Tuesday 06.23.09: OCCIDENTAL BROTHERS / THE BLASTING COMPANY @ echo

Occidental Brothers || Listen || Watch

If you are looking for classic Central and West African dance music or just a raucous good time Chicago’s Occidental Brothers Dance Band International fits the bill. The band specializes in soukous (a style akin to Rumba), Highlife (a genre characterized by jazzy horns and multiple guitars), and Dry Guitar (a distinctively Kenyan style), among other genres. Peter Margasak, a music writer for the Chicago Reader, has declared Occidental Brothers to be the Best World Music Band (and their self-titled release a “top 10″ for 2007). The band was featured in Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music’s Afrofolk series and the quintet has performed alongside such acclaimed artists as Oliver Mtukudzi and Andrew Bird. Guitarist Nathaniel Braddock, a teacher of African guitar at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, leads the group and is joined by Greg Ward on alto saxophone, Kofi Cromwell on trumpet and vocals, Daniel “Rambo” Asamoah on traps and hand drums, Josh Ramos on upright bass, and-occasionally-congero Jean LeRoy. As band members explain, Occidental Brothers began by covering the songs of “Congolese greats” Mwenda Jean Bosco, Franco, and Bantous de la Capitale. Now, however, the group is “writing original songs that incorporate their mastery of the old style with the singing of Ghanaian Kofi Cromwell.” Their monthly gigs at Chicago’s Charleston have become legendary dance parties. – KEXP

with:
The Blasting Company || Listen

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

8pm / $8adv; $10dos / 18+

Thursday 06.18.09: CHAIRLIFT / LUKE TOP / THE FREQUENCY @ echo

Chairlift || Listen || Watch

In 2007, Chairlift moved from Colorado to Brooklyn to pursue a strangely common 21st-century dream — to create a thoroughly modern indie-pop album inspired by ’80s synth-goth kitsch. The result is the trio’s startlingly impressive debut: astute, melodic evocations of plinky new wave (“Bruises,” “Evident Utensil”) and the Cocteau Twins’ smeary dreams (“Planet Health”) that achieve a timeless emotional resonance. The lyrics can be ungainly (“The most evident utensil is none other than a pencil”? Really?), but when Caroline Polachek’s exquisite vocals pierce the fog belt of keyboards and rumbling bass on “Home Alone” and “Make Your Mind Up,” the future starts to come into focus. – Spin Magazine

With:
Luke Top
The Frequency || Listen

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

8:30pm / $10 / 18+

Friday 06.12.09: Oh My Rockness presents LOVE IS ALL / STILL FLYIN’ / SHARK TOYS @ echoplex

Love Is All || Listen || Watch

There’s an irresistible hysteria in Josephine Olausson’s voice that recalls a young Björk — an amphetamine perkiness that’s easy to crush-out on and probably scary to live with. But dancing to it is no problem: The New Wave rush of her band’s second album rarely lets up. Sure, there’s the melodica-frosted breakup ballad “A More Uncertain Future” and the Phil Spector-cum-Jesus and Mary Chain drone of “When Giants Fall.” But otherwise, it’s party time, with a crazed sax upping the ante. “I’m bored to death of all this shit!” Olausson hollers on “Sea Sick.” Or is it “aboard this ship”? Either way, you feel her hangover. Olausson’s solution? Sweat it out on the dance floor. – Rolling Stone

With:
Still Flyin’ || Listen
Shark Toys

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

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

8:30pm / $14adv; $16dos / 18+

Thursday 04.30.09: The Pablove Foundation presents SILVERSUN PICKUPS / EULOGIES @ echoplex

The Pablove Foundation presents:
SILVERSUN PICKUPS
EULOGIES

Fighting childhood cancer with LOVE + FUZZ in honor of Pablo Castelaz

This Thursday, April 30, Silversun Pickups and Eulogies will perform at a very special benefit for Pablo Castelaz and The Pablove Foundation, at the Echoplex in Los Angeles. Tickets will go on sale tonight, April 27, at 6:30pm for $25 via TicketWeb. Purchase will be limited to two tickets per customer and ONLY available through online purchase, with a scheduled will-call pick-up. (No walk-ups.) All proceeds will directly benefit The Pablove Foundation named after Pablo Castelaz, the five-year-old son of Dangerbird Records co-founder Jeff Castelaz and his wife Jo Ann Thrailkill.

