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Wednesday 04.14.10: THE RUBY SUNS / TORO Y MOI @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, echo, events
The Ruby Suns || Listen || Watch || MP3
On March 2, sunny New Zealand psych-pop outfit the Ruby Suns will release Fight Softly, the follow-up to the BNM’ed 2008 LP Sea Lion, on Sub Pop. (It’s out March 8 in the UK on Memphis Industries.) That’s the space-bar-averse cover art above.
Talking to Pitchfork back in October, frontman Ryan McPhun described Fight Softly as “probably the opposite” of Sea Lion: “I used a lot more synths. And there’s a shitload of effected guitar on it. But I didn’t use a lot of live drums. Going into it, I wanted to use organic sounds but I didn’t want them to sound organic, which is the opposite of what a lot of people do. It’s safe to say the new stuff is more bass-y.”
Right now, we’re getting our first taste of how the more bass-y Ruby Suns sound. Click below to stream or download “Cranberry” from Fight Softly. (UPDATE: The album version has been replaced with the radio edit.)
Shortly after the album hits, the Ruby Suns will tour North America, bringing glo-fi youngster Toro Y Moi along for the ride. – Pitchfork
with:
Toro Y Moi || Listen
8:30pm / 18+
Thursday 04.15.10: WE ARE THE WORLD @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
We Are The World || Watch || MP3
Yeah, it’s bold and a little silly calling yourself We Are The World when there’s that other “We Are The Word” in its various forms. The song and the phrase claim a cartoonish “It’s A Small World” unity + Manifest Destiny-esque spirit, but true, it’s also a culturally resonant title to give your Los Angeles electro dance band/troupe. To their credit, WATW’s intriguing enough visually (the Bruised Man Group?) and musically to own it. We showed you the video for Clay Stones‘ title track with its burnt forest, bodysuits, and the aggro nature worship these things inspired. You get to create your own visuals for “Fight Song,” the collection’s next single. – Stereogum
8:30pm / 18+
Thursday 04.08.10: WE ARE THE WORLD @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, echo, events
We Are The World || Watch || MP3
Yeah, it’s bold and a little silly calling yourself We Are The World when there’s that other “We Are The Word” in its various forms. The song and the phrase claim a cartoonish “It’s A Small World” unity + Manifest Destiny-esque spirit, but true, it’s also a culturally resonant title to give your Los Angeles electro dance band/troupe. To their credit, WATW’s intriguing enough visually (the Bruised Man Group?) and musically to own it. We showed you the video for Clay Stones‘ title track with its burnt forest, bodysuits, and the aggro nature worship these things inspired. You get to create your own visuals for “Fight Song,” the collection’s next single. – Stereogum
8:30pm / 18+
Thursday 04.01.10: WE ARE THE WORLD @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, echo, events
We Are The World || Watch || MP3
Yeah, it’s bold and a little silly calling yourself We Are The World when there’s that other “We Are The Word” in its various forms. The song and the phrase claim a cartoonish “It’s A Small World” unity + Manifest Destiny-esque spirit, but true, it’s also a culturally resonant title to give your Los Angeles electro dance band/troupe. To their credit, WATW’s intriguing enough visually (the Bruised Man Group?) and musically to own it. We showed you the video for Clay Stones‘ title track with its burnt forest, bodysuits, and the aggro nature worship these things inspired. You get to create your own visuals for “Fight Song,” the collection’s next single. – Stereogum
8:30pm / 18+
Sunday 04.18.10: PART TIME PUNKS with LOVE IS ALL / LOVE GRENADES @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
Love Is All || Listen || Watch
The jittery, hooky Swedish postpunk crew Love Is All are back. The band has moved from longtime home What’s Your Rupture? to new label Polyvinyl. And on March 23, they’ll release their third album, the topically titled Two Thousand and Ten Injuries.
Love Is All recorded the follow-up to 2008’s A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night at their Gothenburg studio last summer. The Aislers Set’s Wyatt Cusick and the band themselves serve as producers. That image above is the cover art, and you can hear the album track “Kungen” below.
As well as CD and download, the album will be available on 180-gram vinyl, in three different versions. There’s the classic black vinyl version, but you’ll also be able to cop it on white vinyl (limited to 500 copies) and yellow vinyl (limited to 500 in Europe). – Pitchfork
with:
Love Grenades
10pm / $10 / 18+
Tuesday 03.09.10: Future Sounds & Echo present: TWIN TIGERS / SKYBOMBERS / USELESS KEYS / APES OF WRATH @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Twin Tigers || Watch
Athens, GA- bred band Twin Tigers are ready to unleash their refreshing brand of indie pop on the masses. Influenced by many distinguished artists including the Velvet Underground, Twin Tigers make a sound that is entirely their own and will keep you coming back for more.
Their latest LP, Gray Waves, is out March 2 via Old Flame Records, and FILTER is happy to premiere the video for “Red Fox Run”, an upbeat psychedelic light show featuring the band interlaced with vintage images- a clear homage to the music that inspires them. The band will take their sound on the road, including a trek to Austin, TX for SXSW, where they’ll hit various showcases, and record a live session for the recently relocated WOXY.com. – Filter Magazine
with:
Skybombers || Listen
Useless Keys || Listen
Apes of Wrath
8:30pm / $5 / 18+
Saturday 05.08.10: RED SPAROWES @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Red Sparowes || Listen || Watch
There has never been as pronounced of a leap in style and scope as with Red Sparowes’ latest offering. The Fear is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer maintains their layered arrangements and swirling amplified crescendos, Americana noir soundscapes (punctuated by the extended pedal steel on “In Every Mind”), and gloriously triumphant melodies (“Giving Birth to Imagined Saviors”). Earlier records focused on the larger scope of the album, but the new album is song-centered, with the individual tracks harboring stronger independent identities. And where previous endeavors found the band propelled by enormous walls of sound, they now temper their monolithic progressions with distinct passages of separated and soft-spoken instrumentation. Red Sparowes were suspiciously absent from the playing field over the last three years, and now it’s apparent that they were busy drafting the grandest statement and finest achievement of their existence.
Thunderheads storming across the prairie, outraged students taking to the streets, migratory herds stampeding along the tundra–any number of images could describe the grandiose scope of Red Sparowes’ lush vignettes. Wielding both a master’s sense of nuance and an outsider artist’s unhindered expressionist zeal, the Los Angeles quintet created a catalog of haunting and hallucinatory guitar orchestrations over the course of the millennium’s opening decade. With two albums, a string of split releases, multiple U.S. and European tours, and a number of line-up changes under their belt, Red Sparowes are currently poised to release their third album and most impressive creation to date, The Fear is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer.
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
8:30pm / $13 advance, $15 day of show / 18+
Thursday 03.25.10: TOBACCO / THE HOOD INTERNET @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
In 2008, Black Moth Super Rainbow frontman Tom Fec released Fucked Up Friends, the first album from his alter-ego Tobacco. And Fec hasn’t quit Tobacco yet. (Get it? You get it.) On May 25, Anticon will release the vividly titled Maniac Meat, Fec’s second album as Tobacco. And Fec’s roped a big-name collaborator into this one: Beck, who must’ve been unable to resist working with someone whose name rhymes with his.
Beck guests on two Maniac Meat tracks: “Fresh Hex” and the awesomely named “Grape Aerosmith”. Perusing the Maniac Meat tracklist, many of these song titles sound like the kind of things Beck could’ve come up with circa Midnite Vultures: “New Juices From the Hot Tub Freaks”, anyone? “TV All Greasy”? “Motorlicker”? If Fec can get Beck back into his M.V. pimp-stride, there’s a special place in heaven reserved for him.
Tobacco will spend March and April touring the U.S. – Pitchfork
with:
The Hood Internet || Listen
8:30pm / $10 advance, $12 Day of show / 18+
Tuesday 03.16.10: SPLEEN UNITED / TERRY POISON / MAD PLANET @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Spleen United || Spleen United || Watch
For Danish band Spleen United, success in their home country came relatively quickly. Their high-energy synth-heavy rock earned them a gold record for their 2005 … (more) debut, Godspeed into the Mainstream, and by the time they released their 2008 follow-up, Neanderthal, their growing popularity sent the album straight to Number 1 – and garnered them yet another gold album and an arsenal of awards.
Led by brothers Bjarke and Gaute Niemann, Spleen United (which also includes members Kasper Nørlund, Rune Wehner and Janus Nevel Ringsted) now has its sights set on America: Neanderthal will be released Stateside through their producer Michael Patterson’s (She Wants Revenge, Ladytron, Beck) popantipop records in January 2010, followed by a proper U.S. tour.
with:
Terry Poison || Listen
Mad Planet || Listen
8:30pm / $8 / 18+
Sunday 03.07.10: PART TIME PUNKS – THE CURE NITE w/ guest DJ Alex (from AM/FM & TRANSISTOR) @ Echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
with:
DJ Alex (from AM/FM & TRANSISTOR)
resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI: Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $5 / 18+
Thursday 04.01.10: The Onion & The AV Club present OUR DUMB BOOK EVENT @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, eventsOUR DUMB BOOK EVENT
The writers and editors behind The A.V. Cluband The Onion are emerging from our fortified subterranean bunker to celebrate the release of our books: Inventory, which gathers new lists from the popular A.V. Club feature, and Our Front Pages, the new compendium of 20 years of front pages from The Onion.
Join editors from The A.V. Club and The Onion along with special guests Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant (Reno 911!, The State), comedian and former Onion writer Megan Ganz, and more special guests TBA in a multimedia extravaganza.
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
7:30pm / $12 / 18+
Wednesday 05.05.10: DOSH / WHITE HINTERLAND @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, echo, events
Dosh || Listen || Watch || Mp3
Minneapolis-based electronic/ambient electronic musician Martin Dosh returns with his fifth album, which will feature a guest vocal by collaborator Andrew Bird (who used a track from Dosh’s last CD as a rhythm track on his Noble Beast CD). The CD is the follow up to 2008’s Wolves & Wishes and is touted as being more improvisational and instrumentally full than that effort. Along with sampled sounds, 15 musicians were employed, chiming in on everything from acoustic bass to pedal steel to Mini Korg. The album’s title isn’t a reference to the Who’s rock opera; instead it’s a tribute to Dosh’s longtime soundman and friend, Tom Cesario, who died two years ago. – Prefix Mag
with:
White Hinterland || Listen
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Monday 03.15.10: Echo & Warp Records present GONJASUFI (dj set) / GASLAMP KILLER / MAIN FRAME @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echoplex, events
There’s a weird voice on Gonjasufi’s first album, “A Sufi and a Killer” (Warp): quivery, blithe, at half-tempo to the song, overmodulated but seemingly faded through re-transmission, an audio copy of an audio copy. It doesn’t sound like the thing you’re supposed to be focusing on. It sounds like an extraneous sample, perhaps from a movie, definitely from the days before digital. But that’s the voice of Gonjasufi himself, whose real name is Sumach Ecks: a yoga teacher, mystic and, apparently, singer, currently based in the Nevada desert. His album was produced, or beaten into analog dishevelment, by the Los Angeles producers the Gaslamp Killer, Flying Lotus and Mainframe. It doesn’t come out until early next month, but there’s been a couple of seven-inch singles so far, including the limping, menacing, hip-hop “Ancestors” and the slightly South Asian “Kowboyz & Indians.” With its slow grooves and gunked-up tones, it’s funky in two ways. – NY Times
with:
THE GASLAMP KILLER
MAIN FRAME
plus specials guests
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
9pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Tuesday 03.23.10: ASTEROIDS GALAXY TOUR / WALLPAPER @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
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:
Wallpaper
8:30pm / $15.00 / 18+
Friday 03.05.10: Club Underground & Echo present SHADOW SHADOW SHADE / BIXBY KNOLLS / RHONE OCCUPATION @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
A year ago last week, I wrote that L.A. septet Afternoons were a good bet to release one of the finest albums of 2009. So much for my crystal ball.
Instead, the business of writing, recording and releasing new material has moved glacially (and carefully) for the band, whose operatic pop anthems grabbed L.A. by the ears in 2008. Finally, at the outset of 2010, there is news to report: The group has changed its name to Shadow Shadow Shade (no MySpace page for that moniker yet) and has nearly completed a six-song release of all-new material.
Setting aside local favorites such as “Say Yes” and “Love Is a Western Word” for the time being, the band worked much of the year on new songs — as well as paid attention to its new management/legal team, which told the band in no uncertain terms that a name change was in order because the Welsh pop band the Afternoons were there first.
“It’s been six months of wracking our brain for a name,” says singer-guitarist Brian Canning, who explains that he and mates Aaron Burrows, Brent Turner, Claire McKeown, Sam Johnson, Steven Scott and Thomas Biller finally thrashed out a new name during a band meeting at a bar. That followed, Turner says, one 24-hour stretch that saw more than 250 e-mails exchanged between members.
The new material? It’s 35-plus minutes of music, somewhere between and full-length and an EP, and still subject to some editing, Canning says. “I want to call it a concept EP, but I shouldn’t say that because it sounds too indulgent,” he says. “Let’s just say the songs are long, and flow into one another.”
OK, so … Bands to Watch, 2010: Shadow Shadow Shade. – Buzz Bands
with
The Bixby Knolls
The Rhone Occupation
CLUB UNDERGROUND
resident DJs spinning the best in Brit / Indie / Soul / Twee / Madchester / Punk / Glam
FMI: ClubUnderground.net
8:30pm / $8 / 18+
Monday 04.12.10: CRYSTAL CASTLES @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Crystal Castles played a typically raucous show at the Leeds Festival this afternoon (August 29), with singer Alice Glass leaping into the crowd and spending much of the set propped up by audience members as she sang.
The electronic duo – with Ethan Kath on keyboards and effects and a live drummer – were playing on the NME/Radio 1 Stage on the second day of the event.
It wasn’t long into the set before black-clad Glass began her high-octane stage antics, mounting the drum kit to sing during ‘Courtship Dating’.
Then, during ‘Reckless’, she leapt into the front row, still singing as fans and security guards held her aloft.
She eventually clambered back onto the stage, grabbing a strobe lamp during ‘Crimewave’ and spitting into the photo pit.
She later returned to the front row, where she spent most of the final 20 minutes of the set.
The band ended their set with ‘Intimate’, Glass curling up onstage to rest, before leaving the arena clasping a bottle of whisky to huge cheers. – NME
@ Echoplex
Enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
9pm / $20 / 18+
Friday 03.26.10: YACHT / BOBBY BIRDMAN / SMALL BLACK / WASHED OUT / PICTUREPLANE @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, All Ages, echo, echoplex, events
Jona Bechtolt– founding member of YACHT, former member of the Blow– is a huge talent, something that may not have been readily apparent on any of his three previous LPs. Those albums, created largely as solo endeavors, will not have prepared listeners for See Mystery Lights. Now an official partnership between Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans, who performed on several songs on 2007’s I Believe In You, Your Magic Is Real, YACHT finally feel like a full-fledged band with direction and vision, particularly given the added weight (or rather, levity) of Evans’ influence.
The songs on See Mystery Lights– from the bouncy, burbling you-can’t-take-it-with-you screed “The Afterlife” (which plays like a less spastic companion piece to the Mae Shi’s “Run to Your Grave”) to the roller rink-ready vocoder vocals of “I’m In Love With a Ripper”– represent YACHT at their most poppy. It’s a collection of stone jams that finds the band finally as hellbent on experimenting and expanding the boundaries of its sonic scope as it is on having fun. Built on electronic foundations– laser effects, skittering computerized beats, and spacey synth lines (or guitar riffs that have been tuned or distorted to sound like synths)– these new songs are giddy with creative freedom while remaining tethered in service of their melodies. The vocal melodies are bright and buoyant, but delivered (by either band member, or in unison) in a chanted, oftentimes detached monotone that plays up the repetitive lyrics’ mantra-like feel and adds a welcome undercurrent of slacker cool to their otherwise sugary optimism.- Pitchfork
with:
Bobby Birdman || Listen
Small Black || Listen
Washed Out || Listen
Pictureplane || Listen
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8pm / $12 advance, $14 day of show / All Ages
Wednesday 03.10.10: ABE VIGODA / LOVVERS / THE BLACK APPLES @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Abe Vigoda || Listen || Watch
Along with Women, Dirty Projectors and Wavves, Abe Vigoda is chipping away at our expectations of how a 21st century rock band should function.
Reviver doesn’t simply take the concepts laid down in Skeleton and give them a novel new twist. Instead, this is the sound of a completely different band, barely recognizable from the fumbling, itchy and trebly guitars that prickled through tracks like “Dead City/Waste Wilderness” from the preceding record. They’ve undergone a process of attrition, of paring down the Abe Vigoda sound until it represents something totally new. All the energy and ideas poured into their music have been un-learned and spewed out into a different musical space. – Prefix Mag
with:
Lovvers || Listen
The Black Apples
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Thursday 02.18.10: CROOKED COWBOY AND THE FRESHWATER INDIANS / CAIRO GANG / JOHNNY O’DONNEL AND FAMOUS PLAYERS / JOHN WEBSTER JOHNS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Crooked Cowboy and The Freshwater Indians || Watch
Crooked Cowboy are a little hard to define. You could say they play folk music, or country, or folk-rock, and you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. But after seeing them live, these labels would be so limiting. When you look at them as whole, the best way to describe them would be ghost-cowboy rock on acid.
That’s right, ghost cowboy rock on acid. Marianne Williams’ voice was ethereal, an otherworldly call above Brendan Willard’s steady, growling vocals. The guitarist didn’t provide a predictable country twang, but instead sounded a lot more on the psyche rock side. And with his drum sticks pounding away at a giant tom-tom drum, their drummer, Nick Murray could really drum. Not to mention Williams’ use of a celesta, a small metal-xylophone piano.
