Monday, March 31, 2008
Congrats to Alex & Sam on their two-month residency finale last night at Tangier. Congrats to Eagle Rock Bowling & Drinking Club to their hugely successful new free/all ages format last night at All Star.
March was fun but April here we come.
Monday residencies come to a close tonight and the winner for the month was undoubtedly Warpaint who ended their run at the Bordello last week. Huge crowds. Famous faces. Huge buzz. And the new songs are miraculous. Also tonight, Mika Miko and Bad Parents open for the one and only Jay Reatard at All Star. Summer Darling, Malbec, and Nico Stai at Viper. Hecuba and Rio en Medio at the Silverlake Lounge. At Pehrspace, Whitman celebrates the release of his new vinyl release White Sunrise out Tuesday on Folktale Records... Great Northern makes an appearance on "Morning Becomes Eclectic" on Tuesday.
Daniel Lanois taped an appearance on the Late Late Show w/Craig Ferguson last week which is scheduled to air Wednesday on CBS. Look for Aaron Embry of Amnion on your television screen playing with him and/or see the real deal earlier that night at Tres of Clubs with The Minor Canon. Great review of Lanois' show last week at the Vista here.
We're helping with three shows in April: 4/4 at Mr. T's Bowl, 4/8 at The Scene, and 4/17 at The Scene.
Ghostface Killah - "Charlie Brown" (Guns N Bombs Remix) via Pitchfork
Friday, March 28, 2008
First, we'd like to thank Tenlons Fort for spending a little time back in Los Angeles this past week. He now heads up north, which coincidentally is the destination for a few L.A. bands we know and love this weekend (The Monolators, Shiloe, Evangelista, Imaad Wasif, etc.). You're welcome, Bay Area...
Second, congrats to The Henry Clay People, The Natural Disasters, and Downtown/Union on their release show on Wednesday. Henry Clay were joined by a few friends on stage which made the show less about the release of their new Working Part Time 7" (now available on JAXART) and more about having a good ol' time with friends, which is part of the reason why they've become everyone's favorite blue collar kickballers/ballkickers in Los Angeles. And those were probably the best performances by Natural Disasters and Downtown/Union we've ever seen. ND's Last Night in L.A. is currently only available at shows and DigStation and D/U's new EP Six Song Super Set can also only be found at shows for right now... Good to see Bo from D/U at the Hotel Cafe the following night for T-Fort who, along with Jake from The Breakups, Elaine Layabout, and the founding fathers of Little Radio were not only treated to another memorable night from Tenlons but also a beautiful performance by Alex & Sam and Tom Freund (joined by special guest Ben Harper.) Photos up.
Imaad Wasif and The Two Part Beast begins a mini-tour at The Smell tonight, promoting his new wondrous album Strange Hexes, available now at shows and on Insound. The tour wraps up at Viper on 4/7.
Malbec celebrates the release of their new album Dawn of Our Age tonight at Viper. The Gray Kid and Casxio play Echoplex. Great lineup at pehrspace with Liz Pappademas, The Sweet Hurt, Red Maids, and Dustin Fire. Benji Hughes leads a stellar cast at The Bordello including Spider Problem and Jaymay who takes on the showcase slot. And Jon Brion has two nights at Largo this weekend... On Saturday, Brother Reade, Glitch Mob, and Nosaj Thing take over The Echo. Everest opens for Ray Davies at The Wiltern. Bow + Arrow, Bloody Robots, and others at Relax Bar. Pizza! and Downtown/Union at Crane's... Sunday, Alex & Sam ends their two-month run at Tangier playing alongside Eleni Mandell and Correatown. While over at All Star, The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra, Amnion, Divisadero, and Dirt Dress play an all-ages free show.
Have some fun this weekend, Los Angeles. You deserve it.
Imaad Wasif and The Two Part Beast - "Wanderlusting" (MP3)
Benji Hughes - "I Went With Some Friends To See The Flaming Lips" (MP3)
Eleni Mandell - "Make-Out King" (MP3)
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Two blog events tonight...
