Friday, May 30, 2008
What did we say about May? Yes, our favorite month of the year came through big time. We hope you made it out to at least one of the many great residency nights for Castledoor, Le Switch, Mezzanine Owls, Gran Ronde, Emma Burgess, and Porterville... Good times at the Lavender Diamond variety show for their film (in progress) "Imagine Our Love" on Wednesday. Members of The Entrance Band, Moonrats, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Mountain Party, Lion of Panjshir, BlackBlack, Layer, and many others enjoyed a night of story and song featuring performances by Eleni Mandell, The Chapin Sisters, Palms, Mia Doi Todd, and host Becky Stark. The night also featured a 3D cosmic visions booth (that had scenes from the film set in a spaced out closet of sorts), existential fortune telling, raw organic vegan deserts provided by Crops and Rawbers, a silent art auction, and one of the more entertaining raffles we've ever seen. Lots more we're missing but it was fun. Kids from LA Weekly and LA Times were there so they should have more to say. P-Fork also has some details about the film... Also, lots of fun was had down in Long Beach last night with Look Daggers shooting a performance for an upcoming live DVD at The Prospector; the great lineup of The Health Club, Downtown/Union, and Joshua Lanes at the Que Sera; and the huge "Locals Only" lineup of The Happy Hollows, Le Switch, The Meemies, and Forcefield ON at Alex's Bar. A few photos up.
Dead Meadow, The Entrance Band, and Winter Flowers at Little Radio tonght. The Like and BlackBlack play at Dave's Warehouse. Die Rockers Die, Mospeada, Bastidas and others at pehrspace. Crystal Antlers, Unwed Sailor, and others at the Vermont House. Spirit Vine, The Karabal Nightlife and others at the Unknown Theater. Uh Huh Her at Viper. And Devon Williams opens two nights for Beirut and The Brunettes at the Wiltern... Aimee Mann celebrates the release of her new album @#%&! Smilers and shows off some of her own original artwork with an exhibit at La Luz de Jesus on Saturday. Abe Vigoda, Crystal Antlers, The Muslims, and AM at pehrspace. Gram Rabbit, Sabrosa Purr, Quazar and the Bamboozled, and Kind Hearts and Coronets at Safari Sam's. Film School and Xu Xu Fang open for Swervedriver at the Music Box. Captain Ahab, Meho Plaza, and others at The Smell. Seasons, The Breakups and others at Crane's. Uh Huh Her at the Roxy. Hecuba and Saint Motel play Dave's Warehouse. And Upper Playground makes its grand opening... On Sunday, Death to Anders, Tigers Can Bite You, Shiloe, and Rocking Horse People play All Star. The Monolators and Vaudeville down at Saint Rocke. There's also this little thing called the MTV Movie Awards that we've been invited to (be a seat filler) at the Gibson. Coldplay and Pussycat Dolls perform.
The Muslims - "Bright Side" (MP3)
Gram Rabbit - "Dirty Horse" (MP3)
Death to Anders - "Great Plains States" (MP3)
Monday, May 26, 2008
Great weekend. Congrats to You Me & Iowa on their hugely successful CD release show on Saturday. Also, congrats to those who celebrated birthdays over the weekend including Hell Ya! Heather Peggs and I Make This Sound's Jonathan Price (pictured in all his manliness above). Photos from some stuff are up.
Monthly residencies come to an end. They've all been very impressive. Big props must be given out to Maria DeLuca for not only working her ass off for her band Le Switch's Monday residency and west coast tour this month, but guest performing on the CD release shows of Les Blanks (last week at Spaceland) and You Me & Iowa (last Saturday at Spaceland). Not to mention, organizing all the kickball activities that have been going on for the past few months. Charlie Chu's got some great photos of the Le Switch residency here. We'll be stopping the Le Switch residency again tonight and so should you...