On May 17, 2008, Pablo was diagnosed with bilateral Wilms’ Tumor, a rare form of children’s cancer, and has been receiving treatment at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

The Pablove Foundation supports cancer research and cancer patient play activities, music and arts programs. Recently, The Pablove Foundation funded a year of evening and weekend hours in the play room on the fourth floor soft tumor units at CHLA. These ‘units’ are actually an entire floor of the hospital, which is filled with brave, beautiful children at any time of the year. This play room brings immeasurable joy to the heart of a child whose life has been turned upside down in the face of a life-threatening disease and whose world has temporarily been reduced to a small hospital room.

The Pablove Foundation also plans to contribute to cancer research and treatment at CHLA, including the efforts of CHLA’s Saban Research Institute, one of the top cancer research facilities in the United States.

This extraordinary evening will offer select items for sale to help commemorate the night and give back to the above noted charities. In addition to an exclusive, limited edition t-shirt, Give. Listen. Help. Volume 5, will be available for purchase. The two-disc benefit compilation CD was released earlier this year by Filter and Urban Outfitters and features an impressive collection of unique material from some of today’s most recognizable artists including Radiohead, Bloc Party, Oasis, as well as the Dangerbird Records roster. Each CD purchase will be accompanied with a free poster, crafted specifically in honor of the evening.

We are fighting for Pablo Castelaz and kids everywhere. Join us! The Pablove Foundation: Fighting childhood cancer with LOVE.

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

8pm / $25 / All Ages

Sunday 08.09.09: Grand Ole Echo with DAVE INSLEY / WEST OF TEXAS @ echo

Dave Insley || Listen

Greg DaPonte’s Birthday Show!

With:
West of Texas || Listen

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 08.02.09: Grand Ole Echo with GRANT LANGSTON / LISA & HER KIN / CHRIS MILLER BAND @ echo

Grant Langston || Listen
Lisa & Her Kin || Listen
The Chris Miller Band || Listen

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 07.26.09: Grand Ole Echo with DAVID SERBY / JAIMI SHUEY / THE LINCOLN BEDROOM @ echo

David Serby || Listen
Jaimi Shuey || Listen
The Lincoln Bedroom

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 07.19.09: Grand Ole Echo with SYD STRAW / RICH MAHAN / THE UNLAWFUL KINGS / THE PREACHERS SON @ echo

Syd Straw
Rich Mahan
The Unlawful Kings

Back porch:
The Preachers Son

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 07.12.09: Grand Ole Echo with GINA VILLALOBOS (CD RELEASE PARTY) @ echo

Gina Villalobos || Listen

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 06.28.09: Grand Ole Echo with SIMON STOKES / 50 CENT HAIRCUT / HANG JONES @ echo

Simon Stokes
50 Cent Haircut || Listen
Hang Jones || Listen

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 06.21.09: Grand Ole Echo with STEVE CASPER / DAVE GLEASON / NICOLE GORDON @ echo

Steve Casper

Back porch:
Dave Gleason || Listen
Nicole Gordon || Listen

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 06.14.09: Grand Ole Echo with MIKE STINSON / DOGWEED / ELLIOT RANDALL / BIRD AND MOON @ echo

Mike Stinson || Listen
Dogweed
Elliott Randall || Listen

Back porch:
Bird and Moon

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 05.31.09: Grand Ole Echo with DAVID SERBY (CD Release Party) / THE BELIEVERS / KILLING CASSANOVA / TIPPY CANOE @ echo

David Serby || Listen
The Believers || Listen
Killing Cassanova

Back Porch:
Tippy Canoe

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 05.17.09: Grand Ole Echo with DAVE GLEASON / JASON HEATH & THE GREEDY SOULS / THE DECEIVERS / WATER TOWER STRING BAND @ echo

Dave Gleason || Listen
Jason Heath & The Greedy Souls
The Deceivers

On The Back Porch:
Water Tower String Band

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Friday 05.01.09: First Fridays with THE RUBY SUNS / WOLFMOTHER @ Natural History Museum

with:
Wolfmother
The Ruby Suns

plus Dublab DJs:
The Phatal DJ
Chico Sonido

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

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

5:30pm / $9 / All Ages

Tuesday 06.23.09: SUNSET RUBDOWN / ELFIN SADDLE / WITCHIES @ echoplex

Sunset Rubdown || Listen

Throughout all his instrumental pageantry, Krug’s vocal presence is strong, both as a stylist and a lyricist. There’s more than a whiff of obscure mysticism and archaic vocabulary in his lyrics, which might turn off more literal listeners. But Krug has a knack for couching his baffling imagery in compelling, repetitive syntax that shapes a narrative from his procession of characters– courtesans, jackals, virgins, and stallions.

