Tuesday 04.20.10: FYF Fest Presents EARTH / WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM / LORI GOLDSTEN @ echoplex

Earth || Listen || Watch || MP3

Earth, the older of the two, has refined itself over almost 20 years. Formed by Dylan Carlson, still its leader, it once favored aggression and chord changes that felt like rock, even at a ritual crawl and without singing. But recently its music sounds more like a film background, with a scent of Miles Davis’s “In a Silent Way.” On Tuesday Mr. Carlson played a Fender Stratocaster with a clean tone; Adrienne Davies played drums, applying each slow beat carefully; Don McGreevy’s bass notes, reverberating in the hall, massaged the soles of your feet; and Steve Moore warmed up the chords with electric piano. Earth doesn’t really do peaks and valleys; it makes its case without a fuss and leaves you wanting more. – NY Times

with:
Wolves in the Throne Room || Listen
Lori Goldsten

@ the Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026

8PM / $10 advance, $12 day of show / All Ages

Saturday 03.13.10: FYF & echo present SMITH WESTERNS / PEARL HARBOR / YOUNG VEINS / MICHAEL RUNION AND THE ROYAL FAMILY @ echo

Smith Westerns
Pearl Harbor
Young Veins
Michael Runion & the Royal Family

5:00pm / $7 / All Ages

Sunday 03.14.10: KiDROCKERS with WATSON TWINS plus GUESTS @ echoplex (day show – kids show)

The Watson Twins || Listen
plus GUESTS

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

Hosted by Matt Dwyer

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

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

Sunday 03.14.10: THE AUSSIE BBQ 2010 with THE CHEVELLES / CITY RIOTS / GOONS OF DOOM / CHILDREN COLLIDE / PAUL DEMPSEY / OH MERCY / DAPPLED CITIES / WASHINGTON / CASSETTE KIDS / SHERLOCK’S DAUGHTER / HENRY WAGONS @ echo (day show)

THE CHEVELLES
CITY RIOTS
GOONS OF DOOM
CHILDREN COLLIDE
PAUL DEMPSEY
OH MERCY
DAPPLED CITIES
WASHINGTON
CASSETTE KIDS
SHERLOCK’S DAUGHTER
HENRY WAGONS

The Aussie BBQ has grown in to one of the biggest shows as part of the SXSW calendar and in 2009 through popular demand branched out to include shows in Los Angeles and New York. These satellite shows not only offered music industry executives another chance to find the next big thing but it also gave local punters the chance to experience a mini festival of great Australian music without the expense or time of travelling all the way to Australia.

After the success of the inaugural Aussie BBQ last year the organizers have decided to truck in another load of great Australian music for The Aussie BBQ 2010. This year you will again not only get fresh Australian beer and BBQ but another swagger of bands.

FMI: www.theaussiebbq.com

12pm / $15 / All Ages

Tuesday 03.16.10: WHITE STRIPES UNDER THE GREAT WHITE NORTHERN LIGHTS SCREENING @ echoplex

Join Us for a FREE all ages screening of
White Stripes Under the Great White Northern Lights! || Watch the Trailer

Screening starts at 8pm!
Film will be projected over the stage with seating and peppermint candies provided.

Click here to RSVP

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

Doors at 7:30pm — Screening begins at 8pm / FREE / all ages

Sunday 03.28.10: Spaceland Productions & KCRW present An Evening with NELLIE MCKAY @ Alex Theatre

Nellie McKay || Listen || Watch

What could notoriously eccentric young New York singer-songwriter Nellie McKay have in common with notoriously normal Hollywood icon Doris Day? The comparison only begins with McKay’s new album, Normal as Blueberry Pie: A Tribute to Doris Day.

McKay first declared her love of Doris Day in a 2007 book review she wrote for The New York Times. McKay wrote of the exemplary pop singer, whose wholesome persona made her Hollywood’s biggest female draw: “Her music is uncluttered, sensual and free, driven by an irrepressible will to live.”

But while Normal as Blueberry Pie wouldn’t be a Nellie McKay album if it weren’t a little kooky, McKay’s arrangements find a graceful midpoint between her postmodern cabaret and Day’s popped-up big-band singer with chops for miles. It emphasizes the purity McKay’s voice shares with Day’s. It, too, is uncluttered, sensual and free. – NPR

Alex Theatre
216 North Brand Boulevard
Glendale, CA 91203

FMI: The Alex Theatre

9pm / $23 advance, $26 day of show / All Ages

Friday 03.05.10: FIRST FRIDAYS with DEERTICK / EVEREST @ Natural History Museum

LIVE FROM FIRST FRIDAYS:

In the diorama hall:

Deer Tick
Everest

Labeled as one of Rolling Stone’s Top 5 Bands from SXSW in 2009, Deer Tick, will be kicking off their US tour this month at First Fridays. Don’t miss their country-rock must-see show. Los Angeles based Everest, who have opened for the likes of Neil Young and Wilco, have been hailed as the new face of American rock-and-roll.

DJs:

DJ Shortee
Them Jeans

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

FMI: Natural History Museum

5:30pm / concert + museum pass= $15, museum pass= $2-$9 / All Ages

Sunday 03.28.10: The Los Angeles Rock N Roll Preservation Society presents POW FEST with THE STANDELLS / THE ZEROS / PETER CASE / PIERCED ARROWS / GIANT DRAG / TY SEGALL / LORDS OF ALTAMONT / SEAN WHEELER AND ZANDER SCHLOSS / LULLABYE ARKESTRA / GESTAPO KHAZI / LE FACE / CHARLIE AND THE MOONHEARTS / ROUGH KIDS / OKIE DOKIE / THE SPURTS / LUXURY SWEETS / THE JONES ACT / VOLAPIKE @ echoplex and echo

with:
The Standells
The Zeros
Peter Case
Pierced Arrows
Giant Drag
Ty Segall
Lords of Altamont
Sean Wheeler & Zander Schloss
Lullabye Arkestra
Gestapo Khazi
Le Face
Charlie and the Moonhearts
Rough Kids
Okie Dokie
The Spurts
Luxury Sweets
The Jones Act
Volapike

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

12pm / $20 / All Ages

Sunday 03.07.10: EARTHWORM ENSEMBLE @ echo (Early show – Kid’s show)

Earthworm Ensemble || Listen

Earthworm Ensemble, a new group which includes members of the acclaimed Los Angeles alt-Americana band I See Hawks in L.A., will release its first family friendly CD by the same name on February 16, 2010. Rocking guitars, fiddles, steel guitar, accordion, psychedelic bass and drum grooves, and rich vocal harmonies, make Earthworm Ensemble the new standout in family music.

Featuring a diverse range of musical styles, including country, folk, Americana, rock and New Orleans funk, Earthworm Ensemble includes 11 original songs that will bear repeated listening by kids of all ages. These songs offer an imaginative, child’s eye view of nature and the universe, with light and humorous touches throughout. “Bang a Drum” is a deceptively simple percussive piece that will get kids up off the couch and banging along to the beat. A healthy, DIY message is humorously delivered in the father-to-son song “Pizza Moon,” and we can come along for the ride on old-timey songs like “The Traveling Train” and “Walking Boy.”

The authentic and fresh sound of Earthworm Ensemble comes from a who’s who of California folk/country artists. I See Hawks in L.A. artists Paul Lacques, Shawn Nourse and Paul Marshall are joined by host of talented friends and family. The artists have variously played in bands with Emmylou Harris, Dwight Yoakam, Sly Stone, the Strawberry Alarm Clock and John Denver. The wistful voices of the Chapin Sisters (including two of Tom Chapin’s daughters) add a sweet and soulful element to three of the tracks, including the resonant lullaby “Good Night Little Spaceship.” The CD also features Discovery Science Channel host and country rapper Zachariah and TexMex/bluegrass vocalist Christina Ortega.

2pm / $5 / All Ages

Saturday 03.06.10: 826LA, Origami & Echo present CHICKENS IN LOVE with THE SUBMARINES / THAO NGUYEN / PITY PARTY / SUMMER DARLING @ echoplex & echo

Chickens In Love: An 826LA Benefit Show

with live performances from:

The Submarines || Listen
Thao Nguyen
The Pity Party
Summer Darling || Listen

+ More artists TBD!

A one-day all-ages MINI MUSIC FESTIVAL is scheduled for March 6, 2010 at the Echoplex, featuring The Submarines, Summer Darling, The Happy Hollows, The Growlers, and more! Get in the mood with punk rock hairdos from The Hive Hair Shop, rocker accessories from local LA designers, burgers from Grill ‘Em All Food Truck, and more.

CHICKENS IN LOVE is a full-length album of original songs with lyrics written by 826LA students and recorded by Los Angeles recording artists. This album will feature recordings by She & Him, Fiona Apple, Cold War Kids, Tim and Eric, The Submarines, Summer Darling, The Happy Hollows, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Dum Dum Girls, The Growlers, Crystal Antlers, and The Pity Party!

Enter at
Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

12pm / $15 / All Ages

Saturday 03.27.10: Aquarium Drunkard & Spaceland Productions present WAVED OUT Music Festival with SURFER BLOOD / BEST COAST / TURBOFRUITS / ACTIVE CHILD / THE COATHANGERS / DIRST DRESS / GAMBLE HOUSE / THE PO PO / MOON DUO / SANDWITCHES @ Echoplex & Echo

Aquarium Drunkard is pleased to be teaming up with Spaceland Productions to present WAVED OUT: an all ages – two room festival at The Echo and Echoplex in Los Angeles on Saturday March 27th. 

The first of more to come, WAVED OUT will showcase the best of new music with performances by
Surfer Blood
Best Coast
Turbofruits
Active Child
The Coathangers
Dirt Dress
Gamble House
The Po Po
Moon Duo
Sandwitches

and more to be announced

Plus:
KXLU
Origami Vinyl
Hit & Run
Ice Cream Man

Hosted by:
Matt Dwyer
Matt Braunger

Enter at
Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Aggeles, CA 90026

3:30pm / $10 / All Ages

Friday 03.26.10: YACHT / BOBBY BIRDMAN / SMALL BLACK / WASHED OUT / PICTUREPLANE @ echoplex

YACHT || Listen || Watch

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

Sunday 02.14.10: The Center for Nonviolent Education and Parenting presents FAMILY DANCE PARTY & FUNDRAISER @ echoplex (early show – enter on sunset)

@ Echoplex
enter through Sunset Entrance
1822 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

2pm / all ages

Thursday 03.04.10: LESLIE AND THE LYS / CHRISTOPHER THE CONQUERED / THE MONOLATORS @ echoplex

Leslie and The Lys || Listen || Watch

For the rest of this review, body glitter = sweat. Iowa’s mainframe zaftig-white-female hip hop star, Leslie Hall, cleaned house at the Echoplex Friday night with her traveling circus act Leslie and the Lys. It looked like a neon fringe and gold lamè factory exploded all over Echo Park.

More than a musician, Leslie Hall is a movement, because Leslie could not do what she does (and she does it so well) at any other time than the present. She exists now as the result of a culture in whiplash from several pop commodity crashes: Suzanne Somers, Jazzercise, heroine-chic, daytime talk shows, the celebutante, Tony Robbins, and, of course, the Bedazzler.

For the rest of this review, body glitter = sweat. Iowa’s mainframe zaftig-white-female hip hop star, Leslie Hall, cleaned house at the Echoplex Friday night with her traveling circus act Leslie and the Lys. It looked like a neon fringe and gold lamè factory exploded all over Echo Park.

More than a musician, Leslie Hall is a movement, because Leslie could not do what she does (and she does it so well) at any other time than the present. She exists now as the result of a culture in whiplash from several pop commodity crashes: Suzanne Somers, Jazzercise, heroine-chic, daytime talk shows, the celebutante, Tony Robbins, and, of course, the Bedazzler. – LA Weekly

with:
Christopher the Conquered || Listen
The Monolators || Listen

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

8:30pm / $11 advance, $13 day of show / all ages

Sunday 02.28.10: SCREAM (Original Lineup) / THE HOLLOYS / DJ TRAVIS (Buddyhead) @ echo (early show)

Scream (Original Lineup)

Scream, like most of the bands in DC, obviously had been extremely influenced by the Bad Brains, but they seemed to be more advanced musicians and had more of a rock and roll sensibility than the others. In 1982, they went into Inner Ear Studio with Ian and Eddie to record Dischord’s first full length album, Still Screaming. Scream released four albums on Dischord (as well as one on RAS Records, No More Censorship) and continued to play until the beginning of the 90’s, doing a number of U.S. and European tours.

with:
Holloys || Listen
DJ Travis (Buddyhead)

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

Saturday 03.20.10: BETH HART @ echo

Beth Hart || Listen || Watch

The first time I heard/saw Beth Hart was at an electronics show a few years ago. I was strolling down the aisle ways minding my own business and there she was, a dirty rock n’ roll chick seducing me with her hypnotic banshee songs on a big screen flanked by a towering pair if speakers. I stood there mesmerized watching this rock n’ roll dream until I was forced to move on when those at the booth changed the DVD.

I immediately sought out every CD she had produced and tracked down the live DVD she had released. I was and am enthralled by Beth Hart and her music. This photo gallery captures her moments and her dangerous beauty. You can’t capture the power and beauty of her music in photos, for that you will have to track down a CD or two. Never mind which one, they all have their merits. Get them all if you can and the must have DVD, Live at the Paradiso.

