Thursday 05.07.09: HER SPACE HOLIDAY / CITY LIGHT / HANNI EL KHATIB @ echo

Her Space Holiady || Listen || Watch

Marc Bianchi, the man behind Her Space Holiday, is a master of finding new ways to make clinical depression sound gorgeous. On The Past Presents the Future, Bianchi perfects his formula of spinning morose tales sprinkled with a few torturous moments of hope, while backing them up with a swirling combination of majestic strings that violently clash with the throbbing electronic beats that propel the songs. Perhaps spurred on by the work of the various artists and producers who successfully remodeled his previous album on The Young Machines Remixed, Bianchi experiments even more on the latest Her Space Holiday release, providing a somewhat more ambitious album that his previous albums. – Popmatters

With:
City Light
Hanni El Khatib

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8pm / $12 advance, $14 day of show / All ages

Friday 05.01.09: Club Underground presents THE FLASH EXPRESS / THE SHIRLEY ROLLS @ echo

The Flash Express || Listen || Watch

“What’s up with the music?” That’s a question posed by the outstanding local trio the Flash Express on its appropriately titled debut album, Introducing the Dynamite Sound of the Flash Express (Hit It Now!).

It’s a distinctly non-rhetorical question that’s posited in the similarly non-rhetorical song called “Who Stole the Soul?” Guitarist-vocalist-ringleader Brian Waters attempts to answer that titular question in the same tune: “I don’t know who stole the soul/the Flash Express gonna give it back to the people now.” Although Waters, bassist Tommy Branch, and drummer Lance Porter have been kicking around for about three years now, they still seem to be languishing in contender status. But I haven’t seen such a legit rock band working up a for-real sweat on a Hollywood stage in many a moon. It’s time for everybody to get on board and, to borrow from another song title, ride the Flash Express. – LA City Beat

with:
The Shirley Rolls || Listen

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9pm / $8 / 18+

Thursday 04.23.09: DAWES / AMATEURS / MISSISSIPPI MAN @ echo

Dawes || Watch

Dawes could only spring from Los Angeles, or at least possesses that certain magical harmony and appreciation of wide-open spaces, rolling waves and Pacific breezes that’s inspired musicians for decades.

Drawing from the same well that delivered us Band of Horses and Fleet Foxes, and springing from the same Topanga/Americana scene that supports Jonathan Rice, Jonathan Wilson and Jenny Lewis, Dawes touches on the same vibe using piano, guitar, bass and gorgeous harmonies. But where BoH and FF generously borrow from that California sound, Dawes breathes it. – LA Weekly

with:
Amateurs || Listen
Mississippi Man

8:30pm / $10 Advance, $12 Day of show / 18+

Thursday 04.02.09: Screening of SCOTT WALKER – 30 CENTURY MAN @ echoplex

Back by popular demand! “Scott Walker – 30 Century Man” a documentary by Stephen Kijak.

One night only! Director in person – DJ set and Q&A.

“a film that should not be ignored” says Kevin Bronson on Buzzbands LA.

“revelatory” says LA CityBeat

“…even a partial rundown of the musicians who speak on camera is dazzling…” LA TIMES

“…compelling and refreshing…” LA Alternative Film Examiner

“…utterly haunting…astonishing!” Filter

“A fascinating meditation on the nexus of art and celebrity with a deeply charismatic figure at its center…one of the most remarkable music documentaries in ages. Not to be missed.” Box Office Magazine

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

7pm / $10.00 / all ages

Tuesday 04.21.09: JAMES PANTS / MAYER HAWTHORNE AND THE COUNTY / DAM-FUNK / FOLERIO @ echoplex

James Pants || Listen

Future Shock-era Herbie Hancock, L.A. electro, New Age-y French disco, and Paradise Garage love-funkists Skyy may inform the tracks on Welcome (Stones Throw), the debut LP by James Pants, but while the record borrows from these and other roller-rink-friendly ’80s grooves, it’s no jukebox-style revue. Instead, the wildly divergent but coherent LP tells the tale of a lone music obsessive from the very un-funky town of Spokane, Washington.

“I have a bunch of thrift-store gear, and I like to turn on some red lights and just make some sounds,” says the 25-year-old Pants–a.k.a. James Singleton–when pressed to describe his growing oeuvre. “I guess it’s just the sound of really cheap equipment, listening to a lot of records, and goofing off.” – XLR8R

with:
Mayer Hawthorne and the County || Listen
Dam-Funk || Listen
Folerio

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

9pm / $10 advance; $12day of show / 18+

Saturday 05.09.09: LA CABAL, 826LA & Echo present THE FIRST ANNUAL CRAFT BEER FEST LA @ echoplex

On May 9, Los Angeles gets its first festival devoted to California’s craft beer culture. Call it the next wave in the artisinal beer revolution brewing here in Southern California.

A dozen of the state’s best brewers will pour 26 handcrafted beers while L.A. chefs will sling FREE pub grub (gourmet bar nuts, artisan cheese pairings, vegan snacks). Attendees can feast on beer treats like ale cupcakes and stout ice cream from the gelato geniuses at Scoops. And a slew of local bands will share the stage with renowned brewers giving tips and discussing their wares, as well as cheese experts lecturing on pairing beer with food. There will truly be something for every beer drinker, from new fan to freak!

Breweries include: The Bruery, Craftsman, Firestone Walker, Hangar 24, Port Brewing, Lost Abbey, Sierra Nevada Telegraph and more to be announced soon.

Food courtesy of: Pure Luck, Hot Knives, Burrito Project, Scoops & more

entrance fee covers beer, food, brewery roundtables and live music.

Proceeds benefit 826LA, the nonprofit tutor program and children’s writing workshop founded by author Dave Eggers.

Craft Beer Fest LA is a new annual tradition brought to you by LA CABAL.

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

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text craft to 467467

2pm / $30 / 21+

Saturday 05.30.09: KING KHAN AND THE SHRINES / MARK SULTAN / WOUNDED LION @ echo

King Khan & The Shrines || Watch

Most people didn’t hear about King Khan and the Shrines until last year, when What Is?!, their most recent LP for German label Hazelwood, seared the band’s combustible combo– Stax plus Nuggets plus hiss-covered indie-rock screwiness– onto listeners’ collective noggins. It was as if they were the Dirtbombs on simultaneous James Brown and Sun Ra kicks, or Black Lips with less of the Vice-ready comedy and more underlying pathos. Now signed to Vice, King Khan and the Shrines present a few of the best tracks from What Is?!, along with some of their earlier cuts, on label debut The Supreme Genius of King Khan and the Shrines. Despite the appropriately over-the-top title, it’s not so much a Greatest Hits– What Is?! has slightly better songs overall– as a chronicle of how Khan became King.

The strongest tracks, where the band’s unhinged nostalgia meets not only squealing discord but also Khan’s stupefying jester/soul-man antics, appeared previously on What Is?!. Take nourishment from the Hammond-drenched soul food-stamps of “Welfare Bread”. Hear Khan go howling mad and a step past girl-crazy amid the sitar-like guitar and wah-wah pedals of “I Wanna Be a Girl”. The string-tying absurdity of “69 Faces of Love”, or the prickly dick jokes and “Venus in Furs” string drone of “The Ballad of Lady Godiva” are sadly absent, but the deafness-repping James Brown of “Land of the Freak”, the Stooge-ian assault of “No Regrets”, and the relatively sane red-line retro of “Outta Harm’s Way” are all present and accounted for, as they should be. – Pitchfork

With:
Mark Sultan || Listen
Wounded Lion

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7pm / $13 / All Ages

Friday 05.29.09: KING KHAN AND THE SHRINES / MARK SULTAN / WOUNDED LION @ echo

King Khan & The Shrines || Watch

Most people didn’t hear about King Khan and the Shrines until last year, when What Is?!, their most recent LP for German label Hazelwood, seared the band’s combustible combo– Stax plus Nuggets plus hiss-covered indie-rock screwiness– onto listeners’ collective noggins. It was as if they were the Dirtbombs on simultaneous James Brown and Sun Ra kicks, or Black Lips with less of the Vice-ready comedy and more underlying pathos. Now signed to Vice, King Khan and the Shrines present a few of the best tracks from What Is?!, along with some of their earlier cuts, on label debut The Supreme Genius of King Khan and the Shrines. Despite the appropriately over-the-top title, it’s not so much a Greatest Hits– What Is?! has slightly better songs overall– as a chronicle of how Khan became King.

The strongest tracks, where the band’s unhinged nostalgia meets not only squealing discord but also Khan’s stupefying jester/soul-man antics, appeared previously on What Is?!. Take nourishment from the Hammond-drenched soul food-stamps of “Welfare Bread”. Hear Khan go howling mad and a step past girl-crazy amid the sitar-like guitar and wah-wah pedals of “I Wanna Be a Girl”. The string-tying absurdity of “69 Faces of Love”, or the prickly dick jokes and “Venus in Furs” string drone of “The Ballad of Lady Godiva” are sadly absent, but the deafness-repping James Brown of “Land of the Freak”, the Stooge-ian assault of “No Regrets”, and the relatively sane red-line retro of “Outta Harm’s Way” are all present and accounted for, as they should be. – Pitchfork

With:
Mark Sultan || Listen
Wounded Lion

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

8pm / $13 / 18+

Friday 06.19.09: Echo & Club Underground present ART BRUT / THE BLOOD ARM @ echo

Art Brut || Listen || Watch

It’s hard to fathom it’s already been almost four since Art Brut somehow managed to both celebrate and poke fun at the music industry with its stellar debut, Bang Bang Rock & Roll. However, at the time, many critics wondered how far the English outfit’s tongue-and-cheek style could take them – after all, pretty soon they would run out of stuff to make fun of, right?

Well, come four years and two albums later, Art Brut is still running on full-force, as evident by the band’s latest creative endeavor, Art Brut Vs. Satan, officially due out May 12th via Downtown Records. Produced by Frank Black – you know, Frank Black, the Pixies frontman turned solo artists? – the 11-track effort was recorded during what the band described as a “punk-as-fuck two weeks in Salem, Oregon.”
Sound wise, Art Brut has remained fairly tight lipped about Art Brut Vs. Satan, but did not in an interview with Pitchfork that it will include an “eight-minute song.”

As for what’s up with the title, it’s simple as Argos revealed in the same interview: “Satan is everybody that’s against us. [laughs] If you are not for us, then you are Satan, and I am against you.” – Consequence of Sound

With:
The Blood Arm || Listen

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9pm / $13 advance, $15 Day of Show / 18+

Saturday 04.25.09: Local Tourist, Shake The Hand & Scarlett Casanova present LA’S FINEST – DOM KENNEDY / HYPHY CRUNK / CARTER / DEF SOUND / THE FUTHAMUCKAS / THE KEYISHE / BUL!M!ATRON / DJ SOURMILK / DJ E REGULAR @ echoplex

with:
DOM KENNEDY
HYPHY CRUNK
CARTER
DEF SOUND
THE FUTHAMUCKAS
THE KEYISHE
BUL!M!ATRON
DJ SOURMILK
DJ E REGULAR

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

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10pm / $5 presale, $10 at the door / 18+

Sunday 04.19.09: SOS Records presents FUNERAL DRESS / MISE EN SCENE / THE VOIDS / ALL OUT ATTACK / DESTRUCTIVE BLUES @ Echoplex

Funeral Dress || Listen || Watch

Belgium greats “Funeral Dress” have scorched the scene for over 15 years – starting with their first LP “Free Beer for the Punx” produced by Charley Harper of the “UK Subs” showed great musical abilities combining melodic rhythems with hardcore energy. After their first release- 4 more records spread out over a decade, “Songs bout Sex, Beer, and Punk Rock”, “Singalongpogpunk”, and “Punk Live and Loud”. They have toured with just about every famous punk band you can think of- which built a strong fan base through out Europe. Finally in 2001 they released their debut album in the U.S. “Party Political Bullshit”- to promote their debut album they toured with U.S. label mates “The Casualties” – then returning that same year to tour with “The Virus” and “The Unseen”. In 2002, “Funeral Dress” caught the ear of U.S. punk label “SOS” records. Upon signing “Funeral Dress” was then placed on the U.S.’s biggest punk tour since the “Sex Pistols” in 77’- with UK legends “The Exploited” and U.S. favorites “Total Chaos” confirming their status on the punk scene—worldwide!! The latest album “A Way of Life” is truly their best album to date, their new single “Party On” — a musical collaboration combining folk sounds with punk rock—clearly a unparalleled sound that has just entered the national top 50 at number 5 in their country and is the first to do so in their genre—more evidence of “Funeral Dress’s” unique quality of sound. Geared for U.S. radio is their single a remake of 80’s pop cover, “Down Under” by “Men at Work”- has brought the song into the new era—and is guaranteed to blow up the airways!! Now moving in position to take over the world- 2003 will be an amazing year for the band—- take some advice from their hit single and get ready to “Party On”!!! – SOS Records

With:
Mise En Scene
The Voids
All Out Attack
Destructive Blues

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

6:30pm / $12 / All Ages

Sunday 05.10.09: DESTROYER (solo) / AZITA / DEVON WILLIAMS @ echoplex

Detroyer || Listen

Like Neko Case, his bandmate in the New Pornographers, Destroyer’s Dan Bejar has a solo career that’s gone from sideshow to headliner. His latest seals the deal. Bejar’s affection for early-Seventies glam — especially T. Rex and Bowie, when proto-punk canoodled with prog-rock fantasy flights — remains deep. But he’s filtered his cribbing through an indie rocker’s sense of humor and a poet’s love of language.

