Thursday 05.01.08: RUSE Performance Lounge presents CINCO DE MAYPOLE @ Echo

Cinco De Maypole : A Celebration of all things May and Pole

featuring performances by

The Poor Dog Group
Ayanna Hampton
Kristina Wong
Gregory Barnett
Meg Wolfe
Anna Scott
Nao Bustamante

arts and crafts on the patio
special surprise guests

your hosts:
The Poor Dog Group and
Marcus Kuiland-Nazario

For more info:
participant_observer@yahoo.com

8pm / $5 / 18+

Friday 05.02.08: First Fridays with AKRON/FAMILY / THE DODOS @ Natural History Museum

First Fridays – Dinner, Discussion, Music & More

with:
Akron/Family || Listen
The Dodos || Listen

@ Natural History Museum
900 Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007

FMI: http://www.nhm.org/firstfridays/

5:30pm – Tour
6:30pm – Discussion
8:00pm – Music

5pm / Adult $9, students (w. ID) $6.50, Members FREE / All Ages

Friday 05.02.08: UNDERGROUND & ECHO PRESENT – SUPREME LOVE GODS / LADIES & GENTS @ echo

with:
Supreme Love Gods || Listen
Ladies & Gents

plus resident DJs spinning the best in Brit / Indie / Soul / Twee / Madchester / Punk / Glam

FMI: ClubUnderground.net

9pm / $5 if 21+, $7 under 21 / 18+

Friday 05.02.08: SOULSLAM LA3 – Prince VS Michael Jackson – with DJ SPINNA @ echoplex

DJ Spinna || Listen

Every year in New York DJ Spinna rocks a party called Soul Slam. It draws upon a couple thousand people annually. We are very happy to invite you to a special and rare installation of the Soul Slam here in Los Angeles. We know you will appreciate it just as much as we do. The King or The Prince? you decide…

DJ Spinna sets the tone of this event as he lays down track after track from both MJ’s and Prince’s extensive music catalogues along with tracks of their cohorts, i.e.; Jermaine Jackson, Vanity, Janet, Sheila E., J5, The Time, remixes, samples, etc.

Opening set by DJ Jeremy Sole [KCRW, Musaics,Afro Funke']

@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

9pm / $11 adv, $15 dos / 21+

Saturday 05.03.08: NORTEC COLLECTIVE PRESENTS: BOSTICH & FUSSIBLE @ echo

Bostich + Fussible

Their Latin Grammy-nominated Tijuana Sessions, Vol. 3 leaned more toward the techno half of their sound, but here Bostich and Fussible get closer to their Norteño side. It’s far from an acoustic album, with loops, vocoders, and synths throughout. But the accordions get turned up higher, the horns become brassier, and acoustic percussion plays a bigger role. The beats still draw more from techno, though traces of Norteño’s polka-bounce remain, as on “Shake It Up.” Some songs lean more toward electronics (“Rosarito”) than others (“Brown Bike,” which includes vocals), but everything is efficient, nothing clocking in even as long as four minutes. They’re not hard-core Norteño–no Mexican corridos about life on the border, say–but definitely closer on the family tree. – XLR8R

9pm / $10adv, $12dos / 18+

Saturday 05.03.08: BOOTIE LA @ echopex

BOOTIE LA
LA’s monthly mashup bootleg party is now at the Echoplex!

Mashup DJs:
PARTY BEN
DJ PAUL V.
DJ AXEL

Midnight mashup show:
KAY SEDIA

BOOTIE LA is now at the Echoplex, with more room to dance, two bars, great sound and lights, and mashup videos on three giant screens!

This month — from San Francisco — Party Ben returns to rock the decks, as well as spin several of his own custom mashup videos throughout the night. Resident DJ Paul V. — from Indie 103.1′s “Neon Noise” — and special guest DJ Axel keep your brain guessing and body dancing with creative song combinations, celebrating — and satirizing — the many different forms of music. And returning to the stage for the midnight mashup show — just in time for Cinco de Mayo — is Kay Sedia!

Launched in San Francisco in 2003, BOOTIE was the first club night in the United States dedicated solely to the burgeoning artform of the bootleg mashup. Mixing and matching every conceivable musical genre, era, and style into one big dance party where everyone feels welcome, it’s a place where all sounds, cultures, and sexualities can unite on the dance floor. Bootie provides the soundtrack for the A.D.D. generation — with free mashup CDs given away like candy! Bootie – because one song at a time just isn’t enough.

FREE Bootie CDs to the first 50 people through the door!

FMI: http://www.BootieLA.com

9pm / $5 before 10 pm, $10 after / 21+

Sunday 05.04.08: GRAND OLE ECHO with MIKE STINSON / HELLBOUND GLORY / THE MIDNIGHT BOYS / 50 CENT HAIRCUT

with:
Mike Stinson || Listen
Hellbound Glory
The Midnight Boys || Listen
50 Cent Haircut || Listen

hosted by Chris Morris and DJ Cuz’n Roy

5pm / FREE / 21+

Sunday 05.04.08: Part Time Punks & Echo present BLOOD ON THE WALL @ echo

Blood on The Wall || Listen

Unless you never heard the reedy sneer of the Violent Femmes’ Gordan Gano and The Pixies’ Black Francis, or you completely missed the affected phrasing of Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, there’s no denying Brooklyn’s Blood on the Wall’s awkward caterwauls come with ingrained precedents. But with this rumpled revivalist trio the foundation is so strong there’s always a way to craft an accommodating floor plan and accessorize it with soused jangle and splayed arrangements. All the late ’80s college-rawk cast-offs coagulate into an atonal, unhinged, and altogether pleasing condensation of agitated splatter. A somewhat heavier third full-length, Blood on the Wall’s latest still manages to avoid being heavy-handed with its heritage. – XLR8R

with:
Nite Jewel

with resident djs Michael Stock and Benny Shambles spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $10 / 18+