First, Squaregirls and JAXART co-present The Henry Clay People, The Natural Disasters, Downtown/Union, and Aushua at The Scene, three of whom are celebrating new releases but all four make for a night that local band lovers cannot miss. And the free tacos are the clincher of clinchers.
Second, Passion of the Weiss and Hell Ya! co-present a night of hip-hop/old school electro duos with The Knux, Wallpaper, and Clean Guns. We've caught The Knux a few times around town, most notably their unbilled showcase spots at Largo with all the heavy duty guest musicians you'd expect at the club. They're definitely one people are watching.
In other news: Amoeba Music sponsors a spring tour package in May featuring local gals Quincy Coleman and Brandi Shearer along with UK songstress Kate Walsh. The Los Angeles stop is 5/16 at the Roxy. Free downloads of the ladies will be available soon on Amoeba downloads section... Kate Nash will headline the debut of the U.S. NME Awards on 4/23 at the El Rey. The show will be broadcast live via MySpace... By overwhelming demand, a third Yaz reunion show has been added for 7/8 at the Orpheum. Both the 7/10 and 7/11 shows are sold out... We just had an 80s-rock heart attack: Journey, Heart, Cheap Trick at the Greek Theatre, 9/30 (but still no Steve Perry)... Tickets for the much-hyped Zooey Deschanel/M. Ward duo She & Him show at the Vista go on sale Friday... Nice write-up on Daniel Lanois here. Nice interview with Daniel Lanois here. See Daniel Lanois live tomorrow here...
Finally, we hung out with Tenlons Fort on Monday to see him perform live on our favorite internet radio show "Get the Fuck Up". Photos are up. Thanks to Jeremy, Aaron, and Jimmy for finally giving in and opening the door after hearing us cry for an hour outside. T-Fort plays one final show in town tomorrow at the Hotel Cafe with Alex & Sam (8pm) before heading off to see the rest of the world.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Ok, so... We know one or two (of the five) that read this thing might want us to comment on the events that transpired over this past weekend. For anyone who showed up on Saturday night and stayed through basically Sunday morning to see seven wonderful groups of people play songs; sang and clapped along to those songs; and then gushed endlessly about those songs... we love you. For everyone who showed up the following day and spent Easter afternoon in the sizzling city sun, drank some wine, ate some food, shot some hoops, played some music, or just said hello to long lost friends... we love you too. Sometime around 4:30 this morning after we finally had a moment to think about the past few days, we cried ourselves to sleep and dreamt of future times like these to come... Yeah, yeah photos.
Back to reality...
Morgan Page releases his debut album, Elevate, this week on Nettwerk. Most of us probably first heard of Page when his bootleg remix of Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" broke out before Tiesto's did, probably making a few people upset, but more importantly putting a spotlight on the DIY remixer's bootleg work which includes tracks from Coldplay, Sam Phillips, and Tegan and Sara. And it didn't take long after that for him to catch the ear of Nettwerk. The album includes guest appearances from lovely local ladies Lissie ("The Longest Road") and Camila Grey ("One Day") and features remixes of local bands The Submarines ("Peace & Hate"), Bitter:Sweet ("Dirty Laundry"), and Dengue Fever ("Sleepwalking Through the Mekong").
Summer Darling has postponed their appearance on GTFU this evening but tune in anyway because Tenlons Fort will be singing some songs and talking the talk. Also, tonight is the last night of the Warpaint residency. Go see them. Every night has gotten exponentially more amazing than the last... Evangelista has an in-store at Amoeba on Tuesday. Buy this album. Also, Prince b-day tribute at the Echo with Har Mar, Lemon Sun, Buddy, and others to benefit APLA and Global Inheritance. The great Jim White makes a long-awaited return to town with a show at the Silent Movie Theater. And Heather Reid does a super-rare solo show with a little help from Jill Sobule at Largo... Wednesday, The Henry Clay People, The Natural Disasters, and Downtown/Union each celebrate new releases at The Scene, presented by Squaregirls... And, Alex & Sam and Tenlons Fort playing together at the Hotel Cafe. What are the odds of that happening? Hmm...
