LA Live Music Options 5/12/08 - 5/18/08

Everest Play the Viper Room on Monday and Conan O'Brien on Friday

Monday 5/12/08
[Recommended] Everest / Film School / The Savages / Castaneda @ Viper Room ($10 or free w/ RSVP to Viper Room’s Myspace) – Here’s a great night of free music. Don’t forget that Everest’s new record came out last week. I’m patiently waiting for the vinyl. Be sure to catch them Friday on Conan O’Brien. Film School’s well worth catching too. Joe at Radio Free Silver Lake is a big supporter of the Savages.
[Recommended] Le Switch / Division Day / Henry Clay People / Princeton @ the Echo (Free) – I caught Le Switch’s show last week and now that I’ve absorbed the new record, it’s great to hear the songs live. Last week they did a rousing cover of McCartney’s “Monkberry Moon Delight.” This week is their “Covers Night” so they’ll do a song by each of the support bands and each support band will do a cover of Le Switch. Get there early and stay all night because The Henry Clay People go on first and are followed by Division Day.
[Recommended] Mezzanine Owls / We Barbarians / Eagle and Talon / Black Kites @ Spaceland (Free) – Night two of the Mezzanine Owls residency.
Porterville / Anchors Aaweigh / Daniel Ahearn @ Silverlake Lounge (Free)
Nikki and Aaron Embry / Lukas Haas @ Hotel Café – I finally saw Amnion last week at Le Switch’s residency. Aaron Embry’s an extremely talented musician. The first half of the set had a total mid-70s Stevie Wonder vibe and they got a bit more experimental in the second half. Tonight they’re playing acoustic.
Poi Dog Pondering @ Troubadour ($20)

Tuesday 5/13/08
Radio Alert: The Submarines on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15 AM.

[Recommended] Dr. Dog @ Hotel Café (Sold Out) – Early show at 8:00 PM. One of my favorite bands. This is a great chance to see them in a small venue before they come back in August to the El Rey.
Gran Ronde / Sleepercar / Aushua / The Republic Tigers @ Spaceland ($8 / Free with RSVP to Gran Ronde on Myspace) – Sleepercar is Jim Ward from At the Drive-In’s new band. The record’s good. Gran Ronde is doing a Tuesday night residency. They’re getting some good press – a lot of people compare the lead singer to Robert Smith (but the music’s more upbeat than most Cure).
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin / Port O’Brien / The Black Watch @ the Echo ($10)
Joe Jackson @ Orpheum Theatre ($35-45) – His new record’s good. I saw him in Austin a few years ago and had a lot of fun.
The VLA / This Century @ Knitting Factory
I Make This Sound / The Breakups / Avi Buffalo @ Silverlake Lounge ($8) – I Make This Sound are a lot of fun to see live.
Willoughby / The Billionaires / Western States Motel @ Hotel Café – Later show.
Brett Dennen / Missy Higgins / Mason Jennings @ Barnum Hall in Santa Monica ($25)
Tokio Hotel @ Avalon
Modified By Man @ Viper Room

Wednesday 5/14/08
Radio Alert: Matt Costa on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15 AM.
Club NME: Efterklang / Slaraffenland / Karin Tatoyan @ Spaceland ($8) – Efterklang are a talented post-rock band from Denmark. Their two albums have gotten 7.4 and 7.9 from Pitchfork. Slaraffenland is Danish too and got a 7.9 from Pitchfork.
Langhorne Slim / Ferraby Lionheart @ Troubadour ($12) – Slightly askew folk troubadours
Cloud Cult @ Knitting Factory ($10) – There was a big feature on these guys in the Wall Street Journal last week. Their performance includes an artist who paints a picture which is then auctioned off at the end of the night.
The Last Goodnight @ the Roxy
Kate Nash / Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players @ The Fonda ($20)
Yoshida Brothers @ El Rey (Sold Out)
Brett Dennen / Missy Higgins / Mason Jennings @ Barnum Hall in Santa Monica ($25)

The Spider Problem / Queen Kwong @ Silverlake Lounge ($8)
Metallica @ the Wiltern ($203.50) – It’s a benefit, but I doubt that Ticketmaster is donating the $22/ticket convenience charge to the Silverlake Conservatory of Music. I’d probably pay it if I was a big fan.
Saint Motel / The Ringers / Satisfaction @ Viper Room ($10)
[Eraser] Five Year Anniversary Reunion @ Airliner