Crooked Cowboy sang songs about silver six shooters, gypsy lovers, and bumpy roads. A few band members stayed true to the cowboy theme, wearing old Wild-West-style hats and clothes (the nice looking kind, not the cheesy looking kind). All throughout their set, giant stage projections displayed above their heads. The multimedia often multiplied a live feed of the band, creating a trippy feel. Distorted clips from Todd Browning’s 1932 film Freaks mixed with blurred videos of strippers pole dancing. It was a little bizarre and completely fitting for the band. – Loudvine
with:
Cairo Gang
Johnny O ‘Donnel and Famous Players
John Webster Johns || Listen
8pm / $7 / 18+
Saturday 02.13.10: The Hear Gallery, Solid Gold, and Everyday Presents THE 3RD ANNUAL “LOVERS & STRANGERS” VALENTINES ART & MUSIC FESTIVAL with THE IDYLLIST / RADIO FREQ / WHITE ARROWS / XANIMO @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
The Hear Gallery, Solid Gold, and Everyday Presents:
THE 3RD ANNUAL “LOVERS & STRANGERS” VALENTINES ART & MUSIC FESTIVAL!
Bands:
9- THE IDYLLISTS
10- RADIO FREQ
11- WHITE ARROWS
12- XANIMO
Djs inside:
- DJ N
- ANA CALDERON
- DORIAN
- MAURICE DE LA FALAISE
- DIRTY DAVE
- more TBA
Djs outside:
- FRESH 2 DEATH
- ED GOLD
- more TBA
Artists:
- A mash up 30 LIVE artists total!
presented by: The Hear Gallery, Hive Gallery, & Everyday Art Collective.
PHOTOS:
- SHADOWSCENE
- LEO SHOOTS YOU
- GET FAMOUS
PHOTOBOOTH :
- JOHNNY MARONEY (A SPEICAL VALENTINE ART BOOTH )
***LIVE DOCUMENTARY FILMING BY: THE INDIE WORKFORCE
HOST:
- PINGPING
- BJ PANDA BEAR
***CATERING BY: BOLD TACOS
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8pm / $8 before 10pm, $10 after / 18+
Friday 04.30.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
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 04.23.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
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 04.16.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
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 04.09.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
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 04.02.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
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 02.19.10: I PROMOTE GOOD BANDS, BeatCrave and Echo present RADARS TO THE SKY / ONE TRICK PONY / MISSISSIPPI MAN / RADEMACHER @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
In a set also peppered with such ‘classic’ material (some of which will reappear on the new album) as “I Might,” “Zurich,” and “Victoria,” Radars offered a glimpse into their new direction as a band since the departure of guitarist Seamus Simpson in January (Simpson is now working with the excellent Thailand)—dense, insular and bruising, with just as many nods towards complex indie-rock as there were towards hooky new wave.
Opener “Sharpen Your Teeth” began as a dreamy, slow-motion metallic clash of guitars and keys, which unfurled into the sci-fi bounce of the suite-like, multi-part jangle of “As the Nurses Scurry.” A crucial tension in the music of Radars to the Sky is the tug-of-war between epic, long-form art-rock and crushing, melodic indie; with those two opening songs, the band seemed to be signaling a move in the direction of the former. However, they can still detonate a catchy rock ‘n roll tune when the inclination strikes—“The Apple Never Falls” was all slash and burn guitar kinetics, while “Sergeant,” was a series of stop-start grooves and crunching, anthemic hooks, as well as one of the evening’s strongest tunes.
The highlight of the set, though, may have been the closer, “1624.” A driving song of divebomb guitar swoons and rhythmic surges wrapped within a rumbling new wave dirge, “1624” exemplifies the sound of Radars to the Sky as it is today—a band far more interested in grooves, texture and detail, or as Mouse of Classical Geek Theatre put it, they’re playing “indie rock for the indie rocker.” – Web In Front
with:
One Trick Pony || Listen
Mississippi Man
Rademacher
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm / $10 / 18+
Tuesday 02.23.10: BUZZ BANDS LA presents GLACIER HIKING / HAIM / KITTEN / GO WEST YOUNG MAN @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Glacier Hiking’s glossy, adrenaline-pumping pop-rock has been a work-in-progress for about four years now. Collaborators Ross Golan and Tommy Walter, when not busy on other projects (Golan as a songwriter-for-hire and Walter as a writer/producer), last year scrapped a plan to release an EP every three months in favor of finishing a full-length album with producer/mixer Neal Avron, who has worked with Yellowcard, Fall Out Boy, Say Anything and New Found Glory, among others.
“We feel we’ve finally found our voice,” says Golan, whose quartet also includes drummer Daniel James and bassist Yutaka Sao. “We’ve gone through a lot of phases. … But now we’ve worked hard at writing fresh music that we think represents who we are.”
Haim’s sister act started generating buzz last year when the quintet — which includes Haim siblings Este, 23, Danielle, 20, and Alana, 18, along with Alex Fischel and Jeff Conrad — started bringing its classic take on rock to local clubs. Danielle spent part of the year as a touring member of Jenny Lewis’ band, and then Julian Casablancas’ band. Haim (Hi-EEM) has been writing new material and getting a bit of weekend studio time with producer Tony Berg.
Kitten’s urgent indie-pop sounds a bit like early Metric (if you remember what Metric sounded like in its L.A. days), with 15-year-old Chloe Chaidez’s breathy vocals (she’s an admirer of both Karen O and Cat Power) striking a balance between vulnerable and worldly.
Go West Young Man’s self-titled 2009 album, all too deplorably overlooked, is full of sticky melodies and bright imagery, showing off multi-instrumentalist Damin Suarez’s slick pop songwriting chops.
RSVP at buzzbands(at)gmail(dot)com
8:30pm / $5 with RSVP, $8 without / 18+
Tuesday 03.02.10: THE MOTH GRANDSLAM V: Uncharted Territory @ Echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
The Moth GrandSLAM V: Uncharted Territory
The Moth presents the GrandSLAM, a battle of wits and words – fierce, hilarious, heartbreaking and all points between. Listen as ten StorySLAM champs tell five-minute tales of uncharted territory. Stories of new places on the map or in the mind.
The Moth is dedicated to finding intriguing people to tell inspired stories. At The Moth StorySLAM, those people find us. On this night, using words as weapons, they word- it-out to determine The Moth’s NY GrandSLAM Story Champion. No notes, no scripts – just pure, old-fashioned, unadulterated storytelling. Fun, fast, furious.
Hosted by Brian Finkelstein
Stories by:
John Grady
David Baer
Anne Flanagan
Matteson Perry
Stephen James
Mariana Williams
Carlos Kotkin
Jamie Leake
Alan Zarembo
Riley Ray Robbins
Music by
Alex Burke on the Vibraphone
@ The Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Doors at 7pm, Show at 8pm / $17 / 18+
Friday 03.12.10: Echo & Club Underground present SLEEPY SUN / SLANG CHICKENS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
Sleepy Sun || Listen || Watch
their debut album, Embrace, dispenses its earth-quaking riffage in such carefully measured, perfectly spaced-out rations, it tricks you into thinking the band is much heavier than it actually is.
Their long hair, nature-kid press photos and onstage face paint seemingly align Sleepy Sun with San Fran’s tie-dyed tradition, but the band’s palette is actually smeared with a whole lotta Blacks: Sabbath, Mountain (whose producer, Colin Stewart, works the boards here), Angels and– when singer Bret Constantino busts out a boogie-summoning wail on “Snow Goddess”– even the Crowes. But if the opening “New Age” establishes Sleepy Sun as archetypal stoner-rockers– with Constantino’s vaporous vocals floating atop a subterranean fuzz bassline, molten guitar leads, and drum fills that roll right off of Bill Ward’s tom-tom rack– the song’s follow-up, the surprisingly affecting piano-based spiritual “Lord”, shows the group has designs on writing songs that still move you after the drugs wear off, and that Constantino can be the sort of emotionally assertive vocalist who doesn’t always have to hide behind the haze. – Pitchfork
with:
Slang Chickens || Listen
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Thursday 03.18.10: KCRW presents XIU XIU / TUNE YARDS / NOVELLER @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
The seventh full-length record for these Oakland, Calif., art-rockers on long-time label home Kill Rock Stars is their first since the departure of long-time member Caralee McElory and follows the 2008 release of Women As Lovers. New recruit Angela Seo joins percussionist Ches Smith and Jamie Stewart, the groups’ founder, principal songwriter, and sole constant member (who moonlights in Former Ghosts). Dear God I Hate Myself follows other provocatively titled Xiu Xiu releases like Fag Patrol and features a number of songs composed on the Nintendo DS. – Prefix
with:
Tune Yards || Listen
Noveller || Listen
8:30pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 18+
Friday 03.26.10: Echo & Club Underground Present FOREIGN BORN @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
Foreign Born || Listen || Watch
Foreign Born are an L.A. indie rock outfit that exist further west and outside of the Smell or Silver Lake, a band that seems to have germinated over the years outside all semblances of scene in a city whose guitar music rarely sounds genuinely Californian. I’m writing from the opposite coast, but Foreign Born have made a record that feels like a conversation with the Pacific coastline and sounds like endless summer. – Pitchfork
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Thursday 03.04.10: SHRINEBUILDER (feat. members of Melvins, Neurosis and Om) / STORM OF LIGHT / NIGHT HORSE @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Shrinebuilder (feat. members of Melvins, Neurosis and Om)
When this collaboration between Neurosis’ Scott Kelly, Melvins’ Dale Crover, Om’s Al Cisneros and Scott ‘Wino’ Weinrich was announced, the weight of expectation could hardly have been greater. After all, considering some of the jewels in their collective discography, who would dare bet against them? Wino alone has blessed the metal world with a string of great albums by The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand and the legendary Saint Vitus. Neurosis and Melvins, meanwhile, have done much throughout their careers to broaden and break down heavy rock’s sometimes rigid boundaries.
Their styles may differ, but as guitarists, Scott Kelly and Wino complement each other perfectly. This blend of apocalyptic doom and repetitive, mantra-like space rock sounds like the work of one man. With Cisneros’ bass throbbing ominously below and Crover’s drumming nailing it all to the floor, they could scarcely hope for a better rhythm section.
Clocking in at an average of over seven minutes, these tracks blaze and smoulder in turns, shifting smoothly between the two states with consummate ease. Like some vast force of nature, the four pull together, erecting sheets of guitar noise overlain with howling vocals before melting it all down into sublime, almost pastoral instrumental passages.
When four combustible, competitive musicians are locked in a room for three days with a tape machine rolling, the results are rarely dull. Great things were forecast for this unlikely project and great things have duly been delivered. It might just be a bridge too far to call Shrinebuilder spiritual, but these guys have clearly tapped into forces far greater than themselves. – BBC
with:
Storm of Light || Listen
Night Horse
8:30pm / $15 advance, $18 day of show / 18+
Tuesday 03.02.10: NICE NICE / WE BREAK CAMERAS / BULLIED BY STRINGS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, echo, events
Nice Nice || Listen || Watch || MP3
Portland duo Nice Nice have been playing their brand of hard-to-categorize post-punk for nearly a decade. And while they’ve built a solid fan-base with that slow-building career, they’ll be reaching a whole new audience when their upcoming LP is released by Warp Records.
Titled Extra Wow, the album is expected from Warp this spring on April 6. As a press release explains, “Extra Wow is an extremely apt title for an album that presents itself as a constantly unfolding collection of kaleidoscopic musical sediments. Each song effectively builds on the one before it to create the effect of an album-length crescendo that encompasses everything from forward-reaching psychedelia and neo-primitive electronic experiments to dub rhythms and learned lessons from the pillars of krautrock.” – Exclaim.ca
with:
We Break Cameras || Listen
Bullied By Strings || Listen
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Friday 04.02.10: GRAM RABBIT / ANDY CLOCKWISE / CROOKED COWBOY AND THE FRESHWATER INDIANS @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
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:
Andy Clockwise || Listen
Crooked Cowboy and The Freshwater Indians
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 18+
Wednesday 03.17.10: St Patrick’s Day with OLLIN (Performing the Pogues ‘Rum, Sodomy and The Lash’) / BRANT BJORK @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, echo, events
On St. Patrick’s Day, Ollin, the world-folk-punk fusion outfit from East L.A. will perform Rum, Sodomy and the Lash by The Pogues as well as many other traditional Irish tunes. This yearly tradition has a following unto its own. Ollin themselves have opened for The Pogues, in San Diego, LA and in New York on St. Patrick’s Day at The Roseland Ballroom 2008. Opening for this years show is singer songwriter Brant Bjork, a true artist of Mexican and Irish descent.
with:
Brant Bjork
DJ Tumors
DJ Jake
8:30pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 18+
Wednesday 03.31.10: TERROR PIGEON DANCE REVOLT / THE POLISH AMBASSADOR @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt || Listen
Lead singer Neil was dressed in his usual stuffed animal suit, and we were able to score some amazing hats from the communal costume box. Mr. Sparkle, and Ms. Hamburgler, respectively. In a world where bands have been taking themselves seriously for far too long, this show gave me hope that the people can be unabashedly silly and passionately serious at the same time. We sang, we danced, we cried…fine, no one cried, but it was an emotional experience. Neil and the band, er, ipod, played five or six songs, each one with more lust than the last. It’s impossible not to get wrapped up in the commotion – the costumes, the lights, the screaming – you could walk into on of their shows completely sober and moments later feel like you’re tripping balls. It’s craziness in the best sense of the word.
Tromping up and down the narrow hallway, falling on himself and everyone around him, scaling benches and tables, Neil sang and screamed and sweat. Backed by the Grrrrl Police,( Neil’s entourage of backing singers dancers and performance lighting artist’s wearing a vest of balloons) this show turned into something out of a pre school mad house, full of ADD generation kids who just want to dance, be silly, and bang on the drum all day. – Quiet Color
with:
The Polish Ambassador || Listen
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Wednesday 02.10.10: FINDLAY BROWN / PIZZA! / COBRA LILIES / SUPERHUMANOIDS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Brown’s sophomore album, Love Will Find You (out now) takes a remarkable u-turn from the humble, acoustic sound of his debut. Donning a pompadour and layering up his tracks with a Spectorlike wall of sound, Brown traded in the simplicity of his first record for what he calls “an onslaught.” The album bubbles over with orchestral arrangements and vocals that have already drawn too many Roy Orbison comparisons to count, all grounded by Brown’s uncanny knack for vintage-styled songwriting. It would sound more at home playing on an RCA Victor radio than iTunes. “Really, the most important thing to me is writing good songs,” he says. “A lot of the songs I’ve fallen in love with have been from the Brill Building. The hits, you know? Those classic hits that are always going to be around.”
The title track of the new album fits in quite nicely among the hits of Brill writers like Burt Bacharach and Carole King, thanks in part to Brown’s refusal to add any modern twists to the classic style. – Paste Magazine
with:
Cobra Lilies || Listen
PIZZA!
Superhumanoids
8:30pm / $7 / 18+
Sunday 03.21.10: PART TIME PUNKS with FRANK ALPINE + KILLING SPREE @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
FRANK ALPINE
KILLING SPREE
resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI: Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $5 / 18+
Sunday 03.14.10: PART TIME PUNKS with BLESSURE GRAVE + TWIN CRYSTALS + RANDOM CUTS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
BLESSURE GRAVE
TWIN CRYSTALS
RANDOM CUTS
resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI: Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $5 / 18+
Wednesday 03.03.10: SHRINEBUILDER (feat. members of Melvins, Neurosis and Om) / STORM OF LIGHT / GREEN AND WOOD @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Shrinebuilder (feat. members of Melvins, Neurosis and Om)
When this collaboration between Neurosis’ Scott Kelly, Melvins’ Dale Crover, Om’s Al Cisneros and Scott ‘Wino’ Weinrich was announced, the weight of expectation could hardly have been greater. After all, considering some of the jewels in their collective discography, who would dare bet against them? Wino alone has blessed the metal world with a string of great albums by The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand and the legendary Saint Vitus. Neurosis and Melvins, meanwhile, have done much throughout their careers to broaden and break down heavy rock’s sometimes rigid boundaries.
Their styles may differ, but as guitarists, Scott Kelly and Wino complement each other perfectly. This blend of apocalyptic doom and repetitive, mantra-like space rock sounds like the work of one man. With Cisneros’ bass throbbing ominously below and Crover’s drumming nailing it all to the floor, they could scarcely hope for a better rhythm section.
Clocking in at an average of over seven minutes, these tracks blaze and smoulder in turns, shifting smoothly between the two states with consummate ease. Like some vast force of nature, the four pull together, erecting sheets of guitar noise overlain with howling vocals before melting it all down into sublime, almost pastoral instrumental passages.
When four combustible, competitive musicians are locked in a room for three days with a tape machine rolling, the results are rarely dull. Great things were forecast for this unlikely project and great things have duly been delivered. It might just be a bridge too far to call Shrinebuilder spiritual, but these guys have clearly tapped into forces far greater than themselves. – BBC
with:
Storm of Light || Listen
Green and Wood
8:30pm / $15 advance, $18 day of show / 18+
Tuesday 02.09.10: LACO$TE / MICHAEL NHAT / FAWN AS WOMEN / FANTASTICA BASTIDAS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Laco$te’s X rolled around, climbed tables, and bent backwards during a short, electric set—so high charged it blew some fuses, including the band members’. Most people believed the sound splitting was a deliberate trippy effect. Laco$te could’ve mimed their remaining songs and kept the audience bobbing along. – LA Record
with:
Michael Nhat
Fawn As Women
Fantastica Bastidas
8:30pm / $5 / 18+
Wednesday 02.03.10: GRAHAM FOREST / EMILY LACY / THOUSAND DOZEN GLOVES @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Rumor has it that Graham Forest sits cross-legged on the ground while entertaining Native American children, strumming his guitar and spinning tall tales. It’s also suggested that Graham Forest lives in a trailer in the forests of, um, Fresno, and his quarters are overrun with marionette parts, leatherworking tools and ancient mortar holes. Graham Forest, it is said, hones his powers from the Indian burial ground and nonworking satellite dish that his backyard comprises. Whether all this is true or not, the mostly unknown yet easily embraced Central Valley Neil Diamond known as Graham Forest possesses a wholesome goodness that is greatly appreciated amid much of the F Yeah Fest’s chaos. – LA Weekly
with:
Emily Lacy || Listen
Thousand Dozen Gloves
8:30pm / $5 / 18+
Thursday 02.25.10: ANDREW LYNCH / THE SECTION QUARTET / DOWNTOWN/UNION / EAGLE & TALON / DJ CHRIS ZIEGLER (L.A. RECORD)@ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Crafting mordant pop songs in the vein of Randy Newman, Josh Ritter or Jeff Tweedy, Lynch consistently hides fractured characters, twisted narratives, and bittersweet love stories beneath cryptic metaphors and shimmering production. “My Head Around”, an orchestral, mid-tempo rocker moves along so smoothly that it takes the whole song to realize the narrator is not smitten by love but beaten down and blind sided, his head turned backwards to the mistake he is about to make. “This Bird” layers a tale of a man imprisoned who can’t fight his murderous tendencies over catchy, jangly, piano and staccato strings. “The Thrill Is Gone” paints a portrait of a relationship gone sour and the vices we use to hide the truth from ourselves and fool ourselves into staying against a bombastic musical backdrop featuring downbeat guitar and grandiloquent horns and bells.
