It’s been a week since MusExpo has ended but I still can’t help but be pathetically saddened by the fact that it’s really over. I suppose I will have to wait until next year to see what great music this badical, yes, badical event will grace upon my ears. As for now, here are the bands that I was ridiculously digging - almost to the point where I would be forced to call myself a teeny bopper - last Sunday through Wednesday. International or not, these artists have truly earned the title, musician. (For the entire list of awesome bands, you can go to MUSEXPO.net.)

SUNDAY

• The Red Paintings - As I walk to a spot on the side near the stage inside the House of Blues, I wonder what this first band of the night will have to offer. Will they be red? Will there be painting? Surprisingly, I really can answer that second question with a definite yes. This Brisbane, Australian band decorated the stage with a scenery of enchantment and intriguing oddities from another world. The lead vocals wore what I believe were green octupus tentacles and his band members looked as if they were plucked from Memoirs of a Geisha. Going back to the painting… there was a lot of it. Not only was there a person who had finished a masterpiece by the end of their set but two of their mystical stage creatures who wore digestive systems on the outside served as easels for two other painters. All of this Asian and Narnia-esque imagery was not let down by the music either. As surprisingly interested as I was by all the motion on stage, their music combined elegance and rockability to match.
• Jensen - Each act alternated between the main stage in the music hall and the upper intimate Foundation room during the week. I soon realized that all the artists playing upstairs gave more of an personal performance and one of my first experiences there who gave me chills was an R&B/Soul/Pop singer from Leeds, England. This light haired artist had the songwriting abilities of Train and Travis combined and vocals which were a cross between Gavin DeGraw and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. Not only did he exude power and emotion during his performance but he was able to capture the audience which was in a tight knit uncomfortable room. All of us just stood there in awe as Jensen poured his heart out to us.
• Ida Maria - I had heard about this artist for a while but I had no idea what to expect on stage. What are you supposed to expect when this artist is known for the unexpected? After her band was introduced, out jumped a young brunette with a bob hidden under a top hat and a white flapper to mismatch the entire outfit. It worked. With her carefree raspy voice and catchy rock melodies, Ida Maria and her band got the audience to go as crazy as she was on stage. With hilarious antics of with bottles of water being sprayed and knocking over microphone stands, which led me to believe she was drunk, her performance was honestly raw and authentic.
• Scissors For Lefty - As I am preparing myself to leave for the night, I make sure to catch some of the last act by a San Fransisco band who call themselves Scissors For Lefty. The crowd downstairs had really thinned out but the band had some loyal fans really grooving to their performance. I didn’t blame them. As colorful as they were with their scarves, bright tank tops and blinding white pants, their music was infectious indie alternative pop anyone could get caught up in. Jumping up and down in their tight pants, scarves and voluminous hairstyles, I couldn’t help but think they were mini Rod Stewards on uppers. That’s not a bad thing in my book when it comes to amusing entertainment.

MONDAY

• Meaghan Smith - Two words describe this artist from Halifax, Nova Scotia: Demure and charming. With an introduction from an NBC Universal executive who claimed to be her #1 fan, this adorable girl in a pencil skirt and mary jane styled shoes won over the audience in the perfect atmosphere of the Foundation Room. Every lyric she sang was incredibly pure, every note she played either on guitar or this instrument I can’t recall the name of (it’s from the 80’s) was simply honest. With her jazz pop vocals, she took us to the streets of Paris after she saw a member of the audience wearing a red chappeau. Then she kindly revealed her guitarist as her husband during the introduction to the song, “Poor.” I’m not one to like being a sap but the lyrics told the tale of how neither of them ever to be poor with each other.
• Miss Li - As I headed on down to the Music Hall again, I realized that the next artist had already started and the crowd was not let down from what I could tell. Miss Li, a voluptuous long haired brunette in a tight red number was backed up by a band that had the look of a classic vaudeville act. With power piano chords highlighted by clarinet and saxophone solos, the stage was hilariously lit with amusement. It was a whacked out carnival infused with jazz. The most memorable song told the tale of female cattiness as she took gulps of beer in between the repititous lyrics, “Leave my man alone… You… Bitch.” The music that filled the air was incredibly catchy with each beat and Miss Li displayed this by swaying her hips to and fro with a silly grin on her face. To top it off, she had an awesome piano duet with her guitarist during one of the closing songs. I never liked carnivals and I always thought vaudeville was a little too much. However, Miss Li knew how to rock both aspects.

• The Vibrants - This is what Lenny Kravitz would sound like if he were actually backed up by a band which played decent music he wrote. However, that’s Lenny’s fault and the chance for London’s The Vibrants to shine. Although the band’s vocals have that certain trace, they make up for it with their infectious hooks which accompany the great modern rock sound between Incubus and The Strokes. With a look that combined both casual and formal, the band seemed nonchalontly comfortable in their skin with such a small crowd in the Music Hall. However it’s not surprising for that to happen when a band is able to pull off great tunes like they do. For a late slot, their rockability had just checked in for the night.