Friday, March 21, 2008
If you're sore from all the club-hopping you did this week, we feel for you. Holy shiznit... A few highlights included literally one-songing Explosions ("Greet Death") at the Wiltern just so we could get to the Bordello, Spaceland, and the last of Love Grenades' set at The Echo. My Pet Saddle's midnight set at Spaceland was mandatory. If not just so we could hear some new songs we hadn't heard since our last encounter, but also to see Ms. Hailey on an L.A. stage for the first time in far too long. The demise of PRS HLTN, MTHRFCKRS!! still saddens us to no end. MPS, by the way, should be doing their own residency at esteemed Silver Lake clubs soon... After checking out the genius that is Black Moth Super Rainbow at the Knit on Tuesday, we walked down Hollywood for another great "Let's Independent", presented by the almighty RFSL. If you've never been to any of these nights, it's really a big awesome spectacle: Great sound system, huge crowd, and an incredible amount of local indie rock celebrity -- all of which aren't usually seen at our shows. Not to mention the lineups Mr. Fielder puts together are top-notch, like Tuesday which had Amnion, Fol Chen, and Princeton. How good was that?... Aquarium Drunkard had a show of their own on Thursday with Bon Iver, Phosphorescent, and White Hinterland. Couldn't find Tenlons Fort, who said he was going to meet us there so we headed back to Safari Sam's to pick up Evangelista's new album Hello, Voyager, which we listened to on the way to Crane's to catch The Voyeurs (formerly E>K>U>K) second show ever.
This brings us to the weekend, which looks just as fun... Tonight, Rock Insider presents a wonderful night of west coast indie rock with Afternoons, Birdmonster, and Little Teeth at The Bordello. 400 Blows, Ancestors, and Tweak Bird get loud at L.A. Record Player 5 at Charlie O's. Tha Alkaholiks rock the mic at the Key Club. The Parson Red Heads headline a huge night at the Echoplex. West Indian Girl begins two secret shows in Culver City. Death to Anders, Divisadero, The French Semester, and Marvelous Toy take it to the Relax Bar. The Mae Shi, RTX, Bad Dudes, and Foot Village bring the smell to Hollywood with a show at the Knit. Local rock vets B-Movie Rats celebrate the release of their new album Radio Suicide at Safari Sam's. Castaneda does an in-store at Penguin on Melrose. Caitlin Crosby, Lucy Walsh, and Linda Strawberry sing sweet songs at The Mint. The Voyeurs play their third show ever at the Comic Bug with Bright Light Fever. Cat Hair Ensemble headlines the Echo Curio. Wee Jon Brion plays Largo. boxViolet at Jax Vegan Cafe. And, my oh my, Trespassers William return to their hometown for a show at Tangier.
Calm down, that's just Friday.
If you give our show at T's tomorrow the hard pass, head on out to The Vacation opening for Mooney Suzuki at the Roxy. West Sunset on a Saturday?! Yeah, sorry. Ok, then how about Amateurs opening for School of Language at Spaceland. Or The Holy Kiss, The Guilty Hearts, and Lily Marlene at The Scene. Kissing Cousins, Donny, Travisaurus, and Flowers & Bulls at pehrspace. Fascinoma, Gift Machine, and Whisper Kid at Echo Curio. The Poor Excuses celebrate the release of their new album Come on the Futuree at truXtop Gallery. Blanket and Ric Veda at the Unknown Theater. And two massives How Sweet It Is and Paid Dues kick off the festival season.
Sunday, The Deadly Syndrome, The Henry Clay People, Dusty Rhodes and the River Band, and LoveLikeFire at the Roxy deserves your undivided attention. Otherwise, the legendary Jack Tempchin celebrates the release of his new album Songs at the Hotel Cafe. And Maria Taylor joins Alex & Sam and Michael Runion at Tangier.
Enjoy yourselves.