Sun Incisions is a wonderful album that will reveal more and more upon every listen. Lynch uses unique perspectives and unreliable narrators to create a bittersweet world of insecurities and foibles that seems sentimental, comical, twisted and relatable at the same time. – Radio Free Silverlake
with:
The Section Quartet || Listen
Downtown/Union
Eagle & Talon
DJ:
Chris Ziegler (LA Record)
8:30pm / $5 / 18+
Wednesday 02.24.10: OLIVER FUTURE / THE DELTA MIRROR / JESUS MAKES THE SHOTGUN SOUND / QUEEN KWONG / CHRIS ZIEGLER (L.A. RECORD) @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
In Oliver Future’s new configuration, Lit will remain out front, his brother will man a bank of keyboards affectionately called “rig-zilla” and Raver will drum. “Sam just went out and bought a kit and said, ‘I’m going to be your drummer and we’re going to be a three-piece,’” Noah Lit says. “So the story is we just downsized because of the economy.” Lit says the trio “locked ourselves into an antique storage warehouse” and thrashed out new songs. “If you like the more epic and weird stuff on the first record, you’ll like his,” he adds. “There’s no feeling anymore that we have to write a single. But in a weird way, when there’s just three people playing — even though the songs are out there — everything just sounds more simple. “Before we were like an aircraft carrier. But there’s something to be said for being minimalistic.” – Buzz Bands
with:
Jesus Makes the Shotgun Sound
The Delta Mirror || Listen
Queen Kwong
DJ:
Chris Ziegler (LA Record)
8:30pm / $7 / 18+
Tuesday 02.16.10: Fat Tuesday Party with OLLIN / LAS CAFETERAS / MENTIRITAS / UPGROUND @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, echoplex, events
For over 300 years, Mardi Gras has been a tradition in New Orleans that defines a city rich in music and culture. So what does that have to do with bands from LA (most of which hail from East LA)? OLLIN, Mentiritas, Las Cafeteras and Upground are bands that love to party and live to share their music with the masses, that’s what. Several years back party host, Ollin, began to use Fat Tuesday as a means to learn a different style of music and to pay tribute to one of America’s coolest traditions, the music of Mardi Gras. Known for fusing Mexican folk music with rock, Irish, Klezmer and punk, Ollin adds yet another feather to its musical hat by playing some traditional music from the Bayou. Las Cafeteras are pure entertainers. Playing traditional music from Veracruz, Mexico, this female heavy band sings, dances and rocks any stage they come in contact with. Mentiritas is more than a band. Mentiritas (which translates to “little lies”), is a hilarious musical show fronted by the boys from Ozomatli. Their infectious dance grooves are riddled with comedy, insight and mayhem. With members from the Beastie Boys, Cava and Ozo this rare appearance is a perfect addition to the night. Upground has a vibe all its own. From hard grooving Latin soul to high voltage Ska, hips WILL be moving when these East L.A. natives take the stage. This line up is hotter than the sun. Attendees are encouraged to go all out and dress in Mardi Gras colors and costumes; after all, this is fucking Mardi Gras ya’ll.
with:
Las Cafeteras
Mentiritas
Upground
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 18+
Thursday 02.04.10: THELONIOUS MONSTER / DOGWEED / HORSE THIEVES / SEAN WHEELER & ZANDER SCHLOSS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
A sort of all-star collection of L.A. scenesters and musicians, Thelonious Monster formed in 1986 and specialized in what would best be described as drunk-rock in the tradition of the Replacements. Ramshackle, loose live performances — one was never sure if the band would actually turn up or finish out — seemed to be their hallmark, yet at times lead vocalist and lyricist Bob Forrest was capable of brilliance. No matter the lyrical scenario, nothing was ever good enough for him. The band began with a messy, four-guitar record, Baby….You’re Bumming My Life Out in a Supreme Fashion in 1986 with Pete Weiss, drums; Jon Huck, bass; K.K., guitar; Bill Stobaugh, guitar; Chris Handsome, guitar; and Dix Denney, guitar. They followed it with Next Saturday Afternoon, a more coherent effort. The John Doe-produced Stormy Weather in 1989 was a step up, as the band had since been taken under the wing of X and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, serving as a support act and getting some informal studio help from Doe and Flea on occasion. The lineup revolved, but in the end, Weiss, Denney, and Handsome remained true to Forrest. Beautiful Mess, an uneven, all-star gala (appearances by Tom Waits, Al Kooper and Soul Asylum) came out three years later. Forrest occasionally appears as a solo acoustic act, and the band tours sporadically. ~ Denise Sullivan, All Music Guide
with:
Dogweed
Horse Thieves
Sean Wheeler / Zander Schloss
8:30pm / $8 / 18+
Sunday 02.28.10: PART TIME PUNKS – SMITH / MORRISSEY NITE @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI: Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $5 / 18+
Sunday 02.21.10: PART TIME PUNKS – FACTORY RECORDS NITE with DJ TIM BURGESS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
guest DJ Tim Burgess (THE CHARLATANS)
resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI: Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $5 / 18+
Sunday 02.07.10: PART TIME PUNKS with LE FACE / THE FRANKS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
with:
Le Face
The Franks || Listen
resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI: Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $5 / 18+
Friday 03.12.10: BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB / THE WHIGS @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club || Listen || Watch
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is set to release their fifth studio album, Beat The Devil’s Tattoo, on March 9th (US/Canada). This release signifies the band’s first full-length on their own Abstract Dragon label, in partnership with Vagrant Records and Co-Op Music Group. The band wrote and recorded most of the album at The Basement Studio in Philadelphia, PA – the same room where they wrote and recorded “Howl” as well as some work in their hometown Los Angeles. Beat The Devil’s Tattoo also marks the first album with drummer Leah Shapiro.
The trio is primed to embark on a North American headline tour upon release, kicking off February 26 in Sacramento and culminating at New York City’s Webster Hall on April 8, with a stop in Los Angeles on March 14th at The Echoplex.
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm / $25 / 18+
Friday 01.22.10: Manimal Vinyl presents A BENEFIT FOR HAITI with NICO VEGA / ADANOWSKY / JENNY O / CORRIDOR / SOKO / PIZZA / LA LADIES CHOIR / MARC RIBOT @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
with:
NICO VEGA
ADANOWSKY
JENNY O.
CORRIDOR
SOKO
PIZZA!
LA Ladies Choir
Marc Ribot
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
7pm / $10 donation / 18+
Sunday 01.17.10: THE COOL RELIEF – A HAITI BENEFIT CONCERT @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
This Sunday, January 17th, 2010, Shake The Hand will be playing its part and giving a helping HAND to support the Haiti earthquake relief efforts. With host Devi Dev of KDAY and performers Tiron, Problem, UNI, Diz Gibran, Strong Arm Steady, Blu + Mainframe, DOM Kennedy, Pac-Div, Nipsey Hussle and 1500 Or Nothin, Los Angeles will prove that for one night we can come together in support of a greater cause. We would love for you to be apart of our efforts so please, tell a friend to tell a friend!!!
100% ALL OF PROCEEDS WILL GO TO THE VICTIMS OF THIS TRAGEDY
Performers:
Tiron
Problem
UNI
Diz Gibran
Strong Arm Steady
Blu + Mainframe
DOM Kennedy
Pac-Div
Nipsey Hussle
1500 Or Nothin
The Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
9pm / $20 suggested donation /18+
Saturday 01.30.10: DANCEiSM @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echoplex, events
with:
SonicC [DIM MAK]
ROBOT LOVE [DANCEiSM]
PAUL DEVRO [MAD DECENT]
BONES [GDD]
ASAA [DANCEiSM]
plus:
Body Paint
Live Visuals by DR STRANGELOOP [BRAINFEEDER]
Live Kinetic Lighting by DANCEiSM
Artifact01 (v.3)
More Surprises
Dress Code: FUN + Creative
Roaming by YoungANDSleek – [ http://youngandsleek.com ]
Photobooth by TommyB – [ http://thetommyb.com ]
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
RSVP at www.danceism.com
9pm / $10 with RSVP, $20 without RSVP / 18+
Tuesday 01.26.10: Hollywood East Entertainment & IllRoots.com present CURREN$Y / DIZ GIBRAN / TIRON / HOLLYWEERD / EL PREZ / SPREE WILSON / GRIP PLYAZ / MIKKEY HALSTED / LEP BOGUS BOYS @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echoplex, events
Curren$y
Diz Gibran
TiRon
Hollyweerd
El Prez
Spree Wilson
Grip Plyaz
Mikkey Halsted
Lep Bogus Boys
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
9pm / 18+
Friday 02.26.10: Aquarium Drunkard & Club Underground present THE STRANGE BOYS / CHAIN AND THE GANG / NEVEREVER @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
With an expanded line-up featuring Seth Densham and Jenna Thornhill of Mika Miko and Darker My Love’s Tim Presley, Texas’s Strange Boys look to ever so slightly build upon the roots-garage template they’ve constructed over the course of several singles and an excellent debut full-length on In the Red. The Boys have an uncanny ability to internalize a host of increasingly ancient (the ‘60s will turn fifty this year mind you) pop and rock sub-sub-genres and make them sound utterly vibrant in the messed up times of now. And based on the title track/first single, the new auxiliary members seem to have picked up the band’s groove quite handily. – Prefix
with:
Chain And The Gang
Neverever
8:30pm / $8 Advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Friday 01.29.10: Rum & Humble, Echo & KCRW present OUT 4 BLOOD – A Night Featuring Artists from The True Blood Soundtrack with JOHN DOE / CC ADCOCK / JACE EVERETT @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
The Grammy-nominated ‘True Blood’ soundtrack comes alive in a night of music from HBO’s acclaimed series at the Echoplex on January 29. Reflecting the present-day Southern Gothic atmosphere portrayed onscreen, the soundtrack’s haunting song selections lean toward a large helping of roots-oriented, swamp-flooded, Louisiana-influenced sounds; performed by contemporary and classic practitioners of the genre.
Gary Calamar, music supervisor for ‘True Blood,’ says “I am thrilled that we are able to pull together some of the amazing artists who are on the ‘True Blood’ soundtrack for this very special show. And….we are trying to secure some surprise guests as well. It’s going to be badass !”
Out 4 Blood is made possible in part with generous support from Louisiana Entertainment and proudly recognizes Louisiana’s Year of the Song, celebrating the historic contribution of the state’s songs and songwriters.
with:
John Doe & The Sadies || Listen
CC Adcock
Jace Everett || Listen
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 18+
Saturday 04.17.10: JJ / DELOREAN / BACHELORETTE @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, echoplex, events
0101, 0103, 0107, 0108, 0113, and 0115. Since all jj choose to show of themselves is their music, video, and occasional blood-spattered merch, then those Sincerely Yours catalogue numbers represent the sum total of what we know about them. Hell, we wouldn’t even know jj were a “them” had the group’s Gothenburg, Sweden-based, Tough Alliance-owned label not confirmed that. So… they’re mysterious– but not inscrutable: Despite a brief discography that’s already geekily byzantine enough for anybody who ever bought into the legend of Factory Records, jj’s full-length debut is as easy to enjoy as whatever the last CD was you brought home with a giant cannabis leaf on the cover. They’re as naive as they are cynical– or is it the other stupid way around?– and they manage to be pretty, touching, funny, and motivating, in different ways, in all the right places, for nine songs lasting 28 minutes. – Pitchfork
with:
Delorean
Bachelorette
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm / $12 advance, $14 day of show / 18+
Friday 02.19.10: Echo & Club Underground present FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS (9:30pm set time) / POP NOIR @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
Fitz and The Tantrums || Watch
“I like this a lot for very obvious reasons…it’s Dope! It might be song of the week, actually.” – Mark Ronson
“A supercool Motown-style combo in the Mark Ronson/Sharon Jones/mid-period-ABC vein…imagine if Amy Winehouse was blonde, male, and sane, and that’s Fitz” – Yahoo! Music
“You can practically hear the record needle drop on the scratchy 45 when listening to Fitz and The Tantrums, a stylish retro-styled 60’s pop/soul combo” – NBC Los Angeles
“Bringing back all the smooth feel of the Motown golden age with some new bounce. Fitz and his Tantrums are sure to install some smooth soul with a little extra.” – IndieRockReviews.com
plus resident DJs spinning the best in Brit / Indie / Soul / Twee / Madchester / Punk / Glam
8:30pm / $8 / 18+
Friday 02.12.10: Echo, Club Underground & Performer Magazine present FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS / SWEATER GIRLS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
Fitz and The Tantrums || Watch
“I like this a lot for very obvious reasons…it’s Dope! It might be song of the week, actually.” – Mark Ronson
“A supercool Motown-style combo in the Mark Ronson/Sharon Jones/mid-period-ABC vein…imagine if Amy Winehouse was blonde, male, and sane, and that’s Fitz” – Yahoo! Music
“You can practically hear the record needle drop on the scratchy 45 when listening to Fitz and The Tantrums, a stylish retro-styled 60’s pop/soul combo” – NBC Los Angeles
“Bringing back all the smooth feel of the Motown golden age with some new bounce. Fitz and his Tantrums are sure to install some smooth soul with a little extra.” – IndieRockReviews.com
with:
Sweater Girls
plus resident DJs spinning the best in Brit / Indie / Soul / Twee / Madchester / Punk / Glam
FMI: Club Underground on Myspace
8:30pm / $8 / 18+
Friday 02.05.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND with EBONY BONES / LITTLE RED RADIO @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
Ebony Bones || Listen || Watch
“Perhaps thee most chattered about act in London right now, Miss EBONY BONES! is a one of a kind Producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and all-round femme fatale who mixes up post-punk stylings, with pure girl sass. Enlisting her crew of rhythm section and backing vocalists, the EBONY BONES! live experience is one part punk rock show, one part Mardi Gras carnival parade.”
- Time Out
with:
Little Red Radio
plus resident DJs spinning the best in Brit / Indie / Soul / Twee / Madchester / Punk / Glam
FMI: ClubUnderground.net
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Sunday 02.14.10: PART TIME PUNKS – MY BLOODY VALENTINE NITE with THE MEEK + WEEKEND [from S.F.] + YOUNG PRISMS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $5 / 18+
Wednesday 02.17.10: OLD MAN MARKLEY / PINE BOX BOYS / JOEY BRIGGS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Not an old man at all, but rather a young, unsigned, nine-member group working in such homespun instruments as kazoo, train whistle, autoharp, and washboard alongside more traditional pickin’ ‘n’ grinnin’ with banjos, fiddles, bass and drums. It’s a hoedown and a throwdown and it’ll keep ya from feelin’ lowdown. -TheKnitLA on LastFM.com
with:
The Pine Box Boys || Listen
Joey Briggs
8:30pm / $8 Advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Friday 03.05.10: THE APPLESEED CAST / DREAMEND @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
The Appleseed Cast playing Low Level Owl 1 & 2 in their entirety
Low Level Owl is a supernova and a full redefinition of the band, a sprawling two-disc monster that redirects their ambition from the emotional release of their earlier albums into the meticulous conceptions crafted through endless hours of studio time. Overhauling their sound and incorporating a wide mélange of styles, Low Level Owl goes a long way towards emasculating any of their previous hardcore influences by injecting a thoughtful, gentler Britpop jangle and winsome vocals and harmonies. The result is a mix of elements combining the enterprising studio conceptions of Radiohead with touches of shimmering Stone Roses psychedelia knitted together with the conviction and energetic drumming of the early U2, all draped over a monolithic prog-rock conceptual framework.
The technical execution throughout the album is flawless. The rock tracks are spread evenly across both Low Level Owl discs (which are available separately– Use Your Illusion-style– presumably so as to not overwhelm listeners) and are interspersed with instrumental and ambient tracks that act as connective tissue. Josh Baruth’s fantastic drumming is placed in the front of the mix and propels all of the traditional songs. Each of the tracks are awash in keyboards with the vocals generally lying low in the mix, making the lyrics difficult to decipher. These are the only constants through the entire work as Appleseed Cast takes you on a tour through most of the highlights of 90s pop and rock. – Pitchfork
8:30pm / $13 advance, $15 day of show / 18+
Thursday 01.21.10: MUSIC GO MUSIC / WOUNDED LION / JUBILEE SINGERS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Music Go Music || Listen || Watch
Despite their mysterious aliases—band members go by Kamer Maza, Gala Bell, and TORG (yes, all caps)—the musicians of this Los Angeles trio sure know how to craft a pop song. Expressions compiles the nine tracks that made up the band’s three 12″ singles into one, unified debut album. And the greatness of those singles still resonates when played together as one whole-album trip. Generally-speaking, Music Go Music play Scandinavian-style pop music that owes perhaps a bit too much to ABBA and, at times, is so over-the-top that it threatens to go completely over the edge. Yet, the music is thrilling and demonstrates as much throughout all of Expressions’ 45 minutes. “Light of Love” deals with the idyllic nature of love through über-melodic tunefulness. “Reach Out” starts out as vaguely heavy pseudo-metal crossed with the sound of late-’70s Heart before segueing into disco beats and a danceable prog-rock groove. And “Just Me” is a glorious sing-a-long of pop bliss that would qualify as a guilty pleasure if you weren’t singing along so loudly. Add to this tales of “torrid starlit bacchanals of wild-eyed delight,” and what’s not to like? Music Go Music has created the perfect pop song, played nine times over. Now bring on album number two. – Under The Radar
with:
Wounded Lion
Jubilee Singers
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Saturday 03.13.10: YOU SAY PARTY WE SAY DIE / WHITE ARROWS @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
You Say Party We Say Die || Listen || Watch
The new album from Canadian new-wavers, You Say Party! We say Die!, simply titled XXXX, falls right into this realm of new millennium pop culture. Their extremely catchy keyboard hooks, combined with raw guitars and vocals filled with a sort of hypnotic angst, pays homage to the era when MTV played nothing but music videos.
