Wednesday, January 30, 2008
We didn't post a "Best of" thingy for 2006 (at least publicly) and we shouldn't even be doing it now except we're tired of saying no to certain people. So here's the abbreviated version of the 2007 list we sent to subscribers of the mailing list. The full version is even more pretentious than this one -- if that is even possible. Ok, let's get stupid...
ART 2007
Favorite solo show: "The Incurable Disorder" by Liz McGrath @ Billy Shire Fine Arts
Favorite group show: "Smitten" featuring Audrey Kawasaki, Stella Im Hultberg, Amy Sol, KuKula, and Brandi Milne @ Thinkspace
Favorite art event: Art Crawl X
FAVORITE RADIO SHOW 2007
"Demolisten" KXLU 88.9FM - Our two favorite radio shows in Los Angeles are KXLU's "Demolisten" and Little Radio's "Get the Fuck Up" but since two-way ties are e-tarded, we'd have to lean towards DMOLSN since we've rarely missed a show in over ten years and they continue to support more local bands than any institution in Los Angeles. Go through their archives and you'll find hundreds of interview/performances with some of your favorite L.A. bands long before any blogs had written anything about them. But more than that, current hosts Fred Kiko and Michael "Octavius" Poirier, have a great chemistry and their banter is hilarious, especially for the 30+ scene vets of Los Angeles (Octavius's ongoing rant about certain transplants living in L.A. is so right it's wrong). And if you're lucky enough to tune in when Chris Checkman stops by, just hope that traffic is worse than usual so you don't miss one second of it. Also, special thanks to Fred for giving us a copy of the much-sought after Chris Checkman documentary. It's pretty much the greatest thing we've ever seen and you all must pray that it finds distribution some day.
FAVORITE CONCERT POSTER DESIGNER 2007
Andrew Vastagh - One day, we hope to have one ounce the skillz of Mr. Vastagh who created some of the best concert artwork we saw in 2007. Our favorites include the brilliant Cat Power - Avalon, the lovely MIA - Wiltern, and the utterly perfect Blonde Redhead - Wiltern. Damn you, Vastagh... We hate you only because we love you.
FAVORITE BATTLE 2007
Franki Chan vs. Steve Aoki - Since their divorce in 2006, the Chan/Aoki feud hit epic proportions in 2007. Their respective Tuesday night clash of Check Yo Ponytail vs. Cinespace Tuesdays had them fighting for the biggest names in indie rock with mutual DJ/band friends getting caught in the middle of it all. It went back and forth all year until Ponytail moved to Saturdays at the much indie-kid friendly Echo/Echoplex with lineups that proved they had pulling power. Not to be outdone, Aoki countered by getting Kanye West to do a "surprise" appearance at Cinespace. While we don't take sides in such things, we at least appreciate what Chan has achieved with his venture, especially being the underdog. His nights are much more accessible to people not interested in stargazing or catering to hipsters. We attended the first Cinespace Tuesdays back when kids really just wanted to listen to good local bands paired with debuts from maybe Bloc Party, Ratatat, and The Bravery. Instead, it's kind of turned into a showcase of how much kids are influenced by MySpace, Vice Magazine, and the photos of Mark Hunter. We think the biggest hit to Aoki, however, is his association with the Madden bros., who "DJ" just about as good as they play "music." But the kids still love Aoki, so what do we know. Meanwhile, Chan has since started a new Tuesday night endeavor at Beauty Bar called "Still Fucking Awesome" to keep Aoki on his toes. In any case, we'll continue to watch this feud in 2008 even though we're not actually cool enough to get into any of their clubs.
15 FAVORITE RESIDENCIES 2007
- HEALTH @ pehrspace (June 2007)
- The Happy Hollows @ The Echo (September 2007)
- Anavan @ pehrspace (April 2007)
- The Pity Party @ the Silverlake Lounge (January 2007)
- Castledoor @ The Echo (October 2007)
- Bodies of Water @ The Echo (May 2007)
- The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Echo (March 2007)
- Sarabeth Tucek @ The Hotel Cafe (September 2007)
- The Deadly Syndrome @ Spaceland (June 2007)
- Rademacher @ Spaceland/All Star Lanes (November 2007)
- The Monolators @ Mr. T's Bowl (First Fridays)
- Eskimohunter @ Spaceland (July 2007)
- In Waves @ El Cid/Silverlake Lounge (February 2007)
- I Make This Sound @ The Bordello (August 2007)
- Gliss @ Spaceland (May 2007)
FAVORITE (non-la-underground) CONCERTS 2007
- 7/18/07 - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Moonrats, Warpaint @ the Troubadour
- 3/24/07 - The Sharp Ease, Devon Williams, The Tamala, BD Breakout, Fucking A, Your Mother's Lover, Spookey Ruben @ The Smell
- 7/29/07 - Dead Meadow, Darker My Love, The Entrance Band, HEALTH, Moonrats, Die!Die!Die!, Phantom Halo Family @ The Echo/Echoplex
- 3/22/07 - Anavan, Monotonix, The Underground Railroad to Candyland, Deadly Fins @ The Smell
- 4/14/07 - The Deadly Syndrome, The Happy Hollows, The Parson Red Heads, Tandemoro @ Spaceland
- 10/6/07 - 9th Annual Eagle Rock Music Festival
- 11/7/07 - Dub Lab 8 Year Anniversary w/Blank Blue, DNTEL, Gaslamp Killer @ The Airliner
- 3/26/07 - Alexi Murdoch, Dustin O'Halloran, Sara Lov, Meiko @ the Hotel Cafe
- 11/18/07 - Alex and Sam, Monster, Blanket @ Tangier
- 3/27/07 - Tycho, Test Shot Starfish @ Star Shoes
5 THINGS WE LOVED ABOUT CASTLEDOOR'S THREE MONTHLY RESIDENCIES IN 2007
- "Dumpster Diving"
- "Stand By Me"
- "Cry Me A River"
- Body glitter
- $0.00