Tweak Bird - "White Lips" (MP3)
The French Semester - "Paradise" (MP3)
Jack Tempchin - "Something in the Image" (MP3)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
We had this very short and sweet post detailing the six bands that were playing this Saturday at T's... But then we added a seventh. So we felt it necessary to post a little more than our usual 'please come if you feel like it' spiel...
We've done five bands a few times, which according to certain bookers is called the "Wu Xing", apparently named for the five elements (water, earth, wood, fire, metal), which combined together in perfect harmony create life. Hence, you'll often hear "Let's Wu Xing tonight" in many an la-underground pre-show huddle. And six bands (aka "The Revolver" or "Six Shooter") is fun if not a bit overzealous (and Sunset Strip sounding). But having seven bands on one night and only thoughts of Dante's "Divine Comedy" come to mind.
Lust, greed, gluttony, envy, sloth, wrath, pride... Yup, that was pretty much our mindset when putting this lineup together but we did go to Confessional immediately after the seventh band was booked so hopefully we're good to go. But then you consider how "Divine Comedy" (written exactly 700 years ago) takes place over Easter Triduum (which is this weekend) and then we get into M. Night Shyamalan territory. We're starting to freak out a little bit so we'll stop there. But if you miss this show, we fully expect to see you in the Inner Ring of the Seventh Circle.
"Love that discourses to me in my mind"
he then began to sing-and sang so sweetly
that I still hear that sweetness sound in me. - Divine Comedy
So we should probably stop being silly and actually talk about the show a bit. It started as an idea to welcome back Humble Jack (aka Tenlons Fort) who left Los Angeles last December to return to his homebase of Austin, TX. Turns out, he misses us too much to be gone longer than three months. We'd call him a crybaby except we're probably the only ones that have been crying since he abandoned us on that cold winter day. And if you're wondering why we're even celebrating Jack's return then you should watch this to get an introductory course on why we love Jack Gibson. But besides that (and one infamous October night at Safari Sam's), he's one of the best singer-songwriters we've ever known.
We then asked a few friends to take part in the night. First there was Cobra Lilies, whose last show at pehrspace both amazed and bewildered everyone in the room. Then we of course had to ask Ema and the Ghosts because 1). We love her J). The first time we got these three together it was magic. Then we had to beg and plead for Amnion and Avi Buffalo to join us, both of whom are seemingly inseparable these days. That lineup right there would have perfectly fine but then we asked ourselves, well, if we're going to be in tears the whole night anyway... So obviously we had to ask No Little Kindness and The Sweet Hurt to complete the night's festivities. And so we present to you a lineup straight from out of a dream...
March 22, 2008
Los Angeles Loves...
AMNION
COBRA LILIES
NO LITTLE KINDNESS
AVI BUFFALO
EMA AND THE GHOSTS
TENLONS FORT
THE SWEET HURT
Mr. T's Bowl
5621 1/2 Figueroa Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90041 | Map
21+ / $5 / 8:45pm
Extra Notes: Amnion wrote up a huge post about the show on their wonderful blog... We may have a few posters of the show for free (or if you'd like to donate a couple of bucks to the "Dear L.A." fund that would be very nice of you)... Be sure to stretch thoroughly before the show. There's going to be a considerable amount of hugging going on and we don't want you to pull something... Please come early if you can. The Sweet Hurt, fresh off a month of touring with HoneyHoney and Correatown, goes on promptly at 9pm. And you'll want to stick around for Cobra Lilies consisting of members of The Monolators, Cat Hair Ensemble/Bodies of Water, Smells Like Flan, Ms. Rock Insider, tap dancing, clog dancing, and more. It's seriously one of the greatest things we've ever seen. We really hope you can make it to this one.
Tenlons Fort - "Ghost on a Hill" (MP3)
Ema and the Ghosts - "Ermine and Mink" (MP3)
The Sweet Hurt - "Take This Away" (MP3)
Cobra Lilies - "She Won't Come Back" (MP3)
No Little Kindness - "When I Call" (MP3)
Avi Buffalo - "Where's Your Dirty Mind?" (MP3)
Amnion - "1LOVe" (MP3)
No Little Kindness - "Let It Show".
