Monday 11.10.08: VIC CHESNUTT / ELF POWER @ ECHOPLEX

Vic Chesnutt || Listen || Watch || MP3

All right, this is getting repetetive. With each new Vic Chesnutt album I find myself reduced to a puddle of effusive praise, to the point where I fear losing credibility. I mean, I gave 2005’s Ghetto Bells a 9, I just loved it. Where do I go from there and still leave the proverbial “one to grow on”? Particularly when the venerated songwriter drops an album like North Star Deserter from seemingly out of nowhere and it’s one of the richest and most satisfying of his storied career. How can I impress this upon you, dear reader, who should by rights just expect I’m going to unquestioningly adore everything Chesnutt commits to wax? Should it be, “No, this time I really really mean it?” Should I concoct a pseudonym? Probably too late for that; next time perhaps. If you’re already a devotee, you understand the predicament, the natural excitement that comes with a new Vic Chesnutt record. There’s allways more grace, more wit, more dirty humor, more idiosyncrasy and nuance. But trust me when I write that North Star Deserter, even more than its immediate predecessor, restores something to Chesnutt’s work that you’d never have known was missing. – Pop Matters

with:
Elf Power || Listen

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

8:30 pm / $12 advance, $14 Day of show / all ages

Tuesday 10.21.08: MAMMATUS / WILDILDLIFE / MAGIC LANTERN @ echo

Mammatus || Listen || Watch

Mammatus was next, a metal trio out of Corralitos. I loved Nicholas Emmert’s (guitar/vocals) use of the word “dudesses,” as in, “Good evening, dudes and dudesses!” That’s what got me up out of the rickshaw on the second floor where I’d been napping between sets. (You know the one–it’s tucked back there in the left corner of the balcony.) After this brief salutation, Mammatus flew straightaway into what was pretty much an epic-metal assault (is epic-metal a viable genre?), and as much as it pains me to admit this (I spent many a formative hour in the back of a busted Mazda MPV listening to Rift, Junta, and crackly-ass Fillmore bootlegs), Nicholas Emmert makes Trey Anastasio look like a Sophomore. He’s got great taste for licks, excellent timing, and gets the most of a somewhat limited vocal range by keeping things simple: long, sonorous lines that overlay all the fits, starts, and paralytic crashes. Freels provides some terrific harmonies on the bass, making his way up and down the neck adroitly, while the other Emmert, Aaron, does much more than just hold things together, splashing and crashing like a contemptuous gremlin whipping a semi down the Great Everdark Highway in the rain, fueled by diesel and trucker speed–angry, yes, and slippery, but on time. During their last number, Nicholas Emmert returned the crowd’s enthusiasm by climbing to the top of the stacks and wailing away at his axe-thrash finale. A fine send-off, really. – The Bay Bridged

with:
Wildildlife
Magic Lantern

8:30pm / $8 Advance, $10 Day of show / 18+

Sunday 10.26.08: THE DEATH SET @ echo

The Death Set || Listen || Watch

Built around Siera’s screeching, self-referential vocals, and a wall of feedback, songs like lead single “Negative Thinking” and “Intermission” cram all of the best parts of ’80s new wave and ’77 Brit punk into two minutes or less. That’s the thing about The Death Set. They seem to be having fun at their own expense, embracing skits and a rapper’s bravado throughout the record, and that’s partly why one shouldn’t take this album too seriously. “MFDS” and the aforementioned “Intermission” give shouts to themselves repeatedly, which, oddly enough, works, creating a sound both old and new, underground and mainstream, all with a playful wink. – Tiny Mix Tapes

8pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / all ages

Wednesday 10.15.08: ARMY NAVY / THE HENRY CLAY PEOPLE @ echo

Army Navy

Blending British pop melodicism with the grit of the Pacific Northwest, Army Navy recalls the sound of great acts like The Posies and Teenage Fanclub crossed with emotional touches of the The Smiths. Former Pinwheel co-frontman Justin Kennedy has moved on from sharing vocal duties with Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie, Postal Service) to showcase his own pop sensibilities. With its lush harmonies and blankets of guitar fuzz, Army Navy has created something truly unique: a delicate balance between melancholy and joyful resignation. Known for an explosive live show, Army Navy performs regularly with artists as varied as Teenage Fanclub, Wolfmother, Spinto Band, The Like, and Arctic Monkeys. – NME

with:
The Henry Clay People

hosted by Chris Morris and
DJ Cuz’n Roy

5pm / FREE / all ages

Sunday 10.05.08: GRAND OLE ECHO with MIKE STINSON / DIME BOX BAND / CHRIS LATERZO & BUFFALO ROBE / BANJO FRED STAMER @ echo

with:
Mike Stinson || Listen
Dime Box Band || Listen
Chris Laterzo & Buffalo Robe || Listen
Banjo Fred Stamer

hosted by Chris Morris and DJ Cuz’n Roy

5pm / FREE / all ages

Saturday 09.27.08: RUMSPRINGA / VOXHAUL BROADCAST / FUNERAL PARTY / THE FRANKS @ echo

Rumspringa || Listen

Counterbalancing equal parts lounge act warbling with Om-eliciting séance reverb, album openers “I Run Amiss” and “Shake ‘em Loose Tonight” ease listeners in, recanting dialogue between children and parents before the inevitable Rumspringa.

Frontman Joey Stevens’ whinnied delivery drops into deeper registers with “Goldmine,” a faster-paced musing on the finer points of enjoying cannabis sativa in a semi-feverish state. As the EP centerpiece, “Goldmine” not only becomes the obvious record highlight, but also embodies the height of frivolity that a so-called Rumspringa is said to have.