Monday 05.05.08: TIM & ERIC AWESOME TOUR @ Echoplex

Tim and Eric || Watch

The main act began with a Tony Clifton-esque Tim Heidecker singing “Here She Comes” over pre-programmed Casio music. The balcony was erupting in so much laughter, I was sure there was an audience plant. So I was completely startled to turn and find myself face to face with a heavily lipsticked and wigged Eric Wareheim, hobbling through the crowd on crutches. The 6 foot 6 man in bad makeup was a hideous and hilarious sight to behold. We were treated to clips from Tim & Eric’s shows and podcasts , as well as an indulgently long behind-the-scenes with a Gary Busci coked up freakout. The best T&E moments come when they play with all the best tools of the 80s: keytars, spandexs, smoke machines, and lots of bad video effects. – Willemette Weekly

@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

8pm / $17 adv, $20 dos / 18+

Monday 05.05.08: Aquarium Drunkard presents LE SWITCH / FRANKEL / AMNION / SEASONS @ echo

Le Switch || Listen

Employing a timeless mix of guitar, bass, keys and drums, Le Switch deftly augment their boozy, barroom pop sound with multi-instrumentalist Maria DeLuca’s viola and trumpet interspersed throughout their set. Deluca’s subtle textures, combined with Kyle’s trademark lyrical howl, make up Le Switch’s secret weapon. When the two come together, expertly backed on drums/percussion by Joe Napolitano, Josh Charney on keys, and Christopher Harrison on bass, even the most jaded hipster in the bar can’t help but take notice. – Aquarium Drunkard

with:
Frankel || Listen
Amnion || Listen
Seasons

Presented by: Aquarium Drunkard

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Tuesday 05.06.08: TIM & ERIC AWESOME TOUR @ echoplex

Tim and Eric || Watch

The main act began with a Tony Clifton-esque Tim Heidecker singing “Here She Comes” over pre-programmed Casio music. The balcony was erupting in so much laughter, I was sure there was an audience plant. So I was completely startled to turn and find myself face to face with a heavily lipsticked and wigged Eric Wareheim, hobbling through the crowd on crutches. The 6 foot 6 man in bad makeup was a hideous and hilarious sight to behold. We were treated to clips from Tim & Eric’s shows and podcasts , as well as an indulgently long behind-the-scenes with a Gary Busci coked up freakout. The best T&E moments come when they play with all the best tools of the 80s: keytars, spandexs, smoke machines, and lots of bad video effects. – Willemette Weekly

@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

8pm / $17 adv, $20 dos / 18+

Tuesday 05.06.08: LAURA VEIRS / LIAM FINN @ echo

Laura Veirs || Listen || Watch

“Sorry I was cold, I was protecting myself,” Laura Veirs begins, the first line in the first song (“Pink Light”) of her sixth luminous album, in a voice that is clear and pure and vibrato-free with just the hint of a child’s blurry vulnerability at the edges. It sounds personal, confessional, unadorned and yet with the next line the verse turns fancifully metaphoric. “Drifting along with my swords out flying /Tattering my own sails and I tattered yours, too.” It is the first in a salvo of 12 episodes of songwriterly magical realism, set in tidal pools and seagoing vessels and populated with pirates and mermaids and sentient forest fires. – Dusted

with:
Liam Finn || Listen

8pm / $12 adv, $14 dos / all ages

Wednesday 05.07.08: CEX / BARR / ECSTATIC SUNSHINE / ABE VIGODA @ echo

Cex || Listen

Having no qualms about vocalizing his desire to be a Rolex-wearing pop and rap star, Cex‘s music actually lies in the lines of electronic, intelligent dance music. At the age of 19, Rjyan Kidwell already had a catalog of releases and a record label behind him. His upbeat, and over the top personality splattered a large dash of color across a sub-genre of techno that is often bland and too mechanical.

with:
Barr
Ecstatic Sunshine || Listen
Abe Vigoda

8:30pm / $8 / 18+

Wednesday 05.07.08: DUB CLUB presents THE LIONS @ echoplex

The Lions

The Lions include seven LA musicians who have seemingly immersed themselves in the ganja-smoke-saturated aura of Jamaica’s finest sonic export and devised a sound based on it. Which is to say, undivided attention must be paid to their just-released album, Jungle Struttin’.

Composed of members from such crucial units as Breakestra, Orgone, Madlib’s Sound Directions, Connie Price & the Keystones and Rhythm Roots All-Stars, the Lions use reggae and dub as their default mode, evoking resinated, mid-’70s Kingston more than late-’00s Los Angeles, a very neat trick. From that base/bass, the Lions roam into subtle extrapolations of Afrobeat, funk and the wonderful aural intoxicant you hear on those Ethiopiques compilations. – OC Weekly

with Resident DJs:
Tom Chasteen
Roy Corderoy
The Dungeonmaster
Boss Harmony

Spinning the best in classic reggae, dub and dancehall

@ Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
(Main Entrance is through Alley)
Los Angeles, CA 90026

FMI:
Dub Club on MySpace

9pm / $10 / 21+

Thursday 05.08.08: THE MORNING BENDERS – CD Release Show w/ RUMSPRINGA / DAWES @ echo