Also tonight, Anavan play pehrspace. Foreign Born, Willoughby, and Restaurant play Viper. And The Vacation do Les Deux... Rock Insider and Web In Front co-present The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra, Vaudeville, and others at the Silverlake Lounge. Lavender Diamond's musical cinema "Imagine Our Love" is celebrated at the Silent Movie Theatre with special guest performances. I Make This Sound and Stacy Clark head down to Costa Mesa for the Detroit Bar's new weekly "New Band Tuesdays". Jaguar Love make their Los Angeles debut at The Echo with xbxrx... On Wednesday, Michael Stipe will be on hand to sign copies of his new photo book R.E.M.: Photographs at Book Soup. Big benefit for Griffith Park at the Greek featuring performances by Tommy Lee, Ludacris, Robby Krieger, Ziggy Marley, Blue Man Group, Velvet Revolver, and many others. Colorforms at Tangier. Meiko and Jessie Malin at the Hotel Cafe. Abe Vigoda, Parenthetical Girls, pwrfl power, and others at The Smell. The Like at Club 86. The Happy Hollows open for White Rabbits at The Echo. Kay Hanley opens two shows for Superdrag at the Troubadour. And Biirdie opens for Mates of State at the Music Box... Thursday, Ariel Pink plays The Echo. Hecuba and Warpaint at the Silverlake Lounge. Ema and the Ghosts and Foxtails Brigade at L'KEG. The Happy Hollows, Le Switch, Forcefield ON, and The Meemies down at Alex's Bar.
In other news: Dublab is having a "Hands On Proton Drive" to help keep the organization going... Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, and The Flaming Lips are the first to be scheduled for "VH1 Honors The Who", filming 7/12 at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion (airing 7/17). If you're a Wholigan than you probably already know tickets go on sale 6/6 through the fan site, otherwise tickets go on sale 6/8 through Ticketmaster. VH1 is also having a little webaward thing in conjunction with the ceremony. Here are our picks that we sent in:
* Best Honoree (The Who) Related Sites
www.thewho.com
* Best Rock Radio Station
KXLU 88.9FM
* Best Rock Gear (tie)
Tennessee Quadruple Neck Guitar
AK-47 Guitar
* Best Editorial/Blog
Rock Insider
* Best Rock City and/or Venue
Los Angeles, CA
The Smell
Friday, May 23, 2008
A lot of great bands played shows this week. We hope you were fortunate to see a few. Spaceland patrons last night got a taste of four of L.A.'s best. Congrats to Les Blanks on the release of their new album Shoot the Horse. After last night's spectacular show, we regret missing out on them for so long -- since that oh so memorable night at the Cat Club with The Monolators a few years ago. New album available through CD Baby. Photos from the show up.
On to Memorial Day weekend, which just so happens to be one of our favorite holiday weekends of the year. Sure, the much needed extra day off is nice, but more importantly it's our chance to honor all the military servicemen that have sacrificed their lives serving our great country. We understand that it's kind of depressing to spend an afternoon at one of the many ceremonies going on around Los Angeles but even just watching a bit of SPR or HS usually makes us feel a bit better. However, we suspect most people won't do much more than maybe throw something on the ol' bbq, watch a bit of the Lakers, and hang with some friends. And that's cool too...
The Pity Party is tonight's "Demolisten" guests. Later, The Germs play at The Scene. Pocahaunted, BlackBlack, Vivian Girls, and others at The Smell. Pizza! and The Primos play pehrspace. Oliver Future, Radars to the Sky, Casxio, and 5 O'Clock Somewhere at Echoplex. Hell Ya! Heather Peggs b-day bash at Spaceland with the return of Hockey with The Growlers, Illegal Substance, and others. Jesca Hoop and Jessie Baylin open for Teitur at the Roxy. And The Shys and Io Echo open for The Von Bondies at Safari Sam's... You Me & Iowa celebrate the release of their new album The Adventures of You Me & Iowa with The New Trust, Calamity Magnet, and The Voyeurs. The Parson Red Heads and Willoughby play down at Detroit Bar. Halloween Swim Team, My Pet Saddle, and others play the Rocket Boat... Sunday, the Tribute to the Sun City Girls' Charles Gocher tour makes its stop at the Echoplex. Gocher passed away last year from cancer. Malcolm Sosa and Sara Negahdari go solo with One Trick Pony and The Physics of Meaning at pehrspace. Alex & Sam is joined by Ben Pringle, Wisley, and Mount Righteous at El Cid. URB Magazine celebrates their new issue with a party at the Roxy with The Roots' ?uestlove. Green & Wood, Ox vs. Thunderbird, and others at The Smell. And Mad Gregs with others at Found.
