Live Music Options 7/7/08 - 7/13/08

King Khan Plays the Echo on Thursday

Monday 7/7/08
[Recommended] Stevie Wonder @ Hollywood Bowl ($55 tickets remain) – I’d love to see Stevie. This is a lease event so watch what you try to bring in.
[Recommended] Princeton / Le Switch / Young Animals / Dirty Mittens @ Silverlake Lounge (Free) – Princeton is doing the Monday night residency this month at the Silverlake Lounge. They play catchy indie pop. Le Switch goes on at 9:45.
[Recommended] Retribution Gospel Choir featuring Alan Sparkhawk / The Weather Underground @ Troubadour ($12)
Jail Weddings / Wounded Lion / Victim Vision / The Guilty Hearts @ the Echo (Free) – Jail Weddings are a 10-piece Doo-Wop inspired band. They’re doing the Monday night Echo residency this month.
Under the Influence of Giants / Nico Stai / Bridges @ Spaceland (Free) – From their Myspace page: “Under the Influence of Giants are a group of hot guys that will force you to masturbate with blueberry jam.”
Captain Ahab / Kevin Shields @ Pehrspace
Yellow Fever @ the Smell
American Idol @ Staples Center ($55)
Naim Amor @ Echo Curio (Free)
The Gits Documentary Screening @ Echoplex 7:30 PM ($10)

Tuesday 7/8/08
[Recommended] Earlimart @ Amoeba (Free) – At 7:00 PM. Celebrating the release of the new record.
[Recommended] Mikel Jollett / Andrew Spitser / Tim James / Sarah Negahdari / Evan Way @ Bordello ($5) – The lead singers of Airborne Toxic Event, Radars to the Sky, The Movies, Happy Hollows and Parson Red Heads each perform acoustic sets. Should be a fun show.
[Recommended] Bic Runga w/ Flight of the Conchords @ Largo ($30)
Yaz @ Orpheum ($75)
Von Iva / Astra Heights / Little Pieces @ Echo ($8)
J*Davey @ Echoplex (Free)
Surprise Me Mr. Davis @ Spaceland ($12) – Featuring members of the Slip
The Good Night / Ghost Town @ Silverlake Lounge ($8)
Mondo Generator / Year Long Disaster @ Viper Room

Wednesday 7/9/08
[Recommended] ((Sounder)) / Ivan & Alyosha / Empty Rooms / Slings @ Silverlake Lounge ($8) – Check out ((Sounder))’s Myspace page.

[Recommended] King Khan & the Shrines @ Amoeba (Free) - Starts at 7:00 PM.
Hearts of Palms UK / Broken Remotes / Happy Stars @ the Echo ($5)
Quitzow / Setting Sun @ Spaceland – Download Quitzow’s “On TV!”
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum @ Troubadour ($15)
Naim Amor / Learning Music / Novi Split @ Tangier ($10)
Thou @ the Smell
Free the Robots @ Airliner
Wynton Marsalis w/ special guest Willie Nelson @ Hollywood Bowl ($110 - $1) - Natalie Cole has been replaced by Willie Nelson.

Thursday 7/10/08
[Recommended] King Khan & the Shrines / The Jacuzzi Boys @ the Echo ($12) – The King Khan record’s a fun slice of Stax meets Nuggets jams. Download “Torture”
[Recommended] The Deadly Syndrome / Miss Derringer @ Hammer Museum (Free) – Deadly Syndrome always puts on a fun show.
Tilly and the Wall / Castledoor @ the Echoplex ($18) – Early show starts at 7:30 and ends by 11:00 PM.
Port O’Brien / The Builders and the Butchers @ Spaceland ($10)
Dave Mustaine @ Guitar Center on Sunset – 6:00 PM – an evening of insight, education, etc.
Yaz @ Orpheum ($75)
The Forward @ Knitting Factory
Robert Francis @ Troubadour ($10)
Drone Hooligan / Juanita and the Rabbit / Kissing Tigers / Stab City @ Silverlake Lounge ($8)
Codpiece / Service Group / Downtown Union @ Mr. T’s Bowl
The Gutter Twins / Ed Harcourt @ The Roxy ($25)
Glasser @ the Smell

Friday 7/11/08
[Recommended] Albert Hammond Jr. / The Parlor Mob @ Spaceland ($20 only limited tix available at door) – Hammond’s new record comes out this week and it’s definitely got some good tracks.
[Recommended] Jon Brion @ Largo ($30 / $20 for 2nd set only)
[Recommended] Ricky Gervais @ Kodak (Sold Out) – Filming an HBO stand up special.