The Morning Benders || Listen

Berkeley’s Morning Benders helped get things started at the Independent on Noise Pop’s second night, offering some reassuring audience endorsement courtesy of frontman (and male version of Winnie Cooper) Chris Chu, who introduced set standout “A Song” thusly: “We think you’ll like it; you’re not assholes.” The youthful quartet, who’ve been successfully campaigning for the title of SF’s new indie rock darlings, charmed their way through their early Beatles-y repertoire for their first big Noise Pop show so winningly we could almost hear the Wonder Years voiceover as they left the stage. – Spin Magazine

with:
Rumspringa
Dawes

8:30pm / Free with album purchase, $15 at the door for CD + ticket, $10 for ticket / 18+

Friday 05.09.08 CLUB UNDERGROUND with LEMON SUN / THE ROSEWOOD THIEVES @ echo

with:
Lemon Sun || Listen
The Rosewood Thieves

plus resident DJs spinning the best in Brit / Indie / Soul / Twee / Madchester / Punk / Glam

FMI: ClubUnderground.net

9pm / $5 if 21+, $7 under 21 / 18+

Saturday 05.10.08: DARK MEAT / RESTAURANT / CRYSTAL ANTLERS @ echo

Dark Meat

Dark Meat’s debut album, Universal Indians, begins quietly, with the lone voice of Page Campbell singing an a capella intro with a distinctly pastoral lilt. Just when your ears have become accustomed to her folksy mellifluousness, “Freedom Ritual” explodes in a rapture of sound, as approximately two-thirds of the population of Athens, Georgia, come in all at once. Or at least that’s how it sounds. Dark Meat is a Southern rock (or Southern-rock) collective headed by Jim McHugh and spiritually guided by free-jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler, and Universal Indians features nearly 30 musicians seemingly playing at the same time.

These sprawling songs hang together loosely, dense and busy with different textures, which are caked on in thick brushstrokes to sound large and layered: Jeff Tobias and Alexis Daglis’ saxophones squall through “Assholes for Eyeballs”, adding a grainy dissonance, while the marching-band brass make “One More Trip” sound like the coolest field show ever. “Angel of Meth” features girl-group harmonies and “Be My Baby” drums. Descending guitar riffs fall through “Dead Man” and “In the Woods”; choirs of backing vocals echo the choruses, punctuating McHugh’s drunken vocals with Stonesy staccato ooh-oohs; gospel cries occasionally pierce the din. – Pitchfork

with:
Restaurant
Crystal Antlers

8:30pm / $10 / 18+

Saturday 05.10.08: DESCARGA! with BOOGALOO ASSASSINS @ Echoplex

With:
Boogaloo Assassins

We feel the vibration of world beat and Latin sounds permeate in the Echo Park venue by skilled Resident DJ’s every month and live acts at midnight. When the alternative salsa night began five years ago with DJ’s Dusk, Sloe Poke and Loslito, ¡Descarga! was about digging in the crates for the rarest salsa cuts and the funkiest Latin 60’s and 70’s sounds, and spinning the records (yes, good ‘ol vinyl baby!), in a club that would cater to L.A.‘s indie underground music scene. Today, the venue‘s changed and DJ’s have rotated a bit, but the spirit of the night is still beating strong.

True to its roots, ¡Descarga! will present L.A./O.C. natives, Boogaloo Assassins (Los Asesinos de Boogaloo) and NYC’s Chico Mann (NYC), on 2nd Saturday, May 10th at Echoplex. The first 50 people who R.S.V.P. to info@descargaclub.com before Friday, May 9th, get in for $5 all night!

Boogaloo Assassins (Los Asesinos de Boogaloo) pay homage to the classic sounds of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Spanish Harlem and beyond; with a special jones for New York City’s Latin boogaloo, soul and funk of the late 60′s and early 70′s.

This May, Descarga guests will also get to experience a special treat with an opening set by NYC-based group, Chico Mann featuring members of Antibalas, Amy Winehouse, Dap Kings and acclaimed hip hop Vocalist, Vinia Mojica. Don’t miss it! It’s going to be funky ya’ll!

Resident DJs Sloe Poke, Mando Fever, Bobby Soul, Loslito, Azul & Mexican Dubwiser spin classic salsa, cumbia, merengue, Latin hip hop, reggaeton, mashups, Brazilian and deep house grooves all night

@ Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027

¡Descarga! is a monthly Afro-Latin music gathering for the people. This event is an alternative to the commercial salsa nights that have dominated the LA scene for years. Resident DJs Sloe Poke, Mando, Bobby Soul, Loslito, Azul and Mexican Dubwiser spin classic salsa and cumbia; plus merengue, punta and reggaeton. With live bands gracing the stage at midnight at nearly every show, it has become the taste-making New York to L.A. soiree, running over 5 years strong.

FMI:
www.descargaclub.com
Descarga on Myspace

9pm / $7 before 11pm, $10 after / 21+

Sunday 05.11.08: GRAND OLE ECHO with DAVE GLEASON / TORNADO MAGNET / THE FALLEN STARS /THE HOLLER DOPERS @ echo

with:
Dave Gleason || Listen
Tornado Magnet (featuring members of Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, Whiskey Tango, The Hideaways)
The Fallen Stars || Listen
The Holler Dopers

Plus Squaredancing from 3pm-5pm

hosted by Chris Morris and DJ Cuz’n Roy

3pm / FREE / all ages

Sunday 05.11.08: PART TIME PUNKS 3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY with SILVER DAGGERS / ABE VIGODA @ echo

with:
Silver Daggers
Abe Vigoda

resident djs Michael Stock and Benny Shambles spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 21+