The Germs - "What We Do Is Secret" (MP3)
You Me & Iowa - "Valhalla" (MP3)
The Physics of Meaning - "Oregon, my only true friend" (MP3)
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
For those that didn't attend last night's stellar lineup at the Hotel Cafe, be sure to stop by tonight when My Brightest Diamond, Sara Lov, and Pedestrian are joined by special guest Alexi Murdoch. Mr. Murdoch, who's been off the radar for a number of months writing for a new record, debuted some new songs last night and will probably play a few more this evening. We hadn't seen a full set from him since 2003, right around the time KCRW started overplaying "Orange Sky" resulting in its eventual demise as the only song people wanted to hear (it was an overwhelming request last night as well.) If you go tonight, be sure and request the new one, which we'll call "The Violin Song". It's patent melancholic Murdoch and featured Stewart Cole and Joel Shearer doing lovely, ad-libbed mating call-like moans on their respective horns and guitar. Cafe regulars Ingrid Michaelson, Joshua Radin, and several others were in attendance among only a handful that stuck around, but we suppose it will be much more crowded for tonight's show. Photos up.
In other news: Indie 103.1's "Also I Like To Rock" is back in July with Thursday performances all month long from the likes of Miss Derringer, The Deadly Syndrome, Afternoons, Tokyo Police Club, The Duke Spirit, Io Echo, Nico Vega, and The Growlers... Whispertown 2000's new album is set for a late summer release and the band is looking to book a tour to support it. Contact them if you have some ideas to get them to your town... Jean Paul Yamamoto of the sorely missed Seksu Roba will be handcrafting custom t-shirts on the spot at Lallaure tonight... Our old friends The Weepies are doing a video contest for their song "Hideaway" here... Largo (is it still called Largo?) just posted prices to the June shows and it's getting a bit of talk in the forums. $55 for two sets of Jon Brion is actually pretty reasonable although why anyone would pay $30 to see that [$@!! -- very bad person] playing on the 30th is beyond us... Our ex-wives Priscilla Ahn and Katy Perry have some new videos to share with you (below). Priscilla Ahn's debut album A Good Day is available 6/10... That monthly voting thing on the Deli Mag that no one really knows what purpose it has other than to pit L.A. bands against each other features nominees Amnion, Everest, AM, The Lady Tigra this month... Laura Weinbach is moving to San Francisco and is looking for a place to stay. We don't usually post this for people leaving Los Angeles, but she's awesome -- that last house party show was amazing. Also, she plays tonight at The Bordello with the wonderful Cat Hair Ensemble and Erich Von Kneip... Peter Hook has some DJ dates in SoCal in July, spinning at Detroit Bar on 7/3 at Avalon on 7/5... Get ready for another pancake breakfast show at The Smell with No Age, Mika Miko, Abe Vigoda, and others (6/8).
Eh, that's enough for now...
Monday, May 19, 2008
Thanks to those who came out last Friday at The Bordello. Repeater and Shiloe have never sounded better and look out for this band The Hundred Days -- very impressed. Repeater and Shiloe have new recordings coming out this summer so look out for those. Repeater's next show is 6/4 at Moscow. Shiloe head out on a brief West Coast tour and return 6/1 for a show at All Star Lanes. The Hundred Days revisit Los Angeles this weekend, playing El Cid on 5/22 and Vertigos on 5/23. Pictures from Friday are up.
Good week ahead of us...