Nothing sets the mood more than the dark opener track “There is XXXX (In My Heart),” lead singer Becky Ninkovic sings a tune of heartbreak so sad over a vibraphone keyboard setting that sends chills down your spine. She swears there’s love in her heart, though (I assume, naturally, that XXXX is supposed to be LOVE), and quite suddenly, over a much friendlier pop riff that could be played in the club somewhere. The drums kick everything up for sure with a rhythmic sort of intensity that you can just imagine people in out-of-style clothes jumping to strobe lights. If John Hughes hears this track, he’ll wish he was still making movies about teenagers dealing with hormones and identity crises. – Consequence of Sound
with:
White Arrows
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm / $12 advance, $14 day of show / 18+
Thursday 03.11.10: THE CAVE SINGERS / THE DUTCHESS AND THE DUKE / THE MOONDOGGIES @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
The Cave Singers || Listen || Watch
True to their acoustic mantra, they maintain an earthy, naturistic, rootsy feel. Not as in a “twangy country,” but as in, “if Fleet Foxes had more facial hair then they might sound like this.” They even throw in washboards and harmonicas and give a nod to the oft-neglected blues music of the Mississippi River Delta. From even the first listen, it is evident that The Cave Singers has perfected the ghostly, resonating qualities of minimalism that separate it from a hoard of meditative, chai-sipping imitators.
Welcome Joy is somber and sweet enough to be enjoyed on calm evenings, but yet packs enough punch that you won’t be embarrassed if you leave it in your car when you pick up your best buds from lacrosse practice. It is a treasure trove anthology of styles, all led by the powerful, wailing voice of Pete Quirk. His unique vocal blend is perfectly complimented by gentle, throbbing drum pulses and Derek Fudesco’s masterfully rationed guitar work. Each pluck is gentle and deliberate. There are no wasted notes and none of that awful, mindless strumming that saturates contemporary indie music. Each hit of the string is left to resonate, creating a gentle, almost haunting atmosphere.
And the thing is, that The Cave Singers seem to have risen to these levels of greatness overnight. How did they get this good? Washes of warm pigments and wistful, breezy sounds abound. Impressionistic lyrics and smooth guitar interplay float by. This is the perfect album for shooting the breeze or enjoying the outdoors. Songs are warm and inviting, and they maintain that sort of “Sticky Sweet Honey Goodness” that scientists have recently found to be the primary ingredient in the soundtrack to your best summer memories. Welcome Joy is the perfect, earthy balance of the grittiest and the sweetest splendors that the Pacific has to offer. I feel like I would enjoy this record even better if I were a more frequent participator in No Shave November. But regardless, it’s still damn good. – Adequacy
with:
The Dutchess and The Duke || Listen
The Moondoggies
8:30pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 18+
Thursday 02.11.10: EYEDEA AND ABILITIES / DOSH / SILENT ARMY @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Eyedea & Abilities || Listen || Watch
By the Throat is the third release from the MC/DJ pair of Eyedea (Mike Averill) and Abilities (Gregory Keltgen). Since their rap battle days (they won Scribble Jam, Rocksteady, and the Blaze Battle in the late ’90s) they’ve been expanding their sonic palette, and this effort is a further evolution from 2004’s E&A. Abilities uses sounds ranging from rock’n'roll guitars to his trademark turntable work, and Eyedea’s lyrics are as various as ever. In addition to rhyming about loss and addiction, topics as esoteric as neuroscience and quantum physics are addressed. – Prefix
with:
Dosh || Listen
Silent Army
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
9pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 18+
Saturday 12.26.09: AVI BUFFALO / WAIT. THINK. FAST. / ANGUS KHAN / MOSES CAMPBELL / BARRIO TIGER @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Avi Buffalo || Watch || Mp3
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:
Wait.Think.Fast. || Watch
Angus Khan || Listen
Moses Campbell || Listen
Barrio Tiger || Watch
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8pm / $8 / 18+
Wednesday 01.20.10: THE ETTES / THE BLOOD ARM / HEAVY YOUNG HEATHENS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
The Ettes’ “Take It With You” packs two great tunes into a single song. The first opens with raw guitar, rousing handclaps and a simple melody that sounds sweet enough to sing in a schoolyard. Lead singer Coco (a.k.a. Lindsay Hames) channels some of the best bouffanted singers of the ’60s while adding a sleek punk edge. But something’s lurking beneath the caramel sweetness of Coco’s voice: Just when it seems to have settled into a nice groove, “Take It With You” becomes a brand-new song the second the chorus hits.
At that point, like that moment in Grease when Sandy transforms herself from a powder-puff ingenue to a leather-clad badass, the tune bursts into new territory. It’s suddenly an infectious garage-rock song that practically commands listeners to do the twist. In a plaintive and powerful pitch, Coco lashes out accusations: “You know what you want, but it’s gone now / I know I can see in your eyes now / You know and you know and you know” – NPR
with:
The Blood Arm || Listen
Heavy Young Heathens || Listen
8:30pm / $8 Advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Friday 02.05.10: DAEDELUS / NOSAJ THING / JOGGER / FROSTY @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Alfred “Daedelus” Darlington is a proponent of Edwardian dandyism for the Internet age, and his electronic whimsy has been influenced equally by Coldcut’s chopped-up beats and Bernard Herrmann’s orchestral Vertigo. But on Love to Make Music To, the L.A. producer unveils a nocturnal soundtrack toughened up by booty bass (“My Beau”), hardcore techno (the astringent “Hrs:Mins: Secs”), and coked-out club rap (the slurry “Touchtone” with Paperboy and Sa-Ra’s Taz). Daedelus’ furious stylistic shifts are engrossing (if challenging), and when he closes the album with the glowing predawn ballad “You’re the One,” it sounds like hard-won catharsis. – Spin.com
with:
Nosaj Thing || Listen
Jogger
Frosty (Dub Lab)
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm / $13 advance, $15 day of show / 18+
Friday 01.08.10: ART FEIN presents THE 24TH ANNUAL ELVIS BIRTHDAY BASH @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
“Art Fein Presents the 24th Annual Elvis Birthday Bash”
with performances by:
Jimmy Angel
Big Manny
The Blasters
The Buckhenries
Ray Campi
Justin Curtis
Dusk Devils
Hotrod Hillbillies
Lisa Finnie
Groovy Rednecks
Carlos Guitarlos
Skip Heller
Rip Masters
Frank Lee Sprague
South Bay Surfers
Stardust Wranglers
Topa Twisters
Whiteboy James
Fred Willard
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8pm / $20.00 / 18+
Thursday 03.11.10: BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB / THE WHIGS @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club || Listen || Watch
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is set to release their fifth studio album, Beat The Devil’s Tattoo, on March 9th (US/Canada). This release signifies the band’s first full-length on their own Abstract Dragon label, in partnership with Vagrant Records and Co-Op Music Group. The band wrote and recorded most of the album at The Basement Studio in Philadelphia, PA – the same room where they wrote and recorded “Howl” as well as some work in their hometown Los Angeles. Beat The Devil’s Tattoo also marks the first album with drummer Leah Shapiro.
The trio is primed to embark on a North American headline tour upon release, kicking off February 26 in Sacramento and culminating at New York City’s Webster Hall on April 8, with a stop in Los Angeles on March 14th at The Echoplex.
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm / $25 / 18+
Thursday 12.31.09: Club Underground, Hang The DJs & Echo present ROARRRINN NEW YEARS EVE PARTY with THE GROWLERS / MY PET SADDLE / ALEX (AM/FM) / AARON CASTLE / DAN (COSMIC KIDS) & MORE @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
with:
The Growlers || Listen
My Pet Saddle
and DJs:
Aaron Castle
Alex (AM/FM)
Dan (Cosmic Kids)
Underground DJS
Photos by:
MATADORYTOROS.COM
Hosted by : Scarlett Casanova & PJ Panda Bear
CHAMPAGNE TOAST & BALLOON DROP!
9pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 18+
Thursday 01.28.10: THE PARSON RED HEADS / THE CHAPIN SISTERS / SOCIAL STUDIES / ALL SPOTS TO BLACK @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events, local artist
The Parson Red Heads || Listen || Watch
“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
with:
Chapin Sisters || Listen
Social Studies || Listen
All Spots To Black || Listen
8:30pm / $7 / 18+
Friday 01.15.10: GZA / CURTAINS / DJ DARK ALLEY @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
True genius can not be rushed. In the case of the legendary lyricist GZA, time has always been on his side. With Pro Tools, GZA’s latest release and fifth solo album courtesy of renowned indie Babygrande Records, the masterful MC adds yet another lyrically stunning LP to his rich musical catalogue. For the past 15 years, GZA has been stretching the sensibility of modern-day hip-hop with his finely crafted, thought provoking wordplay which he credits to his willingness to delve deep into the written word.
As one of the founding members of the mighty Wu-Tang Clan, GZA’s mic mastery first gained prominence in 1993 with the release of the Clan’s first LP, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Two years later, GZA released his second solo album, Liquid Swords on Geffen Records which went on to sell over one million copies and earn a platinum plaque. Throughout his various projects with the Wu and classic appearances on other member’s side projects, GZA maintained a reputation as a skilled wordsmith with a highly recognizable and authoritative delivery.
with:
Curtains
DJ Dark Alley
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm / $14 advance, $16 day of show / 18+
Thursday 01.07.10: RUMSPRINGA / MISSISSIPPI MAN / LINKS / THE SILENT COMEDY @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Rumspringa || Listen || Watch
We at BeatCrave just can’t get enough of this groovalicious Los Angeles based band! We got to know Rumspringa in a recent interview, are bring them to you live with Saint Motel in what is sure to be one hell of a show and are now proudly inducting them into our fantastic BeatCrave Fav Series! Why all the fuss you ask? Well, first of all, don’t ask stupid questions. Secondly, it’s because they are so fun, original and so downright funky you can’t help but feel like you’ve been time warped back to an era when music was less cerebral and more about the soul, man! – BeatCrave
with:
Mississippi Man || Watch
Links || Listen
The Silent Comedy || Listen
8:30pm / $8 /18+
Wednesday 03.24.10: CYMBALS EAT GUITARS / BEAR IN HEAVEN / FREELANCE WHALES @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Cymbals Eat Guitars || Listen || Watch
Let’s give some respect to Staten Island, home of Cymbals Eat Guitars. It’s a fledgling indie-rock quartet, but Joseph D’Agostino, its 20-year-old guitarist, singer and principal songwriter, seems like a one-man shop. He fits a lot into his music. The songs on the band’s self-released first album, “Why There Are Mountains,” which served as the basis for Thursday’s set, contain ecstatic passion; wordy, lyrical precision; hazy, drifting instrumental interludes; chiming, mechanistic, clean-toned strumming; wild, dirty, stuttering solos. The sources for his inspiration can be obvious — Pavement, Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr. — but so are his ambition and passion. And with “Tunguska,” a new song played near the end of the set, he’s made that most difficult thing in self-consciously smart music: a ballad, one strong enough to make young women near the stage look at him with big eyes. Seeing the band live drove home the full effect of guileless catharsis: Mr. D’Agostino wears himself out for you. (Like a clutch hitter between swings, he ritually composed himself after every song, wiping down his guitar neck, adjusting his capo, taking a deep breath.) – NY Times
with:
Bear in Heaven || Listen
Freelance Whales
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Wednesday 01.27.10: REV. PAYTON’S BIG DAMN BAND / THE DONKEYS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Rev Payton’s Big Damn Band || Listen || Watch
Well, they’re not that big, but they make a damn big sound: featuring the burly, bearded Reverend Peyton on steel resonator guitar and guttural vocal bark – a sort of backwoods Brian Blessed – with his wife Breezy on washboard and his kid brother Jayme on drums, the band bring to their retro-fabricated rootsy Americana an utterly gripping compulsion.
Peyton employs a dervish blend of thrashed chords, bustling fingerpicking and slashing slide interjections, but it’s the post-modern manner of his material that really sets them apart.
Alongside food-themed cuts such as “Mama’s Fried Potatoes” and testaments to the rambling life like “Worn Out Shoe”, are songs which apply antique, vintage treatments to starkly modern concerns, corporate greed “Wal-Mart Killed The Country Store” to the health-insurance anxiety of “Can’t Pay The Bill”.
Even that time-honoured blues staple, the fishing song, gets a dystopian makeover in “The Creeks Are All Bad”, with Peyton advising anglers to throw back their catch “’cause there’s PCBs in the catfish, and mercury in the bass”. But there’s room for a glint of humour too, as in the trailer-park scenario sketched in “Your Cousin’s On Cops”. – The Independent
with:
The Donkeys || Listen
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show /18+
Friday 03.19.10: echo & Club Underground present HIGH PLACES / NITE JEWEL / DUNES @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
High Places || Listen || Watch
“I Was Born” feels like an especially personal statement from High Places. Mary Pearson loves the bassoon, her primary instrument: She spoke about taking classes and teaching lessons when we did a Quit Your Day Job in early ‘08, but this is the first High Places song to feature the instrument. Rob Barber adds a little straight-up guitar, which reminds you he grew up listening to hardcore, punk, and other guitar-based music. Speaking of growing up, the first-person lyrics involve Pearson remembering the day she was born, thinking about being born again, channeling that moment, etc. That, and they self-directed, shot, and edited the beautifully eerie video of themselves alone and washed out in the desert. Adding to the solitary feel, the “I Was Born” single’s out today without a second track, via Thrill Jockey. – Stereogum
with:
Nite Jewel || Listen
Dunes
8:30pm / $8 Advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Wednesday 01.13.10: LA Weekly presents THE PHENOMENAL HANDCLAP BAND / HOLLOYS / JOGGER / WHITE ARROWS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
The Phenomenal Handclap Band || Watch
The Phenomenal Handclap Band makes music that’s as sprawling and unwieldy as its name: To watch the group on stage is to witness what seems like several bands at once. With eight members — from hipsters and beautiful women to long-haired rockers and what look like everyday office workers — the group has been painstakingly engineered to generate a big, bold sensory overload.
Fortunately, its sound is outrageously danceable, fusing grimy funk with cooing disco, retro rock and sweet pop. The Phenomenal Handclap Band was the subject of breathless buzz well before its self-titled debut came out this month, and its live show makes it easy to see and hear why. – NPR
with:
Holloys || Listen
Jogger
White Arrows
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Sunday 01.31.10: PART TIME PUNKS – DEPECHE MODE NITE @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $5 / 18+
Sunday 01.24.10: PART TIME PUNKS with MEMORY + PROTECT ME @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
MEMORY
PROTECT ME
resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $5 / 18+
Sunday 01.17.10: PART TIME PUNKS with YUMMY FUR [members of Franz Ferdinand & The 1990s] / NEVEREVER @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
Yummy Fur
[members of Franz Ferdinand & The 1990s]
Scottish cult legends, THE YUMMY FUR, featuring members of FRANZ FERDINAND and THE 1990S, play their first and only-ever LA show to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of their demise! (And to prepare for the reissue of their entire back catalogue by the fine What’s Your Rupture? label this spring!) This is one of only five shows the band are doing in the U.S., and their first shows in well over a decade.
with:
Neverever [formerly CHAMPAGNE SOCIALISTS]
Guest DJ:
Kevin Pedersen (from WHAT’S YOUR RUPTURE?)
plus resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $10 / 18+
Sunday 01.10.10: PART TIME PUNKS with LOVE GRENADES / WET LOOK @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $5 / 18+
Friday 01.29.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND 9 YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION with THE TENDER BOX / SATELLITE CRUSH @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
with:
The Tender Box || Listen
Satellite Crush
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 01.22.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND & Echo present JEMINA PEARL (from Be Your Own Pet) / THE CANNONEERS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
In Pearl’s world, there’s black and white– and maybe some red. Things that suck get what they deserve, whether they’re asshole fans, jerky boyfriends, or simply the notion of growing up. She’s an old-school punk in that there’s little pretense; she thrashes about onstage because she wants to and not because she thinks it looks cool. According to her Ecstatic Peace label head (and Break It Up guest guitarist/vocalist) Thurston Moore, she’s not “out to impress anybody; she [is] just kicking total ass.” He should know.
As far as ass-kicking goes, there’s plenty of it here. Nearly every song is marked with a rough-edged riff from another era, whether it be surf, garage, or girl group. And Pearl’s guttural wail is intact. But there are no straight-up, minute-long goofs, and instead of raging on about pitch-perfect nonsense and suburban malaise, Pearl often turns inward. The self-reflection can be reassuring, as on the fizzy, Dave Sitek-assisted Gemini ode “Ecstatic Appeal”, or deeply troubling, as on the laborious downer “Retrograde”, where voices in the back of Pearl’s mind tell her to “go on, cut a little bit deeper, see how far we can go.” The LP’s best reflective track finds a semi-happy middle ground between those two extremes; “No Good” has the singer lambasting herself for being lazy– “I’ve been trying for so long, can’t get shit done”– with the song acting as a fitful solution to the idleness. – Pitchfork
with:
The Cannoneers
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Friday 01.15.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND with PSYCHIC POWERS / EVAN VOYTAS @ Echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
Psychic Powers
Evan Voytas || 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 01.08.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND with SWEATERS / HOT SAUCE MENTOR @ Echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
with:
Sweaters
Hot Sauce Mentor
if you like members of art brut, the blood arm, and the mighty lemon drops, then you’ll LOVE hot sauce mentor
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+
Wednesday 01.13.10: DUB CLUB presents WILLI WILLIAMS with THE EXPANDERS featuring DAVID HILLYARD / LARRY MCDONALD / MR T-BONE / JAH FAITH @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echoplex, events
WILLI WILLIAMS
backed by The Expanders
with special guests
David Hillyard of the Slackers on Sax
reggae legend Larry McDonald on percussion
Mr T-Bone (from Italy) on Trombone
plus Jah Faith
Willi Williams is best known as the writer and singer of “Armagideon Time,” a beloved reggae anthem once popularized by The Clash, but over his 40-plus year career, he has contributed consistently to the greater body of Jamaican reggae, collaborating with many of the music’s luminary figures.
