Sunday 10.24.10: GOLD MOTEL / MICHAEL RUNION / FAMILY OF THE YEAR @ echo

GOLD MOTEL || LISTEN || WATCH

GOLD MOTEL doesn’t exist, but if it did, you’d find it on a winding road somewhere in the sun-drenched hills of Southern California. Singer-songwriter Greta Morgan wrote her first song at age three and never stopped, cutting her teeth in the music business and honing her chops as a driving creative force of the Chicago jangle-pop act The Hush Sound. After four years, three albums and a relentless touring schedule that included shows to devoted fans on three continents, Greta packed up her guitar, her piano, and her record collection and headed to Southern California to write the songs which would become her solo endeavor.

Gold Motel represents the evolution of a musical identity that hearkens back to pop’s crowning achievements: the dreamy energy of The Kinks, the quickwitted lyrical dexterity of Elvis Costello, the unassuming sophistication of a Beach Boys melody, light as air and deep as the Pacific. The youthful energy and sheer joy of Greta’s work is captured on the Gold Motel EP, recorded with friend Dan Duzsynzski (of the band This Is Me Smiling). Until then, old and new fans alike can catch Greta at live performances throughout the US, where she charms and beguiles with all the talent and soul of a singer in the lobby of a gilded motel.

with:
MICHAEL RUNION || LISTEN
FAMILY OF THE YEAR || LISTEN

6pm / $8 Advance, $10 day of show / all ages

Sunday 10.10.10: GRAND OLE ECHO @ echo

FMI: Grand Ole Echo on Myspace

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 10.03.10: GRAND OLE ECHO @ echo

FMI: Grand Ole Echo on Myspace

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 09.26.10: GRAND OLE ECHO @ echo

FMI: Grand Ole Echo on Myspace

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 09.19.10: GRAND OLE ECHO @ echo

FMI: Grand Ole Echo on Myspace

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Sunday 09.12.10: GRAND OLE ECHO with KINGSIZEMAYBE / THE RUNNING KIND / GENTLEMEN FARMERS / SKIP HELLER @ echo

with:
Kingsizemaybe
The Running Kind
Gentlemen Farmers
Skip Heller

FMI: Grand Ole Echo on Myspace

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Saturday 10.30.10: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 10.23.10: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 10.16.10: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 10.09.10: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 10.02.10: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Tuesday 09.28.10: ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER / SUN ARAW @ echo

ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER || LISTEN

Though it sometimes feels like drone music will be forever relegated to the fringes of the indie world, an impressive batch of bands and labels have sprung up recently to counter that idea. Alongside bigger acts such as Sunn O))) and Grouper (not true drone, but plenty drone-y), artists like Emeralds, Black to Comm, and Yellow Swans are each tugging the style into intriguing directions. Daniel Lopatin, who records as Oneohtrix Point Never and shares a label with Emeralds, could plausibly be lumped into this group but also exists outside of it. Where others bring to bear a wide range of instrumentation in creating these glistening, open-ended sounds, Lopatin does so using only electronics (synthesizers and arpeggiators, primarily) and as a result, his music is arguably more distinctive and often more difficult to pin down.

Because he’s worked outside the label structure and released albums on limited-run cassette and CD-R until now, Lopatin’s music also hasn’t been easy to find. But Rifts, a 2xCD collection of his material since 2003 (including all three Oneohtrix Point Never full-lengths– Betrayed in the Octagon, Zones Without People, and Russian Mind), seeks to correct that by compiling just about everything he’s recorded as OPN to date. At two and a half hours long, it’s a dizzying amount of music and virtually impossible to absorb in one sitting but for anyone with a passing interest in drone or ambient music, it’s worth setting aside the time. – Pitchfork

With:
SUN ARAW || Listen

8:30pm / $10 / 18+

Wednesday 09.01.10: THE SPRING STANDARDS @ echo

THE SPRING STANDARDS || Listen || Watch

With an emphasis on three-part harmony and a variety of instrumental switching, The Spring Standards are an energetic force of three-part harmony circling over a rock n’ roll sound with an old country aftertaste. They take a drum kit and break it up among the three of them, and then they set up along the front of the stage. Whoever’s playing bass is also stepping on a kick drum. whoever’s playing guitar is also stepping on the high hat…in the middle stands Heather, switching between melodica, keys, glockenspiel and snare drum. Yet even with all this going on, their harmonies are astounding. Their range and energy make each live show a unique event.

7:30pm / $7 / all ages

Sunday 08.29.10: GRAND OLE ECHO with OLD CALIFORNIO / ANNY CELSI AND NELSON BRAGG / PAPERPLANES / SMITH AND WESSON @ echo

with:
Old Californio
Wearing the rootsy, organic heart of California on their sleeves, from bucolic harmonies to the traditional country song lines as aired on album opener “Mother Road”, a sense of freedom, one quite possibly inborn in bands of this geographical ilk, has allowed them to faithfully blend a definite sense of time and place (circa ’71 should do it) with a uniqWearing the rootsy, organic heart of California on their sleeves, from bucolic harmonies to the traditional country song lines as aired on album opener “Mother Road”, a sense of freedom, one quite possibly inborn in bands of this geographical ilk, has allowed them to faithfully blend a definite sense of time and place (circa ’71 should do it) with a unique approach to what the music of that era means to them personally.” – Richard S. Jones, Shindig!a

Anny Celsi & Nelson Bragg
To record her followup album, Tangle-Free World, Anny collaborated with Nelson Bragg, an in-demand drummer, percussionist and vocalist, whose own debut CD Day Into Night had recently established him as a formidable producer and arranger as well. Bragg, who plays with Brian Wilson’s band (he was featured on Wilson’s “Smile” and “Lucky Old Sun” albums), brought to the studio bandmates Nick Walusko, Probyn Gregory (also of the Wondermints), Scott Bennett and Brett Simons. Also contributing to album are Evie Sands, Carl Byron, Amy Farris, Adam Marsland, Robbie Rist, Phil Parlapiano and Anny’s son, Ivan Pyzow.

Paperplanes
Paperplanes can make Long Beach feel like Lubbock” – OC Weekly.

Based in Long Beach, Paperplanes have been crafting their songs in studios and stages for over a decade. What originated as a lo-fi songwriting vehicle, has worked its way to being one of Los Angeles’s most acclaimed country rock bands.

“Paperplanes, who put out one of the best country albums in the county last year.”- LA RECORD

Smith and Wesson

FMI: Grand Ole Echo on Myspace

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Saturday 10.30.10: NINJATUNE 20TH ANNIVERSARY @ ECHO & ECHOPLEX

9PM / $20 ADV; $25 DOS / 18+

Friday 10.01.10: The Echo & Club Underground present: FOSTER THE PEOPLE / SUPERHUMANOIDS @ echo

Foster The People || Listen || Watch

We got word about this LA group last week called Foster the People who only formed in autumn 2009, but because of the speed with which information is disseminated these days, their song Pumped Up Kicks, which has yet to see an official release, is already being talked about as one of the sure-fire surprise hits of the summer. It’s one of those lo-fi indie tracks that, like Peter Bjorn and John’s Young Kids, has “alternative anthem” written all over it. Its crossover potential is confirmed by the simple, shuffling beat, the buoyant Brian Wilson bassline, and the outrageously catchy melody. The tune is sung through some muffling device that merely serves to make you strain even harder to hear the words, and after a verse or two the melody is bolstered by some whistling. And if that wasn’t enough to ingratiate itself into the heads and hearts of festivalgoers this summer, the lyrics are well chant-worthy. The verses aren’t easy to make out, but the chorus, even if it doesn’t mean much, does the trick: “All the other kids with the pumped-up kicks/You better run, better run, faster than my bullet.” It’s MGMT’s Kids meets Young Kids, with a hint of Empire of the Sun’s We Are the People. Quite clearly, Foster the People are into people power, and they’re doing it for the kids. – Guardian

With:
Superhumanoids || Listen

8:30pm / $10 / 18+

Tuesday 10.19.10: SCOUT NIBLETT @ echo

Scout Niblett || Listen || Watch

On a surface level, this music can resemble PJ Harvey on Rid of Me or Nirvana on In Utero, both of which were also engineered by Niblett’s collaborator Steve Albini. The substance is closer to Cat Power’s Moon Pix and the early albums by the reclusive songwriter Jandek. Like them, Niblett has a way of making you hang on her every note, and making her guitar strings sound like some kind of fragile tether to sanity. Her voice is expressive and raw, shifting between wounded soulfulness and unhinged fury. Her songs are not uninviting, and tracks like “I.B.D.” and “Duke of Anxiety” have strong, memorable melodic hooks, but the starkness and intensity of it all makes for a very difficult and challenging record. However, on the occasions when the music connects, it is mesmerizing and uncanny whether you are directly relating to her or having a more voyeuristic experience.