Demolisten curates tonight's pehrspace show with performances by the ever-wonderful Jean Paul Yamamoto, Rainbow Arabia, and Mincemeat or Tenspeed. Gliss and Kenan Bell at Viper. Devon Williams opens for Destroyer at the Troubadour. And, of course, the great Monday residencies... Tuesday is another round of "Let's Independent" presented by Radio Silver Lake with The Soft Hands, The Savages, and The Karabal Nightlife. Pocahaunted, Bobb Bruno, Magic Lantern, and David Scott Stone at The Echo. Gran Ronde residency at Spaceland with Summer Darling. And Lenka opens for My Brightest Diamond at the Hotel Cafe... Wednesday, Miss Derringer hits up Silverlake Lounge. Lavender Diamond opens for The Dresden Dolls at The Wiltern. Nels Cline and Kneebody at Temple Bar. Venus Infers at Spaceland. Moonrats open for The Cave Singers at The Echo. Emma Burgess residency at Room 5. And Anavan and Ariel Pink do Family... On Thursday, Les Blanks celebrate the release of their new album Shoot the Horse at Spaceland with The Monolators, Correatown, and Amateurs. Radar Bros., The Parson Red Heads, Greater California, and Ed Vallance at the Knitting Factory. West Indian Girl and Film School at the Malibu Inn.
Everest's Conan O'Brien performance from last Friday is up on the NBC site... Foreign Born is featured on LiveDaily Sessions this week.
Friday, May 16, 2008
What a sunny, spectacular day today, don't you think? Perfect day for an afternoon nap to prepare for the weekend's events...
We'd love for you to stop by The Bordello tonight but, if not, there's some other great stuff happening: American Music Club (who we can technically now call a local band) play The Echo. Big Business, 400 Blows, Qui, Crystal Antlers, and Triclops! will be putting the hammer down at The Scene. Mia Doi Todd and Mariee Sioux at McCabe's. The Warlocks, Mere Mortals, The Meek, and others at Dave's Warehouse. Dogweed and Claire Holley at Taix. Ozma and Teaneck at the Knitting Factory. Jesca Hoop, Let's Go Sailing, and others at the Hotel Cafe. People Under the Stairs and Crown City Rockers at Crash Mansion. Joe Purdy, Quincy Coleman, and Brandi Shearer open for Kate Walsh at the Roxy. Dustin Fire, Jack Wilson, Jr., and others at pehrspace. Telematique and others at Echo Curio... On Saturday, Siggy celebrates the release of their new album The Absinthe Effect at the Echoplex with friends Earlimart, Voxhaul Broadcast, and Light FM. Matt Costa and Delta Spirit at the El Rey. The Pharcyde down at Detroit Bar. The Year Zero at Roberto's. Seasons, Downtown/Union, and Odd Modern at pehrspace. The Health Club, The Voyeurs, Basitdas, and others at Cafe Mariposa. And Spirit Vine, Rocking Horse People, The Terrapin, and others at the Relax Bar... Sunday, everyone and their mother's mother will be at All Star for the Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Prom with Castledoor and Fol Chen. We're only slow dancing if Castledoor does that Otis Redding cover again. Elsewhere, Jeremy Jay celebrates the release of his new album A Place Where We Could Go at The Echo. And Imaad Wasif and Two Part Beast open for The Raconteurs at the Music Box.
And be sure to stay up late for Everest tonight on Conan O'Brien.
Big Business - "Just as the Day was Dawning" (MP3)
Ozma - "No One Needs To Know" (MP3)
The Pharcyde - "I'm That Type of Nigga" (MP3)
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
We're helping with another night at The Bordello on Friday. Yes, we did say we weren't going to do any shows in May but any night that includes Repeater, Shiloe, and The Hundred Days will have us on board more times than not. Musical soulmates Repeater and Shiloe are two of the hardest working bands in Los Angeles, proving with every show that the world's eternal love of Joy Division, Wire, and Bauhaus lives on. Both should be due for new recordings soon so we fully expect for them to be unveiling some songs on this night. The Hundred Days has been the talk of their hometown of San Francisco for awhile now and along with LoveLikeFire, Loquat, and Built For the Sea are bringing the spotlight back to the Bay Area scene in a big way. Also, KROQ's Brian Vasquez and Little Radio's Lady C will be spinning throughout the night.
We very much hope you can make it out to this show. And if we see anyone dancing with those New Balance Joy Division customs prepare to be asked for your hand in marriage.
May 16, 2008
Los Angeles Loves...