Monday 05.12.08: Aquarium Drunkard presents LE SWITCH / DIVISION DAY / THE HENRY CLAY PEOPLE / PRINCETON @ echo

Le Switch || Listen

Employing a timeless mix of guitar, bass, keys and drums, Le Switch deftly augment their boozy, barroom pop sound with multi-instrumentalist Maria DeLuca’s viola and trumpet interspersed throughout their set. Deluca’s subtle textures, combined with Kyle’s trademark lyrical howl, make up Le Switch’s secret weapon. When the two come together, expertly backed on drums/percussion by Joe Napolitano, Josh Charney on keys, and Christopher Harrison on bass, even the most jaded hipster in the bar can’t help but take notice. – Aquarium Drunkard

with:
Division Day || Listen
The Henry Clay People || Listen
Princeton || Listen

Presented by: Aquarium Drunkard

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Tuesday 05.13.08: SOMEONE STILL LOVES YOU BORIS YELTSIN / PORT O’BRIEN / THE BLACK WATCH @ echo

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin || Listen

This Missouri band’s music is so plainly likable that they should consider running for public office — even the off-putting name wouldn’t deter any voters who appreciate the shy prettiness of the Shins and the sweeter, least brash moments of the New Pornographers. In fact, you might easily mistake the tuneful melancholy of “Think I Wanna Die” (MP3, video below) for the latter and the foggy, low-key “Glue Girls” for the former, and that’s fine. SSLYBY don’t want to cause a ruckus; they’ll sway you by thawing hearts and inspiring satisfied nods. – Spin

with:
Port O’Brien || Listen
The Black Watch || Listen

8pm / $8adv, $10dos / all ages

Wednesday 05.14.08: DUB CLUB @ echoplex

with Resident DJs:
Tom Chasteen
Roy Corderoy
The Dungeonmaster
Boss Harmony

Spinning the best in classic reggae, dub and dancehall

@ Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
(Main Entrance is through Alley)
Los Angeles, CA 90026

FMI:
Dub Club on MySpace

9pm / $5 / 21+

Thursday 05.15.08: SOUTH / SILVER STATE / KI:THEORY / JOHNNY LLOYD ROLLINS @ echo

South || Listen

Rock, dance, electronica, folksy acoustics, orchestral soundscapes, South have always been impossible to pin down. Now the chameleons of pop are back. After a year mastering the art of production in their own studio, the first single from the new album conjures up vintage New Order. “A Place in Displacement,” is a dance anthem for the heart, mellow with regret, anticipating a love that is not yet quite lost. “The track is loosely about trying to find a place in life and the fact that we don’t always know where to find love and happiness or how to deal with them if we do, you don’t want to wear your heart on your sleeve, in case that love isn’t returned,” says Joel Cadbury who penned “A Place in Displacement.” Meanwhile, the tingly “Fight Your Cause,” evokes a George-Harrison inspired Beatles, and the third song Addiction to Fiction has the souffled- ightness of a Jeff Buckley or Nick Drake. – Young American

with:
Silver State || Listen
Ki: Theory || Listen
Johnny Lloyd Rollins || Listen

Save Money when you order tickets by mobile phone
text SOUTH to 467467

8pm / $15 / 18+

Friday 05.16.08: AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB / GORDON GANO & THE RYAN BROTHERS @ echo

American Music Club || Listen

Since 2004′s comeback album, Love Songs For Patriots, AMC leader Eitzel has had to rely on his songs and persona alone—which makes The Golden Age even more stunning. His trademark gloom still dominates, but his ability to bend glacial chords around pure poetry remains vital. In fact, it’s stronger than ever: For every thunderstorm like “The Decibels And The Little Pills,” The Golden Age sports a wry, soulful, immaculately cut pop gem such as “All The Lost Souls Welcome You To San Francisco.” “A city built by fire trucks / and skeletons who grin and grin,” Eitzel croons with delicious malice on the latter—and it’s hard not to picture him as one of those grinning skeletons himself. – The Onion AV Club

with:
Gordon Gano & The Ryan Brothers

8pm / $12 / all ages

Friday 05.16.08: Dim Mak & Echo present TURBO RECORDINGS NIGHT / OMNIDANCE TOUR with D.I.M / THOMAS VON PARTY @ Echoplex

with:
D.I.M.
Thomas Von Party
Them Jeans

@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

9pm / $15adv, $17dos / 18+

Friday 05.16.08: CLUB UNDERGROUND (following American Music Club) @ Echo

With resident DJs spinning the best in Brit / Indie / Soul / Twee / Madchester / Punk / Glam

FMI: ClubUnderground.net

10pm / $5 if 21+, $7 under 21 / 18+

Saturday 05.17.08: Aquarium Drunkard Presents EARLIMART / VOXHAUL BROADCAST / SIGGY / LIGHT FM @ echo

Earlimart || Listen

In the mesmerizing, disturbing dream that is Mentor Tormentor, Espinoza and Murray wrap their sweetly uneasy voices around misty melodies, while the deceptively sophisticated production reinforces the sense of uncertainty. Pretty guitars, pianos and strings come and go, creating a layered wall of sound effects, but it’s hardly a seamless construction. Oddly compelling electronic squiggles and blips are embedded in virtually every track, implying that whatever takes place in the foreground, there’s a contrary undercurrent bubbling underneath. – Paste Magazine

with:
Voxhaul Broadcast
Siggy
Light FM

@ Echoplex
Enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Presented by Aquarium Drunkard

8pm / $12 adv, $14 dos / 18+

Saturday 05.17.08: HANG THE DJS – Totally ’90s Dance Party w/ POP NOIR / ZAPTRA @ echo

with:
Pop Noir || Listen
Zaptra || Listen

plus:
Aaron Castles + Maxwell Smart (Tik Tok, A Club Called Rhonda)
Classixx
Maurice De La Falaise (Par Avion, Transistor)
Bianca Grimshaw (Party Machine, Metropolitan Bar, NYC)

and on the patio:
Ane, Despe Pop!, Frank Leopold (Automatico)

spinning the best in: indie, international pop, britpop, electro, disco, post-punk, new wave, no wave, hiphop and more..

