TwentyWonder: BRMC, LA Derby Dolls, Axis of Awesome, Exzene Cervenka

This benefit for Down’s Syndrome was definitely very fun and interesting. I volunteered with some BRMC friends (Jodi, Jen, and Armine) at the Underwater Photography room, which featured 3 different mixed drinks named for nudibranchs: The Blue Dragon (Cosmo), JD’s Horny Honey (Bourbon), and Mucho Mexichromis (Margarita). I didn’t take many photos since Jodi told me they were confiscating cameras and I figured other people would be taking a lot (and there were plenty of pros as well as cell phone pic takers). Most of my pictures are from the underwater bar, and a few of the larger displays, like the Batmobile. Ed Asner was reading Dr. Suess right outside our bar and there was a theremin player who provided some musical entertainment every so often. It was pretty cool.

BRMC did a 4 song set that probably went over 20 minutes and included a cool jam at the start. It was a full electric set despite the short set, but warehouses don’t make for good ventilation or acoustics – so it’s not as fun to attend as an outdoor festival or a even acoustic sets in an air conditioned venue. Basically, I was dying from the heat most of the time while we were near the stage (which was probably about an hour total, since Axis of Awesome and Exzene performed right before BRMC). The other songs in the set were Shadow’s Keeper, White Palms, and Punk Song. Trina did a nice review for The Owl Mag (which also has a lot of great photos on it). There are several other blogs that I saw some good pics on too: Ashley Andrea Beliveau and The Love Stains

Another good photos set is the from the LA Derby Dolls’s Flickr. I didn’t see much of the roller derby, but I know what it’s about and I’m sure it was pretty cool. The roller rink and warehouse seemed like an appropriate space for the event and it was a lot bigger than I expected. Axis of Awesome were pretty awesome, bringing the funny and warming up the crowd. Exzene sang the national anthem and a few a capella songs before BRMC started. After BRMC played there was some weird stuff going on with some male dancers (I’m only recalling from other people’s reviews). I didn’t see what happened there, but I’m kind of glad we were able to chill outside where it was nice and cool. As far as benefit concerts go, this was one of the cooler ones (though not temperature wise).  There were probably many celebrities there, but the focus was more on entertaining while raising awareness.