“Caution — hot ashes‚/ The girl says to her first kiss,” he begins on “Shooting Rockets,” with guitarist Nicolas Bragg sending up notes like fireworks with every existential punch line (“My soul pukes the night away. . . . Off, treacherous bliss, off!”). The arrangements, with acoustic strumming, organ, parlor-room piano, even a low-fi harpsichord break (“The State”), conjure old-world vibes. But electric guitars and synthesizers howl in uneasy tribute to the present. “I’ve been living in America in churches of greed/It’s sick!” Bejar declaims in the Pavement-esque “Dark Leaves Form a Thread.” He resolves to stick it out anyway: “No, it’s cool/You go, I’ll stay/Perfectly at home with this dread.” Join the club, pal. – Rolling Stone

with:
Azita || Listen
Devon Williams

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

Save Money when you order tickets by mobile phone
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8pm / $13 advance, $15 day of show / all ages

Sunday 05.31.09: PART TIME PUNKS with HALLO! GALLO! / PHAROHS @ echo

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

Krautrock Nite With:
Hallo! Gallo! (Neu Tribute by Upsilon Acrux members)
Pharohs (Surfin’ Sammy’s new band with Alejandro from Languis/Dublab!)

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Thursday 04.09.09: DENGUE FEVER – Screening of “Sleepwalking through The Mekong” and performance @ echoplex

Dengue Fever || Watch

Sleepwalking Through The Mekong chronicles the journey taken by Los Angeles based Khmer rock band Dengue Fever to lead singer Chhom Nimol’s native Cambodia during the 2005 Water Festival. The band’s performances there marked the first time a Western band had performed classic 1960s and ‘70s Cambodian rock ‘n’ roll in the country where it was created and nearly erased from existence by the brutal Pol Pot regime.

More than a rockumentary, the film serves up a portrait of modern Cambodia as the band tours through Phnom Penh and beyond, crossing a great cultural chasm with the same spirit of Cambodia’s original rock pioneers. The film has screened at a diverse number of festivals and museums including The Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival, The Hawaiian International Film Festival, Roskilde Festival, The Istanbul Museum of Fine Art and the Museum of Fine Art in Boston.

DVD bonus material includes a biography of the band Dengue Fever, live performance segments, comments from director John Pirozzi, segments on the Cambodian Water Festival, the traditional Cambodian Coconut Dance and Cambodia’s Master Musicians.

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

8pm / $12 / 18+

Sunday 05.24.09: PART TIME PUNKS – SMITHS/MORRISSEY NIGHT @ echo

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

Smiths/Morrissey Night! Come help Celebrate Morrissey’s 50th Birthday!

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Sunday 05.17.09: PART TIME PUNKS – FACTORY RECORDS NIGHT @ echo

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

FACTORY RECORDS NIGHT

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Sunday 05.10.09: PART TIME PUNKS 4 YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY @ echo

PART TIME PUNKS 4 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

A nite of Post-Punk, Mutant Disco & Indiepop spun by resident DJs Michael & Benny & their favorite guest DJs:

Frosty (DUBLAB)
Dorian (TRANSISTOR)
Jim Smith (THE SMELL)
Larry (UNDERGROUND)
Quinn (NEW COLLAPSE)
Don Bolles (THE GERMS)
Randy Randall (NO AGE)
Scarlett (HANG THE DJs)
and
Michael Reich (VIDEOTHING) who will do a live video mix of bands he’s filmed playing at Part Time Punks over the years!

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Sunday 05.03.09: Part Time Punks with JOE LALLY (ex-Fugazi) / SLANG CHICKENS / MEMORY @ echo

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

With:
Joe Lally (ex-Fugazi) || Listen
Slang Chickens || Listen
Memory

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Saturday 03.28.09: TILT presents RADIOCLIT / SHORT CIRCUIT / KILLED BY SYNTH / LOVE GRENADES / ALFA / STROM CARLSON & DAMAGE @ echoplex

with:
Radioclit
Short Circuit
Killed By Synth
Love Grenades
Alfa
Strom Carlson
Damage!

RSVP on Going.com

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

10pm / $10 / 18+

Tuesday 04.07.09: J-Shap Presents THE GENERAL TSO SHOW with GREG PROOPS / MARIA BAMFORD / HARLAND WILLIAMS / TODD GLASS / NICK THUNE @ echoplex

J-Shap presents “The General Tso Show.” Featuring the best comedians in LA, the first Tuesday of every month at the Echoplex

Featuring:

Greg Proops
The Proopdog is best known for his unpredictable appearances on Whose Line is it Anyway? The hit, improvised comedy show on ABC hosted by Drew Carey. Greg is also a regular on the long running British version of WLIIA?

Mr. Proopwell aided and abetted Joan and Melissa Rivers on the red carpet at the 2007 Oscars, Grammies, Golden Globes and SAG Awards as a wag and celebrity traffic cop on TV Guide Channel.

Mr. Proops other television sightings include, Ugly Betty, The Bigger Picture with Graham Norton on BBC, Mock the Week on BBC2, The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The Drew Carey Show, Just Shoot Me, The Jimmy Kimmel Show, Veronica¹s Closet, The Wayne Brady Show and he Best Damn Sports Show.

Maria Bamford
What 37-year old comedian stars in her own web sitcom on SuperDeluxe.com, stars in the new Comedy Central series, “The Comedians of Comedy Tour” (as well as in the independent film of the same title out on NETFLIX), is in Variety’s TOP TEN COMICS TO WATCH, has been the talk of Montreal, Edinburgh, Aspen, Kilkenny and Melbourne Comedy Festivals and was voted by Comedy Central viewers as one of their Top Ten Favorite Comics? ME! MARIA BAMFORD! That’s who, sweetpeas!

Harland Williams
An unpredictable comic whose talents as an artist and writer of children’s books frequently goes unnoticed in favor of such antics as appearing on the Late Show With David Letterman in peanut butter-covered boots, Harland Williams set the tone for his cinematic career as a urine-chugging state trooper in the Farrelly brothers’ sophomoric smash Dumb and Dumber (1994).
After his memorable debut in Dumb and Dumber, Williams played a number of memorably comedic roles in such popular comedies as Half-Baked (1998) and There’s Something About Mary (1998). The new millennium also proved to be a busy year for Williams in both his career as a standup: serving as host of Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and performing specials for HBO and Comedy Central.

Todd Glass
His many television appearances include performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Night With Conan O’Brien, Showbiz Show with David Spade, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn and Politically Incorrect. Todd has also made guest appearances on HBO’s Mr. Show and has become a veritable fixture on Comedy Central, headlining his own half-hour standup special Comedy Central Presents: Todd Glass and appearing on The Sarah Silverman Show.

Nick Thune
Comedian/actor/writer/bird owner, is from Seattle, Washington. Nick has been on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno two times. On both occasions, he won. Comedy Central presented a half hour of Nick’s “world class” stand up comedy. It was a success for everyone involved, including the audience.
Comedy Central also paid Nick to make iThunes, a series of short films for the world wide web. In his free time, Nick grows tomatoes and tours the country, touching hearts, one joke at a time. For more information on Nick, believe in yourself. Then go to nickthune.com, eyethune.com, or myspace.com/nickthune.

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

8pm / $10 / All ages

Wednesday 04.01.09: GREGORY & THE HAWK @ echo

Gregory and The Hawk || Listen || Watch || MP3

Gregory And The Hawk differentiate themselves from the likes of Stina Nordernstam and Lykke Li in their adventurous yet understated use of instrumentation. At the forefront of this effort is the drumming of Christgau, at times a military march, then ominous bass, with cymbal crashes and sporadic backbeats in between. Shouldering off the traditional role of instrumental timekeeper, the drums take the lead in Voice Like A Bell, and lay the foundations of a crescendo in Oats We Sow.

The other indispensable element of the outfit is doubtless Meredith’s super sweet vocal, which sits best in the fragility of August Moon, a track which sounds like it could have been recorded in a hut in the woods on a Dictaphone, and then left for decades to be discovered by some lucky wanderer. The pop core of the album is evident in its tracklist of three and a half minute songs; only the ambient Stonewall, Stone Fence ventures over the marker and on into five minutes of passionate cacophony broken by vocally adorned lulls. – BBC UK

7pm / $10 / All Ages

Sunday 05.31.09: F Yeah Fest & The Echo present PROPAGANDHI / BRIDGE AND TUNNEL / GHOSTLIMB @ echoplex

Propagandhi || Listen

Like Fugazi, Challenger and Bad Religion, Winnipeg’s Propagandhi specialize in lightspeed punk that happily wears its bleeding heart on its sleeve. Since 1990, they have churned out a steady stream of righteous noise, culminating in this ferocious fifth full-length. Not bad for a deafening band of vegan headbangers. If you’re a skateboarder, mosh pitter or just an individual looking to let off some serious steam, this is the disc for you. “Dear Coach’s Corner” kicks off with a sample of hockey pundits before careening with abandon into some of the heaviest thrash heard this millennium so far. The title track is a runaway train of simply kinetic drumming and Black Flag–like shrieks from founders Jord Samolesky (drums) and Chris Hannah (vocals), while stunning stomps such as “Night Matters” and “Potemkin City Limits” threaten to unspool into sonic carnage at any moment. Things slow down only on closer “Last Will and Testament,” but only long enough for an untitled hidden track that freaks out with aplomb. There is never a dull moment on the refreshing headache of “Supporting Caste,” and that is a good thing. – Metromix

with:
Bridge and Tunnel
Ghostlimb

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

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

7:00pm / $16 advance, $18 day of show / All Ages

Tuesday 05.26.09: Tuesday Night Residency – AVI BUFFALO / GREATER CALIFORNIA / DIVISADERO / THE REPORTER WHO BECAME KING / DJ Sets by LA RECORD @ echo

Avi Buffalo || Watch

Buffalo, whose real name “is really long, with a hyphen,” he says, is a preternaturally gifted guitarist who crafts swoon-worthy folk-rock full of nooks and crannies, exposed nerves and shimmering soundscapes — think an incipient Neil Young, or a low-fi Mercury Rev, or a lovingly shambolic Wilco. Joined by bandmates Sheridan Riley and Rebecca Coleman (who also attend Millikan High) and Arin Fazio, Buffalo has a growing cadre of Eastside fans and, to no one’s surprise, some interest from record labels. – Buzz Bands

with:
Greater California
Divisadero || Listen
The Reporter Who Became King
DJ Sets By LA RECORD

8:30pm / FREE for 21+, $7 for under 21 / All ages

Tuesday 05.19.09: Tuesday Night Residency – AVI BUFFALO / SHILOE / BOBB BRUNO / DJ sets by VOSOTROS @ echo

Avi Buffalo || Watch

Buffalo, whose real name “is really long, with a hyphen,” he says, is a preternaturally gifted guitarist who crafts swoon-worthy folk-rock full of nooks and crannies, exposed nerves and shimmering soundscapes — think an incipient Neil Young, or a low-fi Mercury Rev, or a lovingly shambolic Wilco. Joined by bandmates Sheridan Riley and Rebecca Coleman (who also attend Millikan High) and Arin Fazio, Buffalo has a growing cadre of Eastside fans and, to no one’s surprise, some interest from record labels. – Buzz Bands

with:
Shiloe || Listen
Bobb Bruno
DJ Sets By Vosotros

8:30pm / FREE for 21+, $7 for under 21 / All Ages

Tuesday 05.12.09: Tuesday Night Residency – AVI BUFFALO / THE FARAWAY PLACES (Record Release Show) / MARVELOUS TOY / STARBURST CRYSTAL ENSEMBLE / DJ KEVIN BRONSON @ echo

Avi Buffalo || Watch

Buffalo, whose real name “is really long, with a hyphen,” he says, is a preternaturally gifted guitarist who crafts swoon-worthy folk-rock full of nooks and crannies, exposed nerves and shimmering soundscapes — think an incipient Neil Young, or a low-fi Mercury Rev, or a lovingly shambolic Wilco. Joined by bandmates Sheridan Riley and Rebecca Coleman (who also attend Millikan High) and Arin Fazio, Buffalo has a growing cadre of Eastside fans and, to no one’s surprise, some interest from record labels. – Buzz Bands

with:

