Tropa Magica and Calmala at Pappy and Harriet’s 08/03/23

Calmala

Calmala, featuring former members of Ocho Ojos, got the party started with their danceable take on cumbia. James and Rafa are one of the best rhythm sections going; and Danny, on keys and guitar, ties the band together.

Tropa Magica

Tropa Magica was a surprise. I had never heard of Tropa Magica until tonight. I came to the show to support Calmala ( a fantastic local band), and I came away a Tropa Magica fan. These guys put on a killer show. They managed to get mosh pits going at a cumbia show. If you have a chance to catch a Tropa Magica show, make it happen.

Coachella Bar: Town Troubles, Bronca, Tourists

Coachella Bar in Coachella, CA had an awesome night of loud and fast rock n roll on Friday July, 21. Opening the evening was Tourists, followed by the punk rock sounds of Bronca, and closing out the evening was Town Troubles.

Tourists

These cats are putting in the work and getting on all the local shows. This was my second time seeing them and they brought their usual high energy set to the East Coachella Valley.

Bronca

Bronca plays old school punk rock. They don’t play pop-punk. They don’t play emo. They play loud fast political punk rock music. Bronca brought me back to going to punk shows at Showcase Theatre when I was in high school. They got the crowd moving.

Town Troubles

Town Troubles closed out the night strong. You would think it would be difficult to for a two-piece band to follow two heavy music bands, but Town Troubles can do it. Bolin and Bryan create a massive sound together.

Town Troubles EP Release Show

Town Troubles celebrated the release of their new EP “Love Overrides Beauty” at Flat Black Shop in Palm Desert, CA. on June 30th. They invited two fantastic Coachella Valley bands to open the show for them, Toursits and Caña.

Tourists

Tourists are an energetic pop-punk band from Palm Desert. You can hear the late 90s early 200s emo influences in their material.

Caña

Caña are a five piece rock band from the Coachella Valley. I can hear jazz influences and influences from psychedelic bands of the 1960s and 1970s.

Town Troubles

Town Troubles, the band every one came to see, closed out the night with a powerful set. Town Troubles is a two piece rock band from Indio. They make a powerful noise with only a guitar and drums. Bryan gets a huge sound out of his beautifully minimal drum kit and Bolin slays the guitar.

Jamie Oliveri Family Benefit

The Jamie Oliveri Family Benefit took place at The Hood Bar and Pizza in Palm Desert, California last Saturday, Feb. 25. It was a great night of music to celebrate the life of a member of the Coachella Valley music scene. Here are a few photos from that night.

The Hellions

The Hellions were the second band of the day. I didn’t get any usable shots of the first band because I tried to shoot without flash.

The Ghost Notes

The Ghost Notes came through with a killer Johnny Cash cover.

The Crowd

People were having a good time rocking out to the music and celebrating the life of Jamie Oliveri.

Whiskey and Knives

Fun punk influenced rock n roll.

Family Butcher

Family Butcher was the surprise of the night. Great punk rock! Sources say, they were around from the late 90s to the late-2000s. They were starting to get a following when things went sideways. This was their first show together since then.

Blasting Echo

Classic rock and roll.

Nick Oliveri

Nick came through with a short Death Acoustic set.

Arthur Seay and the Riff Killers with Jetta King

This was Arthur Seay and the Riff Killers’s first performance with Jetta King on vocals.

Waxy

Waxy closed out the night with a set of groovy heavy rock.