It has been awhile since I have shot any live small club music, but this show reminded me of what I had been missing. This was the first LA club I’d shot and the differences between there, San Francisco and Seattle were pretty drastic. Live DJs playing the patio, fresh tacos made to order, graffiti and other artists painting shirts and murals, it was a pretty big affair. Much more of a hip-hop influenced evening than anything else, both headlining bands had resident DJs as well as rapping vocalists rhyming to their hearts content.

Alex Hughes started the evening off for everyone, being the only solo acoustic performer for the evening. Definitely knows how to play his instrument well, but I believe he is still in the early stages of finding his own musical voice. The only song I can recall was a cover of an early Iron & Wine song.

Terra Incognita was next up and they played comfortably and pretty solid. A well rehearsed band fronted by their guitarist/vocalist Forest and Bay Area rapper Prophet. They played a mix of rock and roll with heavy rap influences. Very comfortable in their positions on stage, they had great stage presence and jived well with the audience and each other.

Black Market Corp. ended the night, and were the only group I was somewhat familiar with. Through friends of a friend I actually got this gig. They are fronted with two vocalist/rappers and a backing band consisting of a guitarist, drummer, bassist, and dj. Definitely a well rehearsed act and the ability to improvise well, which was shown when the front man, Philip Frasier, had his sister come up and sing on a couple songs.

Overall a really fun and interesting night, reminded me a lot of the all ages shows I used to attend in the Bay Area with artists and different music styles all playing throughout the evening.