Faraway Places || Listen

Out of the Rain is somewhat like its predecessor, a warm-sounding record full of well-constructed pop/rock songs whose raggedy melodic patches and insistent hooks that sound crafted yet stumbled upon grab you; these great pop things just as often fall into a sort of daydream-coma mode in the middle or at song’s end… Songs like “The Sun Goes West,” “You Can Cry” and “Just Let Go” evoke the very best massagingly rounded-edge power of great ’60s or early ’70s albums like the more jazzy-improv-psych late-Byrds stuff, or, more specifically, Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush or, in fact, Boston’s eponymous debut disc. – LA Weekly

plus:
Marvelous Toy || Listen
Starburst Crystal Ensemble
DJ Kevin Bronson (Buzz Bands LA)

8:30pm / FREE for 21+, $7 for under 21 / all ages

Tuesday 05.05.09: Tuesday Night Residency – AVI BUFFALO / DEEP SEA DIVER / 60 WATT KID / TIME OF WOLVES / TENLONS FORT / DJ LARRY LITTLE @ echo

Avi Buffalo || Watch

Buffalo, whose real name “is really long, with a hyphen,” he says, is a preternaturally gifted guitarist who crafts swoon-worthy folk-rock full of nooks and crannies, exposed nerves and shimmering soundscapes — think an incipient Neil Young, or a low-fi Mercury Rev, or a lovingly shambolic Wilco. Joined by bandmates Sheridan Riley and Rebecca Coleman (who also attend Millikan High) and Arin Fazio, Buffalo has a growing cadre of Eastside fans and, to no one’s surprise, some interest from record labels. – Buzz Bands

with:
60 Watt Kid
Deep Sea Diver
Time Of Wolves
Tenlons Fort

DJ Larry Little (Future Sounds)

8:30pm / FREE for 21+, $7 for under 21 / all ages

Tuesday 04.28.09: CASTLEDOOR / THE PARSON RED HEADS / PRINCETON @ echoplex

Castledoor || Listen || Watch

From the swinging, rubberband rhythms of “Dumpster Diving”’s melodic surge to the swaying “We Will” to the slow motion, twinkling sweetness of “Nightlight”’s autumnal, leaf-drift grace, Castledoor’s ‘Til We Sink EP is nearly as frustrating as it is gorgeous—so addictive are the record’s three soul-swept and buoyant tracks that, as “Nightlight”’s final vinyl groovespun harmonies fade into the ether, you can’t help but demand an additional seven songs of smoldering rock ‘n blues. Which isn’t bad for marketing—between this and 2006’s Follow the Dove EP, expectations and demand for a full-length probably can’t get any higher. The fact that this EP is a sliver of an LP-length recording session of music yet to be released (the band: “[We] guess the record labels are having a hard time these days, or something…”) mingles a bit of nervousness and disquiet to that sense of excited expectation. Lucky us then, that if only for it’s brief running time, ‘Til We Sink generates such a lovely sense of ease and enjoyment in the listener as to render any reservations muted and the expectations at full-blast. – Web In Front

with:

The Parson Red Heads

“Los Angeles-via-Oregon collective The Parson Red Heads have a real California-ized sound. The bright guitars, the laid-back vocals, the Brian Wilson -esque harmonies all point to the Sunshine State, so it’s no wonder they drifted away from the rain towards the palm trees.

After touring with the likes of Blitzen Trapper and Earlimart in support of last year’s Owl & Timber EP, the psych-folkers are excited to promote their first-ever vinyl release, Orangufang, out April 28th on JAXART Records. “Raymond” from the forthcoming 7″ is an homage to intermittent Parson member, Raymond Richards, who produced and engineered the track. Building around the strong twang-tinged guitar riff, the retro vocals and tight harmonies solidify their California spirit with a languid drawl that is anything but lazy. And the crazy interplay of guitars at the end just sweeten the deal.” – Filter-Mag.com

plus:
Princeton || Listen

8:30pm / $7 / 18+

Tuesday 04.21.09: THE WAR ON DRUGS / SLANG CHICKENS / RADEMACHER @ echo

The War On Drugs || Listen || Watch || MP3

But mostly, forget the Dylan comparisons because on their debut, Wagonwheel Blues, The War on Drugs are doing something far more interesting than exhuming a past persona of a walking relic; the Philadelphia quintet have taken what would be a glut of standard indie-rock songs and applied daubs of sonic smear and shine onto their phonographic lens. If Animal Collective built the smoldering passive-aggressive come-ons of Feels around cavernous voids and naturally synthetic erotica, Wagonwheel Blues gathers those elements to surround their songs, rather than serving as a nervy backdrop — the strung-out yelps and dramatic tones of “There is No Urgency” and the drone-soaked shuffle of “Show Me the Coast” certainly signal as much. Elsewhere, the shimmering ambient washes of “Coast Reprise” and “Reverse the Charges” reveal keen ears and noticeable appreciation for the eternal drift.

To make The War on Drugs sound like another bunch of half-assed self-serious sonic architects would be betraying the inimitable songwriting talent displayed on Wagonwheel Blues. “A Needle in Your Eye #16” pounds and snaps, alternately and concurrently, with a sort of immovable organ-driven force as Granduciel — in his wonderful and, yes, Dylan-esque, manner — sings about getting on a jet plane, “Just to see if I get back.” Opener “Arms Like Boulders” and minor blog hit (a phrase that still doesn’t sound right) “Taking the Farm” evoke ’70s classic rock and ’90s indie rock (respectively) with excellent results, while still lovingly languishing in their own backdrops. – Tiny Mix Tapes

With:
Slang Chickens
Rademacher

8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+

Friday 05.29.09: PASSION PIT / HARLEM SHAKES / CALE PARKS @ echoplex

Passion Pit

The boys of Passion Pit are Boston’s hottest up and coming dance-party darlings. The five began as one when Michael Angelakos decided to record some songs as a present for his girlfriend. Since talent doesn’t go unnoticed for long, Passion Pit went from being a Valentines Day present to opening for Death Cab For Cutie in a matter of months. Fans of Death Cab and the Postal Service might notice a similarity between Angelakos’ and Ben Gibbard’s vocal styles. The six song EP features light, airy synths grounded in subtle new wave and pop grooves. “Better Things” and “Sleepyhead” burst with fluttering synths, upbeat majors, and funky samples that have Passion Pit gaining comparisons to groups like The Go! Team. Since these two songs are recent additions to the upcoming reissue, they just might hint at what to expect more of on Passion Pit’s full length, which is slated for early 2009. – Urb

With:
Harlem Shakes || Listen
Cale Parks

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

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

8:30pm / $13 advance, $15 day of show / 18+

Saturday 03.28.09: MILLIONS OF DEAD COMPS / TRANSIENT / BASTARD ASS / BROKEN PATTERNS / ARTIC CHOKE / HEART THROB / AD / DOGS HOLY LIFE / SUEDEHEAD / REALICIDE / RAMBO KNIFE @ echo

2pm – Rambo Knife
2:30pm – Realicide
3pm – Suedehead
3:30pm – Dogs Holy Life
4pm – AD
4:30pm – Heart Throb
5pm – Arctic Choke
5:30pm – Broken Patterns
6pm – BastardAss
6:30pm – Transient
7pm – Millions of Dead Comps

1pm / $8 / All Ages

Tuesday 04.07.09: Penny Ante presents LILY MARLENE / JOHN WEBSTER JOHNS / FANCY PANTS @ echo

Lily Marlene

Lily Marlene (Lily and the Ladies) debuted a new backing band, which lived up to its description—in her words “reallllly heavvvy”. Lily always has an amazing ability to translate her stark blues into practically any form and still have it work and tonight was no exception. Her set ran from strait renditions of material from her solo repertoire to full out rock songs to a sweeping ballad that would put Journey to shame—all with out batting an eye. – LA Record

with:
John Webster Johns || Listen
Fancy Pants

9pm / Free for 21+, $5 for under 21 / 18+

Saturday 04.11.09: DRAGSTRIP 66 @ echoplex

Club Dragstrip 66 presents “Feathers & Leather”
Dress up butch enough for a boa – or femme enough for boots!

Plus, live on stage at 10:30pm, it’s LA’s own glam-funk-pop band,
SOUNDS OF ASTEROTH!

DJ Paul V. keeps the dancefloor jumping with
electro, indie rock, punk, funk, mashups & more

MC Gina Lotriman hosts the stage show at 12:30AM

Drag is never required – but it’s gets you $5 Admission all night!
___________________________________________________

Dragstrip 66 is LA’s longest running, underground dance club.
January 2009 marked its 16th Anniversary, and the club now
happens on the 2nd Saturday of the month, quarterly at The Echoplex.

Each Dragstrip has a different theme as a touchstone to inspire
its patrons to dress in any form of drag, masquerade, or self-expression.
The crowd is a totally fun, friendly mix of gay, straight, bi, and in-between!

So come on – get your kicks, at Dragstrip 66!

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

FMI:
http://www.dragstrip66.com/
Dragstrip 66 on Myspace
Dragstrip 66 on Facebook

9pm / $15 / 21+

Sunday 03.29.09: KIDROCKERS present RADAR BROS / LE SWITCH Hosted by MATT DWYER @ echo

with:
Radar Bros. || Listen
Le Switch || Listen

KiDROCKERS is a concert series that began in January 2007. These All Ages shows are designed to bring families together to experience some of the most engaging and vital artists in indie music and comedy. Artists perform original (not specifically made for children) songs in a manner that is both authentic and kid-friendly. Past artists include Tad Kubler (and members of the Hold Steady), Matthew and Ira of Nada Surf, Ra Ra Riot, Langhorne Slim, The Jealous Girlfriends, Harlem Shakes, Rogue Wave, The Subjects, Looker, Bishop Allen, The Spinto Band, Locksley, Phonograph, Palomar, Pela, Los Campesinos!, Chris Baron and LEVY.

Hosted by Matt Dwyer

Ages 3-13 recommended. Adults must be accompanied by a kid and vice versa.

1pm- 2:30pm / $9 in advance $12 at the door / All Ages

Saturday 04.04.09: BOOTIE LA @ echoplex

BOOTIE LA
LA’s monthly mashup bootleg party

Mashen sie Deutsch?
BOOTIE MUNICH comes to LA — with guest DJs:
DJ BootOX
DJ SCHMOLLI
and the Munich Mashup Massacre

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

Bootie LA’s resident dance troupe:
R.A.I.D. (Random Acts of Irreverent Dance)

Birthday bash for Clint Catalyst & his Thousand Closest Imaginary Friends

Dress as your favorite fictional character!

This month, Bootie Munich comes to Los Angeles! As the resident DJs of Bootie’s outpost in Germany, Bavarian DJ BootOX and Austrian DJ Schmolli know how to bring the party! Frank the Tank will be joining them as part of the Munich Mashup Massacre, in what promises to be one of Bootie’s most bizarre Midnight Mashup Shows.

Resident dance troupe R.A.I.D. (Random Acts of Irreverent Dance) will be returning to the Echoplex stage, and resident DJs Adrian & the Mysterious D return from taking a month off to do Bootie in Beijing, China and Brisbane, Australia. They’ll be joining DJ Paul V. on the decks, spinning mashups all night!

It’s also a birthday bash for underground LA writer and culture vulture Clint Catalyst & his Thousand Closest Imaginary Friends. Celebrate by coming dressed as your favorite fictional character!

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 six 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, 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. Resident dance troupe R.A.I.D. (Random Acts of Irreverent Dance) performs a mashed-up dance number nearly every month. Bootie showcases the best in mashup productions from around the globe and delivers them on the dance floor … because one song at a time just isn’t enough!

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

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

Thursday 04.02.09: VOXHAUL BROADCAST / SPIRIT VINE / MY PET SADDLE / OLIN AND THE MOON @ echo

Voxhaul Broadcast

Outta the OC, Voxhaul Broadcast, flavored a whole lot like Cold War Kids and Kings of Leon, already moves with the poise of a well-embraced band, apparently settled comfortably in a working groove and enjoying their gig of life as successful rockers. Maybe they’ve had a look in a crystal ball. Let’s hope that forecast is accurate. The band’s general sound is psychedelic haze, heavy on sedative properties of dope or Robitussin, pavement inside your shoes when the wind’s gusting, or suspension in a vat of sticky warm molasses with your very special someone. I personally vote for the last of the three…an interesting dilemma that would take time to navigate. But I digress. Voxhaul Broadcast comes across wavy. Listening is satisfying at all levels of effort. From a nonchalant low-scale effort, the vibe is fuzzy with enough variation and effects to maintain the awareness of an interesting flow of appeasing music in the background. At a more engaged level, the song construction is far from lazy – each tune is spackled with hooks from great to small and doused with memorable, effective repetition. Lyrically, Voxhaul Broadcast’s songs call for an active stretch of the imagination: rather than feeding you the story, they ask you to make the story your own by connecting the dots and coloring in the background. – Luxury Wafers

with:
Spirit Vine || Listen
My Pet Saddle
Ollin and The Moon

8:30pm / Free for 21+, $5 under 21+ / 18+

Saturday 05.23.09: THE DEARS / GREAT NORTHERN / EULOGIES @ echoplex

The Dears || Listen || MP3

They’ve stripped back their epic indie in favour of ethereal rock, and the result is as complex and beautiful as you’d expect from Montreal’s grand miserablists. Awash with choral harmonies, classic riffs, brass and strings, the melodies are sweeping and indulgent, the tight rhythms stretched to snapping point. The Dears have never sounded so vulnerable – especially in Lights Off, a Radioheadesque, insomnia-riddled lullaby – nor Lightburn less like a Canadian Damon Albarn. Instead, his voice is raw with unshed tears and unsullied love. Vengeful in the shoegazer-hued Disclaimer, he twists Yanchak’s aloof despair into tangible desperation on Crisis 1 & 2 and plays the redemptive sinner against an angelic children’s choir on the 11-minute opus, Saviour. – The Guardian UK

with:
Great Northern || Listen
Eulogies || Listen

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

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

8:30pm / $15 / all ages

Friday 05.01.09: SOUL SLAM – PRINCE VS MICHAEL JACKSON @ 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.