FMI:
Hang The DJs on Myspace

10pm / $5 before 11pm, $8 all night / 18+

Saturday 05.17.08: THE ECHO, ECHO PARK RECORDS & PEREZ HILTON PRESENT THE OFFICIAL ROBYN AFTERPARTY @ echoplex

ECHO PARK RECORDS & PEREZ HILTON PRESENT

THE OFFICIAL ROBYN AFTERPARTY

W/ DJ SETS FROM:
ROBYN
JEREMY SCOTT
JEPPE (JUNIOR SENIOR)

PHOTOS BY THE COBRASNAKE

@ The Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

RSVP to RSVP@ECHOPARKRECORDS.COM

MIDNIGHT / $5 OR FREE WITH ROBYN TICKET STUB OR RSVP / 18+

Sunday 05.18.08: GRAND OLE ECHO with STONEHONEY / LESLIE & THE BADGERS / BAND OF ANNUALS / RESTAURANT / AMERICAN BABIES @ echo

with:
Stonehoney
Leslie and the Badgers
Band of Annuals (featuring members of Cub County)
Restaurant
American Babies

hosted by Chris Morris and DJ Cuz’n Roy

3pm / FREE / all ages

Sunday 05.18.08: PART TIME PUNKS @ echo

resident djs Michael Stock and Benny Shambles spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 21+

Monday 05.19.08: CUT COPY / CLASSIXX / DJ PAUL V. @ Echoplex

Cut Copy || Listen || Watch

In Ghost Colours was co-produced by DFA’s Tim Goldsworthy, who deserves credit for simultaneously opening up the band’s palette while relaxing their delivery. Sure, as you might expect, there are still blushes of French house and electro scattered liberally all over the show, but they’re always deployed in ways that serve– rather than overshadow– the song. And while Cut Copy’s principle and founding member Dan Whitford may come from a DJ background, the band-led songs come across every bit as muscular and as noteworthy as the dancefloor crossovers. To that end, this is one of the best bridges between electro and rock in a long time; the joins are so seamless that you don’t even think of the songs on those terms. – Pitchfork

with:
Classixx
DJ Paul V. (Bootie, Neon Noise/Indie 103.1)

@ Echoplex
Enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

9pm / $15 adv, $18 dos / 18+

Monday 05.19.08: Aquarium Drunkard presents LE SWITCH / ADELINE & THE PHILISTINES / I MAKE THIS SOUND / NAPTUNES @ echo

Le Switch || Listen

Employing a timeless mix of guitar, bass, keys and drums, Le Switch deftly augment their boozy, barroom pop sound with multi-instrumentalist Maria DeLuca’s viola and trumpet interspersed throughout their set. Deluca’s subtle textures, combined with Kyle’s trademark lyrical howl, make up Le Switch’s secret weapon. When the two come together, expertly backed on drums/percussion by Joe Napolitano, Josh Charney on keys, and Christopher Harrison on bass, even the most jaded hipster in the bar can’t help but take notice. – Aquarium Drunkard

with:
Adeline & The Philistines
I Make This Sound || Listen
Naptunes

Presented by: Aquarium Drunkard

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Tuesday 05.20.08: M83 / BERG SANS NIPPLE @ echoplex

M83 || Listen

Despite a pretty sturdy background in electronic music, the buzz surrounding Frenchman Anthony Gonzalez’s M83 has been centered on his affinity for the texture of hazy shoegaze guitars. As last heard on 2005′s Before the Dawn Heals Us… the one man band continued veering towards pyrotechnic riffs and bleeding heart vocal melodrama while inching slightly away from compositions driven by beats or centered on ambient waves of keyboard foam. But based on the scant evidence provided by the first track from of Spring 2008′s Saturday = Youth record, perhaps the rock stops here.

The amorphous fog hanging over this eight and a half minute slow burn is primarily synthetic and its dominant thump surprisingly club ready. You can almost make out some lonely amp feedback in there somewhere, but as the rhythm continues to assert itself in the track’s fourth and fifth minutes it’s swallowed completely. While I hesitate to say that the track is an improvement over the previous model, I’m digging the forward momentum achieved when Gonzalez’s blurred sonics snap into sharper focus. – Prefix Mag

with:
Berg Sans Nipple

@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

8pm / $17 adv, $19 dos / 18+

Tuesday 05.20.08: POCAHAUNTED / BOBB BRUNO / MAGIC LANTERN / DAVID SCOTT STONE / DARYLALEXANDER

Pocahaunted || Listen

“Teepees turned in for shanties. Moccasins turned in for high tops. Spirit fog turned in for purple haze. This is the sound of the world town. Amanda and Bethany have had S. LA metal head Bobb Bruno play electric drums on their tracks in the past, but the results of this album is something entirely different than anything they attempted before. It is less Bobb playing drums with Pocahaunted, than it is an entirely new entity operating in perfect unity. Dubbed out and drenched in the grime of the streets, Island Diamonds features the same vocal come downs and chord repetition/progression to infinity that P-haunt is know for, but with the addition of almost (dare I say) “danceable” beats. This is the record that Amanda and Bethany have always wanted to make, the crown jewel of an epic sistership.” – Arbor

