Monday, March 30, 2009
Great shows at Silver Factory Studios, Unknown Theater, Mountain Bar, Space 15 Twenty, and The Echo over the weekend but we must say for the first time this year show-fatigue hit us pretty hard. Don't know what it could be although reading all those incessant rantings from that one silly lady can be exhausting. Still, we think we'll be up to the task for this week's happenings. And there are quite a few...
We're sure you've managed to visit one or two of the March residencies this month. They've all been great and this week they're gone so get there while they're free. Incidentally, Spaceland resident Nico Stai will be taping a performance on Carson Daly tonight to air at a later date. Also tonight: Sara Lov celebrates the release of her new record "Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming" with a listening party at Malo. Sean Carnage curates another Monday at pehrspace with Kevin Greenspon and others. LA Weely Theater Awards at the El Rey. And Jes Hudak, Neptunes Favor, Claire Cronin and others at The Scene... Tuesday, get nostalgic as Becky Stark goes back to where most saw her many years ago, Largo. Mia Doi Todd at The Echo. Malbec and others at the Hotel Cafe. From Monument to Masses at Cinespace Tuesdays. Signal Hill at the Bootleg Theater. And Holly Conlan at the Dakota... Wednesday, Ovideo celebrates the release of their new EP "Enthusiasm" at the Silverlake Lounge. U-N-I celebrate the release of their new record A Love Supreme at the Viper Room. Jesca Hoop begins her April/farewell L.A. residency at the Hotel Cafe. War Tapes, LACO$TE, Moment Trigger, Bloody Robots and others at The Smell. You Me & Iowa, Vaudeville, and Death to Anders at Dakota. Low Flying Owls, The Brobecks, and others at Three Clubs. Buzz bands White Denim and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart do Club NME at Spaceland... Thursday, Autlux and The Pity Party down at the Detroit. Har Mar Superstar, JJAMZ, and Dot Hacker at the Bootleg. Sterling Andrews celebrates the release of her new photo book "Gooseberries" at the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts. Miranda Lee Richards opens for Tift Merritt at g'net. Fishbone and Mezklah at the Air Conditioned Lounge. Anya Marina and others at the Hotel Cafe. Robert Francis, The Parson Red Heads, and HAIM at the Troubadour. And The Capshuns, Queen Kwong and others at the Silverlake Lounge.
Full calendar listings here.
We're also presenting a show on Saturday at Silver Factory Studios with The Meeting Places, EXITMUSIC, Phoenix and the Turtle, and boxviolet. This promo has been carefully placed below the fold because no one (ok, except for you Ben) reads this far. Actually, we could put anything down here and no one would know. Like, we cheated on our master cleanse and ate a corndog today. Haha, this feels great. Screw you, you master cleanse Nazis, surviving on lemons alone is insanity!!!
Also, happy belated birthday to our old friend Charlotte Martin who celebrated turning 21 (again) over the weekend. And happy birthday this week (today in fact) to our other old friend Anna Nalick... In other celebration news, two la-undergrounders were recently engaged to be married. Not to each other. That would be weird and in most states illegal. Congrats, you crazy kids (and it's about time!)
A Love Supreme Sessions - The Release
Friday, March 27, 2009
We were pretty low-key about this past week's shows but we thank our friendly visitors Mi Ami, Blaqstarr (with M.I.A., MURS, and others in attendance), Rosie and the Goldberg, Alessi's Ark, The Homosexuals, and Bad Flirt as well as locals Summer Darling (who did covers of "I Would Die 4 U" and "Little Red Corvette" for the Prince vs. Sinatra party at The Echo on Monday), LACO$TE, Jonneine Zapata, UV Lights (favorite new band of the year so far who'll be playing our pehrspace show in May), Deadly Finns, and of course the lovely Lili De La Mora and Michael Wysong. Some photos and videos have been posted.
Happy Birthday to Mr. Charlie Wadhams today.
Tonight, listen up for Pizza! on "Demolisten." Then head out to see Crystal Antlers and Crystal Antlers at the Orpheum. Gliss and others at Spaceland. West Indian Girl at the Air Conditioned Lounge. Rhett Miller and Katie Costello at Brixton. Jon Brion/Dave Palmer at g'net. Marvelous Toy, Seasons, Go West Young Man, and The Shade at pehrspace. The premiere of the Girlie Girl Catfight Show at the El Rey. Los Lobos at the Conga Room. Catwalk, Sea Lions, Watercolor Paintings and others at The Smell. Nosaj Thing, matthewdavid, and sodapop at Hyperion Tavern. Pride of Kenya, The Nocturnes, and Voice on Tape at the Unknown Theater. Pedestrian, Caitlin Crosby, Zee Avi, and others at the Hotel Cafe.
Saturday, Z Berg does a special acoustic show with friends Michael Runion and Blake Mills at Home. Suicidal Tendencies at the Palladium. Bipolar Bear, Okie Dokie and others open for AIDS Wolf at The Smell. Odd Modern, Seasons, The Health Club, and others at Silver Factory. The Underground Railroad to Candyland, Bobot Adrenaline, and others at Juanita's. Avi Buffalo, Vaudeville, and By Sunlight at the Comic Bug. Oh, and some Prince guy plays a few sold out shows at both Nokia's and the Conga Room.
