Thursday and Friday night Noise Pop Options (San Francisco)

Autolux Play the Independent (in San Francisco) on Friday

Thursday Night’s Pick:

Roky Erickson @ Great American Music Hall ($25) - Roky Erickson is one of those legendary acid casualties. He's best known for the psych-garage classic, "You're Gonna Miss Me." The price seems a little steep, but hopefully most of the cash will go to Erickson. Anybody see the documentary about Erickson that played Wednesday night at the fest? It's probably pretty fascinating. It got nominated for Independent Spirit Award for best documentary.

Other options for Thursday Night:
French Kicks / Scissors for Lefty / The Oohlas @ Slim’s ($15) – For the indie rock fans. I’m seeing French Kicks and Scissors for Lefty tonight in LA. Ask me tomorrow. See my post about Wednesday night in LA for more info. The Oohlas are an LA band that records for New York scenster, the Ultragrrrl’s label.

Alexi Murdoch / Aqueduct / Midnight Movies @ Café du Nord ($10) – Murdoch gets compared to Nick Drake and Cat Stevens. Aqueduct has a new album on Barsuk. Download “Living a Lie” and “As You Wish” The Midnight Movies are a popular, dreamy (but not put you to sleep dreamy) local (LA band) who are heading out the road soon with Blonde Redhead. Kudos for scoring that slot; Blonde Redhead are fantastic.
Matt & Kim / Erase Errata / No Age @ Bottom of the Hill ($10) – For the indie dance crowd. I recently saw Brooklyn duo, Matt & Kim (who are signed to Franki Chan’s LA label) at the Echo. They have good personalities and play manic keyboard and drum music. They don’t write deep lyrics and some of the songs start to sound the same, but they’re a whole lot of fun if you just wanna have a good time. Kind of like the musical equivalent of Pixy Stix. Download “Yea Yeah” and “Silver Tiles” Erase Errata are one of those quintessential Kill Rock Stars bands; girls with jagged guitars. No Age are a local LA band who play at the all ages club the Smell a lot. Young, DIY rock ‘n’ roll.
Langhorne Slim / Trainwreck Riders @ Richshaw Stop ($12) – For the alt-folk, cow-punk fans.

Friday’s Pick:
Autolux / Snowden / Malajube @ the Independent (Sold Out) – For the dreamy, shoegazer fans. How’s this for street cred in San Francisco? LA’s Autolux constantly bitch about how much they hate LA (but we don’t hold that against them). They mix shoegaze elements with harder Sonic Youth noisy parts. How ‘bout this for cred? T Bone Burnett produced their debut album. Hopefully they’ll be playing stuff off their forthcoming album (because it’s been about three years since they released anything).

Friday’s Other Recommended:
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists / Georgie James @ Great American Music Hall (Sold Out) – For the indie rock fans. Ted Leo is supposed to be a fantastic live performer. Download “Army Bound” and “WhereHaveAllTheRudeBoysGone” Georgie James is a new place for John Davis of Q and Not U to do more 60’s-inspired rock ‘n’ roll.

Also Appearing:
The Donnas @ Bottom of the Hill (Sold Out) – For the pop-punk fans. I’ve seen them a few times, but not in at least five years.
Annuals / Simon Dawes @ Café du Nord ($10) – After I downloaded “Brother” I was all excited about Annuals. I picked up the record and really enjoyed the first half of it. Then I saw them at Spaceland and wasn’t super into it. They seem to be influenced by music made since 2004 (which is fine – they’re just kids). A lot of the people commenting on my blog thought they were great and called me out as a jaded asshole. Fair enough. Go see them for yourself and decide what you think. LA band, Simon Dawes did the free monthly residency at the Echo in February, but unfortunately I didn’t make it out to any of the shows. Their label compares them to the Kinks, Pavement and Traffic.
Jolie Holland / David Dondero @ the Fillmore ($20) – For the folk-rockers.
The Dandy Warhols @ Mezzanine (Sold Out) – What more can you say? See Dig.
Vic Chesnutt / Zach Rogue @ Swedish American Hall ($15) – Vic’s a good folkie. I saw him open for R.E.M. once upon a time. Zach Rogue’s the lead singer of Rogue Wave (who I like).

San Francisco Noise Pop Post - Wednesday Night Options

John Vanderslice Plays The Independent (San Francisco) Tonight

A lot of the Los Angeles bands are heading up to San Francisco this week for the Noise Pop Festival. Looks like wristbands are sold out, but you should be able to get into individual performances. Here’s my preview of t

Wednesday’s Pick:
John Vanderslice / Damien Jurado / The Submarines @ The Independent ($14) – For the indie pop fans. John Vanderslice is an extremely talented melancholy, pop singer-songwriter from San Francisco. Download “Exodus Damage” and “Trance Manual” and hear for yourself. Damien Jurado is another talented, gruffer, rootsier (but still melancholy) singer-songwriter. Download “White Center” The Submarines are an LA band with boy/girl, call and response lyrics about relationships. The music goes down nice and easy like the Stars or Postal Service (but less electro).

Also recommended on Wednesday:
Sebadoh @ Great American Music Hall ($20) – For the indie rock fans. Lead singer Lou Barlow’s another LA resident. This is being hailed as the reunion of the mighty 90’s indie rockers, Sebadoh. Personally I liked their later albums (Bakesale and Harmacy) a little better, but Barlow promised to play material from throughout their career. This is a must see for Barlow fans.

These might be your cup of tea:
Hella / Pop Levi / Macromantics @ Bottom of the Hill ($12) – For the more adventurous music fans. Hella play the experimental, odd time signature, headache rock. Pop Levi is a local LA artist (and former member of Ladytron) who recently put out an early (pre-glam) T. Rex inspired album. He’s starting to build a following in LA. Macromantics is an Australian female rapper who is getting some positive buzz right now.

Willy Mason / The Watson Twins @ Café du Nord ($12) – For the Saddle Creek fans. The Watson Twins are a local LA band (really local to me, I live within 250 feet of one of them) who back up Jenny Lewis on her critically acclaimed (#15 in the Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop for 2006) album Rabbit Fur Coat. They’ve got an easy, breezy country-tinged EP of their own with lovely harmonies and really good songwriting. If you like canyon rock and 1970s-era Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris then you better take a look.

Wednesday Night Music Options 2/28/07

Scissors for Lefty Play the Troubadour Tonight

TiVo Alert: Silversun Pickups on Last Call with Carson Daly – Last night they did “Lazy Eye” and tonight they’ll do “Little Lover’s So Polite” on Thursday they’ll do “Rusted Wheel” and on Friday “Kissing Families”

Tonight's Pick:
French Kicks / Scissors for Lefty @ Troubadour ($15) – The LA Weekly used their picks section to call out French Kicks as being a terrible, derivative band who must have giant trust funds. Are they really that bad? I don’t think so. The attack was so brutal, and the fact that it appeared in the “Rock Picks” section, made it look personal. Download “Also Ran” and “One More Time” Scissors for Lefty is a catchy, San Francisco band who are signed to Rough Trade in the UK. Spin says they sound like the lead singer of the Walkmen fronting the Faint – which doesn’t seem too far from the mark. Download “Ghetto Ways” (courtesty of Spin)

Also Recommended:

Club NME: Georgie James / The Outline @ Spaceland ($5) – Georgie James features John Davis of Q and Not U and Laura Burhenn. It’s an outlet for Davis to explore his interest in 1960’s music like the Kinks and Zombies. What I’ve heard sounds good. Anybody see them at Safari Sam’s last night? Special guest DJs Fab Moretti (of the Strokes) and Har Mar Superstar will also be there. I hear that Fab has a new celeb girlfriend, so if you’re the star stalking type she’ll probably be there. But please show the bands respect.