After reaching such a height, there isn’t much room to go anywhere but down – in tempo and pitch, that is. Stevens’ brassy voice goes guttural on “In the Jungle,” wavering back and forth between percussionist Itaru de la Vega’s steady hi-hats and the thick-frosted layers of raw bass. – Performer Mag

with:
Voxhaul Broadcast
Funeral Party
The Franks

8:30pm / $8 / 18+

Wednesday 11.12.08: DUNGEN / WOMEN / LIFE ON EARTH @ echo

Dungen || Listen || Watch

It kinda goes without saying that we’re going to at least listen to any band that has made an 18 minute song at any point in their career that, translated into English, is called “Midsummer Bong.” MIDSUMMER BONG! Lucky for everyone involved, the band that did that is Dungen, and they are awesome. So awesome in fact, that we put Gustav Ejstes, the main man behind Dungen, on the cover of F27 and then proceeded to never get tired of their music ever. On their MySpace they’re streaming “Satt Att Se,” from their upcoming album 4, which Ejstes will be previewing in New York next week in an acoustic session that you’ll able to catch on FADER TV shortly thereafter. – Fader

with:
Women
Life On Earth

8:30pm / $12 advance, $14 day of show / 18+

Monday 11.03.08: THE SPINTO BAND / FRIGHTENED RABBIT / MINIATURE TIGERS @ echoplex

The Spinto Band || Listen || Watch (9:30pm set time)

With an obvious love of Brit pop, a weakness for ecstatic vocal harmonies and a stimulant-fueled disposition, the six young men twitched, leaped and hurled themselves through a thoroughly entertaining and nearly non-stop set. These boys have played together for a long time, and the practice showed last night in the tight starts and stops and seamless transitions between songs. The band even played a note-perfect instrumental cover of “Genius of Love” as an introduction to one of their originals.

But it was the energy and obvious sense of fun with which the Spinto Band attacked its songs that made the performance so engaging. Dueling frontmen Nick Krill and Thomas Hughes each brought his own unique and quirky personality to the stage. While the lanky Krill ran in place and flopped his hair back and forth, the cartoonish Hughes spasmed with the high notes and donned a clothes-hanger apparatus that allowed him to play his kazoo (yep) hands-free. This was another performance that was so strong and just plain fun that I’ll have to go back to check out the record again (2005’s Nice and Nicely Done was the band’s first widely distributed disc, but its seventh overall). – Westword

with:
Frightened Rabbit || Listen
Miniature Tigers || Listen

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

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

7:30pm / $13 adv, $15 dos / All Ages

Wednesday 10.29.08: 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

9pm / $5 / 21+

Wednesday 10.22.08: DUB CLUB with TIPPA IRIE @ echoplex

Tippa Irie || Listen || Watch
with his band
plus very special guests Welton Irie , Tippa Lee , and Dr Ring Ding alongside the Echodelic Soundsystem

Anthony Henry – a.k.a. “Tippa Irie” – emerged from England’s Saxon Sound International – the star-studded travelling sound system that has been at the forefront of the U.K. reggae dancehall scene for the past 25 years and helped launch the careers of artists such as Maxi Priest, Papa Levi and Smiley Culture. Tippa Irie was part of the new generation of British MC’s who developed the ‘Fast Talking’ style chat which today can be heard in modern day rappers like Busta Rhymes.

Tippa Irie has produced fifteen albums to date and has a string of ..1 hit songs to his credit including “Hello Darling”, “Raggamuffin Girl” (featuring Peter Hunnigale), “Stress” (featuring Lloyd Brown), “Superwoman” (featuring Winsome), “Baby I’ve Been Missing You” (featuring Janet Lee Davis) and “Shouting for the Gunners”–a song originally recorded for the Arsenal Football Team which reached the Top 30 status on the British pop charts.

To this day, Tippa Irie remains one of the most requested Reggae entertainers internationally. The surviving members of Sublime made sure their Long Beach Dub All Stars debut for Dreamworks Records had the necessary dancehall credentials by commissioning Tippa Irie to contribute “Sensi” on their ‘Right Back’(1999) CD and be their special guest on their subsequent North American tour. In 2000 he was invited to support UB40 on their sold-out Labour of Love III UK tour. Later Tippa was called back in the studio with Long Beach Dub All Stars to record “Life Goes On” featuring Half Pint and Jurassic Five’s Charli2na on LBDA’s ‘Wonders of the World’(2001) CD for Dreamworks Records. Impressed with Tippa’s rapid-fire lyrical arsensal, Jurassic Five asked Tippa to record together and the end result was a wicked Tippa and Charli2na combination entitled “The Struggle”. The rap world took notice and soon enough Tippa was once again summoned to record with some of the music industry’s biggest stars. Most recently Tippa was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rap Song category for his collaboration with Black Eyed Pea’s Will-I-Am on “Hey Mama”, a track featured on the international chartbusting ‘Elephunk’(2004) CD on A&M/Interscope Records.

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

9pm / $12 / 21+

Wednesday 10.15.08: DUB CLUB with EARL ZERO @ echoplex

Earl Zero
backed by the Jubilee Orchestra
mixed by Scientist inna dubwise fashion

Veteran roots-reggae chanter Earl Zero brings both an impressive catalog of classic mid-1970s reggae classics (“None Shall Escape the Judgment,” “Shackles & Chains,” “Righteous Works”) and an insanely deep, fated personal pedigree. Born and raised in Kingston’s Greenwich Town, he grew up alongside close childhood friend Earl “Chinna” Smith — one of reggae’s most potent ax men — and, between the dozen or so Greenwich Sound Systems, a burgeoning Rastafarian faith and a natural gift for spiritually provocative music, Zero came to perfectly represent the abiding, quietly revolutionary stance of the Jamaican Rasta. In fact, Zero’s serene dignity led him to a particularly notable sideline, after Bob Marley personally selected the youth to serve as his herbsman, which entailed chopping and blending the ideal mixture of ganja to best serve the superstar’s head. Tonight, Zero will be working with a full, live band, and, with the King Tubby–groomed dub genius Scientist at the controls, it’s a damn near-perfect proposition. – LA Weekly

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

9pm / $10 / 21+

Wednesday 10.08.08: 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

9pm / $5 / 21+

Wednesday 10.01.08: 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

9pm / $5 / 21+

Sunday 09.28.08: PART TIME PUNKS with SPECTRUM (Sonic Boom from Spaceman 3) / LSD & THE SEARCH FOR GOD / FARFLUNG @ echo

with:
Spectrum || Listen
LSD & The Search For God
Farflung || Listen

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

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $12 / 18+

Saturday 09.20.08: HANG THE DJS 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY @ echo

Live Performances:
The Growlers
Team Robespierre ( IHEARTCOMIX, NYC)

Guest DJs:
ROXY COTTONTAIL ( Iheartcomix, NYC, Club Sway)
Gina Turner ( Staccato)
Tim (OK GO!)
DIA ( Club NME, Super Soul Sundays- Short Stop)
CLASS IXX
EDIE ( HTDJ’ S)

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 / $7 / 18+

Saturday 09.13.08: DERBY DOLLS AFTERPARTY @ echoplex

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

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 10.18.08: Footlong Development & Keistar Productions Present WONDER-FULL – A TRIBUTE TO THE WONDER OF STEVIE @ echo & echoplex

with:
DJ Spinna (Brooklyn)
Bobbito AKA Kool Bob Love (Harlem)

opening set by:
DJ Rashida (LA)

Spinning All Exclusive, Covers, Remixes, Samples, Etc.

