The Monday Show Low Down (Or “Every Night You Fall Asleep With Your Headphones On”)

It’s probably unsurprising that I often gush to friends about how great the music scene is in LA right now. Or that I say all the time that it’s easy to catch a great band pretty much every night of the week here –- and that sometimes good shows even dogpile up to make it hard to decide who to see when.

That’s all pretty much a given for a major city like LA, right? But it feels like there’s something really special is happening here at this exact point in time… I mean, there are so many fantastic acts living and playing regularly here and town -- and they seem to have a near complete lack of rock star mentality to boot.

Sometimes I wonder if the rest of the country will notice what’s going on here and, y’know, I’m cautiously optimistic about it.

I’d seriously like to think that the time is right for it… that people are as tired of over-produced divas and music by and for bullies and thugs as they were with glam metal back in the 90s when anti-rock stars Nirvana arrived upon the scene.

And the recent success of acts like The Silversun Pickups is encouraging, so I guess we’ll see. The larger music industry seems like fertile ground for change -- and a groundswell of talented, unpretentious bands from LA appear well-prepared to swoop in.

And as much as I like seeing all of these bands play for $8 on a regular basis? They’re just too good not to share with everyone.

Anyway, here’s how this week is looking for music in LA -- along with what I’d go to if I went out to see a show every single night.

Monday, April 30
- The Minor Canon, Liam Finn, Bluesky Research, & The Films @ Spaceland (Free)
- The Black Pine, Eagle and Talon, The Pity Party, & Minutes til Midnight @ The Echo (Free)
- Shapes of Race Cars, Van Gunn, City Museum, & Scarlet Rose @ The Silver Lake Lounge (Free)
- Andrew Bird @ Amoeba Music (Free – 7:00)
- Cornelius @ The El Rey
- My Brightest Diamond @ The Troubadour
- Layabout @ The Brainwash Café
- The Clean Prophets, Mere Mortals, Lost and Found, & The Pacific @ Safari Sam’s
- The Distants @ The Viper Room

DECISION:
It’s the final night of the free Monday night May residencies… The line-up at The Echo is looking pretty great, with The Black Pine, Eagle & Talon, and The Pity Party playing together. I’ve seen all three recently -- and they were really great -- but I haven’t caught any of The Minor Canon sets yet, so I’m going to that.

Again, The Minor Canon’s album No Good Deed Goes Unpunished is one of my favorite albums out so far this year. The show will be recorded for a live album (and possible DVD) to be put out by Spaceland Recordings, so expect them to be working pretty damn hard.

Also, Andrew Bird for free an in-store at Amoeba at 7? I know it’s not the most comfortable spot in the world to catch a live set, but motherfucker usually plays either big festivals or $25 shows at Largo, so pick your poison.

Tuesday, May 1
- Pistolero, Gang Violets & Dead Ponies @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Sea Wolf & Sloan @ The Troubadour
- Birds of Avalon & Not in the House @ Spaceland
- The Black Heart Brigade @ The Palmer Room
- The Living Sisters, The Watson Twins, & The Chapin Sisters @ The EchoPlex
- The Black Pine, The Amateurs, & Never At Night @ The Scene (Glendale)
- Buffalo Killers & The Henry Clay People @ The Echo
- Signal Hill & Beware of Safety @ The Golden Eagle Ballroom at Cal State LA
- Mastodon @ The Wiltern

DECISION:
If you missed The Black Pine at The Echo on Monday, they’re playing The Scene out in Glendale on Tuesday. But I think I might try to make it out to The EchoPlex to hear The Living Sisters, which is an act comprised of Inara George, Becky (Lavender Diamond) Stark, and Eleni Mandell.

Wednesday, May 2
- What Made Milwaukee Famous & Manic @ Spaceland
- Club Moscow w/ Policy & War Tapes @ Boardner's
- I Make This Sound, Castledoor, Ari Eskandrarian, & Sara Lov @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Dear Nora, Lloyd & Michael, Bobby Birdman, & Devon Williams And The Allen Bleyle 3 @ The Smell
- The Youngs, Muso, & The Switch @ The Scene (Glendale- Free)
- Elvis Costello @ The House of Blues

DECISION:
I don’t know any of the acts playing on Wednesday that well except for The Switch. They’re awesome (and -- PLUG! -- are playing our next Let’s Independent! event at Boardner’s later this month).

Thursday, May 3
- Silver Lake Film Festival Presents: Circle Jerks w/ 400 Blows @ the Explx (Music Fest Pass Required)
- Autolux @ The Glass House (Pomona)
- Lion of Panjshir @ Hyperion Tavern
- The Parson Redheads, Acute, Day Of Lions, & The Lisps @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Layabout @ Hyperion Tavern
- Caspian, Beware of Safety, & North @ The Mint
- Elf Power & Wonderground @ Spaceland
- Nightfur @ The Prospector (Long Beach)
- Robbers On High Street @ The Echo
- Califone @ The Malibu Performing Arts Center

DECISION:
I’d really love to hear Autolux’s new material, but think I might be too goddamn lazy to drive all the way out to Pomona for it…

Friday, May 4
- Silver Lake Film Festival Presents: Sea Wolf, The Little Ones, The Bird and The Bee, & Dengue Fever @ The Echoplex (Music Fest Pass or Festival Badge Required)
- Silver Lake Shakedown Dance Party w/ Tandemoro & DJs @ The Echo
- First Fridays w/ Imarobot, Fussible & Hiperboreal (Nortec Collective) @ The LA Natural History Museum
- The Autumns & Sugarplastic @ Spaceland
- 8-Bit, 8-Bit Weapon, Bark Bark Bark @ The Scene (Glendale)
- Lemon Sun, Lovelikefire, & Apartment @ El Cid

DECISION:
Here’s a reprint of what we already wrote about this Friday night:

“One of the best shows in LA this year isn’t quite open to the public. It’s on the night of Friday, May 4th at The Echoplex with four bands who are used to headlining events on their own: Sea Wolf, The Little Ones, The Bird and The Bee, and Dengue Fever.