Sunday, we'd be shocked and horrified not to see a riot at The Echo for The Homosexuals, Silver Apples, and Shark Toys. We got a head start seeing the legends that are The Homosexuals last night at the PTP presented show at The Prospector. Words can't describe what video can but we nearly fell to our knees and kissed Bruno's feet for playing "Vociferous Slam." That rhymed... Also on Sunday, KSCR Fest at USC's E.F. Hutton/Founders Park. Radar Bros. and Le Switch play an afternoon show for the kids at The Echo. Eastern Conference Champions and others at The Scene. boxViolet and Seasons at Space 15 Twenty. Anya Marina at Fingerprints.
Happy Birthday to Mr. Charlie Wadhams today.
Tonight, listen up for Pizza! on "Demolisten." Then head out to see Crystal Antlers and Crystal Antlers at the Orpheum. Gliss and others at Spaceland. West Indian Girl at the Air Conditioned Lounge. Rhett Miller and Katie Costello at Brixton. Jon Brion/Dave Palmer at g'net. Marvelous Toy, Seasons, Go West Young Man, and The Shade at pehrspace. The premiere of the Girlie Girl Catfight Show at the El Rey. Los Lobos at the Conga Room. Catwalk, Sea Lions, Watercolor Paintings and others at The Smell. Nosaj Thing, matthewdavid, and sodapop at Hyperion Tavern. Pride of Kenya, The Nocturnes, and Voice on Tape at the Unknown Theater. Pedestrian, Caitlin Crosby, Zee Avi, and others at the Hotel Cafe.
Saturday, Z Berg does a special acoustic show with friends Michael Runion and Blake Mills at Home. Suicidal Tendencies at the Palladium. Bipolar Bear, Okie Dokie and others open for AIDS Wolf at The Smell. Odd Modern, Seasons, The Health Club, and others at Silver Factory. The Underground Railroad to Candyland, Bobot Adrenaline, and others at Juanita's. Avi Buffalo, Vaudeville, and By Sunlight at the Comic Bug. Oh, and some Prince guy plays a few sold out shows at both Nokia's and the Conga Room.
Sunday, we'd be shocked and horrified not to see a riot at The Echo for The Homosexuals, Silver Apples, and Shark Toys. We got a head start seeing the legends that are The Homosexuals last night at the PTP presented show at The Prospector. Words can't describe what video can but we nearly fell to our knees and kissed Bruno's feet for playing "Vociferous Slam." That rhymed... Also on Sunday, KSCR Fest at USC's E.F. Hutton/Founders Park. Radar Bros. and Le Switch play an afternoon show for the kids at The Echo. Eastern Conference Champions and others at The Scene. boxViolet and Seasons at Space 15 Twenty. Anya Marina at Fingerprints.
We were pretty low-key about blogging this past week in favor of going to a lot of shows (which we think is much more fun) and we thank our friendly visitors Mi Ami, Blaqstarr (with M.I.A., MURS, and others in attendance), Rosie and The Goldbug, Alessi's Ark, The Homosexuals, and Bad Flirt as well as locals Summer Darling (who did covers of "I Would Die 4 U" and "Little Red Corvette" for the Prince vs. Sinatra party at The Echo on Monday), LACO$TE, Jonneine Zapata, UV Lights (favorite new band of the year who'll be playing our pehrspace show in May), Deadly Finns, and of course the lovely Lili De La Mora and Michael Wysong. Some photos and videos have been posted.
Happy Birthday to Mr. Charlie Wadhams today.
Tonight, listen up for Pizza! on "Demolisten." Then head out to see Cold War Kids and Crystal Antlers at the Orpheum. Gliss and others at Spaceland. West Indian Girl and His Orchestra at the Air Conditioned Lounge. Rhett Miller and Katie Costello at Brixton. Jon Brion/Dave Palmer at g'net. Marvelous Toy, Seasons, Go West Young Man, and The Shade at pehrspace. The premiere of the Girlie Girl Catfight Show at the El Rey. Los Lobos at the Conga Room. Catwalk, Sea Lions, Watercolor Paintings and others at The Smell. Nosaj Thing, matthewdavid, and sodapop at Hyperion Tavern. VOICEsVOICEs, Mega Wand, Luna Is Honey, and Magick Orchids at Bow & Sparrow. Pride of Kenya, The Nocturnes, and Voice on Tape at the Unknown Theater. And the great Pedestrian (who once again quietly released one of the finer records of the year) records a live album at the Hotel Cafe.
Saturday, Z Berg does a special acoustic show with friends Michael Runion and Blake Mills at Home. Suicidal Tendencies at the Palladium. Bipolar Bear, Okie Dokie and others open for AIDS Wolf at The Smell. Odd Modern, Seasons, The Health Club, and others at Silver Factory. Pinche Way! at Mountain Bar with Mega Wand and others. The Underground Railroad to Candyland, Bobot Adrenaline, and others at Juanita's. Avi Buffalo, Vaudeville, and By Sunlight at the Comic Bug. Oh, and some Prince guy plays a few sold out shows at both Nokia's and the Conga Room all in one night. Show off.
Sunday, we'd be shocked and horrified not to see a riot at The Echo for PTP's lineup of The Homosexuals, Silver Apples, and Shark Toys. We got a head start stopping by The Prospector last night for the legends that are The Homosexuals (pictured above), also presented by Part Time Punks. Words can't describe what video can but we nearly fell to our knees and kissed Bruno's feet for playing "Vociferous Slam." That rhymed. Anyway, we can't recommend a show enough. What a lineup... Also on Sunday, KSCR Fest at USC's E.F. Hutton/Founders Park. Radar Bros. and Le Switch play an afternoon show for the kids at The Echo. Eastern Conference Champions and others at The Scene. boxViolet and Seasons at Space 15 Twenty. Anya Marina at Fingerprints.
