Category Archives: Los Angeles

The Grammy awards are arguably the most main stream music event on the face of the planet.  The sheer money that goes into it with major label contributions and overblown performances by overblown pop stars who instead of singing live and or playing an instrument choose to haphazardly dance around like dummipies is mind-blowing.  I would love to continue this rant as it has been brewing for the last couple years, but I can’t.  For the last three years I’ve attended The Grammys live from the Staples Center here in LA and last night was just special.

After having attended many of the rehearsals in the days leading up to the show I found myself in awe of talents young and old.  It’s one thing to see this stuff on TV but live its something different.  Music fans know exactly what I’m talking about.  I was able to duck in and see the legendary Tony Bennett sing with Carrie Underwood, Rihanna sing with Chris Martin and Coldplay and Sir Paul McCartney himself backed by the one and only Joe Walsh and Diana Krall.  All of this just in time to make my way outside in time to catch Foo Fighters and Deadmau5 rehearsing in the club tent.  Music lovers I know that was a pretty big brag on my part, but it was a serious day of music.

Day of show is busy.  The Red Carpet opens some 5 hours before the show and most of the awards are handed out during the pre-telecast.  16,000 people give or take attend the show which is just ridiculous.  Skirllex cleaned up this year in the dance music categories and Foo Fighter’s and Adele cleaned house in the rock and pop categories respectively.  I could sit here all night and debate who should have won what, but that’s boring.  From here on out it’s all about the music.  Please excuse my shitty cell phone pictures/ video, but I wasn’t supposed to take most of these so bare with me.

The show opened with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.  They played a new tune called “We Take Care of Our Own” from their upcoming record “Wrecking Ball” setting the tone for an incredible night of music.  It was an appropriate song seeing as how the music community had come out just the night before in droves to support, mourn and honor the life of Whitney Houston.  LL Cool J hosted the show this year… that’s all I have to say about that.

My night started when Rihanna took the stage.  She is really hott.  She sang her song and danced her dance.  It was entertaining to say the least.  What I was really waiting for was her duet to follow her performance with Chris MArtin from Coldplay on his song “Princess of China.”  Dimly lit center stage I knew it was about to get good.  After the duet Coldplay’s full stage setup was revealed as they tore into their recent hit single “Paradise”.

The lights were incredible and the energy in the room was electric as each audience member held up their own light up bracelet synced to the music.  I love Coldplay.  They take a lot of flack, but they are amazing performers and their stage setup was insanely cool.

After Coldplay I was in awe, but also needed to move quickly to secure a seat on the other side of the venue for the biggest performance in my eyes, The Beach Boys.  Living in Southern California, The Beach Boys are by default the soundtrack to summer here.  I have been brought up listening to their countless hits.  Hearing that the rest of the band was reuniting with Brian Wilson (one of my all time idols, accept for that couple years he locked himself in his house with a bunch of god damn hippies and animals) was just incredible and I was not about to miss this big moment in music history.

The medley of tunes opened with Maroon 5 performing a rendition of “Surfer Girl”… yawn.  New comers Foster The People picked up the pace with “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”.  They were really great.  Marc Foster has that tenor voice so synonymous with The Beach Boys.

After a brief intro from Ryan Seacrest the legendary Beach Boys took the stage.  Brian sat dead center at his keyboard.  Comatose as he looked I think I saw a smile in there somewhere.  He was flanked by his former and now new bandmates as they tore through the classic “Good Vibrations.”

For me, I wasn’t sure if that moment could be topped and then I made my way outside to the dance tent for Foo Fighters.

DAMN IT NOTE:  I just realized I skipped over Adele’s performance.  She is absolutely unmatched as far as vocal power and sheer amazing singing ability.  Her performance will no doubt go down in history and her big winning night will go down in the record books.  Her performance of “Rolling In The Deep” brought the house down.  Is that enough?  Yes?  Ok, now on to Foo Fighters and Deadmau5.

The Foo Fighters took the stage in front of a crowd of about 1000.  A small dance tent had been set up to accommodate the most underrated party of the weekend.  Without wasting any time/ without waiting for the cue from the TV folks Dave and his band ripped through “Panama” by Van Halen, “Breakdown” by Tom Petty and their own “Times Like These”.  Hidden partially behind a curtain it was weird to hear and not be able to see but it was unreal none the less.  In the middle of “Times Like These” the Foos were forced to stop in lew of TV timing.  As they were being hushed Dave Grohl teased the stage manager revving the crowd by sticking his head out from behind the curtain and starting the riff to “Everlong”.  With ten seconds to live the whole band ripped into “Everlong” sending the crowd into a frenzy and pissing off the stage manager.  Awesome.

Remember when I said The Beach Boys could not be topped?  Yea I lied.  Foo Fighters ripped into their new track “Rope” with the drop of the curtain.

At the end of “Rope”  another curtain dropped revealing DJ Deadmau5 who began spinning a “Rope Remix” with the Foo Fighters playing along.  My mind was melted and I left it on the floor.

I made my way back to my office at LA live on the highest of highs.  I got a text from a co-worker who had just got confirmation that not only had McCartney changed his setlist from a new song to the Abbey Road Medley to close the show he also invited a few friends on stage.  Fittingly McCartney took the stage and started “Golden Slumbers” and was joined with rock royalty, Joe Walsh, Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl.  Trading righteous solos and giving the 2012 Grammys the send off it deserved the guitar gods left the crowd wanting more.

From top to bottom, from classic rock to pop country, from Nikki Minaj to a pile of crap.  This was a night of real music.  Not once did I hear lip syncing.  Yes there were the massive fluffy pop acts.  Katy Perry was incredible, Taylor Swift was enjoyable to look at and Nikki Minaj was fucking terrible, but thats ok.  I had a blast.  It was a music fans night.  I think those who were there and those who saw it on TV can agree.

By: Steve Rippin | Beat-Play Ambassador Los Angeles | @stevewithMWL|Music Without Labels & Beat-Play, LLC