On Sales This Saturday:
Ryan Adams @ Royce Hall on 1/31/08
Hot Chip @ El Rey on 2/4/08
Rhett Miller @ Troubadour on 2/8/08
Editors @ the Wiltern on 2/9/08
Pinback @ Avalon on 2/21/08
Friday, December 07, 2007
Weekend Live Music Options - 12/7/07 - 12/9/07
Andrew Bird Plays the Orpheum TonightFriday 12/7/07:
Dengue Fever @ the Getty (Sold Out) – They’ve got a new album coming out in January. Fans won’t be disappointed. Cambodian psych done well. They’re fun to see live too.
Andrew Bird / The Handsome Family @ Orpheum ($25) – For me, Andrew Bird stole the show when he played the Hollywood Bowl with the Decemberists and Band of Horses. He tours as a trio but the band loop their instruments and re-create the lush, chamber sounds of the Armchair Apocrypha album. His live show is a little reminiscent of a Jon Brion show, where you feel like you’re watching a mad genius.
Radars to the Sky / Henry Clay People /The Hectors / The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra @
Spaceland – I’m totally on the Henry Clay People bandwagon. This is a good local indie lineup. Joe at RFSL was giving away free tickets for this.
Deborah Harry @ the Fonda ($31) – She’s a legend. My brother and I listened to Blondie’s “Rapture” 7” a lot when we were kids.
Winter Wonderland Slow Dance: Jeremy Jay / The Chapin Sisters @ the Smell ($5)
The Thermals / The Big Sleep @ the Echoplex ($15)
The Natural Disasters / The Monolators @ Mr. T’s Bowl
The Spice Girls @ Staples Center (Sold Out) – OK, now that you sing it, I do remember that one Spice Girls song.
Greg Laswell @ Hotel Café
Jon Brion / Nels Cline @ Largo (Reservations Booked) – If you get there early enough you might be able to stand at the bar.
The Black Watch @ Tangier
Raspberry Cocaine @ El Cid ($10)
Naked Raygun @ Knitting Factory ($16)
Mike Stinson @ Cinema Bar – If you’re in Culver City, this is a lotta fun.
Malcolm Sosa (of Rademacher) @ Pehrspace
Saturday 12/8/07:
Jon Brion / Nels Cline @ Largo (Reservations Booked) – If you get there early enough you might be able to stand at the bar.
Balkan Beat Box / Dengue Fever @ the Echoplex ($15)
The Coral Sea / The Playing Favorites / Light FM / Exitmusic @ Spaceland – Joe at RFSL was giving away free tickets for this.
Heloise & the Savoir Faire / Lovelikefire @ Bordello ($10) – If you’re into stalking Frodo, I recommend Bordello this show (he was at Spaceland last night). The band is very theatrical.
Almost Acoustic Christmas: Linkin Park / Angels & Airwaves / Avenged Sevenfold /
Bad Religion / Paramore / Rise Against / Serj Tankian @ Gibson Amphitheatre (Sold Out) – I’m sure they’re all perfectly nice people.
John Mayer @ Nokia Theatre LA Live ($70) – He’s got a hot lady friend.
Sunday 12/9/07:
Prefuse 73 / School of Seven Bells @ Troubadour ($17) – The new Prefuse 73 is a good listen. School of Seven Bells is the new band featuring Ben Curtis of the Secret Machines. School of Seven Bells is also playing the Airliner on Wednesday (if you’re busy on Sunday).
Heloise & the Savoir Faire @ Tangier ($8) – Another potential Frodo stalking spot.
Shonen Knife @ Knitting Factory ($15) – Still kicking.
Punk Rock Karaoke @ Spaceland ($12) – An all star punk band (Greg Hetson, Eric Melvin, Steve Soto, Derek O’Brien) play while you sing. If you’re a band, it might be a good night to try to weasel some free drinks out of Mitchell and Jeff.
Part Time Punks: Medium Medium / Abe Vigoda @ the Echo ($10)
Almost Acoustic Christmas: Muse / Feist / Jimmy Eat World / Modest Mouse / The Shins / Silversun Pickups / Spoon @ Gibson Amphitheatre (Sold Out) – This is more my speed. Who doesn’t like Muse, the Shins, Silversun and Spoon?
The Sounds / The Bravery @ Avalon (Sold Out) – This is labeled “A Very Special Event.” But I must ask - for whom?