Or Maybe you prefer one of these:

Styx @ House of Blues ($60) – Are you interested in paying $60 to see Styx in the year 2007? One good thing – Dennis DeYuck isn’t in the band anymore. “Fooling Yourself (the Angry Young Man)” is one of my all-time guilty pleasures. I play that about every time I DJ (in my apartment).
Kiss or Kill Night: Letter Openers @ Safari Sam’s ($5)
Dub Club @ the Echo ($5)
Low End Theory Club @ Airliner ($5)
Club Moscow with Locksley @ Boardner’s
Astra Heights / Locksley @ Silverlake Lounge ($8)

New Release Tuesday 2/27/07

The calm before the storm...next week promises to be a much more interesting release date with new releases from Arcade Fire, !!! and Air amongst others. The Dylan DVD is the most interesting thing out this week.

Top Five Most Interesting New Releases:

Dean and Britta: Back Numbers (Rounder) – The former Luna frontman releases his second album with his wife. Amazon compares it to Lee Hazlewood (who they cover here) and Nancy Sinatra, which is alright in my book. I need to hear this. See them live at the Getty on 4/6 and the Silent Movie Theatre on 4/7.
Do Make Say Think: You You’re a History in Rust (Constellation) – Instrumental post-rock band from Toronto. Similar to Godspeed You Black Emperor. See them live at the Troubadour on 3/10.
Dr. Dog: We All Belong (Park the Van Records) – I've been curious about these guys for a while. A lot of very talented musicians are huge Dr. Dog fans. They’re an indie pop band from Philadelphia. See them live at the Troubadour on 3/14.
Money Mark: Brand New By Tomorrow (Brushfire Records) – More easy, breezy keyboard jams from the “unofficial fourth Beastie Boy.” See him live at Amoeba tonight at 7:00PM.
Winterpills: The Light Divides (Signature Sounds) – The All Music Guide compares these guys to Low, Stars and Elliott Smith. What I’ve heard sounds good.

Other Noteworthy Releases:
Dalek: Abandoned Language (Ipecac) – Progressive hip-hop.
Willard Grant Conspiracy: Let It Roll (Reincarnate) – Roots/Americana from Boston. Download “Crush” and “Dance with Me”

DVD:
Bob Dylan: Don’t Look Back – 1965 Tour Deluxe Version (Docurama) - Instead of going out last night, I stayed in and spent some time with this excellent, deluxe edition of the classic Dylan documentary. My college had an arts requirement, so all the frat boys and sorority girls naturally took the introduction to film course. Those of us who were legitimately interested in film had to sit in an auditorium with a bunch of obnoxious kids chewing tobacco and showing up to class wasted. All this lead to a lot of interruptions, as these kids would spit tobacco into their aluminum cans and constantly get up to use the restroom. It was under these, less than ideal, conditions that I first saw this film.

My film professor was so passionate about this documentary but the other students weren’t having it. A grainy, black and white documentary with a bunch of hippies? At least 70% of the class got up and left during the screening. At the time I was listening to a lot of Fugazi, Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana, and not all that interested in Dylan’s music. I remember being a little surprised that INXS had ripped off the beginning of the film for their video for “Mediate.” I’ve always been curious about counterculture and had already gone through a beat phase, so I was excited to see Allen Ginsberg on film. I also remember thinking that the musical performances weren’t that great.

Needless to say, looking at it last night as a fan of Dylan and with a lot more perspective on Dylan’s place in music history was a much more pleasurable experience. The film basically follows Dylan on his three week tour of England in 1965. He’s 23 at the time and already released several folk records (right before he went electric and released my two favorites, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde). It’s fascinating to watch him deal with the press, hang out with Ginsberg and Joan Baez and trade songs with Donovan.

This is definitely the edition you’ll want to pick up and spend some serious time with. It adds a bonus disc of over an hour of newly compiled footage (by original filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker) from about 20 hours of unused footage from the original shoot. I only glanced through that, but Nico shows up at one point and seems like the budding ice queen you’d expect. There’s also interesting commentary on both discs from Pennebaker and tour road manager Bob Neuworth. The collection also features a 168 page mini-book with a complete transcription of the film and a cool, tiny flipbook of the “Subterranean Homesick Blues” video. This would make a great gift for any serious music fan.

Tuesday Night Music Options 2/27/07

TiVo Alert: Silversun Pickups on Last Call with Carson Daly

Tonight's Pick:
Oh No! Oh My! / Georgie James / Love of Diagrams @ Safari Sam’s ($5) – Austin indie poppers, Oh No! Oh My! just played the Echo on Saturday and they’re putting out an EP on Dim Mak later this year. Georgie James is Laura and John from Q and Not U. Anybody see Love of Diagrams at Spaceland last night? I stayed home and watched Don’t Look Back instead.

Also recommended:
Let’s Independent: Foreign Born / Molecules / The Hectors @ Boardner’s ($8) – This is the monthly show that local blog, Radio Free Silver Lake puts on at Boardner’s. Foreign Born just played some shows with Grizzly Bear, who are big fans of the band.
Nels Cline / Glenn Kotche @ the Echo ($12) – I’m hearing the new Wilco album is incredible (hopefully my intel is good). Here’s a chance to see two of the newer, more avant members solo.
In Waves / Mezzanine Owls @ El Cid ($8) - I haven't heard In Waves yet, but Scott at Little Radio's a big fan.

I know less about these:
Danny Cohen @ Theatre of Note - Download “Motel Sex”
Comes with the Fall / Valient Thorr / Year Long Disaster / HDR @ Spaceland ($8) – Heavy music that gets compared to Led Zeppelin and Alice in Chains.
Mika Miko / No Age @ Cinespace ($5) - Kill Rock Stars band
Luke Paquin @ Tangier ($8) - Hot Hot Heat guitarist

Reminder: KCRW A Sounds Eclectic Evening

Tickets on sale at 10:00AM today.

Bands:
The Shins
Lily Allen
Cold War Kids
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Bitter: Sweet

Date: 4/14/07
Place: Gibson Amphitheatre
Price: $40-300

Monday Night Music Options 2/26/07

Thanks to everybody who came out to the Scene last night to see the bands and hear Sylvia and me play records. I didn't miss not watching the Oscars at all.

Tonight's Pick:
The Movies / The Happy Hollows / Tigers Can Bite You / Rademacher @ Viper Room ($10) – If you’re a west side person, here’s your chance to see some of the hottest east side bands. Unfortunately If you didn’t email one of these bands to get on the list, then you might have to pay the $10 cover charge.

or:
Divison Day / Love of Diagrams / Peter Walker / Canon @ Spaceland (Free) – Who am I kidding? If I go out I'll be at Spaceland. This is your last chance to see local, melodic indie rockers Division Day for a bit. After this show they’ll be doing a mini-tour with Birdmonster on the way to SXSW. After that another west coast tour with Great Northern. Download “Tigers” and “Tap-Tap, Click-Click” Love of Diagrams is an Australian post-punk band with a new EP out on Matador records and a full-length coming out in April. See them before they head out on the road with Ted Leo. Download “Pace or the Patience” and “No Way Out”

Also appearing:
Simon Dawes / Sabrosa Purr @ the Echo (Free)

Forget the Oscars - Party with Me on Sunday

Sunday's Early Pick:

Yes Me to Death / The Front / Lyra / Kissing Cousins / The Color Turning / DJs Duke and Sylvia @ the Scene 4:00PM – 8:00PM (Free) – What are you guys doing on Sunday around 5:30PM? Watching the Oscars? Loser. Why not just Tivo it so you can skip through the three hours of boring stuff? That’s what I plan to do, because I’m DJ’ing at the Scene. I can’t promise you what I’m going to play, because I haven’t even thought about it yet. There are five bands playing too, so hopefully we don’t bore you too much. There’s also going to be a lot of free food and hopefully some drink specials. An added bonus – it’s a going away party for our friend Val. Head over to Radio Free Silver Lake because Joe has an interview with Mel from Yes Me to Death.