The extreme intimacy implied by the recording is both fascinating and uncomfortable, but that isn’t necessarily a complaint. This is an excellent document and a successful expression of something that is clearly personal to the artist. Our comfort level and patience is beside the point, but not unimportant. Niblett’s music is very much an acquired taste, and there are few ways to enjoy this other than on her terms. She’s not oblivious to this, and she has a sense of humor about it. The black and white photograph on the cover is a sly, on-the-nose bit of dark comedy: She’s standing there waving and smiling at us as she holds up a welding torch, presumably about to set herself on fire. It’s her odd little way of welcoming an audience to what she describes on the title track as her “self-made sweat box.” It’s grim and indulgent, but not lacking in style and wit. – Pitchfork

8:30 / $8 in advance, $10 doors / 18+

Friday 09.10.10: Echo & Club Underground present: HELEN STELLAR / SAUCY JACKS @ echo

Helen Stellar || Listen || Watch

While that’s quite a lofty title, it’s also an apt description of the sonic direction in which Helen Stellar are headed. Having already proven themselves virtuosos of spiraling, explosive and ethereal dream-rock, the LA-based trio have given their huge sound a sense of urgency on their first official full-length release. In doing so, vocalist/guitarist Jim Evens, drummer Clif Clehouse, and bassist Dustin Robles expanded from trio to quartet with the addition of second guitarist Eli Lhymn, amping up the energy of Helen Stellar’s carefully crafted and densely-layered sound. With melodies and textures that soar high into the ether, unrelenting drumbeats that thunder from earth below, driving bass lines, and Evens’ lyrical obsession with the battered heart of the human condition, Helen Stellar have successfully exchanged beautifully dripping rock ambience for a head-on swirling sonic attack of bittersweet melodies. Clehouses’ deft bombastic percussion propels the hooks and melodic twists of “Joseph” and “From Here On” at a breakneck pace while Evens sings passionately about overcoming emotional blindness through the thick, gritty pulse of “Hyper-aware.” “The Disappearing Twin” careens out of control like a psychedelic freight train without brakes as the gorgeous heavenly noise freak-outs wrap around sky-bound “Hopeless Romantic” like a warm blanket. – Under The Radar

With:
Saucy Jacks || Listen

8:30pm / $8 / 18+

Wednesday 09.22.10: WHAT LAURA SAYS / SKYBOX @ echo

What Laura Says || Listen || Watch

If you’ve heard of What Laura Says at all, it’s most likely due to the fact that they’re on Terpsikhore Records—a label run by Annuals bassist Mike Robinson. Either that, or perhaps you’ve seen them play acoustically in their native Arizona back in the day. Nowadays, their acoustic days are long gone, focusing instead on tightly coiled guitars (“Training”) and psychedelic vocals reminiscent of Akron/Family on their second full length album, Bloom Cheek. Although they’ve already shared stages with the likes of Lou Reed, My Morning Jacket, and Yo La Tengo, What Laura Says is still carving out their own sound. On Bloom Cheek, they wear their influences out on their sleeves. Maybe in a few albums from now, they’ll learn to roll their sleeves up and not be so outright in emulating their peers. – Pop Matters

With:
Skybox || Listen

7pm / $8 / all ages

Tuesday 09.21.10: THE PARSON RED HEADS @ echo

The Parson Red Heads || Listen || Watch

If you’ve spent any time in the Silver Lake/Echo Park axis over the last half decade, chances are you’ve seen the Parson Red Heads. They’re hard to miss, an all-white-costumed crew who have, over the years, swelled to as many as eight people, looking like a cross between Danielson Famile and the Partridge Family, and playing sun-soaked and serene tunes that touched on the Beachwood Sparks and the usual Laurel Canyon suspects (The Byrds, Fleetwood Mac, CSNY).

Their live shows ran the gamut between drowsy folk-tinged acoustic sets and unruly psychedelic guitar workouts. The band played early, often and everywhere, with residencies at Spaceland, the Echo, and Silverlake Lounge that evidenced a visible joy that distinguished them from the often ultra-serious swarm of indie bands. Lamentably, the jubilation and jams will be far less frequent in these parts, with the band’s core trio of Evan Way (guitars, vocals), his wife, Brett Marie Way (drums, vocals), and Sam Fowles (guitar, vocals) announcing that they will be relocating back to their native Oregon. – LA Times

8:30pm / $5 / 18+

Thursday 09.16.10: THE CHAPIN SISTERS @ echo

The Chapin Sisters || Listen || Watch

You won’t see the Chapin Sisters on MTV, and that’s probably a good thing. Their music is well crafted with intense lyrics, traumatizing instrumentals, and all that is second nature to their insane harmonies that just makes you wonder how long they practice at it. The sister duo, Abigail and Lily Chapin, have put together a solid album after their debut, Lake Bottom. It’s not much of a step from their first album but it’s who they are, a talented band with heavy folk roots, who may have been born in the wrong era.

Two still has their folk elements that they’re known for but they also tap into a little bit of jazz as well as some country this time around. “Paradise” stood out to me as one of the best tracks on the second record, they throw their harmonies behind some solid piano playing a la Norah Jones, just a little stronger vocally. They stick to the theme of this record with lyrics like “no other drug will do/I know it’s true/I’m so much better off with you.” It’s songs like this that makes you think Two may not be so much about their second record coming out but having that second chance we all want so bad after we screw up in a relationship. This just a beautiful song with nothing but keys and the tambourine. – Indie Media Mag

8:30pm/ 18+

Thursday 09.02.10: MARIJUANA DEATHSQUADS (featuring P.O.S., Ryan Olson of Gayngs, Har Mar Superstar, Isaac Gale, and former members of Cows) / HOLLOYS / WOAH HUNX @ echo

MARIJUANA DEATHSQUADS (featuring P.O.S., Ryan Olson of Gayngs, Har Mar Superstar, Isaac Gale, and former members of Cows)

Marijuana Deathsquads began as a collaboration between P.O.S and his Building Better Bombs bandmates and has since evolved into one of the most progressive and sprawling noise bands in the Twin Cities. Their Wednesday-night house gigs at Nick and Eddie are notorious for featuring a revolving crew of musical luminaries from around the Twin Cities and for showcasing bombastic and unpredictable sets of improvised mania. Which is no surprise; spearheaded by emerging producer Ryan Olson, Marijuana Deathsquads’ band members and collaborators weave a tangled web of overlapping side projects that span from Minneapolis to Eau Claire and beyond. The band’s set in the park will feature a live collaboration with P.O.S (pictured) and members of Olson’s internationally renowned recording project Gayngs. – Citypages

with
WOAH HUNX
HOLLOYS || Listen

8:30pm / $5 / 18+

Tuesday 09.07.10: Buzz Bands & Al Borde Present WAIT. THINK. FAST – Album Release Show / LIGHT FM / MARVELOUS TOY / FUTURE GHOST @ echo

WAIT. THINK. FAST || Listen || Watch

Singer-pianist Jacqueline Santillan shifts between Spanish and English vocals with an inviting casualness, an approach to contemporary pop that takes a multi-ethnic view for granted. Rare indeed is a band that so comfortably executes West Coast traditions, be it the SoCal country of “Trouble,” the working-class guitar vamp of “Covina,” the Latin lament of “Jornaleras” or the orchestral, Hollywood-ready grandeur of “Bad Night.” Think of it as the musical equivalent of Los Angeles sprawl — without the headaches. – LA Times

with
LIGHT FM
MARVELOUS TOY
FUTURE GHOST

plus DJ:
Neil from Origami

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

Saturday 08.28.10: LIT CRAWL II @ echo

Lit Crawl is an event dedicated to good literature, community and responsible intoxication. The evening begins with author readings and afterwards moves out to occupy neighborhood bars in an orderly/disorderly fashion. Lit Crawls have existed in one form or another since civilization began and are seeing a resurgence throughout the literate world. LitQuake is putting on great crawls in San Francisco and New York.