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Reflections on My Top 10 LA Releases of 2006
2007 was an exciting year for local music fans. I'm not quite ready to post my top 10 local releases of 2007 (I'm still wrestling with a couple of things). In the meantime, here's a reflection on 2006's list.
A year ago I posted my top 10 albums for LA artists for 2006. Looking back at the list is a good starting point for reflecting on the LA music scene in 2007. Two of the artists, Silversun Pickups and Cold War Kids, exceeded all expectations and broke huge on an international scale in 2007 (tons of national TV appearances, sold out shows and love from MTV). Both bands recently played headling, sold out shows at the Wiltern. Silversun’s show sold out so fast they probably could have sold out additional nights. Silversun’s currently making the rounds at the big Alt rock radio station holiday shows. Cold War Kids were handpicked by the White Stripes for a supporting slot, but unfortunately that tour got canceled. To my knowledge, neither band has had time to get into the studio for work on their follow up yet. I’m guessing that both will happen in early 2008.
The artist at the top of my list last year was the Little Ones. The band toured their asses off in 2007, opening shows for Voxtrot, Kaiser Chiefs, the Walkmen, the Magic Numbers, Tilly and the Wall, We Are Scientists and the Boy Least Likely To. They spent a large chunk of the year in the UK, but also found time to record their debut full length with Dave Newton. Look for Morning Tide sometime next April (the exact date hasn’t been set yet). They just posted the first single on their Myspace page. While the single didn’t grab me immediately like the EP, I’m anxious to hear the full length.
Two of the other artists on the list, Division Day and Let’s Go Sailing, had their albums re-issued with national distribution. Both artists did their share of touring in 2007 with Let’s Go Sailing sharing the stage with Elvis Perkins and Division Day currently on tour with Voxtrot.
One of the other artists, Jenny Lewis, spent most of the year with her main band, Rilo Kiley. Rilo Kiley released their major label debut in 2007. She did find time to go see Neil Young at the Nokia (she was sitting a row in front of me). Jenny Lewis’ collaborators, The Watson Twins were also on my list last year. The Watson Twins toured with Magnolia Electric Co. and went into the New Monkey Studio to record their debut full length. Look for that to be released this Spring.
Some of the bands had lineup changes. The Clean Prophets staged their first national tour early in the year, then saw the departure of their bass player and don’t seem to be active anymore. Publicly, The Tyde had a quiet year. They lost a member, added an old friend (Josh Scwhartz) for a few local shows and lately, Darren has been playing some solo shows. Lastly, Languis was on my list too. Shortly after the release of that EP, they lost one of the main members. This year they released some singles this year, but I haven’t heard them.
In my recap last year I also listed three bands to look out for in 2007. I’m happy to say that all three bands (The Broken West, The Parson Red Heads, The Deadly Syndrome) will be in my best of 2007 list tomorrow….
A year ago I posted my top 10 albums for LA artists for 2006. Looking back at the list is a good starting point for reflecting on the LA music scene in 2007. Two of the artists, Silversun Pickups and Cold War Kids, exceeded all expectations and broke huge on an international scale in 2007 (tons of national TV appearances, sold out shows and love from MTV). Both bands recently played headling, sold out shows at the Wiltern. Silversun’s show sold out so fast they probably could have sold out additional nights. Silversun’s currently making the rounds at the big Alt rock radio station holiday shows. Cold War Kids were handpicked by the White Stripes for a supporting slot, but unfortunately that tour got canceled. To my knowledge, neither band has had time to get into the studio for work on their follow up yet. I’m guessing that both will happen in early 2008.
The artist at the top of my list last year was the Little Ones. The band toured their asses off in 2007, opening shows for Voxtrot, Kaiser Chiefs, the Walkmen, the Magic Numbers, Tilly and the Wall, We Are Scientists and the Boy Least Likely To. They spent a large chunk of the year in the UK, but also found time to record their debut full length with Dave Newton. Look for Morning Tide sometime next April (the exact date hasn’t been set yet). They just posted the first single on their Myspace page. While the single didn’t grab me immediately like the EP, I’m anxious to hear the full length.
Two of the other artists on the list, Division Day and Let’s Go Sailing, had their albums re-issued with national distribution. Both artists did their share of touring in 2007 with Let’s Go Sailing sharing the stage with Elvis Perkins and Division Day currently on tour with Voxtrot.