Pedestrian - "Go" (MP3)
Bipolar Bear - "Cuzco" (MP3)
The Homosexuals - "Slow Guns" (MP3)
Monday, March 23, 2009
This post-SXSW week looks pretty good...
Tonight, PJ Harvey & John Parish at the El Rey. LoveLikeFire, French Miami and others at the Silverlake Lounge. Cary Brothers, Greg Lawell, and many others will be performing tonight at the Hotel Cafe to support Nashville singer-songwriter Jordan Lawhead who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Mi Ami, LACO$TE, and others for Carnage at pehrspace. And Angela Correa, Lucy Schwartz, and others at Room 5. Also, tune into GTFU for Shaun Lopez from Far sitting in.
Tuesday, Ceci Bastida returns from her successful SXSW outing with a show at The Bordello. Lyrics Born at The Mint. The Outline and The Franks at Space 15 Twenty. Light FM opens for The Spinto Band and Maps & Atlases at Spaceland. The Minor Canon, The Western States Motel, and others at Home.
Wednesday, Rachael Cantu and others at the Hotel Cafe. Avi Buffalo at the Knitting Factory. We Are the World opens for Tricky at the Music Box. Idyllists, Spider Problem, and others at Moscow. Restavrant opens for Thee Oh Sees and The Fresh & Onlys at the Silverlake Lounge. Marnie Herald and Jenny O. at Home. Sarah Silverman at g'net. Prince will also be doing three nights on the Tonight Show beginning tonight.
Thursday, Great Northern, Lemon Sun, and The Jakes at The Roxy. Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks, The Ditty Bops and Van Dyke Parks at the El Rey. The Mae Shi, Foot Village, and others open for PRE at The Smell. Geneva Jacuzzi at Space 15 Twenty. Juliette Commagere opens for Alaska in Winter at the Bordello. Sierra Swan and Carina Round at g'net. And The Color Turning, boxViolet, and others at The Scene.
Click here for complete calendar listings.
Photo above is from the Timothy Daniel Flynn "Caterwall" exhibit at pehrspace, which runs through 4/10.
Castledoor (@castledoor) recently called in from the road as they continue on their first tour of the Southwest on the way back from Austin's SXSW. By the sound of it, they seem to be enjoying themselves on the open highway and we predict they'll be making treks like these more often very soon. In their report, they discuss their time in Austin, giving a shout-out to Busdriver and places they dined while in town. They play tonight in Tucson at The Hut and tomorrow at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix with Marnie Stern. Check their MySpace for details.
The background music in the video is Castledoor's "Dusty" off their upcoming new record Shouting at Mountains due 4/21. Record release show is 4/28 at the Echoplex with The Parson Red Heads and Princeton.
We thought our SXSW coverage was over until we woke up to find six phone messages from Tenlons Fort this morning. Instead of separating these magical moments of history, we decided to encapsulate them into one long 10:30 video, completely uncut and raw just how Jack G. likes it (right, ladies?)
He discusses everyone from Castledoor to The Henry Clay People to Castledoor to Phosphorescent to Castledoor to White Denim to Castledoor to Deer Tick to... you get the picture. It's great reporting so you should heat up some popcorn, pull up a chair, and listen to the whole beautiful thing. Songs in the video are "Choirs Lament," "Hopeless" (both off the record The Golden Handshake available through CD Baby, iTunes, and at shows) and "Since the Beginning" (off the EP "Forever is a Long Time" available at shows).
Friday, March 20, 2009
We got another phone message from SXSW late last night, this time from Wendy Wang of the critically-acclaimed, internationally adored indie folk/pop group The Sweet Hurt. She's in Austin playing bass and strutting her dance moves with the spectacular The Bird and the Bee. But she also made time to support other local bands The Henry Clay People and Le Switch while giving a bit thumbs up to Eli "Paperboy" Reed.
Thanks Wendy. Sounds like she's having fun down there (as noted by "excited laughter").
Music is an unreleased instrumental track by The Sweet Hurt called "Luv 2 Dance" (we think) that she may or may not kill us for posting. However, you can buy released stuff on CD Baby or iTunes!
This isn't a showlisting for the weekend's events. This is just a tribute.
Tonight is the conclusion of the month-long photo exhibit "Exposure" at Where Gallery. Tonight's special guests include The Movies, Ema and the Ghosts, and The Gena Rowlands Band. Elsewhere, The Soul of John Black, Jason Diaz and others at the Hotel Cafe. A-Trak at Avalon. Sublamp, Jubilee Singers, Mooey Moobau, and nowcloud at pehrspace. The Coral Sea, Karin Tatoyan, The Spires, and Avi Buffalo at Spaceland. Jon Brion at g'net. Julianna Raye and Cydney Robinson at Home. The Underground Railroad to Candyland, Shark Pants, and others at Mr. T's Bowl. UV Lights, The Widow Babies, Shark Toys, and others at L'KEG. And Jeppe and Jean Paul Yamamoto at Echoplex.
Saturday, How Sweet It Is returns for another year at the NOS Center with Kraak & Smaak, Sneak, Booka Shade, Judge Jules, Doc Martin, and many others. Miss Higgins and Lenka together again at the Orpheum. Lee Ving at the Key Club. The Watkins Family Hour at g'net. June Madrona, Mad Gregs, and others at Echo Curio. Katie the Pest and The Year Zero at The Prospector. Carina Round, Sweaters, and Square on Square open for Low Flying Owls at Spaceland. And Odd Modern and Seasons at Silver Factory Studios.