Options for Later in the Evening:
Part Time Punks: Hallo Gallo @ the Echo ($5) – Neu! Cover band featuring Bobb Bruno
Red Monroe @ Spaceland (Free) – Solid indie rock from Dallas.
Lamb of God / Trivium @ Wiltern (Sold Out)

Saturday Night Music Options 2/24/07

Sometimes you've got to just take a day and pretend like you're at SXSW. Start by eating a huge barbeque (Phillip's) or Mexican (King Taco) lunch and then start drinking margaritas or beer and seeing a shitload of bands.

Tivo Alert: The Arcade Fire on Saturday Night Live

Saturday's Recommended Shows:
Start your day at Sea Level Records in Echo Park-
The Parson Red Heads @ Sea Level 4:00PM (Free) – If you haven’t seen the Parson Red Heads yet and you like the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young then you’re missing out. They’re a local band with jangly guitars, great harmonies and lots of people on stage. They were #1 on my list of local bands to watch out for in 2007. I haven’t picked up their new album, King Giraffe, yet, but Jeff Weiss has. He gave it a great review on Stylus.

Walk one block west to the Echo -
Oh No! Oh My! / The Deadly Syndrome / The Honey Brothers @ the Echo 6:00PM ($10) – The Deadly Syndrome was #3 on my list of local bands to watch out for in 2007. They recently signed to local label, Dim Mak. They’re a high energy indie rock band in the vein of Tapes ‘n’ Tapes and Oh No! Oh My! I must confess that I walked out about half way through their last show at the Echo, but that definitely had more to do with the crowd and my own mood than anything the band was doing on stage. Check these guys out. They’re a lot of fun. Oh No! Oh My! is also prepping some new material for Dim Mak. If you’re not into that indie dance scene (Cinespace Tuesday and Check Yo Ponytail at Safari Sam’s) you’ll dig both of these bands.

Then take a cab about four miles west (but still on Sunset) to Safari Sam's -
Nudist Priest @ Safari Sam’s ($10) – I’m one of those guys that likes seeing cover bands from time to time. Here’s your chance to see an all nude, Judas Priest cover band. They haven’t played a show in five years, but they take it very seriously and they’re talented musicians. If you don’t enjoy Stained Class, British Steel and a little Hell Bent for Leather then what kind of metal fan are you?

Other Possibilities:
Mia Doi Todd @ the Smell ($5)
Too Short @ Viper Room ($30

Recently Announced Shows

Recently Announced Shows:

The Fonda: Mew on 4/7

Troubadour: Sloan on 5/1

Spaceland: Richard Swift / David Vandervelde on 4/6

The Orpheum: The Mars Volta on 4/3 (tickets on sale Saturday at 10:00AM)

The Wiltern: Iggy & the Stooges on 4/23 (tickets on sale Saturday at 10:00AM)

Silent Movie Theatre: Dean and Britta on 4/7

The Getty: Dean and Britta on 4/6

Dodger Stadium: The Police / Foo Fighters on 6/23 (tickets on sale to public on Monday at 10:00AM)

Hollywood Bowl: The Decemberists / Band of Horses on 7/7 (presale tickets on 3/3)

Largo: John Vanderslice on 5/10

Royce Hall: Ben Gibbard Acoustic 5/17

Friday Night Music Options 2/23/07

Afternoons Play Their First Show Tonight

I went by Spaceland last night and saw the biggest set of amps I've ever seen on their stage. I was afraid to stick around, so I stopped by Safari Sam's instead. There was a healthy crowd out for the Love/Kinks/Byrds tribute. Some of the bands did a really nice job and some of them butchered the hell out of the songs. In their defense, a lot of the songs on Forever Changes aren't that easy to pull off. It was all in good fun (and for a good cause) so I'm not complaining.

Tonight's Pick:

Afternoons / Charlie Wadhams / Dirt Bird @ El Cid ($10) – Afternoons is a new band featuring Brian, Steven and Brent from Irving, BT from Pine Marten, Tom Biller (Jon Brion’s engineer, producer to Sean Lennon) and an all girls choir. Tonight is their very first show ever.

Also recommended:

Jon Brion @ Largo ($10) – What if Largo started charging $100 to see Jon Brion? Would you still pay it? You need to see him at some point. You should probably just get in line right now.
Mike Stinson / I See Hawks in LA @ the Scene – For the country rockers.

I don't know as much about these:
Om / Earthless @ the Echo ($12) – Crazy drone metal.
Chocolate Bar Party @ the Ex_Plex ($10) – Apparently the long awaited downstairs at the Echo is finally open. DJs spinning “RAREGROOVE SOULCLASSICS HIP HOP REGGAE WORLDBEAT HOUSE”
Veruca Salt / The Ringers @ Viper Room ($15)
Chris Trapper @ Gengis Cohen ($10)
The Strays @ Spaceland (?)
Dir En Gray / Fair to Midland @ Wiltern – When I drove by the Wiltern this morning at 8:30AM there was a giant line of people who had camped out overnight. I looked at the marquee and had no idea who the bands were. Is the adoration for the crazy Japanese metal or the System of a Down approved Texans?

Thursday Night Music Options - 2/22/07

Tonight's Pick:
Club Tribute – Music of The Kinks, The Byrds & Love: The Prix / Kind Hearts & Coronets / The Digs / The Shakes @ Safari Sam’s ($7 or $5 w/canned food donation) – A tribute with local bands performing covers of three of my favorite bands ever.

Also Recommended:
Give Love Give Life Benefit: Jackson Browne / Willie Nelson @ Gibson ($40-90) – If you like easy, breezy singer-songwriters and don’t have the first three Jackson Browne records, then you’re really missing out. And Willie Nelson is a legend. Pick up Red Headed Stranger immediately.
Cold War Kids @ Troubadour (Sold Out) – Apparently they’re playing this Myspace “secret show” tonight too. They were on Kimmel last night, but I haven’t watched it yet.
Bobb Bruno @ Land [366 E. 2nd Street] ($3)
Clipse / Cold War Kids @ Myspace Secret Show [1530 Ivar St.] (Free) – First come first served. Get there early. It’s supposed to start at 7:00PM.

Hell Ya Night!: Pan America / Polus / Red Monroe @ the Echo (Free for 21+, $5 for 18-21) – Polus are an up-n-coming shoegaze band from Long Beach. Red Monroe are a solid indie band from Dallas. Hard to put it in words exactly what they sound like, but slightly proggy indie rock. You can also catch them at Spaceland on Sunday night.

New Release Tuesday 2/20/07

The Minor Canon

This is a monster week with about ten things worth picking up and a lot of LA-relevant music.

Top Five Most Interesting New Releases:
Explosions in the Sky: All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone (Temporary Residence) – Beloved Austin, TX instrumental post-rock band. This one's getting rave reviews. Download “Welcome, Ghosts” See them at Coachella on 4/29

Charlie Louvin: Charlie Louvin (Tompkins Square) – If you’re a serious roots music fan, then I don’t need to tell you about Charlie Louvin. The Louvin Brothers have been covered by the Byrds, Uncle Tupelo, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons and the Raconteurs. The album cover for Satan Is Real is one of my favorites of all time. The 79 year old country legend is back with guest performances by Jeff Tweedy, Will Oldham, George Jones, Elvis Costello, Bobby Bare and members of Lambchop, Bright Eyes and Clem Snide. I haven’t heard it yet, but it’s on my list.