Many have compared her to Janis Joplin, and I think that is fair, but don’t be mistaken, this girl has her own identity. Someone over at Amazon described her something like this: Her creation was a collaborative work between God and Satan. They combined the best of Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Otis Redding, and John Lee Hooker then added a bit of spice like atomic energy, several forces of nature such as hurricanes and tornadoes, the pure unapologetic sexuality of the most sensual of strippers, the humanity of mankind, and coated the whole mess with nitro glycerin, then dropped it from the sky…waiting to see what would happen. The result was Beth Hart. – Rock N Roll View

7pm / $15.00 / all ages

Sunday 02.28.10: THE MACAROONS / STORYTIMEFUNLAND @ Echo (Early Show)

The Macaroons || Listen || Watch

The second incarnation of The Leevees (All Things Considered’s “best holiday record of the decade!”), the Macaroons feature musicians Dave Schneider (the Zambonis, the world’s only all-hockey rock band), Shawn Fogel (Golden Bloom, The Zambonis), Dan Saks (DeLeon, a Sephardic indie rock band also on JDub Records) and Michael Azerrad.

The record, comprised of 17 power-pop tracks for the petite set, is perfect for parents looking for an alternative to the boring lullabies of their youth. The Macaroons’ new sound signals a return to the sincerely silly, exemplified by Jerry Garcia’s folksy Not For Kids Only or the freshness of Jonathan Richman. Still, the Macaroons handle Jewish cultural traditions with a particularly kind and nostalgic humor that is as evocative for kids as it is for parents. Take “Elijah,” a sweet and wistful ode to the invisible prophet who makes his nighttime rounds during Passover, in which the kid-narrator vows to “leave the bathroom light on just for him.”

with:
StoryTimeFunLand

12pm / $8, family 4-pak $30.00 / all ages

Sunday 02.14.10: KiDROCKERS with DENGUE FEVER / BUDDY @ echo (day show)

Dengue Fever || Watch
Buddy || Listen

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

Hosted by Matt Dwyer

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

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

Thursday 02.18.10: FYF Presents COLD CAVE / SMITH WESTERNS / BEST COAST @ Echoplex

Cold Cave || Watch

Synth-pop, post punk, new wave, atmospheric industrial– all these references, which came and went and were fashionable again a half-decade ago, somehow manage to feel fresh here. It’s probably because the songs on Love Comes Close are consistently catchy and well constructed– once you have that down, genre concerns become secondary. Still, these are some awfully icy landscapes, and Cold Cave do have a way with mood. Take, for instance, opener “Cebe and Me”, which exhibits a pulsing, Ambien-addled dry cold that threatens to wear thin if over-exercised. But this track turns out to be an entry-level teaser, as album highlight “Love Comes Close” chimes in right on time, an inspired, bittersweet New Order-style dance-pop track that’s as morose as it is curiously uplifting, constantly refreshing itself on that earworm of a guitar hook. From here on out, Love evens out, outfitting those creepy, dead-eyed synthetics in more pop-friendly garb. – Pitchfork

with:
Smith Westerns
Best Coast || Listen

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

8:00pm / $12 / All Ages

Tuesday 02.16.10: Spaceland Productions & LA Weekly present An Evening with RICKIE LEE JONES @ Vista Theatre

Rickie Lee Jones || Listen

There is only one Rickie Lee Jones and you can experience her unique mixture of R&B, jazz, soul and pop in February. That is, if your town is lucky enough to be on the routing sheet.

Has it really been more than thirty years since Jones recorded “Chuck E.’s In Love?” As the story goes, Jones was with Tom Waits while the gravel-voiced singer spoke on the phone with friend and musician Chuck E. Weiss.

After ending the call, Jones supposedly asked Waits about the conversation, and he replied, “Chuck E.’s in love,” thereby giving her the song title that would eventually become her signature tune and help launch her career.

Jones has a short tour beginning Feb. 13 in Sparks, Nev., at John Ascuaga’s Nugget. Valentine’s Day has her in Santa Cruz at the Rio Theater and she appears in Los Angeles at the Vista Theatre Feb. 16. – Pollstar

@ Vista Theatre
4473 Sunset Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90027

This is a general Admission seated show.

Special tickets are available for preferred seating and a special Meet & Greet with Rickie Lee Jones

7:30pm / $30 general admission, $75 Preferred seating & Meet and Greet / All Ages

Friday 02.05.10: First Fridays with YEASAYER / WARPAINT @ natural history museum

with:
Yeasayer
Warpaint

Warpaint’s hypnotic, layered, bass-driven music with ethereal vocals creates an atmosphere that seems to melt and float around the listener. This quartet is not to be missed. Hailing from Brooklyn, Yeasayer’s music is a genre-bending journey into pop, rock, Middle Eastern and African musics, folk, and dub.

Plus DJs:
Ana Calderon
Them Jeans

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

FMI: Natural History Museum

5:30pm / $9 / All Ages

Sunday 03.28.10: PART TIME PUNKS – SLUMBERLAND RECORD LABEL 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY with HENRY’S DRESS / BOYRACER / THE HOW / GO SAILOR / ROUND RECLUSE / PANTS YELL / SUMMER CATS / DEVON WILLIAMS / NEVEREVER @ echo

HENRY’S DRESS
BOYRACER
THE HOW
GO SAILOR
BROWN RECLUSE
PANTS YELL
SUMMER CATS
DEVON WILLIAMS
NEVEREVER

resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop

FMI:
Part Time Punks on Myspace

7pm / $15 / All Ages

Saturday 01.16.10: FYF Fest presents AA BONDY / NIK FREITAS / WILLY MASON @ echo (early show)

AA Bondy || Watch

When A.A. Bondy retired his distortion pedal along with his Nirvana-inspired indie-rock band Verbena earlier this decade to pick up a battered acoustic guitar and harmonica neck-rack, it wasn’t as dramatic a change as that description might make it sound. Sure, his 2007 solo debut American Hearts was stark and more rooted in folk-blues than screaming riffs, but Bondy still draws inspiration from his career-long favorite topics: religion, death, and religion. The haunting new When The Devil’s Loose finds the Alabama-born troubadour letting a backing band enter the equation, and while Bondy has dialed down the volume, he’s maintained his intensity.

Whereas American Hearts finger-picked its way through tales about Jesus, a plague, and the apocalypse, Devil achieves goose pimples on similar subjects by enveloping them with a subtler, more ethereal approach. The gently rising “A Slow Parade” and reverb-ensconced “False River,” for instance, form odd counterparts by not only reaching out stylistically with more patient guitar lines and markedly bittersweet and bare vocals, but ruminating on the narrator’s lemming-like march into the water and how the survivors deal with the aftermath. When The Devil’s Loose showcases a resolve and relief Bondy’s never evinced before, as if he’s raked his hand through the sands of these spooky songs and transformed the grains that stuck into flawed, captivating pearls. – AV Club

with:
Nik Freitas || Listen
Willy Mason

6pm / $10 / all ages

Thursday 04.22.10: Echo & FYF present JAPANDROIDS @ echoplex

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

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

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

Tuesday 02.16.10: Aquarium Drunkard Presents MAGIC KIDS / PEARL HARBOR / DUNES @ echo

Magic Kids || MP3

without doubt rough trade shop’s single of the year so far. the magic kids are a mysterious band of pop pranksters from memphis featuring members of the barbaras and girls of the gravitron. langley school x the beach boys x spector = the magic kids. it’s a joyous vocal-centric song with impressive harmony and old-fashioned instrumentation – one listen and you will fall in love with this baby. total pop perfection. song of the summer? more like song of the year. – Rough Trade

with:
Pearl Harbor || Listen
Dunes

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

Friday 01.08.10: FIRST FRIDAYS with ATLAS SOUND / TUNE-YARDS @ natural history museum

with:
Atlas Sound
Tune-Yards

plus:
DJ Spider

And resident DJ:
Them Jeans

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

FMI: Natural History Museum

5:30pm / $9 / All Ages

Sunday 12.20.09: 5 O’CLOCK SOMEWHERE @ echo (afternoon show)

5 O’Clock Somewhere

5pm / $5 / All Ages

Wednesday 12.23.09: SPACELAND ON ICE with SWORDS OF FATIMA / NEW ROME QUARTET @ Pershing Square

Spaceland Productions & Echo present
Spaceland On Ice

with:
The Swords of Fatima
New Rome Quartet

@ Pershing Square
532 South Olive St
Los Angeles, CA 90013

FMI: Downtown On Ice

7pm / FREE / all ages

Thursday 01.14.10: Performer Magazine presents JULIA NUNES (early set time) / DANNY TIEGER / TS AND THE PAST HAUNTS / PARKER MACY BLUES @ echo

Julia Nunes || Listen || Watch (8:30pm set time)

Julia Nunes is from New York State, a songwriter, guitarist, and ukulele player. “She has a voice like no other…” Her talent is just now reaching to the public from websites like YouTube.com and Myspace.com. Her first CD “Left Right Wrong” is available all over the world and on iTunes. All the songs are originals.

Julia’s song, “Into the Sunshine” was featured on YouTube.com. The video has over a million views. Even before she was featured on YouTube, Julia won the Bushman World Ukulele Contest, with her entry, “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child, on ukulele. Bushman is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of performance ukuleles.

with:
Danny Tieger
TS and The Past Haunts
Parker Macy Blues

7pm / $13 advance, $15 day of show / all ages

Wednesday 01.13.10: SPACELAND ON ICE with LE SWITCH / NEW WORLD RECORD @ pershing square

Spaceland Productions & Echo present
Spaceland On Ice

with:
Le Switch
New World Record

@ Pershing Square
532 South Olive St
Los Angeles, CA 90013

FMI: Downtown On Ice

7pm / FREE / all ages

Wednesday 01.06.10: SPACELAND ON ICE ORIGAMI VINYL NIGHT with TWILIGHT SLEEP / KISSING COUSINS @ pershing square

Spaceland Productions & Echo present
Spaceland On Ice

with:
Twilight Sleep
Kissing Cousins

@ Pershing Square
532 South Olive St
Los Angeles, CA 90013

FMI: Downtown On Ice

7pm / FREE / all ages

Wednesday 12.16.09: SPACELAND ON ICE with CORREATOWN / OBI BEST @ pershing square

Spaceland Productions & Echo present
Spaceland On Ice

with:
Correatown || Listen || Watch
Obi Best

@ Pershing Square
532 South Olive St
Los Angeles, CA 90013

FMI: Downtown On Ice

7pm / FREE / all ages

Saturday 12.12.09: BUST HOLIDAY CRAFTACULAR @ echo & echoplex

At this year’s BUST Holiday Craftacular, you can get gifts−and give back. Get down with BUST all day as you browse the hottest handmade wares from over 50 crafty vendors, including handbags, jewelry, clothing, and cards. And while you’re there, you can donate to the L.A. Regional Food Bank. Just bring canned & non-perishable food and drop it in their bin by the entrance. It’s easy and worth so much! Plus, rockin’ DJs, Two Boots pizza, The Grilled Cheese Truck, sweet treats, raffle prizes, goodie bags for the first 250 attendees, giant raffle giveaway, and more! Door: $2

@ Echo & Echoplex
Enter at
1822 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

FMI: BUST LA CRAFTACULAR

10am – 6pm / $2 / All Ages

Tuesday 12.22.09: LA Record presents LOCAL NATIVES / VOXHAUL BROADCAST / CHIEF @ echo

Local Natives || Listen || Watch

Local Natives are a mustachioed crew from Silverlake who made me feel like I’d stumbled onto buried treasure. I guess other people have discovered this treasure too because they played at SXSW this year, so maybe an unburied treasure, but still—what a great surprise. Their stage presence just oozes band, which only enhances their sweet harmonies and tight instrumentals. Best track of the night was “Wide Eyes” from their new album (only available in the UK currently), Gorilla Manor. – LA Record

with:
Voxhaul Broadcast || Listen
Chief

Bring a canned good for charity and get special gift from band

purchase Local Natives single at Origami and get FREE ticket to show

8:30pm / $5 advance, $10 day of show / all ages

Wednesday 12.09.09: SPACELAND ON ICE with LIGHT FM / TIGERS CAN BITE YOU @ pershing square

Spaceland Productions & Echo present
Spaceland On Ice

with:
Light FM
Tigers Can Bite You

@ Pershing Square
532 South Olive St
Los Angeles, CA 90013

FMI: Downtown On Ice

7pm / FREE / all ages

Wednesday 12.02.09: SPACELAND ON ICE with SALT PETAL / BOLLWEEVIL @ pershing square

Spaceland Productions & Echo present
Spaceland On Ice

with:
Salt Petal
Bollweevil

@ Pershing Square
532 South Olive St
Los Angeles, CA 90013

FMI: Downtown On Ice

7pm / FREE / all ages

Sunday 12.13.09: EVANGELISTA / THRONES @ echoplex

Evangelista || Listen
Featuring Carla Bozulich

In the decade since the Geraldine Fibbers, Carla Bozulich’s myriad contributions have culminated in a treasure trove of gems and extraordinary oddities culled from brave reconnaissance into the deep sonic unknown. Evangelista, Bozulich’s first “gospel noise” record on Canadian label Constellation—featuring members of A Silver Mt. Zion and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as well as instrumentalists Shahzad Ismaily and Nels Cline— impressed and dressed many year-end’s best lists for 2006. Two years later, Evangelista the album morphed into Evangelista the band with the commitment of bassist Tara Barnes and sonic landscaper Dominic Cramp, resulting in the much-lauded release Hello Voyager. Evangelista’s latest recording, Prince of Truth, takes this evolution one psychic step further, like a lucid trip into the darkest recesses of the unconscious mind—a realm free from the formal constraints of traditional compositional structure, comprised of surreal theta ruminations and random outbursts of kinetic energy. This harrowing work of ethereal beauty would be at home in a playlist featuring Rachel’s, Amber Asylum, and late SWANS/World of Skin. – LA Record

with:
Thrones

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

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

Tuesday 12.15.09: Otik Records and The Echo present A Holiday Tribute To Phil Spector and Toy Drive with THE DAMSELLES / EVAN WAY / THE HI HOS / SWEET LITTLE THINGS plus special guests @ echo

The Damselles || watch

The Damselles are essentially a 1960’s style “girl group” supergroup composed of members of some of the east side’s favorite bands, such as Le Switch, The Breakups, and the Henry Clay People. – Radio Free Silverlake

with:
The Hi Hos
Evan Way (of Parson Red Heads)
Sweet Little Things
plus Special Guests

8pm / FREE with packaged toy, $5 without / All Ages

Saturday 12.05.09: KiDROCKERS presents THE 88 / FLYING TOURBILLON ORCHESTRA @ echo (day show)

with:
The 88 || Listen || Watch
Flying Tourbillon Orchestra || Listen

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

Hosted by Matt Dwyer

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

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

Thursday 11.26.09: GOBBLE GOBBLE GIVE @ echo

It started with one person, Echo Park resident Barry Walker, who cooked and delivered Turkey Day meals to the homeless in his neighborhood… and now a group of friends in Echo Park have shown up to help cook and deliver meals for the past 10 years – the first year, 28 homeless were fed! The next year more showed up and over fifty meals went out. The following year, we reached the 100 mark and last year we were able to feed over 1,500 homeless in our neighborhood and leave them with t-shirts, beanies, shoes, sweaters, and tooth brush kits. Gobble Gobble Give is a community event and has become an incredible example of what a community can do to make change.