[Recommended] Supergrass @ Amoeba (Free) - Starts at 7:00 PM.

Dan Deacon / Brother Reade @ The Getty (Free)
The Chapin Sisters / I See Hawks in LA @ McCabe’s ($16)
Hecuba / We Are the World / Rainbow Arabia / Hazm @ Bordello ($10)
Yaz @ Orpheum (Sold Out)
Chris Isaak @ Hollywood Bowl ($10 - $149)
The Graduate @ Troubadour
Maria Taylor / Johnathan Rice / / Nik Freitas @ Echoplex ($13)
Secondhand Serenade @ Troubadour ($15)
Planets @ the Smell

Saturday 7/12/08

[Recommended] Supergrass / The Morning Benders @ Avalon ($29)
[Recommended] RTX / Earthless / Bad Dudes @ Spaceland ($10) – Good time rock ‘n’ roll.
Ratatat @ the Echoplex ($20) – Their new record comes out tomorrow.
[Recommended] Ricky Gervais @ Kodak - Filming an HBO stand up special.
Downtown Film Festival Street Fest: Radars to the Sky / Death to Anders @ 501 South Hewitt (Free)
Blue Scholars @ El Rey
Chris Isaak @ Hollywood Bowl ($10 - $149)
Hieroglyphics @ El Rey ($18)
Three Bad Jacks @ Troubadour ($15)
Paul F. Tompkins Show w/ Tim Meadows @ Largo ($20)
Mentiritas @ the Echo ($7)
Minnie Driver @ Hotel Café [9:00 PM]
Pedestrian @ Hotel Café [Late Show]
Filter @ the Roxy ($20)
Babyland @ the Smell

Sunday 7/13/08
[Recommended] Summer Camp @ Little Radio [1218 Long Beach Avenue] – Not sure who is playing yet.
Matmos @ the Echoplex ($17)
Grande Ole Echo @ the Echo (Free) – Starts at 5:00 PM.
Tunnelmental Experimental Society / Secret Society of the Sonic Six / Ape Has Killed Ape / The May Fire @ Spaceland (Free)
Mack Winston and the Reflections / Paul Dillon / Whispertown 2000 / Olin and the Moon / Venus Illuminato @ Tangier ($8)
Live / Collective Soul / Blues Traveler @ Greek Theatre ($30 - $65)

Weekly New Releases: 7/1/08 (Earlimart)

The only noteworthy release this week is the new Earlimart disc.

Earlimart: Hymn & Her (Majordomo / Shout Factory)

It’s a weird release date for an indie record, but you get the feeling that Aaron Espinoza’s embracing the idea of working for himself. After years of putting out records for other people, last year he partnered with Shout Factory to release Mentor Tormentor on his own imprint (Majordomo). Now less than a year later, Hymn & Her is the follow-up. The new freedom and control suits him well. A decade as an indie band is a long time, but Hymn and Her shows that Earlimart’s still growing and putting out relevant music.

From the chug at the beginning of the first song, “Song For,” you know it’s an Earlimart record. It’s upbeat and a strong opener for the record. Earlimart’s always employed a rotating cast of members (members of Silversun Pickups, Great Northern and Everest have passed through) but as the album title and cover art suggests, Espinoza and Ariana Murray are the core (although Andrew Lynch, Michael Orendy and Brian Thornell have been playing with, and probably helped inspire the band in the past year).

While Espinoza still handles the majority of the lead vocals and songwriting, Murray steps out and provides a really nice contrast on “Before It Gets Better,” “Time For Yourself” and “Tell Me.” The production is particularly lush without being invasive. Vocals are often double-tracked to give them a fullness and most of the tracks have subtle nuances (whether it’s a sound effect, keyboard part, or odd instrument) that reveal themselves on repeated listenings. It’s another strong release from one of our best local bands.

Download "Song For"
Buy tickets to see Earlimart at Spaceland on 7/18/08

Live Music Journal 6/28/08 - 6/30/08 (Fleet Foxes, etc.)