Live Screenprinting by Hit&Run…Printing Exclusive images of Stevie.

@ Echo & Echoplex
Enter thru the Echo
1822 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Wonder-Full is a yearly event dedicated to the great Stevie Wonder. Featuring DJ Spinna and Bobbito, two of New York City’s most respected DJ/Taste makers, spinning all Stevie exclusives, covers, samples & remixes. Also featuring DJ Rashida, one of LA’s most talented mixers and part of Prince’s live group.

Making its third trip to LA , Wonder-Full has united Angelenos and travelers alike, lending to one of the most energetic events this city has ever experienced. Attendees ranged from Prince to Jude Law, along with LA’s top taste makers and music fans, for a crowd of 1,200 smiling faces.

FMI: wonderfull.la@gmail.com

9pm / $15 advance, $20 Day of Show /21+

Saturday 10.04.08: BOOTIE LA @ echoplex

BOOTIE LA
LA’s monthly mashup bootleg party

Special midnight mashup show starring:
THE LADY TIGRA
Rapping LIVE to “Phantom On The Bottom,” DJ PAUL V.’s mashup of her vs. Justice!
This will be the first time an artist has ever performed their own bootleg mashup at Bootie!

Resident Bootie mashup DJs:
DJ PAUL V.
ADRIAN & the MYSTERIOUS D

Making his Bootie debut, special guest:
DJ SHYBOY

Tonight, Bootie is proud to present a very special midnight mashup show. The Lady Tigra — of “Cars That Go Boom” fame — will be performing LIVE to her own bootleg mashup with Justice, “Phantom On The Bottom,” produced by DJ Paul V. This will be the first time in Bootie’s history that an artist has performed their own mashup on stage.

Launched in 2003, Bootie was the first club night in the United States dedicated solely to the burgeoning artform of the bootleg mashup — and is now the biggest mashup event in the world, with monthly parties in seven cities on two continents. Mixing and matching every conceivable musical genre, era, and style into one big dance party where everyone feels welcome, Bootie provides the soundtrack for the A.D.D. generation.

Resident DJs Adrian, the Mysterious D, and Paul V. — along with special guest DJ Shyboy — keep your brain guessing and body dancing with creative song combinations, celebrating — and satirizing — the many different forms of music. And free mashup CDs will be given away like candy!

FREE Bootie CDs to the first 100 people through the door!

FMI: http://www.BootieLA.com

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

Friday 10.03.08: Indie 103.1 presents CLUB UNDERGROUND with LOVE GRENADES / PEACHFUZZ @ echo

with:
Love Grenades
Peachfuzz

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 10.03.08: IRREGULAR WINE TASTING: Six Aspects of Less Than Zero (1987) & Six Wines from Astica Winery of Argentina (2007) @ echoplex

Featuring:

Six wines from Astica Winery of Argentina: Torrontes, Sauvignon white, Chardonnay, Malbec, Syrah & Sauvignon red

Six aspects of Less Than Zero (1987)

and much more

Hosted by:
Julian Davies (The Cheese Store)
DJ Cuz’n Roy

RSVP at:
irregularwinetasting@yahoo.com
Irregular Wine Tasting on Myspace

8pm / $20 / 21+

Sunday 09.21.08: CROOKED COWBOY AND THE FRESHWATER INDIANS ORCHESTRA @ echoplex

Crooked Cowboy & The Freshwater Indians

Next to curtained-off lanes, a seven-piece band spills over a low stage and onto the floor. The band is in the middle of a number, a feisty bit of two-step twang with wordless vocals. At the end of every
verse, a moan of feedback beckons the band to explode into a feverish climax, and just as you think the song must spiral off into abandon, it just as quickly hunkers back down into its tight and menacing shuffle. The song ends, and as the last hit is still wallowing in its lush reverb, the bassist puts down his bass and turns to the MPC sampler sitting on the chair next to him. You barely have time to wonder if a drumbeat or pre-recorded synth loop is imminent before gamelan bells ring out incongruously, ominously, and the band lurches into a martial apocalyptic dirge that sounds like something Ennio Morricone would write after spending 10 years in a Balinese rock cult. The sound. The sound is a very physical thing— immense without being cacophonous, echoing without being murky, possessed of a great and terrible clarity and power. The Freshwater Indians are not a particularly loud band, but they are certainly one you can feel in your chest. – Mean Magazine

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

9pm / $10 / 18+

Saturday 09.20.08: Los Dukes presents FAKE PROBLEMS / COBRA SKULLS / LOOK MEXICO / FRANK TURNER @ echo

Fake Problems || Listen

The dirty rock and folk-punk traces akin to performers like Lucero, Tim Barry and Against Me! permeate from almost every track. From the sloshy sing-along choruses of the album’s title track kicking things off and leading right into the stomping manifesto of “Born & Raised,” to the subtle twang of “Cold on the Soul,” a wide array of sound, style and substance flows from the record. Adding even further to the plethora of audio experimentation are the horns (mind you, not ska horns) buzzing on the swaggering number “Busy Bees” (pun not intended).