On August 28th, Lit Crawl 2 starts at the Echo with a good ole fashioned, ‘no holds barred’ read off*. Eleven authors will compete and the audience will decide the winner. After the main event crawlers will set out to El Prado, The Gold Room, The Little Joy and The Shortstop.

Start following PEN’s twitter to receive live Crawl updates – after the first bar you’ll need ‘em.

If you need a break from crawling or feel inspired to perform your own verse Stories Bookshop will be hosting an open mic.

Our MC’s will be Laurie Ochoa and Joe Donnelly editors of Slake Literary Journal + the lovely and talented Carolyn Kellogg of the Los Angeles Times

Our Authors:
Katie Arnoldi
Allison Burnett
Gabrielle Calvocoressi
Dennis Danziger
Samantha Dunn
James Greer
Edan Lepucki
Joseph Mattson
Graham Moore
Neal Pollack
Rachel Resnick

For More info: www.litcrawlla.com

6pm / FREE / 21+

Tuesday 08.24.10: HENRY WOLFE / CHARLIE WADHAMS / SUNDAY SOUNDTRACKS / THE HORSE THIEVES @ echo

HENRY WOLFE || Listen || Watch

Henry Wolfe had the crowd weeping and holding themselves. Almost any word he says cuts straight to the core. His dreamy voice and lyrical conciseness just about rip your chest open, but gently. – LA Weekly

with:
CHARLIE WADHAMS
SUNDAY SOUNDTRACKS
HORSE THIEVES

8:30pm / $5 / 18+

Thursday 09.30.10: JUKEBOX THE GHOST / HOORAY FOR EARTH / AB AND THE SEA @ echo

Jukebox the Ghost || Listen || Watch

Jukebox The Ghost are three friends, Ben Thornewill on piano, Tommy Siegel on guitar and Jesse Kristin on rhythm. Bouncing out of Washington D.C. two years ago, Jukebox The Ghost purvey classic ebony and ivory pop, flavoured with their own brand of quirky lyrics and inventive song writing. Since the bands birth they have been writing and touring non stop, determined to bring their music to the masses the good old fashioned way; by doing everything themselves. It seems to have paid off; Jukebox The Ghost can boast ‘Let Live and Let Ghosts’, various EP’s and singles, and a second album well on its way. Plus, over 250 shows world-wide, with the likes of Ben Folds, Tokyo Police Club, Ra Ra Riot, Jenny Owen Youngs and more.

Written in equal parts by band members Ben Thornewill and Tommy Siegel, produced by Ted Comerford, ‘Let Live and Let Ghosts’ is 40 minutes of rambunctious, exuberant pop rock.

Jukebox the Ghost just finished recording their second record with Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Mates of State) at Tarquin Studios in CT, and will be on the road again this March with tour-mates Tally Hall (Atlantic Records). The next record will be released in 2010.

with:
Hooray For Earth || Listen
AB and the SEA || Listen

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

Saturday 10.09.10: FILTER’S CULTURE COLLIDE FESTIVAL @ echo

For More info: culturecollide.com

7:30pm / $20 for festival pass / 21+

Friday 10.08.10: FILTER MAGAZINE’S CULTURE COLLIDE FESTIVAL @ echo

For More info: culturecollide.com

7:30pm / $20 for festival pass / 21+

Thursday 10.07.10: FILTER MAGAZINE’S CULTURE COLLIDE FESTIVAL @ echo

For More info: culturecollide.com

8:30pm / $20 for festival pass / 21+

Monday 09.27.10: Monday Night Residency PACIFIC HURT / VANAPRASTA @ echo

Vanaprasta || Listen || Watch

L.A. quintet Vanaprasta has come a long way since they got inside my head with their nifty guitar work last March. Not so far that they have an album out yet — that’ll happen when “Heathy Geometry” is released later this year — but far enough that their dramatic blend of churning rhythms, bright riffage and glowing imagery sounds ready for big stages. The band — Collin Desha, Steven Wilkin, Taylor Brown, Cameron Dmytryk and Ben Smiley — traveled to Portland late last year to record, and the initial results of those sessions, the “Forming the Shapes” EP, will be out next month. Vanaprasta will also contribute a cover of LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends” to a forthcoming L.A. charity compilation, “Uncovering a Cure.” On the EP version of their album’s title song, Vanaprasta takes some liberties with the word “geometry,” but their math works for me.- Buzz Bands

Pacific Hurt || Watch

While some things change — as in, say, a band’s name switching from Aushua to Pacific Hurt — some things remain very much the same. Their moniker may have morphed, but Pacific Hurt’s sound still hues closely to the sweeping and sleek intricate rockers that made their Limbo disc the best local EP of last year. – Web In Front

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 09.20.10: Monday Night Residency VANAPRASTA/ PACIFIC HURT @ echo

Vanaprasta || Listen || Watch

L.A. quintet Vanaprasta has come a long way since they got inside my head with their nifty guitar work last March. Not so far that they have an album out yet — that’ll happen when “Heathy Geometry” is released later this year — but far enough that their dramatic blend of churning rhythms, bright riffage and glowing imagery sounds ready for big stages. The band — Collin Desha, Steven Wilkin, Taylor Brown, Cameron Dmytryk and Ben Smiley — traveled to Portland late last year to record, and the initial results of those sessions, the “Forming the Shapes” EP, will be out next month. Vanaprasta will also contribute a cover of LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends” to a forthcoming L.A. charity compilation, “Uncovering a Cure.” On the EP version of their album’s title song, Vanaprasta takes some liberties with the word “geometry,” but their math works for me.- Buzz Bands

Pacific Hurt || Watch

While some things change — as in, say, a band’s name switching from Aushua to Pacific Hurt — some things remain very much the same. Their moniker may have morphed, but Pacific Hurt’s sound still hues closely to the sweeping and sleek intricate rockers that made their Limbo disc the best local EP of last year. – Web In Front

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 09.13.10: Monday Night Residency PACIFIC HURT/ VANAPRASTA @ echo

Vanaprasta || Listen || Watch

L.A. quintet Vanaprasta has come a long way since they got inside my head with their nifty guitar work last March. Not so far that they have an album out yet — that’ll happen when “Heathy Geometry” is released later this year — but far enough that their dramatic blend of churning rhythms, bright riffage and glowing imagery sounds ready for big stages. The band — Collin Desha, Steven Wilkin, Taylor Brown, Cameron Dmytryk and Ben Smiley — traveled to Portland late last year to record, and the initial results of those sessions, the “Forming the Shapes” EP, will be out next month. Vanaprasta will also contribute a cover of LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends” to a forthcoming L.A. charity compilation, “Uncovering a Cure.” On the EP version of their album’s title song, Vanaprasta takes some liberties with the word “geometry,” but their math works for me.- Buzz Bands

Pacific Hurt || Watch

While some things change — as in, say, a band’s name switching from Aushua to Pacific Hurt — some things remain very much the same. Their moniker may have morphed, but Pacific Hurt’s sound still hues closely to the sweeping and sleek intricate rockers that made their Limbo disc the best local EP of last year. – Web In Front

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 09.06.10: Monday Night Residency – VANAPRASTA / PACIFIC HURT @ echo

Vanaprasta || Listen || Watch

L.A. quintet Vanaprasta has come a long way since they got inside my head with their nifty guitar work last March. Not so far that they have an album out yet — that’ll happen when “Heathy Geometry” is released later this year — but far enough that their dramatic blend of churning rhythms, bright riffage and glowing imagery sounds ready for big stages. The band — Collin Desha, Steven Wilkin, Taylor Brown, Cameron Dmytryk and Ben Smiley — traveled to Portland late last year to record, and the initial results of those sessions, the “Forming the Shapes” EP, will be out next month. Vanaprasta will also contribute a cover of LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends” to a forthcoming L.A. charity compilation, “Uncovering a Cure.” On the EP version of their album’s title song, Vanaprasta takes some liberties with the word “geometry,” but their math works for me.- Buzz Bands