"It's The Silver Lake Music Fest, which is part of The Silver Lake Film Festival (takes place from May 3rd – 12th at theatres in the area) and sponsored by ASCAP, Filter Magazine, and Radio Free Silver Lake.

"How do you get in? There won’t be any tickets at the door, but you can buy a music fest pass or a festival badge, or you might use a movie ticket to get in. (Not sure if the latter will get you in once it starts to fill up ... and it will.) Either way, you should get there early that night.”

Got that? It's really not an event you want to miss.

Saturday, May 5
- Caspian, Signal Hill, North, & Beware of Safety @ The Cocaine at Live Jazz
- HULLABALOO 2007 : Benefit for the Silver Lake Conservatory of Music with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eddie Vedder, Charlie Haden, Ditty Bops, & Mickey Avalon @ The Henry Fonda
- Los Abandoned, The Audio Club, & Killola @ Safari Sam’s
- Fort King, Helene Renaut, & Ruthann Friedman @ The Echo Curio
- Minus The Bear, The Honorary Title, & Chin Up Chin Up@ The EchoPlex
- Bedtime For Toys, Spider Problem, & The Lisps @ The Scene (Glendale)
- Frog Eyes & Alex Delivery @ Spaceland

DECISION:
If you like post rock, you really ought to head to The Cocaine for Signal Hill, Caspian, and Beware of Safety.

Sunday, May 6
- Ariel Pink, Skeletons And The Kings Of All Cities, & The Mae Shi @ El Cid
- The Digs @ Detroit Bar (Costa Mesa)
- Moving To France @ The Troubadour
- The Henry Clay People & Repeater @ The Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club at All-Star Lanes
- Bright Eyes & Oakley Hall @ Walt Disney Concert Hall

DECISION:
I’ve been meaning to see Ariel Pink play for, like, ever.

That’s it. Did I miss anything? Please lemme know.

Mini-Interview: The Broken West

It's rad when a great local band makes good like The Broken West, who had their first album release on Merge Records earlier this year and have been touring in support of it since.

Still, lead Ross Flournoy took some time to talk to us this week. And not only that, he was a damn good interview on top of it.

Hey, Ross. How's life in the big city today?

Pretty damned good. We got back from seven and a half weeks of touring last Tuesday, and today is just about as beautiful day as I’ve ever seen in Los Angeles. It’s nice to get back to normal life.

When did you guys first start playing together? Were you all friends before?

The initial core of the band was Rob (drums), Dan (guitar, vox) and me, and we got together during the summer of 2004. I’d known Rob for about four years at that point, and we met Dan through a mutual friend that summer.

Brian, who plays bass and sings backup, was someone we spotted playing bass in another band—for a great musician named Eugene Edwards—and we thought he was the bee’s knees, so we kind of poached him; that was about a year and a half ago. So, long story short, we were not all friends before, but we certainly are now.

Sorry to hear about the legal dramas where you had to change your band name. Not to make you relive it all again, but what happened?

When we started in summer ’04 we called ourselves The Brokedowns. We soon learned there was some lame ska/punk band in Illinois with the same name, so we thought if we lopped of the “s” and called ourselves The Brokedown, that we would be in good shape.

All was good until after we signed to Merge and the signing became public last fall—a few days before the record went to the duplication place, we got a “cease and desist” notice from The Brokedowns’ record label, threatening legal action. We could have fought them, but it would have taken a lot of time and a lot of money, so we switched names.

If it had to happen, it happened at the right time, because it would have been a disaster to have to change the name AFTER thousands of CD’s had been printed.

You just got back from a tour. How did it go? What were your favorite nights? When are you back on the road?

All in all, I have to say that it went quite well. It was, for all intents and purposes, our first tour, so that lifestyle took some getting used to. There were off nights, for sure, but by and large I think we all feel like it was a successful little jaunt.

My favorite night was opening for the Long Winters in front of a sold out crowd of a little over a thousand at the Showbox in Seattle (it was their homecoming show—hence it being sold out); that was a special night for them and us and there were good vibes all around.

Other highlights include two nights at the Mercury Lounge in NYC and St. Louis! We’ll be back on the road starting May 20, doing a combination of dates with The Comas, Fountains of Wayne, and The National. We’ll be back in LA at the El Rey on June 26, I believe, opening for The National.

And before your tour, you did a residency at Spaceland right around the time of your album's release on Merge. How did that go?

That was a blast—doing a Monday night Spaceland residency had been a dream of ours since we started the band. The crowds were great and it was just a lot of fun to get to play there every week. It was the perfect way to get ourselves in shape for the tour.

Who did you record the album with? What was the process like?

We recorded the album at a studio in Rancho Park called Red Rockets Glare, which is owned by a really great guy named Raymond Richards, who has a band called The Idaho Falls and has played pedal steel with Mojave 3 and Brian Jonestown Massacre; Raymond engineered the record.