Insofar as I can boil down Sunset Rubdown to a single moment, it’s one near the end of “Up on Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days”. The song’s maniacal carnival music, which until this point has rocketed through a rollercoaster’s worth of peaks and valleys, settles into barren dirge where Krug’s lyrics come clear. “Because you’re the one who’s riding around on a leopard,” he sings with his usual creaky splendor. “You’re the one who’s throwing dead birds in the air.” This moment doesn’t compartmentalize Sunset Rubdown; it traces out the broadest contours of their allure: The striking image that sticks in the mind, unfathomable but heavy with meaning, for days; the carefully contrasted song structure, and the sense that this is a band uncompromising in its vision, making music with more depth and longevity than its stubborn relegation to “side project” merits. – Pitchfork

With:
Elfin Saddle
Witchies

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

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

8:00pm / $13 adv; $15 doors / All ages

Friday 05.15.09: Echo, KSPC & Club Underground present: PONYTAIL / CEX @ echo

Ponytail || Listen

Ponytail is the sound of ecstasy: tall exclamation points of guitar, mad, rambunctious percussion and wild-eyed ululations, an enormous blast of shocking pink bouncing off the walls and shooting up toward the sun. It’s absolute happiness, a drill boring straight down into the human id and recording everything it finds. You could call it no wave if it wasn’t so bright-eyed and bursting with joy. Old-time noiseniks embraced chaos as a weapon, but Ponytail are more interested in hugging than haranguing. The guitars prick like apostrophes, skipping across the top of songs; the drums are hollow and throbbing, tribal rhythms from some Martian colony. So it’s a pleasant surprise that, in person, the group’s four members are irrepressibly cheery, chatty and — above all else — down-to-earth. Vocalist Molly Siegel — a leaping, shrieking cipher on stage — is as giddy and talkative as a teenager. Guitarist Dustin Wong is all smiles and patient explanations, and all four of them seem genuinely touched and stunned that an interviewer would buy them dinner (at one point, Siegel asked if it was ok that she ordered an iced tea). If to hear them is to develop a crush, to meet them is to fall head-over-heels in love. – EMusic

With:
Cex || Listen
Club Underground DJs

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

8pm / $10 / 18+

Sunday 05.10.09: Grand Ole Echo with SARAH GAYLE MEECH / THE CHEATIN KIND / JEREMIAH AND THE RED EYES / FRANK FAIRFIELD @ echo

Sarah Gayle Meech
The Cheatin’ Kind
Jeremiah and the Red Eyes

Back porch:
Frank Fairfield

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 05.03.09: Grand Ole Echo with TONY GILKYSON / THE GOLDEN DAYS / NEXT OF KIN / TRIPLE CHICKEN FOOT @ echo

Tony Gilkyson
The Golden Days
Next Of Kin

Back porch:
Triple Chicken Foot || Listen

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 04.26.09: Grand Ole Echo with MIKE STINSON / AUSTIN HARTLEY-LEONARD / IMAGINARY FRIENDS / DIME BOX BAND @ echoplex

Mike Stinson || Listen
Austin Hartley-Leonard
Imaginary Friends

Back porch:
Dime Box Band || Listen

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

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Friday 07.17.09: THREE MILE PILOT / OPTIGANALLY YOURS @ echoplex

Three Mile Pilot || Listen

TMP was one of the most engaging and influential left-field bands in SD rock-roll; their progeny looks like Slint’s family tree, with the top branches occupied by international indie darlings Pinback and Black Heart Procession. Not bad for a bass, drum, and piano band. Of high school kids! Pall, Zack, and Tobias have grown up, and grown, and will share a stage for the first time in ten years. – San Diego Reader

with:
Optiganally Yours || Listen

@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90291

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

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

Thursday 05.28.09: JENS LEKMAN / TIG NOTARO @ echo

Jens Lekman || Listen

Whenever you get the chance to see Jens Lekman perform live, do not pass it up. It’s not that he doesn’t play often, because he’s been pretty much touring on and off since he released 2007′s Night Falls Over Kortedala. But he’s one of the most charming and charismatic performers out there, and his songs are pretty wonderful, too, for that matter.

Lekman is doing another round of shows on the West Coast, so if you happen to be on our side of the country, you won’t want to miss out. – Treble

with:
Tig Notaro || Watch

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

8pm / $15 / All Ages

Wednesday 05.27.09: JENS LEKMAN / TIG NOTARO @ echo

Jens Lekman || Listen

Whenever you get the chance to see Jens Lekman perform live, do not pass it up. It’s not that he doesn’t play often, because he’s been pretty much touring on and off since he released 2007′s Night Falls Over Kortedala. But he’s one of the most charming and charismatic performers out there, and his songs are pretty wonderful, too, for that matter.