REPEATER
SHILOE
THE HUNDRED DAYS
with DJ BRIAN VASQUEZ (KROQ)
and DJ LADY C (Little Radio)
The Bordello
901 E. 1st St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012 | Map
21+ / $5 / 9pm
Repeater - "The Time Apart" (MP3)
Shiloe - "Please Remove Your Teeth From My Neck" (MP3)
The Hundred Days - "Hey" (MP3)
Monday, May 12, 2008
Actually, you really don't need a Monday update since we know everyone must have been planning this week for ages. We'll simply state the obvious in that you won't be sleeping much the next few days. Ouch.
We're helping with a last-minute show on Friday at The Bordello with Repeater, Shiloe, and The Hundred Days who are making a visit from San Francisco. Posting to follow.
No Age got a nice write-up from the New York Times... Good interview with The Submarines here. The band celebrates the release of their new album Honeysuckle Weeks at SiteLA on Tuesday... Great review of The Parson Red Heads' EP release show on Friday here... Metallica is playing a benefit show for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music on Wednesday at the Wiltern with Scars on Broadway on Wednesday... Raves to Seasons and Zeppelin Music for hosting the inaugural Highland Park Music Festival on Saturday. In true HLP form, the event was shut down by cops around 10:30pm, which an enraged Eli Monolator responded with a "Ok, goodnight!" Photos up.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Thank you, Los Angeles, for a truly wonderful week. Special thanks to the lovely elderly lady who asked us to dance while watching The Voyeurs last night at Charlie O's. And to the wonderful gentleman who hit on us while asking for a light but was really asking for weed and probably some companionship. And to Sam the homeless man who watched our car and washed our windows with toilet water while we were roaming around Art Walk. Truly, we are in love with you, Los Angeles.
MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit Concert is tonight at the Music Box. Last year, the organization honored Chris Cornell and promoter Jeff McClusky and featured a special performance by Army of Anyone (an all-star band featuring members of Stone Temple Pilots, Depeche Mode, Filter, and others). This year, the honorees are Alice Cooper and Slash with scheduled performances by Cat Power, Camp Freddy, Blind Melon, and some supposedly some surprises -- although Cat Power playing a show with these bands is a surprise enough. Anyway, tickets of course are a bit pricey but perhaps worth it just to see the all-out jam session that usually happens for the finale.
The Parson Red Heads celebrate the release of their new EP Owl & Timber tonight at Spaceland. We believe this to be the strongest work in the band's young career. A perfect collection of sunny-side-up harmonies and feel good jams. Look for the EP to be available on 5/20 on their own Parson Farm Records with a full-length due later this year. Check out the band perform live on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" here.
If you can't get into Spaceland, head on over to CSC/CGT's night at The Scene with Death to Anders, Fol Chen, Solar Powered People, and Layer. Everest does a special acoustic show at McCabe's. Rosey celebrates the release of her new album Luckiest Girl at the Hotel Cafe with HoneyHoney and others. The Donnas celebrate 15 years of rock n roll with a show at Viper. The Lady Tigra plays the Knitting Factory. Lemon Sun and The Rosewood Thieves play The Echo. And down at Alex's, The Underground Railroad to Candyland, Bobot Adrenaline, Jail Weddings open for The Figgs... On Saturday, there's a couple of festivals worth checking out: Santa Monica Festival (featuring a performance by Dengue Fever), Highland Park Music Festival (featuring performances by The Monolators, Seasons, Pizza!, boxViolet, and others), and the Los Angeles Latin Jazz Festival at the Greek. Castledoor and Jessica Dobson play the book release show for Paul G. Maziar's "What It Is: What It Is" down at {open}. Anavan, Odd Modern, and others play some kind of variety show party thing called the "Wolf Prince Masquerade", whose name alone should pique enough curiosity to go check out. Antarcticans and Magic Lantern play The Prospector. The Sweet Hurt plays the Ramada. And The Dollyrots and Killola play alongside Northern State and The Trucks for good night of all-grrl rock... Sunday, Part Time Punks celebrate 3 years with performances by Silver Daggers and Abe Vigoda. Alex & Sam return to Tangier. Captain Ahab opens for This Show is the Rainbow at Spaceland. Syd Straw plays McCabe's. And The Warlocks and The Stevenson Ranch Davidians play down at Alex's.
