About the author  ⁄ Emily Matview

comics, music, coffee. @emilymatview

Not being interested in artists like Bon Jovi and Jason Aldean, the long wait for Green Day after No Doubt had played at the IHeartRadio Festival was pretty painful. Not to say there weren’t any highlights. As someone accustomed to spending weekends at bar shows, it is kind of cool to admire the incredibly elaborate stage set up, complete with LED monitors bigger than any house I’ll ever own, a 180-degree rotating stage to keep the show moving swiftly and huge pyrotechnics. A cylinder stage on the opposite side of the MGM Grand made up completely of LED lights for house band Swedish House Mafia came across as a poor man’s Daft Punk pyramid but was still pretty amazing to see in person, and Usher’s smooth voice and charisma made his set a joy to watch. Between all of this a myriad of celebrities ranging from Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, ...

Read More →

Thanks to my good friend Mika, I was fortunate enough to end up with a ticket to day one of the IHeartRadio Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena last week. I should say that for the most part, I don’t feel qualified to review most of these performances. While I am a fan of pop music I have only a cursory (at best) knowledge of artists like Lil’ Wayne and Usher (the latter of which put on an amazing live show, by the way) and no one wants to hear me complain about Bon Jovi for three paragraphs. However, two performances that I do want to talk about, and the main reasons I decided to take up the offer to attend this event, are No Doubt and Green Day. ...

Read More →

Way back in June, locals Holding Onto Sound headlined the Figgzillamusic.com eNVy showcase at the House of Blues. It wasn’t their first time playing the big stage (they opened for NOFX at New Year’s Heave earlier this year) but it was their first time in the headlining spot, and they did a really excellent job. We recently came across some footage we shot at that show of the band playing one of their new unreleased songs, “Just a Man.” ...

Read More →

I Call Fives’ recently-released self-titled debut continues Pure Noise Records’ streak of excellent albums in 2012. The band’s sugary pop punk sound is reminiscent of 2003’s crop of Drive-Thru and Drive-Thru-influenced pop punk – the likes of The Starting Line, New Found Glory, and Fall Out Boy. ...

Read More →