Lekman is doing another round of shows on the West Coast, so if you happen to be on our side of the country, you won’t want to miss out. – Treble

with:
Tig Notaro || Watch

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

8pm / $15 / All Ages

Sunday 04.26.09: ALL IN POKER TOURNAMENT @ echoplex

a Charity Poker Tournament for the Bridge Program

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

FMI: The Bridge Program

12pm / 21+

Sunday 05.31.09: KIDROCKERS presents LANGHORNE SLIM / ONE TRICK PONY @ echo (day show)

with:
Langhorne Slim
One Trick Pony || 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 Seth Herzog & Matt Dwyer

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

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

Friday 06.05.09: CLUES / GRAHAM FOREST @ echo – EARLY SET TIMES

Clues || Listen

While countless new bands have imitated the pop sounds made famous by Montreal’s music export, Clues counts among its members originators of that sound. Alden Penner (Unicorns) and Brendan Reed (Arcade Fire) continue pioneering music, expanding Montreal’s pop music lexicon with reference to the post-punk and experimental music traditions. The band’s shows are frenetic and theatrical: multiple drummers, unique instrumentation, and a bent Commodore 64. In 2008, the band was rounded out by regulars of the Montreal music/art scene’s, Ben Borden, Lisa Gamble, and Nick Scribner. During shows and on recordings, the band share and trade off on their collection of instruments, creating grand versions of experimental pop songs. – The Trip Wire

with: Graham Forest

Set Times:
Graham Forest – 7:30pm
Clues – 8:15pm
Followed by Club Underground

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

7pm / $10 / All Ages

Sunday 06.21.09: Echo Presents SHELLAC / ARCWELDER @ echoplex

Shellac || Listen

In a week when indie bands are falling over themselves to get their music onto tacky television commercials (cough, Wilco, Deerhoof, Architecture In Helsinki) three snarky curmudgeons from the cold Midwest can still be relied upon to fly the flag for rock’s awkward, anti-commercial underground. Arriving in its own sweet time (every song here has been honed over seven years of sporadic live sets), Excellent Italian Greyhound is vintage Shellac: stark, razorous and blackly comic, lurching into whatever time signature happens to possess drummer Tod Trainer.

Opener, The End Of Radio, which takes up nearly a quarter of the record, is the most remarkable thing they’ve ever done. An abrasive three-chord march, it sees Steve Albini imagining the apocalypse from the position of an AM disc jockey, broadcasting his catchphrases into the void – BBC

with:
Arcwelder

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

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

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

Saturday 06.20.09: Echo presents SHELLAC / ARCWELDER @ echoplex

Shellac || Listen

In a week when indie bands are falling over themselves to get their music onto tacky television commercials (cough, Wilco, Deerhoof, Architecture In Helsinki) three snarky curmudgeons from the cold Midwest can still be relied upon to fly the flag for rock’s awkward, anti-commercial underground. Arriving in its own sweet time (every song here has been honed over seven years of sporadic live sets), Excellent Italian Greyhound is vintage Shellac: stark, razorous and blackly comic, lurching into whatever time signature happens to possess drummer Tod Trainer.

Opener, The End Of Radio, which takes up nearly a quarter of the record, is the most remarkable thing they’ve ever done. An abrasive three-chord march, it sees Steve Albini imagining the apocalypse from the position of an AM disc jockey, broadcasting his catchphrases into the void – BBC

with:
Arcwelder

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

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

4pm / $13 advance, $15 day of show / all ages

Saturday 05.09.09: SMOG presents ALL OUT DUBSTEP – LOS ANGELES featuring L WIZ (live!) @ echoplex

L-WIZ LIVE!
DUB POLICE, ALL OUT DUBSTEP, STOCKHOLM
Swedish duo Claes Rosén and Ola Näslund (a.k.a. L-Wiz) are most known for their jazzy and dubbed out releases on Caspa’s DUB POLICE label. They will be performing together live on laptops and keyboards representing Stockholm’s All Out Dubstep crew

IRK & TRICKYKID
ALL OUT DUBSTEP, STOCKHOLM

EMU & PAWN
SMOG, BASSHEAD, LA

STEADY
SMOG, DUBTROIT, LA

KELLY DEAN
SHIFT, DUBTROIT, LA

MC SANDOR
ALL OUT DUBSTEP, STOCKHOLM

KEMST
SMOG, LA

VISUALS: DEJA KRU // SOUND: SOLID SOUND

located:
ECHOPLEX
Enter at:
1154 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026

FOR MORE INFO:
http://www.smogla.com

9pm / $10 / 21+

Friday 06.12.09: JAY REATARD / THEE OH SEES / EARTHMEN & STRANGERS @ echo

Jay Reatard || Listen || Watch

Any newcomers to Jay Reatard are met with a dauntingly huge back catalogue. This is a man who produces a hell of a lot of material and by our count has released a staggering 24 albums and 34 EPs and 7″s since 1998 (the merch stand is well stocked this evening). Tonight’s show helpfully focuses mainly on 2008′s releases: the Matador records compilation and the 06/07 Singles collection released on In The Red.