Pacific Hurt || Watch

While some things change — as in, say, a band’s name switching from Aushua to Pacific Hurt — some things remain very much the same. Their moniker may have morphed, but Pacific Hurt’s sound still hues closely to the sweeping and sleek intricate rockers that made their Limbo disc the best local EP of last year. – Web In Front

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Wednesday 10.13.10: THE ACORN / LEIF VOLLEBEKK @ echo

The Acorn || Listen || Watch

The Acorn displayed a knack for writing simple melodies stretched out over the bones of indie-folk, afrobeat, crooked rock and a hint of something more epic. It was never quite clear how the shapes fitted together or how the spell was cast, but there was no disputing the wondrous results. For anyone who fretted that Glory Hope Mountain might have been a beautiful fluke, No Ghost confirms The Acorn’s credentials, building thrillingly on the band’s ability to access a variety of moods and textures. It veers from plangent ballads via scrubby experimentation to conventional rock dynamics, and it’s not incidental that No Ghost was recorded in a cottage in the back of beyond in Quebec, the kind of place where phone signals peter out into static. On occasion the songs here are almost hypnotically hushed. At other times they’re both louder and more unhinged than ever before. There’s always been muscle in The Acorn’s music, now it’s simply more pronounced. It’s most evident on the abrasive “I Made The Law”, a minor-key march that unravels like a curse, and the title track, which kicks off like REM’s “Finest Worksong”, the crunchy riff dodging a maze of harmonics before breaking into a sun-dappled chorus. – UNCUT

with:
Leif Vollebekk

8:30pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 18+

Tuesday 10.05.10: FIRST AID KIT / FERRABY LIONHEART / BASIA BULAT @ echo

FIRST AID KIT || Watch

First Aid Kit’s debut is all delicate picks and humble strums, where many girls its makers’ age – they were born in 1990 and 1993 – match their pulses to the skip-along sounds of the pop Top 40. Though the Söderbergs once sang along to Britney hits, their original fare is of the world-weary, heavy-hearted variety; disregard acknowledgment of their age and one could assume these voices sing from experience, not fanciful imagination.

It’s also tough to trace the roots of this material to Scandinavia’s fertile musical soil, as its primary touchstones are artists exclusively of stateside lineage – the bruised, soul-exposed lo-fi Americana of Bill Callahan; Cat Power’s spare, smoke-trail-detailed evocations; the soft-focus dynamics of Midlake and Fleet Foxes. As such questions can be posed, as to the ‘authenticity’ of First Aid Kit’s repertoire; but so finely accomplished is the sisters’ execution that doubts are soon dismissed.

While songs are, at times, little more than sketches – embellishments are at a premium, much on offer bare-boned and probably better for it – there’s only ever one element that’s properly illuminated: the vocals. And the sisters can sing, wonderfully so, uncommon richness wrapping itself around syllables drawled with all the ache of an individual battered by the conflicts of love, but stubbornly still standing. They can hold the listener in a trance-like state, the grip only broken when a sharp acoustic cuts the cord to mark the arrival of another song. – BBC

with:
FERRABY LIONHEART || Listen
BASIA BULAT || Listen

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

Tuesday 11.16.10: IDLEWILD @ echo

Idlewild || Listen

Both a leap forward artistically as well as conceptually, Idlewild’s sixth studio LP, Post Electric Blues, will be released stateside October 12 via Nice Music Group. The revered Scottish folk-punk septet will follow this up with their long-awaited return to the U.S. this fall, for the first time in five years. The tour will launch with a two-night stand at The Echo in Los Angeles on November 16 and 17 and snake its way up the West Coast for several dates before heading east to New York for back-to-back nights at the Bowery Ballroom on November 22 and 23, then finally wrapping in Chicago.

This album was an experiment for the veteran band, who after more than a decade of having the support of a record label, found themselves in 2007 on their own. Not wanting to continue down the same perilous path they’d walk before, they took a chance; instead of chasing a deal, they turned to their fans. The gamble was a triumph – both emotionally and financially – and an outpouring of fan support energized the band. Thousands of fans pre-ordered the album via the band’s website and facilitated its creation. The result is an album that pays tribute to the group’s 15-year history while pushing their sound into new directions.

Post Electric Blues finds the band with a rejuvenated spirit, as the Boss-like-bombast that pours out of the speakers attests. Formed in 1995 in Edinburgh, Idlewild has consistently churned out albums oozing of melodic, hook-driven pop-rock and for their latest, they leap from Fleetwood Mac epic folk/rock/pop peaks to joyous Loch-side sing-alongs with the same devil-may-care attitude that put the band on the map. It’s the sound of a deft and defiant group, comprised of frontman Roddy Woomble on vocals; Rod Jones on guitar, backing vocals, keyboards; Colin Newton on drums, percussion; Allan Stewart on guitar and Gareth Russell on bass.

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

Saturday 08.07.10: BIANCA’S BROKENFOOT BENEFIT with VENUS ILLUMINATO / BLACK MARKET SOUND SYSTEM / FERSURELITZER / LYSOLGANG / LAST ROUND DOWN @ echo

Venus Illuminato
Black Market Sound System
Fersurelitzer
lysolgang
Last Round Down

3pm / $10 / 18+

Thursday 08.12.10: HIT + RUN presets SOUNDCRASH with BLU / BLACKBIRD / THAVIUS BECK / RAS G / ZACKEY FORCE FUNK / KOFI / TEEBS and Surprise Guests @ echo

with:
BLU
BLACKBIRD
THAVIUS BECK
RAS G
ZACKEY FORCE FUNK
KOFI
TEEBS
and Surprise Guests

9pm / $5, free if you wear a Hit + Run shirt / 18+

Thursday 10.21.10: FILM SCHOOL / LOVELIKEFIRE @ echo

FILM SCHOOL || LISTEN || WATCH

Los Angeles post-shoegaze outfit Film School have been together for nearly a decade, and with their fourth LP ‘Fission’ coming out on July 20, the band is more congealed than ever, serving up a melodic, fervent, hazy and deeply collaborative effort. Instead of mourning the separation from their label, the band gleaned new inspiration from the change. “It’s like any breakup — you either bury your head in the sand or you use that energy to create something,” lead singer Greg Bertens tells Spinner. “This band’s creative fuel always seems to come from a mix of the freeing energy you get from separation and the challenge to prove you’re still worthy.”

Their new single, ‘Heart Full of Pentagons,’ showcases a shift in sound as bassist Lorelei Plotczyk contributes vocals. With music born of band-practice jam material and idea sprung forth by a friend’s Facebook status, ‘Heart Full of Pentagons’ is an ode to a five-way love triangle — a love pentagon, if you will. It’s a “good, messy” story and a tease of what’s more to come. – Spinner

with
LOVELIKEFIRE || LISTEN

8:30pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 18+

Wednesday 09.29.10: AN EVENING WITH THE FELICE BROTHERS @ echo

THE FELICE BROTHERS || Listen

The Felice Brothers and their long time friends and band mates Greg Farley and Christmas Clapton, come to us from the Catskill Mountains, where a homegrown sound has been working its way through the bloodlines for generations. Their rambling journey so far has brought them from busking in New York City subway stations, to tours across the world that have included enthusiastically received performances at major music festivals including Bonnaroo, All Points West, Outside Lands, and Langerado.

Titled with a phrase drawn from the pages of Mark Twain, Yonder Is The Clock is a nod to all of the American ghosts that lend their narrative and characters to the Felice Brothers’ April 7th release. Their studio was built from the remains of an abandoned chicken coop and it was there over the summer and fall of 2008 that they wrote and recorded this new collection of songs. Presented by Team Love Records, Yonder Is The Clock is teaming with tales of love, death, betrayal, baseball, train stations, phantoms, pandemics, jail cells, rolling rivers and frozen winter nights. This is music that hasn’t lost sight of the history of the land from which it came, and that quality alone makes The Felice Brothers the next great American band.