The Minor Canon: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished (Tenderness Records) – I recently wrote kind of a long explanation of all the LA bands that sprang out of Strictly Ballroom and Further. Paul Larson is/was a big part of that scene. This is his new six-piece ensemble featuring a horn section, piano, organ, drums and of course guitar (you’ll hear Larson’s guitar work on the much anticipated Dntel record later this year). It’s not the kind of music that hits you over the head immediately, but give it a couple of spins and you’ll be rewarded. The songs are very well constructed pop songs at heart. Some have a melancholy feel, but they never feels weighted down. What’s his voice sound like? Well, I never thought about it before, but his voice is similar to the lead singer of Dios (Malos). Do yourself a favor and pick this up. Highlights include: “It Never Was” and “Killing Spiders.” The Minor Canon will be doing the Monday night residency at Spaceland in April; you’ll benefit by having a familiarity with the songs. Letter Grade: B+

Elvis Perkins: Ash Wednesday (XL Recordings) – He’s a very talented songwriter who used to live in LA. I saw him recently at Spaceland opening for the Pernice Bros. and at the Wiltern opening for My Morning Jacket. He was compelling in both venues. His story’s tragic (his dad was Anthony Perkins and his mom died in 9/11) and there are apparently some dark songs on the album. The All Music Guide compares him to Nick Drake and Leonard Cohen. I plan on picking this one up. You can see him with Let’s Go Sailing (who he used to play with) at the Rec Center on 3/23 and Largo on 3/24.

Richard Swift: Dressed Up for the Letdown (Secretly Canadian) – Here’s another talented singer-songwriter who used to call LA home. He’s got a solo McCartney vibe, which I can always appreciate. I plan on picking this one up too. Download “Kisses for the Misses”

Also of local interest:
BARR: Summary (5 Rue Christine) – Local band. Download “The Song Is the Single” At the Smell on 3/3
Fu Manchu: We Must Obey (Century Media) – Local stoner rockers. At the Troubadour on 4/12.
The One AM Radio: This Too Will Pass (Dangerbird) – Singer-songwriters may move away from LA but thankfully new ones always move in to take their place. Hrishikesh Hirway is one of the new ones. He’s another melancholy pop guy. I’ve only listened to the record a couple of times all the way through, but I enjoyed it. Download “In the Time We’ve Got” See him at the Hotel Café on 3/14. Letter Grade: B (this might be premature, so I reserve the right to revisit).
Pop Levi: Return to Form Black Majick Party (Counter) – Another recent transplant to LA. He used to be in Ladytron, but his music is more like a mix between early T. Rex and freak folk. What I’ve heard sounds pretty good; I’ll probably pick this one up too.
Samamidon: But This Chicken Proved Falsehearted (Plug Research) – Plug Research is a respectable local label, but I don’t know much about this one.

Other Noteworthy New Releases:
Aqueduct: Or Give Me Death (Barsuk) – From Barsuk: “or give me death finds David Terry broadening his tonal horizons to encompass mariachi horns, Gershwin-esque strings, looped and layered vocals, and grand piano. Oh and there’s also quite a lot more electric guitar.” Download “Living a Lie” and “As You Wish” At Spaceland on 3/3
Arab Strap: Ten Years of Tears (Chemikal Underground)
The Besnard Lakes: The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse (Jagjaguwar) – Mojo gave this 4 out of 5 stars. Download “And You Lied to Me” At the Echo on 3/20.
The Black Lips: Valientes del Mundo Nuevo (Vice) – Live from Tijuana. They’re crazy reputation is apparently warranted.
Bobby Conn: King for a Day (Thrill Jockey)
Calla: Strength in Numbers (Beggars Banquet) – At Spaceland on 3/27
Jill Cunniff: City Beach (Militia) – Ex-Lucious Jackson. At the Hotel Café on 3/29.
David Karsten Daniels: Sharp Teeth (Fat Cat)
Doloreon: You Can’t Win (Yep Roc)
Eluvium: Copia (Temporary Residence) – Sad, instrumental piano songs. On tour with Explosions in the Sky. Download “Prelude for Time Feelers”
The Frames: The Cost (Anti-) – Veteran Irish band.
High Llamas: Can Cladders (Drag City) - I usually find Sean O'Hagan's music better in theory than reality, but that doesn't mean I won't seek this out. Yeah, he's Beach Boys inspired.
Jesu: Conquerer (Hydrahead) – Heavy but atmospheric music.
Minus the Bear: Interpretaciones Del Oso (Suicide Squeeze) – Remix record. Download “Drilling – P.O.S.”
Pacha Massive: All Good Things (Nacional) – From their label, “The Bronx-based act’s rhythmic blend of funky Latin jams with Colombian cumbia, Afro-Cuban son, Jamaican reggae-dancehall, dub and drum-and-bass has made them a New York club favorite.”
P.G. Six: Slightly Sorry (Drag City) – This guy’s stuff doesn’t sound half bad if you’re into British 60’s folk and country-rock.
The Silos: Come On Like the Fast Lane (Bloodshot) – From the press release: “energy reminiscent of the proto-punk lower East Side legends like The Velvet Underground and Television, punched up with pop melodies that resuscitates a sound that never went out of style.”
Southern Culture on the Skids: Countrypolitan Favorites (Yep Roc)
Marnie Stern: In Advance of the Broken Arm (Kill Rock Stars) – Female headache rocker with production and drumming from Hella’s Zach Hill. Download “Every Single Line Means Something” At the Smell on 3/3.
Trans Am: Sex Change (Thrill Jockey) – Ironic riff rockers. At the Troubadour on 4/20

Reissues:
Boredoms: Super Roots 6 (Vice) – Vice: “a collection of static and minimally manipulated beats, sometimes juxtaposed with world music loop overlays”
Boredoms: Super Roots 7 (Vice) – Extended cover of Mekons second single.
Boredoms: Super Roots 8 (Vice) – Vice: “This EP finds the group tackling the theme to the Japanese TV show "Jungle Taitei." It would seem that they took the title literally, as the otherwise majestic track is sliced into thousands of pieces by 250 BPM beyond-gabber drum programming.”
ELO: Out of the Blue 30th Anniversary (Sony) – This is a very inconsistent album, but has my favorite ELO track, “Mr. Blue Sky.” “Turn to Stone” is pretty damn good too.
Silversun Pickups: Carnavas (Dangerbird) – Finally available on vinyl. Did you guys see them on the Tonight Show last night? Great job. At the Gibson Amphitheatre on 3/2 and in the process of booking their first European tour.

Wednesday Night Music Options 2/21/07

TIVO Alert: Cold War Kids on Jimmy Kimmel

Tonight's Pick:

Ghostface Killah @ Key Club ($25) – I’m no authority on hip-hop, but Ghostface put out my favorite hip-hop album of 2006 (Fishscale). He was in the Wu-Tang Clan too.

Also worth seeing:

400 Blows / Wires on Fire @ 3 of Clubs (Free) – Intense local punk rock.

Cold War Kids @ El Rey (Sold Out) - This one sold out suckas. So did the Troubadour show tomorrow night. They are doing a Myspace secret show tomorrow with Clipse, but you might want to get there early.

