Halloween cupcakes from Bubba Sweets in Huntington Beach

 It's that time of year when everything is sugar andspice and everything nice, especially pumpkin spice. It wasn't hard at all to find a pumpkin spice cucpcake and Bubba's Sweets in Huntington Beach was the spot I got my basic witch on. 

Pumpkin Spice cupcake from Bubba Sweets 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The stripmall storefront was in the Halloween spirit with spider webs and other festive decorations. They also had Halloweeen themed cupcake flavors! In addition to (just about) everyone's favorite spiced Fall flavor there was a cupcake covered in candy pieces like trick-or-treater's loot called Alice in Wonderland and there was another one with a pretty pink frosting with pink and black sprinkles called Elvira.

 

Elvira cupcake from Bubba Sweets 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The lady helping me behind the counter was very accomodating. Before going to the back to get me the  one Pumpkin Spice cupcake she asked if I only wanted one, at which point I said yes. She returned with it in a plastic clamshell sized perfectly for one cupcake. That's when I broke the news to her that I decided to get one Elvira cupcake, too. Trick-or-treat! 

Elvira & Pumpkin Spice cupcake from Bubba Sweets 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

I couldn't help but notice how perfectly round and smooth the frosting was on the cupcakes, both adorded with appropriate black and colorful sprinkles around the edge. Up first was pumpkin spice and I could smell its fragent flavor as soon as I removed it from it's packaging. The cake wasn't overly orange as is the case with some pumpkin spice cupcakes. I smelled the inticing blend of spices more than I tasted it.  It wasn't buttery or decodant, a pretty standard cake with a hint of Pumpkin Spice. The frosting was undeniably cream cheese frosting, the top choice for topping Pumpkin Spice cupcakes. These treats had a little trick though...

Pumpkin Spice cupcake from Bubba Sweets 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

You can't tell by looking at it but Bubba's Sweets whips the buttercream frosting! The cream cheese
flavor was on the sweeter side and was as light as air, like biting into a airy, spongey consistancy cloud of yum. The crunchy sprinkles all along the edge gave a nice juxtoposition to the texture. 

Elvira cupcake from Bubba Sweets 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

At the store I had guessed correctly that the Elvira cupcake was chocolate cake with raspberry frosting, another very popular flavor in the world of sweets. The lady who helped me told me that it also has a raspberry filling (like blood! How spookily fitting!) The chocolate cake was one of the better chocolate cakes I've had. Though the deep shade of dark chocolate might have been the richest part about it, it was just chocolatey enough plus, t paired really well with the frosting.
The frosting which was raspberry, was also whipped but it was thicker than the cream cheese frosting on the Pumpkin Spice cupcake. It's pretty hue of the pink was speckled with raspberry seeds which means that Bubba's Sweets using real raspberries in their raspberry frosting, mmm! I think this frosting is just spooktacular: thick, whipped, pink, fresh raspberries, fresh. My last couple of bites finally got me to the raspberry filling: a small dollop that I wanted more of.  

There are so many flavors of cupcakes to try at Bubba Sweets! They even have some that are named after musicans with flavors to match like the Jimmy Buffet pineapple cupcake. Perfect for concert and cupcake reviews here on Sweet Sound Bites!

cupcake from Bubba's Sweets 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Bubba Sweets in Huntington Beach will be serving their Pumpkin Spice cupcake through the end of December and you can treat yourself to an Elvira cupcake through the end of November. 

Happy Halloween!

Rebels & Renegades Festival 2022

 The inaugural Rebels & Renegades, the two day music festival that took place October 15th and 16th at the Monterey Fair & Eevent Center in the picturesque coastal coty of Monterey California, ineventibly took it's time getting to us. The creative minds behind the popular California Roots Music & Arts Festival also in Monterey, Good Vibez Presents, were initially going to bring us Rebels & Renegades a couple of years ago but Covid struck and best laid plans were shelved. That is, until this month. 

Rebels & Renegades is an homage to the rebellious spirit and story telling culture of Americana, outlaw country, bluegrass and folk artists of today. They surely made an impression right out of the gates with an eclectic line up featuring Cody Jinks, Trampled By Turtles, Orville Peck, Houndnouth, Nikki Lane and Shooter Jennings just to name a few. There was a good mix of well known acts as well as not so well known acts to keep all attendees busy and entained through out each day.nIt was a smaller foot print than other NorCal fests we're used to which was a pleasant relief to everyone's feet. With a line up like this, festival goers couldn't help but catch a little bit of every performance and because of the way things where set up scheduled you could choose to do just that if that's what you wanted to do. That isn't the case at most festivals, those rebels!

Of course Orville Peck stole the show on day one. With is tassled masked face and dark sultry country vibes how could he not?