Sunday, The Devil's Orchestra celebrate their 1 year anniversary residency at Cinespace. So Many Wzards and Jay Buchanan at Smooth's Sports Grille down in the LBC. Jaguar Love, Lexington, and Thriller at Space 15 Twenty. Jes Hudak continues her residency at Cafe Muse. And PTP does a Factory Records night at The Echo.
Julianna Raye - "More Wine" (MP3) Limited time download
June Madrona - "Serious Baby" (MP3) Limited time download
Carina Round - "Take The Money" (MP3) Limited time download
Tenlons Fort (@tenlonsfort) recently left us a phone message, calling in from SXSW, that we thought we'd share. We converted it to hi-def video to make it feel like you're there.
That rhymed.
Anyways, Tenlons just lets us know he'll be hanging out with Castledoor, The Henry Clay People, Jillinda Palmer, and the rest of the gang while also taking part in the Little Radio showcase. Thanks T-Fort, we miss you.
Song in video is "Golden Handshake" off the record The Golden Handshake available through CD Baby, iTunes, and at shows.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Ok so, many of L.A.'s best should already be settled in their Austin digs for the next few days. We wish them luck. However, we do have a saying about SXSW (which we secretly divulged to one of our three readers that asked us if we going to this year's festival): We don't need to go to Austin. Every band we love is here. And that's honestly the truth -- well, except Bjork, but we're working on that. We also have other thoughts about South-By (based on our experience attending in the late 90's) that we'll keep to ourselves as to not destroy the hopes and dreams of thousands of indie bands. But our hope, of course, is to see lots of local unsigned bands succeed. So fingers crossed.
As for those feeling left out of the Texas sun, we've got our own festivities to tend to. Like last Monday at the Silverlake Lounge. Raise your hand if you think Great Northern's new songs are probably the best of their career? Seems they've ditched lo-fi dirge for shoegazer splurge as everything you have ever known about the great Great Northern has just been intensified three hundred degrees Fahrenheit. They sounded huge, even more massive than the gorgeous production on their new album Remind Me Where The Light Is (due 4/28) and most certainly too mammoth a sound for the 150 capacity Silverlake Lounge... And, as for the L.A. debut of O+S (which features new Angeleno Orenda Fink and ex-Angeleno Cedric LeMoyne), you might want to think about picking up their new self-titled album (out 3/24) quickly and see them soon, especially if this recent wave of great ethereal psych-rock bands has got a grip on your cerebral cortex like it does with us -- we're talking about you fans of School of Seven Bells, Warpaint, and Blank Blue. And if a big concert promoter were to put all four of those bands on a bill (with Bjork) for a one-off living room show at our house that would be very kind of you. Thanks in advance. Download tracks from the new O+S album here. And, by the way, our dear friend Laura Burhenn, who for the last few years had been jet setting in the band Georgie James is now touring with O+S as keyboardist/backup vocalist. Look for her to get back to her solo roots in the near future. Fingers crossed.
Nightfur celebrates the release of their new record Illusions at the Silverlake Lounge tonight with The Breakups and Old Toy Trains. We'll be stopping by to pick up the record and hi-five Radio Free Silver Lake's Joe Fielder who will be DJing. The night is also being co-presented by ...Is Good. That makes two of L.A.'s biggest blog/zines in one room. Talk about a babe magnet lineup. Fingers crossed.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Fun weekend shows began with a few art openings on Friday at Synchronicity and Thinkspace. "Within Heaven's Earshot: Religious Album Covers" features a collection of over 300 religious album artwork that you probably wish you had thought of collecting. We love the Dan Betzer and Louie Tell the Bible Classics Vol. III that's used for the exhibit flyer but our favorite was The Cross and the Switchblade merely for the fact that we actually remember seeing this film back in Catholic school and the very sight of that cover (pictured above) was like a lightning bolt struck through our non-church going soul. Who else but Don Bolles would think of collecting such a huge amount of these records (most of them in Good to Very Good condition, for all you audiophiles)? The exhibit (which also features original artwork from the lovely Nora Keys, Basil Wolverton, and others) is an absolute must for music/art freaks. It goes until 4/12, appropriately for Easter Sunday.
Also Friday, we stopped by "Exposure" for Meiko, which apparently was her first-ever show in Silver Lake. It might have been also her first cafe-sized audience in about 2 years as an intimate room of photography lovers were given a very special performance by the Hotel Cafe star. She played a new song that Meiko hardcorps should be hearing on some Alex Patsavas-supervised drama soon... Later Friday, we made it out to Ben's birthday show at pehrspace with The Mae Shi, Manhattan Murder Mystery, and The Besties. Lots of love in the room that night for the blogger king and we're glad we could get there in time for The Shi to break out their woobie. Happy birthday, Ben.
Saturday and Sunday we were on lockdown at two great shows. Silver Factory Studios on Saturday had a solid lineup of Light FM, Divisadero, Siggy, and the debut of Firs while on Sunday the Hotel Cafe hosted The Damnwells record release, the Come Gather Round Us record release, Alela Diane, and Lex Land. Like we said, two great shows. CGT reported that Kim Haden would be leaving Light FM soon, which we think is a huge loss to the band and to every synth-loving heterosexual male in the world (let's face it, she's cute), so we felt we shouldn't miss her last few shows. Seriously, that girl can flat out play keys. And congrats to The Damnwells and Come Gather Round Us on the release of their new records. The Damnwells entire record One Last Century is available as a free download on their site and Come Gather Round Us (which features ex-local gal gone North, Catherine Feeny) has their 2-disc Remember Where You Are available at shows. And, needless to say, both Alela Diane and Lex Land made us tear up at least a dozen times although we can't count higher twelve so...