Amnion - "Heart of Gold"
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
It will be utterly impossible to explain how completely happy this band will make you feel.
Adding to a growing list of local artists that have engaged in the rapturous sound of spiritual earthsong, No Little Kindness have broken onto the scene with the release of two stunning EPs in the last two years. And with high praise coming from their fellow joyfolk brethren Bodies of Water, Seasons, and Kind Hearts and Coronets, they're very much at the heart of a musical renaissance that's happening in Los Angeles. A breakthrough movement of young homespun folk troupes that have crawled out of the same caves where bands like Animal Collective, Panda Bear, and Grizzly Bear once hibernated and now have taken it to indie clubs to display the endless arrays of beauteous hymns that can be created with uplifting harmonies through unconventional instrumentation. But there's more to this band than just breaking out into junkyard drum circles or "make love not war" tribal dance routines. There's an unprovoking calmness to everything they write, which is what we love the most. Even with songs that erupt into cacophonic white noise like the gorgeous "U R Me" or "When I Call"; even with songs that are meant to provoke like "Lord Your Love", whose scathing verses like "Don't want your bloody war machine, Don't want the money that it brings" are ultimately resolved with optimism in its chorus "Lord Your Love, Love is everywhere". And optimism in discontent, much like harmony within dissonance, is really at the heart and soul of this wonderful new band we are madly in love with, No Little Kindness.
No Little Kindness performs 3/22 at Mr. T's Bowl. New limited edition EP, Rejoice, is available through Judah Records or through their website. A free MP3 download is offered every week through their website.
No Little Kindness on MySpace.
No Little Kindness - "When I Call" (MP3)
No Little Kindness - "Cast Off Your Troubles" (MP3)
Monday, March 17, 2008
Happy wear-green-or-be-pinched day.
Those in-the-know know this is the busiest week of the month so let's not fuss too much over details... We'll be stopping by the Explosions show at the Wiltern tonight for a few songs just to keep our streak alive since that epic show at the Knitting Factory a few years ago. Then we have some errands to run, but we suspect everyone would want to see the Monday residencies since the Chapins, Voxhaul, Warpaint, and The Amazements are all wonderful. We should also mention that you might want to stop by the Grove earlier in the evening just to meet and greet Willy Wonka aka Gene Wilder who'll be signing copies of his second charming novella The Woman Who Wouldn't... The Bravery is doing an in-store at Virgin Mega on Tuesday. Let's Independent is back with a beautiful lineup of Amnion, Princeton, and Fol Chen. Black Moth Super Rainbow makes their L.A. headliner debut at the KF. And Castledoor opens for Switches at the Roxy... Sara Melson sings songs from her recently released debut album Dirty Mind at Tangier. Sea Wolf opens for Nada Surf at the Music Box... Club hop night of the week is Thursday: Evangelista celebrates the release of her new album Hello, Voyager at Safari Sam's with one of the best lineups of the month (Mike Watt, Silver Daggers, John Wiese, and Missingcinatti). Eskimohunter, Low vs. Diamond, and Annie Stela bring it to the Troubadour. David Garza showcases new songs from his forthcoming album at Largo. Languis rocks The Scene. The Health Club and The Voyeurs cramp into the teenie Crane's. Solare opens for theSTART at Crash Mansion. And Adele makes her L.A. debut at the Hotel Cafe.
In other news... If you've kept up with Giant Drag recently then you know they haven't released anything in three years. Since being dropped from Interscope last year, there's been some Hardy hardship and desperate times call for desperate measures. She's set up a Paypal account on her MySpace for fans to donate to help get a recording of some sort out. She's also set up an eBay store to sell some things from the GD archive... Spaceland Recordings finally released recordings by The Parson Red Heads, The Henry Clay People, and Rademacher from their recent respective residencies at Spaceland/The Echo... We got several emails asking why The Gossip show in April was cancelled. Not sure how we became designated Gossip watchers, but they did nix their last fall tour through town due to lack of prep time so that might be the case again this time, but that would just be gossip. I mean, hearsay.