Orville Peck @ Rebels & Renegades Festival 2022 
photo by Marc Fong

Orville Peck @ Rebels & Renegades Festival 2022 
photo by Marc Fong

Along with being a show stealing act, it was a subtle way of introducing the more rural demographic who might not  have ever heard of Orville Peck or realized that he is of the LGBTQ+ community. We're willing to bet that those who weren't aware and saw him at Rebels & Renegades fully enjoyed his set, how could you not? 

Orville Peck @ Rebels & Renegades Festival 2022 
photo by Marc Fong

Day two offered more great acts but unfortunately due to personal matters we had to miss out on all of the awesome live music that day. 

Rebels & Renegades Festival 2022 
photo by Marc Fong

Mark your calendars because the dates for year two have already been anounced! October 6th - 8th, 2023 Rebels & Renegades returns!

Trampled By Turtles  @ Rebels & Renegades Festival 2022 
photo by Marc Fong

Flipturn @ Teragram Ballroom 10/7/2022

Flipturn @ Teragram Ballroom 10/7/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Florida bred Flipturn turned things up as Summer slowly started to cooled down with the release of their debut album, Shadowglow on August 19th. Shortly after that the fresh faced, feel good pop-rockers  announced their headlining tour which would bring them coast to coast through the end of this year. 

Along the way, their second stop in the golden state of California landed them at the Teragram Ballroom in LA . It was my first time at the intimate music venue on West 7th Street and it instantly reminded me of  August Hall in San Francisco, only more divey.

Flipturn @ Teragram Ballroom 10/7/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

If the show wasn't sold-out it sure felt like it was inside.
I made my way to the main room where music was happening and the place was packed. People were pushing past each other just to get a little closer to the stage for the headliners and practically no one had a mask on as they crawled over each other. The crowd was young and their exuberant energy was contagiuos as we waited for Flipturn to start. 

Flipturn @ Teragram Ballroom 10/7/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The cheering started as the band got situated on stage and it never really stopped once the music started. Fans simutaneously erupted when the first song hit their ears. Already all smiles, the band definitely fed off the energy the crowd was serving. Between the cheering, chanting, clapping and singing along like no body's business the fans were serving it! 

Their debut album, Shadowglow boasts a coming of a new wave of indie rock, one that's more lively with pop influence. With bands like Misterwives and Walk Off the Earth already paving the way, Flipturn has not only found their niche but they've also found their fanbase. 

The album highlights frontman Dillion Basse's strong falsetto and steady Modal voice  and that was no different seeing him live. He hit every note and the look on his face told everyone in the room that he was fully enjoying doing it. There was even a couple instances at the show where if I wasn't looking at the stage I would have guessed female bassist, Madeline Jarmin had taken over lead vocals. Madeline and Dillion have a great chemistry on stage and I could sense some how that female fans in the crowd appreciate seeing another lady up there rocking in an otherwise all male band. 

Flipturn @ Teragram Ballroom 10/7/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Flipturn @ Teragram Ballroom 10/7/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

"Sad Disco", "Playground" and other tracks off Shadowglow made up most of their set that night with "Chicago" from their Heavy Colors EP got one of the biggest responses from the crowd. The majority of the set was up beat, slowing things down a few times with tracks like "Hippies" Flipturn was able to flip things back to those feel good vibes easily. As the show went on, every song they played was met with a thunderous response and matched with jubilence from the stage.   

Flipturn @ Teragram Ballroom 10/7/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

And their not finished yet. Flipturn still has two more months of shows to go on their first headlining tour. Find them on the East Coast as they continue to celebrate their highly anticapted and well recieved debut album. You won't be disapointed if you're looking for a good time with up beat grooves. 

Yeah Yeah Yeahs at The Hollywood Bowl 10/6/2022

Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Hollywood Bowl 10/6/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

After working the return of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in beautiful Golden Gate Park in the heart of my beloved city of San Francisco then spending time with friends and family in the days that followed, I impromptly hit the road back down to SoCal. It had been eight years since their last album and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' September 30th release Cool it Down, was still hot off the press when I got word the night before their  show at the Hollywood Bowl that there was a chance I'd get in. So on October 6th I packed up, said bye bye to SF and headed to LA. 

It had been nearly five years since I last saw Yeah Yeah Yeahs live: they played a limited number of shows in 2017 including a night at The Fox Theater in Oakland over Halloween weekend.

Rocktober is the time of year they like to treat theur hungry fans with sweet little tours apparently!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Hollywood Bowl 10/6/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

I got to the Hollywood Bowl just as doors were opening. Throngs of people swarmed the surrounding streets as they made their way to the outdoor amphithear like bees to a hive. It was my first time seeing a show at the Hollywood Bowl and I quickly learned that parking is not a fun task there. 

