooner”. He comes across aggressive not because of a violent nature but because of the strength in his intelligent, passionate statements line after line. Pushing the boundaries of the current popular trap / dubby sound, Pell’s foundation is more rhythmic and more ambient. This new trip-pop dreamscape to sonics of rap had the crowd floating.

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Wobbleland: San Jose Comes To Life Under The City National Civic

February 26th and 27th, marked another successful year for the Bay Area concert Wobbleland hosted by Vital Events. Lines wrapped around The City National Civic with people eager to dance all night to the sweet sounds of EDM. Headliners Hucci and GTA dropped killer tracks, but honestly all the DJs brought their best to the weekend. From the opening performers to the headliners, the dancing never stopped! On top of their usual indoor main stage, Wobbleland included an outdoor tent introducing two stages for first time. The second stage was perfect if you wanted to get outside for some air and still enjoy the show. Wobbleland 2016 was a huge hit. I think my favorite part, besides the music, has to be the crowd. It must have been the music or simply the bay area people, but everyone was so friendly and dancing. The weekend was a huge success and KZSC thanks one of our own, Santiago Torrecilla, for inviting us to join!

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Taraf de Akácfa Tues Mar 15th

Taraf de Akácfa is a band based in Budapest, who met as traveling street musicians in Hungary. They'll be playing for a dance at Don Quixote's in Felton, CA on Tuesday, March 15, 2016 at 7pm. Hailing from Sweden, France,…

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Jazz & Blues Update

Here's the top 10 from this past week: 1 ERENA TERAKUBO Time For Love 2 SWEET BABY J'AI Straight To The Place 3 ADISON EVANS Hero 4 AVERY SHARPE Sharpe Meets Tharpe 5 CYRILLE AIMEE Let's Get Lost 6 GLENN…

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Le Bruit Court dans la Ville, Mon Mar 14th

The band Le Bruit Court dans la Ville (The Buzz of the Town) includes true legendary performers of the traditional music of Quebec, Canada who will be appearing on Monday, March 14, 2016 at 7:30pm at Don Quixote's in Felton, CA. Lisa Ornstein…

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KZSC Show Reviews: Animal Collective

The legendary indie noise harmonious electronica rock band Animal Collective made a rare tour appearance at the Fox Theater in Oakland this past week to promote their latest album “Painting With“. The group, featuring Avey Tare, Panda Bear, and Geologist, have been making music with each other for years but came into popular acclaim after albums like Strawberry Jams and Merriweather Post Pavillion were released in the late 2000s. The group released their latest album last month after a three and a half years of anticipation. Songs like “Golden Girls” and “Floridada” off of “Painting With” quickly became favorites here at the station, so we were very excited to have the opportunity to be able to review a show of a long time favorite band of the station all the way back to “Spirit They’ve Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished” in 2000.

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Esperanza Spalding at the Rio: Saturday, March 12th @ 8:00 p.m.

Esperanza Spalding caused KZSC's phones to ring more than usual this week, after airing a ticket giveaway for Spalding's highly-anticipated Santa Cruz show this Saturday. In case if you missed the news, GRAMMY® award-winning jazz singer, composer, and bassist, Esperanza Spalding will perform…

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KZSC is Going To South By Southwest!!

South By Southwest is the fastest growing music and media gathering in the United States. The festival is held yearly in Austin City, Texas, and KZSC is sending five intrepid reporters to bring you the highlights back from the mayhem!! The event will be so fantastic that Obama will be skipping Nancy Reagan's funeral to fly out! So stay posted to our blog from March 14th to 19th for coverage of the conference's exhibitions and music showcases.
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Dead Kennedys: KZSC Show Reviews

This past Saturday, the Catalyst was moshed to the point of near collapse because the Dead Kennedys rocked the house harder than any band at the Catalyst. With a combination of the pent-up energy exerting from the crowd and the stacked line-up to make any punk fan envious, including Reagan Youth, Anti Social, and the Defenders, I walked out the door of the Catalyst witnessing the best concert I’ve seen so far.

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Noise Pop Festival: KZSC Show Reviews

This past week, the Noise Pop festival of San Francisco swept up the city in exciting shows ranging from Carly Rae Jepsen to Kamasi Washington. Although we at KZSC weren’t exactly able to see the big names of the festival, we did get a peek behind the press curtain and what we saw was amazing. Two shows in particular that blew us away were the Thermals and Diane Coffee shows at the Brick and Mortar Music Hall

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Hawaiian Music For Days

The month of March brings us the sounds of the Islands, beginning with Willie K. at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga this Thursday, March 3rd at 7:30 pm.  Willie Kahaiali'i sings just about every style of music; he can - and…

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Jazz & Blues Charts

After a hiatus, Jazz & Blues blogs are back. Here are the top 10 spins from the past week: TIFFANY AUSTIN - Nothing But Soul DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER - Dee Dee's Feathers KENNY COX - Detroit Jazz City SARAH QUINTANA - Miss River KIM…

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Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper Mon Feb 29th

Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper will be playing top quality traditional style bluegrass at Don Quixote's in Felton, CA on Monday, February 29th, 2016. From Charlestown, Indiana, Mike has won the International Bluegrass Music Association's award as Best Fiddle Performer of the…

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Irish Band Téada Fri Feb 26th

Award-winning Irish traditional band Téada (Gaelic for "strings") kicks off its "reAwakening" tour in the U.S. with an appearance at Don Quixote's in Felton, CA on Friday, February 26, 2016. Their performance will provide a glimpse into the 100-year period of Irish musical renaissance from 1916…

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New World Charts!

As we are approaching Week 9 in the quarter, we could all use some new, upbeat, and expressive music to get us through our studies. Boogarins, a psychadellic rock band that formed in Brazil, just released their new album "Manual…

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Local Artist of the Week: Solar Glory

We are officially kicking off the "Local Artist of the Week" blog series here on the world-famous KZSC Website! To start off strong, we will be showcasing Solar Glory, a Santa Cruz-based space rock/experimental/drone/post-prog/psychedelic group! Check out their Facebook Page…

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