“Crest on the Crest” and “To Repel Ghosts,” two highlights of the entire collection, continue with the unforced and honest fun found in the infectious choruses. In the latter, singer Chris Farren showcases his growing vocal range with both soft-yet-sharp sounding verses, and raspy and jubilant peaks in the dizzying chorus. Somehow the whole experience is perfectly complimented with very faint fiddle strumming away in the background. – Punknews.org

with:
Cobra Skulls || Listen
Look Mexico || Listen
Frank Turner || Listen

5pm / $7 / all ages

Thursday 09.25.08: RESPECT with VICIOUS CIRCLE / HAZEN / SCOOBA / MC DINO / MC XYZ @ echoplex

With:
VICIOUS CIRCLE (Universal Imprint, Renegade Hardware,UK)
HAZEN (Temple Of Boom,BassRush)
SCOOBA
MC DINO (UAontheDL.com)
Resident MC XYZ

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

FMI: Respect on Myspace

10pm / $5 before 11pm, $10 after / 18+

Wednesday 10.01.08: SPINDRIFT / CANDY APPLE / ROCKING HORSE PEOPLE @ echo

Spindrift || Listen || Watch

Truly out-of-sight, the seven-piece band celebrates the outlaw spirit with spooky, tripped-out variations on Ennio Morricone’s spaghetti Western tradition. Live, they swirl and tremble like a lucid dream, banging a gong and shaking their tambourines for rattlesnake effect, jamming until the audience feels engulfed by a sandstorm (of course, it helps if it’s an outdoor concert and the wind is already fierce). Spindrift founder Kirpatrick Thomas (who holds together portions of the band’s East and West Coast factions) recently recorded a soundtrack to Mike Bruce’s bizarre concept film Legend of God’s Gun, which is like the original Ocean’s 11 with psychedelic rockers replacing tony rat packers. Visually schizophrenic, Gun follows a preacher turned gunslinger who travels to Playa Diablo to avenge his true love’s death. Trippy shoot-’em-ups ensue. Go west! – Salt Lake City Weekly

with:
Rocking Horse People
Candy Apple

8:30pm / $10 / 18+

Wednesday 10.08.08: GIANT SAND / ROBERT FRANCIS / BUCKSWORTH @ echo

Giant Sand || Listen || Watch || Download

Giant Sand mastermind Howe Gelb is equal parts Jack Kerouac, Willie Nelson, and Raymond Chandler on his collective’s latest album. The Tucson, Arizona-based rocker once again proves to be the quintessential hardscrabble outlaw-poet. Here he gives listeners a sense of riding shotgun as he tours the Southwest’s dark and lonely pathways with eyes trained on the road and a solitary headlight illuminating the way. The 13 tracks which make up the album establish a fresh and rewarding style that might best be described as cowboy noir.

These are weird, wonderful tunes of hard luck, romantic exchanges and many, many miles set against musical backdrops marked by expressive guitars and piano, steadying rhythms and beautiful vocal textures. Gelb’s assertion that “Out here you feel every mile and you feel every yard / Leaving love alone, I’ve been kicking myself…” from “Can Do” could serve as the album’s thesis statement. – Popmatters

with:
Robert Francis
Bucksworth

8:30pm / $12 / 18+

Saturday 09.27.08: 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 SUICIDE GIRL GO-GO DANCERS!

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

FMI: CLUBSUICIDE.NET

10pm / $5 before 11pm with pass, $12 after / 18+

Friday 10.17.08: SAY HI / JUKEBOX THE GHOST / PRINCETON @ echo

Say Hi || Listen

In just about any other place or time in human history, a guy like Eric Elbogen never would have thought to pursue singing as a career, or even a hobby. He’s an inveterate mumbler with a shaky sense of pitch, and he looks pretty awkward onstage. But there’s something likable — sometimes lovable — about his indie-rock band, Say Hi. For the band’s new album, “The Wishes and the Glitch” (Euphobia), he ditched his old vampire fixation as well as the last three words in his band name (to Your Mom); the result is a warm, modest set of songs that hide their melancholy beneath sturdy tunes and lots of fuzz. Expect his cult to grow, but just a little. – NY Times

with:
Jukebox The Ghost
Princeton || Listen

8pm / $8 / All Ages

Thursday 10.09.08: RIVAL SCHOOLS / INNAWAY / SATELITE CRUSH @ echo

Rival Schools || Watch

For those of you woefully unaware of Rival Schools, they were a post-hardcore band from the early 2000’s that released only one album, United By Fate, which was pure post-hardcore and alt-rock goodness. Not surprising, considering that its members were spread across the hardcore and post-hardcore worlds, having previously been in Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand, Glassjaw, Youth of Today and other influential bands. The boys will be playing some shows in the US soon after their European tour in June, and then they will be releasing a new album sometime in the first half of next year (most likely). (Thanks to BrooklynVegan for the tip)

You know you’re excited. Don’t deny your musical past. – Hate Something Beautiful

with:
Innaway || Listen
Satelite Crush

8:30pm / $12 adv, $15 dos / 18+

Sunday 09.28.08: GRAND OLE ECHO with COUSIN LOVERS / HELLO DARLIN’ @ echoplex

with:
The Cousin Lovers || Listen
Hello Darlin’

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

hosted by Chris Morris and DJ Cuz’n Roy

5pm / FREE / all ages

Sunday 09.21.08: GRAND OLE ECHO presents I SEE HAWKS IN LA @ echo

with:
I See Hawks in LA || Listen

hosted by Chris Morris and DJ Cuz’n Roy

5pm / FREE / all ages

Sunday 09.14.08: Grand Ole Echo with DUANE JARVIS / KURT ROSS @ echo

with:
Duane Jarvis
Kurt Ross

hosted by Chris Morris and DJ Cuz’n Roy

5pm / FREE / all ages

Tuesday 09.16.08: HELL YA! presents TURBOWEEKEND / GOOD WITH GRENADES / GOODBYE ELLIOTT / DAVE SMALLEN @ echo

with:
Turboweekend (from Denmark)
Good With Grenades
Goodbye Elliott
Dave Smallen

8:30pm / $5 / 18+

Saturday 09.13.08: DESCARGA with TOY SELECTAH & RESIDENT DJs @ echo

Toy Selectah

As a Remixer, DJ Toy Selectah’s repertoire includes work for artists such as: Blanquito Man, Calle 13, Diplo, Thievery Corporation, She’s a Tease, Up Bustle and Out, Ocote Soul Sounds, Federico Aubele, Sonidero Nacional, Grupo Fantasma, Miranda, Gustavo Cerati, Locos Por Juana, Ely Guerra, Cabas, Juanes, Notch, Alejandro Sanz, Shakira, Julieta Venegas, Gallego, Don Omar, Celso Piña, Kinky, Zurdok, Café Tacvba, Molotov, Manu Chao, Eminem, Cypress Hill, La Tremenda Korte, El Gran Silencio, Hakim, Plastilina Mosh, Sonidero Nacional, Sekreto, Jumbo, Caballeros del Plan G, Wisin y Yandel, Dj Blass, Vicentico, Paulina Rubio, Sargento García, Dante Spinetta, Tatiana, Los Tetas, Octavio Mesa, Malverde, Abusivo, Los Telez, La Comuna, División Minúscula and many others.