Gobble Gobble Give is looking for volunteers on every level who can give food, money, or clothing and those who can donate their time this upcoming Thanksgiving day (Nov 26th) by cooking, warming, packaging and delivering food to the homeless in Echo Park and Downtown LA. Every little bit helps those in need, so show some love and give a friend a reason to be thankful.

Click here to donate money to Gobble Gobble Give for supplies and food: http://www.gobblegobblegive.org/donate.php

Click here to donate your time on Thanksgiving Day:
http://www.gobblegobblegive.org/volunteer.php#

GGG is also taking DONATIONS IN ADVANCE of clothing (specifically, gently used sweaters, jackets, shirts, socks, and hats for men, women, children), blankets, and supplies for toiletry kits toothbrush/toothpaste, soap and shampoo. All clothing, supplies and toiletries can dropped off in advance this Saturday, Nov 21st and Sunday, Nov 22nd from 1-4 PM at Raven Spa (2910 Rowena Ave Los Angeles, CA 90039-2042 / ph: 323-644-0240)

Here’s the rundown on how THANKSGIVING DAY will work:

Everyone arrives at 10 a.m. SHARP Thanksgiving morning at The Echo night club in Echo Park. The address is 1822 Sunset Bl. 90026.

Everyone is asked to bring the following:
1. A DISH. “ALREADY HEATED” This is a potluck event. It can be as little as a side of vegetables or it can be three large bowls of your grandma’s famous “cranberry walnut stuffing”. We can always use Turkeys and main course items. Side dishes are great as well. Veggies, Veggies, Veggies. Mashed potatoes, yams, vegetables, greens, etc. Of course desserts are always awesome. If you are bringing a main dish like an entire turkey or ham etc. please email us at turkeycrew@gobblegobblegive.org and let us know so we can tabulate what we need as we get closer to the big day.

2. FIVE (5) SMALL TOILETRY KITS. that include a: toothbrush/toothpaste, soap and shampoo. You can get these items very inexpensively at $0.99 stores.

3. CLOTHING AND BLANKETS. Please bring any used blankets and/or gently used sweaters, jackets, shirts, socks, shoes, beanies/hats for men, women, children.

At 10:15 we begin a large “conveyor Belt” of food and with the help of everyone we put the meals together. We box them up together with care packages of tooth brushes, soap, clothes, etc..

At around 11: 00 a.m. the first vehicles begin to roll out. For those of you who have a car and want to drive you will be known as drivers. We will put a few people in your car with you and you will go out in two or three car teams. We hit the riverbeds, the alleys, the freeway overpasses. sometimes we discover small villages of people in dirt fields and empty lots. The vehicles return after delivering all the meals. We are always done by 1:00 p.m.

For More Info:
WEBSITE: http://www.gobblegobblegive.org
FACEBOOK PAGE: http://www.facebook.com/pages/gobblegobblegive/205205748055
FACEBOOK EVENT INVITE: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=176434322998

Thursday 01.28.09: FRUIT BATS / CITAY / EXTRA CLASSIC / DJ TURQUOISE WISDOM @ echoplex

Fruit Bats || Listen || Watch

Fruit Bats were greeted by a very house when they hit the stage. They opened with a song from 2005’s Spelled in Bones, “Canyon Girl”, and then played a few newer songs, but not before bandleader Eric Johnson asked for permission first, saying “We’ll play some old shit, I promise” and joking that they would “play all four albums in a row, plus a mystery album of your choosing.” After a solid set of newer songs (some of which they also performed during KEXP’s Bay Area broadcast), they pulled out a few revamped classics, such as “Seaweed” (with added harmonica) and “The Little Acorn.” They followed up with a few more new songs that were equally impressive. Behind Eric Johnson’s distinctive voice, a change in style was prevalent in the new music. Although he never gives up the band’s signature pop and twang elements, the songs were a bit more sprawling and mined a similar vein of classic rock as Grand Archives and before that Neil Young. Fruit Bats finished with a couple of classics, including “The Rainbow Sign” and “When U Love Somebody.” It was a great show, and we’re looking forward to the next time Fruit Bats hit town… and to the new album we hope to see later this year! – KEXP

with:
Citay || Listen
Extra Classic
DJ Turquoise Wisdom

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

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

Tuesday 11.10.09: Aquarium Drunkard presents BISHOP ALLEN / THROW ME THE STATUE / DARWIN DEEZ @ echoplex

Bishop Allen || Listen || Watch

Bishop Allen has broken through to a larger audience than any Brooklyn DIY power-pop duo could be expected to, first by landing the twinkly song “Click, Click, Click, Click” in a camera commercial, then by belting out the ferociously catchy “Middle Management” in the movie Nick And Norah’s Infinite Playlist. The band’s third LP, Grrr…, is designed to appeal to fans of those two semi-hits; it’s a record full of explosive percussion, scratchy guitars, and fragments of melody that bandleaders Justin Rice and Christian Rudder repeat until they wear down listeners’ resistance. Much of Grrr… ventures pretty far into the cutesy—as the album’s title suggests—but more often than not, Rice and Rudder’s strong rock-sense gives Bishop Allen’s songs enough kick to overcome their cloying elements. And the pair have a knack for super-charged ditties like “Oklahoma,” “Rooftop Brawl,” and “Cue The Elephants” that can make any given three minutes of the day feel a lot happier. -A.V. Club

with:
Throw Me The Statue
Darwin Deez

ENTER THROUGH THE ECHO AT 1822 SUNSET BLVD!!
Entrance Fee gets you into both shows at the Echo/Echoplex!!

8pm / $8 / all ages

Tuesday 12.01.09: Filter presents THE VIC CHESNUTT BAND with GUY PICCIOTTO (FUGAZI) and MEMBERS OF THEE SILVER MT. ZION, GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR and WITCHIES / WARPAINT / LIZ DURRETT @ echoplex

Vic Chesnutt Band || Listen || MP3
featuring Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto, members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Silver Mt. Zion

As on 2007’s North Star Deserter, Chesnutt is here joined by members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Thee Silver Mount Zion Memorial Orchestra, as well as Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto. Together they build a sound that walks a line between country-folk, Southern soul, and post-rock, which works because the music’s uncertainty about its identity often mirrors Chesnutt’s own doubt. Opener “Coward” deals in dread and aggression with its crawling tempo and doom-laden, harmonized guitar outbursts.

There are a couple of welcome leavening moments– the bright organ and Leslie cabinet guitar of “Concord Country Jubilee” chief among them– but At the Cut is foremost a dark album, and about as far tonally and sonically as Chesnutt has been from 2003’s highly polished Silver Lake. The restraint of the musicians involved leaves Chesnutt’s fragility at the center of the music and lends the album an air of refinement and wisdom that could have easily been drowned out by guitarists more eager to call attention to themselves. – Pitchfork

with:
Warpaint
Liz Durrett || Listen

7:30pm / $13adv; $15dos / all ages

Monday 11.16.09: Myspace Records presents HELLO ASTRONAUT / TAYLOR WARREN / PERFECT LIKE ME / AERODRONE @ echo

Hello Astronaut

with:
Taylor Warren
Perfect Like Me
Aerodrone

8pm / FREE / all ages

Saturday 11.14.09: Echo and Stories Books & Café present AMIRI BARAKA / NYLAEE @ echo

Amiri Baraka

Amiri Baraka, born in 1934, in Newark, New Jersey, USA, is the author of over 40 books of essays, poems, drama, and music history and criticism, a poet icon and revolutionary political activist who has recited poetry and lectured on cultural and political issues extensively in the USA, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe.

With influences on his work ranging from musical orishas such as Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, and Sun Ra to the Cuban Revolution, Malcolm X and world revolutionary movements, Baraka is renowned as the founder of the Black Arts Movement in Harlem in the 1960s that became, though short-lived, the virtual blueprint for a new American theater aesthetics. The movement and his published and performance work, such as the signature study on African-American music, Blues People (1963) and the play Dutchman (1963) practically seeded “the cultural corollary to black nationalism” of that revolutionary American milieu.

Other titles range from Selected Poetry of Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones (1979), to The Music (1987), a fascinating collection of poems and monographs on Jazz and Blues authored by Baraka and his wife and poet Amina, and his boldly sortied essays, The Essence of Reparations (2003).

He has been the subject of numerous documentary films including Mario Van Peeble’s Poetic License for The Sundance Channel and St. Clair Bourne’s In Motion: Amiri Baraka. He has also appeared in dozens of films including, most recently, M.K. Asante, Jr’s award-winning documentary The Black Candle.

with:
NYLAEE

5pm / $10 / All Ages

Wednesday 12.09.09: Winston Calling: A Rock & Comedy Benefit featuring TIM AND ERIC / BOB ODENKIRK / BRIAN POSEHN / DAVE LOVERING @ ECHO

for Baby Winston Bertrand hosted by Black Francis

With:

Tim and Eric (music set)
Bob Odenkirk
Brian Posehn
Dave Lovering (magic act)

… more to be added!

Save Money and buy a ticket for both The Echo and Echoplex shows for $35

7pm / $20 advance, $25 day of show / all ages

Tuesday 12.08.09: Winston Calling: A Rock & Comedy Benefit featuring BLACK FRANCIS WITH FLEA, WEIRD AL YANKOVIC, OKGO, KIM (from the MUFFS) AND MORE / TENACIOUS D / MICHAEL PENN / DAVID J / GRAND DUCHY / THE 88 AND MORE @ echoplex

for Baby Winston Bertrand hosted by Black Francis

With:
Black Francis w/ Flea, members of Pixies, Love & Rockets, She Wants Revenge, Weird Al Yankovic, OK GO, Kim (from The Muffs) and more
Tenacious D || Listen
Michael Penn
David J (Love and Rockets/Bauhaus)
Grand Duchy (feat: Black Francis & Violet Clark)
The 88
plus celebrity DJs

… more to be added!

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

Save Money and buy a ticket for both The Echo and Echoplex shows for $35

7pm / $20 advance, $25 day of show / all ages

Sunday 11.08.09: KIDROCKERS with HENRY CLAY PEOPLE / SILVERSUN PICKUPS @ Echo (Afternoon show)

The Henry Clay People || Listen || Watch

Silversun Pickups || Listen || Watch

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

Hosted by Seth Herzog & Matt Dwyer

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

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

Sunday 11.01.09: DIA DE LA CUMBIA – CHICOA / CASA DE CALACAS / CONJUNTO NUEVA OLA @ Echo

with:
Chicoa || Listen
Casa De Calacas || Listen
Conjunto Nueva Ola

Plus DJ
Naco Electrico

4pm / $5 / All Ages

Tuesday 11.10.09: 60 WATT KID / BEST COAST / GOWNS / TEARIST @ echo

60 Watt Kid || Listen || Watch (Record Release Show)

60 Watt Kid started their set beautifully and sweetly, samples of a woman “intrigued by the idea of virtual plastic surgery” lending themselves somehow to the build-up of a wondrous tune. Then they got into a second tune, Dylan Wood looping some “Wipeout” style drums into beautiful, fragile song structures. I realized that I was the only one sitting down. The rousing crescendos that suddenly dissipated into atmospheric delicacy, and the punctuation by guitarist Derek Thomas of what sounded like a child’s xylophone all kept the audience on their toes and quiet as sweaty church mice, even when front-man Kevin Litrow ended a song with “God Bless Patrick Swayze!”

Cutting the set much too short, they wrapped up with their Willy Alexander-esque “American Standard,” an against-type rockabilly tune, wherein Litrow meandered through the audience shouting things at people. They plunked the last few echoey notes, and sadly, the hip-hop CD started its thing once more. As the audience made its way to the lawn, I caught one young man with a Misfits tattoo on his neck tell his girlfriend “These guys were siiiiick!” – LA Record

with:
Best Coast || Listen
Gowns || Listen
Tearist

Entrance Fee gets you into both shows at the Echo/Echoplex!!