Also, Largo is moving to the Coronet in a few months. Here's the news from Mark:
| Dear Friends O' Largo, About all this internet biz, it's true what they say, or some of the truth. Here's the whole truth. We're moving a couple of rooms higher in the tower of song. After twelve vibrant years in the Village of Fairfax, we're loading up the van and moving to the Coronet Theatre at 366 N La Cienega Blvd located ironically between Beverly and Melrose. The Fairfax years were good to us all, but the La Cienega one will be fabtastic. Built in 1944, a very intimate 280 seat theatre with an additional small room and a parking lot! The theatre has been home to Orson Welles, Charlie Chaplin, Bertolt Brecht, Lenny Bruce, Manray, and Rodgers and Hammerstein and imagine who else? So here we go, Friday's with Jon and all the other stuff we love. We are going to go at it with all we have. You don't have to eat, drink or line up for too long, unless you really want to. The negotiations took forever and tongues have been wagging. So rest your heads and get ready for the best. A movie called "Largo" directed by Andrew Van Baal and my own self will premier at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June. You will love it, I do. And if you miss the old spot, you can stick it in your computer and get a fix when you need to. Also, look out for Dana Goodyear's article about Largo in The New Yorker due out at the end of March and Natalie Nichols will be doing a full story for the Calendar section of the Sunday paper of the Los Angeles Times. So thanks for all your support. Come see us in June and visit the old spot until then. Jon and I just left the theatre where Eric Idle was rehearsing the Fab Four in front of a huge screen with the "Rutles" movie playing. The room has vibe, we are very excited. Luv and Luck, Flanny The Truth Continued: Randy Newman has no performances scheduled at the new venue, but Flanagan dreams on! |
Side note: Andrew van Baal is the same director behind Correatown's video for "Racing Tides". Also, Largo is closed tonight... for obvious reasons.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Richard Julian is joined by Mitchell Froom for an ultra-intimate night at Genghis Cohen on Saturday. Froom produced his new album Sunday Morning in Saturday's Shoes out now through Manhattan Records. A staple in the New York singer-songwriter scene for years, legend has it he tried to move to Los Angeles as a teenager but fate turned him back around to the East Coast. An unfortunate turn of events for L.A. since we feel the home of Randy Newman, Chuck E. Weiss, Rickie Lee Jones, and Largo would have fit him like a glove. In any case, we last saw him open for our old friend Norah Jones at the Greek a few years ago but he returns this time playing the 100-capacity Cantina with the genius that is Mr. Froom -- yes, that's Charlotte's papa. This should be quite a lovely evening.
Also this weekend: The one and only Creekbird on "Demolisten" tonight. Ariel Pink and Bobb Bruno at The Smell. El Ten Eleven, Signal Hill, The Drift, and The Littlest Viking at pehrspace. You Me and Iowa and The Antiques at Spaceland. 1st All-star Rock benefit "Give Me Shelter" at the Knitting Factory with performances by Camp Freddy, Linda Perry, and The Section Quartet. The Meadows at Molly Malone's... I Make This Sound and Vaudeville lead an impressive lineup at pehrspace on Saturday. While Divisadero plays at Crane's. And Advanced Beginner and Ladybird play Echo Curio. And Sierra Swan opens for Firebug at their CD release show at Spaceland... Sunday, Vaudeville and Future of the Ghosts join forces at Alex's Bar. The Noise Chapter and others play Spaceland. And silly girl Nikki Katt plays a rare show at the Hotel Cafe.