¡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, 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 / $10 / 21+

Friday 09.26.08: CLUB UNDERGROUND with THE OOHLAS @ echo

The Oohlas || Listen

with 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 9.19.08: CLUB UNDERGROUND @ echo

with 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 09.12.08: CLUB UNDERGROUND with THE STRANGE BOYS & Special Guests @ echo

with:
The Strange Boys

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 09.05.08: Screening of “Such Hawks Such Hounds: Scenes from the American Hard Rock Underground” @ echoplex

Such Hawks Such Hounds explores the music and musicians of the American hard rock underground circa 1970-2007. With appearances by Acid King, Comets on Fire, Dead Meadow, Earthless, Fatso Jetson, High on Fire, Kyuss, Om, Sleep, Sunn O))) and many more, this feature documentary is a multi-sensory sampling of the psychedelic and/or ’70s proto-metal-derived styles that have in recent years formed a rich tapestry of unclassifiable sounds. Through interviews, live performances and archival footage, Such Hawks taps the cinematic possibilities of an exciting and ever-evolving subgenre.

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

8pm / FREE / all ages

Tuesday 09.09.08: Filthy Rogue presents FORREST DAY / THE DIAMOND LIGHT (formerly Rozaline) @ echo

Tuesday 09.23.08: BRANT BJORK / THE HIGH SAINTS / THE CHUCK DUKOWSKI SEXTET @ echo

Brant Bjork || Listen || Watch

Brant Bjork is one of those musicians whose understated brilliance one can imagine Lester Bangs endlessly praising in an obtuse and meandering essay (were Bangs not twenty-five years dead). Bjork’s music is of the sort that inspires and requires uncompromising loyalty from his devotees and to those not indoctrinated, may seem easily dismissed.

Read a bio of Brant Bjork and you will most likely encounter a roster of “desert” or “stoner” bands that he once graced with his presence behind the skins: Kyuss, Fu Manchu. But the remarkable thing about Bjork’s solo material is the absence of the heaviness generally associated with the apocryphal desert rock label (or stigma, depending on who you are talking to). Mr. Bjork has made a career out of breaking stock stoner-rock character into something of a slacker funk enigma ever since his first solo album Jalamanta surprised and befuddled fans of the aforementioned stoner schtick. – Blog Critics Magazine

with:
The High Saints || Listen
The Chuck Dukowski Sextet || Listen

8:30pm / $12 / 18+

Thursday 09.18.08: MILES BENJAMIN ANTHONY ROBINSON / BLACK DIAMOND HEAVIES @ echo

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson || Watch

Life definitely handed Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson loads of lemons (and first names), but he chose Atmosphere’s route and painted that shit gold on his self-titled amalgam of alt-country, blues, and garage grit. Even without firsthand experience of “tits dragging in the dust,” you can’t help feeling the ache in this multi-racial Brooklyn-via-Oregon troubadour’s tenor. The 25-year-old’s ruminations on homelessness, alienation, and trying (and failing) to kick drugs hark back to David Ryan Adams, Jeffrey Scott Tweedy, and Townes Van Zandt at their most downtrodden. Thankfully, Robinson’s self-knowledge and self-conscious attempts to avoid veering into clichéd tortured-artist territory serve to cut the tension nicely: On “Buriedfed,” he declares: “This is my last song about myself/About my friends/Find something else to sing.” – The Village Voice

with:
Black Diamond Heavies || Listen

8:30pm / $7 / 18+

Sunday 09.21.08: PART TIME PUNKS with WARPAINT / VUM @ echo

with:
Warpaint
Vum

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

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Sunday 09.14.08: PART TIME PUNKS with NIKKI OBSCURE / MASTER B.E.T.A @ echo

with:
Nikki Obscure
Master B.E.T.A

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

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Thursday 09.04.08: THE SHACKELTONS / LAMPS @ echo

The Shackeltons || Listen

What makes bands like Pixies, Fugazi, and Les Savy Fav so exciting — and what makes the Shackeltons, from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, similarly thrilling — is a breathlessness, a creeping sense that crouched behind the towering melodies and heard-’em-before razor guitars (think Television, in addition to the aforementioned bands), there’s complete breakdown. A half-dozen times on their debut, the Shackeltons sound completely convincing, and that’s about six more times than most bands ever manage. – Spin.com

with:
Lamps

8:30pm / $7 / 18+

Wednesday 09.10.08: 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+

Wednesday 09.03.08: DUB CLUB with SISTER CAROL @ echoplex

Sister Carol || Listen

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 / $12 / 21+

Tuesday 09.02.08: 400 BLOWS / TRICLOPS @ echo

400 Blows || Listen || Watch

with:
Triclops || Listen

8:30pm / $8 / 18+

Monday 09.29.08: Monday Night Residency – DEATH TO ANDERS / FOL CHEN / RADEMACHER / DIE ROCKERS DIE @ echo

Death to Anders || Listen

While it’s up to the listener to decide whether or not Death to Anders’ new album, Fictitious Business, is a concept album — Danson says “maybe” — there’s no question that it’s an ambitious accomplishment both in songwriting and production that demands to be listened to in its entirety. A self-described “surreal and cryptic look at life in the 21st century,” the album takes listeners on an intense journey full of abrupt turns through beautiful and paranoid terrain marked by lush walls of sound, rollicking melodies, noisy swells and questioning lyrics. There’s a lot of variety within and between each of the 10 songs, but an ongoing narrative with repeating themes sews it all together. – Performer Mag

with:
Fol Chen
Rademacher
Die Rockers Die || Listen

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 09.22.08: Monday Night Residency Acoustic Night – DEATH TO ANDERS / SARAH NEGADARI (from Happy Hollows) / MAD GREGS @ echo

Death to Anders || Listen

While it’s up to the listener to decide whether or not Death to Anders’ new album, Fictitious Business, is a concept album — Danson says “maybe” — there’s no question that it’s an ambitious accomplishment both in songwriting and production that demands to be listened to in its entirety. A self-described “surreal and cryptic look at life in the 21st century,” the album takes listeners on an intense journey full of abrupt turns through beautiful and paranoid terrain marked by lush walls of sound, rollicking melodies, noisy swells and questioning lyrics. There’s a lot of variety within and between each of the 10 songs, but an ongoing narrative with repeating themes sews it all together. – Performer Mag

with:
Sarah Negadari (from Happy Hollows)
One Trick Pony || Listen
Mad Gregs

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Sunday 09.07.08: PART TIME PUNKS @ echo