8:30pm / $8 / all ages

Sunday 11.08.09: BENEFIT FOR LAURA ANN with THE BACKWARD CLOCK SOCIETY / LIGHT FM / THE PITY PARTY / THE PULSARS / TIM RUTILI / THE HAPPY STARS @ echoplex

5pm The Happy Stars (Brian Young from Fountains of Wayne, Posies and Joe Skyward from the Posies),
6pm Tim Rutili (Red Red Meat, Califone)
7pm The Pulsars
8pm The Pity Party
9pm Light FM
10pm The Backward Clock Society

DJ/ Hostess Rotary Rachel

Smashing Pumpkin Auction items

Fortune Teller Madame Pamita on the patio

All proceeds will go to Laura’s medical costs.

If you would like to donate or read more about Laura’s condition you can read about her at http://www.lauraannsjams.com

@ Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

4:30pm / $12 / all ages

Saturday 10.31.09: DIRTY PROJECTORS / LITTLE WINGS @ rec center studio (Early Show)

Dirty Projectors || Watch

Mr. Longstreth, a lanky guy who makes the strangest rooster-like neck movements when he plays, started the show with an odd pronouncement: “Nothing bad can happen because we are in the house of Robert Nesta Marley.” Then the new six-piece lineup of the band — the bassist Nat Baldwin and singer Haley Dekle have been added to the core quartet –launched into music that wasn’t reggae but seemed to envelop everything else imaginable.

The scratchy, African-influenced guitars Dirty Projectors fans are used to were there, but with a new kaleidoscopic complexity, and the addition of Mr. Baldwin on bass gave it all a sense of rhythmic solidity. The band’s three female members — Angel Deradoorian, Amber Coffman and Ms. Dekle — sang in harmonies so odd and precise they seemed to come from outer space; at one point they traded quick staccato notes as if singing Steve Reich on fast-forward. (If my music education is worth anything, I believe that technique is called hocketing. I’ll bet Dave Longstreth, who dropped out of Yale to make music full-time, knows if that’s right.)

Most impressive, though, is that it’s high-concept music that has real visceral power, and the crowd erupted into big belly roars at the end of every song. Like me, I think a lot of fans may have given up halfway through trying to give it all a zinger name and just let themselves be amazed. – New York Times

with:
Little Wings

@ Rec Center Studio
1161 Logan Street
Echo Park, CA 90026

7pm / $20.00 / all ages

Saturday 10.31.09: DEAD MAN’S BONES @ echo

Dead Man’s Bones || Listen || Watch

Some records are an absolute void of interesting review angles, forcing us critics to do, like, actual work. Dead Man’s Bones is not one of those records. Fact: Indie dreamboat and RealDoll lover portrayer Ryan Gosling is one-half of Los Angeles band Dead Man’s Bones. Wow! Fact: Dead Man’s Bones’ self-titled debut is a concept album vaguely about supernatural themes, released less than a month before Halloween! Gee! Fact: The vast majority of Dead Man’s Bones utilizes a real-life, full-on children’s choir, recruited from hipster kid academy the Silverlake Conservatory of Music. TILT TILT TILT! Step aside Girls, we’ve got a new backstory winner for 2009.

It’s a credit to the record then that none of these angles turn out to be easy nooses by which to hang the project. The one triggering most alarm bells, of course, is Gosling’s involvement, since everyone knows that movie-star bands tend to range from amateurishly terrible to inoffensively generic. Well, I’ll dispel that preconception straight away– Dead Man’s Bones is a really, really weird record, a project where the musical reference points at least indicate that Gosling and his co-conspirator Zach Shields have record collections that go deeper than an iPod nano.

The other two angles– spooky themes and a kid’s choir– are both symptoms of the record’s most endearing quality, a surplus of ideas and a willingness to combine them in ways that are vibrant, sloppy, and fun. Though the record begins with a pretentious spoken-word introductory track (kind of a necessary concept-album evil) followed by its worst song (the Ambien-overdosed and over-serious “Dead Hearts”), the remainder of the project is slapdash, giddy, and surprisingly dense. Like an old Elephant 6 record, Dead Man’s Bones has a lo-fi warts-and-all feel that’s less lazy aesthetic than charmingly handmade, even more charismatic for it’s unevenness. – Pitchfork

6pm / $20 / All Ages

Friday 10.30.09: DEAD MANS BONES @ echo

Dead Man’s Bones || Listen || Watch

Some records are an absolute void of interesting review angles, forcing us critics to do, like, actual work. Dead Man’s Bones is not one of those records. Fact: Indie dreamboat and RealDoll lover portrayer Ryan Gosling is one-half of Los Angeles band Dead Man’s Bones. Wow! Fact: Dead Man’s Bones’ self-titled debut is a concept album vaguely about supernatural themes, released less than a month before Halloween! Gee! Fact: The vast majority of Dead Man’s Bones utilizes a real-life, full-on children’s choir, recruited from hipster kid academy the Silverlake Conservatory of Music. TILT TILT TILT! Step aside Girls, we’ve got a new backstory winner for 2009.

It’s a credit to the record then that none of these angles turn out to be easy nooses by which to hang the project. The one triggering most alarm bells, of course, is Gosling’s involvement, since everyone knows that movie-star bands tend to range from amateurishly terrible to inoffensively generic. Well, I’ll dispel that preconception straight away– Dead Man’s Bones is a really, really weird record, a project where the musical reference points at least indicate that Gosling and his co-conspirator Zach Shields have record collections that go deeper than an iPod nano.

The other two angles– spooky themes and a kid’s choir– are both symptoms of the record’s most endearing quality, a surplus of ideas and a willingness to combine them in ways that are vibrant, sloppy, and fun. Though the record begins with a pretentious spoken-word introductory track (kind of a necessary concept-album evil) followed by its worst song (the Ambien-overdosed and over-serious “Dead Hearts”), the remainder of the project is slapdash, giddy, and surprisingly dense. Like an old Elephant 6 record, Dead Man’s Bones has a lo-fi warts-and-all feel that’s less lazy aesthetic than charmingly handmade, even more charismatic for it’s unevenness. – Pitchfork

7pm / $20 / All Ages

Monday 10.19.09:DYLAPALOOZA with TONIC / MATT COSTA / EMILY WELLS / SONOS / LEAH ANDREONE / THE LONELY FOREST @ echoplex

a fundraiser for the out-of-pocket costs of cancer treatment for Dylan David

DYLAPALOOZA is a very personal benefit concert featuring performances by the unbelievably talented multi-instrumentalist Emily Wells and the inimitable vocal group Sonos . The all-ages show will take place on Monday, October 19 and is sponsored by MySpace Records, Hotel Café, and Pablove.org/Dangerbird Records. Dylapalooza also features the powerful LA singer-songwriter Leah Andreone and Pacific-Northwest up-and-comers The Lonely Forest with possibly a few more guests to be announced this week. The benefit celebrates the courage of a young boy, Dylan David, who has already battled cancer twice in his short life. Proceeds will help his family overcome the tremendous costs of brain surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, other treatments, medications, travel and hospital stays. For more information about Dylan or this show, go to: myspace.com/dylapalooza

Additional info at http://dylan.ericdavid.info/

with:
Tonic
Matt Costa
Emily Wells
Sonos
Leah Andreone
The Lonely Forest

7:00pm / $10 / All Ages

Thursday 11.05.09: KXLU presents AVI BUFFALO / BOBB BRUNO / WILDBUNCH @ echo

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:
Bobb Bruno
Wildbunch

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

Saturday 10.31.09: DIRTY PROJECTORS / LITTLE WINGS @ rec center studio

Dirty Projectors || Watch

Mr. Longstreth, a lanky guy who makes the strangest rooster-like neck movements when he plays, started the show with an odd pronouncement: “Nothing bad can happen because we are in the house of Robert Nesta Marley.” Then the new six-piece lineup of the band — the bassist Nat Baldwin and singer Haley Dekle have been added to the core quartet –launched into music that wasn’t reggae but seemed to envelop everything else imaginable.

The scratchy, African-influenced guitars Dirty Projectors fans are used to were there, but with a new kaleidoscopic complexity, and the addition of Mr. Baldwin on bass gave it all a sense of rhythmic solidity. The band’s three female members — Angel Deradoorian, Amber Coffman and Ms. Dekle — sang in harmonies so odd and precise they seemed to come from outer space; at one point they traded quick staccato notes as if singing Steve Reich on fast-forward. (If my music education is worth anything, I believe that technique is called hocketing. I’ll bet Dave Longstreth, who dropped out of Yale to make music full-time, knows if that’s right.)

Most impressive, though, is that it’s high-concept music that has real visceral power, and the crowd erupted into big belly roars at the end of every song. Like me, I think a lot of fans may have given up halfway through trying to give it all a zinger name and just let themselves be amazed. – New York Times

with:
Little Wings

@ Rec Center Studio
1161 Logan Street
Echo Park, CA 90026

9:30pm / $20.00 / all ages

Sunday 10.04.09: KIDROCKERS presents THE DAMSELLES / QUAZAR AND THE BAMBOOZLED @ echo (day show)

The Damselles || Watch
Quazar & The Bamboozled

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

Hosted by Seth Herzog & Matt Dwyer

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

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

Thursday 10.15.09: DAN DEACON / NUCLEAR POWER PANTS @ echo

Dan Deacon || Listen

With Bromst, Deacon not only shucks the “wacky” thing, he replaces it (and those gadgets) with virtuosity of composition and an array of instruments. This album represents his transformation from Baltimore club freak to overstimulated kin of Brian Eno and Cornelius. These are thick songs built around left-field ideas, positively fat with melodic content—physically shake the record, and sheets of notes would probably spray out like a colorful rain of tonal Skittles. Much of this is due to the use of a digitally rigged player piano capable of generating acoustic notes faster than any pair of human hands, but Deacon doesn’t lean on this. Rather, he writes extra-dense for the odd instrument, then spends as much (or more) effort shaping the atmosphere it inhabits. With most songs breaking six minutes, it’s challenging to digest individual pieces—“Red F” has those skittering percussive rolls, “Snookered” recalls Eno’s Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy, “Surprise Stefani” feels like Steve Reich—but it’s surprisingly easy to “get” Bromst as an album. Deacon has always said that he writes within his physical means (then: homemade equipment, sweltering clubs; now: actual studios, actual venues). A word of advice for anyone who crosses Dan’s path: Give this man anything he asks for. – The Onion (A.V. Club)

with:
Nuclear Power Pants

8pm / $10 / all ages

Saturday 11.07.09: CITIZEN FISH / STAR F*CKING HIPSTERS / MOLOTOV COMPROMISE @ echo

Citizen Fish || Listen

I don’t know if “ska” is the best term to describe the music that UK band Citizen Fish throws down. While the band has the horns and bouncing beats inherent to the style, they are so much more as a whole. To me, the band sounds like a weird cross breed of The Brian Setzer Orchestra and the educated Sex Pistols. Their singer, simply listed in the liner notes as “Dick,” adds what I’d call a little Irish accent to the mix that gives the band the feel of something you might run across in a dirty London pub.

Their new CD Deadline, a “split” album with New York hardcore purveyors Leftover Crack, is a powerhouse collection of songs proving, despite the frequent whining of mainstream music fans, there are still some great politically charged bands out there, if you know where to look. Fat Wreck Chord Records obviously does. – Blogcritics

Star F*cking Hipsters || Listen

S.F.H. was conceived as an alternate musical project for Sturgeon (aka Stza Crack, the singer/guitarist and primary song-writer for Choking Victim/Leftover Crack) and X-Possibles/L.O.C. drummer Brandon Chevalier-Kolling which was planned to commence in 2005 with the song eventually titled “look who’s talking now!” (a version was recorded by Leftover Crack with Brandon on drums for the U.K.’s Radio 1 “lock-up” punk show in the B.B.C.s Mada Vale studios at the end of their 2004 European tour) as their first collaboration and S.F.H.’s jumping-off point. During the final days of an L.O.C. tour that took the band from Florida through Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas and scheduled to end in Louisiana the band was devastated by the untimely death of the Brandon on December 17th, 2004 in Dallas, Texas. After the funeral no plans were made to continue the band and the future of Leftover Crack was unclear and unspokenly non-existent. After a long break and 3 months of aimless travel through central America and Mexico, Sturgeon returned to start the punk band imagined by himself and Brandon: political-punk with a female vocalist and a rotating group of collaborating musicians.

with:
Molotov Compromise

5pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / all ages

Thursday 10.01.09: Comedy Is The New Black presents STARS AND STRIPES OF COMEDY 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO @ echoplex

Comedy is the New Black presents:

Stars and Stripes of Comedy 2: Electric Boogaloo

with:
SHANG from COMEDY CENTRAL, BET’s DEF COMEDY JAM and COMIC VIEW,as well as guest starring on televisions hits HEROES,and CSI.

ILIZA SHLESINGER :The WINNER of the last season of NBC’s LAST COMIC STANDING.

CHRISTINA PAZSITSKY from COMEDY CENTRAL, THE LATE LATE SHOW and MTV

IAN EDWARDS from COMEDY CENTRAL, and P.DIDDYS BAD BOYS of COMEDY on HBO

PLUS a SURPRISE SPECIAL GUEST,
as well as 4 more of the funniest up and coming comics in L.A.!

