Random Ninjas @ Asian Expo - Pomona Fairplex

The last time I saw Random Ninjas, they had a Japanese frontwoman (which fit in with the whole anime theme) and a male bassist.  It was refreshing to see a new lineup with more girl power:  the current much more talented singer, Soozana, and the rocking Agent Katchu on bass.  

The band's performance was seasoned by experience and packed with energy.  They had fun on stage and with the audience.  They even got some old ladies on their feet.  

I thought all their new songs (well, new to me since I hadn't heard them in so long) were great.  I'm glad they expanded from the anime-style songs.  I could hear influences of Linkin Park, 311, and Evanescence (because of Soozana's amazing voice). 

Looking forward to hearing more from them in the future.

Coachella 2012 Lineup

Image via Coachella

Can't believe how fast Coachella sold out even with TWO weekends!  Hopefully, it won't be as crowded as it was 2 years ago.  Looking forward to better food as well (yay, for Coolhaus in the desert heat). 

I'm excited to see The Black Keys (their new album is catchy even though some of the tracks sound like songs from the previous album) and shocked that Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg are making an appearance (I remember listening to them when I was in elementary school!).  Even though Radiohead is headlining, Saturday is looking pretty weak.  I could even skip Radiohead since I've already seen them at Hollywood Bowl and I've seen Thom Yorke twice. 

Top Picks:

• Arctic Monkeys
• The Black Keys
• The Rapture - always amazing live
• Andrew Bird 
• Feist - really just songs off The Reminder since I find her old albums pretty boring and I didn't even realize she had a new album out
• Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds 
• Radiohead 
• The Big Pink 
• The Shins - haven't seen them live in forever
• Band of Skulls - saw them at Coachella 2 years ago.  Can't wait to see them again.  They deserve a bigger tent
• Beirut 
• Calvin Harris 
• Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg
• Florence and the Machine - ALWAYS wanted to see her live
• Justice 
• Santigold 
• The Hives 
• Wild Flag - just because I saw Carrie play live at the Portlandia show on Monday 

Maybes:

• Atari Teenage Riot
• Explosions in the Sky
• Frank Ocean 
• M. Ward - during downtime only since I consider him the male version of Cat Power
• Neon Indian
• Refused 
• The Horrors
• Black Lips
• Bon Iver 
• David Guetta
• Flying Lotus
• Gary Clark Jr. 
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor 
• Kaiser Chiefs 
• Miike Snow
• St. Vincent - just because Windattack mentioned her so many times 
• At The Drive-In - I wasn't THAT much of a fan back in the day, but Wing won't stop talking about them
• DJ Shadow

Thanks to Coachella for having all the bands' links on one convenient page.