Jay emerges on stage with little flair or fanfare, setting the tone for the evening. It’s a fast ‘n’ furious speed-punk blitz, play fast, play hard, leave quick. That’s not to say it’s not entertaining, quite the opposite in fact. The stage is filled with Reatard and his two accomplices, both Jay and his guitarist sport flying V Gibson guitars, and from the offset the three of them create a blend of sing-along ‘Beck meets The Ramones’ style good time rock ‘n’ roll that leaves feet tapping and teeth showing. – Drowned in Sound

with:
Thee Oh Sees
Earthmen & Strangers

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

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

Sunday 04.26.09: KIDROCKERS presents EULOGIES / THE ONE AM RADIO @ echo (day show)

with:
Eulogies || Listen
The One AM Radio || 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 Seth Herzog & Matt Dwyer

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

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

Sunday 04.19.09: GRAND OLE ECHO with THE PSYCHEDELIC COWBOYS / WRECK N’ SOW / THE HI-HO’S / 50 CENT HAIRCUT @ echo

with:
The Psychedelic Cowboys || Listen
Wreck N’ Sow || Listen
The Hi-Ho’s

Back porch:
50 Cent Haircut || Listen

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Saturday 05.30.09: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 05.23.09: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 05.16.09: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 05.09.09: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 05.02.09: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Wednesday 05.27.09: 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 05.20.09: 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 05.13.09: DUB CLUB presents Reggae Meets Africa with EXTRA GOLDEN / THE MEDITATIONS / FOOL’S GOLD / YOUSSOUPHA SIDIBE @ echo & echoplex

with:
The Meditations || Listen
Extra Golden || Listen
Fool’s Gold || Watch
Youssoupha Sidibe

Upstairs in the Echo there will be 2 acts, Fools Gold—local Afrobeat heroes , and Extra Golden , Thrill Jockey recording artists who fuse a unique blend of Kenyan Benga music with American Rock. Downstairs in the Echoplex , the opening act will be Youssoupha Sidibe , a traditionally trained Kora player from Senegal whose music is a hybrid of African and Dub sounds , and the headliner will be Reggae legends The Meditations , one of the premier harmony trio vocal groups in roots music, who are still going strong with all original members. The audience will be able to walk between the 2 rooms all night, the Dub Club DJs will be spinning and it should make for a very memorable evening of music and culture.

Spinning the best in classic reggae, dub and dancehall

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

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

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

Wednesday 05.06.09: 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+

Monday 07.20.09: THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART / GIRLS / CHAMPAGNE SOCIALISTS @ echo

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart || Listen || MP3

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are irrepressibly light, a band at ease with melody and softness. On its excellent self-titled debut album, which was released last month on Slumberland, the band — which includes Mr. Berman, Mr. Feldman, the singer and keyboardist Peggy Wang and the bass player Alex Naidus — neatly processes a whole range of styles. There’s a mild hauteur drawn from new wave, a thickness derived from shoegaze-pop and a pulse passed down from dance-punk. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart might paint within the lines, but they do so with panache. – The NY Times

With:
Girls
Champagne Socialists

8:30pm / $12adv, $14 dos / All Ages

Saturday 05.02.09: BOOTIE LA with DJ TRIPP / ADRIAN & THE MYSTERIOUS D / DL PAUL V. / R.A.I.D. @ echoplex

BOOTIE LA
LA’s monthly mashup bootleg party

On his Bootie World Tour:
DJ TRIPP
spinning a special ALL-VIDEO mashup set!

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

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

Joby Joy presents the 3rd Annual Cape Party! Wear a cape and get a free Bootie CD!

This month, DJ Tripp returns to LA to kick off his Bootie World Tour with a special ALL-VIDEO mashup set on the Echoplex’s giant video screen. Resident dance crew R.A.I.D. hits the stage at midnight with a freshly synchronized dance number, and Joby Joy will be doing his 3rd Annual Cape Party at Bootie LA — wear a cape, and you’ll get a free mashup CD!