I know less about these, but I'm sure they'd be perfectly fun:

Grizzly Bear / Foreign Born @ Troubadour (Sold Out) – Last year Grizzly Bear put out one of the most revered albums by music snobs around the globe. It ranked #7 on my list of hipster cred albums that didn’t move me. If you didn’t get tickets to this, maybe you can catch them at Coachella on 4/29.The music obviously has merit, I’m just not feeling it for some reason. Download “On a Neck, On a Spit”
Club NME: Rock Kills Kid / Circus Minor @ Spaceland ($5) – Rock Kills Kid is one of those local bands that seems to spring out of nowhere with a major label deal. If you like 30 Seconds to Mars and She Wants Revenge, then you might wanna listen.
Oxbow / Intronaut / David Scott Stone & Bobb Bruno @ the Mountain (Free) - Remember how that Jesu show got canceled at Spaceland last night? I guess the two openers still wanted to play a show for their LA fans......
Astra Heights @ Silverlake Lounge ($8)

Low End Theory: Eliot Lipp / Thavius Beck @ Airliner Club ($5) - For the underground hip-hop fans.

Dub Club: Twinkle Brothers @ the Echo ($15)

Van Morrison @ Gibson Amphitheatre

Gomez / Ben Kweller @ Wiltern - I like Ben Kweller, but I've never gotten into Gomez.

Tuesday Night Music Options 2/20/07

Ferraby Lionheart at Tangier Tonight

Last night was one of those weird Spaceland nights with celebrities in the house and technical glitches on stage. I was happy to finally see Tigers Can Bite You. Good indie rock. How does Dave Woody sing so high? Unfortunately Bedroom Walls played a short set and all I managed to see was a very sloppy cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Division Day sounded very good but some keyboard glitches interrupted their high energy set. Next week is the last chance to see them during their residency. I had to get home to bed before Twilight Sleep came on. I'm old (and got up at 6:00AM yesterday).

Tonight's Pick:

The Minor Canon @ Sea Level (Free) 7:00PM – The Minor Canon’s new album comes out today. Celebrate with them at Sea Level. There will be refreshments. They’re also doing the Monday night residency at Spaceland in April.

Then:

Ferraby Lionheart / Willoughby @ Tangier ($8) – Ferraby Lionheart is a local singer-songwriter who just signed to Nettwerk. This is a warm up show before he heads out with Autumn Defense and then the Walkmen with the Broken West. I'm anxious to see him, but circumstances always get in the way.

Also Appearing:

Jesu @ Spaceland - Jesu canceled due to work visa problems. I really don't know if Oxbow, Intronaut and Everlovely Lightningheart are still playing or not.
The Monolators / Nico Stai / Kissing Cousins @ the Echo (Free) – Nico Stai’s got some nice acoustic singer-songwriter songs.
Roxycottontail / Lazaro Casanova @ Safari Sam’s ($5 for 21+, $10 for under 21) – For the indie dance party scene. Download Lazar Casanova’s “Shorts and Heels”
Luke Paquin @ Hotel Café – Hot Hot Heat guitarist.

In Waves / Black Pine @ Silverlake Lounge ($7) – In Waves have been doing a Tuesday night residency through the Fold. They play dreamy, atmospheric rock ‘n’ roll.

Monday Night Music Options 2/19/07

I'm just back from vacation with no time for a real post today (actually my computer just froze and lost a decent one and I can't stand to lose another one).

TIVO alert: Silversun Pickups on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Monday's Pick:
Divsion Day / Twilight Sleep / Bedroom Walls / Tigers Can Bite You @ Spaceland (Free) - Division Day play that head nodding energetic indie rock. I've gone the first two weeks and I've had a really good time. Bedroom Walls play the cool dream pop. Tigers Can Bite You is Dave Woody's (Fiver) new band. I haven't seen Twilight Sleep, but they're tight with Silversun Pickups, so maybe they'll come down after their Tonight Show performance? They'll be playing the big blog showcase at SXSW.

Also Worth Seeing:
The Airborne Toxic Event / Dead Ponies / Brother Reade / The Share Ease @ Viper Room ($10) - Solid lineup if you're on the westside. The Airborne Toxic Event will be doing the residency at the Echo in March. Dead Ponies put on a good live show.

Ralph Stanley / Howe Gelb @ El Rey ($25) - Stanley's music was featured prominently in the Coen Brothers' O Brother.

Weekend Music Options 2/17/07-2/18/07

Camera Obscura Play the El Rey on Saturday

Saturday's Pick 2/17/07:
Camera Obscura / Portastatic @ El Rey (Sold Out) – Top quality Scottish indie pop band. For all you fans of Teenage Fanclub and Belle & Sebastian. Portastatic is Mac from Superchunk and Merge!

Also Worth Seeing:

The Switch @ M Bar [1253 N. Vine Street] ($5) – The Switch play saloon-y, piano/keyboard-driven pop. It’s a little reminiscent of Harry Nilsson or Paul Williams. The Tripwire has a nice review of their new EP and Rock Insider wrote a nice post about them this week as well. They’ve got MP3s too.
Sparta / The Movies @ the Echo ($12) Early Show @ 6:00PM – Look at the time, don’t miss them. The Movies are one of my favorite local acts.

I know less about these:
Hearts of Palm U.K. / Murmur @ Pehrspace – Hearts of Palm UK play pleasant dancey, lo-fi, electro-folk. I noticed when I googled Murmur that there are about 47 bands with that name. I think some of them might have to change their name.
Neko Case / Eric Bachmann @ the Fonda (Sold Out) – I love Neko’s work with the New Pornographers. She made one most critically acclaimed records of 2006.
Lifetime / Mika Miko @ the Troubadour ($15)

Sunday's Happenings 2/18/07:

Yes Me to Death / Strangers Smile / DJ Kevin Bronson @ the Smell (Free) – This is an early show (around 6:00PM) which is good on a Sunday night. I went the first week and it was a lot of fun. Next week I’m DJ’ing, but that shouldn’t stop you from coming out this week….

Give Up (sad music night) @ the Redwood Bar [316 W. 2nd St. ] (Free) – Star studded lineup of DJs including: Frosty, Dntel, Devendra Banhart and Tim Koh. Remember when they used to do this at Bigfoot? I don’t go to the Bigfoot anymore.
Lion Fever @ the Echo ($5) – Record release party.
Anavan @ Il Corral [662 no. heliotrope dr]

Los Angeles Scene Update 2/15/07

Manimal Vinyl will be releasing a Madonna Tribute album with a bunch of LA bands including: Devendra Banhart, Giant Drag, Winter Flowers, The Chapin Sisters, Lavender Diamond, Jonathan Wilson and the Tyde. Read about it on SPIN.

Berko’s doing the Monday night residency at Spaceland in March.

Airborne Toxic Event’s doing the Monday night residency at the Echo in March.

Buffalo Roam and Castledoor are both doing the residency at the Silverlake Lounge in March.

Other recent show announcements:
Troubadour: Kenny “Motherfucking Footloose” Loggins on 3/8; Earl Greyhound on 3/31; Art Brut 4/21

McCabe’s: Brightblack Morning Light on March 4th.

The Echo: The Horrors on 3/19

The Avalon: Paolo Nutini on 3/23

The Roxy: Sean Lennon on 4/24

House of Blues: Elvis Costello on 5/2

Hollywood Bowl: Roger Waters on 6/13

Cerritos Center: Emmylou Harris on 10/10

Look for show announcements soon from John Vanderslice and the Decemberists. Hopefully now that Coachella’s sold out we can get some local shows from a lot of the bands on the bill.

Pitchfork “announced” that David Yow has officially joined local abrasive rockers, Qui. You might remember that I announced that back on January 5th. They also announced that GSL would be putting out the new Qui album. That’s not true; Qui are still free agents.

Ferraby Lionheart signed to Nettwerk. They’ll be digitally reissuing his EP on 2/27 and expect a full length record this summer. Here are his upcoming tour dates.

