The Monday Show Low Down (or "Everyone Looks At You And They Fall Like Stars")

You know, I never thought I'd be glad to see cool, cloudy days during the summer in Los Angeles, but after those super hot days a few weeks back, I've really come to appreciate them. There's a chill in the air right now and it's so frigging nice... (My apologies to all you kids out east.)

Tonight, the smile merchants otherwise known as The Little Ones begin their free Monday night residency at Spaceland -- and, as someone whose paid money to see them play in the past and been quite happy about it, I can’t recommend going to see them more. They’re one of the most fun live acts in LA right now.

On Thursday night, there's a free in-store from local indie rock act Tigers Can Bite You at Sea Level Records at 7pm. I haven’t heard them live yet, but friends tell me they’re great and I really like the demo tracks on their myspace page, and what better way to check them out than for frees.

On Sunday, the power-poppy Happy Hollows and hard-to-describe-yet-pretty-rad Fucked Five will play at ? at All-Star Lanes in Eagle Rock, which is one of my favorite old bowling alleys around. Should be great fun.

And next week is the third annual Fuck Yeah Fest
in Echo Park across a few different venues from Friday, August 18th to Sunday, August 20th, with such bands as The Bronx, 400 Blows, Blood Meridian, Burning Brides, Future Pigeon, Giant Drag, Dios Malos, The Thermals, Darker My Love, Foreign Born, Shapes & Sizes, Midnight Movies, Dead Meadow, The Ponies, Erase Errata, Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, and more.

The following bands have also recently announced dates in LA: Tortoise, The Dears, Starsailor, Band of Horses, The Junior Boys, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Hold Steady, The Bird & The Bee, Briertone, Molecules, Kind Hearts & Coronets, Darker My Love, Great Northern, The Colour, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Wonderground, Spacekitti, Bank Holiday, Comets on Fire, Indian Jewelry, Enid the Dowl, The Devils Romantics, Mon Frere, The Front, The Western States Motel, Kiev, Withdrawl, Asobi Sesku, and more. (See right-hand column for details.)