Austin is good for many things: partying (6th street), delicious sushi (Uchi), beautiful women (Dagnushka) — and of course, music. When you think festivals, SXSW (March) and ACL (Sept/Oct) are the biggest names that come to mind and are yearly staples for any music lover. This year, the Helloooooo.com crew decided to scope a third and upcoming festival, Fun Fun Fun Fest.

Gilberto drove down Friday afternoon and met up with Dagnushka for a night of pre-festival festivities at venues like Beauty Bar and Mohawk. Saturday afternoon, Shok landed just in time for the FashionLeak.org John Renaud launch after which we jetted to Waterloo Park to catch our friends in Vega, who put on an inspired afternoon set with a backdrop of absolutely perfect weather. Later that evening, we had the fortune of seeing New York-electronic duo Ratatat put on a breathtaking show complete with the awesome on-screen videos they have become known for. It was one of those rare moments where you could tell the band was genuinely excited to be there — a feeling that was confirmed when guitarist Mike Stroud ended the show by taking a swig of Vodka, raising his iPhone to take a picture of the screaming crowd, then proceeded to leap off the stage into outstretched arms of fans. An incredible finale to an incredibly fun day.

Photos by: SHOK

(Visit our new photo hosting site, helloooooo.dphoto.com, for extended series from Fun Fun Fun Fest 2009)

My week in LA started on a Tuesday at Cinespace, I was in LA to do a Spring 2010 Shoot for a Huge company I’ll tell you guys about in the future. One of my favorite places on a Tuesday in L.A. is Cinespace, they have Dim Mak Tuesdays there which is Steve Aoki‘s dance party.

They ended up having bands playing in the back and I caught this group, just two people, one on a synth and another on violin and guitar, it was one of the coolest things I’ve seen in awhile!  I met up with my Friend Ivy Levan, who models in Los Angeles, that night.  Everytime Im there the energy and atmosphere is oh so good!  The Next day I felt it for sure, but breakfast at TART was just the trick to get me going. After an exhausting day on the shoot I headed back to the hotel and changed then headed to Hollywood for Club Moscow @ Boardners.

I was there to visit my friend Keith Wilson who’s the promoter for the club and DJs there all the time, he also acts & models around Los Angeles.  I stayed there until about 1 a.m. and then headed over to this new spot called Bardot over on Vine up From Hollywood Blvd.  From what I heard about it from a few friends I saw at Moscow, it’s the hot spot on Wednesdays in Hollywood, celebrities are spotted there all the time.  It’s dark on the inside, and almost seems like a maze with it’s numerous hallways and low lighting — in other words I loved it.  My sister Natalie met up with me there and the rest of the night was just hectic electricity to say the least.

I got done early around 6 p.m. Thursday with shooting, which was amazing because earlier that day my friends in Neon Indian/Vega flew into L.A. for a show with Crystal Castles at the Siren Studio on Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood. When I got to the venue there was a line around the corner and the venue was already to capacity, 300 people.  Thank god I was on the list!  I walked in and straight into the dressing room to see Ronnie, Jason, Allen, & Leanne.  Crystal Castles shared the same dressing room with them, we basically all hung out and drank until they went on.  Once they started the electricity in the room was like a god damn transformer blew for a 10 block radius around us.  I saw more feet moving and heads swinging then a kiss concert on ecstasy, L.A. showed their dancing addiction that night.  I happen to get a bunch of really good shots of them but after the second song the venue made all of the photographers stop taking photos, too bad I got the ones I wanted!  I also happen to see a hamster cage device holding about 100 running hamsters on stage left, weirdest stage prop ever?!

When Crystal Castles finally took the stage after some quick drinkin’ and last minute shots the room was so noisy you had to literally yell into someone’s ear next to you ear talk.  They had a few strobe lights littered across the stage and drum set, and as soon as the music started the lead singer Alice Glass grabbed one of them near her, jammed it up her shirt, and started screaming the night away.  It was one of the best live shows I’ve seen in awhile, really, the energy was fire.  After the show we all hung out in the dressing room drinking and such until me and my friend Marisol decided we would head to my friends studio’s party going on downtown, Boxeight Studios.  Saosin, Eye Alaska, P.O.S., and InnerPartySystem and a few other bands were kicking off the Pacsun Tour there.  When we got there, the bands had already played but my friend Dirk Mai, a local photographer in L.A. that’s amazing, was still there, along with some of the bands and a huge crowd.  I actually got to take a pic of hang out with some of the guys from Saosin while I was there.  Sonny Moore or ‘Skrillex’, formally of From First To Last was there DJing, he’s currently working on a lot of solo stuff you all should definitely check out!

Photos By:  Dustin Hollywood

If you either: a) love Neon Indian b) don’t have Halloween plans c) are obsessed with Granada Theater, or d) are broke, then get your a$$ over to Granada Theater tonite for a FREE Halloween shower featuring Neon Indian and White Denim. Should be an insane show at Dallas’ most insane venue. All you need to is RSVP to Halloween@GrandaTheater.com!

Afterwards, mosey on down to the official afterparty, featuring a DJ set by VEGA, Jason Faries, Mountblood and HOYOTOHO. Doors open at 12:30 AM, and with sponsors like HELLOOOOOO.com and ETCx2, it’s guaranteed to be a great time!