I kept it pretty low key last week, but here’s the live music I did see…

Saturday night we took the LA Zoo shuttle over to the Hollywood Bowl for the Sgt. Pepper’s…Revisited. You take the good, you take the bad, you take ‘em both and there you have the Hollywood Bowl. When you roll in kind of late (but still before the show starts), sometimes you get assholes who won’t budge from your seats. You start to get a pit in your stomach as you approach your row of bench seats and it looks completely full. Like “how the fuck are we going to fit in there.” We crammed into the row, politely asked people to move down (one side kindly obliged) and then sat cramped like a Tokyo subway to attempt to enjoy the show. I could barely nudge my elbows to get to the bag at my feet holding my sandwich and bottle of wine. To top it off, about every 15 minutes the brat behind me kicked the back of my seat for 15 or 20 seconds before his/her (couldn’t tell) parent stopped him/her.

But we eventually relaxed.

The orchestra came out. Then Cheap Trick came out. Then a series of singers joined them. There was Ian Ball from Gomez, Simone (daughter of Nina Simone), Rob Laufer (playing the part of George Harrison) and Billy Corgan. I can’t remember exactly what songs they did, but it was fun. Then the intermission and they did Sgt. Pepper’s in its entirety.

Just a couple of observations. As my girlfriend pointed out, Ian Ball did a nice job of harmonizing and holding some of the vocals together for Robin Zander (who’s getting up there). Simone took some of the songs a little too far in the soul direction (at least for the arrangements) and lost a lot of people when she pimped her website. [This should have been a fun night, not a career opportunity for Simone. Give people a little credit, if they want to track you down, they know how to use Google.] Billy Corgan did a pretty good job on his two songs. I mean, it sounded like Billy Corgan doing the Beatles, but that’s not all bad. The musical highlight of the night was when Laufer did “Within You Without You” backed by a group of Indian musicians. The guy that did the sitar solo was particularly good. All in all it was another fun night at the Bowl, despite the initial crowd irritants.

On Sunday I ventured over to Little Radio’s Summer Camp to see Radar Bros. Tim James from the Movies was at the console and the room sounded good. The guys sounded great, the Colt 45 was flowing and the vibe was laid back with some little kids kicking it in the loft, dangling their feet over the stage.

As soon as they finished I rushed over to the All Star Lanes for the debut of the Damselles & the TC 4. The band is a tribute to all those great girl groups from the early 1960s. Maria from Le Switch and Jillinda and Britney from I Make This Sound were upfront wearing matching pink dresses. Backing them was The TC 4 (the TC stands for Todd Clifford) or Seb and Ryan from Division Day, Joe from Le Switch and Sean from the Voyeurs. I’m not sure if it was a one-off for the special occasion of if the band plans on doing more performances, but it was a lot of fun (see some Youtube footage). Unfortunately I couldn’t stick around for all the other bands. I did manage to catch some of Marvelous Toy, who I enjoyed.

I was really looking forward to seeing Fleet Foxes again and I would not be denied. By the time we got there, the line around the corner was ridiculous. I haven’t seen that since the Elliott Smith days (or possibly Arctic Monkeys). After a long day in the hot sun downtown, then a trip to Eagle Rock and a margarita at dinner, I couldn’t really focus on the opener, The Dutchess and the Duke. On the other hand, Fleet Foxes were completely compelling. The harmonies sounded great, the crowd was respectful and the band was completely likable. Much like when I saw them at SXSW this year. Great stuff guys.

Little Radio on Sunday / Part Time Punks on Sunday

The Henry Clay People Play Summer Camp This Sunday

Just a couple of updates on happening this weekend.

Little Radio's Summer Camp will feature a really good linup with the Henry Clay People and Film School. Admission has been lowered to $10 and still features free drinks. The bands usually start playing around 2:30 or 3:00 but there's usually free stuff if you get there earlier.

Later that night at Part Time Punk at the Echo you can see The Tyde and Phil Wilson (of the June Brides).

Club NME Tonight: Hypernova from Iran

I've been meaning to mention these guys for a while now....

Tonight's Club NME at Spaceland will feature Hypernova. A dance rock band playing Club NME isn't necessarily newsworthy by itself, but the fact that they're from Tehran, Iran is pretty interesting. I shouldn't have to tell you that the government in Iran hates rock 'n' roll way more than those redneck cops in Footloose. They've already been featured on NPR, MTV, The New York Times, and ABC News.

Solid Todd will be DJ'ing upstairs and Dia and Jennifer will be DJ'ing downstairs. Best of all, it's free (but you might need the password - Magic).