The process was definitely one of “stop and go”; we all had day jobs at the time so we basically recorded when schedules permitted. It took us about a year to make the record due to the nature of the schedule. I think we learned a lot and grew a lot during the process. Near the end, we were completely scrapping and re-recording songs we’d tracked at the beginning.

I think for the next record, we’d like to do it in a more concentrated setting; that is, instead of doing it piecemeal over the course of a year, we’d like to work hard for a month or so to knock it out.

How's life on a label treating you?

Life on Merge is absolutely tremendous. You couldn’t ask for a more genuinely nice, down-to-earth, hard-working and passionate group of people.

We’ve been really blessed in the sense that we haven’t had to deal with your stereotypical record company assholes…we consider everyone at Merge to be a genuine friend, which is a pretty nice situation.

What do you like the most and least about being a band in LA?

That’s a good question…I guess the thing we like most are the friends we’ve made, from Raymond at Red Rockets Glare to Todd at Sea Level to Andy Creighton, who’s in a fantastic band called The World Record. The thing we like least? LA crowds tend to be a bit jaded, I guess.

Also, when you go to other parts of the country and people there know you’re an LA band, they expect you to be wearing leather pants and carrying a handle of Jack Daniel’s, which can be disconcerting, especially since none of us owns leather pants.

What sort of music do all of you guys agree on?

Rolling Stones, Kinks, Beatles, solo George Harrison and John Lennon, Gram Parson/Flying Burrito Brothers, and the new Arcade Fire record, which we listened to A LOT on the last tour.

And what are you listening to these days?

The new Clientele and Wilco records, Midlake’s The Trials of Van Occupanther, and Fujiya & Miyagi’s Transparent Things.

What's next for you?

Recuperating this month, and trying very hard (against my strong impulse to procrastination) to write some songs for the next record. Then, just touring for the rest of the year as much as we can stand!

That's it! Thanks for your time.

Thank you!

DOWNLOAD: On The Bubble MP3

Just Announced: Radars to the Sky & Signal Hill

Spaceland has just announced that Radars to the Sky, Signal Hill, Castledoor, and You, Me, & Iowa will be playing there this Sunday night for FREE.

Since Radars to the Sky are easily among the best new live indie rock acts in LA and post rockers Signal Hill were responsible for one of my favorite live performances this year (at the tiny, but wonderfully punk rock Pehrspace), I'd really recommend you consider taping whatever it is you watch regularly on Sunday nights and, y'know, go.

And don't forget The Hectors at Pehrspace tonight!

RELATED LINKS:
- Download: Radars to the Sky’s Long Walk Home MP3
- Download: Signal Hill's Celadon MP3
- Download: The Hectors' I Drove All The Way From Bridgeport Just To Make It With You MP3
- Mini-Interview: Signal Hill
- Mini-Interview: The Hectors

The Midweek Show Update: The Little Ones, Sea Wolf, Great Northern, & Much, Much More

One of the best shows in LA this year isn’t quite open to the public. It’s on the night of Friday, May 4th at The Echoplex with four bands who are used to headlining events on their own: Sea Wolf, The Little Ones, The Bird and The Bee, and Dengue Fever.

It's The Silver Lake Music Fest, which is part of The Silver Lake Film Festival (takes place from May 3rd – 12th at theatres in the area) and sponsored by ASCAP, Filter Magazine, and Radio Free Silver Lake.

How do you get in? There won’t be any tickets at the door, but you can buy a music fest pass or a festival badge, or you might use a movie ticket to get in. (Not sure if the latter will get you in once it starts to fill up ... and it will.) Either way, you should get there early that night.

Radio Free Silver Lake is also teaming up with internet music site powerhouse Rock Insider to present the Great Northern record release party at The Echo on Tuesday, May 15th with The Movies and Twilight Sleep. Come celebrate the debut album by one of LA’s best and brightest independent rock acts. There’s no cover, so there’s no excuse to miss it.



MORE:
- Here are the Monday night free residency acts for May: Bodies of Water at The Echo, Gliss at Spaceland, and The High Society at The Silver Lake Lounge.
- The Living Sisters, which is an LA female vocalist supergroup comprised of Inara George, Becky Stark from Lavender Diamond, and Eleni Mandell, are playing next Tuesday with The Watson Twins and The Chapin Sisters.
- The show with The Airborne Toxic Event, The Happy Hollows, and Radars to the Sky at The Troubadour planned for Thursday, June 7th has been changed to Saturday June 9th, so that The Airborne Toxic Event can open up for The Kaiser Chiefs at The Henry Fonda on the 7th.
- The Front will be playing a cd release event at The Troubadour on Wednesday, June 6th with The Deadly Syndrome, The Grand Marquee, and Coco Bs.

Also, check the concert calendar (the right-hand column) for dates and venues for all of the following bands: Tortoise, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Fratellis, The High Society, Magic and Rattles, The Blessing, Neimo, Bodfire Madigan, Ht Heartache, Ralph Covert and The Bad Examples, Dave Gleason, The Twains, Victor Pedrosa, Hello Stranger, Non Non Plus, The Pity, Lovelikefire, Overnight Lows, The Idyllists, High Society, Savior Faire, Celeste Moreno, Pink Mochi, Elf Power, The Autumns, Sugarplastic, Division Day, Gliss, Oakley Hall, McCarthy Trenching, Augie March, The Melismatics, The Living Sisters, The Watson Twins, The Chapin Sisters, Imarobot, Fussible & Hiperboreal (Nortec Collective), The Vacation, Eagle & Talon, Radars to the Sky, Death to Anders!, Rademacher, The Switch, Kind Hearts & Coronets, Nico Vega, Moving to France, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eddie Vedder, Charlie Haden, Ditty Bops, Mickey Avalon, The Poor Excuses, The Section Quartet, Caspian, and Beware of Safety.