Launched in 2003, Bootie was the first club night in the United States dedicated solely to the burgeoning artform of the bootleg mashup — and is now the biggest mashup event in the world, with monthly parties in seven cities on three 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 crew 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!

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

FMI: http://www.BootieLA.com

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

Thursday 04.23.09: Comedy is The New Black Presents COMEDY IS THE NEW GREEN @ echoplex

Comedy is the New Black presents Comedy is the new…GREEN/The Day after Earth Day show

featuring:

Neal Brennan
the co -creator of Chappelle’s Show and co-writer of Half Baked

Dan Levy
who just had his Comedy Central Half hour special last month

with stars from MTV,The Late Show

Plus some of L.A.’s future stars of comedy.

With FREE GIVEAWAYS, and a few special surprises,this may very well be the funniest show on this planet we call Los Angeles,if not the funniest show on Earth!

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

8pm / $10 / all ages

Wednesday 06.17.09: VIVA VOCE / CUT OFF YOUR HANDS @ echo

Viva Voce || Listen || Watch

Kevin and Anita Robinson live the kind of life they make TV shows out of, a married couple making music in their home together and touring the country to promote it. Maybe some day they’ll have kids and groom them into band members, but for now just the two of them make plenty of noise, and Get Yr Blood Sucked Out is confident, psychedelic, hard-hitting, and the best noise they’ve made yet.

The duo’s sound has sharpened, with more spacious production, simpler arrangements, and more refined songcraft: Where their three previous records all took a little time to marinate, this one is strikingly immediate. It opens with a beat and feel reminiscent of Blur’s “Tender”, but the harmony is much more tense, and rather than a gospel choir, “Believer” has two voices harmonizing, calm to the point of sinister, and Anita’s screaming lead guitar. Her guitar is one of the album’s biggest trump cards– in an era when flashy leads are hard to come by it’s something of a relief to hear economical fretboard fireworks like the squawking, melodic solo on “From the Devil Himself”.

Not that her husband gives her much slack to pick up. His drum parts are engaging and frequently memorable as hooks in their own right. If nothing else, it seems clear that touring has honed their skill as musicians to a fine point, and this may be why they’ve had the confidence to keep the arrangements more basic this time out. Whatever the reason, it works beautifully. “Faster Than a Dead Horse” is a masterful pop song, with Kevin providing killer “bah bah” backing vocals for Anita’s double-tracked lead. She can’t wait to sling her guitar, cutting loose after just one verse and sending up a distorted torrent after the second.- Pitchfork

With:
Cut Off Your Hands || Listen

Set Times:
Viva Voce – 9pm
Cut Off Your Hands – 8pm

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

7:00pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / All Ages

Thursday 07.23.09: CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE / CONCERN / FORMER GHOSTS / SECOND TO SECOND @ echo

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone || Listen || Watch

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone succeeds in representing a sad, kindly eye watching over the tableau of the quotidienne, lending a poetic importance to the unwitnessed sadnesses of small lives lived in small towns. It’s telling that he’s recently covered Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born In The USA’ and ‘Philadelphia’, for although the interpretation is different, Ashworth clearly draws from the same sources of inspiration. Sometime you can see yourself in it, or someone you know. Or maybe it’s an album about strangers – the overly factual song titles suggest stories plucked from the pages of mid-American town newspapers. Miserablist alt-pop socio-musical anthropology, then? Maybe. But however you choose to analyse it, Casiotone Vs. Children is an evocative and involving listen, and a fittingly accomplished fifth album from Mr. Ashworth. – The Quietus

With:
Concern || Listen
Former Ghosts
Second to Second (Evan Slamka)

7:30pm / $8.00 / All Ages

Wednesday 06.10.09: CONSTANTINES / CRYSTAL ANTLERS / I WAS A KING @ echo

Constantines || Listen || Watch

Though The Constantines have no doubt streamlined some of the abrasive punk rock edges of their sound, Kensington Heights proves that they can still erupt with the same ferocity that has long been a hallmark of their sound. Before getting into the savory nooks and crannies deep within their epic songcraft, The Cons kick off with some good old-fashioned rock stomp with the bombastic single “Hard Feelings.” Over wailing guitars and blazing organ, vocalist Bry Webb bellows “you can tell by the way we walk/ We’ve got hard feelings,” as if to introduce their ragged posse’s entrance, and it’s an impressive entrance at that. Slower, but bearing just as much weight is “Million Dollar Hotel,” a gut-puncher of a song that reaches “When The Levee Breaks” levels of heavy-as-fuck blues. The verses tease, slinking along slowly and slyly, but when the chorus kicks in, the group comes firing on all pistons, powerful but composed. – Treble