So another week in March but not just another week. It's the pre-SXSW week so things get a little more hectic...
Monday residencies have got some stiff competition tonight with Great Northern, O+S, and others at the Silverlake Lounge. Hecuba and Nosaj Thing open for Larytta at Echoplex. Brian Jonestown Massacre opens for Primal Scream at Club Nokia. Mika Miko, Clipd Beaks, Mega Wand, Lovvers, and others at The Smell. Lucky Dragons opens for Meg Baird at Echo Curio. Jennifer Gail and others at the Hotel Cafe. Gaby Moreno, Sally Jaye, Kyler England, and Joe Eckels at Room 5. And Travisaurus, Milk, Subwolf, Who Is Chuy Vega? and others for Room 342 at The Airliner. Also, listen up for Sweaters on GTFU... On Tuesday, We Are the World and Destructo open for Kap Bambino at Viper. Funeral Party opens for ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead at Echoplex. Chris & Thomas, Josh Kelley and others at the Hotel Cafe. The Lovemakers at Spaceland. Vast Atlantic, Lex Land and others for Tank! Tuesdays at The Airliner. And Kid Cudi at Cinespace Tuesdays... Wednesday, Is Good presents Nightfur's Illusions record release at the Silverlake Lounge with Joe Fielder on decks/laptop. Dave Grohl and David Cross are Greg Proops special guests at g'net. Idyllists, Castaneda ,and Lemonwilde at Boardner's. And The Happy Problem with San Diego's Hotel St. George at Spaceland... Dave Rawlings Machine and Gillian Welch at g'net on Thursday. Also, Nick Jago at Spaceland. Penelope Fortier, Jim Hanft, Melineh Kurdian, and others at the Hotel Cafe. Eugene & the 1914 at The Prospector. Realicide, Soft Fangs, Icy Lytes, and others at Echo Curio. And Sara and Sean Watkins at g'net's Little Room.
Full listings here.
Happy belated birthday to Dina Waxman of Space Mtn who are currently recording new music as we speak but you can see her playing bass in the new band Firs which got its debut last Saturday at Silver Factory Studios. Celebrating a birthday this week is (the most famous two-first name club owner in the Silver Lake scene that isn't Scott Sterling) Mitchell Frank.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Castledoor played one of their best shows in months last night at The Echo. It was the kind of show where you could tell the band was letting out a collective sigh of relief. And who can blame them? It's taken almost three years for their new album Shouting at Mountains (due 4/21) to be completed. Three long years filled with way more downs than ups. But that sigh of relief of a show last night was just the beginning. They head out to SXSW next week along with a million other bands that are trying to make music a career rather than a night job. And, dammit, we're pulling for them. Shouting at Mountains record release show is 4/28 at the Echoplex. And for all you industry weasels gridding out your schedules, the L.A. Record showcase at The Independent is a must (The Henry Clay People, Blank Blue, Very Be Careful, Busdriver, and Blu & Exile also perform).
Tonight, Obi Best performs on "Demolisten." The Runaways Tribute show at The Roxy with The Bangles, Whispertown 2000, Amy Kuney, and many others including a special appearance by Cheri Currie. Gram Rabbit, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, and Crooked Cowboy and The Freshwater Indians at the Echoplex. Sarah Bareilles finishes off her three-day stint at the Hotel Cafe (a second performance has been added due to last night's cancellation). HARD 13 at the Shrine (sold out). Spain opens for Tindersticks at the Music Box. Classical Geek Theatre celebrates a birthday at pehrspace with The Mae Shi, Manhattan Murder Mystery, and The Besties. Richard Swift, We Barbarians, and Dappled Cities at Spaceland. Toys That Kill opens for Ben "Screeching" Weasel at the Knitting Factory. More "Exposure" at Where with Meiko, Evan Way, and Adeline. Devon Williams opens for Say Hi at The Echo. Maximal Dance Party at 5610 Soto. And Minmae, Azalia Snail and others at Echo Curio.
Saturday, The Bird and the Bee, HAIM, and others at the Tricot Showroom. Rickie Lee Jones at g'net. Juliette and the New Romantiques (formerly Juliette and The Licks) and Sky Larkin at Spaceland. Light FM, Divisadero, Siggy, and Firs at Silver Factory Studios. El Ten Eleven at Home. Katie Costello, The New Standards, and others at the Hotel Cafe. The Glitch Mob opens for Pendulum at Club Nokia. The Monolators, Roman Candles, Audacity and others at L'KEG. Nico Vega opens for The Von Bondies at The Roxy. The Underground Railroad to Candyland opens for Ben "Screeching" Weasel at the Knitting Factory. Franklin for Short, Moses Campbell, Enid the Dowl, and No Paws (No Lions) at Echo Curio.
Sunday, Sly Stone celebrates a birthday at Zanzibar with special surprise guests. These Are Powers and Death Sentence Panda at PTP. Meiko, Emily Wells, and Laura Jansen at Saint Rocke. Young Dubliners at Fingerprints. Lex Land opens for Alela Diane and Come Gather Round Us at the Hotel Cafe.
Full show listings here.