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

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

9pm / $11 / 21+

Friday 05.22.09: the boulet brothers present MISS KITTY’S PARLOUR @ echoplex

with live stage shows, burlesque, gogo boys and girls, and performances featuring a crew of the most infamous djs, dancers, performance artists, freaks and burlesque divas in town

@ Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Enter Through the Alley!

Valet Available, Cheap Drinks before 10:30pm!

10pm / FREE Before 10:30PM, $10 After / 21+

Friday 04.24.09: the boulet brothers present MISS KITTY’S PARLOUR @ echoplex

Hey hey all, we have a big dirty night planned for everyone on Friday April 24th at the Echoplex! We’re kicking sht back to basics with this one and bringing you some classic naughty Miss Kitty’s fun that you know you crave with all the fixins.

THERE is NO THEME for this Miss Kitty’s, I want everyone wearing whatever they feel hot and nasty in from mild to wild, old school MK style, the more skin the more you win.

Were getting back in the party this time with ROVING SHOT GRRLS, slutee gogo boys and girls, and the return of THE FETISH STAGE with Jame Boulet and all the nekkid boy and girl toys & YOU so wear something according if you want to play with us!
_______________________________________________

SPECIAL GUESTS in the HOUSE:

THE GODS GIRLS (godsgirls.com) and all the models from the site will be on hand to help host our contests, give away some free stuff, and do LIVE PHOTO SHOOTS during the night for your pleasure

CALPERNIA ADDAMS will be making her electro music debut with a live show for your enjoyment (her song STUNNING is rockin the clubs in NY right now)

and last but not least MISS MELODIE GORE and her Godsgirl pal MISS MARY MURDER will be hosting their big birthday blowout at this edition of Miss Kittys, so be there to get in on the fun.

Also featuring DJS SLASH FICTION and guest DJ ROXEANNE spinning an as per usual strange mix of nudisco, old indie stuff, electro, and bootie bass for you to shake that azz to.

oh, and MISS KITTY and the filthy family will of course be
on hand and rocking out with you all night! SEE U ALL THEN!

@ Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Enter Through the Alley!

Valet Available, Cheap Drinks before 10:30pm!

10pm / $3 Before 10:30PM, $10 After / 21+

Thursday 05.14.09: Manimal Vinyl & LA Record presents THE POLYAMOROUS AFFAIR / ALL LEATHER / BLUE JUNGLE / MAGICK DAGGERS / HALLOWEEN SWIM TEAM @ echo

The Polyamorous Affair || Listen || Watch

Simply put, the duo known as The Polyamorous Affair is a band on a mission. It is as if they are determined to achieve a past success but with a deeper appreciation for what it will feel like this time. Driven in the background by dueling dj’s lacing the beat that would move an AARP convention, The Polyamorous Affair is trying to build a sound, a movement all its own. Driven by an organic approach to music that lets them create, produce, and deliver their own, unique brand of pop-infused, pulsating dance music, the duo, headed by Eddie and Sissy are cultivating a sound that moves people to actually put their drinks down and dance. They stand behind their music, asking people to come along with them for a little part of their night as they take you on a music journey that just makes you feel good. – Loudvine

with:
All Leather || Listen (Members of The Locust, Some Girls)
Magick Daggers
Blue Jungle || Listen
Halloween Swim Team || Listen

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

8pm / $10 / 18+

Monday 04.06.09: THE BIRD & BEE / JULIETTE COMMAGERE @ echoplex

The Bird & The Bee || Listen || Watch

The Bird and the Bee, the project of singer Inara George and Lily Allen’s producer Greg Kurstin, makes exquisite dinner party music. That’s not a slight — like any other subgenre, it has its good and its bad, its watered-down faux bubbly and its liquid gold. And the Bird and the Bee’s second album, “Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future,” is on the liquid gold side — let’s say Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, because Françoise Hardy probably drinks it.

Building crisp pop imbibements that can stand up to several listens is no easy task, but the Bird and the Bee has found the trick: Complex melodies constructed of several simple, shiny parts, all revolving around George’s breathy voice, the calling card of a nocturnal party sprite who might be cooing her songs at a flirty soiree. – LA Times

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

with:
Juliette Commagere

8pm / $13 advance, $15 day of show / all ages

Monday 04.27.09: April Residency – FOOL’S GOLD / JOHN WEBSTER JOHNS / LEOPOLD AND HIS FICTION / VERY SPECIAL GUEST / DJ CUZ’N ROY @ echo

Fool’s Gold || Watch

Fool’s Gold is a native Los Angelino musical group that fuses together its own westernized pop aesthetic with a wide range of African musical influence, Hebrew soul singing, and free-form dance moves. The band can often be seen with upwards of 10-12 people on stage; an exploration of world music via California sunshine and tropical euphoria. The project began as a late night vision in Weed, CA by Foreign Born guitarist Lewis Pesacov and local singer/songwriter Luke Top while the two were in attendance at a ceremonious summer wedding. After developing their live sound for over two years, and sharing some great bills with the likes of Cat Power, Fugiya & Miyagi, Little Joy, and Silver Jews, FG are now gearing up to release their first official studio recordings. A full length album is pending and a 7″ single is currently available at shows and select record stores.

with:
John Webster Johns || Listen
Leopold and his Fiction || Listen
VERY SPECIAL GUEST

DJ Cuz’n Roy

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 04.20.09: April Residency – FOOL’S GOLD / VERY BE CAREFUL / JAIL WEDDINGS / OLIWA AND THE PLEASURE CIRCUS BAND / DJ ORO 11 @ echo

Fool’s Gold || Watch

Fool’s Gold is a native Los Angelino musical group that fuses together its own westernized pop aesthetic with a wide range of African musical influence, Hebrew soul singing, and free-form dance moves. The band can often be seen with upwards of 10-12 people on stage; an exploration of world music via California sunshine and tropical euphoria. The project began as a late night vision in Weed, CA by Foreign Born guitarist Lewis Pesacov and local singer/songwriter Luke Top while the two were in attendance at a ceremonious summer wedding. After developing their live sound for over two years, and sharing some great bills with the likes of Cat Power, Fugiya & Miyagi, Little Joy, and Silver Jews, FG are now gearing up to release their first official studio recordings. A full length album is pending and a 7″ single is currently available at shows and select record stores.

with:
Very Be Careful || Listen
Jail Weddings || Listen
Oliwa and the Pleasure Circus Band || Listen
Oro11 (from Bersa Discos)

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 04.13.09: April Residency – FOOL’S GOLD / GLASSER / EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROS / SWEATERS / DJ DEREK JAMES (from Entrance Band) @ echo

Fool’s Gold || Watch

Fool’s Gold is a native Los Angelino musical group that fuses together its own westernized pop aesthetic with a wide range of African musical influence, Hebrew soul singing, and free-form dance moves. The band can often be seen with upwards of 10-12 people on stage; an exploration of world music via California sunshine and tropical euphoria. The project began as a late night vision in Weed, CA by Foreign Born guitarist Lewis Pesacov and local singer/songwriter Luke Top while the two were in attendance at a ceremonious summer wedding. After developing their live sound for over two years, and sharing some great bills with the likes of Cat Power, Fugiya & Miyagi, Little Joy, and Silver Jews, FG are now gearing up to release their first official studio recordings. A full length album is pending and a 7″ single is currently available at shows and select record stores.

with:
Glasser || Listen
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Sweaters
DJ Derek James of The Entrance Band

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 04.06.09: April Residency – FOOL’S GOLD / WEAVE! / XEZ / NON+ / DJ KID CROMANG @ echo

Fool’s Gold || Watch

Fool’s Gold is a native Los Angelino musical group that fuses together its own westernized pop aesthetic with a wide range of African musical influence, Hebrew soul singing, and free-form dance moves. The band can often be seen with upwards of 10-12 people on stage; an exploration of world music via California sunshine and tropical euphoria. The project began as a late night vision in Weed, CA by Foreign Born guitarist Lewis Pesacov and local singer/songwriter Luke Top while the two were in attendance at a ceremonious summer wedding. After developing their live sound for over two years, and sharing some great bills with the likes of Cat Power, Fugiya & Miyagi, Little Joy, and Silver Jews, FG are now gearing up to release their first official studio recordings. A full length album is pending and a 7″ single is currently available at shows and select record stores.

With:
Weave!
XEZ
Non+
DJ Kid Cromang

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Friday 03.27.09 – MISS KITTY’S HAUNTED MANSION @ echoplex

the boulet brothers present
Miss Kittys Haunted Mansion

FLOOR Show by the rock and roll burlesque diva DIAMONDBACK ANNIE

the return of electrocunt JER BER JONES
(model for me, tube sox vs tube tops) LIVE SHOW

photo sho by ALLAN AMATO

your theme is HAUNTED MANSION
nu-wave werewolves, gorgeous graveyard dollies, frankenhooker, vampire sluts, electro mummies, tim burton trollops, dead hollywood socialites, glitter ghouls, and all things fashion, nekkid and haunted tongue in cheek glitter glamorous hollywood monsters and more

nu-electro, nu-disco, nu-wave, nu-rave, indie dance w/ djs RX SLAUGHTER and DAVE RAPE

starring the boulet brothers, miss kitty, calpernia addams, angelista le fuque, katie kane, johnny 2.0, ernie omega, kewpie munster, kiwi thunder, melodie gore, cuddles, and the miss kittys filthy family and guests

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

10pm / FREE before 10:30pm, $10 after / 21+

Friday 04.10.09: FLYING LOTUS / KODE 9 @ echoplex

Flying Lotus || Listen

An early indicator that hip hop producer Steven Ellision (A.K.A. Flying Lotus) is a force to be reckoned with is the ease at which he has stepped out of the imposing shadow cast by his great aunt and Jazz great, Alice Coltrane (wife of a certain John). Taking his dynastic urges and melting them into rhythms and sounds garnered from every corner of the globe, FlyLo extends the already distended atmospherics of his breakout release, The Reset EP, on his first Warp long player, Los Angeles. It would be easy to pigeonhole this record as ‘broken-beat’ or a more sombre, glitchy take on the ‘wobbly’ jazz beats made popular by Mr Scruff in the 90’s. The overall aesthetic is better approached as an application of free jazz principles (improvisation, spontaneity, experimentation) to instrumental hip hop, but with little direct recourse to jazz music per se, and the result is a brilliant if sometimes unpalatable record that finds a unique place for itself above and beyond the cavalcade of sonic histories that it brings together. – Contact Music

with:
Kode 9

9pm / $12 Advance, $15 Day Of Show / 18+

Tuesday 03.31.09: MIA DOI TODD / CHRISTY & EMILY @ echo

Mia Doi Todd || Listen || Watch

More lavishly arranged than Manzanita, more organically warm than last year’s La Ninja remixes, Mia Doi Todd’s seventh full-length marshals a mini-orchestra of strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion in service of the songwriter’s unearthly beautiful voice. Opener “River of Life/The Yes Song” gives the nod to Todd’s two great influences, the breezy jazz phrasings of Joni Mitchell and the otherworldly drone of Ravi Shankar. It’s long at 10+ minutes, but never static as it bridges sunny California pop with lysergic mysticism. “Night of a Thousand Kisses” slips sleek orchestral textures of oboe, flute and French horn into the mix, almost, but not quite overpowering Todd’s vocals, while “Kokoro,” first heard on La Ninja, has the sensual lilt of bossa nova. On past records Todd’s lovely voice has overshadowed the strength of her songwriting, but this collection of very adult, very sophisticated pop songs breaks the trend. – Harp Magazine

with:
Christy & Emily || Listen

8:30pm / $8 Advance, $10 Day Of Show / all ages

Thursday 03.19.09: SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT (Germany ex-Terraplane) / FARFLUNG / THE FANCY SPACE PEOPLE @ echo

Samsara Blues Experiment (Germany ex-Terraplane) || Listen

From Berlin, Germany comes an awesome band for you guys to check out. They are called Samsara Blues Experiment (SBE). The band combines 60’s psychedelia with a bit of stoner and doom thrown in for good measure. As quoted from their MySpace page, “You will find the actual sound of SBE in comparison somewhere between newer age Doom Rock and bluesy Psychedelia. Imagine Robin Trower jamming with the guys from Sleep and add some Sitar”. Check them out now! – Heavy Planet

with:
Farflung || Listen
The Fancy Space People

8:30pm / $10 / 18+

Thursday 04.16.09: BUDOS BAND / BOOGALOO ASSASSINS @ echo

The Budos Band || Listen || Watch

The Budos Band’s second album, much like their first one, is practically an archeological dig. They’ve broken down through all the strata of the post-punk/post-disco era to uncover the fertile soil of late 1960s and early 70s Afrofunk and soul-jazz, not to mention funky 70s blaxploitation soundtracks, 60s Now Sound LPs, Ethio-jazz and plain old superbad funk. The end result is something so hip it could kill you in large doses-in the right doses it just plain kills.