With:
Crystal Antlers
I was A King || Listen

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

8pm / $10 / All ages

Thursday 04.30.09: XU XU FANG / DOWNTOWN UNION / THE VOYEURS / VOICES VOICES @ echo

Xu Xu Fang || Listen || Watch

With slow waves of hushed sounds and swirling psychedelia, Xu Xu Fang’s new CD, The Mourning Son, rolls in like a fog and wraps your head in clouds. “Things are just okay,” a disembodied, world-weary voice intones amid the squalling guitars, spectral synths and formally decisive piano chords of “These Days.” It’s grand and dreamy stuff, followed by the similarly otherworldly title track, which chimes with a Velvety gloom. Band leader and producer Bobby Tamkin used to drum in the Warlocks, but Xu Xu Fang is a much more intriguing project. Unlike the Bore-locks, Xu Xu Fang are able to transform their funereal tempos into something truly mysterious and uniquely memorable. The pace picks up just a little on “Good Times,” whose shadowy groove and breathy singing belie its sunny title. – LA Weekly

With:
Downtown Union
The Voyeurs
Voices Voices

8pm / FREE / 18+

Friday 05.22.09: Echo & Club Underground present FREELAND (live) / DJ ALEX METRIC @ echo

Freeland (live) || Listen || Watch

Adam Freeland is the grammy nominated DJ/Producer most often hailed for the fusion of breakbeat and electro, and who owns and runs Marine Parade Records in the UK. With his 1996 Coastal Breaks album, he was heralded as championing a new sound, nu skool breaks. Today he is one of the most respected DJs and producers in the industry and has remixed some of the biggest names in music including Marilyn Manson, The Prodigy, The Doors, Fujiya & Miyaki and many others.

with:
Alex Metric

Plus Club Underground djs spinning Britpop * electro * indie* garage

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

9:30pm / $10 advance, $13 day of show / 18+

Tuesday 05.05.09: Custom Made/Bad Time Charlie Presents – CINCO DE MAYO CELEBRACION DE LOCO @ echoplex

featuring:
The Ladies of Pink Mink Mafia
The fyne art of David Lozeau

Appearing Live:
Los Creepers
Rezurex
Viernes 13
The Tenderbox
The Slanderin
The Howlers
Societys Parasites
A Pretty Mess
The Uglies
and more TBA

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

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

8pm / $10 / 18+

Monday 05.25.09: Monday Night Residency – JULIETTE COMMAGERE / CHAPIN SISTERS / JOGGER / LANDY @ echo

Juliette Commagere

Lately I’ve been so knocked out hearing these great and gorgeous pop tunes created and performed by the lovely Juliette Commagère. You might know her as the Keytar-slinging, charismatic front woman for the adventurous indie-rock band Hello Stranger, which she formed with drummer Joaquin Cooder; or you might have heard her singing and playing on recent endeavors by Avenged Sevenfold and Puscifer. That varied batch of interests hints as to the unclichéd gifts of the multitalented Commagère, which are given a fuller flowering on her new solo album, Queens Die Proudly (Aeronaut Records). A vividly orchestrated pop-art project veering from the wistful and elegiac to the epic and otherwordly, Queens is like a No. 1 chart-topper from another dimension, where remarkably memorable songs are given evocative musical twists via her classically designed song structures and sensual ’70s synth stylings. On her recent cross-country residency stints, Commagère has assembled local orchestras (via Craigslist!) of strings and horns, which brings a radiant gleam to her superb material. – LA Weekly

With
Chapin Sisters || Listen
Jogger
Landy || Listen

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 05.18.09: Monday Night Residency – JULIETTE COMMAGERE / ROBERT FRANCIS / CECI BASTIDA / RADEMACHER @ echo

Juliette Commagere

Lately I’ve been so knocked out hearing these great and gorgeous pop tunes created and performed by the lovely Juliette Commagère. You might know her as the Keytar-slinging, charismatic front woman for the adventurous indie-rock band Hello Stranger, which she formed with drummer Joaquin Cooder; or you might have heard her singing and playing on recent endeavors by Avenged Sevenfold and Puscifer. That varied batch of interests hints as to the unclichéd gifts of the multitalented Commagère, which are given a fuller flowering on her new solo album, Queens Die Proudly (Aeronaut Records). A vividly orchestrated pop-art project veering from the wistful and elegiac to the epic and otherwordly, Queens is like a No. 1 chart-topper from another dimension, where remarkably memorable songs are given evocative musical twists via her classically designed song structures and sensual ’70s synth stylings. On her recent cross-country residency stints, Commagère has assembled local orchestras (via Craigslist!) of strings and horns, which brings a radiant gleam to her superb material. – LA Weekly