10 GREAT COMEDIANS FOR 10 DOLLARS

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

7:30pm / $10 / All Ages

Sunday 09.27.09: GRAND OLE ECHO with TONY GILKYSON / DAVE GLEASON @ echo

Tony Gilkyson
Dave Gleason || Listen

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 09.20.09: GRAND OLE ECHO with GRANT LANGSTON / ANNY CELSI AND NELSON BRAGG / SARAH STANLEY @ echo

Grant Langston || Listen
Anny Celsi & Nelson Bragg
Sarah Stanley

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Saturday 09.19.09: CLOCKWISE SCAVENGER HUNT AFTER PARTY @ echo

The creative team that brought you Astronauts Vs. Lumberjacks, The Holiday Party, and The Egyptian Theater’s Midnight Madness Game are back with a brand new adventure! And fabulous prizes from Masa, Haute Olive, Downbeat Cafe and more!

Get ready to leap through time and race around Echo Park, searching for clues to scan with a high-tech cell phone app that deliver puzzles and games right to your fingertips. Meet fellow time-travelers and complete their challenges for huge bonuses. Compete against other teams in Face-Offs to determine for whom the bell tolls. The after-party at the Echo will feature a side-splitting slideshow of photos and videos from the game itself that you won’t want to miss.

Time is going to fly in this 4-hour event, and you’re going to be the pilot. All you need is comfortable shoes and one team-member with a web-enabled camera phone (iphone, blackberry curve, etc.). If you don’t have the phone, no worries, we’ll make sure you’re on a team with someone who does. Sign up now, as space is limited!

More details available at http://tinyurl.com/sept19clockwise

Scavenger hunt at Noon, Party at 4pm / All Ages

Sunday 09.13.09: GRAND OLE ECHO with OLD CALIFORNIO / EAGLE WINGED PALACE / WHISPERING PINES @ echo

Old Californio
Eagle Winged Palace
Whispering Pines

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Tuesday 10.13.09: Distressed Gentlefolk night with PAT FISH (acoustic) / MAX EIDER (acoustic) / DOWNY MILDEW / CLAY IDOLS / BLACK WATCH @ echo

Pat Fish (acoustic) || Listen || Watch

Pat Fish used to be The Jazz Butcher, and made about a million albums years ago, most notably for Alan McGee’s Creation Records. He’s still going strong, knocking up backing tracks in his house & performing songs for us on his guitar (In fact, he only dredges up one Jazz Butcher tune, the others are all new). The rhythms are hardly the height of technology, in fact, it sounds like he made them on an Amiga. But, the simplicity and homeliness adds to the effect. A few tracks veer close to sounding like muzak versions of New Order, but in general the communicative effect of these well-written songs trumps the paucity of the sonic palette. A warm welcome back. – Oxford Bands

With:
Max Eider (acoustic) || Listen
Downy Mildew
Clay Idols
The Black Watch

8pm / $10 / all ages

Friday 09.04.09: WHISPERTOWN 2000 / THE BELLE BRIGADE @ echo

Whispertown 2000 || Listen || Watch

Fast forward to early 2008 and Whispertown 2000, now a four-piece, had opened for Rilo Kiley and Bright Eyes across the US, self-released a decent-selling debut LP and impressed Gillian Welch so much they became the first signings to her Acony label. Lewis calls Nagler her favourite songwriter and Conor Oberst, another uber-fan, has likened her angular, country-leaning songs to “old Chinese proverbs”.

A cursory listen to this second album is enough to realise it’s not just mere hype. Swim is the kind of record you wish people made more often: rural music played by suburban kids with an intuitive feel for the unruly punk heart of old-time country. Nagler’s expressive voice has a baleful twang that shunts these songs – some with the most minimal of arrangements, some like ragged revivalist hoedowns – into the same lugubrious territory as Bonnie Billy or Oberst himself. It’s a ploy that cleverly subverts itself on “Lock And Key” and “From The Start Jamboree”, where their own communal folk shanty is appended by a foggy mountain breakdown that’s part Bill Monroe, part Silver Jews. They’re experimental too, prone to sudden squalls of guitar, weird electronic bits and even weirder whistling noises that sound like some spectral tribe hooting an advance across the Virginia hills. In the case of “Erase The Lines”, all within the same song. – Uncut

with:
The Belle Brigade

8pm / $10 / All Ages

Thursdau 09.03.09: Bust Magazine & Comedy is the New Black present ELLE O ELLE 3 with WHITNEY CUMMINGS / NATISHA ANDERSON / SARDIA MARLEY / HANNAH GANSEN / CHARLYNE YI & MORE @ echoplex

BUST Magazine and Comedy is the New Black present

Elle O Elle 3 :The Funniest Females in Los Angeles

With:
Whitney Cummings
Natisha Anderson
Sardia Marley
Hannah Gansen
Jackie Jones
Kristen Dolemescth
Emily Jo Oehler
Charlyne Yi

Free t-shirts,gift bags and more!

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

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

7:30PM / $10 / All Ages

Saturday 08.29.09: BOX ELDERS / AUDACITY / TIJUANA PANTHERS @ echo

Box Elders || Listen || Watch

Omaha, Nebraska has been an overlooked outpost of rock’n'roll music for way too long and with the recent debut 7″ EP release by the brilliant pop pioneers, the Box Elders on Grotto Records, it’s sure to arouse even more suspicion. On first listen, these tracks of sparkling, yet perfectly muddy stabs at Lou Reed’s pre-VU Primitives/Beachnuts-era warbling pop hit a high watermark and effortlessly fill out a 4 song EP with nary a dud in the bunch. Featuring the relocated Jeremiah McIntyre from now defunct Chicago band The Afflictions, along with his younger brother Clayton and Dave Goldberg of the Terminals and Boom Chick Records, Box Elders have that magical something in their brutish, yet nascent pop sound that really grabs you and instantly conjures up how familiar everything fits together into songs that you can hum along to instantly . With Jeremiah’s deep appreciation for all things Redd Kross, it’s not a surprise to see a convincingly legit cover of RK’s “S & M Party” on the b-side, done with the tossed-off grace of someone who embodies the spirit of the songs way more than just how to rip them off. Great influences aside, it’s clearly their originals that stand up and bowl me over every time, and you’ll quickly see that it’s just one of those records that’s impossible to stop playing. – Victim of Time

with:
Audacity
Tijuana Panthers

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

4pm / $8 / All Ages

Tuesday 10.20.09: WHY? / AU / SERENGETI & POLYPHONIC @ echoplex

Why? || Listen || Watch || Mp3

“This record is really the least hip-hop out of anything I’ve ever been involved with.” That quote from Yoni Wolf about the follow-up to Why?’s Alopecia gave some fans of the art-rap act reason to pause. Such uneasiness is unwarranted though. Alopecia was also more rock-oriented and was the Anticon. crew’s best. During the Alopecia sessions, Wolf and Co. recorded more songs, ten of which compromise Eskimo Snow. Though both albums were recorded during the February 2007 Minneapolis sessions, the Eskimo tracks avoid the segmented recording of Alopecia, for a more “resigned” and “open” sound. Wolf also noted that Eskimo Snow is a “bit more wild, and the drums have more room mics.” – Prefix Magazine

with:
AU
Serengeti & Polyphonic

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

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

8pm / $15 / All Ages

Wednesday 09.09.09: Myspace Presents EMILY WELLS / JOEY RYAN / ANGIE MATTSON / KARI KIMMEL / LEAH ANDREONE @ echo

Emily Wells || Watch

Emily Wells is an amazingly talented violinist and singer. Once headhunted by major record labels but striking out on her own to keep her artistic integrity, she made the right choice here: given the freedom to create the music she wants to, she’s made one damn good album. LASTFM calls her music Symphonic Folktronica Fantasy, and though Wells dislikes genre titles (as do I), those words do give a great sense of what to expect on Symphonies.

Her music has so many ways to describe it. It’s beautiful, mixing her gothic-but-not-exactly-dark-sounding voice with violin. It’s a little dark and creepy, but also shiny and happy. It’s extremely well written, but it also flows as stream-of-consciousness thoughts. It even contains elements of rap, with a one off appearance by Count Bass D actually working extremely well. It’s like simultaneously floating along a ray of sunshine and wandering, lost and worried, in a dark labyrinth. Take a little Emilie Autumn without Autumn’s morbid streak, with a dash of the theatricality and instrumental skill of The Dresden Dolls and a sprinkling of the playful darkness and the harmonising vocals of The Pierces, and you’re halfway there. – The Bringer of Song

With:
Joey Ryan || Listen
Angie Mattson || Listen
Kari Kimmel || >Listen
Leah Andreone || Listen

8pm / FREE / All ages

Wednesday 08.26.09: DAWES / MICHAEL DAVIS WITH LIONS / ANDREW LYNCH @ echo

Dawes || Listen

The first album from the new quartet featuring three-quarters of Simon Dawes sneaks up on you like a moment of deja vu. Twenty-three-year-old Taylor Goldsmith crafts elegant folk-pop gems that reveal a remarkably centered songwriter who feels the currents surrounding him but won’t get swept away by any of them. Gentle twang and genteel harmonies give “North Hills” a fireside intimacy that illuminates every word of Goldsmith’s confessionals. In “When My Time Comes,” a tacit admission that he has a lot of life yet to live, he sings “The only piece of advice that continues to help / is anyone that’s making anything new breaks something else.” “Love Is All I Am” might be cringeworthy in other hands, but Goldsmith keeps it plaintive: “I’ve locked up these words / in fear that I’d say them wrong.” Unlike the foursome’s live show, “North Hills” gets a bit strummy at times, but you won’t regret shuffling along. (Expect the album to get a wider release soon, after Dawes signs a deal with a prominent independent label, reported to be ATO.) Recommended. – Buzzbands LA

With:
Michael Davis with Lions || Listen
Andrew Lynch

8pm / Free if 21+; $7 if under / All Ages

Wednesday 08.19.09: DAWES / MISSISSIPPI MAN / THE ROMANY RYE @ echo

Dawes || Listen

The first album from the new quartet featuring three-quarters of Simon Dawes sneaks up on you like a moment of deja vu. Twenty-three-year-old Taylor Goldsmith crafts elegant folk-pop gems that reveal a remarkably centered songwriter who feels the currents surrounding him but won’t get swept away by any of them. Gentle twang and genteel harmonies give “North Hills” a fireside intimacy that illuminates every word of Goldsmith’s confessionals. In “When My Time Comes,” a tacit admission that he has a lot of life yet to live, he sings “The only piece of advice that continues to help / is anyone that’s making anything new breaks something else.” “Love Is All I Am” might be cringeworthy in other hands, but Goldsmith keeps it plaintive: “I’ve locked up these words / in fear that I’d say them wrong.” Unlike the foursome’s live show, “North Hills” gets a bit strummy at times, but you won’t regret shuffling along. (Expect the album to get a wider release soon, after Dawes signs a deal with a prominent independent label, reported to be ATO.) Recommended. – Buzzbands LA

With:
Mississippi Man
The Romany Rye

8pm / Free if 21+; $7 if under / all ages

Thursday 08.13.09: MySpace Records presents Online [Offline] at The Echo with BURNING BRIDES/ JONNEINE ZAPATA / MARY MAGDALAN / SABROSA PURR @ echo

Burning Brides || Listen || Watch

It was pleasing to see a full house congregate at the El Mocambo for Philly rock trio Burning Brides. Critically-acclaimed but commercially underrated, they displayed no signs of rust from a layoff from playing live (Bassist Melanie Campbell and singer/guitarist Dimitri Coats recently had a baby). The band’s take on hard guitar rock is more varied than most, with their songs mixing melody and muscle to winning effect. The harmonies suggested X on steroids. Older favourites like “Glass Slipper” and “Arctic Snow” (their first ever single) still sound great, while such new songs as “Lovesick” also showed promise. As refreshing as their vibrant sound is an onstage demeanour reflecting the fact that they clearly love playing together in front of an appreciative crowd. – Exclaim!

With:
Jonneine Zapata || Listen
Mary Magdalan
Sabrosa Purr || Listen

8pm / FREE / all ages

Monday 08.24.09: SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE / HORSE THIEVES / MASTER MUSICIANS OF BUKKAKE @ echo

Six Organs of Admittance || Listen || Watch || MP3

Six Organs Of Admittance’s forthcoming Luminous Night was recorded and produced by Randall Dunn, who’s manned the boards for Earth, Wolves In The Throne Room, and most recently Sunn O)))’s Monoliths & Dimensions, to name a few. It makes perfect sense to pair Dunn’s knack for layering dark, deep soundscapes with Ben Chasny’s ability to transform his psychedelic, folky, and finger-picked guitars and distinctive somnambulant vocals in otherworldly excursions. Add guest spots by Eyvind Kang (on viola), Hans Tueber, Tor Dietrichson (tabla), Matt Chamberlin (drums, percussion), etc., and you have yourself one of Six Organs’ most gorgeous collections in a line of gorgeous collections. (Full disclosure: Ben and I are friends, though this stuff would be just as beautiful if we were enemies.) See, for instance, “The Ballad Of Charley Harper,” a smeary 5-minute acoustic-and-distorted trek in honor of the Cincinnati wildlife artist that perfectly matches (and echoes) Luminous Night’s tree-lined album art. – Stereogum

With:
Horse Thieves
Master Musicians of Bukkake

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

8pm / $10 / All Ages

Tuesday 09.15.09: THROW ME THE STATUE / THE BRUNETTES / DEVON WILLIAMS @ echo

Throw Me The Statue || Listen || Watch

Indie rock doesn’t cut it anymore. Let’s try indielectric. Seattle’s Throw Me the Statue, Scott Reitherman and his live band, laces straight-ahead indie pop with liberal doses of drum machine and loops. Between the fully addictive “Lolita” and its much less jolly album bookend, “The Happiest Man on This Plane,” Moonbeams employs all manner of structure, from hook-happy choruses to echoing melodica. “This Is How We Kiss” is bop-arific 1990s nostalgia knocked up by the horn-laden intensity of “Groundswell.” Reitherman pinched elements of his beloved forebears (Built to Spill, Guided by Voices, Beck), stretched them, twisted them, and crammed them into his tasty debut. We hear there will be glockenspiel. – The Austin Chronicle

With:
The Brunettes || Listen
Devon Williams

::::NURSES HAD TO CANCEL DUE TO VAN TROUBLES::::

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

8pm / $8 adv, $10 doors / All ages

Tuesday 10.06.09: STARFUCKER / DEELAY CEELAY / STRENGTH @ echo

Starfucker || Watch

Coming less than a year after the quartet’s self-titled debut (and on a label usually more closely associated with poet-songwriters and gentle folk songs), Jupiter is 26 minutes of thoroughly road-tested, crowd-approved, indie-electro gems by folks who know how to do it right.