Our windshield smells like vomit and urine. Have a good weekend!
The Parson Red Heads - "Crowds" (MP3)
The Lady Tigra - "They Stole My Radio" (featuring MC Lyte) (MP3)
Anavan - "Eel Air Camera" (MP3)
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
There's a last-minute Bodies of Water show at Mr. T's Bowl tonight. We all know this band has long graduated from playing their Wednesday residency night at the club so the fact that they've returned for one night has obviously forced us to clear our schedule -- although we were going to be there anyway for No Little Kindness ("Open Your Heart" is their Song of the Week). The show is free so your one excuse is nullified... If the HLP is not on your radar tonight, Blank Blue celebrates the release of their new album at The Airliner ("All the Shallow Deep" is KCRW's Top Tune today), The Oohlas play Spaceland, Kennedy plays the Silverlake Lounge, Calamity Magnet at the Hotel Cafe, boxViolet plays Moscow, The Lions play Echoplex, Looner plays Temple Bar, and two of our favorite guitar heroes of all time Paul Gilbert and Richie Kotzen play the House of Blues... On Thursday, tune into KCRW for a live in-studio session from Radar Bros. Later, check out The Rolling Blackouts, The Voyeurs, and The Lieutenants at Charlie O's. Alex Lilly and Bougarelli play Echo Curio. Lion of Panjshir, Eagle Winged Palace, and others open for Fern Knight. Codpiece, Clark 8, and The Deepsea Goes play Mr. T's. And The Figgs make their triumphant return to Los Angeles with a show at Spaceland. They also play 5/9 down at Alex's Bar with everyone's favorite stuffed animals The Underground Railroad to Candyland.
Other stuff: Perry Farrell's Kidzapalooza is 9/28 at the Hollywood Bowl. Full details will be announced 5/10 at the Paul Frank store... KROQ announced this year's Weenie Roast (5/17) lineup on Monday featuring Metallica, Raconteurs, Rise Against, Pennywise, Bad Religion, Flogging Molly, MGMT, and others... Sunset Strip Music Festival is 6/26-28 at various venues along the Strip featuring performances by Ima Robot, Juliette & the Licks, The 88, Dilated Peoples, and others... New Beck album due this summer, produced by Danger Mouse... "Largo," the long-awaited documentary film on the famed pub will make its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June... Good write-up by LAist for the CSC/CGT show at The Scene on Friday... Buzznet continues their blog/zine takeover with the acquisition of Absolute Punk, joining Stereogum and Idolator. In related blog business news, la-underground stock plummeted 213% to -$229 billion after a press release stating they were discontinuing the production of "I Love Arlo" buttons. The blog has since retracted their announcement and will be producing a limited run for tonight's show at Mr. T's Bowl.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Huge, warm thanks to the wonderful and gracious bands who performed on Friday and to all those who were able to come say hi. As we wind down "First Fridays" for The Monolators it's always good to see a room full of happy faces, which included members of I Make This Sound, Mezzanine Owls, Le Switch, The Voyeurs, ex-The Front, and others. However, we apparently didn't get the memo that it was also a Flickr/YouTube meetup as Jeff Koga, Elaine Layabout, Shanty Cheryl, Ms. Rock Insider, Thrillhouse Productions (shooting a documentary on L.A. bands), VideoThing, and dozens of other shutterbugs jockeyed for the best angles. Nothing like the warmth of a thousand flashbulbs for bands to bask in. The last "First Fridays" for The Monolators is 6/6. Prepare yourselves... Photos from Friday and other weekend adventures are up.
Ok so, as previously stated, May is our favorite month of the year. And we need no further reason than one look at this month's calendar. It's loaded with great residencies, art openings, and other events where slow dancing can occur. Residencies this month include Castledoor, Mezzanine Owls, Gran Ronde, Le Switch, Emma Burgess, Porterville, Porcelain, February Fifths, Surrender The Pink, and Django James & The Midnight Squires... Festivals: Highland Park Music Festival (5/10), Santa Monica Festival (5/10), Los Angeles Latin Jazz Festival (5/10), Strawberry Festival (5/23). CD release shows from The Parson Red Heads, Blank Blue, You Me & Iowa, Les Blanks, Rosey, and The Morning Benders. Art openings include Installation 4, "A Secret Party", and Giant Robot's "Deharavath". The long-awaited screening of The Blues Hotel Documentary is 5/15 at the Silent Movie Theatre. And the Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club Prom night is 5/18 with Castledoor and Fol Chen.