One of the other artists, Jenny Lewis, spent most of the year with her main band, Rilo Kiley. Rilo Kiley released their major label debut in 2007. She did find time to go see Neil Young at the Nokia (she was sitting a row in front of me). Jenny Lewis’ collaborators, The Watson Twins were also on my list last year. The Watson Twins toured with Magnolia Electric Co. and went into the New Monkey Studio to record their debut full length. Look for that to be released this Spring.
Some of the bands had lineup changes. The Clean Prophets staged their first national tour early in the year, then saw the departure of their bass player and don’t seem to be active anymore. Publicly, The Tyde had a quiet year. They lost a member, added an old friend (Josh Scwhartz) for a few local shows and lately, Darren has been playing some solo shows. Lastly, Languis was on my list too. Shortly after the release of that EP, they lost one of the main members. This year they released some singles this year, but I haven’t heard them.
In my recap last year I also listed three bands to look out for in 2007. I’m happy to say that all three bands (The Broken West, The Parson Red Heads, The Deadly Syndrome) will be in my best of 2007 list tomorrow….
Thursday Night Music Options 12/6/07
Thursday 12/6/07:
Ice Skating Alert: Castledoor / You Me & Iowa @ Pershing Square (Free) – 7:00PM
Grande Ole Echo Present Country Christmas: Mike Stinson / 5 O’Clock Somewhere / Kingsizemaybe / David Serby @ the Echo ($10) – A great country lineup and Uncle Roy as Santa.
Boom Bip @ Viper Room ($12) – Let’s try this again. I mistakenly said this show was yesterday. I’m sorry, we all make mistakes. Please don’t beat me sir. They’re good, you should check them out today, not yesterday. Girlschool Night.
Midnight Movies / Voxhaul Broadcast / Heloise & the Savoir Faire @ Spaceland ($8)
Wreckless Eric @ Safari Sam’s – Stiff Records artist who was in his prime in the late 1970s. “Whole Wide World” is well worth an iTunes download.
Artichoke / The Kris Special @ Mr. T’s Bowl
The Royal Highness @ On the Rox – Danish stoner rock.
The Nightwatchman @ Hotel Café – Tom Morello’s activist folk. I saw his buddy, Zach de la Rocha last weekend in Eagle Rock.
The Watkins Family Hour @ Largo
Cut Chemist / Edan @ Silent Movie Theatre (Canceled) – THIS WAS CANCELED.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Zoom: Balboa's Cannon & Sinking Radio
This is my weekly reminder to tune-in to Sinking with Sylvia (and Sometimes Todd) on Little Radio Thursday from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM PST. Tomorrow they’ll be doing an 7” show. Hopefully that means they’ll be playing some rare gems. They’ll also have Deerhoof tickets to give away. Also on Little Radio, Scott Ford’s holding a contest for unsigned bands on his show. The winner gets some recording time at Little Village and music released on a Capitol Records compilation.
On October 25, Sylvia conveniently forgot to play my track (at least it helps me catch up a little). But on November 1st (download the podcast) the theme of the show was music from the 1990s. I was in high school and college in the 1990s, so obviously there’s a ton of music I could have chosen. In the early days of this blog (November 2005), I did a countdown of my top 20 albums from the 1990s (11-20 Here & 1-10 Here). Looking back on it, I still agree with it in principle. I’ve gotten so disinterested in what Beck and the Flaming Lips are doing these days, I’d probably push Wilco, Elliott Smith and Belle & Sebastian above them. Anyway, I didn’t pick anything from that list on November 1st, opting instead for something more obscure.
I did my undergraduate degree in Lawrence, Kansas. The mid-1990s was a fairly fertile time for the music scene in Lawrence and Kansas City. Major labels were still on the hunt for grunge soundalikes and/or the next Seattle. Paw might have been the most successful band of that time & place (at least on the national scene). They got signed to A&M and had a minor MTV hit with Jessie (a grungey tune about a dog that also had a weird pedal steel solo). Another band that got a major label deal (Arista) was Stick. I may have made it into a mosh pit or two at their shows. One of my favorite local artists at the time was Kill Creek. They were signed to Mammoth Records which was a pretty big indie at the time (before getting gobbled up by Disney/Hollywood/Buena Vista). Their crunchy, power pop still holds up pretty well. There was also a fairly active early Emo (post Sunny Day Real Estate, pre-Hot Topic) scene. Some of the stars of that scene were Vitreous Humor (who were signed to Crank! – an LA based label), Boy’s Life (also on Crank! for an album) and Giant’s Chair. There were a couple of other heavy bands that I went to see about every other week (Shiner, Season to Risk (Columbia) and Tenderloin (Warner Bros.) spring to mind).