The record starts off with the one-two punch of “Medicine” and “Boy Toy,” two warm, super hook-filled numbers — the latter of which repeats “in my lungs” over and over again as (according to main man Josh Hodges) a “metaphor for the lung cancer that is romance.” Starfucker’s sound immediately strikes the ears as a far less icy Ladytron mixed with The Teenagers — both the French electro-outfit and, as evidenced by Mr. Hodges hyperbolic, yet sweetly morbid love metaphor, people of that age group. The band’s treatment of ’80s classic “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” has all the elements that made Fun Boy Three’s 1983 version of “Our Lips Are Sealed” a pop gem. It’s true to the original, but the male vocals add a ramped up, irresistibly campy quality.

Each track on Jupiter would fit well on a mix tape alongside electro-classics like Air’s “Sexy Boy.” Considering how quickly the computer has become the common man’s instrument of choice, Starfucker prove that, in the right hands, it can still be irresistible. – Tiny Mix Tapes

With:
Deelay Ceelay || Listen
Strength || Listen

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

8pm / $10 / All Ages

Wednesday 07.29.09: Spaceland Under The Stars – CLUB UNDERGROUND NIGHT @ Pershing Square

Club Underground Night

Pershing Square
532 South Olive Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013

7pm / FREE / All ages

Wednesday 08.05.09: DAWES / SLANG CHICKENS / BIG ECHO @ echo

Dawes || Listen

The first album from the new quartet featuring three-quarters of Simon Dawes sneaks up on you like a moment of deja vu. Twenty-three-year-old Taylor Goldsmith crafts elegant folk-pop gems that reveal a remarkably centered songwriter who feels the currents surrounding him but won’t get swept away by any of them. Gentle twang and genteel harmonies give “North Hills” a fireside intimacy that illuminates every word of Goldsmith’s confessionals. In “When My Time Comes,” a tacit admission that he has a lot of life yet to live, he sings “The only piece of advice that continues to help / is anyone that’s making anything new breaks something else.” “Love Is All I Am” might be cringeworthy in other hands, but Goldsmith keeps it plaintive: “I’ve locked up these words / in fear that I’d say them wrong.” Unlike the foursome’s live show, “North Hills” gets a bit strummy at times, but you won’t regret shuffling along. (Expect the album to get a wider release soon, after Dawes signs a deal with a prominent independent label, reported to be ATO.) Recommended. – Buzzbands LA

With:
Slang Chickens || Listen
Big Echo

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

Wednesday 08.12.09: DAWES / PAPA / PAIGE STARK @ echo

Dawes || Listen

The first album from the new quartet featuring three-quarters of Simon Dawes sneaks up on you like a moment of deja vu. Twenty-three-year-old Taylor Goldsmith crafts elegant folk-pop gems that reveal a remarkably centered songwriter who feels the currents surrounding him but won’t get swept away by any of them. Gentle twang and genteel harmonies give “North Hills” a fireside intimacy that illuminates every word of Goldsmith’s confessionals. In “When My Time Comes,” a tacit admission that he has a lot of life yet to live, he sings “The only piece of advice that continues to help / is anyone that’s making anything new breaks something else.” “Love Is All I Am” might be cringeworthy in other hands, but Goldsmith keeps it plaintive: “I’ve locked up these words / in fear that I’d say them wrong.” Unlike the foursome’s live show, “North Hills” gets a bit strummy at times, but you won’t regret shuffling along. (Expect the album to get a wider release soon, after Dawes signs a deal with a prominent independent label, reported to be ATO.) Recommended. – Buzzbands LA

With:
Papa
Paige Stark

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

Thursday 07.30.09: Comedy is The New Black presents STARS & STRIPES OF COMEDY @ echoplex

Comedy Is The New Black Presents THE STARS and STRIPES SHOW :Freedom is Funny!

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

7:00pm / $10 / all ages

Sunday 08.30.09: GRAND OLE ECHO with TED RUSSELL KAMP / GINA VILLALOBOS / PAPERPLANES @ echo

Ted Russell Kamp || Listen

With:
Gina Villalobos || Listen
Paperplanes || Listen

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Thursday 08.20.09: Echo & Folk Yeah present- J TILLMAN (Fleet Foxes) / EVAN WAY (Parson Redheads) / BIG SEARCH @ echo

J. Tillman || Watch || Listen

Carving out a darkly brooding persona with roots in Neil Young’s early ’70s output, Richard Buckner’s elliptical Americana, Nick Drake balladry, and assorted, harder-to-pinpoint gospel, country, blues, and folk idioms, Tillman’s two most recent solo long-players—Cancer and Delirium (2007) and Minor Works (2006)—are packed with memorable songs. Often built upon the simplest, ingratiating musical maneuvers–like the little stair-step acoustic guitar on Minor Works’ “Crooked Roof”–Tillman’s songs rarely hew to the literal, instead deftly navigating allegory and alienation, the occasional revelation stacked against heaps of melancholy.

On Vacilando (so named from the Spanish term, indicating a wanderer for whom the experience of travel is more important than the reaching of a destination), though, he strips away his tendency for over-production, resulting in a more focused, refined approach. Tillman’s cavernous vocal range, all texture and nuance, is front and center; meanwhile, a wise-beyond-his-years lyrical depth that, one fathoms, springs from (or, more accurately, is a reaction to) his restrictive religious upbringing, results in pithy imagery, i.e., “Suffering doesn’t know God’s name (from “New Imperial Grand Blues”) or, from the album’s opening salvo, “All that you see, you have dominion/All you don’t know, you are forbidden.”

The record’s insistently bleak tone threatens to tilt into claustrophobia at times, but Tillman winningly subverts expectations. The striking full-band cut, “Steel on Steel,” with delicious French horn/pedal steel interplay and Fleet Fox Casey Wescott on keyboards, melds agonizing romantic heartbreak to an epiphany on life’s ephemeral nature. It’s a leftfield instant pop classic, Tillman winding his silkiest vocal around the song’s glistening melody. “New Imperial Grand Blues,” in contrast, is a pulsating rocker, a jarring peek into the Crazy Horse side of Tillman’s brain. It’s a bone-rattling blues called “Master’s House”, however, that best embodies Tillman’s talent: “How easily the heart of man is tamed” he surmises, over the music, his quivering, floating tenor gaining a steady, stoic determination. It’s an explosive assessment, with implications reverberating into personal, spiritual, even geopolitical realms. Tillman’s own spirit, meanwhile, you suspect will be tough to quell. – Uncut

With:
Evan Way (Parson Red Heads)
Big Search (Foreign Born, Fool’s Gold, Glasser)

8:30pm / $10 adv, $12 at the door / All Ages

Sunday 08.16.09: GRAND OLE ECHO with DEAD ROCK WEST / RUBY FRIEDMAN ORCHESTRA / THE LONESOME HEROES @ echo

Dead Rock West || Listen

With:
Ruby Friedman
The Lonesome Heroes || Listen

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Wednesday 08.19.09: GREAT NORTHERN @ pershing square

Great Northern || Listen || Watch

On the cover of Great Northern’s debut album, Trading Twilight for Daylight, sits a barren tree backed by an arctic landscape. Such a dormant image is ironic considering the band’s lively and articulately layered sound, with traditional instrumentation being complemented by the likes of strings, brass, and other orchestral elements that are often considered too complex or overbearing to even visit the usually simplistic world of indie pop. Demonstrating the ability to take risks, Great Northern are one of the more capable bands of their element I have heard lately. Based out of Los Angeles, Great Northern was formed due to the strong friendship of pianist Rachel Stolte and guitarist Solon Bixler, both proficient songwriters and lead vocalists. – Obscure Sound

Pershing Square
532 South Olive Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013

7pm / FREE / All ages

Wednesday 08.12.09: OLIN & THE MOON / HORSE THIEVES @ pershing square

Olin & The Moon || Listen

With:
Horse Thieves

Pershing Square
532 South Olive Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013

7pm / FREE / All ages

Wednesday 08.05.09: LUKE TOP / MY PET SADDLE @ pershing square

Luke Top || Listen || Watch

Do you love your friends “more than lightning?” Are they “much more than a passing storm?” If so, perhaps they are also Friends with Luke Top and you can all connect for brunch, or form another band. It seems that everything Luke Top does seats a party of at least ten, be it with Fool’s Gold or this project, which also involves Fool’s Lewis Pesacov, Giant Drag’s Micah Calabrese, Cass McCombs, and Matt Popieluch and Ariel Rechtshaid of Foreign Born, to name a few—almost like a disease, each of these guys spreads his germs around town in different bands and projects. But rather than bring us any closer to swine flu, Luke Top’s music wants to make happy. It’s the sound of driving nowhere on a sunny afternoon. Opener “Lord, Save Me From This Valley” starts the car, then “Infant Rose” pulls the top down, shaking off a few leaves and dried berries before we hit the coastal highway. We arrive at title track, “Friends,” in third gear, jangling tambourine, handclaps, and vocal harmonies. While instruments pile up over the course of the album, adding horns and strings and even some nature sounds to the blend, every note fits in a streamline design: the road is clear, the car is clean, and the passengers smile behind their sunglasses. – LA Record

with:
My Pet Saddle

Pershing Square
532 South Olive Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013

7pm / FREE / All ages

Friday 07.31.09: Filter & Loudvine present DEERHOOF / BUSDRIVER / AVOCET @ echoplex

Deerhoof || Listen || Watch || MP3

And sure enough, within the first three songs Offend Maggie revels in its playful, welcoming nature. Leaping from urgent, almost foreboding intro chords in ‘The Tears’ and ‘Music Of Love’ to the hopscotch melodies of ‘Chandelier Searchlight’ would be a fantastic feat for any other band, but we’ve come to accept this sort of thing as the Deerhoof norm.

How, though, can a band so rhythmically and melodically skewed envelop you so wholly? The answer can be found on the title track where Satomi Matsuzaki’s spindly, delicately fey voice winds its way around touching, finger-picked guitar refrains: it resonates by retaining a punch even when bursts of violence punctuate the music. More than ever, their tenth album continues to place emphasis on this intertwining of chiming vocals and elaborate, delicate musical orienteering.

Deerhoof’s world, then, remains something of a mystery as they end the fourteenth year of their recorded career. It’s still overflowing with all kinds of aural fauna and sonic life; incomparable and often hard to describe. The best way to approach this band is to stop comparing them to the usual reference points – instead, it’s far more rewarding to accept Offend Maggie as a land of its own making, something to be indulged, explored and, finally, cherished. – Drowned in Sound

With:
Busdriver || Listen
Avocet

8pm / $12.00 advance, $14 day of show / all ages

Saturday 07.25.09: STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS / THE FRESH & ONLYS / RED CORTEZ @ echoplex

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks || Listen || Watch

Stephen Malkmus fans divide into Pig Lib fans or Face the Truth fans, the same way Pavement fans split into Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain or Wowee Zowee partisans: Either you like the guy best when he zones out on the guitar for hours at a time, mumbling and rambling and diddling around, or you prefer his brief, quirky song fragments. Last time, on 2005’s Face the Truth, he offered a bunch of cute freak-folk ditties — a timely career move yet not such a memorable album. But Real Emotional Trash is a fantastic psychedelic feast, full of cosmic guitar crackle and electric piano and batshit poetry. It’s the album Malkmus has been driving at ever since he learned how to rip off the Velvet Underground and Quicksilver Messenger Service at the same time — a full-body baptism in John Cipollina’s bong water.

Guitar reveries like “Baltimore,” “Dragonfly Pie” and the road-tripping title jam ramble on for six or seven or even ten minutes; the only one that drags, “Gardenia,” is the only one under three minutes. The Jicks add the flesh-and-blood band interaction that was so key to Pig Lib, including ex-Sleater-Kinney drum goddess Janet Weiss. “Out of Reaches” revamps early Pavement’s elegiac hum; “We Can’t Help You” is a Basement Tapes-style ballad with perfect femme harmonies; “Elmo Delmo” fuses the Grateful Dead’s “Cryptical Envelopment” with Sonic Youth’s “Karen Koltrane.”