with:
Bobb Bruno
Magic Lantern
David Scott Stone
DARYLALEXANDER

@ Echoplex
Enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

8pm / $7 / 18+

Wednesday 05.21.08: THE CAVE SINGERS / MOONRATS / TRIUMPH OF LETHARGY @ echo

The Cave Singers || Listen

The Cave Singers’ music is largely acoustic and clearly inspired by the timeless sounds of Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly (the baleful “New Monuments” is set “in the pines”), but — possibly because the band is so steeped in indie rock — it never feels hidebound to re-creating traditional sounds. Quirk’s reedy, nasally voice sounds far more comfortable in the Cave Singers’ rustic settings than it did in Hint Hint, and his worn-in vocals are a big part of what makes Invitation Songs’ straddling of indie and classic American music so effortless. He and the rest of the band sound just as comfortable on the sweetly rousing acoustic rock of “Elephant Clouds” as they do on “Called,” which, with its whip-cracking percussion, slow, insistent tempo, and aching melody, sounds directly descended from a decades, if not centuries, old work song. The Cave Singers are equally comfortable with washboards — which turn “Dancing on Our Graves” into a darkly joyful jamboree — and keyboards, which are paired with gentle but driven acoustic picking on “Helen.” However, the band’s most affecting moments are the simplest and subtlest: “Royal Lawns” and “Seeds of Night” use vivid imagery (“bright flowers behind your billboards”) and pastoral melodies to create quiet, unassuming yet undeniable moments of life-affirming beauty. Invitation Songs is a welcome, and welcoming, debut. – Allmusic

with:
Moonrats
Triumph of Lethargy

8:30pm / $10 / 18+

Wednesday 05.21.08: DUB CLUB presents Orthodox Music Showcase with BONGO HERMAN / JUDAH ESKENDER TAFARI / SANGIE DAVIS @ echoplex

with:
Bongo Herman
Judah Eskender Tafari || Listen
Sangie Davis || Listen

Plus Resident DJs:
Tom Chasteen
Roy Corderoy
The Dungeonmaster
Boss Harmony

Spinning the best in classic reggae, dub and dancehall

@ Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
(Main Entrance is through Alley)
Los Angeles, CA 90026

FMI:
Dub Club on MySpace

9pm / $5 / 21+

Thursday 05.22.08: STAND UPPITY with EUGENE MIRMAN / ANDY KINDLER / MARC MARON @ echoplex

Stand Uppity : Comedy That Makes You Feel Better About Yourself, and Superior To Others

What is Stand Uppity, you don’t ask? A comedy tour featuring Eugene Mirman,
Marc Maron, and Andy Kindler, three irreverent, smart-alecky, comedians, known for having points of view. Do you know who else has a point of view? Everyone. But their point of view is very funny. That’s why you should pay to listen to it.

When history looks back at itself and wonders what comedy tour helped America move on from it’s partisan bickering, botched war, and economic downturn, it will be easy: Stand Uppity!

with:
Eugene Mirman || Watch
Marc Maron || Watch
Andy Kindler

Save Money when you order tickets by mobile phone
text COMEDY to 467467

8pm / $18 / 18+

Thursday 05.22.08: Filter presents FRENCH KICKS / THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND / ROLL THE TANKS @ echo

French Kicks || Listen

Like the rest of the French Kicks, lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Nick Stumpf is a talented musician and craftsmen. But its in his role as a drummer that Stumpf keeps the group’s new album, Swimming, on the right side of the atmospheric-pop/way-too-mellow divide. On the New York group’s fourth record, they’ve developing an appealing platter of harmony-heavy Sunday-morning-brunch pop, but its Stumpf’s booming beats that gives the set the energetic dose of Saturday-night mischief necessary to keep things moving.

On the song “Carried Away” guitarist Josh Wise sings, “I was carried away/ but I can’t really say what for,” over a gently plucked guitar arpeggio and stomping bass drum. And it’s hard to believe him. Nearly every moment on the self-produced and -mixed Swimming is so precisely arranged, from the overwhelming lush sheets of harmonies to the ghostly piano riffs to the expertly deployed guitar riffs, that it’s difficult to believe the group leaves much to chance.

Overall, that isn’t a bad thing. Ringing guitar, hand-claps and polite-but-resolute drumming are mixed in perfect proportion on “Abandon,” and “This Could Go Wrong” belies its title with layered, wavy guitar lines expertly bouncing off a rumbling, invigorating beat. – CMJ

with:
The Weather Underground || Listen
Roll The Tanks

8:3opm / $13adv, $15dos / 18+

Friday 05.23.08: CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE / FOOT FOOT / KATY DAVIDSON @ ECHO

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone || Listen

Like each of Owen Ashworth’s wondrous works before it, Etiquette is intimate, often sorrowful, bedroom glitch-pop, but here it is more substantial. The unified sound varies in style, showing a breadth of expression and a growing array of whiz-bang instrumentation.

Dialing the party line of Bowie and Gainsbourg on “New Year’s Kiss” will surely make the track a favorite for most, but some of the more impressive tracks sleep innocently until a narrative pang brings them to life. “I Love Creedence” is an unassuming favorite, whereas a brisk pace would normally contradict a track so heartbroken, it viscerally captures the speed of a stirred heart when seeing a past love on the street.