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

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Sunday 09.07.08: GRAND OLE ECHO with MIKE STINSON / WEST OF TEXAS / THE LINCOLN BEDROOM @ echo

with:
Mike Stinson
West of Texas || Listen
The Lincoln Bedroom

hosted by Chris Morris and DJ Cuz’n Roy

5pm / FREE / all ages

Saturday 09.06.08: SMOG 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY @ echo

with:
Plastician (Rinse FM, TerrorRhythm, BBC Radio 1, Rephlex, London UK)
Cyrus (Tectonic, Random Trio, Sub FM, London UK)
12th Planet
Knife Dreams
DJ Evol
DLX
Emu
Pawn
Unit
Subcode

MCs: Kemst & BYPASS

Art Installations by: Spectr

Turbosound by: Mobius

FMI: www.smogla.com

9pm / $10 before 11pm, $15 after / 21+

Friday 09.05.08: CLUB UNDERGROUND with THE BLACK WATCH / THE VOYEURS @ echo

with:
The Black Watch || Listen
The Voyeurs

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+

Monday 09.15.08: Monday Night Residency – DEATH TO ANDERS / RADARS TO THE SKY / THE TRANSMISSIONS / THE MONOLATORS @ echo

Death to Anders || Listen

While it’s up to the listener to decide whether or not Death to Anders’ new album, Fictitious Business, is a concept album — Danson says “maybe” — there’s no question that it’s an ambitious accomplishment both in songwriting and production that demands to be listened to in its entirety. A self-described “surreal and cryptic look at life in the 21st century,” the album takes listeners on an intense journey full of abrupt turns through beautiful and paranoid terrain marked by lush walls of sound, rollicking melodies, noisy swells and questioning lyrics. There’s a lot of variety within and between each of the 10 songs, but an ongoing narrative with repeating themes sews it all together. – Performer Mag

with:
Radars To The Sky
The Transmissions || Listen
The Monolators || Listen

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 09.08.08: Monday Night Residency – DEATH TO ANDERS / ROBERT FRANCIS / THE HENRY CLAY PEOPLE – ACOUSTIC SET / MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY @ echo

Death to Anders || Listen

While it’s up to the listener to decide whether or not Death to Anders’ new album, Fictitious Business, is a concept album — Danson says “maybe” — there’s no question that it’s an ambitious accomplishment both in songwriting and production that demands to be listened to in its entirety. A self-described “surreal and cryptic look at life in the 21st century,” the album takes listeners on an intense journey full of abrupt turns through beautiful and paranoid terrain marked by lush walls of sound, rollicking melodies, noisy swells and questioning lyrics. There’s a lot of variety within and between each of the 10 songs, but an ongoing narrative with repeating themes sews it all together. – Performer Mag

with:
Robert Francis
The Henry Clay People (Acoustic Set) || Listen
Manhattan Murder Mystery

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Friday 09.19.08: MAN MAN / CRYSTAL ANTLERS / JONAH RAY @ echoplex

Man Man || Listen || Watch

Part swampy juke joint brawlers, part smooth Philly warehouse doo-wop crooners, a sprinkling of wild-eyed, demon-haunted art hustler, and a hint of punky kindergarten playroom Pollyannas, Man Man bring their incomparable vision of “pop music” to bear with Rabbit Habits, their Anti- Records debut. Having honed their legendarily exuberant live show to hypothalamus-tickling perfection opening for such indie stalwarts as Modest Mouse, Arcade Fire and Cat Power, the band has captured the fiery spirit and essence of a Man Man show and etched it into 45 minutes of the most raucous, weirdly moving, spiritually uplifting music this side of Oppenheimer’s great beyond. Stand-out tracks such as “Top Drawer” and “Big Trouble” illustrate Man Man’s ability to provoke and inspire in a single instance.
Man Man’s power isn’t derived from the genres they stumble across, or the maniac light in their eyes, or the sweat pooling in their beards. It’s the unbearable sadness in their marrow and how they transform it, like the existentially distressed but heroically steadfast men men they are, into a terrible and lionhearted joy.” – Pitchfork

with:
Crystal Antlers
Jonah Ray

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

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

8pm / $15 advance; $17 day of show / 18+

Friday 09.12.08: SUPREME BEINGS OF LEISURE / CARMEN RIZZO @ echoplex

Supreme Beings of Leisure || Watch

Trip-hop band’s third release in six years, “11i” is a dark and moody mix of entrancing tunes. Vampy siren Geri Soriano-Lightwood’s vocals are in rare form, adding the right amount of diva to the tunework of Ramin Sakurai; together, the pair create a sound that promises to take listeners down the rabbit hole. While the album can be a bit somber and pitchy at times, “11i” is brimming with tantalizing, soulful tracks; “The Light” and “Oneness” are electronica at its most seductive, filled with rhythmic thumping and dark undertones, while “Ride” and “Mirror” are upbeat efforts, though far from the realm of conventional dance music. – Variety

with:
Carmen Rizzo || Listen

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

RSVP at http://losangeles.going.com/supremebeings

9pm / free with RSVP / 21+

Sunday 09.07.08: Tee Pee Records & Filter present MANIFEST DESTINY FEST with WITCHCRAFT / EARTHLESS / WITCH / THE WARLOCKS / GRAVEYARD & MORE @ echoplex

with:
Witchcraft
Earthless
Witch
The Warlocks
Graveyard
Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound
Ancestors
Night Horse
TK Webb and The Visions

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

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

3pm / $15 / all ages

Thursday 09.18.08: RESPECT – Westcoast Poppin Exhibition 4 with FAUST & SHORTEE / EDIT / CLUTCH / U-OME @ echoplex

With:
FAUST & SHORTEE (Urban Assault)
EDIT [LIVE PA] (Glitch Mob, Alpha Pup)
CLUTCH
U-OME
Resident MC XYZ + MC JULZ