In other news: Delta Spirit has signed to Rounder Records who will put out their debut album Ode to Sunshine in the coming months (now available through their website). The band appears on "Morning Becomes Eclectic" on 5/9 with two shows at the El Rey (5/17 and 8/8)... Avi Buffalo recently recorded a new track entitled "Remember Last Time", available below... Reason #2812 not to read our blog: Scott McDonald's Pressed for Sound blog now live... Little Radio is looking for an intern "with perks," meaning if you're even remotely not busy at this very moment you should apply. Also you might want to clear your Saturdays after you check out their Summer Camp 2008 teaser.
Friday, May 02, 2008
May is our favorite month of the year. More on that later, let's get to this weekend first.
Jon Brion has his final show at Largo Fairfax tonight. Whatever your thoughts about Largo moving, seeing Brion in this small, cave-like pub is one of the best things you could possibly do in your life. But seeing him perform is one thing, playing with him is another (which we did once and never again), and then interviewing him in 1999 made the man, in our mind, a legend. Special guests were a nice cherry on top for many of his nights. Fiona Apple, Beck, Beth Orton, Eleni Mandell, and others played with Jon on one glorious evening in 1999. Later that year for Brion's birthday show Elliott Smith, Tenacious D, Brad Mehldau, Neil Finn, Grant Lee Phillips, Colin Hay, Ethan Johns, Glenn Phillips, Tim Keegan, and others showed up. Some other memories of the club we've had over the years include Andy Prieboy's beyond-brilliant "White Trash Wins the Lotto" nights (before moving them to The Roxy), Dido's Los Angeles debut (five people in the room), Sixpence None the Richer's "Quiet on the Set" showcase, Becky Stark's "early years", and that amazing night for Tom Brosseau's debut album a few years ago. Given the great lineups they've had, it was never a surprise when the house lights came on at the end of the night to see that you were sitting next to Prince (checking out Wendy & Lisa of course), Gwen Stefani, or on one strange night... Marilyn Manson (!?). One of the first bands to ever have a residency at Largo besides maybe Tenacious D (who weren't really considered a "band" at that point) was a band called Starbelly in like 95 or something. That band went on to become Dead Rock West (who by the way was one of the first bands to have a residency at Tangier and Hotel Cafe). Ok, enough with all the reminiscing. Largo is still alive. It's just in a big, fancy theatre now. Tickets are on sale now for its first shows at the Coronet Theatre. All the familiar names are scheduled to perform. Call (310) 855-0350 or check out the site for details. And if you're wanting to get into tonight's show, bring a book and have a backup plan for something else to do. Like maybe...
Our show at Mr. T's Bowl. Or John Doe at McCabe's. Timonium, Fast Dragon, French Miami and ebu gogo at pehrspace. Akron/Family and The Dodos at Natural History Museum. Or head back out to Indio for this year's Stagecoach Festival featuring Eagles, John Fogerty, Shelby Lynne, Dwight Yoakam, George Jones, The Judds (reunited for one night only!), and many others... On Saturday, The Warlocks go small at The Smell. Nortec Collective at The Echo. Oliver Future, Voxhaul Broadcast, Astra Heights, and others at the Swinghouse. The Transmissions, Avi Buffalo, and Exitmusic play pehrspace. Joanie Mendenhall plays her first L.A. solo show in awhile at Crane's. And get your DnB/Dub on as Bassrush takes over Lot 613 with Dieselboy headlining... Sunday, BARR, Jesus Makes the Shotgun Sound, and others at The Smell. Two Sheds and Princeton at Spaceland. And our old buddy Mike Stinson leads the way for a Grand Ole Echo afternoon show.
Jon Brion - "Ruin My Day" (MP3)
The Transmissions - "Stalling Signs" (MP3)
Mike Stinson - "Last Fool At The Bar" (MP3)