Thursday 5/15/08
Radio Alert: Mia Doi Todd on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15 AM.
[Recommended] The Little Ones / Ra Ra Riot / Army Navy @ Troubadour ($12) – The Little Ones put out some of my favorite indie pop songs in 2006 and recently put out a new EP. They’re always a ton of fun to see live.
The Time of the Assassins @ The Roxy
Hearts of Palm UK / Lady Tigra @ Silverlake Lounge ($8)
Eisley @ El Rey ($19)
Blowfly / Antiseen @ Knitting Factory ($15)
South / Silver State @ the Echo ($15)
Miss Derringer @ Bordello ($10)
Tina Deco / AM @ Hotel Café ($12)
Brant Bjork & the Bros / Chuck Dukowski Sextet @ Viper Room ($12)
Camp Freddy @ the Roxy ($20) – Tons of high profile guests.

Friday 5/16/08
Tivo Alert: Everest on Late Night w/ Conan O’Brien
KCRW Alert: Salt & Samovar at 11:15 AM on Morning Becomes Eclectic
[Recommended] Big Business / 400 Blows / Qui / Triclops! / Crystal Antlers @ The Scene ($8) – Originally scheduled for Charlie O’s, the show has been moved to the Scene. It’s a great lineup with some of the best heavy music (not just local, but anywhere). Nice to see that Matt Cronk from Qui is playing shows again.
American Music Club / Gordon Gano & the Ryan Brothers @ the Echo ($12) – A couple of alt rock legends. Download AMC’s “All the Lost Souls Welcome You to San Francisco”
Crowded House @ Orpheum Theatre ($42 - $52)
Jesca Hoop / Salt & Samovar / Let’s Go Sailing @ Hotel Café ($10)
The Proclaimers @ El Rey ($25)
Ozma @ Knitting Factory ($15)
Kathleen Edwards @ Troubadour ($18)
D.I.M. / Thomas Von Party @ the Echoplex ($17)
Radio 4 @ Spaceland ($12)
Year Long Disaster @ Viper Room ($15)
Kate Walsh / Brandi Shearer / Joe Purdy @ the Roxy ($13)
Shwayze / Cisco Adler @ Crash Mansion ($15)
Mia Doi Todd / Mariee Sioux @ McCabe’s ($15)
Shiloe / Repeater / The Hundred Days @ Bordello

Saturday 5/17/08
[Recommended] Earlimart / Voxhaul Broadcast / Siggy / Light FM @ the Echoplex ($14) – Aaron Espinoza’s been actively recording a new album that will come out this summer. Hopefully he’ll preview some tracks tonight.
What Made Milwaukee Famous / The Dead Trees / The Whip Saws @ Spaceland ($8)
The Dirtbombs / Dan Sartain @ Troubadour ($15) – Fun live band.
Robyn / Mellowdrone @ Wiltern ($20) – Swedish pop singer finally seems to be breaking in the US.
Merlinmoon @ Crash Mansion ($20)
Crowded House @ Orpheum Theatre ($42 - $52)
Mac Curtis @ Safari Sam’s ($20) – Rockabilly
Matt Costa / Delta Spirit @ El Rey (Sold Out)
The Smithereens @ Crash Mansion ($20) – I saw them back in high school. Fun times.

Armin Van Buuren @ Vanguard

Sunday 5/18/08
Tally Hall / De Novo Dahl / Low vs. Diamond @ El Rey ($16) – A night of quirky indie pop. Low vs. Diamond’s album is coming out on Epic Records on 7/29.
Grande Ole Echo: Stonehoney / Leslie and the Badgers @ the Echo (Free) – Early show at 3:00 PM.
Rocco DeLuca @ Hotel Café ($12)
Blake/e/e/e / Tim Rutili (from Califone) @ Echo Curio

Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Prom: Fol Chen / Castledoor @ All Star Lanes in Eagle Rock (Free)
The Hectors / Kissing Cousins @ Spaceland
Matt Costa / Delta Spirit @ Glass House in Pomona ($20)
Murder By Death / dios (malos) @ Troubadour ($12)
Brunch Americana: The Last Americans @ Safari Sam’s (Free) – Noon – 6:00 PM.
The February Fifths / Leviathan Brothers @ Tangier ($8)

Stagecoach Day 3 Journal - Sunday

Stagecoach journal continued….

Getting up on Sunday was much easier than getting up on Saturday. A good night’s sleep is such a relief. We didn’t have anybody in particular we wanted to see until Charlie Louvin at 4:40, so we figured we’d relax and take advantage of the house rental. A couple of people invited friends over and we did some grilling. I took advantage of the pool a little, but it was overcast and cool out.