The Budos crew hails from Brooklyn, but their outlook is definitely global– they somewhat restrictively term what they do “Afro-soul,” which works well as a basic distillation of what they do and probably at least tells the right people to listen. It’s strictly instrumental, but never showy, and they avoid protracted compositions– there are no twenty-minute Fela-inspired burners on here, just a ton of memorable, concise tracks stuffed with compact solos and big themes played by a big horn section. – Pitchfork

with:
Boogaloo Assassins

9pm / $12 Advance, $15 Day Of Show / 18+

Wednesday 04.15.09: WAVVES / FOL CHEN / VAMPIRE HANDS @ echo

Wavves || Listen || Watch

What do you get when you cross the Beach Boys’ sunny melodies with the atonal guitars of Sonic Youth? Wavves, a one-man band starring 22-year-old Nathan Williams, a laid-back San Diego skateboarder who spends his days watching Cops and The Price Is Right, gulps 40s, blogs about hip-hop — and is set to be one of indie rock’s next big things in 2009.

Williams took the stagename Wavves in February 2008, after he began jamming in his bedroom on electric guitar, channeling his influences — Beatles, Nirvana, the Vaselines, the Wipers — into really distorted punk tunes with hummable hooks. On Halloween, he performed for the first time (with friend Ryan Ulsh on drums) and soon started recording his songs on Garage Band. “It just snowballed from there,” Williams tells SPIN.com.

Indie label Woodsist dropped Wavves’ self-titled debut to critical acclaim from bloggers late last year — and on March 17, Williams will return with the album Wavvves (notice the extra “v”), which displays his easygoing ‘tude.

“So Bored,” one of the record’s best tracks (download below), features surf guitar and crunchy power-chord rhythms. “The song is about being young, bored, weird, lonely, awkward, stupid, bullied… whatever,” says Williams. – Spin.com

with:
Fol Chen
Vampire Hands

8:30pm / $10 / All Ages

Friday 04.17.09: KYLESA / INTRONAUT / MADE OUT OF BABIES / BLACK ELK @ echoplex

Kylesa || Listen || Watch

While MASTODON will be preparing for their show out there in the desert the next day, touring mates INTRONAUT and KYLESA will be in Echo Park tearing it up at the Echoplex. They’ll be joined by MADE OUT OF BABIES and BLACK ELK. I’ve had KYLESA’s new record, Static Tensions, on rotation in my car for the last week. It’s ridiculously good, two drummers and all. Terrorizer is right to proclaim that it “looks set to become the band’s landmark album.” We’ve profiled INTRONAUT before. They make Los Angeles proud and to be invited on to this otherwise all-Georgia tour says a lot. Although they’ve played some local shows in the last few months, they never really properly toured in support of Prehistoricisms. It’s an album that’s less immediately addictive and a bit more complex than Kylesa’s, but as rewarding. It will be a sludgefest. And MOOB is further proof that women are going to play an integral role in this wave of metal. – City Of Devils

with:
Intronaut || Listen
Made Out Of Babies || Listen
Black Elk || Listen

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

7:30pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / all ages

Saturday 06.06.09: RALPH’S WORLD / LISA LOEB @ echoplex (morning show)

Ralph’s World

A tap-dancing elephant, a cowgirl pig, a rock ‘n’ roll finger band and a new girl in math class named Polly Hedron (“a non-Euclidean lass”) are fanciful performers in “The Rhyming Circus,” the latest album from Ralph Covert and his Ralph’s World band, a family music star attraction.

It’s the first all-new Ralph’s World album on the Disney Sound label, and the band is celebrating with a concert for kids at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Echoplex in L.A.

The album’s humorous through line, Covert says, was inspired by the title track — at one point it rhymes “fish,” “squish” and “Lillian Gish.”

“I sat down and wrote that song and giggled the whole way through.”

The bespectacled rocker who gained an adult following during his years as frontman for Chicago indie-rock band the Bad Examples, shifted gears with his first children’s CD in 2001.

Adults are still part of Covert’s audience, not least because Ralph’s World songs are traditionally infused with inside musical jokes and tributes to the band’s heroes.

Johnny Cash meets preschool, for instance, in “Folsom Daycare Blues.” “Finger Is the Singer” includes a hint of Ziggy Stardust and a dash of the Beach Boys. Covert’s “Polka Dot Shirt” pays homage to Prince’s “Raspberry Beret” and to 1970s Irish hard-rock band Thin Lizzy. – LA Times

with Special Guest:
Lisa Loeb || Listen

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

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

10:30am / $15.00 advance, $17.00 day of show, $50.00 advance for family of four / All Ages

Friday 04.03.09: FIRST FRIDAYS with BUSDRIVER / TIM FITE @ The Natural History Museum

Busdriver || Listen
Tim Fite || Listen

plus Dublab DJs:
The Phatal DJ
T-Kay

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

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

5:30pm / $9 / All Ages

Sunday 04.05.09: GRAND OLE ECHO KICKOFF with OLD CALIFORNIO (CD Release Party) / I SEE HAWKS IN LA / WHISPERING PINES / MC CHRISTINA ORTEGA @ echo

Old Californio (CD release party)

A few years ago, Old Californio self-released their debut album, Along The Cosmic Grass. It was an effortlessly charming album, clearly grounded in a quintessentially West Coast California musical tradition that combines the very best in folk and rock and country. Alas, too few actually got the chance to hear that album, even as the band were drawing relatively large crowds to their frequent L.A. area gigs. Sometimes the best things just go unheard, unless you’re lucky enough to stumble across it.

Well, that was then, and this is now, and Old Californio have returned with their sophomore effort, although there’s certainly nothing sophomoric about Westering Again, if you’ll pardon the obviousness of such an overused rock cliché.

You may already be a fan of some of the bands Old Californio might likely name as influences — particularly the counter-culture Bay Area bands like Moby Grape, the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service… or a handful of the smokier Topanga Canyon bands further down south, like Canned Heat, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, and Spirit — and yet…well, they don’t really sound like any of these bands if you want to know the truth.

Like many of the best bands who released LPs some forty years ago, this new album, (and like Along The Cosmic Grass before it), finds its roots in sounds that once gave California it’s own identity at a converging time and place, the late sixties and early-to-mid-seventies. Try to imagine a musical interstate stretching and twisting like overgrown Napa grapevine, snaking along the foggy Bay Area coastline to the golden San Gabriel Mountains, all the way down to the sparse desert of the Inland Empire.

with Special guests:
I See Hawks in LA || Listen
Whispering Pines
Emcee Christina Ortega

5pm / FREE / all ages

Monday 03.30.09: Echo & 826LA present TINY VAUDEVILLE @ echoplex

Hosted by
Marc Evan Jackson
&
Joel Spence

With special guest stars:
Bob Odenkirk
(Mr. Show; Tom Goes to the Mayor; Breaking Bad)

Charlyne Yi
(Knocked Up; the forthcoming Paper Hearts)

Martin Starr
(Freaks & Geeks; Knocked Up; Adventureland)

and more!
Magician Arthur Trace
Musical comedy with Claybo & Downs
826LA’s Battle-of-the-bands winner The Pity Party
and many more surprises!

Orchestra led by
Dan Bern
and featuring
Common Rotation

826LA hosts the the monthly series, 826LA’s Tiny Vaudeville, an extravaganza of talent at The Echoplex in Echo Park. Created and curated by the folks of 826LA, Tiny Vaudeville is the smallest vaudeville show in Los Angeles! Each show will run approximately ninety minutes and features acts from ranging from live music, short films, stand-up and sketch comedy, novelty acts, lectures, slide shows, and more. Between acts, a name actor will read original writing by students of 826LA. Tiny Vaudeville’s combinations are endless, and so are the possibilities! Each show is a unique theater experience.

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

8pm / $12 / 18+

Thursday 06.11.09: HANDSOME FURS / THE CINNAMON BAND / THE MONOLATORS @ echoplex

Handsome Furs || Watch

It’s a well-known curio of pop history that the synth-led sound of Springsteen’s wilderness years was directly indebted to the skeletal drum machines of electro-duo Suicide. Face Control, the new record by Handsome Furs (Alexei Perry and Dan-from-Wolf-Parade), sounds like Born in the USA, if the Boss had allowed a little more evil in the mix, and tried replicating Alan Vega’s demented yelps. Yeah, it’s THAT good…

What comes across immediately, is Dan Boeckner’s urgency. After all, it’s been less than a year since Wolf Parade’s magnificent second record, and only a little over a year since the Handsome Furs’ own debut. The drum-machines and handclaps, here, are what you’d expect on home demos, there only ever seems to be one guitar growling behind the keyboards, and the lyrics and three-chord melodies are patched together with clichés and hand-me-downs from a dozen well-loved pop-songs. Thing is, it’s the opposite of lazy; it becomes clear you just don’t need that much going on, if you’re a great tunesmith. The old line about great vocalists is that they can sing the phonebook; in Dan’s case, he’d howl like this if he were ordering pizza. – Drowned In Sound

with:
The Cinnamon Band || Listen
The Monolators || Listen

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

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

8:30pm / $13 advance, $15 day of show / 18+

Friday 04.03.09: ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE / KINSKI / SONIC SUICIDE SQUAD @ echoplex

Acid Mothers Temple || Listen || Watch

The abridged version of the history of rock ‘n’ roll: America invented it, the British perfected it, the Japanese made it totally insane. Acid Mothers Temple, the Kawabata Makoto-helmed mountain of aural annihilation with the ever-changing lineup and name, is prepping a no-time-to-rest whirlwind tour of the United States (and three choice dates for our friendly neighbor to the north) throughout the month of April. Gongs, long beards, skull foraging, and screeching shamanistic jams are the least of what you can expect from psych rock’s most immovable object. We’re all in big trouble. – Tiny Mix Tapes

with:
Kinski || Listen
Sonic Suicide Squad

8:30pm / $12 / 18+

Saturday 04.25.09: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

9pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 04.18.09: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 04.11.09: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 04.04.09: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Friday 04.24.09: 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 04.17.09: 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 04.10.09: Club Underground presents: SEASONS / KARIN TATOYAN / THE HECTORS / JAMES YUILL @ echo

Seasons || Listen || Watch

Seasons have the dynamics of psychedelic rock without the grimy cloud of sonic smoke that makes all psych rock sound the same. (You don’t hear the psychedelic influence on the recordings as much as you do seeing them live.) The songwriting itself, conversely, can actually be pretty poppy at times. They have the intellectual curiosity, whimsy, and thoughtfulness of aughty indie rock in the vein of The Arcade Fire. The lead singer is animated but serious and emotional, and still intensely mysterious. There’s seven guys in the band, so the soundscape is crowded and you benefit most from their live set by shiting your ear’s perspective to individual members of the band, then back to the whole spectacular soup of sound. The mutual participation and equity between band members on stage is an enormous part of their identity. – Classical Geek Theatre

With:
The Hectors || Listen
Karin Tatoyan
James Yuill || 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 04.03.09: CLUB UNDERGROUND with MERE MORTALS / EAGLE WINGED PALACE @ echo

with:
Mere Mortals
Eagle Winged Palace

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+

Wednesday 04.29.09: NO CULTURE @ echo

With:
Wes Coats
& More

FMI: No Culture on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Wednesday 04.22.09: Echo, Manimal Vinyl & No Culture present HECUBA / RAINBOW ARABIA / LUCKY DRAGONS @ echo

With:
Hecuba (Featuring LA Fog) || Listen
Rainbow Arabia || Listen
Lucky Dragons || Listen

Followed by NO CULTURE DJS

8:30pm / $8 / 18+

Wednesday 04.08.09: NO CULTURE with PHANTOM’S REVENGE @ echo

With:
Phantom’s Revenge (France, US Debut)

FMI: No Culture on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Wednesday 04.01.09: NO CULTURE @ echo

FMI: No Culture on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Wednesday 04.29.09: 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 04.22.09: DUB CLUB presents BRIGADIER JERRY backed by YELLOW WALL DUB SQUAD mixed by SCIENTIST @ echoplex

Brigadier Jerry

Brigadier Jerry emerged in the late 1970’s, as one of the most popular cultural DJ’s to regularly improvise over the Jamaican sound systems. Highly respected in Jamaica as a conscious DJ, Briggy was a soundsystem teacher, teaching Rasta culture to the multitudes. Bootleg recordings of these dancehall sessions started to leak out internationally amongst the deeper cultural enthusiasts, spreading Briggy’s name abroad. In the years to come, other DJ’s were to follow his example, but Brigadier Jerry remains as the teacher, who set the standard. His vibe and lyrics have an Old Testament Biblical quality about them, that is both edifying and endearing.