Plus Dance Crew Performances By:
FOREIGN XCHANGE
MACHINE GONE FUNK
FUNNY BONES

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

FMI: Respect on Myspace

10pm / $5 before 11pm, $10 after / 18+

Thursday 09.11.08: RESPECT with SABURUKO / ONKET with PHENETIC / NOFACE / MC XYZ @ echoplex

with:
SABURUKO (Integral, Horizons Music, NY)
ONKET w/PHENETIC (Sonus Music, DENVER)
NOFACE

plus Resident MC XYZ

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

FMI: Respect on Myspace

10pm / $5 before 11pm, $10 after / 18+

Thursday 09.04.08: RESPECT @ echoplex

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

FMI: Respect on Myspace

10pm / $10 / 18+

Wednesday 09.24.08: DUB CLUB @ echopex

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+

Wednesday 09.17.08: DUB CLUB with JOEY ALTRUDA & CLASSIC RIDDIMS / MARK MORALES / SPECIAL GUESTS @ echoplex and echo

Joey Altruda + Classic Riddims

plus guest dj Mark Morales from Hot Shot soundsystem downstairs

Echodelic Soundsystem with special guests

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 / 18+

Saturday 09.06.08: BOOTIE LA @ echoplex

BOOTIE LA
LA’s monthly mashup bootleg party

Back from Bootie at Burning Man, resident Bootie mashup DJs:
ADRIAN & the MYSTERIOUS D

From Indie 103.1’s “Neon Noise”:
DJ PAUL V.

Midnight mashup show:
R.A.I.D. (Random Acts of Irreverent Dance)

Hooping performances by:
Hoopatron

Launched in 2003, Bootie was the first club night in the United States dedicated solely to the burgeoning artform of the bootleg mashup — and is now the biggest mashup event in the world, with monthly parties in seven cities on two continents. Mixing and matching every conceivable musical genre, era, and style into one big dance party where everyone feels welcome, Bootie provides the soundtrack for the A.D.D. generation — with free mashup CDs given away like candy!
Resident DJs Adrian, the Mysterious D, and Paul V. keep your brain guessing and body dancing with creative song combinations, celebrating — and satirizing — the many different forms of music. The synchronized dance troupe R.A.I.D. (Random Acts of Irreverent Dance) will perform the midnight mashup show to one of Bootie’s biggest hits, and Hoopatron returns to the stage for some hula-hoop go-go dancing!

FREE Bootie CDs to the first 75 people through the door!

FMI: http://www.BootieLA.com

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

Thursday 09.25.08: Aquarium Drunkard presents MISSION OF BURMA performing “Vs” / HANK IV @ ECHOPLEX

Mission of Burma || Listen

Mission of Burma helped define early-80s post-punk, adding tape manipulation to the typical guitar-bass-drums and pushing punk’s limits without compromising its rebellious spirit. Now almost 30 years later, the band’s debut album Vs. remains a staple. – Pitchfork

with:
Hank IV || Listen

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

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

7:30 pm / $20 / 18+

Friday 09.26.08: SILVER JEWS / JAMES JACKSON TOTH @ echoplex

Silver Jews || Listen

Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea is the sixth, and best, full-length release by Silver Jews, Berman’s two-decade-long project, which he’s gradually transformed from a Pavement-infused guitar band (Stephen Malkmus was an early member) to a crystal-clear country-rock concern, with twang and torch, piano flourishes, the occasional church organ and an ever-present drive. It was produced in Nashville, Berman’s home, by Mark Nevers, who himself has carved out a secret little corner of the country-music capital by overseeing beautiful albums by Lambchop, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Calexico — as well as engineering everyone from Marie Osmond and Etta James to George Jones and Johnny Cash.

And it’s Cash’s voice that Berman’s most closely resembles. Except Berman’s is flatter, and any extended rave on his lyrical expertise must contain this proverbial asterisk: His is a punctured tire of a voice, with a sad-sack style that suggests an insurance salesman with a stuffy nose more than it does the Man in Black. It’s droll and it’s rough, but it pushes, it moves, it travels where Berman wants it to, or nearly. It’s singing as necessity, and God bless him for putting it out there. The good thing is that Berman’s wife, Cassie Berman, is the perfect foil, and her harmonies on “Open Field” and “Suffering Jukebox” help balance the tones. – LA Weekly

with:
James Jackson Toth

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

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

8pm / $20 / 18+

Wednesday 09.24.08: THE NEW YEAR / A WEATHER / MODERN MEMORY @ echo

The New Year || Listen || Watch

The New Year has emerged from the studio with 10 songs that will comprise their upcoming self-titled album, to be released September 9, 2008.

The Brothers Kadane, along w/ the rest of the group, have been making music for the last 17 years – in the 1990s with Bedhead and for the last decade with The New Year. They take their time making records, and this is only their third, and the first since 2004’s The End is Near.

Lyrically, these ten songs address the interlocked themes of lost time, frustrated desire, and the need for others. Although musically these may be the band’s most varied songs — for a band that made innovative use of three guitars, almost half the songs here are built around the piano — it is the careful sequence of these songs that brings the story the lyrics tell together.

With:
A Weather || Listen
Modern Memory || Listen

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

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

Thursday 09.25.08: Oh My Rockness presents RA RA RIOT / TUSSLE / WALTER MEEGO / LEMONADE @ ECHO

Ra Ra Riot || Listen

The band played and sang with completely unself-conscious abandon. I know that this is what we expect of all bands, especially bands that project Ra Ra Riot’s brand of catchy rockness, but here genuine excitement and genuine gratefulness shined through the players’ faces. They rampaged around the stage, knocking into each, dancing around, hugging, singing. They looked like an amoeba stuck under glass, constantly pushing out and reshaping itself at its periphery but always remaining stuck together. Or a less ridiculous metaphor: it was a living room dance party with really close friends and family. They presented themselves as a model for the kind of life we’d all like to have: togetherness, happiness, and boundless energy. – Loose Record

with:
Tussle || Listen
Walter Meego || Listen
Lemonade

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

Wednesday 09.10.08: BODIES OF WATER / THROW ME THE STATUE / PRINCETON @ echo

Bodies of Water || Listen

Bodies of Water may have waited barely a year to release a follow-up to their hand-clapping, head-nodding, heaven-looking debut, but musically, they take their time. “Under the Pines”, a mostly instrumental track from their upcoming A Certain Feeling, takes a while to get to its verse, instead carefully establishing a theatrical organ-and-power-chords overture with all the rock-opera oomph of a homespun Jim Steinman. They project toward the rafters, but build the song carefully, bringing in David Metcalf’s snaky guitar line and letting their wordless harmonies comment on the earthly action of music. The first verse doesn’t kick in until after the two-minute mark, but the chorus sets the song loose: “Under and under and under and under the pines!” they shout in unison, alluding to Leadbelly or Nirvana or those 40 days in the wilderness. Here’s hoping they never make just a three-minute pop song. – Pitchfork

with:
Throw Me The Statue
Princeton || Listen

7:30pm / $10 / All ages

Tuesday 09.02.08: THE WOMBATS / AFTERNOONS / POP NOIR @ echoplex

The Wombats || Listen

Let’s be honest, how could an album that contains Let’s Dance To Joy Division possibly fail? It just can’t, can it? Singles like this come along about once every five years, if not once a decade. This one song alone would have ensured The Wombats a glowing review.

