Venue: Universal Bar & Grill
City: Hollywood, CA
Set length: About an hour
Tonight’s Lineup:
-
Tap This 9:00 PM
-
Yidhra 10:00 PM
Pre-show banter…
Melodi and I headed down to the Hollywood area to support and photograph Yidhra at a bar we had not been to yet. My gear for the night was:
- Camera: Canon 7D
- Flash: None, other than the peanut flash that it comes with, but I didn’t use it at all.
- Lenses: All Canon. 70-200mm f/2.8, 15mm fisheye f/2.8, 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
So this was the first time I had the 7D in a really low-light scenario and I wanted to see how this camera’s ISO (basically an exposure control of light) would handle a poorly lit stage. Well, not only was it poorly lit but the only lights that seemed to reach the bands was pinkish-red in hue. Think of the lighting in there as food heatlamps in a diner. I wanted to see how the AWB (auto White Balance) of the 7D camera handled this environment. So, I decided to use a really high ISO, which ranged between 6400 and 12800, and kept the White Balance at Auto. The results? Everything pinkish in color and extremely grainy. I had to white balance to my liking in Post. Good test but I should have white-balanced! Nuff said, here are the reviews…
Venue Review…
We got there early and found a parking spot right in front so we didn’t have to search for parking miles away. This bar is okay; small, kinda divey, everyday people, not bad service, inexpensive… Pretty much everything you would normally get from a regular bar. Now, if you’re the Ed Hardy wearing and smellin’ type then you won’t like this place, nor will they like you. Sure, I saw a couple of douche-nozzles there but not the pretentious or Jersey Shore type – and by “Jersey Shore” I mean the TV show. Most of the people were regular, everyday people having a good time. Two Dive-Bar thumbs up!
Check em out on Yelp (link below), although you really do have to read between the lines on the reviews to get an accurate rating. When someone complains that a band was supposed to go on at 9:30 and were bumped to 10:30 then it’s probably not a legitimate reason for giving a 1-star. You’ll figure it out but I would say to definitely check out this bar as long as you don’t have pampering expectations. If you like the Double Down or Dino’s in Vegas then you’ll get along fine but if you like to sip champagne (with strawberries in your drink) at the Wynn Lounge then skip this place.
Universal Bar & Grill on Yelp
Their official website:
www.UniversalBarLA.com
Reviews, comments, and possible putdowns for Yidhra…
Well, what can I say that I haven’t said before about Yidhra? Nothing, I suppose, other than they consistently give you the following: Heavyness, loudness (decibels, not the band), doom and an entertaining show. Rating: The full Maloik! Nuff said.
You can see other photos of the group in the Blog section of this site under the following dates: 06/15/2010 and 05/21/2010
Also at:
https://yidhra.bandcamp.com/