Let's Independent!: The Aftermath

Hey, there. We'll run a full concert update tomorrow -- there are a bunch of solid shows that have just been announced -- but I just wanted to really quickly say thanks to everyone who played and came to our Let's Independent! event at Boardner's last night. I couldn't be happier about how well it turned out...

In short? It defined fun. It was a full crowd PACKED with great people and Eagle & Talon, Radars to the Sky, and The Prix all played excellent sets. Here are a few pics.






And you can find more here.

Let’s Independent! w/ The Prix, Radars to the Sky, and Eagle & Talon

Tonight's the night of our latest Let’s Independent! event at Boardner’s in Hollywood, and we have Eagle & Talon, Radars to the Sky, and The Prix playing. It’s starts at 9:00 PM (for folks who are 21+), it’s FREE this time, and if you’ve been out before, you know it’s kinda a bit more of a party than just a regular show.

If you haven’t heard about some or one or all of the three bands, here’s what people have been saying about them -- along with some downloadable MP3s.

RADARS TO THE SKY
- "Radars To The Sky ... have a 5-song ep out, but I never get past the first song Long Walk Home cause I keep pressing repeat." -- Inflight at Night

- "Radars to the Sky aren't afraid to take chances with their music, which is true indie rock.... Go see Radars to the Sky for yourself. You'll be glad you did." --Epitunes

- "Radars displayed a strong interplay together, delivering some fierce guitar riffs and rubbery propulsive bass lines that got the hipsters up and moving." -- The Passion of the Weiss

DOWNLOAD: The Long Walk Home MP3

EAGLE & TALON
- "The music of Eagle and Talon is wonderfully underproduced. The hollow, tinny notes of a child's Casio keyboard swirl around choppy guitar licks and no-nonsense drumbeats. Kim's voice, sweet and strong, braves the rapids of this melodic current with powerful self-assurance." - The LA Times

- "Artlessly jagged post-punk that's got fun in it even when it's being serious." - The Village Voice

- "Taut beats and oddly-tuned guitars spar in decidedly un-ladylike fashion, with retro casios joining the fray. Kim Talon dances an entrancing tightrope between cool-eyed detachment and exploding mine field, always with sharply observed lyrics in tow. It's smart indie rock with balls... by girls." - Upcoming

DOWNLOAD: They’re So Sharp MP3

THE PRIX
- "It's All In the Way That You Trip is the most joyfully danceable rock & roll song we've heard in ages" - Kate Sullivan, L.A. Weekly

- "Lovingly-tousled pop that could have crackled out of transistor radios during the Johnson administration" -Kevin Bronson, Los Angeles Times

- "Fired up.....lithe, literate garage rock" -Ron Garmon, City Beat LA

DOWNLOAD: St Domino MP3


Again, you can find all the details right here. Hope you can make it!

The Monday Show Lowdown (Or “I Wish You’d Lock Your Door And Never Let Me In”)

This is officially The Week of Tough Choices. I know I always say shit like that on Mondays, but it’s like, as The Magic Eightball says, decidedly so.

MONDAY, APRIL 23
- The Minor Canon, Everest, Liam Finn, & Conner @ Spaceland (Free)
- Wires on Fire, Dead Ponies, Qui, Black Fur, & DJ Travis Keller @ The Silver Lake Lounge (Free)
- The Black Pine, Luna is Honey, Winter Flowers, & The Happy Hollows @ The Echo (Free)
- Manic @ The Viper Room
- The Soft Hands, The Henry Clay People, & The Clark 8 @ Mr. T's Bowl
- Iggy & The Stooges @ The Wiltern

DECISION
The Monday free residency night has rarely been more difficult. For those who like the rock, there’s Wires on Fire and Dead Ponies at The Silver Lake Lounge … since you didn’t get tickets for Iggy & The Stooges.

Indy pop fans are further divided however, with The Minor Canon, Liam Finn (son of Neil Finn from Crowded House & Split Enz), and Everest (alaska!, Earlimart, Slydell, Folk Implosion/Sebadoh, and Great Northern) at Spaceland and rad sad pop act The Black Pine and super upbeat pop act The Happy Hollows at The Echo, while The Soft Hands and The Henry Clay People take Mr. T’s Bowl.

Me? I’m definitely catching The Minor Canon when they play with Frankel at Spaceland next week… and I love going to The Black Pine and The Happy Hollows, but I’ve saw them both recently… so, I might try Wires on Fire and Dead Ponies, since I’ve never seen either before.