Ending on what might seem the album’s highest thematic note, “Love Connection”, we hear the loveliest song ever to have the word “menstrual” in it, but such candor serves a purpose. Even when achieving what the Painfully Alone have perpetually ached for, love comes with harsh, sensual reality and cynicism. Etiquette ends with a line repeated over and over: “Some things are best left unsaid.” As the phrase resonates in consciousness and spirit, we must realize Owen Ashcroft has already said it all and would do it all again. – Lost At Sea

with:
Foot Foot || Listen
Katy Davidson

8pm / $8 / All Ages

Friday 05.23.08: OLIVER FUTURE / RADARS TO THE SKY / CASXIO @ echoplex

Oliver Future || Listen

Nothing sums up the essence of Oliver Future, and perhaps their mixed feelings about L.A., than the back to back dazzlers that close this suite. “Drowning Parade” is a soulful ballad that could be an Antony and the Johnsons outtake, with its smoky-lounge vocals, alto and tenor saxophones, and Wurlitzer piano. The gentle tune gives way to “The Slow Fast,” filled with scraping guitar riffs, techno beats, and punk rock screams “It’s a-a-a-l-l… o-o-o-n-n.” This record is on alright: on point, and on its way to being one the better surprise releases of the year. To hear for yourself, simply do what I did and put Pax Futura on the stereo. – Lost At Sea

with:
Radars To The Sky
Casxio || Listen

@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

RSVP to CONTEST@ATTHEEECHO.COM for discounted tickets

Save Money when you order tickets by mobile phone
text Future to 467467

8pm / $10 with RSVP, $12 / 18+

Friday 05.23.08: CLUB UNDERGROUND (following Casiotone For The Painfully Alone) @ Echo

With resident DJs spinning the best in Brit / Indie / Soul / Twee / Madchester / Punk / Glam

FMI: ClubUnderground.net

10pm / $5 if 21+, $7 under 21 / 18+

Saturday 05.24.08: MARGOT AND THE NUCLEAR SO AND SOS / MIKE BLOOM @ ECHO

Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s || Listen

Having the advantage of previously seeing this group perform in more intimate settings, I drafted Jennifer to their set and waited to see what her reaction would be. I’ve found that music fans who’ve yet to see Margot have a somewhat revelatory experience upon their first encounter with this ingeniously nifty little band. Just about every melody and chord is uniquely their own, producing a sort of progressive urban rock that’s rooted in soul, alt-country, and pop. Many bands are defined by their ability to blend in or stand out with mainstream material, but the members of Margot have taken an understated, yet extremely sophisticated style of songwriting and turned out one of the year’s best studio releases, The Dust of Retreat.

What works so well on their creative, emotional album is transformed into an intimate live performance that ebbs and flows from whisper to scream, due mainly to frontman Richard Edwards’ fragile, focused vocals. Edwards’ emotional vulnerability shines from center stage, and is enhanced by a talented rhythm section, keyboards, layered guitar lines, and a trumpet (during live shows) for good measure. When the song “Barfight Revolution” comes into play, the crowd gets hooked and new fans are surely created. It’s a fun set.
- Indie-Music.com

with:
Mike Bloom

Save Money when you order tickets by mobile phone
text NUCLEAR to 467467

8:30pm / $10 adv, $12 dos / 18+

Saturday 05.24.08: Club LA Underground Presents URGE with POSERS @ echoplex

Club LA Underground Presents URGE with POSERS

Featuring:
A performance by POSERS
“Crew vs. Crew” Dance Battle

Members Only

For VIP Membership and Bottle service packages, please contact Nick at Clubunderground at gmail.com

9pm / $10adv / 18+

Sunday 05.25.08: Arthur magazine, Echo, Alan Bishop and Richard Bishop Present – THE BROTHERS UNCONNECTED: A Tribute to Charles Gocher & Sun City Girls @ echoplex

When Sun City Girls member Charles Gocher Jr. died in February 2007 at age 54 after a three-year battle with a rare form of cancer, the planet didn’t just lose one of its most enigmatically talented drummers. It was also minus one wildly creative character: a multi-instrumentalist and gifted songwriter, a twisted video auteur, a prolific writer and beat poet who was a never-ending font of insight and absurdities. His fellow Sun City Girls, Alan and Rick Bishop, lost a madcap muse they considered their “other brother.” Gocher was an integral component of the Sun City Girls for more than 25 years, from the time he showed up at a pizza-joint open-mike night Alan was hosting in 1981 until his death on February 19, 2007. During that time, the prolific trio released an insane number of albums, cassettes, 7-inches, videos, side projects, and the like, all of which are equally amazing in their own right. Some of it could be considered “difficult” listening, but SCG were always more interested in challenging people than pleasing them (though they did write a goodly number of amazingly beautiful songs). – Seattle Weekly

Most dates will feature an opening 40 minute film of Charles Gocher’s video experiments followed by two sets of music. Alan Bishop and Richard Bishop will be performing Sun City Girls songs as an acoustic guitar duet. This tour will most likely be the only time this show will be presented as such and is a tribute both to Charles Gocher and selected music from the 27 year legacy of Sun City Girls.

with:
Alan Bishop
Richard Bishop

8pm / $12 adv, $14 dos / All Ages

Sunday 05.25.08: PART TIME PUNKS SMITHS NITE @ echo

resident djs Michael Stock and Benny Shambles spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 21+

Monday 05.26.08: Aquarium Drunkard presents LE SWITCH / VANESSA MICALE / THE MINOR CANON / THE WORLD RECORD @ echo