There are really only two bands from that place/era that I still listen to today: Butterglory and Zoom. Butterglory was a lo-fi indie band on Merge who were constantly compared to Pavement. While Butterglory maybe never quite put measured up to that, they did release some minor gems that hold up for the genre. Lead singer, Matt Suggs, continues to record for Merge. He has released two albums under his own name, and is currently records under the name White Whale.
Which, at long last, brings us to the song I picked on 11/1/07… Zoom’s “Balboa’s Cannon.” After all that buildup, I’m too tired to write anything else. There’s a good review of the album (written by an old friend from Lawrence) on the All Music Guide. I will say that I still really dig the guitar sound on the record. It’s like a mix of surf guitar and Polvo. The record was produced by underground legend, Greg Sage of the Wipers. Here’s a download of “Balboa’s Cannon” (via Built On a Weak Spot). One of the guitarists on the record was Jeremy Sidener who went on to play in Panel Donor (another good Lawrence band) and now plays bass in the Danny Pound Band (the new band from the lead singer of Vitreous Humor). Sidener recently toured with Pink Nasty as well.
On October 25, Sylvia conveniently forgot to play my track (at least it helps me catch up a little). But on November 1st (download the podcast) the theme of the show was music from the 1990s. I was in high school and college in the 1990s, so obviously there’s a ton of music I could have chosen. In the early days of this blog (November 2005), I did a countdown of my top 20 albums from the 1990s (11-20 Here & 1-10 Here). Looking back on it, I still agree with it in principle. I’ve gotten so disinterested in what Beck and the Flaming Lips are doing these days, I’d probably push Wilco, Elliott Smith and Belle & Sebastian above them. Anyway, I didn’t pick anything from that list on November 1st, opting instead for something more obscure.
I did my undergraduate degree in Lawrence, Kansas. The mid-1990s was a fairly fertile time for the music scene in Lawrence and Kansas City. Major labels were still on the hunt for grunge soundalikes and/or the next Seattle. Paw might have been the most successful band of that time & place (at least on the national scene). They got signed to A&M and had a minor MTV hit with Jessie (a grungey tune about a dog that also had a weird pedal steel solo). Another band that got a major label deal (Arista) was Stick. I may have made it into a mosh pit or two at their shows. One of my favorite local artists at the time was Kill Creek. They were signed to Mammoth Records which was a pretty big indie at the time (before getting gobbled up by Disney/Hollywood/Buena Vista). Their crunchy, power pop still holds up pretty well. There was also a fairly active early Emo (post Sunny Day Real Estate, pre-Hot Topic) scene. Some of the stars of that scene were Vitreous Humor (who were signed to Crank! – an LA based label), Boy’s Life (also on Crank! for an album) and Giant’s Chair. There were a couple of other heavy bands that I went to see about every other week (Shiner, Season to Risk (Columbia) and Tenderloin (Warner Bros.) spring to mind).
There are really only two bands from that place/era that I still listen to today: Butterglory and Zoom. Butterglory was a lo-fi indie band on Merge who were constantly compared to Pavement. While Butterglory maybe never quite put measured up to that, they did release some minor gems that hold up for the genre. Lead singer, Matt Suggs, continues to record for Merge. He has released two albums under his own name, and is currently records under the name White Whale.
Which, at long last, brings us to the song I picked on 11/1/07… Zoom’s “Balboa’s Cannon.” After all that buildup, I’m too tired to write anything else. There’s a good review of the album (written by an old friend from Lawrence) on the All Music Guide. I will say that I still really dig the guitar sound on the record. It’s like a mix of surf guitar and Polvo. The record was produced by underground legend, Greg Sage of the Wipers. Here’s a download of “Balboa’s Cannon” (via Built On a Weak Spot). One of the guitarists on the record was Jeremy Sidener who went on to play in Panel Donor (another good Lawrence band) and now plays bass in the Danny Pound Band (the new band from the lead singer of Vitreous Humor). Sidener recently toured with Pink Nasty as well.
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