8:30pm / $15adv; $17dos / 18+

Tuesday 09.14.10: SMOG SESSIONS @ echo

For More Info:
WWW.SMOGLA.COM

10pm / 21+

Thursday 09.09.10: WE BARBARIANS / SUPERHUMANOIDS / TIJUANA PANTHERS @ echo

We Barbarians || Listen || Watch

So, there’s this We Barbarians album called There’s This There’s That and it has some things I should probably tell you about. For example, in order to review it properly I would have to tell you of all of the comparisons that come to mind while listening to the album, or at least that I’ve gathered from the six times I perused it. Some of the songs remind me a tiny bit of their Long Beach neighbors Cold War Kids while other songs portray elements of War-era U2, with anthemic drum beats and precise, cutting distortion. Other songs make me think echoey, orchestral pop, which can be found on “Trickle Down”. “War Clouds” is a pertinent song asking poignant questions about war and the state of the turbulent world around us… but I’m not going to tell you all of that because I mostly just want to say that it is a really great album and that you should listen to it, and re-listen to it again and again. – IndieRockReviews

with:
Superhumanoids
Tijuana Panthers

9pm / $8 / 18+

Thursday 09.23.10: JIM JONES REVUE / THE BELLRAYS / COASTING @ echo

Jim Jones Revue || Watch

The Jim Jones Revue wants to save your soul. Former Thee Hypnotics and Black Moses veteran Jim Jones’s screaming vocals and Elliott Mortimer doing indecent things to the piano combine with Rupert Orton’s guitar, Gavin Jay’s bass and Nick Jones’s drums for an unholy orgy of rock ‘n’ roll idols from Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis to the MC5 and the Sonics. – Spinner

With:
The BellRays || Listen
Coasting

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

Sunday 09.26.10: PART TIME PUNKS with FRANKIE ROSE [Slumberland Records LP release party] + HUNX & HIS PUNX @ echo

FRANKIE ROSE [Slumberland Records LP release party]
HUNX & HIS PUNX

resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop

FMI: Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $8 / 18+

Sunday 09.12.10: PART TIME PUNKS with THE PROCEDURE CLUB / SWEATER GIRLS / DJ Mike Schulman from SLUMBERLAND RECORDS! @ echo

THE PROCEDURE CLUB [Slumberland Records LP release party]
SWEATER GIRLS

Guest DJ Mike Schulman from SLUMBERLAND RECORDS!

resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop

FMI: Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $8 / 18+

Sunday 09.05.10: PART TIME PUNKS – SMITHS/MORRISSEY NITE with guest DJ JOSE MALDONADO @ echo

Guest DJ:
Jose Maldonado (from The Sweet And Tender Hooligans)

resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop

FMI: Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Wednesday 09.22.10: DUB CLUB @ echopex & echo

with Resident DJs:
Tom Chasteen
Roy Corderoy
The Dungeonmaster
Boss Harmony

Spinning the best in classic reggae, dub and dancehall

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

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

Wednesday 09.15.10: DUB CLUB @ echoplex & echo

with Resident DJs:
Tom Chasteen
Roy Corderoy
The Dungeonmaster
Boss Harmony

Spinning the best in classic reggae, dub and dancehall

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

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

Wednesday 09.01.10: DUB CLUB @ echoplex & echo

with Resident DJs:
Tom Chasteen
Roy Corderoy
The Dungeonmaster
Boss Harmony

Spinning the best in classic reggae, dub and dancehall

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

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

Friday 09.24.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND @ echo

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

FMI: Club Underground on Facebook

9pm / $5 if 21+, $7 under 21 / 18+

Friday 09.17.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND with MEN @ echo

MEN || Listen

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

FMI: Club Underground on Facebook

9pm / $5 if 21+, $7 under 21 / 18+

Friday 09.10.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND @ echo

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

FMI: Club Underground on Facebook

9pm / $5 if 21+, $7 under 21 / 18+

Thursday 08.26.10: JULIETTE COMMAGERE / PAPERCRANES / LUKE RATHBORNE / ESTELLE RASKINA @ echo

Juliette Commagere

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

with:
Papercranes
Luke Rathborne || Listen
Estelle Raskina

8:30pm / $7 / 18+

Tuesday 08.10.10: SMOG SESSIONS with TRUTH / MACHETE / DECO / KEMST @ echo

TRUTH
Deep Medi, Aquatic Labs, New Zealand

MACHETE
Respect, LA

DECO
Deceast, LA

KEMST
Smog, LA

Powered by MediaContender.com

Funktion1 Sound by Funkworks

For More Info:
WWW.SMOGLA.COM

RSVP AT: http://app.championsound.com/1440/events/smog-sessions-truth

10pm / $5 with RSVP or $10 without / 21+

Thursday 08.05.10: Proximal Records release party for “Proximity One: Narrative of a City” with BENEDEK / LAWRENCE GREY / SAHY UHNS / DAEDELUS @ echo

Proximal Records release party for “Proximity One: Narrative of a City”

Anyone holding onto the notion that the L.A. beat scene is a lil’ hometown secret probably also thinks sailboarding with baby is a good idea.

So before you go and cry foul that a greenhorn indie label, Proximal Records, has announced its arrival with a compilation celebrating the local scene, listen to the actual product, and be thankful that it’s local folk who are tending this latest flame.

On August 10, Proximal will release Proximity One: Narrative of a City, an 18-track collection of music from Low End Theory-familiar beat musicians like Dâm-Funk, Daedelus, Baths (as [Post-Foetus]), Shlohmo, Tokimonsta, Dr. Strangeloop and Teebs, alongside tracks from Proximal’s own promising stable: BearClaw, Benedek and Wake among others.

Also included in that lineup is Sahy Uhns, a.k.a. Carl Madison Burgin, who co-founded Proximal with Grammy-winning composer/producer Jeff Elmassian. (Bonus trivia: Elmassian made his orchestral debut with the L.A. Phil at the age of 12.)

Also, mark your calendars: The release party for Proximity One goes down August 5 at The Echo, featuring Daedelus, Tokimonsta, Lawrence Grey, Benedek and Say Uhns himself. – LA Weekly

Featuring performances by
Benedek
Lawrence Grey
Sahy Uhns
Tokimonsta
Daedelus< /strong>

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

Saturday 09.25.10: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 09.18.10: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 09.11.10: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 09.04.10: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Tuesday 08.03.10: IPO presents NEW MAXIMUM DONKEY / COLA-COLA / MOOSTACHE / THE ACTIVE SET / LOCH AND KEY / PUPPIES AND KITTENS / JEREMIAH STREETER @ echo

New Maximum Donkey

“New Maximumdonkey is poised and ready to make a charge at the world of music with a brand of power-pop that is all their own, fueled by a wry sense of humor and rich melodies that have you singing along by the 2nd time through the disc. ”
-Jeff Johnson, CDReviews.com

“Loud, brass and in your face, this American trio from the States offers an infectious, edgy punk-rock. NMD certainly knows how to start a party! Highlights include Good Time, the swinging 60’s pop of Radio Friendly and the energetic guitar heavy stand-out track Swing which would sound amazing live”
-Chris Anderson, Buzz Magazine

with:
COLA-COLA
Moostache
Joel Cristofer
The Active Set
Loch & Key
Puppies and Kittens
Jeremiah Streeter

7pm / $8 / 18+

Tuesday 10.26.10: REIGNING SOUND @ echo

Reigning Sound || Listen || Watch

The Reigning Sound was born in Memphis, TN. Its daddy was a Flash & The Memphis Casuals 45 and its mother a Barbara Pittman single. Life was not easy for this musical what-not. Kids shunned it for its rock`n’roll sensibility and obvious lack of polished shtick. In true stepchild fashion though, the band continued to develop a unique sound all it’s own that didn’t really focus on any of the preconceived genres. Within weeks they found their audience and were shakin’ down the house at clubs all over town. “Hail, Hail Rock ‘n’ Roll and fuck your prefab garage” appears to be some sort of battle cry for them. This from their leader Greg Cartwright whose previous bands The Oblivians & Compulsive Gamblers were so closely linked to the “Garage Punk” stereotype of ten years ago. “We were never really like most of the other bands” says Greg.” I covered R&B, gospel or country songs with absolutely no regard for any 60′s aesthetic or sound, I just enjoyed finding an obscure song and breathing some new life into it.” This same instinct for a truly inspired cover or a genius original can be found in the Reigning Sound. Greg is aided by bass player Jeremy Scott, organist/guitarist Alex Greene and drummer Greg Roberson.