Backed by
Yellow Wall Dub Squad

Mixed by
Scientist

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 / $12 / 21+

Wednesday 04.15.09: 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 04.08.09: 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 04.01.09: DUB CLUB presents A Night Of Reggae Legends with TRISTON PALMA / MICHAEL PALMER backed by CUALLI / CLIVE CHIN @ echoplex

TRISTON PALMA
For over twenty years, Triston Palma has been delighting listeners around the world with his sweet voice and cultural vibes. Though reggae has gone through many changes since the ’70s, Triston has endured, always staying true to roots and culture. He has given reggae one of its biggest dancehall anthems, “Entertainment,” which still rams the dance whenever it is played, and he has scored hits around the world up to this day.

Triston Palma was born in 1962 in Waltham Park, Kingston 13, Jamaica. By the time he was just ten years old, he was singing backing vocals for Sugar Minott and Tony Tuff, as well as singing with Earl “Chinna” Smith’s Soul Syndicate band. Throughout his teens, Triston’s reputation as a sweet voiced vocalist continued to grow, culminating in his breakout performance in 1979 at the General Penitentiary Memorial Concert for Claudie Massop, which also featured Bob Marley. Around the same time, Triston started his own label, Black Solidarity, with Ossie Thomas. His first big hit on the label was “A-Class Girl,” which was followed by “I’m Ready,” “Susan,” “What A Bubbling,” and “Spliff Tale.” All of these tunes were number one hits on the Jamaican charts.

As the ’80s began, the best was yet to come. Jah Thomas, who had been residing in England, came over to Jamaica to check out the young singer everyone was talking about. Their association led to one of the biggest dancehall hits of all time: the aforementioned “Entertainment.” Triston recorded over thirty more tunes for Jah Thomas in the early ’80s, including “Give Me A Chance” and “Joker Smoker.” At one point, Triston had nine songs in Jamaica’s Top 40 at the same time, and this was before he had even reached the age of twenty!

MICHAEL PALMER
Michael Palmer is a veteran dancehall singer rarely seen in California . He started his career singing on General Echo’s Stereophonic Sound System. He had several huge hits hits in Jamaica in the 80’s , such as “Lickshot” , “Ready me Ready” , and “Smoke the Weed”.

CLIVE CHIN
The Dub Club presents legendary reggae producer Clive Chin selecting vinyl hits from Randy’s studio with an accompanying Power Point multi-media demonstration.
Prolific reggae producer Clive Chin ranks as one of Jamaican music’s greatest unsung heroes. While working at the family business, Randy’s Record Store and its upstairs studio known as Randy’s Studio 17, Chin facilitated seminal recordings by the ’70s top reggae performers and producers: (Bob Marley &) the Wailers, Tommy McCook, Alton Ellis, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Lee Perry and Black Uhuru.
Designed as sonic and visual outline of his experiences in Jamaican music, TEACH THE YOUTH recreates the essence of the seminal reggae era.

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

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

Monday 03.16.09: FoF Music & Dublab present LARYTTA / HECUBA / NOSAJ THING @ echoplex

Larytta || Listen || Watch

Offbeat, off-kilter, and for the most part off their rockers, Swiss tandem Larytta are making trouble in the best of ways. The phrases ‘degenerate-rock,’ ‘ESLectro,’ and ‘exchange-student afro-pop’ readily come to mind. For an electronic head locked in the basement, this is an uncomfortable breath of fresh air, goose bump material that leaves you looking back over your shoulder to see if someone is watching. Taking the impossibility out of contradiction, Difficult Fun is the best of tests. Like your calculus teacher handing out a problem set of brain-teasers and optical illusions, Larytta challenges you to take a leap outside of comfy confines and expand your notion of what music-making is and can be. – Tiny Mix Tapes

with:
Hecuba || Listen
Nosaj Thing || Listen

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

8:30pm / $8 / 18+

Thursday 03.05.09: WET CASSETTE / THE LIEUTENANTS / DOWNTOWN UNION / JACK LITTMAN @ echo

Wet Cassette

You may have seen fedora-topped frontman Daniel Holden before, risking life and larynx for a hot riff and a cold beer. No doubt he was flanked by stone-faced guitarist Jarrod Stiles and bassist Mike Peralta, propelling their brand of Lomita-approved, ‘70s-era rock into the 21st century. But recently, the business cards changed.

Until the middle of last year, Wet Cassette performed under the more cleverly inebriated moniker, Rolling Blackouts. Eschewing booze for sex in name only, Holden and company introduced a new drummer (Sean Johnson) and added a keyboardist (Jon Highlander), both hailing from another South Bay mainstay, the Voyeurs, formerly of E>K>U>K>. (To further complicate the musical map, original drummer and professional wildman Gabe Garnica has moved on to form Sonadora with ex-dios-er Qevin Morales.) Defining the difference between their past and present selves, Holden glibly states, “Wet Cassette sounds like your dreams coming true. Rolling Blackouts were less dreams coming true and more like keeping you up all hours of the night.” Plus, he adds, the band simply likes how it rolls off the tongue. – The District Weekly

with:
The Lieutenants || Listen
Downtown Union
Jack Littman

8:30pm / Free / 21+

Thursday 04.09.09: MIRAH / TENDER FOREVER / LUCKY DRAGONS @ echo

Mirah

Mirah’s songs have always fallen somewhere between a caress and a snap, her biting clever words woven around achingly soft melodies, her love songs skewered with unblinking, sometimes lacerating, observations. There is a precision in her best relationship songs that makes you sure they are about specific people, even as you draw parallels with your own experience. C’mon Miracle in 2004 diverged slightly from this type of material, as she tried her hand at geopolitics and religion. With this fourth solo full-length, she’s back to her home territory, observing interpersonal relationships with seductive charm and wicked clarity. There is no “Jerusalem” in (a)spera.

Yet while (a)spera focuses on the bonds and obstacles between people, it reflects a changing, perhaps maturing perspective. “Generosity,” the first song on the album, might be about the death of a parent or the disintegration of a love affair – it is clearly concerned with ends, rather than beginnings. Its swooning violin and cello, its cooling breeze of whispered oohs, none of this can entirely mask the smell of frustration. Indeed the piece ends with Mirah in exhausted contention with herself. “I won’t give more,” she sings, and is answered by a chorus of herself singing “We want more.” – Dusted Magazine

with:
Tender Forever
Lucky Dragons

8pm / $13 advance, $15 day of show / all ages

Sunday 03.01.09: GARCETTI FUNDRAISER @ echoplex

6pm / $10 / 18+

Friday 03.27.09: THE ASTEROIDS GALAXY TOUR / WE ARE THE WORLD @ echo

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour || Listen

The current fascination with mid-60s soul isn’t just confined to British performers. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour are a Danish duo, with additional musicians for gigs, who give the sounds of Stax and Motown a sort of sunny, summery, almost psychedelic air. The rhythms are basic, direct and insistent, the melodies so instantly infectious you’ll probably think you’ve heard them before, and there is a horn section (including trumpet and sax) to give the songs that all-important soul-revue feel – the group’s name even sounds like a cosmic version of one of those 60s soul package tours. – Guardian

with:
We Are The World

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

8:30pm / $13 advance; $15 day of show / 18+

Wednesday 03.25.09: MARNIE STERN / STARFUCKER / WHAT’S UP? @ echo

Marnie Stern || Watch

It wasn’t until she was 23, when she heard Sleater-Kinney for the first time, that Marnie Stern’s life began to the take her in the direction of the noise and punk-inspired experimental rock that would later define her music. She soon began learning finger-tapping techniques on her electric guitar and began assiduously practicing and recording songs until she had enough for a demo. Stern sent the tape to Kill Rock Stars, which immediately signed the young singer/guitarist to their 5RC imprint. The folding of the company, after the departure of founder Slim Moon in 2006, caused a slight delay in the release of her debut, In Advance of the Broken Arm, but the record, whose songs had been written over a period of more than two years in Stern’s Upper East Side New York apartment, and featured drums from Hella’s Zach Hill, finally came out in early 2007. Stern took somewhat less time to record her follow-up, releasing This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It in 2008. – All Music

with:
Starfucker
What’s Up? || Listen

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

8pm / $10 advance; $12 day of show / 18+

Tuesday 03.24.09: AN HORSE / WINTERSLEEP / AMATEURS @ echoplex

An Horse || Listen || Watch

Started in the basement of an indie record shop, this clever and efficient Australian duo have experienced rapid success, scoring a U.S. deal via tourmates Tegan and Sara and placing a song (the jagged, confident “Postcards”) in a Mercedes commercial. Kate Cooper’s tales of awkward, broken love and chronic miscommunication don’t seem ripe for selling sedans, but her reedy voice and zippy melodic guitar, plus drummer Damon Cox’s imperfect harmonies, keep things from getting too depressing. Clever/corny lines — “Like that good Hole album / I can live through this” — add levity, too. – Spin

with:
Wintersleep || Listen
Amateurs || Listen

8pm / $10 / 18+

Friday 03.20.09: FOUR TET / JON HOPKINS / DJ FROSTY @ echo

Four Tet || Listen

As Four Tet, Kieran Hebden has been a chameleonic interpreter of genres. Using a cut-up and collage approach, he’s bent folk music, jazz, and hip-hop into impossible shapes; each time we seem to draw a bead on his style, whether it’s folktronica, instrumental hip-hop, or IDM, Hebden neatly steps out of the crosshairs to leave us firing at thin air. In fact, his music is best understood according to practice. From the folky samples of Pause to the laptop bobbins of Rounds to the free-jazzy squalls of his collaborations with drummer Steve Reid, Hebden has seemed less interested in developing genres than in absorbing their tropes into his own hermetic sound world. What distinguishes Four Tet’s albums isn’t so much the kind of music he appropriates as how he uses it, and in this he’s been fairly consistent: He snips and smears until his sources all but vanish into his crisp polyrhythms. – Pitchfork

with:
Jon Hopkins || Listen
DJ Frosty (Dub Lab)

9pm / $13 / 18+

Tuesday 03.17.09: Echo & The Purple Pit Presents NUTTY w/ Special Guest DJ BONEBRAKE’S BONEBRAKE SYNCHOPATERS @ echo

Bonebrake Syncopators (featuring DJ Bonebrake of X)

and:
Nutty || Listen

Plus a Special Guest DJ

“The PURPLE PIT, situated and hosted by NUTTY at various swanky establishments around town, is THE jazz/lounge/exotica hangout for L.A. hipsters, jetsetters, scene-makers…the SWINGERATI, dig? Check out L.A.’s best lounge bands, plus art, comedy, top-shelf cocktails and fine dining. Leave your daily reality with the hat-check chick and step into swank time!”

Two Shows starting at 9pm & 11pm

8:30pm / $8 / all ages

Tuesday 03.24.09: T MODEL FORD (Early Time) / DARK MEAT / GRAMPALL JOOKABOX @ echo

T Model Ford || Watch || MP3

T-Model’s 80-something years old… his Mississippi Driver’s License says he’s 84, his US Passport says he’s 87, and he says he’s 88… so you decide. He started playing guitar based on Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, but T’s only got one style: his own. T’s illiterate, so no use in talking to him about tuning. We call it “open T” because it’s his own unique sound. T-Model says he doesn’t have a care in the world. I believe him. He’s acting like he is willing to die on the road, playing music and doing what he loves.

with:

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

plus:
Grampall Jookabox

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

8pm / $10 / 18+

Friday 03.13.09: GRAM RABBIT / EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROS / CROOKED COWBOY AND THE FRESHWATER INDIANS @ echo

Gram Rabbit || Listen || Watch

They’ve gone from strange to stranger, those Joshua Tree denizens known as Gram Rabbit. On their third album, RadioAngel and the RobotBeat, they come out spitting, with lead singer and co-songwriter Jesika von Rabbit coming off like Grace Jones with a bunny fetish on the fed-up-with-technology electro-ditty “American Hookers.” Considering they go to sleep every night under a sky filled with more stars than the rest of us can only dream of, it’s not surprising their lyrics express a great deal of concern for “the world gone wrong.” They also come from a place with fewer teeth per capita than the rest of the state, hence references to priests smoking crystal meth and pit bulls. Even weirder is “The Rest of Us Sleep,” which sounds like video-game effects. My pick hit is “Fancy Dancy,” with what may be the best line of the summer: “Any way you slice it, it’s still bologna.” They even wrote a song about Landers, called “Landers,” which is some blips and plucks and pounds and maybe some voices. Bonus: Most of the new tunes are excellent for doing “The Robot.” – LA Weekly

with:
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Crooked Cowboy & The Freshwater Indians

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

9pm / $10 Advance, $12 Day Of Show / 18+

Wednesday 03.18.09: GOLEM / THE SWAY MACHINERY @ echo

Golem || Listen

America, what a country! The assimilated young New Yorkers in this Gypsy-punk sextet sure think so, jury duty and ESL classes notwithstanding. Previous Golem discs rewired traditional klezmer (raucous Jewish wedding jazz), mainly with vocals in Yiddish. Their fifth disc’s originals, based loosely on Ukrainian immigrant songs collected by singer Annette Ezekiel-Kogan, are in English and just about every tongue spoken East of the Danube, with rock and reggae underpinning whirling dervishes and Old World lover’s laments. The universality comes from carefree comic irony: Ezekiel-Kogan brassily nails a mock citizenship exam (Q: “Can you name the 49th state in the Union?” A: “Al-aaaaa-ska!”) and cosinger Aaron Diskin rhymes kosher and fo’ sure in a song about how much he loves tuches. Pretty soon, the space between exile and arrival starts sounding like a hot spot. – Blender

with:
The Sway Machinery || Listen

7pm / $8 / 18+

Sunday 03.01.09: 826LA’s BATTLE OF THE BANDS @ echoplex

The live 826LA Battle of the Bands is an all-ages show going down at the Echoplex in Echo Park on March 1 at 3:00 p.m. Each set includes an original song written by 826LA students in Songwriting with Kate and Friends, a workshop led by singer/songwriter Kate Micucci.

