Wednesday, October 19, 2011
On October 21st we are presenting the third of a series of "Best of 2011" shows to finish off the year. This time, Lot 1 Cafe will be the setting for this intimate gathering of a few our favorite local ladies...
Friday's show will be the only second time Carla Werner has performed in a year and that, Los Angeles, is not nearly enough. No, not for a voice that has haunted us since her debut EP in 1998 and subsequently with her major label debut album Departure in 2003 and her most recent EP "My Lover's Ghost." We understand she's been busy lending that gorgeous voice of hers to a number of UK dancefloor burners, but we couldn't wait any longer and begged her for a small show before she heads out to Vegas in December for a rare performance of her biggest hit. Do try and arrive early to see her and purchase any of Carla's records on her website or iTunes.
Nearly one year after the discovery of her music, we continue to be totally and utterly smitten with a one Audrey & the Deer (aka Mariana Iglesias). Not only has she not succumbed to the pressures of playing the Hotel Cafe, Largo, or other venues that others seem to make the mistake in playing before they're really ready to play them, but this lady has no idea that she's actually better than most of the aspiring singer-songwriters we see perform at those places. Not only that but she played the pushed-back-because-we-were-running-late 1am slot at our show back in June and did so with the poise and grace of the Audrey that her band is named for. To put it simply, we love this woman. And so should you. Physical copies of her self-titled EP our sold out but you can get digital tracks on her Bandcamp.
2011 would have been a pretty ho-hum year for new music if it were not for a one Little Red Lung. Moreover, their new album Get on the Boat might have been the debut record of the year except that it ain't coming out until January 2012 -- obviously making it our most anticipated record of the new year. Why such high praise? Well, perhaps because vocalist/keyboardist Zoe-Ruth Erwin has seemingly been summoned from the collective wombs of Tori Amos, Amanda Palmer, and Florence Welch with as much artistic depth of her own to gain the type of devoted following each of those women have. Yet there's something a bit more sinister about the musical magic this band conjures up, a seductive witchery of waltzes that would incite even the most devout crossbearer to do the devil dance. They're brilliant. The band is releasing free tracks up until the release of their new album through Bandcamp. You need to download them all.
Two lovely ladies from down under and another from over yonder. We like our odds...
October 21, 2011
Los Angeles Loved... 2011
LITTLE RED LUNG - 11pm
AUDREY & THE DEER - 10:15pm
CARLA WERNER - 9:30pm
Lot 1 Cafe
1533 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
$5/18+/8:30pm
FACEBOOK EVENT
Sunday, October 16, 2011
On October 20th we are presenting the second of a series of "Best of 2011" shows to finish off the year. This one is in Long Beach at our favorite down-home rickety saloon. We don't really drink alcohol, but if we did it would be Jack Daniels at The Prospector with a dame on our lap and these bands on the stage...
Oh, those Burch Sisters from Dva Damas are quite the twosome. In a few short years, the pair have double-handedly led the band to cult status in The OC/Long Beach areas and even if you weren't aware of this from seeing one of their packed shows around the Southland then surely their latest self-titled 10" or their recent session with Dublab have awakened you from your slumber. And if for some reason they still have escaped your attention then we do hope you stop by Thursday to celebrate your inner glum rock fantasies.
Emerging from the sad demise of one of our favorite Long Beach bands UV Lights comes vocalist/guitarist Sim Jackson's latest offering The Vivids. And, fortunately for us, all the agitated, nervy post-punk that we loved in his previous outfit is still there with every bit of their brash youth alongside it. With just a couple of clicks you can get their tracks at Bandcamp and you should do so immediately.
Many years after our first encounter, Monolators still light our fire as if it were yesterday and we were long overdue for another show with them. Their last EP "Silver Cities" remains to be a regularly Spotified collection of songs and we will never tire of the sheer joy they bring to their live shows. We do believe this is their first show in Long Beach in a few years so treat them kindly and those not willing to make the trek from LA should see them open for Shonen Knife on 11/1 at The Echo.
October 20, 2011
Los Angeles Loved... 2011
DVA DAMAS - 11:30pm
THE VIVIDS - 10:45pm
THE MONOLATORS - 10pm
DJs LILI DE LA MORA and SARAJEVA VAZQUEZ
The Prospector
2400 E. 7th St.
Long Beach, CA 90804
$5/21+/9pm
FACEBOOK EVENT
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Back in September, we not-so-subtly hinted to Mind the Gap that we'd love to help with a night on their October residency by telling them straight-out that we'd love to help with a night on their residency. And being the selfish jerks that we are we chose the most stacked lineup of the month.
Mind the Gap may sound like a new band on the scene but they've actually been around for a little while now since moving to town in the mid-2000's and performing as the acoustic duo Cahn & Yang -- both of whom would later become the core of MTG. Adding a bigger production to their pop/rock/world beat sound with new additions Ruwanga Samath and Ozzy Doniz and what you have is a band very much likely to impact radio on the right half of the FM dial. The band recently released their debut album The Good Fight, perhaps a title reflecting the trials and tribulations they've gone through over the past decade making music, and are showcasing these songs through the residency. This particular show will also be their warm-up to their CMJ showcase later on in the week and we wish them all the luck in getting what they're looking over yonder. In the meantime, get their new album here. We particularly like the track "Meant to Be" and their dance remixes are quite good too.