Le Switch || Listen

Employing a timeless mix of guitar, bass, keys and drums, Le Switch deftly augment their boozy, barroom pop sound with multi-instrumentalist Maria DeLuca’s viola and trumpet interspersed throughout their set. Deluca’s subtle textures, combined with Kyle’s trademark lyrical howl, make up Le Switch’s secret weapon. When the two come together, expertly backed on drums/percussion by Joe Napolitano, Josh Charney on keys, and Christopher Harrison on bass, even the most jaded hipster in the bar can’t help but take notice. – Aquarium Drunkard

with:
Vanessa Micale
The Minor Canon
The World Record || Listen

Presented by: Aquarium Drunkard

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Tuesday 05.27.08: JAGUAR LOVE / XBXRX @ echo

Jaguar Love

Jaguar Love rose from the co-mingled ashes of respected Seattle bands the Blood Brothers and Pretty Girls Make Graves, with a ratio of two Brothers (non-related Johnny Whitney and Cody Votolato) to one Girl (non-female Jay Clark). While that pedigree alone was probably enough to facilitate a Matador Records’ signing earlier this week, you have to assume that their opening spot on a Queens of the Stone Age tour last year was at least partly granted for heavy shred appeal. Though it’ll likely be the summer before we see a Jaguar Love record with an OLE number on its spine, there a few circulating songs to discuss. “Welcome to the Birdskull Palace” takes a while to develop into a satisfyingly menacing rocker, but Whitney wastes no time in unleashing his familiar shriek. Despite common elements with the previous entities of their component parts, Jaguar Love is a little less abrasive than the Blood Brothers, and a little more distinctive than PGMG. As the song gathers steam, ghostly backing vocals and moody late-developing synths add some particularly welcome texture. – Prefix Mag

with:
xBxRx || Listen

8:30pm / $12adv; $14dos / 18+

Wednesday 05.28.08: WHITE RABBITS / THE HAPPY HOLLOWS / MILES BENJAMIN ANTHONY ROBINSON @ Echo

White Rabbits || Listen

Fort Nightly is that rare debut where potential isn’t the operative word– White Rabbits deliver the whole package straight away. The NYC six-piece writes great songs that merge rhythmic intensity with grandiose melodrama in a seamless and inventive package. Opening the album with a sinister left-handed piano riff, “Kid on My Shoulders” features steam engine drums that give the song’s many hooks ample chance to sink in. It’s a track that keeps getting catchier as it goes, ending with a choral coda that has a monumental sweep. Opening an album with a headrush like that will be a good strategy from now until humans finally wipe themselves out, but plenty of albums peter out after this kind of track. Fort Nightly doesn’t– thanks to the band’s enormous bag of musical tricks. – Pitchfork

with:
The Happy Hollows || Listen
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson

8:30pm / $10 adv, $12 dos / 18+

Wednesday 05.28.08: DUB CLUB @ echoplex

with Resident DJs:
Tom Chasteen
Roy Corderoy
The Dungeonmaster
Boss Harmony

Spinning the best in classic reggae, dub and dancehall

@ Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
(Main Entrance is through Alley)
Los Angeles, CA 90026

FMI:
Dub Club on MySpace

9pm / $5 / 21+

Thursday 05.29.08: ARIEL PINK @ Echo

Ariel Pink

Ariel Marcus Rosenberg aka Ariel Pink is one of the most baffling figures in music. Just large enough for freak-folks the world over to know him, but just small enough to still be something of a secret, Rosenberg has built a weird aura of strange 70s soundtracks and lo-fi, vinyl-ripped 80s TV jingles. He’s a master of melody and a bard of bubbly psych-pop, but still he lingers on the fringes even of the more aware. Maybe a new album in 2008 will change that. For now, we’ll have to be content with 17 songs culled from the beautifully mysterious period that surrounds his first full-length release, 2002′s House Arrest. Scared Famous is a nice refresher as to why people love this guy in the first place, but I’ll be more interested to see what’s in store for 2008. Odds are that it will be more of the gloriously gritty avant-pop that Rosenberg has made his name on. – Audiveristy

8:30pm / $10 / 18+

Friday 05.30.08: CLUB UNDERGROUND with HOT CHALLENGE / TEMPO NO TEMPO @ echo

with:
Hot Challenge
Tempo No Tempo || Listen

plus resident DJs spinning the best in Brit / Indie / Soul / Twee / Madchester / Punk / Glam

FMI: ClubUnderground.net

9pm / $5 if 21+, $7 under 21 / 18+

Saturday 05.31.08: SMOG SESSIONS – Los Angeles Dubstep Event @ echo

Chef (Rinse FM, Fwd, Transition, Ringo, London UK)
As the dubstep guru at the infamous Transition Studios mastering house, Chef gets first pick on some of the hottest dubplates right off the press. His weekly show on London’s pirate Rinse FM has put him up through the ranks to become one of the biggest baddest dubstep dj’s currently touring. His skills on the decks have sent him far and abroad and Smog is excited to welcome him on his first tour of the USA.

with:
6 Blocc AKA R.A.W. (Lo Dubs, Tribe Steppaz, UK)
12th Planet vs. DJ Evol (Smog, Argon, Noppa, LA)
Emu & Pawn (Smog, Redline, LA)
Kemst Smog Pure Filth, LA)

Sound Reinnforcement by: Pure Filth

Art Installations by: Spectr

FMI: www.smogla.com

Click to buy tickets now

9pm / adv- $7, dos- $10 before 11pm, $15 after / 21+

Saturday 05.31.08: CLUB SUICIDE @ echoplex

with:
DJ Amanda Jones (Das Bunker, Perversion, Malediction Society)
DJ Robert Lockerby (Clockwork Orange)

spinning the best in Electro, Indie, and ’80s.

The last Saturday of every month!

Come and check out our uber-hawt SUICIDE GIRL GO-GO DANCERS!

@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

10pm / $12 / 18+