8:30pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 18+

Sunday 08.01.10: SAVE THE SWIM TEAM / THE BRACES / THE SHEDS (early show) @ echo

Save The SwimTeam (10″ Release Party)

with:
The Braces
The Sheds

5pm / $7 / All Ages

Sunday 07.18.10: GRAND OLE ECHO with DAVE GLEASON (Record Release Party) / WHEELHOUSE / HANG JONES / SMITH & WESSON @ echo

Dave Gleason record release party for Turn and Fade

with
Wheelhouse
Hang Jones
Smith & Wesson

FMI: Grand Ole Echo on Myspace

5pm / FREE / all Ages

Thursday 07.22.10: BARRIO TIGER / NEIGHBORHOOD BULLYS / STAB CITY @ echo

Barrio Tiger || Watch

Barrio Tiger is an LA 4 piece whose gimmick is Rock and Roll. Their lineup on any given night may include former or current members of Qui, The Hangmen, The Starvations, or even Guzzard and Helmet. Formerly known as Thee L.A. Gentlemen Callers, Barrio Tiger recalls the song craft of Paul Weller, Robert Pollard, and Uncle Tupelo and filters it through the bombast of bands like Dead Boys, Jawbreaker, and Dinosaur Jr. – Hum City Blogger

with:
The Neighborhood Bullys || Listen
Stab City

Plus DJ Cuz’n Roy

8:30pm / $5 / 18+

Monday 08.30.10: Monday Night Residency – FOL CHEN / SISTER CRAYON / EVAN VOYTAS @ echo

FOL CHEN || Listen || Watch

“John Shade moves with composure and ease through arch, almost dour indie pop (”The Believers”) as well as joyous dollops of Of Montreal-inspired electro pop. The sexily deadpan “Cable TV” brings all the moods together, celebrating the joys of cheap motel rooms and Janet Jackson songs with boop-beeps, handclaps, and a wry smile.” – Spin Magazine

“In the spirit of I’m From Barcelona, Loney Dear or Boy Least Likely To, Fol Chen employs all my favorite electro-fey devices: cheesy ’80s keys, propulsive beats, sporadic strummy guitars that bounce between channels and, of course, xylophone. Beginning with understated, low-register vocals, the keeps building, layering on more instruments and even tossing in a key-change for good measure.” – Paste Magazine

“Elusive Fol Chen offers dark, whimsical debut” – NPR

with:
Sister Crayon
Evan Voytas || Listen

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 08.23.10: Monday Night Residency – FOL CHEN / CROCODILES / WOOM / JESSICA 6 @ echo

FOL CHEN || Listen || Watch

Highland Park, CA’s mysterious pop outfit Fol Chen released its second album just last month, followed by the FREE “The Holograms” EP, which featured the titular track remixed by Teen Daze, Primary 1, Hard Mix and FUR. The band is also thrilled to be hitting the road this Fall with two very different yet appropriate tour mates, !!! and The Apples in Stereo.

Before leaving town, though, Fol Chen is putting their own twist on the August Monday night residency at The Echo here in Los Angeles. On August 9, audience members came onstage to record live samples for the next Fol Chen album, and things just get more curious over the next two weeks:

August 23: Metal band Viscera will perform the music of Fol Chen.

with:
Crocodiles || Watch
Woom
Jessica 6 || Listen

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 08.16.10: Monday Night Residency – FOL CHEN / CROCODILES / LIGHT POLLUTION @ echo

FOL CHEN || Listen || Watch

Highland Park, CA’s mysterious pop outfit Fol Chen released its second album just last month, followed by the FREE “The Holograms” EP, which featured the titular track remixed by Teen Daze, Primary 1, Hard Mix and FUR. The band is also thrilled to be hitting the road this Fall with two very different yet appropriate tour mates, !!! and The Apples in Stereo.

Before leaving town, though, Fol Chen is putting their own twist on the August Monday night residency at The Echo here in Los Angeles. On August 9, audience members came onstage to record live samples for the next Fol Chen album, and things just get more curious over the next
two weeks:

August 16: Fol Chen’s set will be sung by people who responded to a Craigslist ad placed by the band.

with:
Crocodiles || Watch
Light Pollution

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 08.09.10: Monday Night Residency – FOL CHEN / LEARNING MUSIC / LESANDS @ echo

FOL CHEN || Listen || Watch

“John Shade moves with composure and ease through arch, almost dour indie pop (”The Believers”) as well as joyous dollops of Of Montreal-inspired electro pop. The sexily deadpan “Cable TV” brings all the moods together, celebrating the joys of cheap motel rooms and Janet Jackson songs with boop-beeps, handclaps, and a wry smile.” – Spin Magazine

“In the spirit of I’m From Barcelona, Loney Dear or Boy Least Likely To, Fol Chen employs all my favorite electro-fey devices: cheesy ’80s keys, propulsive beats, sporadic strummy guitars that bounce between channels and, of course, xylophone. Beginning with understated, low-register vocals, the keeps building, layering on more instruments and even tossing in a key-change for good measure.” – Paste Magazine

“Elusive Fol Chen offers dark, whimsical debut” – NPR

with:
Learning Music
Lesands

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 09.25.10: Aquarium Drunkard & Spaceland Productions present WAVED OUT II with DUNGEN / ENTRANCE / JOHN GRANT / THE FRESH & ONLYS / SHANNON AND THE CLAMS / JOHN CARPENTER / SO MANY WIZARDS / SUMMER DARLING / YOUNG PRISMS AND MORE @ echoplex & echo

Aquarium Drunkard, in conjunction with the Echo, is holding its second all ages festival here in L.A. in Echo Park. Dubbed WAVED OUT, after Justin Gage’s favorite Robert Pollard solo album, this is the first of what will be a recurring event featuring emerging national, local and international artists.

with:
DUNGEN || LISTEN
THE ENTRANCE BAND
JOHN GRANT
THE FRESH & ONLYS
SHANNON AND THE CLAMS
JOHN CARPENTER
SO MANY WIZARDS
SUMMER DARLING
YOUNG PRISMS

And many more!

enter at
Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

3:30pm / $10 for the first 100 tickets, $13 after / all ages

Sunday 08.08.10: Converse presents THE POWER OF THE RIFF FESTIVAL @ echoplex and echo

The Power of The Riff Festival will be an all day, all ages, free music event that also includes a record swap meet of local stores such as Vacation Vinyl, Origami Vinyl, and will also feature pop up stores by Tee Pee Records, Southern Lord Recordings and more.

In addition, the festival will feature a gourmet food truck court of Los Angeles’ best purveyors of street food dining. There’s something for everyone…from vegan delights by Sweet Vindication, stacked burgers by Grill Em All,head high sandwiches by the legendary Canters Deli and unforgettable frankfurters by The Greasy Wiener!

RSVP is strictly required. Early arrival is suggested as space is limited.
Entry is not guaranteed. Line up subject to change.

Corrosion Of Conformity III
Goatsnake
From Ashes Rise
Trap Them
Repulsion
Nails
Coliseum
Night Horse
Black Breath
Eagle Twin
Early Graves
Righteous Fool
Semen Sundae
The Fucking Wrath
Rats Eyes
Spider Fever

enter at
Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

CLICK TO RSVP

12pm / FREE WITH RSVP / All Ages

Sunday 07.11.10: GRAND OLE ECHO with FAT MAN AND LITTLE BOY: THE ATOMIC DUO / WELLDIGGERS BANQUET / ALLEN THOMPSON @ echo

Fat Man and Little Boy: The Atomic Duo (Featuring Mark Rubin from The Bad Livers)

“Fat Man & Little Boy: the Atomic Duo,” is the latest project from Bad Livers founder Mark Rubin featuring the hot mandolin and plaintive vocals of young Silas Lowe. This release marks Rubin’s first foray into American folk music since the last Bad Livers CD almost a decade ago, and is the first recording he has made as a singer and guitarist. Inspired by the great “Brother” vocal duets and string bands of the Depression era and formed on a dare, Rubin and Lowe have in a very short time risen to the vanguard of the emerging re-interest in acoustic roots Americana in their home of Austin TX.

with:
Welldiggers Banquet
Allen Thompson

FMI: Grand Ole Echo on Myspace

5:00pm / FREE / All Ages

Tuesday 08.31.10: BOBBY BARE JR. / BLUE GIANT / STEPHEN BROWER AND THE SILENT MAJORITY @ echo

Bobby Bare Jr. || Listen || Watch

You know when an album’s opening track is titled “Your Goat Is On Fire,” it’s going to be awesome.