TUESDAY

• The Nods - This Canadian quintet serious set the bar for the night’s engery level. Steadily claiming their status as credible musicians since they were in high school, they combine both performance with mad style and chaos. Again, white pants seem to be popular with the lead vocalist, but just because his pants were a plain color doesn’t mean his stage antics were boring. At one point, he had jumped onto one of the side amps hovering above their adoring fans, only having them egg him on even more. As the music rocked out on stage, this guy adorned with white pants ran into the audience once more onto a dangerous level of the stage next to the bar. It was almost as if he were Iggy Pop in toddler form trying things out while he scared his nanny. Good thing no one was babysitting that night. People came to rock their faces off and The Nods handed us the opportunity.

• OpShop - Introduced as New Zealand’s 2 time platinum album selling band, OpShop did not fail to blow me away as a gen
  uinely great pop band. Who said mainstream music was bad? OpShop’s groove together set the Foundation Room into an even more initmate atmostphere than it already was. With the lead vocalist playing the guitar, the keys and belting out his raw lyrics, OpShop definitely won me over. Powerful base lines and tight drumming reminded me what an outstanding pop rock band should sound like to match its popularity.

• Capra - I come back down to the Music Hall and it’s never been so packed. The crowd is going wild and people are screaming the lyrics back to the band. I look up at the stage and I see a young male band who look like they’ve come to House of Blues via time travel. Shaggy hair, floral jackets and bell bottom pants… What are they doing at MusExpo 2008? Yet, as perturbed as I may have been, it was quite easy to forgive them for being so retro. How easy? For their last song, they started The Beatles’,” With A Little Help From My Friends,” which made me nervous at first. However, they managed to rock the hell out of that song in their own psychedelic-tree-hugging-attire way. It was also made clear to me, just then, that most of the crowd was a lot of their friends… fans…. friends… The line is so blurry these days. They did a Beatles cover and I didn’t hate it. One bonus point for Capra.
• LMFAO - Yes, it stands for exactly what you think it stands for. This duo comprised of RedFoo and SKY BLU really brought my energy back at a time I should have been in bed. The phrase,”I’m in Miami, Bitch!” was stuck in my head for the rest of the night. The performance started out really odd. On stage, there was a gurney and I couldn’t help but wonder what shananigans this duo would bring to this small stage. Redfoo, who looks like a clubbed out version of Travis McCoy in white Kanye-like glasses, came out to tell us that SKY BLU was actually sick with the flu and the show was almost cancelled. Then what do you know…. SKY BLU shows up in a pink robe and fluffy white bunny in his arm. Where does he sit? You guessed it - the gurney. Throughout the performances, he would randomly get up to join Redfoo in the smoke machine atmosphere and bouncing lghts but then collapse back onto the gurney. As the hilarious SKY BLU “coughed” in between verses and RedFoo actually brought out a “Little Hipster Girl” on stage, it really was a class A comedic performance. With dirty sinful beats and a splash of eletronica, LMFAO is now one of my favorite subdued Girl Talk artists I can depend on.

WEDNESDAY

• The Gin Club - If you are a fan of great acoustic alternative folk music, The Gin Club will blow your mind. With influences you can hear such as Bob Dylan, The Band and Neil Young this Brisbane, Australian band will have you swaying in awe and adoration as they sing sweet folk rock lullabies about love and drugs. Not only is this band now up to 9 members but all members switch instruments in between songs. Who’s going to play what next? Although you may see this thought on the band members’ faces, it’s still pretty daring. With one female who plays the cello, she adds on the Belle & Sebastian aspect to the group of guys and they nonchalontly rock out. (Yes, that combination is possible and it’s amazing.)

• Astra Heights - I actually first got the chance to see these guys perform an acoustic set across the street at the Hyatt as a special midnight show along with Meiko and Scissors For Lefty on Monday night. During my time of bringing you Music Tonight so far, I’ve come across a lot of great bands but it’s so hard to keep track. Astra Heights was one of these bands which I regretfully let slip through my fingers. So come MusExpo, enter little ol’ me chatting among the industry, and I hear that I’l fall in love with this band. Did I? Well first, let’s mention that they’re all brothers from Texas (with one honarary) who are good looking guys in a band. Check. There’s the 10 year old teeny bopper within me. Secondly, they all have this indescribable groove going on during their performance because they are family. Third, this was just an acoustic set and what do I hear? The Stooges, The Strokes, Queen and The Beatles all coming from one band? Ladies and gentlemen: Astra Heights has given birth to audio euphoria! With a lead vocalist who could have given Freddie Mercury a run for his money, a rhythm guitarist/keyboardist who could charm any woman with those fancy feet, a sauve bassist and drummer and then a jaw dropping lead guitarist… Yes. I did fall in love. Hard. During their live set in The Fountain room on Wednesday night, they were able to win every person over no matter what they expected from this band. Infectious, triumphant, and talented, Astra Heights had not only rocked my face off until it was numb but it also doesn’t hurt that they’re the ultimate epitome of a girl’s Latino fantasy. With out of this world vocals, tight harmonies and overwhelming stage presence, this band has made me a fan.

So those are my highlights during my glorious time at MusExpo 2008. There were just too many great bands to put down in words, so check out the original line up, go to their myspaces, go to local shows and support the LA bands that were showcased. Then keep in mind that MusExpo will return next year. I’ll be there. If you’re smart enough to be there with me, we’ll rock our faces off until nobody recognizes us for the next few days.

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