In “Dragonfly Pie,” when Malkmus sings, “Of all my stoned digressions/Some have mutated into the truth,” it’s notable as (1) the opening couplet on the album and (2) the last halfway coherent thing he says for the next hour or so. But that’s for the best, as Malkmus hasn’t taken the lyrics too seriously since Pavement broke up, and any statement heavier than the throwaway jokes here (“Made it back to Frisco in the vanity chest/To the painted ladies on house arrest”) would just get in the way. All he wants to do is surrender to the lightheaded rush of the music, and the results are downright glorious. – Rolling Stone

With:
The Fresh & Onlys || Listen
Red Cortez

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

8pm / $19adv, $22dos / All ages

Saturday 07.25.09: SATURDAYS OFF THE 405 with CUT CHEMIST / WE ARE THE WORLD @ getty center

Cut Chemist || Listen

Fridays Off the 405 are now Saturdays Off the 405! The free outdoor performance series is back on Saturday nights this summer with a lively mix of today’s most exciting emerging bands and DJ sets to open and close the night. And starting this summer, parking is free at the Getty Center on Saturdays after 5pm.

Fans of DJ Shadow, RJD2, Jurassic 5, and masterful recent instrumental opuses from J-Dilla and Madlib would be wise to check out The Audience’s Listening (Warner Brothers), the major-label solo debut from longtime J5 mainstay Cut Chemist. Chemist takes audiences on an invigorating sonic journey that skips deliriously from genre to genre and is animated throughout by an infectious sense of rhythm and a prankish sense of humor. Strap on some headphones and enjoy the ride… – AV Club

With:
We Are The World

Getty Center Courtyard
1200 Getty Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90049

6pm / FREE / all ages

Wednesday 07.22.09: Spaceland Under The Stars with VOXHAUL BROADCAST / THE FRENCH SEMESTER @ pershing square

Voxhaul Broadcast || Watch

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

With:
The French Semester || Listen

Pershing Square
532 South Olive Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013

7pm / FREE / All ages

Saturday 07.11.09: SATURDAYS OFF THE 405 with MAS EXITOS / DOMINGO SIETE @ the getty center

Mas Exitos (DJ Collective)

Fridays Off the 405 are now Saturdays Off the 405! The free outdoor performance series is back on Saturday nights this summer with a lively mix of today’s most exciting emerging bands and DJ sets to open and close the night. And starting this summer, parking is free at the Getty Center on Saturdays after 5pm.

Mas Exitos, the legendary twice-a-month event held at the Verdugo Bar in Highland Park, comes to the Getty! The DJ collective—featuring Lengua, Hoseh, Ganas, and Enorbito—unfold their international music selections and transform the Museum Courtyard into a hot spot south of the border.

Think of it as a National Geographic documentary on sound that takes you from the Andes of Peru to the streets of Mexico City to the East Side of L.A.—cumbias, low-rider music, tropicalia, funky jazz oddities, y más. Listen as the crew plays their heritage on turntables.

With:
DJ Hoseh
DJ Lengua
DJ Exorbito
DJ Ganas
Domingo Siete || Listen

Getty Center Courtyard
1200 Getty Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90049

6pm / FREE / all ages

Sunday 06.28.09: ROCK ‘N ROLL ‘N RESCUE – A Benefit for Sante D’Or Pet Rescue with GLISS / DEATH TO ANDERS / RAINBOW ARABIA / ARMY NAVY / THE POLYAMOROUS AFFAIR / EXITMUSIC @ echoplex

Rock ‘n Roll ‘n Rescue
a benefit event for Santé D’Or pet rescue

with:
Gliss || Listen
Death to Anders || Listen
Rainbow Arabia || Listen
Army Navy
The Polyamorous Affair || Listen
Exitmusic
and many more

@ Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

FMI: http://www.rocknrollnrescue.com/

1:30pm / $20 Advance, $25 Day Of Show / All Ages

Wednesday 07.15.09: FOL CHEN / 60 WATT KID @ pershing square

Fol Chen || Listen || Watch

“We are cryptic and joyful and we would like you to dance,” claim the enigmatic Fol Chen, likening themselves to the mysterious black monolith on the cover of Zep’s Presence – a complete red herring as regards the group’s musical approach, which favours synths and strings rather than rock and riffs.

One aspect they do share with the former rock gods is a careless attitude to personal responsibility, with the protagonist of “Cable TV” trying to lure the object of her affections to some dubious motel, while the singer of “You and Your Sister in Jericho” offers her temptations more bluntly: “Fuck your friends, they don’t care/ Smoke too much, and dye your hair,” she murmurs enticingly, while guitar, pedal steel and horns perform a slow, slurred waltz over an enervated drum-machine pulse, before it all dissolves into a blur of drums and thunderous distortion. It’s impossible to pin the sextet down to a specific area of the musical map: one moment they create a kind of quirky electro-pop, as on the funky “No Wedding Cake”, but elsewhere, disparate elements – lumbering, brusque drums; lap steel; prepared-piano; calliope-textured synth lines; various horns – are mingled in intriguing combinations that avoid definition. – The Independent UK

With:
60 Watt Kid || Listen

Pershing Square
532 South Olive Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013

7pm / FREE / All ages

Sunday 06.28.09: KIDROCKERS present LOCAL NATIVES / SAINT MOTEL @ echo (day show)

with:
Local Natives || Listen
Saint Motel

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

Hosted by Seth Herzog & Matt Dwyer

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

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

Thursday 07.02.09: AMAZING BABY / BAND OF SKULLS / DAZZLER @ Hammer Museum

Amazing Baby || Listen
Band of Skulls || Listen
Dazzler || Listen

Hammer Museum
10899 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024

8pm / FREE / all ages

Wednesday 07.08.09: Myspace Records presents ROOTBEER / U-N-I / BOOMBOX NINJAS @ echo

Rootbeer || Watch

The simple shortcut to that Rootbeer descriptive word puzzle could be something like “MGMT injected with some N.E.R.D and A Tribe Called Quest”. As clearly evident in their lyrics and style, Flynn Adam and Pigeon John are unapologetic purveyors of popular culture. Rather than making an escape attempt on this debut to something that was some subtle artistic departure from the Lost Angels-flavored West Coast underground laid back rap that raised them, the duo has grown more apt to fully open their arms and embrace a vast array of what is relative to their own contemporary culture consumption today.

With an even more upped-tempo vocal cadence dancing on top of beatscapes that awaken even the hippest of skeptics, the music will make you jump up like a chimpanzee. An unbelievably charismatic live show, mixed with the most infectious hooks you’ve wrapped your ears around in quite some time, Rootbeer slaps a smile on your face that you simply can’t contain. Like some of the lyrics remind you: “It feels so good, feels so great, feels so wonderful,” so tune in and dig it!

with:
U-N-I || Listen
Boombox Ninjas

8pm / FREE / all ages

Thursday 08.27.09: CONOR OBERST & THE MYSTIC VALLEY BAND / DUNGEN / KURT VILE @ echoplex

Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band || Listen || Watch

Last year, Conor Oberst set aside his long-standing Bright Eyes moniker and made a run for the border, decamping to a Mexican mountainside to record his first album under his own name. Conor Oberst was laid-back folk rock in love with the road and far from Bright Eyes’ rep for indoors-y shame sharing. Now, Oberst is covering more unknown territory by splitting songwriting duties for the first time in his 15-year career. Written on tour with the band he took to Mexico, these 16 songs are full of the freewheeling possibility and, at times, errant indulgence you can get when bros hang out in hotel rooms passing around guitars and massaging each other’s muses. Even the drummer gets two cuts.

Oberst’s songwriting has always been first–thought–best–thought, so the loose communal vibe usually fits nicely. On “Slowly (Oh So Slowly),” an ode to taking it easy that the Eagles might appreciate, Oberst lounges in a swimming pool languidly watching life pass by. Fans of Bright Eyes’ white-knuckled miserablism might find that image of suntanned bliss about as likely as Jay-Z rolling around in a used Pinto. But there’s still introspective angst here, from the scared lover’s acoustic plea “White Shoes” to the apocalyptic lefty rant “Roosevelt Room.”

No one in the Mystic Valley Band is an undiscovered genius, but no one is a charity case either; guitarist Nik Freitas’ rollicking country paean to paranoia, “Big Black Nothing,” and guitarist Taylor Hollingsworth’s speedy indie-pop ode to van sex, “Air Mattress,” could even be decent Bright Eyes throwaways. Predictably, however, this six-piece are best at backing their boss with a road-seasoned mix of meaty jangle and whirring Sixties-Dylan organ. They’re also pretty good at proving what a nice guy he is. Many things may weigh on Conor Oberst’s mind, but on this record, ego isn’t one of them. – Rolling Stone

With:
Dungen || Listen
Kurt Vile || Listen

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

7pm / $25 / All Ages

Tuesday 07.07.09: KITTY, DAISY, & LEWIS / LE SWITCH / TANDEMORO @ echo

Kitty, Daisy & Lewis || Watch

Multi-instrumentalists Kitty Daisy & Lewis play guitar, piano, banjo, lap steel guitar, harmonica, double bass, ukulele, trombone and accordion between them. Their debut album was recorded in glorious, utterly digital-free analogue by Lewis and his father Graeme in their home studio in Kentish Town. A stickler for living and breathing the music they play and talk so passionately about, Lewis DJs, collects and even cuts his own 78rpm records himself when he isn’t recording with his sisters. This obsessive passion for the vintage music that inspires their performances led to their compilation ‘A – Z of Kitty, Daisy & Lewis – The Roots Of Rock n Roll’ being named one of The Guardian’s 2007 ‘Albums Of The Year – 5/5′.

No dry exercise in musical luddism, their 2008 debut album swings with the passion, intensity and sheer exuberant joie de vivre that makes their live shows one of the UK gig circuit’s greatest and most innocent pleasures. The album is a mixture of the covers their dad used to sing to them when they were children, like ‘Going Up The Country’ – a perfectly rounded summer holiday feel-good jam, full of harmonica solos, handclaps and lyrics about leaving the city smog for fairer country hills – together with new material like the heart torn ‘Buggin’ Blues’, written by Lewis and inspired by the great late Otis Spann (Chess Records) and latest single ‘(Baby) Hold Me Tight’, written by Kitty and featuring Skatalites contemporary Eddy ‘Tan Tan’ Thornton. Kitty Daisy & Lewis’ second artist album is due in 2010. – Sunday Best

with:
Le Switch || Listen
Tandemoro || Listen

8pm / $10adv; $12dos / all ages

Wednesday 07.01.09: A Benefit for The Pablove Foundation- EULOGIES / BAD VEINS / AVI BUFFALO / A DECENT ANIMAL @ echo

Eulogies || Listen || Watch

Can a band that names its debut album Eulogies be taken at face value? The group must be playing their self-reflexive card out of the gate, starting at the end and working their way backwards, or otherwise signaling the poetic finish of something large, with a fresh start to boot, right? Not necessarily, especially if the band itself is named Eulogies. Bandleader Peter Walker’s songs draw inspiration from the literal meaning of the term, dealing variously with despair and regret, and were crafted during a 2006 tour on which he opened for Starsailor; to his credit, Walker plays his songs much closer to the vest than his former tourmates. Eulogies simmers with emotion and brims with understated hooks, registering nearest the sensible introspection of Wheat’s Hope and Adams, Nada Surf’s The Weight is a Gift, or Death Cab for Cutie’s Transatlanticism.

Not so much clenched teeth as effectively restrained power-pop passion, Eulogies’ most expressive moments– the chugging chorus of “Running in the Rain”, the opening guitar fanfare from “Useless Amends”, the temporarily wanky solo from “Life Boat”– are quickly subsumed to calmer tones, most often in the form of shadowy electric guitar and Walker’s whispery pleas. Matters are occasionally expanded, but at the lyrical level: “Under the Knife” elevates denial to universal proportions, questioning the impact of “Those who died for us to live/ On false foundations,” before reaching a fulfilling, yet discreet, refrain. “Can’t Relate” overcomes the occasional overwrought lyric (“We’re all swimming in the bottles of our own accord”) with one of the record’s most effective productions, an organ-laced acoustic brood. Opener “One Man” has a muted, Ric Ocasek-style guitar line weaving throughout, and expands into a satisfying, but self-possessed chorus. – Pitchfork

With:
Bad Veins || Listen
Avi Buffalo
A Decent Animal || Listen

8pm / $10adv; $12dos / all ages

Saturday 06.27.09: TELEKINESIS / THE BOAT PEOPLE / ONE TRICK PONY @ echoplex

Telekinesis || Watch

I didn’t listen to the Telekinesis record when it first arrived at my house. Then I heard the song “Coast of Carolina” on a radio show and waited around to see who was responsible for this infectious little beast. When I realized that it was Telekinesis, I pulled the CD out of its resting place and haven’t stopped listening to it since; it accompanies me in my car, as I write at my desk and on airplanes. At first, I treated the album like I do a lot of other pop records: as a showcase for one standout song. Consequently, I continued to listen to “Coast of Carolina” as if it were the wunderkind and every other song merely runners-up in some imagined talent show. I approached the rest of the album with skepticism and reserve. And, though I never grew tired of “Coast of Carolina” (and still haven’t!), eventually I wanted to know the rest of the story.

And that’s how it came to be that Telekinesis’ self-titled album is my current favorite. My summer sun long before the light and long days actually get here.

Telekinesis is really the work of one man, at least on record, and that man is Michael Lerner. One thing I like about him is that, in addition to being a great singer and songwriter, he’s a good enough drummer — quite a fantastic one, really — to know that you can’t just give that job up to anyone. So he drums and sings on stage, throwing off both the audience’s balance and one’s ideas of symmetry and pop, not unlike his songs themselves.