TUESDAY, APRIL 24
- Let’s Independent! w/ The Prix, Eagle & Talon, & Radars to the Sky @ Boardner’s of Hollywood (Free)
- Sean Lennon @ The Roxy
- Adult, Erase Errata, & Parts & Labor @ Safari Sam’s
- Jonah The Band & Salon K @ The Echo
- The Grand Marquee, Pop Noir, Black Palms, and Io Echo! @ The Key Club
- Blood Brothers @ The El Rey
- Sasquatch, Smash Fashion, Sweet Evil, & Dark Ages @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Rizorkestra @ The Knitting Factory
- 8mm, Ezra Reich, & Wait Think Fast @ Spaceland
- Sunset Rubdown and Xiu Xiu @ The Troubadour

DECISION
I’m completely biased about Tuesday night, since we’re putting on the Let’s Independent! show at Boardner’s with Eagle & Talon, Radars to the Sky, and The Prix -- PLUG: It’s free and you can download tracks from all three acts here -- but there’s some great stuff going on elsewhere, too.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25
- Jet @ The Troubadour
- Illinois, Attack Formation, DJs Har Mar Superstar & Fab Moretti @ Spaceland
- The Lemonheads, Giant Drag, & The Icarus Line @ The El Rey
- St. James, Glossary, & Emily Wells @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Blonde Redhead @ The Glass House (Pomona)
- Wild West Dub Tour w/ Big Youth, Hawaiian Lyon & Turtleman @ The Echo

DECISION
I keep hearing great things about the new Blonde Redhead album, but have yet to pick it up yet. I know a few folks who are talking about driving out to Pomona for it.

THURSDAY, APRIL 26
- Jet @ The Troubadour
- Jesus & Mary Chain @ The Glass House (Pomona)
- Shiny Toy Guns @ The Avalon
- HellYa! w/ Nico Vega, Billionaires, & Lady Tigra @ The Echo (Free)
- Xu Xu Fang, Stephenson Ranch Davidians, & Ludger @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Tapes n Tapes, Harlem Shakes, & Delta Spirit @ Spaceland
- !!! @ Amoeba Music (Free – 6:30)
- Earlimart, Sea Wolf, The Parson Red Heads, & The Watson Twins @ ExPlex

DECISION
Okay, if you haven’t already seen Tapes n Tapes before and you’re not a ginormous Jesus & Mary Chain fan, that leaves the question of whether you want to catch the final Xu Xu Fang night at The Silver Lake Lounge or see the phenomenal line-up of Earlimart, Sea Wolf, The Parson Red Heads, and The Watson Twins at The Echoplex kick-off (below The Echo).

Me? I love Earlimart and Sea Wolf, but I've seen them a few times, so I'm going to try Xu Xu Fang.

FRIDAY, APRIL 27
- The Hectors & The Northern Two @ Pehrspace
- Lots of Love @ The Derby
- The Renders @ The Airliner
- The Sheers & Cyndi Robinson @ El Cid
- Chocolate Bar Party @ The Echo
- Wallpaper Airplanes @ The Viper Room
- The Cinematics, The Heavenly States, & Le Meu Le Purr @ Spaceland
- Homesick Elephant @ Tangier
- Coachella Valley Festival featuring The Silversun Pickups, Interpol, & more (Palm Desert)

DECISION
I might be sneaking out to the desert on Sunday for Explosions in the Sky, but on Friday night? The Hectors at the hidden wonder that is Pehrspace.

SATURDAY, APRIL 28
- The Walkmen, Foreign Born, & Magic Bullets @ The Echoplex (below The Echo)
- Mono @ The Troubadour
- Meho Plaza & Lovely Public @ The Scene (Glendale)
- Apostle of Hustle & Tiny Dancers @ Spaceland
- Radiant @ The Silver Lake Lounge (early)
- The Oh Sees & The Botticellis @ The Echo
- Timonium @ Pehrspace
- Coachella Valley Festival featuring The Arcade Fire, The Decemberists, The Black Keys, Peter, Bjorn, and John, & more (Palm Desert)

DECISION
Gotta say that the fact that Foreign Born is opening up for The Walkmen at The Echoplex makes that show pretty solid.

SUNDAY, APRIL 29
- Service Group, The Davin Givhan Band, Death to Anders, & Lucinda and the Lost Dogs @ The Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club at All-Star Lanes
- Hearts of Palm UK, Io Perry, & Luke Paquin @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Travis @ The Henry Fonda
- Morris Tepper & Dustin Boyer @ Tangier
- CocoRosie & Busdriver @ The El Rey
- Grand Ole Echo w/ Dead Rock West, The Dark Horses, Jeremiah & the Red Eyes, & US Mail Band @ The Echo (Early)
- Part Time Punks: The Old Haunts & Codpiece @ The Echo
- Coachella Valley Festival featuring Explosions in the Sky, Tapes N Tapes, Air, Grizzly Bear, Jose Gonzalez, & more (Palm Desert)

DECISION
If it weren’t for Explosions in the Sky at Coachella, I’d be heading to catch either the madwomen of CocoRosie at The El Rey or see all the gang at The Eagle Rock Bowling & Drinking Club.

That’s it. Did I miss anything? Please let me know.

First Show Stories: The Hectors, Tandemoro, Radars To The Sky, & More

Technically, my first show ever was going to The Grand Ole Opry with my parents on summer vacation. I think I was in fifth grade then. It was the year of the World Fair in Knoxville and we went to, no shit, Dollywood, too. I guess that was '82?

But the one I count for reals is seeing Fugazi play at the now-defunct Club Dreamers in Chicago years later when I was a junior in high school. It was before their EP came out and I remember being kind of disappointed that they didn't sound like Minor Threat, even though Ian MacKaye had already done both Embrace and Pailhead. (I mean, c'mon, I was fifteen...)

There was a point halfway through the show when Ian and Guy stopped playing because a bunch of skinheads were lining up in a row in the front and running over everyone in their path. They asked the skins what they were doing and someone yellied out, "It's a wall of death!" Like that, you know, explained everything.