Spain - "Nobody Has To Know" (MP3)
We Barbarians - "Spun Out" (MP3)
El Ten Eleven - "Living On Credit Blues" (MP3)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Great local lineup on Monday at The Echo. Should we continue our overbearing rant/rave on how much we love Summer Darling and Wait.Think.Fast.? Probably not necessary. And, of course, our friends Shiloe and Two Guns perfectly bookended the evening, sounding better than ever -- although raise your hand if Shiloe should always play within a cloud of stage smoke and dramatic low-angle floor lighting (it just makes them even sexier, no?). By the way, if you've been wondering what's up with this Echo residency, which features Summer Darling and Wait.Think.Fast. sharing the weekly honors, it's all being curated/organized by the new record label Origami Records, which will also soon be a vinyl-only record store located just a few doors down from The Echo. This is one of the more ballsier music business ideas we've heard in a long while, especially in this economy -- especially, especially in this record industry economy. And we're totally in support of it.
Earlier on Monday, we stopped by the Hotel Cafe for Alex & Sam. It was nice to see them so well-behaved and strait-laced; quite different from the hilariously maniacal road house rock show that several of their members put on last Friday at American Legion as Electric Dinosaur... And, of course, later on Monday L.A. Record celebrated their new issue launch at Cha Cha. But, more importantly, Ashley Jex celebrated her 25th year on planet earth.
Tuesday was probably the busiest day of the week and when it's that busy in Los Angeles we of course get away to Long Beach so it was a total coincidence one of the best lineups of the month just happened to be at The Prospector. You should know by now that we think very highly of Ms. Jenny O. Her eagerly-anticipated debut album is being mixed as we type this so we only have a few months until we'll be hitting that pre-order button -- and, oh yes, we'll be hitting the eff out of the pre-order button. Turns out, she also occassionally plays in Spirit Animal, the new electro rap group fronted by the one-and-only Steve Cooper (aka The Gray Kid). With only a few shows under their belt, the band (picture above) still sounded pretty damn hot and Cooper still takes charge on the mic like no other. We received the Asa Ransom track "Crystal" from our NY correspondent recently, however, that track obviously did not fully prepare us for the sheer mastery in which these boys take a stage. This is easily one of the best new bands we've seen this year, a statement we are actually sad to make since they are from New York. Still, they play again tonight at Spaceland and we all know that two consecutive nights in Los Angeles means they will probably move here. You'll want to see this. "Crystal" is off their new EP available only at shows.
Happy Birthday today to Marko Schafer of the Hotel Cafe.
Speaking of birthdays, be sure to get your tickets for Sunday's big Sly Stone birthday party at Zanzibar featuring performances by Sly, Babystone, and secret surprises we can't tell you. We just posted details here if you need more info.
Asa Ransom - "Crystal" (MP3) Limited time download
Monday, March 09, 2009
Good weekend although, sadly, our camera bag was stolen last night (or perhaps permanently borrowed) so we do not have very many pictures to prove it. Don't worry, we're not going to cry about it here and we're certainly not going to be texting colon open-parentheses on Twitter any time soon. Moving on dot org, we do have a backup for emergency situations such as this and this week qualifies as an emergency situation...
Monday residencies continue with big lineups at The Echo, Spaceland, and Detroit. Rumpsringa, Restaurant, Dirt Dress, and the1921A at Viper. Boomkat celebrates the release of their new record A Million Trillion Stars at the Key Club's Plush Lounge. Future Stars and Small Wonders record release for Carnage's night at pehrspace with Bizzart, Pizza!, and others. Matt Hopper, Location Location and others at The Mint. Alex & Sam, Juliana Raye, and others at the Hotel Cafe. L.A. Record issue party/Ms. Ashley Jex birthday party at the Cha Cha Lounge. And if you get home in time, tune into the Tonight Show with musical guest Rocco DeLuca and The Burden...
On Tuesday, pay tribute to the legendary venue that was The Good Life at the House of Blues. We unfortunately only went to the cafe once (to see Medusa before the Feline Science days) and that one time introduced us to whole new world of Los Angeles. Look for all the regulars (members of Jurassic 5, Haiku D'Etat, and hopefully Freestyle Fellowship) to show up for the show. This reunion is in conjunction with the DVD release of This Is The Life: How The West Was One, which will be screened tonight (3/9) at Space 15 Twenty. Free tickets to the show tomorrow will be given away at the screening. Tickets for the House of Blues show on sale here.
Also Tuesday: Local legend Randy Weeks celebrates the release of his new record Going My Way at The Mint with Tony Gilkyson and others. Merson celebrates a birthday at The Smell with the greatest half-nude disco metal band in the universe Captain Ahab and friends. Leslie and the Badgers open for Ian Ball at the Hotel Cafe. Foreign Born opens for Sleepy Sun at The Echo. Rocco DeLuca and The Burden and HoneyHoney at the Troubadour. Spirit Animal, Asa Ransom, and Jenny O. at The Prospector. Pop/punkers Oh No Not Stereo celebrates the release of their new EP "003" at Viper (attendees get a free copy of the CD). Also, tune into "Morning Becomes Eclectic" for The Bird and The Bee that morning.
On Wednesday, Sara Bareilles begins a 3-night stand at the Hotel Cafe. ANAVAN, LACO$TE, VOICEsVOICEs, and others at The Smell. Spirit Animal and Asa Ransom at Spaceland. Rachael Cantu and Angie Mattson open for Ana Egge at Home. Zach Galifianakis at g'net. Spindrift, The Upside Down, and Lower Heaven at Redwood. Next of Kin, Electric Russia and others at Mr. T's Bowl. And Killola and Von Iva open for Semi-Precious Weapons at the Knitting Factory.