What makes that prospect even more awesome is that the album is from veteran Nashville rocker Bobby Bare Jr., who will be releasing his sixth album—his first album in nearly four years—this summer.

Bare and David Vandervelde co-produced the album, titled A Storm- A Tree- My Mother’s Head. Special Guest Stars on the album include Tom Blankenship, Carl Broemel and Patrick Hallahan from My Morning Jacket and Bare’s musician father, Bobby Bare Sr., who co-wrote a few songs on the album. – Paste

with:
Blue Giant || Listen
Stephen Brower & The Silent Majority

8:30pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 18+

Thursday 07.15.10: TEEN INC / THE SAMPS @ Echo

Teen Inc

Walking into Eagle Rock’s Showcave recently to see the first-ever performance of Teen Inc. was a little like being in the audience during that scene in Back to the Future when Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly riffs on Chuck Berry’s guitar stylings. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was hearing: There were hints of something familiar, plaintive vocals reminiscent of Prince, with traces of pop, funk, R&B and club-esque Balearic beats layered with the production styles of a D’Angelo or Dam-Funk. But one thing was clear: The heartfelt, complex sound is completely cutting edge. To date, the still unsigned quartet—fronted by brothers Andrew and Daniel Aged, both former studio musicians for Raphael Saadiq, Steve Miller, Cee-Lo and Pharrell Williams—has only a two-song EP, Fountains/Friend of the Night, which they produced, mixed and recorded themselves. With a full-length album in the works, it’s a lock that their current limited output is a temporary condition. – LA Times Magazine

with:
The Samps

9:30pm / $5 / 18+

Thursday 07.15.10: Threadless West Coast Social with special guest DJ GREG DULLI (of The Twilight Singers) @ echo

Threadless West Coast Social

featuring special guest DJ
Greg Dulli of The Twilight Singers

RSVP at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=105036706215945

7:30pm / FREE / 18+

Sunday 07.25.10: THE SPITS / NO BUNNY / AUDACITY @ echo

The Spits || Listen || Watch

The Spits build their two-minutes-or-less tunes out of some pretty grimy spare parts—lurching puck-rock progressions, barking staccato vocals, and tinny guitar and keyboard sounds that trap a lot of white noise—and the Seattle band’s been known to wear such accessories as ski masks and flowing white robes onstage. The resulting bursts of static are full of hyper hooks, and the lo-fi finish actually helps to conduct the catchiness rather than smother it. The Spits have channeled this pleasingly raw collision of new-wave and punk-pop into a run of self-titled albums, the fourth of which was released earlier this year. – AV Club

with:
No Bunny
Audacity

6pm / $12 / All ages

Tuesday 08.17.10: Aquarium Drunkard Presents COTTON JONES / THE PARSON RED HEADS / ROADSIDE GRAVES @ echo

Cotton Jones || MP3

“Glorylight And Christie” is the first single off Cotton Jones upcoming LP, Tall Hours In The Glowstream. While always a commendable tunesmith, under the Cotton Jones moniker Michael Nau has truly grown into his craft. Aesthetically, he’s found himself. Nau’s brand of dreamy Americana, while firmly rooted in the 21st century, is surrounding by ghosts, fever dreams…past lives. Look for it August 24th via Suicide Squeeze. – Aquarium Drunkard

with:
The Parson Red Heads || Listen
Roadside Graves || Listen

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

Thursday 07.08.10: JACKSHIT / LYNDA KAY / STONE DARLING @ echo

JACKSHIT || Listen

Ninety miles south of Bakersfield is a small town called Cochtotan. It’s no different than any other small town; people worry about their jobs, send their kids to school and occasionally marry their cousins. On the weekends, they want to put their troubles behind them and cut loose with a couple of long necked bottles of amber intoxicant. But, Cochtotan’s luckier than a lot of cities in that regard, as three of their native sons have been providing the townsfolk with the kind of good rockin’ soundtrack that has them humming long after they’ve left the bar and are being put into protective custody. This powerful trio of string bendin’, skin poundin’ musicians have spent years polishing their chops playing six sets a night at the Tufted Nighthatch Tavern and Bird Sanctuary. And now, finally, they are ready to share their secret with the world. That’s right, folks, the pride of Cochtotan is ready to spread its high test hillybilly gospel from coast to coast. Get ready, America. Get ready for Jack Shit.

with:
Lynda Kay
Stone Darling

Click to buy tickets online!

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

Tuesday 07.13.10: SMOG SESSIONS with MRK1 / JUAN BASSHEAD / EMU / KEMST @ echo

MRK1
Virus Syndicate / Contagious – Manchester UK

JUAN BASSHEAD
Basshead Music, Miami

EMU
Smog, LA

KEMST
Smog, LA

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Funktion1 Sound by Funkworks

For More Info:
WWW.SMOGLA.COM

RSVP at:
http://app.championsound.com/1440/events/smog-sessions-w-mrk1

10pm / $5 with RSVP or $10 without / 21+

Wednesday 08.25.10: DUB CLUB @ echoplex & echo

with Resident DJs:
Tom Chasteen
Roy Corderoy
The Dungeonmaster
Boss Harmony

Spinning the best in classic reggae, dub and dancehall

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

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

Wednesday 08.18.10: DUB CLUB with THE DUB CLUB DJS / CHICANO BATMAN / DJ RON MILLER @ echoplex & echo

in the Echoplex : the Dub Club DJs spinning the best in reggae music

in the Echo : live performance from Chicano Batman
plus DJ Ron Miller

Spinning the best in classic reggae, dub and dancehall

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

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

Wednesday 08.04.10: DUB CLUB with DUB CLUB DJS / CONCEPTO TAMBOR @ echoplex & echo

in the Echoplex : the Dub Club DJs spinning the best in reggae music
in the Echo : live performance from Concepto Tambor

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

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

Friday 08.27.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND with LITTLE ONES / DOWNTOWN/UNION / KISSING TIGERS @ echo

Little Ones || Listen
Downtown/Union
Kissing Tigers

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

FMI: Club Underground on Facebook

8:30pm / $8 / 18+

Friday 08.20.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND with MNDR / CHAIN GANG OF 1974 / KISSES (DJ set) @ echo

MNDR || Listen || MP3

Brooklyn’s Amanda Warner makes dynamic electro-pop under the moniker MNDR, and she’s been building buzz with her project while also working with folks like Mark Ronson. “I Go Away”, a major highlight from the her debut EP, E.P.E., is filled with distinctive synths that melt all over a spare, echoing drum beat like a candy house left out in the hot sun. It’s a serious slow-dance pop confection, but Warner keeps a clear head lyrically. “I Go Away” initially sounds like a post-relationship-fallout slow burner, as she asks, “How did I get here/ Without feeling anything”. Soon, though, you realize that she isn’t calming down– she’s getting pumped up. “This is my anthem/ I know it like I know everything”, Warner softly declares, as if she’s getting ready to step out in front of the curtain, before letting out titular squeaks during a chorus that favorably evokes Santigold as the track builds to its cathartic peak. – Pitchfork

with:
CHAIN GANG OF 1974 || Listen
KISSES (DJ SET)

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

FMI: Club Underground on Facebook

9pm / $8 Advance, $10 day of show / 18+

Friday 08.13.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND with TORCHES IN TREES / GO WEST YOUNG MAN / WATERLASO @ echo

Torches In Trees
Any band that plays a guerrilla gig in Chinatown after being told they were too young to play at the venue they had been booked at, is an instant favorite in our book. The surreal combination of beautiful music, rent a cops on bikes and LAPD’s finest searching frantically for the power outlet, while suprised shoppers and wanderers looked/cheered them on one night in Chinatown square, is something one cant easily forget. One of our favorite gigs of the year.” -Club Underground
“The talented multi-instrumentalists manages to produce sounds that blend together to create what can be described as the musical equivalent of a drug injected directly to your brain as sound waves through those aural receptors we call ears. -Radio 23

Go West Young Man
“Melody merchant Damin Suarez (ex-the Fictions) has crafted an homage to classic pop that pushes the same buttons as the likes of Elvis Costello, Ben Folds and a host of ’60s and ’70s hitmakers who used horns and harmonies to sweeten their piano arrangements. Whether guitar- or keyboard-based, Suarez’s tunes are as memorable as anything contemporaries such as the 88 or the Little Ones have made, and GWYM’s frisky rhythms punctuate the bite in his lyrics. In an era so many artists feel compelled to deconstruct pop to make it interesting, Suarez has built himself a castle. Recommended.” – K. Bronson, Buzzbands

Waterlaso
A band that is somewhere in between happy sweet pop sunshine and tender sadness. –ectomag.com

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

FMI: Club Underground on Facebook

9pm / $7 before 10.30pm, $5 After / 18+

Friday 08.06.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND vs. CLUB ZIZEK (Buenos Aires) @ echo

Club Underground

vs.