Around 4:25 we headed over to the festival grounds for day three. Charlie Louvin was already on stage. Most people don’t have the good fortune of being healthy enough to tour when they’re 80 years old, and I really enjoyed seeing him up there. He kicked it off with “Great Atomic Power” which was a Louvin Brothers’ song. I actually heard Uncle Tupelo’s cover before I ever heard the original. Between songs Louvin was cracking jokes and completely charming. His voice has aged, but it really suits his songs. Another highlight was “The Christian Life,” which he introduced by telling a Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris anecdote. I only wish more people had ventured into the tent to enjoy the performance. Instead, we were forced to hear the sound bleed from Trace Adkins on the Mane Stage. Great start to the day anyway. By the way, The Louvin Brothers’ album cover for Satan Is Real is one of the best of all time.

Before the festival I was really looking forward to seeing the Carolina Chocolate Drops and then quickly dismayed by the fact that they were on at the same time as Louvin. Fortunately the stages were close so we were able to wander in and catch the end of their set. The Drops are a relatively young African-American stringband who play traditional fiddle and banjo music. It sounded fantastic on paper. When we walked in, the crowd was very enthusiastic and engaged. Unfortunately it came off as a little shtick-y to me. They totally lost me when they did a cover of Blu Cantrell’s “Hit Em Up Style” and one of the dudes was beatboxing. I was in the minority, because when they finished their set, the crowd gave them a standing ovation.

We wandered back over to the Palomino Stage and Billy Joe Shaver was performing. Shaver’s an outlaw country performer in the vein of Waylon Jennings (who covered a lot of Shaver’s tunes). You youngins might be familiar with Shaver’s voice from the theme song to Squidbillies. Anyway, Shaver’s a tough son of a bitch. I thought he sounded damn good and enjoyed seeing him play, but we decided to mosey on down the road.

We peeked our heads back into the Mustang Stage tent for a little bit of Michael Martin Murphey. Murphey’s a well respected songwriter who once had a band with Mike Nesmith and wrote some tunes for the Monkees. He did time in Austin and was active in the outlaw country scene. He’s written songs for Kenny Rogers and tons of others. You’ve all probably heard his hit song “Wildfire” without even realizing it was him. It was just him and an acoustic. His voice sounded nice, but being rocked that gently wasn’t holding our interest so we mosied on.

After a drink and a snack, we made our way back to the Palomino Stage for Jack Ingram. Ingram’s made his name playing Texas bars in mid-90s. After touring with Brooks and Dunn, he’s gotten a lot more famous. He was a good entertainer, but not necessarily my thing.

Poking our head back into the Mustang tent, we sat down for some Jerry Douglas. Douglas is an absolutely stunning dobro player. According to Wikipedia he’s played on over 1600 records - and it shows. Backed by a full band, it was like watching an amazing jazz band. I just sat down and enjoyed seeing a master at his craft. It was mostly instrumental, but completely engaging. Douglas is also a part of Allison Krauss’ band.

The act I was most looking forward to all weekend was George Jones. If pressed, I’d have a pretty tough time deciding if Jones or Merle Haggard is my favorite country singer of all time. I saw Haggard a number of years ago, and he was fantastic. I’d been warned to set my expectations a bit lower for Jones. At 76, Jones is no spring chicken (although he is four years younger than Charlie Louvin) and he’s abused the shit out of himself. The set was still pretty good. He didn’t do all the songs I wanted to hear, and cuts some of his best songs short, but I was still happy to see him.



We ended up leaving a couple of songs early to peak our head in on Ralph Stanley. All in all, Stagecoach is a superbly run festival. Attendance figures were reported at around 120,000 for the three days and everything seemed extremely smooth. I just wish the schedulers wouldn’t have put so many legends against one another. The way I figure it, you’ve got people there to see the modern stuff and people there to see the legends and less commercial stuff. Don’t make the people there to see the legends make such tough decisions.

Nick Drake's "Northern Sky"

Here's my weekly reminder to tune in to Sinking with Sylvia (and Sometimes Todd) on Little Radio. The show can now be heard on Friday from Noon - 2:00 PM. Tomorrow their guest is Bobb Bruno. Bobb's played with a lot of bands over the years including: The For Carnation (with Brian McMahan from Slint), Polar Goldie Cats, Goliath Bird Eater and Imaad Wasif. He's also recorded a lot of your favorite Smell bands like: Silver Daggers, Abe Vigoda, Mika Miko and Nels Cline. He also plays solo shows around town in a bunny suit.