Since they only offer paid stacked parking I opted to for paid parking outside of the venue to avoid being stuck at the end of the night. My co-worker friends both got stuck in traffic trying to find parking. which resulted in us missing both opening acts but without a moment to spare, we all walked in together as the house went dark for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs!

We found a spot to watch situated behind the sound board as the crowd's excitment audiably grew with each rythmic thud of the kick drum. It could have been a number of any of their songs gearing up and as the beat went on, Karen O introduced thousands of adoring fans to the band, "We're the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and we're back!" giving way to the first single off of their new album "Spitting Off the Edge of the World" with special surprise guest Micheal Alden Hadreas of Perfume Genius. 

 

She shed her big, floppy, technicolored hat and matching cloak after the first song and the rest of the night the stylish songstress showed off the pink silk gloves featured in all of the press photos for their two 2022 shows. 

Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Hollywood Bowl 10/6/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The end of each song brought a new wave of excitement for the next.

With a smile splashed across her face and interminted awkward giggles while she sang, Karen O tiredlessly yet effortlessly worked the stage and engaged the crowd, even getting into crowd at one point causing a dancing frenzy as she passed. Her and drummer Brian and guitarist/keyboardist Nick were back in their element. All of this magnified the shared happiness of all the other fans being there seeing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs  again. 

Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Hollywood Bowl 10/6/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

As they weaved songs from 2003's Fever To Tell  "Cheated Hearts" and "Pin" with songs from 2022's Cool It Down "Burning" there was something distinctly different from the times I'd seen the Yeah Yeah Yeahs before. Karen O was more or less an instant lady in rock icon when the Yeah Yeah Yeahs hit the scene. She dressed the part. She acted the part. And with her grunts, growls and screaming vocals she sounded the part.

That night at the Hollywood Bowl she sounded great, perfect even. Yet, as I waited for her to go full on punk, especially on some of their older stuff,  I realized that time probably wasn't going to come. As heard through out their new album, Karen O's singin style has become what we heard from her on the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack. Poised. Polished. Passionate. Karen O's singing style is grown up and that's what she brings to the stage now. At one point she talked along the lines of learning who you are, finding your voice and being comfortable with it and that's what LA saw that night. How magical is that? There was couple songs were she ebbed and flowed between edgy and polished which was actually quite fun to hear.
And she's still got antics.
She didn't deep throat her mic or chug champange from the bottle then spew it in the air but there was some microphone love going on, some water spewed into the air  and a purple sparkly covered her head for half a song. 

Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Hollywood Bowl 10/6/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

As the end of the set neared it was as if everyone in the place got more and more excited, probably because bands typically save their most popular material for the end of the show. They had already played a few of my favorites: "Pin", "Zero" and one of my new faves, "Fleez". Sure enough after two back to back new songs the rest of the show was Yeah Yeah Yeahs classics. The intros to those last four songs were long and drawn out making the moment, that moment last just a little longer. "Maps" might have taken the cake for the longest intro with Brian and Nick teasing us with licks and riffs from one of their biggest, if not the biggest, hits of theirs. 

It was around this time that Karen O pointed out the fact that all three bands on the bill that night: The Linda Lindas, Japanese Breakfast and Yeah Yeah Yeahs all have Asian or Asian-American frontwoman. Her message was delivered with such love and vigor, then met with a roar of applause that I am getting chills typing about it. It was definitely somehting I noticed when the show was annouced and thought, "that's cool" but it's bigger than that. It's actually a huge deal, one many of us probably don't think about, realize or really understand. Heck one of my co-worker friends had no idea Karen O is Asian until that moment. Then after what felt like forever "Maps" song started and people were singing so loud I couldn't even hear the band. Before I knew it "Heads Will Roll" was playing and confetti was flying. Everyone that I could see in the crowd had a smile on their face. 

Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Hollywood Bowl 10/6/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

I have been a fan of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs since their first album, Fever To Tell came out in 2003 and as far back as I can remember, Karen O has been an icon since hitting the scene. That show that night was her shining moment. Yeah Yeah Yeahs brought The Linda Lindas and Japanese Breakfast back out on stage for the first of their two encore songs for a most memorable iconic rock show moment!

This show and the show they played in New York a few days prior come just one year shy of the twentith anniversary of Yeah Yeah Yeahs' first album which leaves me wondering...is there a 2023 tour hiding up those pink gloves of Karen O's?  

set-list 10/6/2022
1. Spitting Off the Edge of the World
2. Cheated Hearts
3. Pin
4.Under The Earth
5. Burning
6. Zero
7. Wolf
8. Fleez
9. Soft Shock
10. Lovebomb
11. Blacktop
12. Maps
13. Gold Lion
14. Y Control
15. Heads Will Roll 

encore
1. Kids in America
2. Date with the Night