After recording “Calling” for Coxson Dodd’s Studio One in 1966, Williams’ career grew steadily as he established the Soul Sounds label in 1969 and produced artists including Delroy Wilson, The Versatiles, and the legendary Barrett Brothers (as Rhythm Force), who would later become the engine of Bob Marley’s band.
Through much of his career, Williams split his time between Kingston, Jamaica and Toronto, Canada, where he formed a close association with Jamaican keyboard legend Jackie Mittoo. Mittoo, perhaps the single most influential musician in Jamaican music history, recorded frequently with Williams in the 70s and contributed significantly to Williams’ outstanding album Messenger Man, released in 1978.
Williams voiced the breakthrough track “Armagideon Time” in 1979. “Jackie Mittoo and myself were working on some projects, and we went to New York and met up with Coxson [Dodd],” Williams recalls. “I had a song at the time that was getting good coverage ['Messenger Man']. [Dodd] heard the song and he wanted to do something with me. He mentioned that when we started out in the early days, he didn’t have enough time and ammunition to work with me how he wanted. So he wanted me to go back into the studio.”
Williams’ original recording of “Armagideon Time” has remained a reggae standard and was included on the comprehensive four-disc set, Tougher Than Tough: The Story of Jamaican Music, released by Mango Records in 1993. “Armagideon Time” also found its way back into popular culture via the 1999 Jim Jarmusch film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.
“Armagideon Time” utilized the Studio One backing track known as “Real Rock”,and Willi’s cut of the rhythm helped propel it to become the most “versioned” or recycled in all of reggae history. Punk legends The Clash helped internationalize “Armagideon Time” in 1979 as a b-side to its “London Calling” single and a standard part of its live performances.
Far from being a one-hit wonder, Williams’ reggae career has been substantial and prolific with frequent tours to Europe through the years. His work with singer/producer Yabby You has marked his reputation, as well as his later efforts with dub icon Augustus Pablo. In the 80s, Williams recorded See Me and Natty With A Cause for the London-based soundsystem giant Jah Shaka. In the last few years his classic Messenger Man album was re-released by Blood and Fire records, and many of his early Studio One cuts such as Addis-A Babba have been included on the popular reggae compilations on the Soul Jazz label.
Recently Williams has also overseen the production of Full Time Love, released through M10 Records in France. The set features a live backing band, The Drum Street Crew, and Jamaican keyboardist Bobby Kalphat, another of Williams’ notable musical associates. Full Time Love captures the full-band sound of reggae’s past, but with a contemporary production touch. “When you get that live drum and bass you just hear something that . . . you can’t imitate it with a computer,” says Williams.
For this show at the Dub Club Willi will be backed up by the outstanding local roots band The Expanders , who are known for their devotion to capturing the vintage sound and feel of classic reggae. They will be joined for this gig by an all star cast: David Hillyard plays sax for one of the most popular Ska/rocksteady bands worldwide- The Slackers, Mr T-Bone is the top reggae trombone player from Italy , and Larry McDonald is a legendary reggae percussionist , having played on too many classic albums to count. Joining the band for a few opening tunes on vocals will be the Dub Club’s own Jah Faith, along with a couple originals from The Expanders and some instrumental scorchers from Mr Hillyard+ co. A wicked night of music all around! See you there!
@ Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
(Main Entrance is through Alley)
Los Angeles, CA 90026
9pm / $10 advance, $10 before 10pm day of show, $15 after 10pm day of show / 18+
Saturday 02.27.09: KXLU presents FOUR TET / NATHAN FAKE / ACTIVE CHILD @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, echoplex, events
Four Tet || Listen || Watch || MP3
Over the course of a truly inspired career, London’s Four Tet, a.k.a. Kieran Hebden, has remained ahead of the curve, sidestepping obsolescence by folding new strains of sound into his already rich jazz/hip-hop/folk base. Last year’s Ringer EP found Hebden reveling in the hypnotic, developing 10-minute songs that ditched the dissonance of 2005’s Everything Ecstatic in favor of calmer waters and subtler effects. There Is Love In You, his first proper album in five years, is smoother still, and to great effect—if this isn’t the best Four Tet record yet, it’s certainly a fresh face for Hebden.
These songs make no bones about their rhythmic inspiration. Most are four-on-the-floor, built atop recurring samples, but only the single, “Love Cry,” outwardly indulges in Ibiza-flavored house. (Even then, it’s under a dark cloud of dubstep digitalia.) Instead, Hebden does his contemporaries in The Field one better by using repetition as the beginning of the experiment, rather than its final resting place, as if thinking, “The music’s going to move in circles; now, how to interrupt those perfect curves?”
Each song is an exercise in craftsmanship, with the crystalline opener “Angel Echoes” patiently coming into focus, “Circling” starting over halfway through to rebuild with a new set of sounds, and “Sing” finding its pulse in a curious mix of Nintendo glitch and tined instruments—African thumb piano, an open Rhodes organ. Each unfolds into the next gracefully, until “She Just Likes To Fight,” one of the album’s shorter songs at five minutes, closes There Is Love In You. Sleepy as this final song is, it’s the record’s most surprising, beginning with a club beat, then morphing into live post-rock punctuated by hand-smacked percussion. It’s further proof that Hebden is incapable of phoning it in, and that he has plenty more tricks up his sleeve for the coming years. – The AV Club
with:
Nathan Fake || Listen
Active Child || Listen
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
9pm /$15 advance, $17 day of show / 18+
Wednesday 01.06.10: BRAZZAVILLE / DAVID J / SALT PETAL @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Brazzaville || Listen || Watch
Sometimes the bossa nova/island music of Brazzaville sounds so sweet, strange and delicate, you think your heart is just going to break and little chickens will come out peeping from the egg-like fragments. Then you realize the songs themselves have a jagged edge. The softness of David Brown’s vocals and gentle lilt of the strings and piano are like the sighs one makes when confronted by pain one can never understand: the feeling of being abandoned by the one you love, or the pain of being dumped by the person you just met and fell for, or growing too old to enjoy the promising nowheres of new relationships. The gentle drumming that tempts one into movement is really the sound of rain and soon one is wet and cold. Brazzaville is a Barcelona based band that takes its name from one of the most squalid cities on earth. The group makes seductive music that insinuates like the delightful smell of oleander, and is just as deadly as that flowery perfume. – Popmatters
with:
David J || Listen
Salt Petal
8pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Sunday 03.14.10: BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB / THOUSAND DOZEN GLOVES @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club || Listen || Watch
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is set to release their fifth studio album, Beat The Devil’s Tattoo, on March 9th (US/Canada). This release signifies the band’s first full-length on their own Abstract Dragon label, in partnership with Vagrant Records and Co-Op Music Group. The band wrote and recorded most of the album at The Basement Studio in Philadelphia, PA – the same room where they wrote and recorded “Howl” as well as some work in their hometown Los Angeles. Beat The Devil’s Tattoo also marks the first album with drummer Leah Shapiro.
The trio is primed to embark on a North American headline tour upon release, kicking off February 26 in Sacramento and culminating at New York City’s Webster Hall on April 8, with a stop in Los Angeles on March 14th at The Echoplex.
with:
Thousand Dozen Gloves
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm / $25 / 18+
Saturday 01.30.10: BOWERBIRDS / JULIE DOIRON @ echo (Early Show)
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Bowerbirds || Listen || Watch
On Bowerbirds’ 2007 debut, Hymns For A Dark Horse, the coupled-up North Carolina duo spun folksy tunes and gypsy rags about the wonders of nature, which made sense—the record was made with singer Phil Moore and accordionist Beth Tacular living in an Airstream trailer in the woods, building themselves a cabin between band practices. Just as fittingly, Bowerbirds’ sophomore LP, Upper Air, is a more intimate affair that finds the pair well nestled in a spare-but-sound set of songs. Most noticeably, the “Go-Earth!” Pollyannaism (which was impressively tolerable the last time around) has been replaced by a flair for verbiage on par with Andrew Bird and Elvis Perkins, the two singers most conjured by Moore’s syllable-stretching and emotive coo. There’s still a line drawn in the dirt between the natural world and civilization, but that divide is explored through narrative on “House Of Diamonds,” and lines like, “You are free from the greed of your culture / you are free from the lust for the luster of the diamond houses in the city’s cluster.” And this isn’t Upper Air’s primary focus: Love is, and on songs like “Ghost Life,” stones, dunes, and oceans are metaphorical fodder used to soften the tougher parts of romantic entanglement. Bowerbirds benefit from a more-is-less dynamic musically, as well. Moore and Tacular break out organ, piano, autoharp, violin, and upright bass, among other instruments (not to mention a killer boy-girl harmony), but all in a successful effort to arrive at a simpler, more measured sound epitomized by the soulful jangler “Northern Lights” and the delicate surge of “Teeth.” Upper Air is a comely album through and through, and certainly one of this year’s high-water marks for the acoustically inclined. – The Onion AV Club
with:
Julie Doiron || Listen
6pm / $10 Advance, $12 day of show / All Ages
Thursday 12.10.09: DEADBOLT / THROW RAG / MOTOCHRIST / BLAGG DAHLIA (from the Dwarves – acoustic set) @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
There are few names the conjure up as much fascination in the Psychobilly and Rockabilly music scene as that of the creepy dark San Diego act Deadbolt. The sound of Deadbolt doesn’t just hook, it grabs and clutches. Their signature coined sound Voodoobilly draws a lot from early Dick Dale surf rock, the Greasy Sleazy sounds of The Cramps, and the bombastic yet humorous early era of the late Man in Black Johnny Cash. The act formed in early 1988 with the sole idea of breaking out of the stigma of the Goth and Punk scene in San Diego by creating something truly creepy, funny, entertaining, and balls out rude. The signature breakout album that launched them into Psychobilly fame by many accounts was the heavy and gritty album VOODOO TRUCKER.
This album proves to be a breakout album for the “Scariest Band in the World” because it features some of the heaviest and most complex guitar work the act can muster. Most people overlook surf rock riffs, easily dismissed in the cacophony of keyboard centered club tracks. Deadbolt reveals it to be an altogether ripping different sound that grabs hold and refuses to let go. At the first onset, one cant help but get up and groove as R.A. Mclean and Harley Davidson pull headlong with rock solid time tested guitar work. If your interested in trying something outside of the usual Romantic flair with a biting gritty dark edge, these guys are the ticket. – Fangoria
with:
Throw Rag || Listen
Motochrist
Blagg Dahlia (from the Dwarves – Acoustic Set)
8pm / $10 / 18+
Friday 12.18.09: VERY BE CAREFUL / SERGIO MENDOZA Y LA ORKESTA @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
At first glance, Very Be Careful hardly lends itself to cross-generational accessibility. Its five Angelenos part ways with the music taste of most urbane thirtysomething musicians by playing a traditional form of Colombian folk music called vallenato. To the uninitiated, this music, the name of which literally translates to “born in the valley,” sounds like a sun-soaked, country cousin of Colombia’s popular dance music, cumbia. Since 1997, the group has independently released five albums, each filled mostly with cover songs, that channel the sound and texture of early vallenato recordings. Meanwhile, the quintet just finished Salad Buey, its sixth record and first of all original material. This output would make sense for traditional Colombian troubadours or nostalgic Latin Rock stars, but not really for a bunch of guys who are often mistaken for an indie-rock band. Yet, along the way, the group has made fans of artists like Joe Strummer and the Kronos Quartet.
Yet, considering that a fair amount of its audience does not understand Spanish, the attraction to VBC is clear—the beat is undeniable. Which perhaps explains why the proverbial dance floor accompanies each of the band’s performances, be it in a hotel basement or at a street festival, at a cramped club or an outdoor rock festival. Neither setting nor language can hinder Very Be Careful’s ability to set a sea of bodies and souls in motion. And really, what’s more universal than that? – Paste Magazine
with:
Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta
Plus DJs:
Patrick Miller
La Dukesa
Live Silkscreening by HIT + RUN
8:30pm / $10 / 18+
Wednesday 12.16.09: Origami Vinyl and Future Sounds Present LILOFEE (Record Release Party) / TWILIGHT SLEEP / ACID GIRLS / WAR TAPES @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events, free show
Lilofee || Listen (“Runaway”/ “In Flight” 7″ Record Release Party)
San Francisco based electro rock outfit, Lilofee, are set to release a 7” with Echo Park’s Origami Vinyl and Los Angeles based Future Sounds Records on December 1st. The 7” will feature the single, “Runaway” with a b-side, “In Flight”.
Lead track, “Runaway” hums like Kim Wilde’s “Kids In America” with a mix of Blondie’s rapid-fire lyrics in “Rapture” that fits nicely next to contemporaries like Santogold or MIA. “In Flight” is a dreamy melancholy song of a girl who slowly turns into a bird and flies away, set to a musical backdrop of glitchy, radiating magic.
Lilofee’s music is exactly like the dark German fairy tale it is named after, full of angst and love, dripping with affliction and laced with enchantment. Add to that a serious dance beat, a sprinkle of glitter and some remarkably catchy lyrics, and you have Lilofee.
with Special Guests:
Twilight Sleep
Acid Girls
War Tapes || Listen
Plus Origami Vinyl DJs all night!
8:30pm / FREE for 21+, $7 for under 21+ / 18+
Tuesday 12.08.09: ISGOODMUSIC presents THE FRENCH SEMESTER / THE SPIRES / THE MONTHLIES / SEASONS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events, local artist
A sweet and smile-inducing blend of Guided By Voices’ ragged melodic charm with the hushed pop wits of the third Velvet Underground record, the French Semester’s Good Friends Only I Could See churns out one harmonious and guitar-jangled rock/pop gem after another—“Remembering Right Now” being the big winner—with each track’s layered loveliness capable of breaking your heart without so much as breaking a sweat. – Web In Front
with
The Spires
The Monthlies
Seasons
and more
8:30pm / $5 / 18+
Friday 12.04.09: DANCEiSM with VILLIANS / ROBOT LOVE / BEN OPRSTU / SCORPION BREATH / DJDT @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echoplex, events
with:
Villains
Robot Love [DANCEiSM]
Ben Oprstu [DANCEiSM]
Scorpion Breath [GUNS IN THE SUN]
DJDT [FMLY]
Photobooth by YoungAndSleek
roaming photos by Photos Operandi
Visuals by Dr. Strangeloop (Brainfeeder),
Body Paint, Glow in the Dark Bubbles, and an interactive mural
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
RSVP at www.danceism.com
9pm / $10 with RSVP, $15 without RSVP / 18+
Sunday 12.27.09: PART TIME PUNKS – SMITHS / MORRISSEY NITE with Guest DJ JOSE MALDONADO (The Sweet And Tender Hooligans)@ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Guest DJ:
Jose Maldonado (from The Sweet And Tender Hooligans)
resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $5 / 18+
Sunday 12.20.09: PART TIME PUNKS with SAVAGE REPUBLIC + SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY + THE BEATERS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
with:
SAVAGE REPUBLIC
SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY
THE BEATERS
resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Sunday 12.13.09: PART TIME PUNKS with THE SLITS / WEAVE! / PUNKY REGGAE DJS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
with:
The Slits || Watch
Weave!
and:
PUNKY REGGAE DJs Boss Harmony & Roy Corduroy!
plus resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 18+
Thursday 02.11.10: Grand Ole Echo Presents JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE / JOE PUG / THE HI HOS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Justin Townes Earle || Watch || MP3
Earle’s sophomore record and third overall release, Midnight at the Movies, his best and most thorough work. It’s as if he extracted the emotional transparency and simplicity from his self-released EP, Yuma, and mixed that with the hints of rockabilly and studio finesse of his debut album, The Good Life. The result is a nearly flawless, organic LP. And he makes it all sound so easy on tracks like “They Killed John Henry” and “Halfway to Jackson,” which mainly revolve around some hurried acoustic finger plucking, with a couple of other non-invasive instruments like a harmonica or standup bass to round it all out. Even Earle’s unexpected take on the Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait” sounds as if Paul Westerberg had written it for this very album. – Paste Magazine
with:
Joe Pug
The Hi Hos
8pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 18+
Wednesday 12.02.09: BUZZBANDS Presents HELEN STELLAR / KAV / SQUARE ON SQUARE / NIGHTMARE AIR @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Helen Stellar
This trio, long one of L.A.’s under-recognized bands, will play its first proper show in more than a year. They’ve been working on a follow-up to 2006’s “A Prayer to Myself,” which collected their three EPs and was released on Vinyl Films, the imprint of Andy Fischer and Cameron Crowe (The Helen Stellar tune “io (This Time Around)” appeared on the soundtrack to Crowe’s movie “Elizabethtown.”).
KAV
The latest project of Kav Sandhu — former guitarist and songwriter in the legendary Happy Mondays — KAV spent substantial time in L.A. this year recording an album and playing (and DJing) clubs. In March, KAV will release its latest batch of dirty, dancy psychedelia, the “Mr. Nice” EP, titled after the autobiography of Howard Marks and featuring Marks himself.His first U.S. release, “The Shake It Like You Hate It” EP, will also be out in early 2010.
Square on Square
The newest musical venture of songwriter Evan Slamka, SOS has made a big impression in the band’s early club outings with its soaring, anthemic rock songs. Slamka, of course, fronted Marjorie Faire, who made one excellent album for Capitol Records (2005’s “Self Help Serenade”) before the band became a victim of major-label shrinkage.