That’s not all the lads from 2008’s European City of Culture have to offer, though. From the opening acapella harmonising of Tales Of Girls, Boys and Marsupials, which also kicks off their near-perfect live performances, A Guide To Love, Loss And Desperation is a wonderful musical experience, easily one of the albums of the year and one of those irritating debuts that are so good they should be illegal.

The Wombats are a rare gem. Catchy enough for the charts, indie enough for the music press, sarcastic enough for the miserable sods who moan that music was better when it came on slabs of black plastic, fresh enough for the kids who are getting a bit fed up with Arctic Monkeys and, best of all, clever enough to get Joy Division fans onto the dancefloor in a more original way than Bernard Sumner ever thought of. And with better tunes. – Music OMH

with:
Afternoons
Pop Noir || Listen

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

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

7 pm / $15 advance; $17 day of show / All Ages

Wednesday 09.03.08: THE NIGHT MARCHERS / COLOUR REVOLT / SLANG CHICKENS @ echo

The Night Marchers

John “Speedo” Reis is, without a doubt, one of underground music’s finest showmen, and it could also be argued that he’s the most underappreciated frontman from the alt-rock ’90s. Not to dismiss his work with Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes, Sultans, etc., but Reis always seemed to put his best foot forward with Rocket From The Crypt, and he’s injected The Night Marchers with a similarly ecstatic mix of ferocious garage-rock and populist pop. As always, this stuff is better suited for the stage, and it would be foolish not to assume that horns could make The Night Marchers even better, but with the assistance of a band that includes a couple of fellow ex-Snakes, Reis has made his best record since Rocket’s Scream, Dracula, Scream! heyday. Simple certainly doesn’t equal thin on See You In Magic, a 47-minute blitzkrieg bop that balances punky stompers with perfectly subdued moments like “Panther In Crime” and “We’re Goin’ Down.” The latter even finds Reis’ rough croon somehow making Armageddon sound truly wonderful. – The Onion AV Club

with:
Colour Revolt || Listen
Slang Chickens

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

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

Tuesday 09.30.08: DAN LE SAC VS. SCROOBIUS PIP / B DOLAN / DJ PAUL V. @ echo

Dan Le Sac v. Scroobius Pip

Pip, the man with the densest, most imposing beard in UK rap, has a similarly formidable set of rhymes that delight throughout Angles. On Development, Scroobius praises Mos Def for rhyming the alphabet, before a mid-song switching of beat sees him rap the periodic table to hilarious and exhilarating effect.

This smart spitting, redolent of a suburban Skinny Man or more long-in-the-tooth Mike Skinner, is used to effectively elicit poignancy on Tommy and most notably on Magician’s Assistant. While a moody soundscape sounds like a scary stagger away from consciousness, Pip chats about self-harm. The result is a better anti-suicide ode than REM’s Everybody Hurts.

Le Sac’s production highlights include cutting Dizzee Rascal grime beats into Fixed, meaty trance throbs on the malevolent shoplifting tale of the title track and his inspired use of a sample from Radiohead’s Planet Telex on Letter From God To Man. It’s to his credit there’s as much deft imagination in the music as there is in the lyrics. – BBC

with:
B Dolan
DJ Paul V.

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

9pm / $10 / 18+

Thursday 09.04.08: WHY? / RAFTER / Dub Lab DJs @ echoplex

Why? || Listen

Answering the question, nay, even making an attempt at answering “So, what do they sound like?” is deserving of a gold star. WHY? is a three-piece from Oakland, composed of beat- and word-smith Yoni Wolf, his brother Josiah, and Doug McDiarmid, joined on Alopecia by bassist Mark Erickson and Fog’s Andrew Broder. They’re really less of a black hole and more of a modified vacuum cleaner. They suck up everything along with the dirt: experimental hip-hop, indie rock, sugar-loaded pop, minimalist balladry, etc. And then, once the components are all bundled together, they flip the switch and send it all tumbling back out again and into the recording studio. More plainly, WHY? is the alphabet soup of independent music. Clever, biting, creative, intense, storied, and lurid. There’s really nothing else like it.

Alopecia, their third full-length release and second as a full band, is a darkly tinged juggernaut. 2005’s supremely wonderful but admittedly melancholic Elephant Eyelash is downright cheery in relation. The songs of Alopecia find a renewed interest from Yoni Wolf in delivering straight-up beats and rhymes alongside his more sing-songy efforts. Unsurprisingly, his styles of old and new fit together like it ain’t no joke. – Tiny Mix Tapes

with:
Rafter || Listen
Dub Lab DJs

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

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

7pm / $13 adv, $15 dos / All Ages

Saturday 09.20.08: LIAM FINN / THE VEILS / KARIN TATOYAN @ echoplex

Liam Finn || Listen || Watch

On his full-length debut, the child of Kiwi pop kingpin Neil Finn (Split Enz, Crowded House) is more a descendant of the scattershot aesthetic that Todd Rundgren perfected on his 1972 masterpiece Something/Anything. Often producing and playing all the instruments, Liam loops hook-happy guitars through syncopated rhythms (“Second Chance,” “Energy Spent”), serves up classic-pop reproductions (the Beach Boys-esque “Lullaby”), and tosses in odds and ends both ridiculous (the honking “Better to Be”) and sublime (the gently folk-rocking “Wise Man”). Skillful if occasionally rickety, Lightning showcases a confident, evolving voice. – Spin

with: The Veils
Karin Tatoyan

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

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

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