Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 12, 2015

12

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

 Mountain Views News Saturday, September 12, 2015 

Jeff’s History Corner By Jeff Brown


SEAN’S SHAMELESS 

REVIEWS:

YOUNG EMPIRES - “THE GATES”

By Sean Kayden

1. Nathaniel Carter purchased the original 1,103 
acres that comprise Sierra Madre in 1881: 845 
acres from “Lucky Baldwin”, 108 acres from
the Southern Pacific Railroad Company; and 150 
acres from Levi Richardson. In 1888, The Santa 
Anita railroad station was built. The first of the 
year brought Pacific Electric Railway Red Car 
passenger service to Sierra Madre. Later that year 
the first electric lights were installed by the Edison 
Electric Company. In December 1906, the first
telephones were installed, 250 of them, by the Home 
Telephone Company of Monrovia. On February 2, 
1907, the first citywide election was held and 96 
citizens voted 71-25 to officially incorporate Sierra 
Madre, the population was about 500. Eighteen 
days later, Sierra Madre became incorporated as a 
California city.

2. Although Pasadena was born in 1886, as a 
community it traces its origins to the 1875 founding 
of the San Gabriel Orange Grove Association, an 
agricultural cooperative carved out of Rancho San 
Pasqual. The colony of Indiana orange growers 
thrived, and its success fostered the growth of a 
settlement on its eastern flank, centered around the 
intersection of Colorado and Fair Oaks Boulevards. 
The community soon adopted the name Pasadena, 
derived from the Ojibwa (Chippewa) word for “of 
the valley.” (The town’s nickname was Crown of 
the Valley.)


3. The Tournament of Roses has a special pact with 
God since 1890’s. At least , that’s what the legend 
has it. “We won’t have a parade on Sunday, God 
won’t rain on our parade.” – so far God has lived 
up to His promise! The parade has never been 
cancelled due to rain although a year or so ago, we 
came pretty close!


4. The Pasadena Ice House is the oldest comedy 
club in the country.

5. Why is it called El Niño?Fishermen off the 
west coast of South America were the first to 
notice appearances of unusually warm water that 
occurred at year’s end. The phenomenon became 
known as El Niño because of its tendency to occur 
around Christmas time. El Niño is Spanish for
“the boy child” and is named after the baby Jesus.
Fancy that!

Toronto-based indie pop 
squad Young Empires 
have finally release their 
long awaited debut record, The Gates. Matthew 
Vlahovich (vocalist and keyboardist), Jacob 
Palahnuk (bassist), and Taylor Hill (drummer) 
make up the dynamic trio. The genre-mashing 
group has taken elements of pop, rock, electronic, 
and worldbeat to deliver a strong, official first 
outing. The ten tracks that have been in the 
works for quite sometime as the band previously 
released the EP, Wake All My Youth, in 2012. 
As Young Empires wavers between genres, 
they are displaying exceptional raw talent with 
their introduction record. The Gates is a fun, 
pop-infused effort brimming with dance beats 
and deep synth work. They have a noticeable 
penchant for uplifting arrangements. However, 
the band wrestles with serious themes within their 
songwriting propensities. Their lyrics echo with 
internal struggles and challenges as they glaze it 
over with catchy and infectious beats. Vlahovich’s 
vocals display much fortitude track by track. 
It’s evident that Young Empires have shed any 
greenness they may have had approaching their 
debut album. 

 The Gates begins with “The Mercy,” which 
starts off with heavy R&B tinged beats. The song 
is epitome of cool with terrific sounds and heart-
pounding pulsations. The title track slips into 
the realm of intense reflectiveness. It’s the kind 
of song to get lost into it, remain lost within. It 
engulfs the listener both on a lyrical and musical 
front. As you become more in tune with Young 
Empires, you get a feel for what they’re going for. 
The direction remains pretty straightforward, 
but it just simply works well. “Stranglehold” is 
another one that’s transfixing in its execution. 
Young Empires have a predilection for arranging 
songs that start off moderately low beat before 
they erupt into something much more grand. This 
style works well to their advantage even if they rely 
on it for nearly every track. Perhaps the band was 
light on taking major risks, but their final product 
blends incredibly well together from beginning to 
end. Given the musical territory they are playing 
within, Young Empires do a fine job standing out 
from their peers.

Young Empires – “The Gates” 

Artist: Young Empires

Album: The Gates

Label: PIRATES BLEND RECORDS

Release Date: September 4th, 2015

“House Lights” is another electrifying track. The 
seductive jam gets the listener into a great mindset. 
The elevating chorus is sharp, definitely hitting the 
mark. “Sunshine” is gloriously poppy and aptly 
titled. The band trades in R&B and deep electronic 
work for bright beats and saccharine melodies. 
It’s a very ‘Foster The People’ kind of song, but 
hey, no complaints here. It remains a solid entry 
in a group of songs that have similarities in the 
sound department. The following track, “Uncover 
Your Eyes,” is tunefully in the same vein as the 
aforementioned song. It also serves as closing song 
to the 40-minute endeavor. “Uncover Your Eyes” 
is bouncy, buoyant, and robust. It is unmistakably 
a radio-friendly jam that should connect with 
a younger generation. While the music is sleek, 
Young Empires try their best to convey richer 
messages. The track deals with overpowering the 
trials and tribulations one endures. The dramatic 
lyrics may be similar in theme to a lot of songs out 
there, the way this one is packaged shines bright. 
The Gates gleams throughout as it navigates across 
multiple genres in Young Empires’ pursuit to 
convey meaning behind the polished sounds. 