Richard Julian - "If You Stay" (MP3)
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - "Underground" (MP3)
Nikki Katt - "Can I Borrow Your Body?" (MP3)
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
While we (and 3/4 of our four readers) aren't hip enough to be anywhere near Austin this week, it's probably necessary for us to at least mention that a large contingent of Los Angeles' finest are making the trip to see the sites of Texas, meet and greet fellow musicians, and maybe, perhaps, get up close and personal with that thing called a 360 deal. We're sure you already have your scouting charts already booked but be sure to hit these no-badge needed nights put on by Spaceland/JAXART, KCRW, Obey Giant, Cosmica Artists, IHEARTCOMIX, Hotel Cafe, Filter, Music By the Slice, all of which feature some of the best Los Angeles artists of all time.
For those attending, good luck, drive safely and we'll see you back here soon. For those staying in town, party at our house (badge required).
Anavan - "Mingle" (MP3)
Bodies of Water - "Red Lines/Grey Lines" (MP3)
Division Day - "Colorguard" (MP3)
Gliss - "I Want You" (MP3)
Har Mar Superstar - "Brand New Day" (MP3)
Jeremy Jay - "Starlite Express" (MP3)
Priscilla Ahn - "Dream" (MP3)
Sea Wolf - "You're A Wolf" (MP3)
The Autumns - "Please Please Please" (MP3)
The Happy Hollows - "Meteors" (MP3)
The Henry Clay People - "Social Scentology" (MP3)
The Pity Party - "WMD" (MP3)
The Submarines - "Modern Inventions" (MP3)
The Watson Twins - "Darlin' Song" (MP3)
Totally Radd!! - "Dressed Up" (MP3)
Monday, March 10, 2008
A great weekend began with a great First Friday that we won't say much about except that everyone's faces must be sore today from all the ear-to-ear smiling that went on. We really had a lot of fun so thanks to everyone for coming and enjoying some great music. Also, thanks to the "Dear L.A." crew for bringing all the baked goods for us to get fat on. Photos up...
Many local bands will be headed to Texas this week, but there are still plenty of things to see while everyone is away. Monday residencies continue. Meiko and Emma Burgess open for Lizz Wright at the Hotel Cafe. Also, Everest and The Chapin Sisters open for Ed Harcourt at Echoplex. And Pop Noir opens for Dandi Wind at the Knitting Factory... AM celebrates the release of his new EP featuring duets with Meiko, Buddy, Tina Dico, Susie Suh, and others (some of which will be joining him on stage). Jill Sobule and Tom Brosseau at Largo... Death to Anders, Thailand, The Karabal Nightlife, and Michael Compton rock The Echo on Wednesday. Dave Palmer sings songs at Largo. And Dengue Fever opens for Angélique Kidjo at Royce Hall... Ariel Pink and Bobb Bruno make hearts melt at The Smell. Nellie McKay begins two nights at Largo. El Ten Eleven, Signal Hill, The Drift, and The Littlest Viking transform soundwaves at pehrspace. And Linda Perry, The Section Quartet and others perform for a Gimme Shelter benefit.
Happy Birthdays this week to Ms. Ashley Jax, Stewart Cole, Jim Merson (from Captain Ahab), Ben McShane, and to Ms. Priscilla Ahn who finally became a teenager yesterday. Read a nice LiveDaily interview with Ms. Priscilla here.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Week one of March almost in the books and it's been a busy one (ie. seven shows last night). The re-teaming of Anavan/Monotonix at The Smell last night was the best show of the month so far. It was the third such pairing at the club in the last year with each band debuting some new songs and, as always, making quite a mess for Jim to clean up. Among those in the crowd getting a taste of Shalev's sweaty body (pictured above) were members of Amnion, Entrance, Captain Ahab, Totally Radd!!, Explogasm, The Fred Kiko and The Ben Wolfinsohn among many others. More pictures up elsewhere. Ok, let's keep it going...