Nightmare Air
This new trio and its agitated (but somehow melodic) noise-rock is the brainchild of two members of Film School, guitarist Dave Dupuis and drummer James Smith. The band’s first EP is due Dec. 1.
FMI: BUZZBANDS.LA
8:30pm / $5 with RSVP, $8 without / 18+
Saturday 11.28.09: MUCHO WEDNESDAYS presents ILEGAL EN ESTYLE with PILAR DIAZ / WAIT.THINK.FAST. @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echoplex, events
with:
Pilar Diaz || Listen || Watch
Wait.Think.Fast. || Watch
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
FMI: Mucho Wednesday on Myspace
9pm / $12 / 18+
Thursday 12.03.09: LA Record presents MT. ST. HELENS VIETNAM BAND / DIRT DRESS / SPIRIT VINE / ALLAH LAS
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band || Watch || MP3
On Saturday night, Seattle indie rockers Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band captured a rare piece of rock history by becoming the first band in the continental U.S. to ever play on an active volcano. The fact that the quintet played the volcano in which they take their name, Washington State’s Mt. St. Helens, made the performance even more unusual as they treated fans/hikers/mountaineers/park rangers to an hour-long set of brand new tracks and favorites from their self-titled debut.
After signing a few autographs for devoted fans, lead singer Benjamin Verdoes and Co. didn’t waste anytime jumping into crowd favorite “Who’s Asking,” the first song off of their celebrated album from earlier this year. The band’s 14-year-old drummer, Marshall Verdoes, was notably relaxed and didn’t seem the least bit rattled by the mountainous challenge. As his older brother stated in between songs: “Who knew that when Marshall came up with this crazy band name when he was 11, one day we’d actually get a chance to play here?”
As the two Verdoes brothers kept the groove steady, fellow bandmates Jared Price (bass), Traci Eggleston (keys/vocals), and Matt Dammer (guitar/moog) handled the more quirky, esoteric sounds that give MHSVB their signature feel. After finishing the guitar heavy “Masquerade,” Eggleston (who is married to Benjamin) announced to the crowd that the group would be playing two new songs: “George Clark,” an upbeat rocker with a seemingly looping guitar riff and the more delicate “At Night.” Appropriately for the setting, the latter began with the sound of crickets, bugs, and other insect noises, before Price used a rewired telephone receiver as a microphone. – Spin
with:
Dirt Dress
Spirit Vine || Listen
Allah Las
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of Show / 18+
Friday 12.18.09: CLUB UNDERGROUND AND HANG THE DJS HOLIDAY BENEFIT & BLOWOUT @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echoplex, events
Hang The Dj’s & Club Undergound X-Mas Benefit Party at the Echoplex!!!
Doll & The Kicks (just fresh off the Morrissey Tour!)
BJ Panda Bear
Dirty Dave
Spirit Vine
Tune In Tokyo DJs
Underground DJs
Knyfeprty
*A portion of the proceeds go to The Good Shephard Center For Homeless Woman & Chidren*
with resident DJs spinning the best in Brit / Indie / Soul / Twee / Madchester / Punk / Glam
FMI: ClubUnderground.net
9pm / $5 before 11pm, $8 after / 18+
Friday 12.11.09: CLUB UNDERGROUND with THE CAPSHUNS / BIXBY KNOLLS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
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+
Thursday 12.17.09: KXLU & Filter present FOOL’S GOLD / THE ENTRANCE BAND / TEARIST / DJ JOSH KLINGHOFFER @ echo
Posted by samantha - filed in 18+, echo, events
Fool’s Gold || Watch
Fool’s Gold’s repeat-ready single “Surprise Hotel” is a gloriously busy bit of life-affirming Afro-pop that takes no issue with demanding that you take it for a beachside bike ride. The band rotates around Luke Top and Lewis Pesacov and also enlists friends and colleagues that include members of Foreign Born and Glasser. On a self-titled debut brimming with them, “Surprise Hotel” is a whirling dervish of a cut delivered with charm, grace, and maximum two-stepability. Light yet bracing polyrhythms anchor an addictive little high-register guitar line that loops and wiggles on and off the beaten path, perfectly coupled with Afro-funk bass stylings and buttery bilingual coos (yes, Top sings in English and Hebrew). With music this immersed in wide-ranging global and regional influence, you’d fear Fool’s Gold’s music might come over as empty pastiche, but no worries. Worldly and warm without being cloying, “Surprise Hotel” more than surprises: it prevails. -Pitchfork
with:
The Entrance Band || Listen
Tearist
DJ Josh Klinghoffer
8:30pm / $10 / 18+
Friday 11.27.09: Aquarium Drunkard & Club Underground present JAPANDROIDS / SURFER BLOOD @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Japandroids || Listen || MP3
what makes Post-Nothing such a thrill is the manner in which Japandroids hold absolutely nothing back. As contagious as any of the lyrics, melodies, riffs, or drum fills are, their energy and lack of self-consciousness is every bit as equally lovable. Opening mission statement “The Boys Are Leaving Town” could be seen as a goof on Thin Lizzy, but the response, “Will we find our way back home?”, is delivered with such conviction that between those two lines, “Boys” displays a palpable desperation. Six tracks later, the question is still unresolved– amidst the cyclical thrum of “Sovereignty”, they observe: “It’s raining, OH-OH! in Vancouver/ But I don’t give a fuck/ ‘Cause I’m far from home tonight.”
Where it all comes together best is “Young Hearts Spark Fire”. Almost a flipside to LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends”, it’s thematically similar, trading wistful reminiscence for drunken defiance and pulsing electro for chaotic garage rock. The five minutes go by in a blur, and amidst the guitar heroics and cymbal-bashing, King lets his guard down on Post-Nothing’s key line– “We used to dream/ Now we worry about dying/ I don’t want to worry about dying.” It would be so easy to view this sort of musical and lyrical directness with suspicion, but “Young Hearts” is life-affirming stuff– if only it affirms that, even in these times, life doesn’t need to be as complicated as we tend to make it. – Pitchfork
with:
Surfer Blood
8pm / $10 / 18+
Wednesday 11.18.09: Web In Front & KROQ Present RADARS TO THE SKY / LE SWITCH / MARVELOUS TOY / THE HAPPY CASUALTIES @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events, local artist
In a set also peppered with such ‘classic’ material (some of which will reappear on the new album) as “I Might,” “Zurich,” and “Victoria,” Radars offered a glimpse into their new direction as a band since the departure of guitarist Seamus Simpson in January (Simpson is now working with the excellent Thailand)—dense, insular and bruising, with just as many nods towards complex indie-rock as there were towards hooky new wave.
Opener “Sharpen Your Teeth” began as a dreamy, slow-motion metallic clash of guitars and keys, which unfurled into the sci-fi bounce of the suite-like, multi-part jangle of “As the Nurses Scurry.” A crucial tension in the music of Radars to the Sky is the tug-of-war between epic, long-form art-rock and crushing, melodic indie; with those two opening songs, the band seemed to be signaling a move in the direction of the former. However, they can still detonate a catchy rock ‘n roll tune when the inclination strikes—“The Apple Never Falls” was all slash and burn guitar kinetics, while “Sergeant,” was a series of stop-start grooves and crunching, anthemic hooks, as well as one of the evening’s strongest tunes.
The highlight of the set, though, may have been the closer, “1624.” A driving song of divebomb guitar swoons and rhythmic surges wrapped within a rumbling new wave dirge, “1624” exemplifies the sound of Radars to the Sky as it is today—a band far more interested in grooves, texture and detail, or as Mouse of Classical Geek Theatre put it, they’re playing “indie rock for the indie rocker.” – Web In Front
with:
Le Switch || Listen
Marvelous Toy || Listen
The Happy Casualties
8:30pm / $7 / 18+
Thursday 11.19.09: DAM-FUNK WITH MASTER BLAZTER / KYLE HALL / HAWTHORNE HEADHUNTERS WITH COULTRAIN / JIMI JAMES / FUNKMOSPHERE DJS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
DaM-FunK || Listen (LIVE)
with Master Blazter
As an artist, producer and DJ, Dam (pronounced “dame”) might have resurrected the genre of boogie, which got big in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as electronic instruments and disco smoothed out funk’s grit, but his songs are also influenced by Chicago house, experimental electronic music and the slow roll of ’90s gangsta rap.
The 38-year-old’s compositions are full of blown-out synthesizers, thwapping drum machines and vocodered vocals, all wrapped in a thick purple fog. It’s the kind of stuff that would blare from the stereo of a homemade spaceship. – LA Times
with:
DaM-FunK || Listen (DJ set)
Kyle Hall
Hawthorne Headhunters with Coultrain
Jimi James
Plus Funkmosphere DJ’s:
Billy Goods
DJ Randy Watson
Laroj
8pm / $10 / 18+
Friday 12.04.09: Club Underground and Echo Present- THE SHYS / CASTLEDOOR / BLACK HOLLIES @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
The Shys have taken the crunchy guitars and heavy, fuzz-filled solos, and added more traditionally poppy group choruses and catchy melodies to come out with gritty rock that is immediately accessible. This record thrives on explosive dynamics. “The Hangman” opens with blazing guitars, only to drop them out completely two seconds later. “Savior” is defined by its pounding staccato drums and guitars, all before a rather melodic refrain of “I feel just like I found my savior.” Both tracks offer drastic musical breakdowns at key points, offering a powerful, calm-before-the-storm quality.The sing-along choruses of “She’s Already Gone” and “Mercy” echo Oasis, proving to be highly catchy, radio-ready rock, though the Shys stand as a grittier, gutsier version. – NPR
with:
Castledoor || Listen
The Black Hollies
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Wednesday 11.11.09: Ninja Tune Presents BLOCKHEAD with DJ SIGNIFY / AMPLIVE of ZION / YPPAH / DERU @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, echo, events
Blockhead || Listen || Watch || MP3 (promo code= ninja20)
Blockhead grew up in downtown New York City. The son of an artist, early on he found his passion was for music. A fan of a whole range of sounds, especially hip-hop, Blockhead steadily built a tremendous collection of tapes and later CDs from innumerable artists. After a brief stint as a rapper, he realized his calling was behind the boards and not on the mic, and from there he began to produce beats.
Since making that decision, he’s been kept pretty busy. Blockhead produced 9 tracks on Aesop Rock’s critically acclaimed album Labor Days. Additionally he produced half the tracks on Aesop’s follow up EP, Daylight. Blockhead has also been working with other indie giants such as Slug of Atmosphere, Murs, Mike Ladd and SA Smash. He also found time to complete a break beat album entitled Blockhead’s Broke Beats, with 10 hard hitting instrumental tracks, which was released on Mush Records, the US home of cLOUDDEAD. And just to prove that he ain’t all about art-rap, Blockhead produced 2 tracks on the newly crowned Skribble Jam Battle Champ, MacLethal’s full-length album. Oh, and the guy does comedy, too. He’s a member of the Party Fun Action Committee who’s hip-hop/comedy debut album was recently released on the legendary Def Jux. And what was the other thing? Oh yeah, exquisite, emotional instrumental hip hop on the one and only Ninja Tune…
with:
DJ Signify
Amplive of Zion
Yppah
Deru
8:30pm / $10 / 18+
Friday 11.13.09: Echo, Club Underground and KCRW present BOMBA ESTEREO / THE WALLBURDS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Cumbia sicodélica is hardly a genre that overtly appeals to the mainstream. And yet Bomba Estereo, the Colombian duo that merges its country’s folkloric music with electronica, hip-hop and reggae, is turning plenty of heads with its song “Fuego,” the exhilarating lead single from its debut album, “Blow Up,” released in July. With as much swagger as an eight-member rap crew, petite singer/MC Liliana Saumet announces Bomba Estereo’s mission statement over a throbbing beat produced by her creative partner, Simon Mejia, and playfully refers to both Colombia’s burgeoning dance culture and traditional attire in the same breath. Though it’s likely to stay labeled as alternative-and thus remain off the commercial Latin airwaves-radio would do well to take a chance on this song, especially in the post-reggaetón programming landscape. – Billboard
with:
The Wallburds
8pm / $10 / 18+
Thursday 11.12.09: DEAD MEADOW / IMAAD WASIF / THE GROWLERS / USELESS KEYS @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Dead Meadow || Listen || Watch
Stoner-rock avatars Dead Meadow have slimmed down to a power trio, but their fat, rubbery sound hasn’t lost any of its bluesy bombast in the process. They seem oblivious to the passage of time, still riding the heavy train that Iron Butterfly, Cream, Sir Lord Baltimore, and Hawkwind set in motion. That doesn’t mean they’re oblivious for the need for new product, though—their most recent studio album is still last year’s Old Growth, but they’re working on an old-fashioned feature-length concert film called Three Kings. (They’ve moved from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles, so maybe they think they have to make a movie now.) There’s a trailer up on their MySpace page, and I’m getting a distinct Song Remains the Same vibe, probably mostly from the footage of the band wandering around in hooded druid robes. Despite all the vintage-colored self-indulgence and the whiffs of 70s hippie neopagan cheesiness, Dead Meadow’s hazy, smoky, languidly violent music can achieve an eerie beauty that transcends era, and onstage they’re a fiercely disciplined rock machine—in other words, don’t hold your breath for a dwarf trampling a miniature Stonehenge. – Chicago Reader
with:
Imaad Wasif || Listen
The Growlers || Listen
Useless Keys || Listen
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8pm / $12 / 18+
Friday 11.20.09: CLUB UNDERGROUND with POLLYN / DIVISIBLE @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
With:
Pollyn || Listen
Divisible
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+
Wednesday 11.04.09: LOW VS DIAMOND / MELEE / VOXHAUL BROADCAST @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Low Vs. Diamond || Listen || Watch
The band, made up of five members from five different big American cities, seem to be kind of like these characters, once they’ve sorted out their personality conflicts, bringing to their songs very stable matter and also enabling it to be interpreted in a way that are completely alive and pulsating all over the place. Oddly enough, Field resembles The Killers’ Brandon Flowers, at times in his vocal delivery, and one tries hard to denounce any sort of suppositions or leaps of definition, but the sound of it – on this self-titled debut – could be exactly what the currently wayward Vegas band were intending when they wrote “Sam’s Town.” This is twistedly how they would have liked it to have sounded – with the punch in the gut of blue-collar American life rolling by the eyes of all those hard-working people who’ve never known them in mirrors without the rings under them, people who might not be getting all of the happiness out of their lives that they’d dreamed up so long ago, but the hardship is holding off fairly well and that’s an accomplishment unto itself. It’s a point in a life’s soundtrack when there’s no need for synthetic sounds – just real piano, real fucking guitar and real, chill-inducing words that settle us into a recounting of a life that ticks loudly, with its triumphs, with its failures and grievances, with its unsustainable pace. Field sings, “Time can’t stop the soul/I became the void you couldn’t know,” during the tune “Song We Sang Away” and it’s an idea – the first part about the resiliency of the soul – that is at the heart of everything the band makes and that unknowable void is what makes it all as enthralling as it is. – Daytrotter
with:
Melee || Listen
Voxhaul Broadcast || Listen
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Monday 11.23.09: FANFARLO / FREE LANCE WHALES @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Their upbeat attitude totally infused their music, and then the crowd. It came through in trumpet, melodicas, keyboards, drums, melodic bass and passionate dreamy stories sung by Simon Balthazar. Now, more then a year later, comes Reservoir, the first album from Fanfarlo. It was worth the wait. Lyrically, Reservoir reveals itself with each listen. The opening cut, “I Am A Pilot,” I believe is about Howard Hughes and has these lyrics: If I stay in this room / They’ll remember me for my youth If I stay in this room / They’ll remember me for my youth. If I give it all up / But kid I’m a pilot / It’s all I believe in / You can ride on my back. My adoration for this band grows with every repeat. The melodies are full of emotion and the way the songs hang together is delicate and powerful. – NPR
with:
Freelance Whales
8:30pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 18+
Sunday 12.06.09: PART TIME PUNKS with COLD CAVE / NITE JEWEL / DJ TIM BURGESS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
with:
Cold Cave
Nite Jewel || Listen
and:
guest DJ Tim Burgess (THE CHARLATANS)
plus resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Sunday 11.29.09: PART TIME PUNKS – FACTORY RECORDS NITE @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
with guest DJ Tristes Tropiques
plus resident dj Michael Stockspinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $5 / 18+
Sunday 11.22.09: PART TIME PUNKS – BRITPOP NITE @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
with guest DJ Larry (from UNDERGROUND)
plus resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $5 / 18+
Sunday 11.01.09: PART TIME PUNKS with FANCY SPACE PEOPLE / THE BAMBI SLAM / GARBAJ KAETZ @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
with:
Fancy Space People
The Bambi Slam
Garbaj Kaetz
resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $5 / 18+
Friday 11.20.09: Tilt and Echo NEON INDIAN / KEENHOUSE / TIGERCITY / LITTLE RED RADIO / SHORT CIRCUIT @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
For Alan Palomo, reflecting on the music of the Reagan era has a personal component. The Texas-reared Mexico native’s dad, Jorge, was a bit of a Spanish-language pop star in the late 1970s and early 80s. The analog electronics of that bygone period echo throughout the younger Palomo’s increasingly promising previous recordings, whether with former band Ghosthustler (he wore the Power Glove in the video for their “Parking Lot Nights”) or, more recently, on VEGA’s Well Known Pleasures EP. Finally, working with Brooklyn-based visual collaborator Alicia Scardetta as Neon Indian, Palomo has brought all the best of 2009’s summer sounds– bedroom production, borrowed nostalgia, unresolved sadness, deceptively agile popcraft– together on a single album.
Whatever they owe to the past, the memories on Psychic Chasms are Palomo’s and ours. Soft vocals recalling You Made Me Realise-era Kevin Shields. Italo-disco synth arpeggios. Hall & Oates drum sounds. Divebombing video-game effects. Brittle guitar distortion. Manipulated tapes that bend the notes the way Shields’ “glide guitar” did, the way bluesmen’s fret fingers did. Field recordings of birds. Oohing and ahhing backing vocals. And samples, on at least two songs, of the elder Palomo, whose electro-rock approach was quite similar. All combine on eight or nine unforgettable songs and a few tantalizingly brief interludes, indelibly capturing the glamor and bleary malaise of being young and horny as an empire devours itself.