Ferraby on Tour:
w/ The Autumn Defense
2/23: Urban Lounge, Salt Lake
2/24: Soiled Dove, Denver
2/26: Record Bar, Kansas City
2/27: Canopy Club, Champaign
2/28: Pabst Theater, Milwaukee
3/01: Cafe Montmarte, Madison
3/03: Park West, Chicago
w/ The Walkmen & The Broken West
3/08: Bowery Ballroom, New York
3/09: Ottobar, Baltimore
3/10: Little Brothers, Columbus
3/11: Schubas, Chicago
3/12: Southgate House, Newport, KY
3/13: Headliners, Louisville
3/18: The Parish @ HOB, New Orleans
3/19: Beta Bar, Tallahassee
3/20: 40 Watt, Athens
3/21: Grey Eagle, Asheville
3/22: Local 506, Chapel Hill
3/23: Rock N Roll Hotel, DC

Bronson at Buzz Bands reports that Patrick Park has just signed to Curb Appeal records. Bronson also reports that Park will have a song in the series finale of the O.C. on 2/22/07.

Silversun Pickups are on the Tonight Show on Monday 2/19. Silversun Pickups will also be performing on LAST CALL with CARSON DALY on Tuesday Feb 20th. The shows will air FEB 27th, 28th, MAR 1st and 2nd. Get tickets through:
-If you tune into KROQ (106.7 LA) this Friday morning, Carson will call into the Kevin and Bean Show to give away tickets. If you win your way in on KROQ: they will choose 10 grand prize winners who will attend sound check, meet the band and receive front row tickets to the taping

OR

If you are interested in seeing SILVERSUN PICKUPS in person and being a part of the Last Call with Carson Daly audience, please visit www.1iota.com and follow these simple steps:· Click the 1iota TV Shows button · Click the Last Call with Carson Daly logo · Choose the SILVERSUN PICKUPS event link to request ticketsATTENDANCE TO THIS EVENT IS BY INVITATION ONLY!!! Remember, BE QUICK, because space is EXTREMELY LIMITED!!MUSTS:· YOU MUST BE AT LEAST 16 YEARS OLD· YOU MUST BE AVAILABLE ON Tuesday, February 20th. FROM 5:30PM - 7:30PM· YOU MUST HAVE A VALID PHOTO ID· PLEASE DO NOT WEAR WHITE, LIGHT BLUE, BEIGE OR LOGOS, AS THEY DON’T COME ACROSS WELL ON CAMERA· PLEASE DO NOT BRING LARGE HANDBAGS OR KNAPSACKS· NO CAMERAS OR RECORDING DEVICES"

Friday Night Music Options 2/16/07

Autumn Defense Plays Spaceland on Friday

Friday Night's Pick:

The Autumn Defense / The Parson Red Heads / Jonathan Wilson @ Spaceland ($10) – The Autumn Defense is John Stirratt and Pat Sansone of Wilco. I saw them at Largo a couple of years ago and they were pretty good. Mellow, sunshiney pop songs. The Parson Red Heads are one of my favorite local bands. Nice 1960s jangly sounds – influenced by the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Also Worth Checking Out:
Gris Gris / Darker My Love / Big Business @ 6th Street Gallery [1269 East 6th Street] ($5) – This is the release party for the new issue of the L.A. Record. I heard there might be a special guest band too (but no guarantees). I’ll give you a hint – they’re in Big Business’ top 12 friends on Myspace.
Imaad Wasif @ the Smell ($5) – He was in Alaska and has played with the New Folk Implosion and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. He’s another one of those cool Indians in indie rock. He put out an album last year on Kill Rock Stars.
Anavan @ Pehrspace [325 Glendale Blvd] ($7)

Don't Know Much About These:
Powder @ El Rey ($15)
Yo Majesty / Chow Nasty @ Echo ($8)

Thursday Night Music Options - 2/15/07

Rob Crow Plays the Troubadour Tonight (Hopefully While Wearing a Full Shirt)

Tonight's Pick:

Rob Crow (of Pinback) / To Live and Die in LA @ Troubadour ($14) – Rob Crow’s the lead singer of San Diego indie rock band, Pinback. He’s also released records with Goblin Cock, the Ladies, Thingy, Optiganally Yours and Heavy Vegetable. The new solo record isn’t quite as good as the last two Pinback records, but you’ll still enjoy it if you’re a Pinback fan. Download “I Hate You Rob Crow (single version)”

Also worth seeing:

The Good Listeners / Mezzanine Owls / Tandemoro / Cavil at Rest @ the Scene ($5) – The Rockinsider presents this showcase. Mezzanine Owls are a local shoegaze-influenced band with a new record out. The Good Listeners are a mellow, atmospheric band who usually play with some cool visuals behind them. Tandemoro are a fun indie band with keyboards and turntables and drums and guitars.
Mike Stinson @ Silverlake Lounge ($8) – Stinson’s my favorite local country singer. Well worth checking out if you’re into Merle Haggard, Buck Owens and Gram Parsons.
Josh Haden / The Minor Canon / The Chapin Sisters @ the Echo ($7) – Josh Haden was in the band Spain. They played mellow, moody jazz-inflected pop. It makes sense that the Minor Canon are playing with Haden tonight, because their new album (which I will recommend to you on Tuesday) follows in that tradition. The Minor Canon has a record release party at Sea Level on Tuesday and they’re doing the Monday night residency at Spaceland in April. If you can’t wait for that, then check them out tonight.

The 88 / Pierre de Reeder @ Que’s Riverbottom [4201 W. Olive in Burbank] ($5) – Nice intimate setting for the local power-pop dudes.

I know less about these:

Ima Robot @ the Roxy ($16)
Octopus Project @ Knitting Factory ($10) – David Fricke called this Austin band’s music, “instrumental space dance.” Download “Music Is Happiness”
Cracker / Camper Van Beethoven @ Safari Sam’s ($18) – David Lowery started Cracker after Camper Van Beethoven broke up. I remember watching the “Take the Skinheads Bowling” video on MTV when I was a kid in the mid-1980s.

Jessie Deluxe / Thee Gentleman Callers @ Spaceland - Harder rock'n'roll

Happy Valentine's Day 2/14/07 Music Options

Tonight's Pick:

Albert Hammond Jr. @ Troubadour (Sold Out) – Albert Hammond Jr. is/was the rhythm guitarist in the Strokes. I still like those first two Strokes albums. His first solo record comes out on March 6th and it’s good. Mostly mellow sunshiney rockers with solid guitar work. His voice is nice too.

Also Worth a Look:
Paleo / Bodies of Water @ the Scene – Paleo’s a freaky singer-songwriter from Brooklyn. Bodies of Water are a local manic, indie band that’s developing a good following.
The Head Cat @ Knitting Factory ($20) - Lemmy and Slim Jim Phantom’s new psychobilly band.
Infinity @ Safari Sam’s ($3 before 10pm, $5 after) – They’re a female fronted Journey cover band. They’re a lot of fun to see and they usually pack a huge crowd.
The Gray Kid / The Shys @ Spaceland ($8) – The Gray Kid’s a white rapper dude who I recently saw at the Echo. The Onion said he bridges the gap between Beck and Eminem. The Shys are a local band that play the bluesy rock ‘n’ roll.
Astra Heights @ Silverlake Lounge ($8) – Kevin Bronson at Buzz Bands has a mini-feature on these guys today. Check it out.
Low End Theory @ Airliner ($5 or $10) - CARLOS NIÑO & MIGUEL ATWOOD-FERGUSON with MIA DOI TODD, MYKA MILLER and PETER JACOBSON

New Release Tuesday 2/13/07

Kind of a small week, but there's a few things worth seeking out.