Lerner sings about water, place, time and ephemera, which are all sneaky and slippery topics. So while the impressionistic approach to lyrical content provides fleeting, oblique images, the catchy music is grounding and indelible. If Telekinesis were a dance, it would be the pogo: with the leap into the air — that hint of uncertainty, of possibility, of letting go — being the words, and the driving, perfectly crafted melody (as sturdy as anything) being the feel of your feet as they touch the ground. Sometimes it’s nice to have a band provide both the lift-off and the landing. – NPR

with:
The Boat People
One Trick Pony || Listen

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

7pm / $10 / All Ages

Tuesday 07.21.09: MICACHU & THE SHAPES / TUNE YARDS / RACHEL GOODRICH @ echo

Micachu & The Shapes || Listen || Watch

Micachu and the Shapes can rest easy for now, however, since Jewellery turns out to be a thrilling pick ‘n’ mix of puckish pop nonsense that will absolutely charm your kecks off, hoovers and all. Winking broadly at myriad styles from grime to playground skiffle and corrosive noise with nary a bum note bared, in some ways it’s capricious and not exactly fully-formed, but you can’t help but admire how much of this record flat-out works. ‘Golden Phone’’s a blinding tune showcasing Levi’s gruff cockney diction, pleasingly pitched midway between a leer and a rictus grin. And ‘Curly Teeth’’s a moderately deranging racket that recalls Damon Albarn at his most stridently experimental.

Performed on a specially tuned guitar with a host of electronic glitches and gloops and seemingly held together with elastic bands and spit, Jewellery’s wonky pop architecture finds joy in sheer surrealist musical abstraction, as with ‘Golden Phone’’s lip-smacking lines: “love’s all around, yeah, but I don’t want none / time’s everywhere, yeah, but I don’t want none / gold in my hair, yeah, but I don’t want none / give me that nonsense sound and I’ll be back”.

Call that punk or even Dada if you like, it matters not. Micachu’s a rare talent seemingly heaven-sent to snatch bedroom pop from the ‘pit-sniffing dullards once more, and for that we have only to be thankful. – The Quietus

With:
Tune Yards || Listen
Rachel Goodrich

8pm / $10adv; $12dos / all ages

Sunday 07.12.09: ONEIDA / AMPS FOR CHRIST / CLIP’D BEAKS @ echo

Oneida || Listen || Watch

Oneida are sneaky. Without most people realizing it, they somehow crept into being one of the best bands out there around the time of 2004’s Secret Wars, an album so rich and eventful and simultaneously weird and rocking that even the band which made it sometimes feels recently like they’ve been playing catch-up. The Wedding and Happy New Year both took their eternally wandering muse in a more overtly psychedelic direction, and found the band in fine form. Now they’re going back. But to what? The flippant answer might be to the light light light light light light, at least if you’ve heard their exquisitely punishing 2002 album Each One Teach One and more specifically the opening fourteen-minute pummel, “Sheets of Easter” (the first song to really build on what Spacemen 3 did with “Suicide”). Preteen Weaponry is one 39-minute composition in three parts, not as unrelenting as “Sheets of Easter” or its companion “Antidotes” were, but certainly largely akin to them. The relative mellowness of the band’s last few albums appears to have rubbed off onto this one, although the howling feedback as part one of “Preteen Weaponry” opens might throw you off a bit. As the music toys around with Indian modalities and vaguely “tribal”-sounding drum thump, even as it remains almost fiercely repetitive, you might start thinking of Amon Duul II or Ash Ra Tempel, which is fair. Another good point of comparison might be the sui generis Australian trio The Necks.

The result goes all over the place as much as any ruthlessly focused track can; the second part is certainly much less busy, and the third movement with its odd tones and gnashing drums begins to sound a bit like Two Lone Swordsmen’s memorably gonzo remix of Spiritualized’s “Come Together,” but if you’re not paying attention, you’re almost certain not to notice when the track index changes. This is one long journey, but it’s a remarkably consistent one (it’s interesting to note they’re apparently playing the album live, as you wonder how strictly they follow the text when replicating it), for better and for worse. It makes Preteen Weaponry a very hate-it-or-love-it effort, although Krautrock/comische music/whatever exactly you want to try calling this thing is rare and outré enough that it shouldn’t be very hard to know if you’re going to like it. If you’re into this particular form of mind expansion, Oneida can be trusted; if not, it doesn’t really matter how good they are. - Popmatters

With:
Amps for Christ || Listen
Clip’d Beaks

1pm / $8adv; $10dos / all ages

Tuesday 06.02.09: OLIN & THE MOON / LESLIE & THE BADGERS / DEEP SEA DIVER / EAGLE & TALON @ echo

Olin & The Moon || Watch

Three Idaho boys bring their rural charm to the Los Angeles scene with a little help from a pretty face along the way. Olin and the Moon’s self-titled album is a promising start for these old friends as they attempt to stand out from the crowd they’ve chosen to surround themselves with.

Drummer Marshall Vore allows the band to reside confidently in between the overtly fast and the unconsciously mellow, while singer David LaBrel shines with storytelling skills that stand up to the likes of Bright Eye’s Conor Oberst. Invoking images of a rock star retiring to the moon, “Moon Man” is like a monotone ballad version of “Ziggy Stardust.” In “Home,” the band conjures up fond memories of simple farm life protecting innocent love: “I wanna take you to the trees / Where the forest and the farm lands meet … Where you can lay out on the grass all day / Where it is safe.” Songs like these benefit from acoustic guitar strums, heavenly bells and sweet piano undertones.

Tracks like “Oh Bells” and “Song of the Summer” are focused more around the band’s own experiences on the road as musicians, referencing sound guys and getting drunk while singing. Olin and the Moon’s adolescent drive comes via David LaBrel’s brother Travis and his powerful lead guitar. His chord formations draw in ears to his trickling melodies — most notably on “Changin’“ and “Take It To Hell” — but they often overtake the songs, drowning out Erica Wheeler’s bass and David LaBrel’s vocals.

Olin and the Moon desperately strive to engage listeners in music that expresses their love for the art form; with an album like this, they just might succeed. – Performer Mag

with:
Leslie & the Badgers
Deep Sea Diver
Eagle & Talon || Listen

8:30pm / $5 / 18+

Saturday 08.08.09: SATURDAYS OFF THE 405 with THE DODOS / DJ TURQUOISE WISDOM @ Getty Center Courtyard

The Dodos || Listen
Visiter, The Dodos’ 2008 sophomore album, and first for Frenchkiss Records, was seen by many as a resounding success. Combining simple pop ditties that were centered on a two prong axis of drum and guitar, the results were beautiful, chaotic, melodic, and ingenuity personified. Songs like “Ashley” were haunting in their aching beauty while a song like “Undeclared” had the unassuming charm of a young man groping with his convictions and feelings in the simplest of terms.

This is one of the reasons to be excited about news of The Dodos’ forthcoming studio album. Another is the album’s title, Time to Die, which in itself kicks ass. Other reasons? Well, the nine-track effort, which is due out on September 15th, was produced by indie rock producer Phil Ek, the same Phil Ek who has previously worked with the likes Built to Spill, Fleet Foxes, and The Shins. The album will also mark the band’s first with new member Keaton Snyder (yes, the band is now a trio!), a classically trained music school dropout who will be bringing his killer vibraphone skills to The Dodos, which according to frontman frontman Meric Long (via Pitchfork), allows Time to Die to “sound more like a band.”

Time to Die? Yes, please. – Consequence of Sound

With:
DJ Turquoise Wisdom

Getty Center Courtyard
1200 Getty Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90049

6pm / FREE / all ages

Saturday 06.20.09: SATURDAYS OFF THE 405 with CHAIRLIFT / DJ FROSTY @ Getty

Chairlift || Listen || Watch

Plus:
DJ Frosty (Dub Lab)

Fridays Off the 405 are now Saturdays Off the 405! The free outdoor performance series is back on Saturday nights this summer with a lively mix of today’s most exciting emerging bands and DJ sets to open and close the night. And starting this summer, parking is free at the Getty Center on Saturdays after 5pm.

Starting off the new series in June is Brooklyn-based trio Chairlift. They are best known for their hit single “Bruises,” which was featured in the latest iPod Nano commercial. Band members Aaron Pfenning, Caroline Polachek, and Patrick Wimberly perform a unique blend of synth-pop that weaves together keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, and tambourines. The night includes sets from Dublab DJs Frosty and Ale.

Getty Center Courtyard
1200 Getty Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90049

6pm / FREE / all ages

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

The Pablove Foundation presents:
SILVERSUN PICKUPS
EULOGIES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8pm / $25 / All Ages

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

Dave Insley || Listen

Greg DaPonte’s Birthday Show!

With:
West of Texas || Listen

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

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

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

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

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

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

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

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

Syd Straw
Rich Mahan
The Unlawful Kings

Back porch:
The Preachers Son

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

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

Gina Villalobos || Listen

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

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

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

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

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

Steve Casper

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

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

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

Mike Stinson || Listen
Dogweed
Elliott Randall || Listen

Back porch:
Bird and Moon

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

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

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

Back Porch:
Tippy Canoe

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

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

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

On The Back Porch:
Water Tower String Band

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

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

with:
Wolfmother
The Ruby Suns

plus Dublab DJs:
The Phatal DJ
Chico Sonido

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

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

5:30pm / $9 / All Ages

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

Sunset Rubdown || Listen

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

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

With:
Elfin Saddle
Witchies

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

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

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

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

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

Back porch:
Frank Fairfield

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

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

Tony Gilkyson
The Golden Days
Next Of Kin

Back porch:
Triple Chicken Foot || Listen

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

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

Mike Stinson || Listen
Austin Hartley-Leonard
Imaginary Friends

Back porch:
Dime Box Band || Listen

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

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Thursday 05.28.09: JENS LEKMAN / TIG NOTARO @ echo

Jens Lekman || Listen

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

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

with:
Tig Notaro || Watch

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

8pm / $15 / All Ages

Wednesday 05.27.09: JENS LEKMAN / TIG NOTARO @ echo

Jens Lekman || Listen

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

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

with:
Tig Notaro || Watch

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

8pm / $15 / All Ages

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

Clues || Listen

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

with: Graham Forest

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

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

7pm / $10 / All Ages

Sunday 06.21.09: Echo Presents SHELLAC / ARCWELDER @ echoplex

Shellac || Listen

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

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

with:
Arcwelder

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

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

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

Saturday 06.20.09: Echo presents SHELLAC / ARCWELDER @ echoplex

Shellac || Listen

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

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

with:
Arcwelder

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

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

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

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

with:
Eulogies || Listen
The One AM Radio || Listen

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

Hosted by Seth Herzog & Matt Dwyer

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

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

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

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

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

Back porch:
50 Cent Haircut || Listen

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

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

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

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

With:
Girls
Champagne Socialists

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

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

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

featuring:

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

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

with stars from MTV,The Late Show

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

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

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

8pm / $10 / all ages

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

Viva Voce || Listen || Watch

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

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

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

With:
Cut Off Your Hands || Listen

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

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

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

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

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone || Listen || Watch

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

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

7:30pm / $8.00 / All Ages

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

Constantines || Listen || Watch

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

With:
Crystal Antlers
I was A King || Listen

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

8pm / $10 / All ages

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

Her Space Holiady || Listen || Watch

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

With:
City Light
Hanni El Khatib

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

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

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

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

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

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

“revelatory” says LA CityBeat

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

“…compelling and refreshing…” LA Alternative Film Examiner

“…utterly haunting…astonishing!” Filter

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

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

7pm / $10.00 / all ages

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

King Khan & The Shrines || Watch

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

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

With:
Mark Sultan || Listen
Wounded Lion

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

7pm / $13 / All Ages

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

Funeral Dress || Listen || Watch

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

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

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

6:30pm / $12 / All Ages

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

Detroyer || Listen

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

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

with:
Azita || Listen
Devon Williams

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

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

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

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

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

Featuring:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8pm / $10 / All ages

Wednesday 04.01.09: GREGORY & THE HAWK @ echo

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

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

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

7pm / $10 / All Ages

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

Propagandhi || Listen

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

with:
Bridge and Tunnel
Ghostlimb

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

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

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

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

Avi Buffalo || Watch

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

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

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

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

Avi Buffalo || Watch

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

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

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

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

Avi Buffalo || Watch

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

with:

Faraway Places || Listen

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

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

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

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

Avi Buffalo || Watch

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

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

DJ Larry Little (Future Sounds)

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

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

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

1pm / $8 / All Ages

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

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

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

Hosted by Matt Dwyer

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

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

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

The Dears || Listen || MP3

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

with:
Great Northern || Listen
Eulogies || Listen

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

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

8:30pm / $15 / all ages

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

The Bird & The Bee || Listen || Watch

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

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

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

with:
Juliette Commagere

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

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

Mia Doi Todd || Listen || Watch

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

with:
Christy & Emily || Listen

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

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

Wavves || Listen || Watch

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

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

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

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

with:
Fol Chen
Vampire Hands

8:30pm / $10 / All Ages

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

Kylesa || Listen || Watch

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

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

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

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

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

Ralph’s World

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

with Special Guest:
Lisa Loeb || Listen

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

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

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

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

Busdriver || Listen
Tim Fite || Listen

plus Dublab DJs:
The Phatal DJ
T-Kay

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

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

5:30pm / $9 / All Ages

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

Old Californio (CD release party)

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

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

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

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

with Special guests:
I See Hawks in LA || Listen
Whis