The two singers made fun of them for awhile, before saying they were going to play a slow song after that so no one could do any shenanigans. And I think launched into Suggestion.

A week after that, I saw Naked Raygun for the first time... Chicago's a good town for live music, both then and now.

Anyway, I asked a number of people here in town about their own first shows. You know, the sort of stories you normally trade around after a few beers at a party.

Here are a few:

Corinne Dinner – The Hectors

When I was 11, I'd wanted my first show to be the Guns 'N' Roses/Metallica uber-tour, but my dad had heard that GnR fans tore seats out of arenas, lit them on fire, and threw them at the stage. So that didn't happen.

The first concert that was safe enough was a "blues festival" in San Francisco when I was 13. I had just begun listening to Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, and felt that I too had the blues.

My friend and I took a BART train over from the East bay. The first thing we saw when we walk through the turnstile are security guards escorting out these two fat, drunk 40-year-old guys with no shirts. They were screaming obscenities while throwing their cheese steak sandwiches at each other.

We then endured a day of watered down white guy blues bands, with names like "Billy Boy and the Blues Survivors." And we were offered weed by three different dead heads.

The day wasn't a total loss: I learned the valuable lesson of sneaking out to punk shows and telling my dad I was going to see blues and jazz.

Mike Griffin – Tandemoro & The Western States Motel

My first show is a little hazy. Not because I was shrooming or f'ed up in any way, but because I was in the second grade. I was living in Hawaii and my parents took me to see this Hawaiian brother duo called The Brothers Cazimero. I loved their music and we always listened to them, I still love their album Hawaiian Paradise.

So, we went to this big park on Maui at night and sat on the grass in front of the stage. They passed out these sushi plates to everyone and I had never had it and I thought it was really weird. I remember thinking the same thing about the concert because seeing them in person was very different than how I imagined them. I thought they looked weird, one had a beard and was sitting cross-legged on a stool while playing guitar, which looks weirder than it sounds.

I'm sure they were awesome because I've seen them again and they really know their stuff, but I think at that age (or maybe because it was my first show), I wasn't ready to accept them as people.

Andrew Spitser – Radars to the Sky

Depeche Mode. Violator tour. Must have been 1989 or summer 1990. Nitzer Ebb opened up-- I think my brother, who had let me and a couple of friends tag along (and steal sips from the flask they smuggled in) were more into those guys than Depeche Mode.

But Join in the Chant didn't exactly have the same appeal in cavernous Dodger Stadium before the sun even went down. I wasn't won over (never really fully bought into the whole Industrial scene, really).

But "DeMode" were a revelation. After having been confined to Hollywood Bowl symphony concerts and a John Denver show or two up to that point, to see one of my favorite bands on the big stage with the lights and the big video screens was amazing. Couldn't believe how big and loud and epic and theatrical and dark and brooding and intense the whole thing was. Say what you will-- those guys had the arena rock pop star thing down.

Of course, if you want to talk about first indie rock show: Archers of Loaf, basement at Rick's in Ann Arbor. 1994. Like being born again.... But that's another chapter.

Chuck P. - Dead Air/Indie 103.1

Ah yes, it’s 1981 all over again…

When I was 11, I went to the Fresno Convention Center with my sister to see The Gap Band. I didn’t have a favorite band at the time, I just listened to what my Mom and sister listened to. I believe Confunktion was opening the show… a stellar lineup, to be sure.

When we got there, a band was already playing. Having not paid for the ticket myself, I was too worried that I was missing anything important, because I knew them not to be Confunktion. I was really getting into the tunes, and felt cool enough to lean over to one of my sisters friends and let her know how much I was enjoying the band.

“Goody” she replied flatly.

The embarrassment must have been obvious on my face, as I slinked back into my chair, because she leaned over to me and said, “Did you hear me?” I said “Yeah, I got it, goody, like big deal.” She laughed a hearty laugh, and said “No, the band is called Goody!”

Not sure how I could have felt any dumber, but I did.

Rob Danson – Death to Anders!

In 1994, my father was offered an investments job in Mexico City. We lived there for a year and a half, where I began listening to nothing but heavy metal. I was fourteen when Sepultura came into town.

They played a three-hour set in a huge, sold-out ice arena. I was sitting far away on the balcony, looking down at the massive sea of people moshing and head-banging and I thought that this was the coolest thing ever......until the last song.

For some reason, some idiot thought that it would be a great idea if, before the show, they put folding chairs down on the main floor so that the standing crowd could sit if they wanted to.

Well, no one actually used these chairs in the traditional sense, but during Sepultura's encore, hundreds of people began throwing the chairs wildly into the air. Soon, all hell broke loose and people were getting smashed in the head with these metal folding chairs.

The whole place looked like a chaotic riot scene, and I was safely watching this unfold before me up high on a balcony. I heard that a lot of people got really hurt. There were a bunch of broken arms, legs, and other fucked up shit. I hope that no one got killed.

Photo by Braedon Flynn

Now Blog This!: The Aftermath

Here are some quick pics and videos from last night's Now Blog This! event. Thanks to everyone who played, DJed, promoted, and attended -- especially to Allen from The Scene, who put the whole damn thing together in the first place.

It was super damn fun and The Pity Party, The Western States Motel, The Clean Prophets, and The Valley Arena all sounded great. Definitely keep an ear out for 'em, if you haven't seen one or some or all of the acts play yet.











And if you get a chance, come back and visit the site tomorrow for a special weekend feature...