Top Five Most Interesting Releases:

Field Music: Tones of Town (Memphis) – This is the second LP from the British indie-pop band. I liked the first one well enough to seek this one out. They get compared to XTC, the Beatles and the like. Mojo and Under the Radar love this record and Pitchfork likes it. I’ll pick it up.

The Softlightes: Say No To Being Cool - Say Yes to Being Happy (Modular) – The lead singer was in the Incredible Moses Leroy. This record’s really easy on the ears if you like gentle guitar pop with electro flourishes. I’d say it’s in the same ballpark as Stars or the Submarines. Letter Grade: B-

Times New Viking: The Paisley Reich (Siltbreeze) – Seems like some of the more hyperbolic critics compare them to early Guided By Voices and very early Pavement. With today’s cheap technology it must take some serious effort to make something sound this shitty. Maybe they recorded it on a boombox? If you’re getting really sick of the new wave of overly indulgent indie rock, this might be your remedy. Matador recently signed them.

Lucinda Williams: West (Universal) – Amazing artist. Most critics seem to love this new record (EW, AMG, Rolling Stone), but a few of them are disappointed (New York Times, Aquarium Drunkard). Apparently it’s a very dark record. I need to hear it.

Various Artists: Imagine the Shapes (What’s Your Rupture) – This came out last week, but I totally forgot to mention it. What’s Your Rupture is a cool New York label. This CD collects their first four, vinyl only EP releases. Love Is All, Comet Gain, The Long Blondes and caUSE co-MOTION! are featured. Most label compilations are pretty lame, but this one is worth checking out. Love is All is a blogger approved Swedish band. The Long Blondes are a blogger approved British band. Comet Gain are the veterans of the bunch and have a Television Personalties vibe. Letter Grade: B

Also Released:
Phonograph: Phonograph (Arclight) – They’ve toured with Wilco and Paste Magazine likes these guys. Download “In Your Mind” and “Watch and Ward”

Tuesday Night Music Options 2/13/07

The Watson Twins Play the Echo Tonight

Spaceland was packed again last night for the Division Day residency. The Happy Hollows and Great Northern also brought in a lot fans. You've got two more weeks left to enjoy their residency.

Tonight's Pick:

The Watson Twins / Luther Russell @ the Echo (Free) – The Watson Twins go on at 9:00PM. They backed up Jenny Lewis on her excellent album and have an EP of their own. If you like easy, breezy country/folk, canyon rock then check them out. They're about six feet tall and excellent singers.

Also worth checking out:

In Waves / Dead Ponies / Polus @ El Cid ($7) – Atmospheric rock ‘n’ roll.

Occidental / The Lights From Here @ Silverlake Lounge ($8) – Occidental are local instrumental rockers and all around good guys. Joe at Radio Free Silver Lake recommends the Lights From Here.

I know less about these, but you might dig:

Switch / Acid Girls @ Safari Sam’s ($10) – For the indie dance party crowd. Switch is a producer, remixer, DJ and he’s working on the new M.I.A. record. That first M.I.A. record was a lot of fun. Download Switch’s Spank Rock “Bump” remix
They Shoot Horses Don’t They @ Knitting Factory ($10) – An eight piece band from Vancouver on the Kill Rock Stars label.
Luke Paquin @ Tangier ($8) – Hot Hot Heat guitarist.

Really can't recommend this headliner, but the support act would be good:

Incubus / Albert Hammond Jr. @ Wiltern (Sold Out) – Go listen to Albert Hammond Jr’s songs on Myspace. They’re pretty good.

Monday Night Music Options 2/12/07

Division Day Continues Their Residency Tonight

Tonight's Pick:

Division Day / Great Northern / Happy Hollows @ Spaceland (Free) – Last week was packed and this week should be too.The Happy Hollows go on at 9:00PM. They’re starting to build a lot of buzz based on their energetic live performances. I haven’t seen them yet, so ’m looking forward to it. Great Northern just signed to the cool local label, Eenie Meenie. Their debut LP comes out in May. They’re one of the many local bands that you need to check out. Division Day are the Monday night resident band in February. They’re a super tight, high energy indie band with catchy tunes. They play a lot of shows around the country with Birdmonster. Download “Tigers” and “Colorguard”

Other Options:
Miss Derringer / Munly & the Lee Lewis Harlots @ Safari Sam’s ($7) – For the Juxtapoz crowd.
Rolling Blackouts @ Viper Room ($10) – On the local Record Collection label.
Incubus / Albert Hammond Jr. @ Wiltern (Sold Out) – Albert Hammond’s new solo record is good.
Simon Dawes @ the Echo (Free)
Eastern Conference Champions @ Silverlake Lounge (Free)

Weekend Music Options 2/10/07-2/11/07

Saturday's Options (2/10/07):
Mirah / Anna Oxygen @ Troubadour (Sold Out) K Records recording artist.
Sarah Shannon / Goldenboy @ Spaceland – Sarah Shannon was the lead singer of Velocity Girl. Her new solo record came out last Tuesday.
The Roots / Lupe Fiasco @ Gibson Amphitheatre ($55) – Pretty good lineup, but I’m not sure I’d pay that much money for it.
Rocket / The Ettes @ the Scene
Living with War @ Largo ($20) – Artists featured on Neil Young’s Living with War website (including John Doe).

Sunday's Options (2/11/07):
ZZ Top @ House of Blues ($100) - $100 is a lot of money to pay for any concert.
Incubus / Albert Hammond Jr. @ Wiltern (Sold Out) - That forthcoming Albert Hammond Jr. record is good. He's playing some solo shows later on.
Smiths Nite @ Part Time Punks ($5) – With the Moon Upstairs and Sniks (featuring members of The Sharp Ease and Longstocking)
Yes Me to Death @ the Scene (Free) – 4:00PM to 8:00PM.

Friday Night Music Options 2/9/07

Sparklehorse Plays the Fonda Tonight

Like most Friday nights in LA, there's a little something for all you live music fans. Not sure if I'm going to be able to make it out tonight or not since I've got the premiere of a short film I worked on....

Friday Night's Pick:

Sparklehorse @ Henry Fonda ($18) – We all benefit from the pain Mark Linkous has lived. Danger Mouse produced several of the tracks on his new record and Tom Waits appears on one song. In the past he’s collaborated with PJ Harvey and Nina from the Cardigans and he produced one of Daniel Johnston’s records. The sound is fragile, rural psychedelica. I strongly encourage you to check it out, because he doesn’t make it out here very often.

Also worth checking out:
Radars to the Sky / Thailand @ El Cid ($8) – This is Radars to the Sky’s EP release party. They’re a new local, indie band with 90’s indie rock inspired moments, along with some much poppier elements. Go over to their Myspace page and listen to “Rude Surprise.” I know Joe at Radio Free Silver Lake is a big Thailand fan, but I haven’t heard much from them yet..
Xu Xu Fang / the Softlightes @ Tangier ($10) – This is the record release party for the SoftLightes, who have a record coming out Tuesday on Modular. You might remember the lead singer from his former band, the Incredible Moses Leroy. It’s a very easy on the ears record that incorporates electronic sounds with solid harmonies similar to Stars or Postal Service. Listen to “The Microwave Song” and tell me he doesn’t sound a little like Ben Gibbard. I know Bronson over at the LA Times/Buzz Bands is a big fan. I haven’t heard much from Xu Xu Fang yet, but I’m curious and I know Scott at Little Radio is a fan.
The Prix @ Lava Lounge – The Lava Lounge is closing its doors and the Prix is helping them do it. Nice mid-1960s British inspired music. Download The Prix’s “St. Domino”
Miho Hatori / Los Abandoned @ Troubadour ($12) – She was in Cibo Matto and then she had that 1960’s Brazilian-inspired band with Smokey Hormel. She’s also played with the Beastie Boys, Butter 08, Gorillaz and John Zorn. Here’s a message from her: “I am looking forward to seeing you!!! Ladies and Señores, bum rush the show.”