The rest of the lineup is absolutely loaded starting with the fantastic goth/blues of The Sister Ruby Band, followed by the delightful folk/pop of Helena (whose handful of showcases we've seen this year easily makes her one of the next big things of 2012), and lastly the supposedly secret new project from Nite Jewel known as Obi Nimbus. Yeah, like we told you, this show is effing stacked so you might want to make a night of it at the Bootleg on Monday...
October 17, 2011
Los Angeles Loves...
MIND THE GAP
THE SISTER RUBY BAND
HELENA
OBI NIMBUS
The Fold at Bootleg Bar
2220 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm/21+/FREE
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Obviously, this show does not to be promoted. All you need to do is look at the bands playing and realize that this is one of the best top-to-bottom lineups of the week/month/year/decade. But since we were given the task of presenting Thursday's show at The Satellite we suppose it's necessary to do what will be the equivalent of selling blow to a member of the Lohan family. It just sells itself...
Although it may seem 2011 was a quiet year for Happy Hollows, we have it on good authority (aka Facebook wall postings) that they've actually been very busy. Earlier in the year, the band had to find a new drummer to replace the irreplaceable Chris Hernandez. Then there was the recording time of the as-yet-officially-unannounced side project of Sarah Negahdari (which we'll get to on a later posting). Then, of course, the rehearsals and subsequent working-in of their new drummer into the live setting and recording studio (new album being worked on now). Not to mention, the band's personal lives and the fact that Ms. Negahdari probably sifts through hundreds of marriage proposals a day, hundreds of which come from us alone. As a result, L.A. only saw a handful of shows this year with Thursday's show being perhaps the biggest of them all. Don't miss them. Get their latest release Spells here.
Like maybe other longtime One Trick Pony fans, we were a little reluctant to fall immediately in love with the band's recent transition to their new big sound. Perhaps it was just more difficult to fall out of love with the one-time duo turned one-time trio's perfectly simple and unique sound. But then we heard their new album Try Not to Worry So Much and then we realized that this could only be the next logical progression. The album is fantastic and sure to show up on many year-end lists when the time comes so you might want to be ahead of the curve and get it at Amazon or iTunes.
We have a soft spot in our hearts for Incan Abraham. We've been lucky enough to do a handful of shows with them this year and have seen them progress into a band that is very much on the verge of making you forget you ever liked Foster the People. With two solid EPs under their belt they've already shown they can blend the psychedelics with the disco into some sort of peyote-driven electro-rock -- that's probably better seen live than actually described with hipster slang like that. They'll be playing songs off their new EP "Ancient Vacation" which they'll be celebrating the release of on Saturday at The Central (hear a preview here). But, mark our words, they'll be headlining bigger joints than The Satellite and the Central soon so you'd be wise to stay for their late set on Thursday.
We almost couldn't believe that the last time we did a show with The Soft Hands was at The Scene in 2007 and although we've tried to get them on various shows, it's never worked out. Finally, the reunion is here. Long Beach knows they're one of the city's best but for some reason Los Angeles has been slow to get the memo. Well, consider this your memo, marked urgent. They're one of five bands we always mention when any debate of the scene's most underrated bands comes up. We'll add that if The Soft Hands were living in Portland, they'd be the best band in Portland and on the cover of Paste and Under the Radar Magazines by now, blistering the hands of every Spoon-lovin' indie kid from all the jacking off they'd be doing to "I'm On Fire." Instead, they're seemingly buried in this town like they're buried on this lineup. And, yes, we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore. Get their latest album Hours Pass By and GET THERE BY 9PM TO SEE THEM (as emphasized by the bold all caps).
As for the secret guest, we can't tell you. But we can give you a hint and the hint is get there early (he/she/they go on at 8pm).
If you miss this show, you will never forgive yourself. And since you've read this far, we're rewarding you by putting you on the $5 discount list. Send an email by 2pm on Thursday and we'll add you to the list. Because $5 is better than $8.
October 6, 2011
Los Angeles Loves...
HAPPY HOLLOWS - 11pm
ONE TRICK PONY - 10pm
INCAN ABRAHAM - 12am
THE SOFT HANDS - 9pm
SPECIAL GUEST - 8pm
The Satellite
1717 Silver Lake Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
$8/21+/9pm
TICKETS
FACEBOOK EVENT
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Another month, another Tuesday residency at The Central. This time we're only helping with half of the residency but just be sure to stop by one of the nights to get a taste of some of our local and not-so-local flavor this month. A weekly residency couldn't have come at a better time for Escalator Hill who just released their debut record Poplar Avenue and are looking to showcase their string-heavy pioneer songs to the good people of Los Angeles. Be sure to get the new record at Bandcamp and add some extra Dr. Scholls insoles to your boots for all foot-stomping that you're likely to be doing all month long.
Los Angeles Loves...
October 4, 2011
ESCALATOR HILL
OAK AND GORSKI
WIRES IN THE WALLS
THE PAULA KELLEY ORCHESTRA
October 11, 2011
ESCALATOR HILL
CALIFORNIA CONDORS
JOEY SIARA & ANDY SIARA
GINGA
THE IRISH GOODBYE
The Central SAPC
1348 14th St.
Santa Monica, CA 90404
FREE/8pm/21+
FACEBOOK EVENT