Grade: 7 out of 10

BILLY GARDELL OF ‘MIKE & MOLLY’ TO 
HEADLINE ICE HOUSE ALL-STAR COMEDY SHOW 
BENEFITING HILLSIDES ON OCTOBER 4


Billy Gardell of “Mike & 
Molly” fame has been booked 
to perform at the Ice House 
55th Anniversary All-Star 
Comedy Show to benefit 
Hillsides on Sunday evening, 
October 4. This talented actor 
and comedian is entering his 
sixth season of starring in the 
hit comedy with America’s 
number one comedienne, 
Melissa McCarthy. Other top 
performers giving their talents 
to the show are actor, TV host, 
and comedian Michael Yo, 
best known for his work on 
E’s “Chelsea Lately,” and actor/
comedian Tone Bell, among 
other leading names from clubs 
and TV. 

 The night begins with a 
silent auction at 5 p.m. where 
guests can enjoy a no-host 
bar, appetizers, and bid on 
merchandise, events, and a 
mysterious “Pandora’s box.” 
The comedy show and live auction begin at 7 
p.m., and will feature a line-up of top talent that 
includes some of the biggest names from clubs 
and TV.

 “This exciting evening is two events in one, the 
reception and silent auction and the show and live 
auction,” said Hillsides Director of Development 
Carrie Espinoza. “We are hoping supporters can 
make both events, but if that isn’t possible, to 
make at least one. All of the money raised from 
the show and the auctions will be used to fund 
special activities for the children.”

 Each year, Ice House owner Bob Fisher 
organizes a special anniversary show and donates 
the proceeds to a volunteer group of Hillsides, the 
Hillsides Volunteer Network (HVN). With these 
funds, HVN organizes outings and activities 
for the children who live at Hillsides residential 
treatment program and provides them with an 
annual summer carnival and a Christmas Eve 
party at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena.

 For comedy show tickets, please call 626-577-
1894. Tickets range in price from $25.00 - $75.00. 
Guests must be 18 and over to attend and there 
is a two-drink minimum. RSVPs are not needed 
to attend the reception and silent auction. The 
Ice House is located at 24 N. Mentor Avenue, 
Pasadena, CA 91106. 

 Hillsides, a premier provider of child 
welfare services headquartered in Pasadena, 
serves children in the foster care system and 
other children and families in need. For more 
information, please visit www.Hillsides.org.

On the Marquee: Notes from the Sierra MadrePlayhouse

EXTENDING PATSY CLINE…AGAIN

Bob Fisher, the owner of the Ice House, poses with Ed Patterson, the 
chair of the Hillsides Volunteer Network, at the 2014 Ice House show.

By Artistic Director, Christian Lebano

Always…Patsy Cline is a smash hit – the greatest 
success in Playhouse history - and will now 
continue playing until October 18! We have had 
6 weeks of completely sold-out performances and 
are looking at another sold-out weekend coming 
up. The two additional weeks that we announced 
are already at 50%. The entire company – Cori 
Cable Kidder who does such a marvelous job as 
Patsy, Nikki D’Amico who is delighting audiences 
as Louise, Sean Paxton our Music Director, the 
band members, the crew are all having a ball with 
this show and eager to keep it running as long as 
we can. I’m so grateful to director Robert Marra 
for the wonderful show he created – I’m talking to 
him about doing another musical for us next year 
to start our season. We have some really fun ideas 
that I can’t wait to tell you about.

There are no sure things in theater. There have been 
shows the last couple of years that we expected to 
do well that did not sell at all. I knew that Patsy 
would be popular with our audiences but I had no 
idea we would get the reaction that we’ve had with 
this show. As anyone who has seen it will attest, 
this company has created a magic that doesn’t 
always happen when you bring a cast together. But 
what a delight when it does.

Because of the extension we are rescheduling 
Deathtrap to open January 15 and to run through 
February 20. Calling the wonderful cast that I 
had assembled to let them know that we were 
postponing the show was difficult. But being 
the theater professionals that they all are, they 
understood that this kind of success is rare and 
that in this case the business had to come first. I’m 
hoping that they will all be available when we begin 
rehearsals on November 29. I’m really looking 
forward to getting started on that wonderful play.

The ramifications of this extension don’t stop there 
– we will not be producing the announced Other 
People’s Money this season. I’m disappointed, as 
it’s a play I have long wanted to do AND this was 
the show that I was going to act in. But because 
Deathtrap will be followed by our Field Trip Series 
play Charlotte’s Web there was no way to squeeze 
it in.

I will be announcing an additional show that I will 
be directing at another theater which I hope to 
make a co-production with SMP. It’s a beautiful 
show which will star an actress who worked with 
us last year. As soon as the rights are settled I’ll let 
you know more about it.

If you haven’t made it to Patsy yet, you have more 
time to see it. And if you have seen it already, 
come see it again – and bring friends you want 
to introduce to the work we are doing at the 
Playhouse. We are making many new friends with 
this show, friends I hope will become loyal patrons.

This extension adds another 12 performances to 
the extended run. If you think a show may be sold-
out it is still worth calling Mary Baville in our box 
office and getting on the waiting list for the show 
you want – we sometimes get cancellations and 
Mary will call you and let you know. Remember we 
give 20% discounts for groups of 10 or more who 
purchase their tickets ahead of their attendance 
date. Please call Mary at 626.355.4318 to arrange 
your purchase.