Video Free Silver Lake: The Clean Prophets, Western States Motel, Pity Party, & Valley Arena

Yup, the Now Blog This! event is tonight at The Scene in Glendale. Spend $5 and a few hours of your time to help support local music -- and it should be damn fun, too. You can find all the details here.

Haven't heard all the bands? Here's video footage of each of them. (Note: The first contains enough John Tesh to kill an elephant...)









Hope to see you there.

The Mid-Week Show Update: The Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, Deerhoof, & Much More

We've updated our show calendar with a ton of new shows for all the bands listed below. Check out the right-hand column for dates and venues. Oh, and tickets go on sale this Saturday for your favorite fish-belly white Canadians The Arcade Fire at The Greek on Tuesday, May 29th and Wednesday, May 30th.


Here are all the rest: Modest Mouse, Snow Patrol, Deerhoof, The Bird & The Bee, The Circle Jerks, Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu), Illinois, Man Man, Dead Ponies, Homesick Elephant, Love As Laughter, Eskimo Hunter, Mezzanine Owls, Lovelikefire, The Mae Shi, Tik///Tik, Anavan, Kevin Shields, Ex-Oblivione, Totally Radd!!, Captain Ahab, Juiceboxxx, The Bushes, Buffalo Roam, Bedtime For Toys, Von Iva, The Empire, Starlite Desperation, Pistols Will Air, Icebird, The Digs, The Finches, Big Search, The Bushes, Ariel Pink, Skeletons And The Kings Of All Cities, The Mae Shi, Bedtime For Toys, Spider Problem, Castledoor, Ari Eskandrarian, The Parson Redheads, Acute, Day Of Lions, The Lisps, Lemon Sun, Lovelikefire, Apartment, Xu Xu Fang, Stephenson Ranch Davidians, Ludger, The Films, Frankel, Electric Soft Parade, BrakesBrakesBrakes, Pedal, Unsane, 400 Blows, The Mouth of the Architect, Bodies of Water, The Western States Motel, No Little Kindness, Seasons, Fujiaya and Miyagi, The Section Quartet, Great Northern (Record Release Party), The Movies, Twilight Sleep, DJ David Michael Latter, The Monolators, Summer Darling, 8 Bit, Shearwater, Lonely Dear, The Henry Clay People, Repeater, Jet, Mono, Caspian, Signal Hill, North, Beware of Safety, and Good Luck Bear.

By the way, did anyone see The Silversun Pickups play at The Silver Lake Lounge last night?

Bzzt! Radio Appearances By Radars To The Sky and Eagle & Talon

This Wednesday, your new favorite live band Radars To The Sky will be performing on KXLU 88.9 FM -- which you can listen to via teh radio or their online simulcast -- at 5:00 PST. And next Monday (the 23rd) at 5:00 PST, leotard rockers Eagle & Talon will appear on KXLU, as well.

What do both of these bands have in common? Besides our deep abiding like, the fact that they're playing our next Let's Independent! event at Boardners in Hollywood on Tuesday, the 24th.

Go here to read all the details about the show (which is FREE!), hear tracks from both bands and headliner The Prix, who might also have a radio appearance coming up soon, too.

Album of the Week: Mark Ronson - Version

So first, I've got to come clean and admit that I too could've sworn that Mark Ronson was the son of guitar god Mick Ronson of Ziggy Stardust fame. However, it turns out that Mark is actually the stepson of guitarist Mick Jones of Foreigner fame. Granted the Foreigner pedigree is decidedly less hip than the Ziggy pedigree, but it seems that Mark has built up enough cred to withstand any sort of "Dirty White Boy" taunts.

Case in point, his latest record Version. A covers record with a sort of DJ/producer remix twist, Ronson not only compiled an uber hip mix of source material, but he also managed to snag some of the hottest acts out right now to lay down the vocal tracks. One of the most compelling tracks is arguably The Smiths cover "Stop Me" which features a young Aussie superstar unknown on these shores named Daniel Merriweather. It starts off a bit slow and sounds like it's going end up sucking royally, but then it kicks in and completely knocks you on your ass. Also, while I never would've associated Phantom Planet with Radiohead in a million years, Ronson's spin on "Just" from The Bends with the Socal boys on vocals works amazingly well. Oh, and then there's that brilliant mashed-up appearance by Dirt McGirt on the "Toxic" cover...but I could go on and on.

Check it out for yourself on MySpace, as of Monday night the whole album was still available being streaming audio on Ronson's page, but it probably won't be up there in its entirety for long. And, one last important note, Version only hit UK store shelves this week so you're going to have to shell out a bucks for this one right now (and making matters worse, the exchange rate actually hit $2 per quid yesterday!!).

Download: Mark Ronson - "Toxic"

The Monday Show Low Down (Or “I Know Why The Insomniac Bird Sings”)

Damn. Some good music happened here last week…

Por ejemplo, pop merchants Tandemoro played an amazing set at Spaceland before the always-great Happy Hollows and Deadly Syndrome on Saturday night. And sad, spooky pop act The Black Pine last Monday at The Echo? Let’s just say you really should make sure to catch one of their remaining free residency shows this month.

This week looks quality, too. Like our Now Blog This! event at The Scene in Glendale on Thursday night. Each of four LA-based music sites picked one local artist to play the night, so we’ve got The Pity Party (Little Radio), The Valley Arena (Rock Insider), The Clean Prophets (You Set The Scene), and The Western States Motel (um, Radio Free Silver Lake). Full details here, but it’s only $5.