Thursday, We Are the World and Casxio open for Yelle at the El Rey. Bodies of Water, Fol Chen and Lake at Echo Curio. Willoughby opens for Or, the Whale. Castledoor and Avi Buffalo open for Plants & Animals at The Echo. Sara and Sean Watkins at g'net (Little Room). Whispertown 2000, The Parson Red Heads, and The Victorians at The Cellar. Mad Juana and Jail Weddings at the Knitting Factory. And Free Moral Agents at the Air Conditioned Lounge.
Happy belated birthdays last week to Chris Holmes and Chris Hernandez (The Happy Hollows). Happy birthdays this week to Ms. Ashley Jex (Rock Insider, The Monolators, Cobra Lilies), Stewart Cole (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Meiko, Pilar Diaz, etc.), Jim Merson (Captain Ahab, Jim Merson's Monster Mash), and Marko Schafer (Hotel Cafe).
Friday, March 06, 2009
We came thisclose to doing a "Los Angeles Loved... Long Beach Last Night" post but thought the better when we theoretically could do that every night. Plus, that title just doesn't suffice for the utter joy we had jumping from club to club. We visit often but last night was just fantastic. First of all, congrats to Jessica Dobson on the release of Deep Sea Diver's new EP "New Caves," held at the jam-packed Art Theater. The lady has always been able to write a great song but as of late her songs, voice, and stage presence is at an all time high. Perhaps five years of being push and pulled by industry pricks has made her a better songwriter. It's certainly made made a better performer. Be sure to pick up a copy at shows and it'll probably be available online at some point. DSD opens for Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band at the Glass House on 4/15. Photos up... After which, we couldn't just leave when the genius that is The Long Beach Loop just so happened to be going on within a few blocks away. The LBL is held every first Thursday of the month and features great bands at several of Long Beach's best clubs, but primarily Alex's Bar, The Prospector, and The Que Sera. The beauty of the night is that set times are somewhat staggered so that you can check out all the bands, traveling to each club on a free double-decker bus so that you don't drink and drive. (Seriously, this is such a great idea). The Loop's theme for the evening was "Dynamic Duos" and presented a few bands we hadn't seen in awhile: Restaurant (who are now going by the much Google-friendlier Restavrant á la Cafe Tacvba), Ninja Academy, The Pity Party, and Jessie Deluxe (and bonus non-duo comedy-disco band Glock Und Spiel who were hilarious -- pictured above). Anyway, long story short, it was fun and we love Long Beach. The next one is 4/2. Photos and vids from the whole night have probably been posted by now.
Good weekend of stuff to do. Tonight, Day of the Outlaw celebrate the release of their new record Black Mountain Majesty at Mr. T's Bowl. First Fridays at the Natural History Museum with Fool's Gold and BLK JKS. Hecuba at Space 15 Twenty. Moving Units at the El Rey. Jon Brion/Dave Palmer at g'net. Oliver Future, Dirty Sweet, and others at Spaceland. Robert Francis at Home. The Monolators, One Trick Pony, and The Voyeurs at Where. Mia Doi Todd opens for Kath Bloom at McCabe's... Saturday, M83 and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Radar Bros. open for Lambchop at g'net. Eliza Rickman celebrates the release of her new "Gild the Lily" EP at the Hotel Cafe. Create:Fixate at the Premiere Events Center. Whispertown 2000 and Olin and the Moon at Home. The Littlest Viking, Bastidas, and others at The Smell. AM, Blue Jungle, The Health Club, and Hello My Name Is Red at pehrspace. The Chapin Sisters, Artichoke Heart Souffle, Jessie Deluxe, and others for FuzzFest at Synchronicity. And Free Moral Agents and Blank Blue at The Que Sera... Sunday, Arms & Sleepers, Go West Young Man, and WALK at All Star. The Tartans and Sea Lions for PTP. 60-Watt Kid, Dietra Kruschev, and Halloween Swim Team at The Que Sera.
Full listings here.
Sorry, no mp3s today. You probably have everything anyway.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Good week of shows so far and tonight is so good that it deserves a Thursday update thingy whatever.
First, be sure to come out to Deep Sea Diver's EP release show in Long Beach. It shouldn't be too difficult persuading longtime Jessica Dobson fans to attend since we've been waiting for a record from this talented lady for the last half decade. There have been quite a few of us following Ms. Dobson's whirlwind career since The Hub, but those "girl and a piano" days of "girl and a piano" songs are as far in the past as the band names she's discarded over the years (we've counted at least 4). You do not want miss this show.
But if you must miss that show, you might want to go see the sketchbook launch show of Oregon-based artist Jessie Rose Vala's "The Tortuous Veil" at Show Cave. Huh? Why would I go to this? Well, check out some of his amazing work here. Still not convinced? Ok, Rain Machine (aka Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio) is also playing.
If none of those interest you, well then you've probably already set your sights on Neko Case at Amoeba. Dave Rawlings Machine and Gillian Welch at g'net (Sara and Sean Watkins in The Little Room). Jimmy Eat World at Club Nokia. Ima Robot at Detroit (free show). Halloween Swim Team, Mega Wand, Not the Government, and Michael Naht at The Smell. Army Navy at Space 15 Twenty (free show). Princeton, Avi Buffalo, and Here Here at Three Clubs. La Santa Cecilia at Eastside Luv. Janet Klein & Her Parlor Boys at the Steve Allen. Odd Modern and others at The Scene. The Long Beach Loop at The Prospector/Alex's Bar with The Pity Party, Restavrant, Ninja Academy, and others. Useless Keys, Tsk Tsk, and others at Spaceland. We Barbarians, Octopolis, and others at the Silverlake Lounge. Thee Makeout Party!, Audacity, and others at MotionLA. And Eliot Lipp and Free the Robots at Dakota.