Club ZIZEK

Zizek is a new club from Buenos Aires, Argentina dedicated to the emerging sounds of Hip Hop, Dancehall, Reggaetón, Cumbia, Bastard Pop, Mashups, and more.

From the beginning, Zizek has been a club where genres clash and cross over, making you dance, while still providing fresh and innovative sounds rarely heard before.

“I suggest you go see Zizek is you are ever in Buenos Aires on a Wednesday Night, It’s a Movement!” -Diplo

“Mixing cumbia melodies with way out electro sounds and samples artists, [Zizek] is bringing the new sound of Argentina to the world.” -Sxsw.com

“The most daring DJs and musicians create a digital alchemy, fusing cumbia, reggaetón, zamba, chacarera and carnavalito with dancehall and hip hop to create nights of endless dancing.” -La Razón

8:30pm / $10advance, $12 day of show / 18+

Friday 07.30.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND with THE ANSWERING MACHINE / ATLANTIC LINE / LA GHOST @ echo

THE ANSWERING MACHINE

Manchester’s The Answering Machine have been playing together for around three years and get compared a lot to Los Campesinos! but owe more than a little to The Strokes and Maximo Park as well. Though if you’re read their blog, frontman Martin Colough is clearly into more obscure indie like The Radio Dept. and ’80s cult act The Brilliant Corners. One of my favorites the year. – Brooklyn Vegan

The Answering Machine contain enough manic energy and enthusiasm to fly you to the moon. – B.B.C.

ATLANTIC LINE
LA GHOST

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

FMI: Club Underground on Facebook

9pm / $8 / 18+

Friday 07.23.10: CLUB UNDERGROUND presents JARED DREAMS OF FAR OUT THINGS / JOHN CARPENTER / KISSES (DJ SET) @ echo

Jared Dreams of Far Out Things
John Carpenter
Kisses (DJ SET)

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

FMI: Club Underground on Facebook

9pm / $5 if 21+, $7 under 21 / 18+

Monday 07.19.10: Monday Night Residency – MISSISSIPPI MAN / BIG WHUP / BUDDY / WIRES IN THE WALLS @ echo

Mississippi Man || Watch

“…the music takes us somewhere else all together with its blend of vocal harmonies, nicely balanced guitars, keys, big-beat influence, and spot-on song structure” – LA Record

“This group’s hooky pop and roots tunes are unleashed with unbounding energy and a wealth of creative twists and turns” -PURGe

“Dylan and Young with bigger balls and more wattage” – The Deli Magazine

“American infused… earnest folk-pop” – Buzzbands LA

“The band’s live sound references the past while simultaneously looking to the future” – SPIN Earth

“Mississippi Man deliver a fresh and original album that deserves multiple listens” – Performer Magazine

with:
Big Whup || Listen
Buddy
Wires in The Walls

8:30pm / Free for 21+, $7 under / 18+

Saturday 08.28.10: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 08.21.10: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 08.14.10: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 08.07.10: FUNKY SOLE @ echo

with DJs:
Music Man Miles
Clifton AKA Soft Touch

FMI: Funky Sole on Myspace

10pm / FREE / 21+

Sunday 08.29.10: PART TIME PUNKS with BATWINGS CATWINGS + DADFAG + PHONES @ echo

BATWINGS CATWINGS
DADFAG
PHONES

resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop

FMI: Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Sunday 08.22.10: PART TIME PUNKS – THE CURE NITE with guest DJ Lol Tolhurst @ echo

Guest DJ Lol Tolhurst

resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop

FMI: Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Sunday 08.15.10: PART TIME PUNKS with SWAHILI BLONDE + BLACK FLAMINGO @ echo

SWAHILI BLONDE
BLACK FLAMINGO

resident dj Michael Stock spinning Post-Punk, DIY & White Dub

FMI: Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Sunday 08.08.10: PART TIME PUNKS with W.A.C.O. + THY SQUID + NO HABLO @ echo

W.A.C.O.
THY SQUID
NO HABLO

resident dj Michael Stock spinning mutant disco * Postpunk * indiepop

FMI: Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $5 / 18+

Sunday 08.01.10: PART TIME PUNKS with ZOLA JESUS @ echo

ZOLA JESUS || Listen

There’s plenty of non-urban college girls with slightly hip parents, girls who felt “weird” in high-school and embraced the costumes of goth, the bleakness of Joy Division and the rants of Nietzsche, automatically declaring “French and philosophy” as majors upon arriving on campus. What makes Nika Danilova stand out from her absynthetic cohort is that she talked her parents into opera singing lessons early on and used those skills to record a really interesting lo-fi album (The Spoils) a couple of years ago as Zola Jesus. The indierati loved it and so Danilova has now graduated to proper studios (the recent Stridulum EP) and touring a mesmerizing stage act, invoking the ghosts of Lydia Lunch, Diamanda Galas and even a little Grace Slick. Those who wish Gaga was actually weird and We Are the World a little less drum-circley should find much to like in La Jesus.- LA Weekly

with
FANCY SPACE PEOPLE
GARBAJ KAETZ

resident dj Michael Stock spinning Post-Punk & Dark Wave

FMI: Part Time Punks on Myspace

10pm / $10 / 18+

Saturday 07.10.10: NEW TEXTURE with JOSH ALAN FRIEDMAN / CHRIS D / WYATT DOYLE / GEORGINA SPELVIN / REV. RAYMOND BRANCH @ echo

Los Angeles-based collective New Texture presents a rare West Coast appearance by TALES OF TIMES SQUARE author Josh Alan Friedman. Josh Alan will read from BLACK CRACKER—an autobiographical novel of his years as the lone white boy at the last segregated school in New York—culminating in a scalding acoustic set on guitar.

He’ll be joined by L.A. punk icon Chris D. (The Flesh Eaters, Divine Horsemen), presenting his collection A MINUTE TO PRAY, A SECOND TO DIE, and writer Wyatt Doyle, reading from STOP REQUESTED—a collaboration with Stanley J. Zappa set on the buses of L.A.

With a visit from the legendary Georgina Spelvin (THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT), a musical appearance by Rev. Raymond Branch (host of Inglewood’s RAINBOW GOSPEL HOUR on KTYM since 1971), Donna Lethal and many more special guests.

For more information, visit NewTextureNights.com

6pm / Free / all ages

Thursday 08.19.10: JOGGER / MATTHEWDAVID / SUN ARAW / M. GEDDES GENGRAS @ echo

Jogger

Los Angeles-based alt-pop band Jogger is the brainchild of singer-songwriting duo Amir Yaghmai and Jonathan Larroquette. Their ambitious debut album, This Great Pressure, couples soft, synthesized timbre and throttling DJ Shadow-esque breaks with bright-eyed alternative/indie rock flair. Sharing vocal duties, Yaghmai and Laroquette’s whispery phrasing better resemble the calm, reticent delivery of Samuel Beam, the one-man band behind Iron and Wine. The bold album opener “Napping Captain” feels unfettered and serves as a brilliant example of what a collaboration betwee