Welcome back Live Music! I know the DJ came and took over for a while but there’s still room for you!

I’m really excited about this post because when I inquired about finding a spot with live music, I was given five or six recommendations for live Jazz, R&B & Hip-Hop! My plan is to check all of them out but for now, let’s talk about The Federal Affair.

When: Wednesday nights

Where: The Federal, local bar in the NOHO Arts District (the live show is upstairs)

The website said to get there around 10p, so being the overachievers that we are (or just so happened to be that night) we got there at a 9:40 and had to wait! Lesson 1: get there at like 10:30p. I’m not sure if it was a slow night or if its always like that but seating wasn’t a problem. Lesson 2: If you want a table, you have to order food.

The show started around 11p and for the first hour, they featured the guitarist Rick Marcel who ROCKED the old school hits! He was great! At midnight, they started bringing up local up-and-coming artists (the musicians who haven’t quite made it yet). Drummers, horn players, singers, the whole-shebang! Some were really good, some… not so much. But as a supporter of the arts, kudos to them all!

Not sure what time they finished cause by 1a, I was drunk with sleep but assume it’s regular bar time… 2-ish!

Pros: Rick Marcel put on one hellofa show; The acoustics in the bar were awesome (maybe even too awesome); Nice vibe and loved the setup.

Cons: Waitress told me they didn’t have drink specials so I ended up paying $10 for my drink which should’ve been $5; The up-and-coming where hit or miss…We saw once awesome performance and one horrible performance.

The Federal, North Hollywood – 4/24/13