The live 826LA Battle of the Bands will be judged by industry professionals: Liz Garo, Booker at Spaceland Productions; Pat McGuire, Editor in Chief of Filter Magazine; and Daniel Gill, owner of Force Field PR. Winners will receive spots in 826LA’s new monthly variety show Tiny Vaudeville, a music video produced by Draw Pictures, a profile on filter-mag.com, and other prizes.

Buy Tickets

3pm / $10 / All Ages

Sunday 03.15.09: Australian BBQ with MY DISCO / THE DRONES / DAPPLED CITIES / RED RIDERS / THE FUMES / THE BOAT PEOPLE / LOENE CARMEN / THE ART / HELL CITY GLAMOURS @ echo

with:
My Disco
The Drones
Dappled Cities
Red Riders
The Fumes
The Boat People
Loene Carmen
The Art
Hell City Glamours

2pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / all ages

Thursday 03.19.09: Comedy Is The New Black & BUST Magazine present ELLE O ELLE with some of LA’s Funniest Female Comedians @ Echoplex

A little bit of stand up,a little bit of sketch comedy,a lot of laughs and a few surprises as COMEDY IS THE NEW BLACK and BUST MAGAZINE celebrate the first day of spring with some of L.A.’s funniest female comedians!

A Night of All Female Comedy with Stand Up Comedienns from Comedy Central, MTV, The Late Late Show, and more!

Liesa Mills, Kat Wompas, Candace Kregg, Tamra Brown, Justine Marino, Mary Patterson Broome, Jada Cada-Pretta, Jackie Gold, Lizzy Cooperman, and Erin Foley

Sketch Comedy from Alex Fox and Rachel Lewis of the Jon and Eddie Show, Multimedia from Michaela Dietz and Erin Brown from that DumShow and Hari Leigh and Susan Burke from the Country Club.

Also lots of free giveaways!

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

7:30pm / $10 / 18+

Thursday 03.26.09: THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES / TERA MELOS / KILL KILL KILL @ echoplex

These Arms Are Snakes || Listen

Artsy Seattle post-hardcore act These Arms Are Snakes mixes the urgency and aggressive vocal style of punk with the exploded song structures and technical complexity of the original wave of math rock bands. This fusion is a logical progression from the bandmembers’ former projects: singer Steve Snere was formerly of the Minneapolis-to-Seattle emo transplants Kill Sadie, while bassist, singer, and keyboardist Brian Cook was formerly in long-running math rockers Botch. (Scene incest note: other former members of Botch and Kill Sadie, guitarist David Knudson and bassist Cory Murchy respectively, formed another Seattle post-hardcore act, Minus the Bear, whose drummer, Erin Tate, was in both Kill Sadie and one lineup of These Arms Are Snakes. A Pete Frame-style family tree among all these bands would probably induce a nagging headache.) – MTV

with:
Tera Melos || Listen
Kill Kill Kill || Listen

7pm / $10 advance; $12 day of show / all ages

Saturday 03.14.09: Binary Presents FUTURECOP / MIAMI HORROR / SHOUT OUT OUT OUT OUT / SHORT CIRCUIT / KIDS ARE RADIOACTIVE @ echoplex

Futurecop

This may be the catchiest, most enjoyable collection of music that’s ever appeared here on Video Pop. That’s saying a lot.

Manzur and Peter (aka Futurecop!) sent me another fantastic mixtape, and this one is absolutely jam-packed with moments of pop bliss!

They’ve incorporated some of the highest quality baltimore club and nu-disco/electro pop in this one, as well as some Futurecop! originals (“Eyes Like the Ocean” and “Space Thieves.”) All around solid stuff.

At only 26 minutes, Euromixtape October 2008 is also very concise. I really like mixes that are under half an hour because the DJ is forced to make good decisions, get rid of any filler, and make something special happen from the start. If that was the goal with this mix, they definitely succeeded. – Video Pop

with:
Miami Horror
Shout Out Out Out Out || Listen
Short Circuit
Kids Are Radioactive

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

9pm / $10 / 18+

Saturday 03.07.09: BOOTIE LA @ echoplex

BOOTIE LA
LA’s monthly mashup bootleg party

Live at 11 PM, from San Francisco, mashup pioneers:
THE EVOLUTION CONTROL COMMITTEE
presents The Wheel of Mashup and the brand-new VidiMasher 3000!

Bootie mashup DJs:
DJ PAUL V.
DJ SHYBOY

This month, live on stage at 11 PM, Bootie LA is proud to present the return of the “Grandfathers of the Mashup” — The Evolution Control Committee. These groundbreaking, copyright-infringing pioneers will be presenting “The Wheel of Mashup,” where you, the audience, spin the outer wheel to determine the music and the inner wheel to choose the vocals — the two get mashed together on the spot! The ECC will also be bringing their latest mashing invention, the VidiMasher 3000. It’s a giant video screen hacked from two Nintendo Wii controllers that allow TradeMark G. to instantaneously mix and mash over 800 samples right before your eyes … literally! It’s Britney vs. Led Zeppelin, the Fat Boys vs. the Muppets, the Black Eyed Peas vs. Green Eyed Lady, and many, many more.

Also on the bill are Bootie mashup DJs Paul V. and Shyboy, who will be spinning mashups for the dancefloor all night!

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 six 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, 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. Bootie showcases the best in mashup productions from around the globe and delivers them on the dance floor … because one song at a time just isn’t enough!

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

FMI: http://www.BootieLA.com

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

Friday 03.06.09: First Fridays with FOOLS GOLD / BLK JKS @ Natural History Museum

This season’s First Fridays celebrate “Darwin Year” through entertaining and fascinating conversations with six of the world’s foremost authors and experts on the life of Darwin, the science of evolution, and the revolutionary impact of the man and his work. Join us in discovery with an evening of programming: a curator-led tour, a discussion forum with Dr. Neil Shubin and Dr. Michael W. Quick, artist performances Fool’s Gold and Blk Jks and a DJ lounge with The Phatal DJ + Anthony Valadez (dublab.com)

with:
Fools Gold
Blk Jks || Listen

plus DJs:
The Phatal DJ
Anthony Valadez

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

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

5:30pm / All Ages

Friday 03.13.09: SAY HI / TELEKINESIS / DEVON WILLIAMS @ echo

Say Hi || Listen || MP3

This brand new track from Eric Elbogen, who records as Say Hi, couldn’t have arrived at a more appropriate time: Anchored by an icy lead guitar riff and a chorus that longs for winter’s end, “November Was White, December Was Grey” is what’s playing in Mother Nature’s iPod this weekend as she tightens her frigid grip on much of America.

Seattle-based Elbogen tells SPIN.com that the song reflects the feeling of isolation winter can bring: “The overwhelming percentage of the year I spend cooped up writing records definitely comes with some cabin fever. And this song is mostly about that.”

What’s more, says Elbogen, “The title of the record came from this song, specifically the oohs that the backing vocal sings halfway through the first verse. That made me think of the abundance of oohs and aahs I sing throughout the record.” – Spin.com

With:
Telekinesis
Devon Williams

Save Money when you order tickets by mobile phone
text oohs&aahs to 467467

8pm / $8 Advance, $10 day of show / All Ages

Tuesday 03.10.09: FOREIGN BORN / SLEEPY SUN / LARKIN GRIMM @ echo

Foreign Born || Listen || Watch

Born in San Francisco in summer 2003, the gauzy psych rock of Foreign Born is created by Lewis Pesacov (guitar), Matt W. Popieluch (vocals/guitar), Garrett Ray (drums), and Ariel Rechtshaid (bass). In 2005, the quartet headed south to L.A., and issued the 12″ release, “We Had Pleasure” b/w “Escape” and the In the Remote Woods EP. Percussion-loaded pop ballads, hypnotic bridges, and danceable rock edges all have their place on On the Wing Now. “Into Your Dream” ebbs and flows with new millennium Echo and the Bunnymen pop before sliding into a Raconteurs-style jam, while “Trial Wall” frolics with verses that capture the tinny clamor of Interpol without the latter’s ascending energy or dizzying choruses, but clear standout is “In the Shape,” a guitar-wheedling, high-energy treat tucked near the end of the album. – Spin

with:

Sleepy Sun || Listen || Watch

San Francisco’s Sleepy Sun is one of those every-so-often bands that absorbs, processes, and spits out its influences in such a way as to make pee run down the pants legs of music reviewers everywhere. From the heavy-thunder freakout of “New Age” through the gospel-tinged lament of “Lord” to the straight-up bad trip on “White Dove,” the band’s lysergic emanations, delivered through copper plumbing, are all flowery footpaths, winding streams of Robitussin, and nitroglycerine shrieks. They are designed to explode the most expanded of frontal lobes. Even the annoying parts resonate, so it’s better just to sit back and wait for the moment you missed to finally broadside you as revelation. Because that’s exactly what an album like this promises. – SF Weekly

Plus:
Larkin Grimm || Listen

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

8:30pm / $8 / 18+

Sunday 03.08.09: MICHAEL GIRA (Angels Of Light / Swans) / LARKIN GRIMM @ echo

Michael Gira (Angels Of Light / Swans) || Watch

Starting in the late 1970s, Michael Gira made some of those most abrasive, visceral and violently beautiful music imaginable, his shows with a shifting cast of Swans now legendarily loud and brutal, his artistic collaboration with Jarboe one of the oddest and most compelling mixes of energies that the rock world has ever seen. Swans recorded dozens of albums from 1982 to 1998, closing their career with the monolithic two-cd live album Swans Are Dead. Gira and Jarboe went separate ways, and Gira almost immediately began working on an entirely different kind of project, rooted in traditional folk, blues and country; more lyrical, less ritual. He called it Angels of Light.

Many people have been part of Angels of Light over the years, Devendra Banhart and Akron/Family most famously, but dozens of others have contributed voices, instruments, personalities and ideas. Even so, it’s Gira’s project, as strange and joyful and confrontational and intelligent as the man himself. The project has changed over time, incorporating massive, celebratory anthems at one stage of Gira’s creative process (check out “Rose of Los Angeles” from Everything Is Good Here/Please Come Home), and tamping down to the musical equivalent of line drawings in the mostly acoustic The Angels of Light Sing ‘Other People’. – Popmatters

With:
Larkin Grimm || Listen

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

7pm / $12 advance; $14 day of show / All Ages

Thursday 03.26.09: KENAN BELL / ILLINOIS / DOT HACKER / BOOM BIP (DJ set) @ echo

Kenan Bell || Listen || Watch

Wasn’t too long ago that Kenan Bell, above, cringed when he heard “rapper” uttered with his name. “In so many places there’s a negative connotation with the word,” the 25-year-old says, agreeing that, yes, one of those places might be the private school in Montrose where he teaches fourth- through sixth-graders. “But even with the negative persona rap music has, I think I can make music that embodies better things.” Bell, above, is off to a good start – with childhood pal Jason Burkhart and music vet Jon Siebels (Eve6), he released his “Good Day” EP earlier this year, is putting the finishing touches on a full-length album and has captured the fancy of L.A. crowds with his spry melodies and sprightly wordplay, thanks in part to a live lineup that includes the likes of guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and drummer Eric Gardner. A rock and jazz fan whose parents sang gospel, Bell manages to blend pop sensibilities, indie-rock edge and hip-hop attitude into rapid-fire soliloquies that even his students could love. – LA Times Buzz Bands

with:
Illinois || Listen
Dot Hacker
Boom Bip (DJ Set) || Listen

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

8:30pm / $10 / 18+

Monday 03.30.09: Origami Records Residency SUMMER DARLING / WAIT.THINK.FAST. / KISSING COUSINS@ echo

Summer Darling

Based in Los Angeles and formed in 2002, Summer Darling began as a three piece indie pop band with an interest in songwriting and melody. Comprised of vocalist / songwriter Ben Heywood, drummer / guitarist Dan Rossiter and bassist/vocalist Heather Bray, they released the “What’s Done is Done EP” shortly thereafter, handcrafting each CD individually. In 2004 they collaborated with producer Frank Lenz (Pedro the Lion/Richard Swift/Starflyer 59) for the full length record “I Know You, I Never Knew You” and again released it themselves.