Like a low-rent Daft Punk, Palomo takes what 1990s rock fans probably would’ve considered cheesy– LinnDrum and Oberheim rhythms, Chromeo-plated electro-funk Korg riffs, processed party-vocal samples– and not only makes them part of a distinct artistic vision, but also keeps them fun. Quick opener “(AM)” is rife with detail, as an indecipherable tenor floats over a mock-dramatic drum fill and 8-bit star cruisers do battle against twinkling fairy dust. Another sub-minute interstitial track, “(If I Knew, I’d Tell You)”, keeps its secrets to itself, letting multiple melodic synth lines hint at a gulf-sized pool of melancholy over a tape-altered rhythm track. “Laughing Gas”, at slightly more than a lyric-less minute and a half, is the one that ruins my attempted distinction between songs and interludes, with bongo drums, robot vocal samples, and euphoric giggles straight out of those Air France kids’ dreams. The cumulative result is a meltdown-deadened but deliriously inventive perspective on pop. – Pitchfork
with:
Keenhouse
Tigercity
Little Red Radio
Short Circuit
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
9pm / $12 / 18+
Tuesday 10.13.09: EDDIE IZZARD – A Benefit for 826LA @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Comedy, echoplex, events
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
7pm / $25 seated, $20 standing / 18+
Saturday 11.21.09: THE JUAN MACLEAN DJ SET / PARALLELS / ANTI-POP CONSORTIUM / DJ TURBOTITO / DJ BLAKE MILLER (Moving Units) @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echoplex, events
A Tribute to Jerry Fuchs
(The Juan Maclean / !!! / Holy Ghost! / Maserati / Turing Machine)
The Juan Maclean (DJ SET) || Listen || Watch
Interestingly, The Future Will Come occasionally reminds the listener of that other musical trend, the re-reading of the ’80s. Tracks such as the deceptively simple One Day and A New Bot could easily fit onto Metronomy’s album or La Roux’s forthcoming debut. With sometime LCD Soundsystem cohort Nancy Whang delivering clipped, almost deadpan vocals, some tracks here bring to mind the Human League (particularly The Station), a connection cemented by MacLean claiming to have listened to Dare constantly for inspiration.
Whilst most dance acts begin to test a listener’s patience by the sixth minute, MacLean seems to revel in drawing a song out, building layer upon layer and then stripping all the elements away again. Eight-minute opener The Simple Life is a case in point, a synthetic drum beat and undulating keyboard riff playing out the opening four minutes until Whang finally appears to deliver the phrase “Now You’re Gone” ad infinium. It’s a mesmeric, utterly addictive opener.
Elsewhere, Happy House, originally released last year, closes the album in style with 12 minutes of intricate percussion, organ stabs and a deliciously retro rave keyboard riff that would make even the greyest businessman throw shapes.
The Future Will Come is the kind of album you could listen to loudly in a club, or at home with some headphones and it would suit either. Welcome back intelligent dance music, we’ve missed you. – MusicOMH
with:
Parallels || Listen
Anti-Pop Consortium
Plus DJs:
Turbotito
Blake Miller (Moving Units)
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm / $12 / 18+
Saturday 11.14.09: RUSSIAN CIRCLES / YOUNG WIDOWS / HELMS ALEE @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, echoplex, events
Russian Circles || Listen || Watch || Mp3
It may share its name with another second city, but the third LP from the Russian Circles calls to mind a fairly famous quote from one of their hometown’s favorite sons. “Chicago is an October sort of city even in spring,” Nelson Algren wrote, and Geneva’s an October sort of album no matter when you put it on. Geneva feels very much like the city its members hang their hats: rusty and steely and shifty, overcast and a little cold, and– Algren again– “battle-colored.” It evokes a long early morning’s drive down the length of any one of Chicago’s city-spanning north-south thoroughfares, blowing through both industrial grit and beatific parkways, eyes peeled for crumbling facades and flashes of chrome and the not-so-occasional pothole.
There were signposts to Geneva all over the spiny, immediate Enter and last year’s prettier, driftier Station, but on their third go, the Circles are clearing a path all for themselves. Debts are still due to genre godheads like Mogwai and Slint, for certain, but like the best work of their obvious forebears, on Geneva the Circles have found a way to make three guys in a room sound like a lot more than three guys in a room. Credit where credit’s due: a great deal of Geneva’s success lies in the string work of cellist Allison Chesley and violinist Susan Voelz, who add a resonant depth to many of the record’s best moments, filling in the gaps around these insistent compositions with a kind of sweeping gothic grime. But even without the hired hands, Russian Circles are penning limber, purpose-driven tunes, then playing the hell out of them. And, in their structure and execution both, this is doubtless their finest work yet. – Pitchfork
with:
Young Widows || Listen
Helms Alee
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm / $12 advance, $14 day of show / 18+
Friday 10.02.09: Echo presents THOM YORKE @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Thom Yorke || Listen
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Tickets on sale on Friday Oct 2nd at Noon
2 ticket limit. Tickets are non-transferable.
8pm / $20 / 18+
Thursday 11.05.09: NORTEC COLLECTIVE FEATURING BOSTICH + FUSSIBLE @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, MP3, echoplex, events
Bostich + Fussible || Watch || Mp3
“‘Tijuana Sound Machine’ is both folk music friendly and alien/outer space driven, as electronic freaky as anything by Bjork, Radiohead, or Aphex Twin. If anything, the album is wildly innovative, the first salvo in what may become a global electronic revolution… The music is simply irresistible. Never mind hip-hop, ‘Tijuana Sound Machine’ will truly take a nation of millions to hold it back.”
- Yahoo! Music
“The best dance music of all time. It’s sexy, suave and has real instruments.”
- SF Weekly
“A hayride on speed… this is one party you don’t want to miss.”
- Billboard
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm / $15 advance, $17 Day of Show / 18+
Thursday 11.12.09: F*CK BUTTONS / GROWING @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Fuck Buttons || Listen || Watch
Listening to the 7″ version of the opening track from Fuck Buttons upcoming Tarot Sport, I’m tempted to say that the UK noise-rockers learned something in all the time they spent on the road following their excellent 2008 album Street Horrsing. Having caught them a couple of times during that stretch, an image that stays with me is of Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power jerking back and forth violently over a table full of gear, trying desperately to shape the music into something that would resonate with people out to have a good time. While there was much to admire at those shows, there was also a sense that something more was lurking on the horizon for Fuck Buttons, like music that that kept the same brutal edge but translated in a more physical way. “Surf Solar” hints at what that might be. With production assistance from versatile dance producer Andrew Weatherall, “Surf Solar” finds Fuck Buttons sounding even more propulsive, the steady 4/4 kick and careening samples forming a prickly counterpoint to the shimmering drone at the track’s center. It’s not as nasty, perhaps, but nothing is lost in terms of catharsis. And while the edit works well on its own and is more than just a sampler, it also gets you stoked for what else the album might have in store. – Pitchfork
8:30pm / $10 / 18+
Sunday 11.01.09: PART TIME PUNKS with TIMES NEW VIKING / SIC ALPS / AXEMEN @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
with:
Times New Viking
Sic Alps
Axemen
resident djs Michael Stock and Benny Shambles spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace
9pm / $12 advance, $15 day of show / 18+
Sunday 11.15.09: Part Time Punks Presents MISSION OF BURMA / THE HENRY CLAY PEOPLE @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Mission of Burma || Listen || Watch
In their first go-round in the early 1980s, Mission of Burma were equal parts innovation and perspiration. Their muscular post-punk was groundbreaking, but it also had a workman-like quality. Maybe that’s what made them unique– Roger Miller, Clint Conley, and Peter Prescott always had their noses to the grindstone even when they were being visionary. Since reforming in 2002, Burma haven’t been nearly as pioneering. But their hard-toiling side has not only persisted, it has expanded to fill in the gap.
Of their three post-reunion albums so far, The Sound the Speed the Light sounds the most industrious, the most like another day at the office. There’s nothing surprising here, and some songs are so signature-styled you might wonder if you’ve heard them before. But when it comes to office work, Burma’s day beats most bands’ years. So the lack of surprise also means a lack of flaws, and a lot of energy and power. When these guys punch the clock, they take the phrase literally.
So yet another Burma album hits the ground running, this time with “1,2,3 Partyy!”, a seriously fun song about how funny it is that someone would take partying seriously. That energy spills into “Possession”, which swings between weight-lifting pound and a wistful chorus, with lots of Miller guitar grit in between. Later, Conley’s bass melodies and half-spoken lyrics turn “Forget Yourself” into a thoughtful semi-ballad. By time the anthemic “SSL 83″ carries the record to its halfway point, it’s been six straight unimpeachable tunes, forming an album side that rivals any Burma album side. – Pitchfork
with:
The Henry Clay People || Listen || Watch
SHOW HAS MOVED TO ECHO
Tickets purchased for the Mission of Burma & Henry Clay People at Echoplex will still be honored at the door
8pm / $15 advance, $18 day of show / 18+
Monday 11.09.09: JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT / CHUCK PROPHET @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit || Listen || Watch
The 400 Unit sounds a lot more cohesive; even more so it sounds relaxed. Isbell co-produced the record with Centro-matic’s Matt Pence in between road dates. In listening to the eleven tracks, there is no question that this is a Muscle Shoals record. While the debut may have been tainted by the dark days of the A Blessing And A Curse-era DBT, The 400 Unit finds Isbell rejuvenated and eager to move on. A number of the songs seem to address his personal and professional splits with his old band, whether it be the wistful “Cigarettes and Wine” or the more acidic “Sunstroke”. Both moods are handled with a practiced ease. As happens in the Muscle Shoals tradition, The 400 Unit features keys, in this case in the form of Derry deBorga (ex-Son Volt), and that steamy Southern vibe really makes The 400 Unit shine. The sultry organ and soulful vocals set Isbell and band apart from the current gang of reverb-obsessed Americana folkers. Isbell and company have released one hell of a record. If there is any justice in this world, 2009 should see The 400 Unit making waves on the level of tour titans DBT and Lucero. – Tripwire
with:
Chuck Prophet || Listen
MOVED TO ECHO
all tickets purchased for the Echoplex show will still be valid
8pm / $13 Advance, $15 day of show / 18+
Friday 11.06.09: Echo & Club Underground present FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS / SWEATERS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
Fitz and The Tantrums || Watch
“I like this a lot for very obvious reasons…it’s Dope! It might be song of the week, actually.” Mark Ronson
“A supercool Motown-style combo in the Mark Ronson/Sharon Jones/mid-period-ABC vein…imagine if Amy Winehouse was blonde, male, and sane, and that’s Fitz” Yahoo! Music
“You can practically hear the record needle drop on the scratchy 45 when listening to Fitz and The Tantrums, a stylish retro-styled 60’s pop/soul combo” NBC Los Angeles
“Bringing back all the smooth feel of the Motown golden age with some new bounce. Fitz and his Tantrums are sure to install some smooth soul with a little extra.” IndieRockReviews.com
with:
Sweaters
8:30pm / $8 / 18+
Tuesday 11.03.09: PORT O’BRIEN / THE PARSON RED HEADS / EVANGELICALS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, echo, events
Port O’Brien || Listen || Watch || Mp3
The nautical Bay Area rockers most recently stopped the gap between LPs with a series of seasonally themed 7″s (we sampled Winter), but now they’re returning with a proper album to followup 2007’s praised All We Could Do Was Sing. Its songs were recorded in two locations: a bedroom in San Fran with Papercuts’ Jason Quever, then in a honest to goodness studio Los Angeles with Earlimart’s Aaron Espinoza. Up first from the set is “Sour Milk/Salt Water,” a steady and tuneful jangle-pop tune which hints at a slightly refined take on their windswept melodrama, ending with some studio guitar trickery that suggests it’s from the L.A. session. – Stereogum
with:
The Parson Red Heads || Listen
Evangelicals
8:30pm / $10 Advance, $12 Day of Show / 18+
Monday 11.02.09: SHONEN KNIFE / TY SEGALL / MIKE WATT @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Shonen Knife || Listen || Watch
Few bands that have been around since 1981 can honestly declare that they still rock, but Shonen Knife can. Who knows, maybe there’s something in Osaka’s water supply. Regardless of why they remain awesome, let’s just be thankful for that and get psyched for the release of their new album entitled Super Group, which comes out August 15th, according to Tiny Mix Tapes. Good Charamel Records, the label the band just signed with, will be including a bonus track called “Evil Birds” on North American editions of the album.
Super Group is the first album with Shonen Knife’s newly full-time bassist Ritsuko, previously the occasional fill-in for Atsuko, who departed in 2006. Be sure to catch the trio on their huge upcoming tour of Europe, Australia, and North America so you can repeat a famous Kurt Cobain quotation on the power of the Shonen Knife live show: “When I finally got to see them live, I was transformed into a hysterical nine-year-old at a Beatles concert.” – Consequence of Sound
with:
Ty Segall || Listen
Mike Watt
8:30pm / $13 advance, $15 day of show / 18+
Monday 11.02.09: Bad Time Charlie presents Dia De Los Muertos Debauchery with REZUREX / VIERNES 13 / LOS CREEPERS / THE HOWLERS / GAMBLERS MARK / HOT ROD FUNERAL / LA CHOLITA’S DEAD GIRL BURLESQUE TROOP & MORE @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
with:
Los Creepers
Rezurex
Viernes 13
Gamblers Mark
The Howlers
Hot Rod Funeral
Plus:
La Cholita’s Dead Girl Burlesque Troop
D.J Brando Von Badsville
and more!
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8pm / $10 / 18+
Thursday 10.29.09: ALELA DIANE / MARISSA NADLER @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Alela Diane || Listen || Watch
Diane demonstrated her broad range and flexibility, interpreting songs by artists as disparate as Vashti Bunyan, Jesus and Mary Chain, and Daniel Johnston on 2008’s The Silence of Love, which she recorded with some musician friends as Headless Heroes. To Be Still will never fire up any parties, but its emotional range is as wide as that covers project’s– from “Age Old Blue”, a wistful duet with craggy-voiced troubadour Michael Hurley about Diane’s sharecropping Scottish ancestors, to the flushed-cheek, string-surging “My Brambles”. Lead track “Dry Grass and Shadows” sets a playful tone, the sigh of steel pedal underlining her languid, country-twangy come-on: “I like to look at your teeth lined up in perfect rows… Where the flatlands stretch inside your mouth/ And when you laugh all the star thistles tumble out.” A little hippie-dippy, but also utterly enchanting.
The album’s first single, “White as Diamonds”, best showcases her expanded musical ambitions and the record’s pristine sound (coproduced with her bluegrass musician father in his studio). Two years ago, accompanied by acoustic guitar, Diane previewed the newly hatched song for Daytrotter (second station of the cross for up-and-comers after Blogotheque) and claimed “Diamonds” is about silence and uh, snow. Disingenuous-sounding, for sure, but it’s not like she’s the first artist who’d prefer not to parse lyrics. She’s also absolutely right: Simplicity is key to the song’s stark power, and its uncluttered vocabulary of fiddle, cello, guitar and drawn-out, warbled “wooooahs” are as head-clearing as a cold February morning. Fill its white spaces with what you will. – Pitchfork
with:
Marissa Nadler
8:30pm / $10 / 18+
Sunday 10.25.09: PART TIME PUNKS – SMITHS / MORRISSET NITE with Guest DJ JOSE MALDONADO (The Sweet And Tender Hooligans) @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
Guest DJ:
Jose Maldonado (from The Sweet And Tender Hooligans)
resident djs Michael Stock and Benny Shambles spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop
FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace
10pm / $5 / 18+
Wednesday 10.28.09: LE LOUP / RANDOM PATTERNS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, echo, events
Le Loup || Listen || Watch || Mp3
Having released the impressive The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millennium General Assembly in 2007, Le Loup have thankfully followed it up with both a shorter titled and even more impressive album in Family; a perfect blend of AC’s Sung Tongs and Panda Bear’s Person Pitch. That Le Loup have taken inspiration from Baltimore’s finest is unquestionable, but what they have also done is taken that influence and inspiration and created something that warrant’s its place alongside its stimulus.
If you take the term folk music and the German expression ‘Volk’ (“the people as a whole”) from which it is derived then it is more likely in this day and age that you would be describing the kind of dreadful pop music that pollutes the charts of most nations that record them. However if you use the expression as it is classically applied, then it is still a genre in which Family rather snugly fits. It uses simple ingredients to create something honest and memorable. There is no pretention, no agenda other than to communicate thoughts or feelings through music. From the cheering tones of one of the world’s most underrated instruments, the banjo, to the warming monk choir-like vocals that permeate throughout, Family is the sound of pure contentment and is almost impossible not to fall in love with. – Altsounds
with:
Random Patterns
Nurses Canceled due to Illness
8:30pm / $10 / 18+
Saturday 10.31.09: DOWN AND DERBY HALLOWEEN ROLLER DISCO with PINK DOLLAZ @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echoplex, events
Down and Derby, the premier roller skating organization that has quickly garnered a loyal following in cities such as Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Pomona and New York City, will host a special Halloween event at The Echoplex on Saturday, October 31. Dublab DJs Greenleaf, SFV Acid and Suzanne Kraft will control the roller disco rink’s turntables, broadcasting amplified sounds for the eight-wheeled revelers.
Down and Derby is a retro-inspired roller-skating party created and designed to give attendees a unique nightlife experience. The interactive throwback events combine décor reminiscent of a 70s roller disco with attendees wearing fashion attire evocative of the era. DJs known for pushing the limits of mixing and music production are procured, adding vibrant energy to the event with both underground and popular mixes.