Rain Machine - Dublab Session
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
The Engine Collision Festival launched itself onto the festival scene this past week, assembling an amazing collective of avant-garde filmmakers, musicians, poets, writers, and pretty much every form of artist you can think of exhibiting their work at Studio 1636 in Hollywood. Its centerpiece is The Engine (pictured above), a massive mechanical moving arm of metallurgy and multimedia, that both acts as a projection canvas and an architectural piece of art. You've probably seen it at Coachella or any number of film and art festivals but to study it up close should excite many an art geek. It's beyond impressive, to say the least, right down to its ornate hinges and fabricated decay. But that's just the beginning.
After getting a taste of the festival on its sold-out opening night, we decided to stop by again last night for the premiere of Maudegone, a new experimental project by actress/musician Shannyn Sossamon. Since her quiet departure from Warpaint, we've been curious to see what she's been up to and these series of strange and beautiful musical vignettes (featuring Isidora Goreshter, Hunter Hamilton, and Sossamon) more than quelled our curiosity. One particular piece entitled "I Wish That," featuring Sossamon with sister Jennifer Lindberg and the lovely Jennifer Furches, reminded us how good of a drummer that lady is. We actually still think her choices for more seductive hip-hop drum patterns with nuanced dynamics suited Warpaint more, but what do we know. In any case, look for future showings of this project in the near future.
Other highlights included a screening of the Oscar-nominated short film Auf Der Strecke, a reading from of D.R. Haney's Banned for Life, brilliant installation work from Kofie One and Sonik Mercury, and of course great performances by Warpaint, Brother Reade, and Mid-Air.
It's one of those events where smarter more literate people might use that overused phrase "a feast for the senses" to describe it. But this festival lacks any such pretense. Actually, as far as we could tell, this group of DIY'ers, spearheaded by Burke Roberts and his Bizzurke Army Underground Film Militia, seemed quite humble about the whole great event. Quite remarkable for the amount of work involved.
Surely, The Engine maybe the festival's centerpiece. But "The Collision" of art, people, and everything in between maybe its masterpiece.
The Engine Collision Festival continues through Sunday (3/8). Purchase tickets here. Photos from last night's event here.
Photo above courtesy of The Engine Theater.
Maudegone - "LoveLoveLove"
Maudegone - "Santa"
Maudegone - "A Ballet"
Monday, March 02, 2009
Had some fun at a few shows this weekend, but first congrats to Molly Jenson on the release of her new record Maybe Tomorrow. It's available this week through Amazon and iTunes. Additional congrats go to photog studs Simon Cardoza, Jeff Koga, and Benjamin Hoste who debuted their photo exhibit on Friday at Where. We stopped by and got scared off by a big crowd. Hopefully, we'll be able to get in this Friday for another great lineup. More congrats go to whoever helped get a few Eastside bands to the Westside last night with The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra, Calamity Magnet, and Yearbook Pictures at Dakota and The Parson Red Heads, The World Record, One Trick Pony, and Flashing Red Lights at Air Conditioned Lounge. That took guts. The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra, by the way, debuted their new singer Jamie Drake and ohemgee you're going to absolutely love this girl.
We should also mention that last Thursday, we did go to the Roxy to see the one-and-only Chelsea Girls. We don't go to the Roxy too much (actually hardly ever), but if we do it's to see rock shows like that one, since the likelihood of seeing such a lineup at, say, The Smell isn't very good. Consisting of a dream team of rock goddesses, Samantha Maloney (Hole), Corey Parks (Nashville Pussy), Allison Robertson (The Donnas), and world famous DJ turned Playboy covergirl Tuesdae on vox were also joined by Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister, RATT's Stephen Pearcy, Quiet Riot's Carlos Cavazo, and stage candy Carmen Electra. We understand cover bands are a dime-a-dozen in Hollywood, but for whatever reason all-star cover bands make it a bit more enjoyable when the players involved are your rock idols. The mere mention of Maloney, Robertson, and Parks (still a vision in her gorgeous 6'3" frame) crunching through bullhorns-to-the-air hard rock classics like "Barracuda," "You've Got Another Thing Coming," and "Lay It Down" should make every Steel Panther, Atomic Punk, and everyone in the Freddy Camp shaking in their leather buckle boots. Check out video from the show here and we've posted some photos.
So, here we are, already in March. March means SXSW and SXSW means touring bands. Some of the big ones include M83, PJ Harvey, and MSTRKRFT then there's on-the-radar bands like Ladyhawke, Sky Larkin, and O+S. Residencies/multi-night stays this month include: Summer Darling/Wait.Think.Fast., Nico Stai, Pedestrian, Jon Brion, Sara Bareilles, Sara and Sean Watkins, Aushua... Record release shows include: Deep Sea Diver, Randy Weeks, Nightfur, Boomkat, The New Room, Oh No Not Stereo, Realicide, Days of the Outlaw, Eliza Rickman, Oak & Gorski, Shaimus, The Flutterbies... Big nights/festivalish types: "The Good Life" reunion show, HARD 13, How Sweet It Is, and Create:Fixate.
Full calendar listing aqui.
Pictured above is Bianca Oblivion's awesome monthly Pinche Way!, held every last Saturday of the month at Mountain Bar. This month's scheduled guest is the hot, new electro duo Mega Wand. By the way, we worship the ground Ms. Oblivion moonwalks on.