This is an old interview I posted awhile back of Alan Palomo of Vega after their show with Shiny Toy Guns at the Palladium in Dallas. In the interview, I asked Alan what really went down with Crystal Castles after their cancelled show in Dallas.

Took a short trip to Denton last night to see yet another one of Alan Palomo’s bands,  Neon Indian. The show was at Rubber Gloves, an old cement factory that was converted into a rehearsal studio and then eventually into a music venue.  Although the band had some technical difficulties at first, the show ended up being amazing, and the girl in the band was way too sexy. I wish these guys the best of luck with their upcoming North American/European tour.

Denton is smoker-friendly

Photos By: Shok

As some of you know, I shot some creative press photos for mister Alan Palomo of ‘Neon Indian’. So far, some well known blogs such as thecoolhunter.net,  gorillavsbear.net and bleachonlinedrop.com have used my photos for articles about Neon Indian as have some Danish and Polish magazines! I was so excited about the news that I just wanted to post some of the polaroids and other pictures you guys may not have seen yet…

as well as a couple non-polaroids

If you are down with Helloooooo then you are down with VEGA. Alan, Ronnie and Jason hit the West Coast this past weekend for a five-date concert series up the coast. To all my LA peoples, make sure you check ‘em out at The Arena in Hollywood on Tuesday night. Unfortunately Gilberto will be in Los Angeles two days too late as I arrive on Thursday.

Friday night we headed out to The Lounge to see Vega perform. Alan Palomo, Ronnie Heart and Jason Faries played a killer set that once again reminded me how talented they really are. Alan spun the after party at Suite Basement which was hip-tastic as usual. After Suite I made a pit stop at Tacos y Mas to grab a few tacos and sober up before my trip to Austin on Saturday, where Gilberto and I set out to rejuvenate our minds, bodies, and souls…

Uchi in Austin…ohhh soo amazing

Leslie the infamous transvestite who chased Gilberto and I

Sorry for the lack of posts but I’ve been preparing for a 10-day trip on Wednesday that takes me to London for a night and then off to Split, Croatia. There I will be boarding a small dinky and touring the coast with a few friends. Last night the gang, including Jane & Rokarony, headed to Grimaldi’s Pizzeria in West Village for some mouth-watering thin crust NY-style pizza and then to Don Carters/USA BOWL for a friendly game of bowling.

VEGA was undoubtedly a super fun fantastic show at the Cavern as well. Cant wait to see these boys TONIGHT in Austin with the Golden Filter at Beauty Bar. If you are in the A-town tonight there are no excuses not to stop by.

Ran into Jane last week from SeaofShoes.com at The Cavern. Dagnushka snapped a picture of her sporting my legendary hat outside the Vega and Hoyotoho show. The shows as always were killer with non-stop energy. Hoyotoho released a few new songs that night that will be debuted on their upcoming album. Write-ups from the show and clips coming soon.

Even after the disappointing loss last night I decided to go out and see what the night had to offer, starting at The Lounge to see VEGA.  Alan who is the lead singer was dancing the night away on stage from the get-go and got the crowd started. To their credit, they put on an energetic show and with time for sure they will only get better. I headed to Kenichi after where Hoyotoho was spinning a set for some girls birthday. Not too shabby to say the least bit. With that said, hopefully the Lakers will take care of business on Sunday and finish off the Rockets in LA. I will be headed to Vegas on Sunday and will be in LA for the remainder of next week. As always I will keep you posted on my endeavors. (More pics/video after the jump)

My newest favorite musical creation. I had the pleasure the other night of doing a photo shoot with Alan Palomo, one of the 2 members of this new musical junction — who is also a member of Texas based VEGA. What a great pleasure it was to meet and hang with a musical genius.  Check out some of the sound bytes on the space. Perfect tunes for the emerging summer.

Went with my two beautiful friends last night to see Flight of the Conchords at Nokia Theatre in Dallas, TX. The show started off with Eugene “The Jewish Landlord” doing a skit that I almost enjoyed as much as the show itself. After the show we headed to The Palladium to meet up with Vega who was opening for Shiny Toy Guns. By the time we got there Vega had already finished their set so we kicked it with them backstage. I got a chance to interview the band regarding the entire Crystal Castles drama that went down at The Granada a few weeks back. All I can say is the story was priceless. Jason Faries from Vega was wearing a Crystal Castles shirt as a joke last night during his show which I traded with him for the shirt I was wearing. After the Palladium we all headed to Fallout lounge where Alan Palomo from VEGA was doing a DJ set. All in all a good night — for a Tuesday…

Flight of the Conchords: Dallas,TX

Gilberto and I were on our way to see Crystal Castles last night at The Granada in Dallas when a friend messaged me to say the show was cancelled due to a fight. Supposedly the band that went on before, Vega, started some shit with the duo – enough to call off the show.

Luckily they will be playing Coachella this Friday night (8pm). On a side note Gilberto and I are still desperate and are looking for some love. Artist passes anyone?

(update after the jump on the real reason the show was cancelled)

Update from Fleet Footed Monk:

The show was cancelled because the venue owner got too worried they would blow the sound system after hearing their sound check. Apparently, CC management and the Granada management spent hours arguing over whether or not to let them play. Hell, in the line I could here them running tests over and over.

Anyway, the guys from the band personally walked down the last half of the line outside. Apologized and explained what was going on.