With
Robert Francis
Ceci Bastida || Listen
Rademacher

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 05.11.09: Monday Night Residency – JULIETTE COMMAGERE / GRIZZLY OWLS / VAUDEVILLE / PAIGE STARK @ echo

Juliette Commagere

Lately I’ve been so knocked out hearing these great and gorgeous pop tunes created and performed by the lovely Juliette Commagère. You might know her as the Keytar-slinging, charismatic front woman for the adventurous indie-rock band Hello Stranger, which she formed with drummer Joaquin Cooder; or you might have heard her singing and playing on recent endeavors by Avenged Sevenfold and Puscifer. That varied batch of interests hints as to the unclichéd gifts of the multitalented Commagère, which are given a fuller flowering on her new solo album, Queens Die Proudly (Aeronaut Records). A vividly orchestrated pop-art project veering from the wistful and elegiac to the epic and otherwordly, Queens is like a No. 1 chart-topper from another dimension, where remarkably memorable songs are given evocative musical twists via her classically designed song structures and sensual ’70s synth stylings. On her recent cross-country residency stints, Commagère has assembled local orchestras (via Craigslist!) of strings and horns, which brings a radiant gleam to her superb material. – LA Weekly

With:
Grizzly Owls || Listen
Vaudeville
Paige Stark

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 05.04.09: Monday Night Residency – JULIETTE COMMAGERE / OBI BEST @ echo

Juliette Commagere

Lately I’ve been so knocked out hearing these great and gorgeous pop tunes created and performed by the lovely Juliette Commagère. You might know her as the Keytar-slinging, charismatic front woman for the adventurous indie-rock band Hello Stranger, which she formed with drummer Joaquin Cooder; or you might have heard her singing and playing on recent endeavors by Avenged Sevenfold and Puscifer. That varied batch of interests hints as to the unclichéd gifts of the multitalented Commagère, which are given a fuller flowering on her new solo album, Queens Die Proudly (Aeronaut Records). A vividly orchestrated pop-art project veering from the wistful and elegiac to the epic and otherwordly, Queens is like a No. 1 chart-topper from another dimension, where remarkably memorable songs are given evocative musical twists via her classically designed song structures and sensual ’70s synth stylings. On her recent cross-country residency stints, Commagère has assembled local orchestras (via Craigslist!) of strings and horns, which brings a radiant gleam to her superb material. – LA Weekly

With:
Obi Best || Listen

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Wednesday 05.06.09: NO CULTURE @ echo

FMI: No Culture on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Friday 05.29.09: CLUB UNDERGROUND @ echo

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

FMI: ClubUnderground.net

11pm / $5 if 21+, $7 under 21 / 18+

Friday 05.08.09: Echo & Club Underground Presents SPECTRUM / ABE VIGODA / THE ENTRANCE BAND @ echo

Spectrum || Listen

Spectrum is the most high-profile of the projects undertaken by Pete ‘Sonic Boom’ Kember after the demise of psych-rock avatars Spacemen 3. Spectrum satisfies the singer/guitarist’s more ‘conventional’ pop leanings, while never losing sight of the hypnotic otherworldliness and psychedelic soundscapes that are his music’s trademark and legacy.

In 2009 performing new material from the most recent album –‘Indian Giver’, songs from the new EP ‘War Sucks’ plus Spacemen 3 originals and classic Spectrum tracks audiences can expect a varied and dramatic collection of songs.

The current live show see’s an artist moving between the recent kraut-rock style ‘Mary’, the drug ecstasy of ‘Set me free’, the ever shimmering ‘Transparent Radiation’ & older, heavier pieces lulling the audience into a trance-like state before diving deeper down into the wah-wah, feedback & fuzzed out frenzy of powerchord epics such as ‘Revolution’ and ‘Suicide’.

With:
Abe Vigoda || Listen
The Entrance Band

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

FMI: ClubUnderground.net

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

8:30pm / $12 / 18+

Friday 05.08.09: NIGHTLIFE with THE BEAT JUNKIES / PETE ROCK @ echoplex

with resident DJs THE BEAT JUNKIES:
J.ROCC
BABU
RHETTMATIC
MR. CHOC

plus special guest:
PETE ROCK

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

10pm / $15 / 21+

Tuesday 04.14.09: THE POLYAMOROUS AFFAIR @ 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

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

8:30pm / $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 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

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

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

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+

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

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+

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+

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+

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+

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 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+

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

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

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+