The last few years have seen Summer Darling chart a different direction. With the addition of Loop Haro on drums and a more group-oriented approach to song crafting, 2008’s “Health of Others” is the first of 3 digital EPs to be released this year, representing a new dynamic style. On it, Summer Darling explores the relationship between infidelity and retribution. The songwriting focuses on a more band-oriented approach, resulting in a more dynamic and symphonic sound. – Insomnia Radio

with:
Wait.Think.Fast.
Kissing Cousins

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 03.23.09: KAMRAN’S PRINCE NIGHT BIRTHDAY BASH – THE RAT PACK VS THE REVOLUTION @ echo

So, yeah. My dad had me when he was forty… His bday is March 19th. Mine is March 25th. We’re both in LA and having a party. He likes Sinatra. I like Prince. Come party with the Persians. Join us in your best new-wave glam or rat-pack inspired garb. 1999+10: I’m thirty.

Like before, its for charity AIDS Project Los Angeles. Last year we made over $800. Having said that, its completely voluntary. Times are tough. Come have fun. No pressure on the charity but if you can give, either give at the door or donate via PayPal. Either way, NO GIFTS PLEASE! Your gift to me would be showing up and most importantly DRESSING UP.

Confirmed Performances by Summer Darling, vosotros, Love Grenades and Club Underground DJs [diana b. goode(underground / black candy), soft touch (underground / funky sole), supercrass (underground / am/fm)] all playing Prince and Sinatra all nite. Maybe more to come.

FMI: http://www.cykik.com/prince

8pm / Donations Accepted / 21+

Monday 03.16.09: Origami Record Residency WAIT.THINK.FAST. / VOICESVOICES / THE LATE BIRDS / DAME SATAN@ echo

Wait.Think.Fast.

Wait Think Fast is one of the current standouts in a burgeoning scene of ethnically and musically diverse Los Angeles-based bands. Fronted by Argentinean-born vocalist and pianist Jacqueline Santillan, the quartet adds distinct flavor to its atmospheric, post-punk sound by using both Spanish and English for its bilingual lyrics. Wait Think Fast released a self-titled debut EP last year, and it’s recently followed it up with the 7-song Vuelve al Mar, on L.A.’s Origami Records. – NPR

with:
VOICEsVOICEs
The Late Birds || Listen
Dame Satan || Listen

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 03.09.09: Origami Records Residency WAIT.THINK.FAST. / SUMMER DARLING / SHILOE / TWO GUNS / THE CITY STREETS @ echo

Wait.Think.Fast.

Wait Think Fast is one of the current standouts in a burgeoning scene of ethnically and musically diverse Los Angeles-based bands. Fronted by Argentinean-born vocalist and pianist Jacqueline Santillan, the quartet adds distinct flavor to its atmospheric, post-punk sound by using both Spanish and English for its bilingual lyrics. Wait Think Fast released a self-titled debut EP last year, and it’s recently followed it up with the 7-song Vuelve al Mar, on L.A.’s Origami Records. – NPR

with:
Summer Darling || Listen
Shiloe || Listen
Two Guns || Listen
The City Streets || Listen

8pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 03.02.09: Origami Records Residency SUMMER DARLING / WRITER / THE MONOLATORS / THE HECTORS / DJ VELVET TOUCH @ echo

Summer Darling || Listen || Watch

Based in Los Angeles and formed in 2002, Summer Darling began as a three piece indie pop band with an interest in songwriting and melody. Comprised of vocalist / songwriter Ben Heywood, drummer / guitarist Dan Rossiter and bassist/vocalist Heather Bray, they released the “What’s Done is Done EP” shortly thereafter, handcrafting each CD individually. In 2004 they collaborated with producer Frank Lenz (Pedro the Lion/Richard Swift/Starflyer 59) for the full length record “I Know You, I Never Knew You” and again released it themselves.

The last few years have seen Summer Darling chart a different direction. With the addition of Loop Haro on drums and a more group-oriented approach to song crafting, 2008’s “Health of Others” is the first of 3 digital EPs to be released this year, representing a new dynamic style. On it, Summer Darling explores the relationship between infidelity and retribution. The songwriting focuses on a more band-oriented approach, resulting in a more dynamic and symphonic sound. – Insomnia Radio

with:
Writer || Listen
The Monolators || Listen
The Hectors || Listen
DJ Velvet Touch

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 03.28.09: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 03.21.09: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 03.14.09: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 03.07.09: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Friday 03.27.09: 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 03.20.09: CLUB UNDERGROUND & HANG THE DJS – The Return of RAZZMATAZZ @ echoplex

Performing live:
Jeppe (formerly Junior Senior)
Jean Paul Yamamoto (Japan)

Plus DJs:
Larry G. (Underground / Razzmatazz)
Maurice De La Falaise (Hang The DJs / Razzmatazz)
Clifton (Underground / Razzmatazz)
Alex (Transistor / AM/FM)
Diana (Underground / Black Candy)
Ruth (Razzmatazz / Trash)

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

FMI:
ClubUnderground.net
Hang The DJs

9pm / $8 / 18+

Friday 03.13.09: 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 03.06.09: 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+

Sunday 03.29.09: PART TIME PUNKS with THE HOMOSEXUALS / SILVER APPLES + SHARK TOYS @ echo

with:
The Homosexuals || Listen
Shark Toys
Silver Apples || Listen

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

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $12 advance, $15 day of show / 18+

Sunday 03.22.09: PART TIME PUNKS – FACTORY RECORDS NITE @ echo

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

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Sunday 03.15.09: PART TIME PUNKS with THESE ARE POWERS + DEATH SENTENCE: PANDA! @ echo

with:
These Are Powers (Ex- LIARS members)
Death Sentence: Panda!

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

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $8 / 18+

Sunday 03.08.09: PART TIME PUNKS – Yay! Records Nite with THE TARTANS + THE SEA LIONS @ echo

with:
The Tartans || Listen
The Sea Lions || Listen (7″ Release Party)

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

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Sunday 03.01.09: PART TIME PUNKS with TYVEK + WEAVE! @ echo

with:
Tyvek
Weave!

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

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Wednesday 03.25.09: 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 03.18.09: DUB CLUB presents ANTHONY B @ echoplex

Anthony B || Listen

Draped in the rich colours of African cloth, his trademark staff in hand, and his dreadlocks wrapped regally on his head, Anthony B embodies all that it is spiritual and proactive about Reggae music. This artiste has been steadfast in his mission to represent the poor and oppressed, using sharp lyrics to confront political injustices and bring the issues of the people to the forefront. In the process, he has raised the quality of performance standards and lyrical content for the industry, through the release of 13 albums, over 1000 singles and appearances on over 100 albums in the last 14 years.
Anthony B’s musical journey started in the church, back when he was still called Keith Anthony Blair in Clark’s Town, Trelawney. In this part of rural Jamaica, Anthony B was immersed in the thunderous chants and rhythms of Revivalism and the Seventh Day Adventist church where he honed his soon-to-be signature vocals. In his formative years, the artiste also cleaved to the music of Otis Redding and the incomparable Peter Tosh.

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 / $12 advance, $15 day of show / 21+

Wednesday 03.11.09: 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 03.04.09: 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 03.25.09: NO CULTURE @ echo

FMI: No Culture on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Wednesday 03.18.09: NO CULTURE @ echo

FMI: No Culture on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Wednesday 03.11.09: NO CULTURE @ echo

SCION A/V – KITSUNÉ PIONEER CD RELEASE PARTY

FMI: No Culture on Myspace

CLICK TO RSVP

10pm / FREE WITH RSVP / 18+

Wednesday 03.04.09: NO CULTURE @ echo

FMI: No Culture on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Thursday 03.12.09: PLANTS AND ANIMALS / CASTLEDOOR / AVI BUFFALO @ echo

Plants and Animals || Listen || Watch

Like a distant Canadian cousin of Blitzen Trapper, this three-piece spins shaggy songs into expansive, genre-bending symphonies. And though last year’s too-brief With/Avec EP hinted at Plants and Animals’ expansiveness, it didn’t fully prepare listeners for Parc Avenue, a sprawling collection of rootsy melodies, majestic arrangements, and classic rock riffs that owes as much to jam-band psychedelia and it does to delicately orchestrated chamber-folk.

The album kicks off with “Bye Bye Bye”, which sounds, initially, like a Coldplay ballad led by Neil Young. But, mere seconds into the song, it explodes into a choral epic built on a foundation of jaunty pianos and embellished with plangent autoharp runs and bursts of stately brass. Tellingly, the track’s infectious climax is more satisfying because it comes in fits and starts, its anthemic build interrupted several times by quiet interludes of noodley folk.

That, in short, is Plants And Animals. They offer up explosive, Polyphonic Spree-sized choir choruses, 1970s AM radio guitars, cozy folk balladry, and rambling stoner boogie-often in the course of one song– and switch between them with little warning. Many of their songs clock in at over five minutes long, but that’s all the better for them to pick up steam, stylistically mutate, or expand. – Pitchfork

With:
Castledoor || Listen
Avi Buffalo

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

8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+

Tuesday 03.03.09: FUJIYA & MIYAGI / POP LEVI / PROJECT JENNY, PROJECT JAN @ echo

Fujiya and Miyagi || Listen || Watch

It’s an odd thing when a band adds a drummer, and instead of building on the electro-funk of older material, the sound becomes more abstract. Yet that’s exactly what Fujiya & Miyagi’s members accomplished on their new album, Lightbulbs. The band says that new member Lee Adams speeds the action forward on drums, but this time around, the synths are dreamier and David Best’s biting vocals are breathier.

In a session recorded by KEXP at the Gibson Showroom during the CMJ Music Festival, Fujiya & Miyagi opt for Lightbulbs material, and despite the ambient funk of the CD, the live drums add a little more oomph in the studio. The band ended the set with an unreleased song, “Sick and Tired,” a piano-driven romper that sounds like David Bowie’s “Suffragette City” on a heavy krautrock kick. – NPR

with:
Pop Levi
Project Jenny, Project Jan || Listen

MOVED TO ECHO
1822 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

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

8pm / $14 advance, $16 Day of show / 18+

Tuesday 03.17.09: … AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD / FUNERAL PARTY / MIDNIGHT MASSES @ echoplex

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead || Listen || Watch

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead is putting the finishing touches on its sixth album in New York with producer Chris Coady. The as-yet-untitled set is due in January via the band’s own Richter Scale label through the Universal-distributed Justice Records. An EP, “Festival Time,” will precede the album in October. In addition to the title track, it will feature an unconventional cover of the Replacements’ “Within Your Reach” as well as the instrumental “The Betrayal of Roger Caseman and the Irish Brigade” and the dark, riffy “Bells of Creation,” which will appear on the album in a different form… The material previewed for Billboard is indeed more hard-hitting than on the past two Interscope albums, with “Inland Sea” building from a measured, midtempo rocker to a furious instrumental finish and the snappy “Fields of Coal” conjuring an inspirational chorus that Reece says reminds him of the Summer Olypmics. Another untitled track is fast and punky, with an Unwound-style feedback barrage. – Billboard

with:
Funeral Party
Midnight Masses

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

8:30pm / $15 advance, $18 day of show / 18+

Saturday 03.21.09: BLACK MOUNTAIN / THE SADIES @ echoplex

Black Mountain || Listen || Watch

Black Mountain’s self-titled 2005 debut was crammed full of Sabbath-inspired riffs and thick, druggy dirges, and the Vancouver quintet seemed poised to charge Queens Of The Stone Age’s stoner-rock castle, unkempt beards flapping wildly in the wind. In The Future offers the same intense, throbbing psych-prog, but with a few new, welcome flourishes: Stephen McBean’s deep, throaty howls remain paramount, but vocalist Amber Webber is a much more prominent force now, and her otherworldly warbles balance nicely against McBean’s pipes. Structurally, Black Mountain still favors quick changes and untraceable arrangements, and although it’s easy to accuse the band of aping all of 1975 (at times, Black Mountain sounds like the best Led Zeppelin cover band ever), the riffs are mostly unimpeachable. The eight-minute single “Tyrants” is an epic celebration of what Black Mountain does best, with its intense, building guitar slams, bowel-emptying drums, and sudden bursts of calm. Loud-quiet-loud has never been so dizzying. – The Onion AV Club

With:
The Sadies || Listen

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

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

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