Lots to do this weekend and we know it'll be tough sorting out what cool stuff to see. If you're not up for going to Mr. T's Bowl tonight, pehrspace should be crowded with great people to see the amazing lineup of Rademacher, Birdmonster, Tigers Can Bit You, and The Hectors. Also tonight, Division Day and The Coral Sea hit up Spaceland. Seasons and Teddy's Cheer Club play La Casa Blue. HoneyHoney's tour makes a stop at The Wiltern. The Breakups and The Human Value at The Scene. And Delta Spirit and Port O'Brien rocks the Troubadour... On Saturday, Ms. Ashley celebrates a birthday with a matinée show (5pm) at the Silverlake Lounge. Fol Chen make their debut at The Bordello opening for LoveLikeFire and Light FM. Great lineup at The Scene with The Transmissions, The Health Club, Vaudeville, and Spirit Vine. Correatown headlines an "Is Good" night at Crane's with Slings, Paul Avion & Par Avion, and Lo-Fi Sugar... Sunday, Crystal Castles/HEALTH has been cancelled. But you can still go and see Big Business at Spaceland. Alex & Sam, Liz Pappademas, and Tara Busch at Tangier. And Gang Wizard and Goliath Bird Eater at The Smell.
The Hectors - "Cold Star" (MP3)
The Transmissions - "I'll Run It" (MP3)
Paul Avion & Par Avion Band - "Stand Up, Be A Man!" (MP3)
Goliath Bird Eater - "Mongol Hammer" (MP3)
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
You know, after going to what must be a cajillion First Fridays, you might think we'd be tired of it by now. You'd be wrong.
We really do love it. Especially when The Monolators invite such a great collective of bands with them and this week is no exception. The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra is on everybody's to-see list after making quite the leap to L.A.'s elite in 2007. Keith Waggoner of Amateurs will be doing a solo set, something we're quite excited to see for the first time. And the South Bay's The Terrapin make a rare L.A. appearance with their heavy ethereal pop.
Also, look for the "Dear LA" crew in full effect at the show ("full effect" means they're selling baked goods in effort to raise funds for the documentary they're shooting on several Los Angeles bands that you probably like so bring a couple of extra dollars to get some cupcakes and cookies to munch on with that beer you'll be nursing).
Hope to see you if you're not too busy.
March 7, 2008
Los Angeles Loves...
THE FLYING TOURBILLON ORCHESTRA
KEITH WAGGONER
THE TERRAPIN
THE MONOLATORS
Mr. T's Bowl
5621 1/2 Figueroa Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90041 | Map
21+ / FREE / 9:00pm
The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra - "In a Dream" (MP3)
Amateurs - "Six Days" (MP3)
Monday, March 03, 2008
It's March, which of course is one of the three busiest months of the year for shows with SXSW bands coming through town. You remember last year, yes? And the year before, no? You get the picture. Get some extra rest for this one, kids.
Residencies this month include Warpaint, The Chapin Sisters, Voxhaul Broadcast, Alex & Sam, Reeve Oliver, The Amazements, theSTART, Carney, The Voom Blooms, The Heartstring Symphony/Puppies and Kittens, David Ryan Harris, and Test Your Reflex... Meanwhile, Evangelista, The Chapin Sisters, Whitman, The Henry Clay People, The Natural Disasters, The Hard To Get, The Northstar Session, AM, and Jim Bianco all celebrate new product with some release shows.
Other shows of note: Ms. Ashley celebrates her 24th with a matinée show at the Silverlake Lounge on 3/8 with The Dodos and Thee Oh Sees. Our dear old friend, Rachael Yamagata, performs new material with two shows in one night at the Hotel Cafe on 3/18 (almost sold out already). Paid Dues 08 at the NOS on 3/22. And we're helping with a few shows this month (3/7, 3/15, 3/22).
Also: Our lovely friend Laura Burhenn's band Georgie James was on Conan O'Brien last week. While Ms. Burhenn has tossed aside every one of our pleadings in the last five years for her to move to L.A., she still manages to make the occasional visit to town (GJ returns to Los Angeles on 4/16 at the Hotel Cafe). We still prefer to see her solo, but we'll take what we can get.
Additionally: Gliss' new video for "Gimme the Hit" premiered on MTV's Subterranean last night. If you missed it, check it out below... The first stateside NME Awards will be held at the El Rey on and 4/23... Jayceon Taylor and Stephen Glover had bad weekends... Good article on good local bands by CityBeat.