The entry fee is $5 with RSVP, $10 at the door and quad skates of every size will be available to rent for another $5. Guests are welcome to bring their own roller skates to the event.
with:
Pink Dollaz
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
RSVP at www.downandderby.org
9pm / $5 with RSVP, $10 at the door / 18+
Tuesday 10.20.09: THE SUBJECTS / BAD VEINS / COBRA LILIES @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, echo, events
The Subjects || Listen || Watch
The origins of The Subjects goes like this: Guitarist Joe Smith and singer/bassist Dave Sheinkopf were teachers at a Manhattan school with clichéd rock star dreams. Enter their students, drummer Matt Iwanusa and guitarist Jimmy Carbonetti. Take a few rehearsals and you have a rising band with a poppy, minimalist sound. Makes you wish you paid attention in school, doesn’t it?
The band first hit the scene with 2007’s With the Ease Grace Precision and Cleverness of Human Beings. Now they’re back with the a new EP entitled New Soft Shoe that reflects the growth spurt of a band who has seen some things. Whether it’s touring with White Rabbits and Tapes n’ Tapes or jamming through SXSW, the band’s sound has morphed into a four headed beast who pulls from a collective pool of interests and works to create a sound that emphasizes four unique yet wholly similar voices.
While the new EP has songs that stylistically draw from a group like Animal Collective, the band worked to make a more varied sound. Whether it’s the goliath of old church organs, the rhythm of honky-tonk strings and piano or even Iwanusa’s mom on the sax, the album brings together the structuring of some classical work (Sheinkopf was classically trained in harmony) with eccentric pop work that is light and fresh with just enough thud and kick to it. – Consequence of Sound
with:
Bad Veins || Listen || Watch || Mp3
Bad Veins live show is a very interesting thing. The two person band from Cincinnati, Ohio manage to recreate the lush, orchestrated sound from their album on stage. Captivating and energetic, it’s hard to know who to look at as an audience member of a Bad Veins show as both drummer Sebastien Schultz and singer/guitarist Benjamin Davis demand your attention, albeit in very different ways. Schultz drums with the energy of at least three enthused punk drummers while Davis’s mannerisms imply that he truly does believe the words he’s singing as his guitar cuts and his voice remains lackadaisically seductive, no matter the amount of energy he seems to be expelling on stage. The fact that Bad Veins brand of sexy, hip indie pop is easy to digest and very appealing makes not only their just-released self titled debut a must to pick up but it also makes the Bad Veins fellows (and their reel to reel, lovingly named Irene, which produces all the wonderful sounds you hear that aren’t made by Benjamin and Sebastien) a worthwhile show to check out. – Radio Free Chicago
plus:
Cobra Lilies || Listen
8:30pm / $8 / 18+
Wednesday 10.14.09: HARPER SIMON / PETRA HADEN AND JIM BIANCO / INARA GEORGE AND ELENI MANDELL @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
Harper Simon || Listen || Watch
At 36, Paul Simon’s son (from his first marriage) is finally ready for his solo debut after years as a singer or guitarist in indie bands (Menlo Park and, with Simon’s current wife Edie Brickell, the Heavy Circles). “It took me a while to find my voice and be in a place in my life where I was ready to take that on,” says Simon, whose dulcet voice and pensive, thoughtful songs (“Wishes and Stars,” “All to God”) recall his father’s work. To help flesh what the calls “a homage to the LPs of the ’60s (“I’m not interested in making 10 separate songs sold on iTunes for 99 cents — I’m interested in the album”), Simon turned to a wide array of musical peers and friends, from veteran producer Bob Johnson (Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel) and Attractions pianist Steve Nieve to peers like Sean Lennon and Joan Wasser. His father even pitched in, writing the lyrics to what his son calls the “mock-autobiographical” country tune “Tennessee.” “He enjoyed the challenge of taking on a very traditional country structure,” says Simon. “He’d never done that before.” – Rolling Stone
with:
Petra Haden & Jim Bianco
The Living Sisters Lite (Inara George & Eleni Mandell)
8pm / $10 / 18+
Wednesday 10.07.09: TOTIMOSHI / SUBARACHNOID SPACE / OVO / PETER KOLOVOS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, echo, events
Totimoshi || Listen || Watch || Mp3
I’ve been a fan of Bay-area trio Totimoshi for awhile now, and the group has always struck me as incredibly underrated. If you do a little reading about the band you’ll find every similarity possible to any of their metal, hard rock, or stoner rock peers out on the road today. But the trio’s Latin heritage, Tony Aguilar’s unique voice, and their all-around desert-scorching sound add dimensions to Totimoshi’s essence that are so very lacking elsewhere. The trio has been referred to as a stoner rock or jam band way too many times to count. I’m not sure either label actually applies. Tuned-down and sludgy? Yes, but there is so much more going on here on Milagrosa. Totimoshi isn’t a party band, but they will shake your soul. – Adequacy
with:
SubArachnoid Space
OvO
Peter Kolovos
8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+
Tuesday 11.24.09: Performer Magazine presents MAX TUNDRA / DEASTRO / HEALAMONSTER AND TARSIER @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, MP3, events
Max Tundra || Listen || Watch || Mp3
On the contrary, Tundra’s show was everything a true fan could have hoped for. He smartly played around his catalog and tore through old gems like “Lysine,” from his 2002 album “Mastered by Guy at the Exchange,” as well as tunes from his latest release, like the infectiously-catchy “Which Song.” Tundra gave an audience not entirely savvy to his music a varied taste of his limited but impressive body of work. Skittering beats and MIDI horn bits piled out of the PA at rapid fire.
But the best part about seeing him live was watching what he did with these computer-generated themes. Bolting between keyboard solos, various percussion instruments, a Stratocaster guitar, his diva-inspired vocals on the mic and little 5-yard-radial laps around the stage, his spectacle radiated the essence of sheer joy. These antics, coupled with his clever and polite banter in that charming British accent and a couple of covers, tongue squarely in cheek (try Rogers and Hemmerstein’s “So Long, Farewell”), made the whole thing seem like a cartoon. – The Denver Post
with:
Deastro || Listen || Watch
Healamonster and Tarsier
8:30pm / $10 advance, $12 Day of Show / 18+
Tuesday 10.27.09: Otik Records Presents THE VOYEURS / THE FLYING TOURBILLON ORCHESTRA / THE MONOLATORS / @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events, free show
The Voyeurs || Listen || Watch
(As Creedence Clearwater Revival)
The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra || Listen
(As Fleetwood Mac)
The Monolators || Listen
(as ABBA)
The Karabal Nightlife || Listen
(As T-Rex)
8:30pm / FREE with Costume, $5 without / 18+
Friday 10.30.09: CLUB UNDERGROUND @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
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 10.09.09: CLUB UNDERGROUND with NORTHERN SKY / CANNONEERS OF THE NEW COMMAND @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
Northern Sky
Cannoneers of the New Command
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 10.02.09: CLUB UNDERGROUND @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echo, events
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+
Saturday 09.26.09: Dub Frequency & Echo present PAC DIV / ROB ROY / THEE MIKE B / 87 STICK UP KIDS / AUDIBLE AGENT / ADAM TENSTA / THE CATARACS / SHAWN CHRYSTOPHER / CHRIS YOUNG @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echoplex, events
with:
Pac Div
Rob Roy
Thee Mike B
87 Stick Up Kids
The Cataracs
Adam Tensta
Audible Agent
Shawn Chrystopher
Chris Young
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
9pm / $12 advance, $14 day of show / 18+
Saturday 10.24.09: KID SISTER / FLOSSTRADAMUS / TOTALLY MICHAEL @echoplex
Posted by samantha - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echoplex, events
Kid Sister || Watch
The head of Kid Sister’s long-awaited album is finally reaching the end of the birth canal: It’s a girl, her name is Ultraviolet and she’s finally coming out October 6 on Downtown Records.
Months of rapid anticipation, encouraged by Kid Sis’s adorable Twitter-ing (“Ew my nails look crazy. I look like I raze barns for a living…”) and ridiculous live performances, have crested to make this one of the year’s most exciting album drops. The buzz from her 2007 single, “Pro Nails,” feat. Kanye West has only grown as Kid Sister keeps on her performing grind and stays real with her fans, delaying her own album release just to get every detail perfect. I smell a classic in the oven.
In addition to Kid Sister’s already infectious flow, I personally can’t wait to check out the production on the album, coming from hard-hitters like Rusko, XXXChange, Herve, and DJ Gant-Man. Don’t sleep on Chicago’s most fully-fitted female rapper this fall! – The Tripwire
with:
Flosstradamus
Totally Michael
The Very Best Had to Cancel Due to Passport Problems
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm / $16 adv; $18 dos / 18+
Wednesday 10.21.09: THE HEAVY / SWEATERS / SHIRLEY ROLLS @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events
If anyone is curious as to where Howlin’ Wolf, James Brown or even Elvis Presley resurrected and blessed their talents to then you should look no further then to the indie rock band The Heavy. The English indie rock band is taking music to new heights with their sound that consists of heavy hip hop soul funk.
When listening to their album “The House That Dirt Built” be prepared to take a few trips back in time to the 1940s and the 1950s. Not to sound extreme but it is almost like this band was reincarnated from another lifetime and brought into our generation to keep soul funk alive. When listening to “Sixteen” lead vocalist Kelvin Swaby tells a story of a girl who seemingly dances with the devil. Now she looked just like heaven but her mind reeked of hell now I know I shouldn’t be telling but I guess if you know her well she’s the kind of girl she cant hold on she’s already there, sixteen. “Oh No! Not You Again!” and “What You Want Me To Do” has a more upbeat tempo and gives us the reminder that this rock band has the ability to make you move. “Love Like That” has a funky melody while “Stuck” is more of a mellow groove.
The Heavy does not disappoint when it comes to their delivery and style as a band, they are definitely unique and refreshing to ones ears and gives their listeners the ability to discover what an indie soul rock band can really do. – URB
with:
Sweaters
Shirley Rolls || Listen
8:30pm / $10 / 18+
Thursday 10.22.09: LIAM FINN + ELIZA JANE / JASON LYTLE / THE 88 @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Liam Finn + Eliza Jane || Listen
Liam Finn calls his beard “well-traveled” for a good reason. Over the past year alone, the troubadour performed over 180 times at venues far from his New Zealand abode, opening for The Black Keys, Pearl Jam and Wilco. Yet Finn’s most impressive venture to date has not been to any geographical location, but past the barriers of a comfort zone. Although he considered his former Betchadupa bandmates his closest friends, Finn kept to himself the songs he had written of heartbreak and evictions, ultimately the reason why 2008’s I’ll Be Lightning became a solo record. But Finn has since opened up to a born-again collaborator, with his involvement in father Neil’s 7 Worlds Collide project and an EP he created with fellow folk vocalist Eliza-Jane Barnes. What they created, recently released on Sept. 1, was Champagne in Seashells. Fresh from working on 7 Worlds Collide in April, Finn called forth new anxieties that coalesce in the EP’s first track, “Plane Crash.” A self-created nightmare in slow motion, the song spends more than half of its time building up tension through a rumble of broken chords, before exploding into a storm cloud of guitar noise. – Paste Magazine
with:
“Hold my hand while everything blows away, and we will run to a brand new sun,” Jason Lytle sings in his high, scratchy voice. That sense of willed optimism rising out of catastrophe could be about the end of a band, a romance, a friendship, an economic boom or all of them at once, and it runs through the songs on “Yours Truly, the Commuter” (Anti-), Mr. Lytle’s first solo album after 15 years of leading Grandaddy. Mr. Lytle moved to Bozeman, Mont., and recorded the album by himself, playing all the instruments. It’s a fragile recollection of California rock from more auspicious times, with stately melodies and vocal chorales over jerry-built foundations: elegies for vanished certainties. – NY Times
plus:
The 88 || Listen || Watch
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm / $14 advance, $16 day of show / 18+
Tuesday 10.13.09: Binary Presents LA LIGHTS – RECORD RELEASE PARTY with KEENHOUSE / LEXICONDON / SHORT CIRCUIT / ALFA / THE KIDS ARE RADIOACTIVE @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, Dance Night, echoplex, events, free show
To celebrate the release of our debut record, Binary Presents: LA Lights…….. we’re having a party!
We’re taking over The Echoplex on Tuesday, October 13th (which is also the day the record will come out digitally!) for a night of fun, music, and celebration!
First off, its FREEEEEEE (you just need to RSVP to rsvp@binaryentertainmentgroup.com), so come out and have a great time, and please come support! This record is really the fruition of a couple years of work for Binary, and the songs are the heart and soul of our 7 artists. Come celebrate with us and come for some amazing performances!
Live performances by:
Keenhouse
LexiconDon
Short Circuit
DJ sets by:
Alfa
The Kids Are Radioactive
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
RSVP to rsvp@binaryentertainmentgroup.com
9pm / FREE with RSVP / 18+
Monday 10.12.09: FISHTANK ENSEMBLE / BRASS MENAZERI / THE SHPIL @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Balkan Brass, Gypsy Gaga, Klezmatic Kaos, Eastern European Ecstacy!!
The LA Weekly calls them “cross pollinated gypsy music….one of the most thrilling young acts on the planet.” Formed in 2005 and playing everywhere from the hippest LA clubs to festivals, cultural centers, museums, parades, and even on the street, the band includes two explosive violins, the world’s best slap bass player, musical saw, flamenco and gypsy jazz guitar, trombone, opera, jazz and gypsy vocals, accordion and one little banjolele. Tackling everything from French hot jazz to wild Serbian and Transylvanian gypsy anthems, Flamenco, and oddball originals, the band is a not to be missed event for world music lovers…and everyone will love this intoxicating mix of music!
with:
Brass Menazeri || Listen
The Shpil || Listen
@ Echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8:30pm / $13 advance, $15 day of show / 18+
Tuesday 10.06.09: THE MOTH GRANDSLAM @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
10 stories, 3 teams of judges, 1 winner
Ten champion Moth StorySLAM storytellers will tell five-minute true tales on the theme “Transformation”. A forensic psychologist, a voice over artist, a mom who makes a mean chicken spaghetti sauce, a former UN tour guide, the reigning three time champion and five others will battle it out – with only words as weapons – for the “LA GrandSLAM Champion” title. No notes, no scripts – just pure, old-fashioned, unadulterated storytelling. Fun, fast, furious.
The Moth is dedicated to finding intriguing people to tell inspired stories. At The Moth StorySLAM, those people find us. On this night, using words as swords, they battle it out to determine The Moth’s GrandSLAM Story Champion.
Stories told by: Peter Basch, Christine Blackburn, Josh Cereghino, Sabrina Cognata, Megan Grano, Vikki Kelleher, Lisa McKay, Katie Nahnsen, Bill Ratner, Meg Swertlow
Hosted by: Brain Finkelstein
Musician: Alexander Burke (Vibraphone)
@ Echoplex
Enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
FMI: www.themoth.org
7pm / $15 / 18+
Tuesday 11.03.09: LUCERO “RAMBLIN’ ROADSHOW AND MEMPHIS REVUE” with JACK OBLIVIAN / JOHN PAUL KEITH & THE ONE FOUR FIVES @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Back when Lucero played warehouses and released scrappy attic recordings on hand-packaged LPs, the Memphis band felt like an epiphany. Granted, Lucero wasn’t the first group to smash punk zeal into country-rock tradition, but it was the best at the time, and did so on wholly punk-rock terms. Ten years on, the group has released 1372 Overton Park, its major-label debut. Not only is it a sonic leap for Lucero, it’s another epiphany: Having long outgrown the warehouse, leader Ben Nichols and crew have embraced their legendary Memphis forebears by adding a robust horn section (courtesy of Memphis soul legend Jim Spake) and an epic sweep on par with Lucero’s closest cousin, Drive-By Truckers. Overton’s tracks cover Nichols’ typically gravely domain—anthemic barnburners like “Sounds Of The City” to twang-laden weepers like “Can’t Feel A Thing”—but there’s also stomping Southern boogie on “The Devil And Maggie Chascarillo,” a raucous homage to Los Bros Hernandez’s Love And Rockets comics, and a newfound brassy punch that recalls everything from Stax classics to The Replacements’ Pleased To Meet Me. – AV Club
with:
Jack Oblivian
John Paul Keith & the One Four Fives
@ echoplex
enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8pm / $15 advance, $17 day of show /18+
Wednesday 09.30.09: BUZZBANDS.LA ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY with EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS / VOXHAUL BRODCAST / SAMUEL STEWART / RADIO FREQ @ echo
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echo, events, local artist
Eastern Conference Champions || Listen || Watch (EP Release Party)
with:
Voxhaul Broadcast (EP Release Party)
Samuel Stewart
Radio Freq
RSVP to any of the bands on the bill or to buzzbands@gmail.com
8:30pm / $8, $5 with RSVP / 18+
Friday 10.30.09: BUILT TO SPILL / DISCO DOOM @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Built To Spill || Listen || Watch
When Built To Spill wanted to find out what their music sounded like they locked themselves in Doug Martsch’s garage. Without a tentative conclusion or even a hypothesis the four members began to experiment. Their collaborative efforts lasted seasons and yielded dozens of hours of ADAT tape. The album You In Reverse documents the newest branch of Built To Spill’s chaotic, yet elegant evolution. Rather than Doug’s former reliance on extensive overdubs, the group tried to capture loose and live moments, letting each individual musician’s talents be more accurately represented. Instead of a broad, atmospheric sweep, this record sounds natural. It resonates with relationships, the way the band as a whole responds to music and to each other.
with:
Disco Doom || Listen
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
8pm / $22 advance, $24 day of show / 18+
Thursday 10.29.09: BUILT TO SPILL / DISCO DOOM @ echoplex
Posted by damara - filed in 18+, echoplex, events
Built To Spill || Listen || Watch
When Built To Spill wanted to find out what their music sounded like they locked themselves in Doug Martsch’s garage. Without a tentative conclusion or even a hypothesis the four members began to experiment. Their collaborative efforts lasted seasons and yielded dozens of hours of ADAT tape. The album You In Reverse documents the newest branch of Built To Spill’s chaotic, yet elegant evolution. Rather than Doug’s former reliance on extensive overdubs, the group tried to capture loose and live moments, letting each individual musician’s talents be more accurately represented. Instead of a broad, atmospheric sweep, this record sounds natural. It resonates with relationships, the way the band as a whole responds to music and to each other.
with:
Disco Doom || Listen
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026