I know less about these:

Norah Jones @ Amoeba 6:00PM (Free)

Castaneda @ Spaceland

Mika Miko @ the Smell ($5) – Local all girl “pre-punk” new wave band on Kill Rock Stars [thanks for the correction]. They're one of the many local bands heading to SXSW in March.
The Autumns @ the Echo ($8) – Local band that I don’t know much about, but they’ve gotten 4/5 stars from Mojo and 8/10 from NME.

Thursday Night Music Options 2/8/07

Eleni Mandell at the Echo Tonight

Thursday's Pick:
Eleni Mandell / Ferraby Lionheart / Charlie Wadhams @ the Echo ($8) – Eleni Mandell’s celebrating the release of her new record (Miracle of Five out last Tuesday on Zedtone Records). Torchy, female singers aren’t something I regularly listen to, but she’s so talented it completely transcends genre. This record should appeal to fans of Jenny Lewis, Cat Power and Norah Jones. Read up on her at No Depression and Bust Magazine. Get there early enough to see the talented openers.

I know less about these, but how about these....
Jucifer / Sasquatch / Sirhan Sirhan @ the Scene – If what I just wrote about Eleni Mandell made you feel like vomiting, then this will be more your scene. Bring your earplugs.
Sparklehorse / Tom Brosseau @ Fingerprints Records in Long Beach 6:30PM (Free) – Sparklehorse will be at the Fonda tomorrow. They tour about once every eight years so you should probably go see them.
Ringside / Mumiy Troll / Donita Sparks @ the Roxy ($14) – Ringside is Balthazar Getty’s band. Mumiy Troll is from Russia. Donita Sparks used to be the lead singer of L7.
Hello Menno / Hopewell @ Silverlake Lounge ($7)
Bill Kirchen / Tony Gilkyson / Johnny Dilks @ Safari Sam's ($12) - Kirchen was the guitarist for Commander Cody. Gilkyson's a great guitarist who played in X and plays with Mike Stinson

The Amateurs @ Spaceland
Photo by Autumn de Wilde

Local Update 2/8/07

SXSW has finally released its first official round of performers. Local artists that list Los Angeles as their hometown include: A Cursive Memory, A Fine Frenzy, Anavan, Ceci Bastida, Bedroom Walls, Big Business, The Bird and the Bee, The Blood Arm, Boom Bip, The Broken West, Tom Brosseau, Bubonic Plague, Busdriver, Reeve Carney & the Revolving Band, Peter Case, CB Brand, The Chairs of Perception, Cold War Kids, Daedelus, The Dagons, Dengue Fever, Die Hunns, The Diffs, Dirty Harry, DJ Franki Chan, DJ Paparazzi, The Dowry, Earlimart, The Ettes, Eugene, Evidence, Faculty, Ferraby Lionheart, 400 Blows, Goldenboy, The Gray Kid, Great Northern, Health, Hello Stranger, The Human Abstract, Human Giant, The Icararus Line, Jack’s Mannequin, Kathleen Grace Band, Kissing Tigers, Kneebody, Let’s Go Sailing, The Little Ones, Los Abandoned, Manic, Marjorie Faire, Mezklah, Michelle Shocked, Midnight Movies, Mika Miko, Money Mark, Monsters are Waiting, Shannon Moore, Johnette Napolitano, No Age, The Oohlas, Ozomatli, Pamela Des Barres, Grant Lee Phillips, Pigeon John, Ariel Pink, Pop Levi, Joe Purdy, Quetzal, Qui with David Yow, Satellite Party, Silver Daggers, Simon Dawes, Smut Peddlers, the soul of john black, Spigga, The Spores, The Stolen Babies, Super Creep, Under the Influence of Giants, Upground, The Watson Twins, Peter Walker, West Indian Girl, Willowz and Jonathan Wilson. That’s a lot of my favorites and a surprising number of bands that are new to me.

The Village Voice’s annual Pazz & Jop issue where they compile critics best of lists is finally out. Bob Dylan’s Modern Times took the top prize. It was great to see Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins’ debut record, Rabbit Fur Coat, come in very high at #15. Impressive. The late J. Dilla’s Donuts came in at #30 and Beck’s The Information came in at #33. You know I still haven’t heard Beck’s record. A few of the records on my top 10 came in pretty high: The Decemberists at #13, Belle & Sebastian at #14 and Band of Horses at #23. A few of my top 10 records that didn’t move me came in even higher: Joanna Newsom at #9, Knife at #16, Lily Allen at #37 and The Hold Steady at #4.

The Little Ones were recently remixed by Stereolab. Very cool. Catch up with the Little Ones on their blog.

Recent Show announcements:
Earlimart March 9th @ The Getty-Los Angeles, CA.Tickets are FREE with RSVPthese tix will be released Feb. 22nd at this # 310.440.7300
Spaceland: Youth Group 3/13; Amy Winehouse 3/20; Apples in Stereo 3/22; Calla 3/27; Kelley Stoltz 4/13
El Rey: Voxtrot 5/29; Sondre Lerche 3/21
The Roxy: Amy Winehouse 3/19
Troubadour: Snow Patrol Acoustic 3/3 @ Noon (tickets on sale today at 1:00PM)
The Echo: Macromantics on 3/1;
Viper Room: The Pipettes/Happy Hollows/The Movies/Tigers Can Bite You on 2/26
Natural History Museum: Ghostland Observatory/Matmos 3/2
Hotel Café: El Perro del Mar on 3/14;
Glass House: Blonde Redhead 4/25
Amoeba: Norah Jones on 2/9
Malibu Performing Arts Center: Califone 5/3
John Anson Ford: Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen 7/7

Wednesday Night Music Options 2/7/07

Busdriver Performs Tonight at Airliner

Tonight's Pick:

Low End Theory: Busdriver / Daedelus @ the Airliner ($5) - Low End Theory is a weekly underground hip-hop club (hosted by Nobody) at the Airliner Club at 2419 N. Broadway. Busdriver's new to me. I saw him open the Deerhoof/Hella show and enjoyed it. He's got unusual beats (some supplied by Boom Bip) and bizarre lyrics. Seems like a cool alternative to the average night out in Hollywood/Silver Lake.

Also Appearing:

Club NME: The Lady Tigra @ Spaceland – She’s playing some show in Vegas next week with Kanye West, Gnarls Barkley, Girl Talk and Lupe Fiasco. Female hip-hop that seems like it falls somewhere between Peaches and Salt-N-Pepa.
Astra Heights / Oliver Future @ Silverlake Lounge ($8) – Astra Heights recently toured with She Wants Revenge and Monsters are Waiting. All three bands are playing in town tonight. They’re playing every Wednesday night in February at the Silverlake Lounge.
stellastar* / Monsters are Waiting @ Troubadour (Sold Out)
Brant Bjork @ the Scene – From his label: “Brant will play a Solo Electric show at 9:30pm and SABBIA, a desert film by Kate McCabe and Brant Bjork will be shown at 10:30pm. Although there will be some seating, it will be a casual screening so that people can mingle and drink while casually watching the film. Sabbia is a beautiful andmagestic vision of desert landscapes coupled with weird people sequencesand music by Brant Bjork.”
Dub Club: King Kong @ the Echo ($12)