Each week, they play a track of my choosing and then I write about it here. I'm still way behind, so today I'm writing about my pick on April 17th, Nick Drake's "Northern Sky." Drake was on my mind after a weekend trip to Kansas (to help my Mom with her taxes). Drake and taxes don't really fit together, but I did take a copy of Trevor Dann's biography, Darker Than the Deepest Sea - The Search for Nick Drake to read on the plane.

Drake's one of those amazing, enigmatic cult artists who died way too young. He left behind three mostly fantastic albums (there are a few tracks on Bryter Layter that I can live without) that are essential for any serious acoustic/rock music fans. In 1999, I read Patrick Humphries' Nick Drake - The Biography, which posed more questions than it answered. So it was with reluctance that I picked up this new biography. To my surprise, Dann has written a much more conclusive portrait. Dann scored some great interviews with childhood friends, traveling companions, Linda Thompson and others who knew him. While some fans might view Dann's writing as conjecture, he seems thorough without being fawning. It makes for a very interesting read. Dann enhances the bio, with a fair amount of criticism of the music.

I picked "Northern Sky" because the book made me want to go back and re-visit Bryter Layter, which is my least favorite Drake record. The book goes into John Cale's (Velvet Underground) involvement with the record. "Northern Sky" is one of two tracks featuring Cale. The two tracks are superior to anything else on the record. There's been a lot of speculation about Drake's sexuality over the years. Dann's book explores all the possibilities. He was a good looking fella, and it's hard for most of us to imagine turning down Francoise Hardy or Linda Thompson. He seemed to become an asexual guy, but he was still able to write this stunning love song.

For newcomers, this is still the last of the studio albums to pick up. For Drake fans, the Dann biography is the first one you should pick up.

Watch a clip from the Drake documentary, A Skin Too Few.
Go to Nick Drake's Myspace page and listen to "Northern Sky"

Recently Announced LA Shows

The good news is that My Bloody Valentine finally announced their LA shows. The bad news is that tickets are $50 + service charges (so I’m guessing a pair will be $130-ish) and that it’s in Santa Monica. Also, My Morning Jacket announced a show at the Greek.

Don’t forget that individual tickets for Hollywood Bowl events go on sale this weekend….

Widespread Panic @ Orpheum from 6/20/08 – 6/22/08 (on sale Saturday at 10:00 AM)

Grand Archives @ the Echo on 6/27/08 (on sale now at Ticketweb)

Fleet Foxes @ the Echo on 6/28/08 (on sale now at Ticketweb)

The 88 @ the Roxy on 6/28/08 (on sale Friday at 10:30 AM)

Chromeo @ the Fonda on 7/30/08 (on sale Saturday at 10:00 AM)

Lyle Lovett @ Orpheum on 8/3/08 (on sale Monday at 10:00 AM, presale on now)

Rock the Bells: A Tribe Called Quest / Nas / The Pharcyde / Mos Def / Q-Tip / Rakim / Redman / De La Soul / Raekwon / Ghostface / Immortal Technique / Spank Rock / Dead Prez / Murs / Kid Sister / Flosstradamus @ Glen Helen Pavillion on 8/9/08 (on sale Saturday at 10:00 AM, presale on now)

My Morning Jacket @ the Greek Theatre on 9/21/08 (on sale info TBD)

My Bloody Valentine @ Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 10/1/08 and 10/2/08 (correction: tickets on sale Saturday at 10:00 AM - Goldenvoice's website is wrong)

The Swell Season / Iron & Wine @ the Greek on 10/4/08 (on sale Saturday at 10:00 AM, presale on now)

Ticket Giveaway - The Parson Red Heads

The Parson Red Heads have been playing a steady stream of LA shows for the past two years. I've been a fan since the first time I saw them in August 2006. On Friday they're celebrating the release of their new EP, Owl & Timber with a show at Spaceland. If the two tracks on Myspace are any indication, it sounds like another great evolution for the band.

Their live shows are always fun. They've got an infectious energy and you can't help but smile throughout. Opening for them is another one of my favorite local acts, The Movies. Pretty damn good way to spend a Friday night. Also appearing are My Pet Saddle and The Monahans.

I've got three pairs of tickets to give away for the show. Email me [dukeufo at hotmail] and tell me who your favorite local band is at the moment. Please put ticket giveaway in the subject line.... The contest closes tonight at 9:00 PM.

Download The Parson Red Heads' "Got It All"