Here’s a look at the full week. You’ll probably want to clear your schedule.

Monday, April 16
- Shapes of Race Cars, Carina Round, & Nico Stai @ The Viper Room
- Wires On Fire, Nudity, Moonrats, & Gengis Kahn @ The Silver Lake Lounge (Free)
- The Youngs @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Divisible @ The Troubadour
- The Minor Canon, The Volts, & The Pity Party @ Spaceland (Free)
- The Black Pine, Luther Russell, I Make This Sound, & The Moon Upstairs @ The Echo (Free)

DECISION:
Again, you can’t go wrong with any of the three residency shows, but The Minor Canon and The Pity Party together? Good call.

Tuesday, April 17
- THE FOLD 10 Year Anniversary Show Special Guests + Castledoor + Pity Party @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Hearts of Palm UK, The Switch, Troika, & Coco B's @ The Scene (Glendale)
- Kinds Hearts & Coronets @ Amoeba Records
- Anders & Woods @ The Echo
- Rocky Votolato @ The Troubadour
- The Broken West, Mezzanine Owls, & Silverface Champs @ Spaceland
- Rizorkestra @ The Knitting Factory

DECISION:
Okay, so this is a big goddamn night. The mystery “special guests” at The Silver Lake Lounge are worth trying to shelling out $20 for one of the tickets at the door, if you can get one.

If you can’t, there’s The Switch at The Scene, The Broken West and Mez Owls at Spaceland, and Kind Hearts & Coronets at Amoeba for free. Either way, if you go out on Tuesday, you’re going to catch a great show.

Wednesday, April 18
- Eleni Mandell, Fishtank Ensemble, & Charlie Wadhams @ Bordello
- Casxio, Strength, & United By Sound @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Kinds Hearts & Coronets @ The Standard – Downtown
- Dub Club @ The Echo
- Sara Overall @ The Troubadour
- Lo-Fi Sugar & Black Heart Brigade @ Molly Malone’s

DECISION:
I’ve been wanting to see Lo-Fi Sugar for, like, ever now.

Thursday, April 19
- Now Blog This! w/ The Western States Motel, The Pity Party, The Clean Prophets, & The Valley Arena @ The Scene (Glendale)
- The Morning Benders & Strength @ Spaceland
- Hot Rod Circuit & Limbeck @ The Troubadour
- Syd Barrett Night w/ Bedroom Walls, Big Search, Biirdie, Eleni Mandell, Good Listeners, Gwendolyn, Irving, Nora Keyes, Marjorie Faire, Pity Party, Priscilla Ahn, Thundersnail (Amps for Christ), Mezzanine Owls, Ina James, Leviathan Brothers, Douglas Lee. Kennedy, Yes Me To Death @ Bordello
- The Soft Hands, The Henry Clay People, & The Clark 8 @ Mr T’s Bowl
- The Bird and The Bee, Pedestrian, & The Fishtank Ensemble @ The Derby
- Xu Xu Fang & Starving Daughters @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- The Sky Drops, Spindrift, & Stevenson Ranch Davidians @ The Echo
- Lavender Diamond & Indian Jewelry @ Redcat

DECISION:
Some good stuff this Thursday night. You know I’ll be at Now Blog This! (see above), but the Syd Barrett Night at Bordello, Xu Xu Fang at The Echo, and Lavender Diamond at Redcat are also strong contenders for your time. (But come to our show. Ha.)

Friday, April 20
- Benji Hughes @ The Getty
- The Youngs & Names in Vain @ Pehrspace
- Saint Motel @ The Echo
- Ivy Walls, The May Fire, & Skates @ El Cid
- Corb Lund @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Steel Train, Oliver Future, City Museum, & Wounded Cougar @ The Echo
- Trans Am, Zombi, & Black Taj @ The Troubadour

DECISION:
I haven’t seen (mostly) instrumental rock act Trans Am play in years, but used to heart them. Benji Hughes is one of those “musician’s musicians” or so I’ve heard him described elsewhere.

Saturday, April 21
- The Deadly Syndrome & The Klaxons @ Ex Plex
- Saint Motel @ The Smell
- The Front, Moonrats, Killsonic, and Tennis Club @ Il Corral (Killradio.org benefit)
- 5th Annual Iggy Pop B-Day Bash @ Spaceland
- Fluff & Jesus Makes A Shotgun Sound @ The Scene
- The Sky Drops, Evervess, & The High Violets @ Club Violaine
- Gravy Train & Sugar and Spice @ The Echo
- Art Brut @ The Troubadour

DECISION:
If you didn’t catch The Deadly Syndrome at Spaceland last Saturday night, here’s another chance to see them before they start only playing venues this small as unannounced mystery guests.

Sunday, April 22
- Service Group, Quazar and the Bamboozled, & The Electrolytes @ The Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club at All-Star Lanes
- Benji Hughes @ Tangier
- The Karabal Nightlife, The Breakups, Ema & the Ghosts, and Yes Means Yes @ The Verity Room (SFV)
- Shiloe @ The Knitting Factory
- The Books @ The Malibu Performing Arts Center

DECISION:
Here’s another opportunity to see Benji Hughes and this time you won’t have to contend with the 405… You’ll have to listen to him play over the clang of silverware and plates while people eat their dinner in Tangier’s sulky back room.

That’s all. Did I miss anything? Please lemme know.

RELATED LINKS:
- Rock Insider Interview w/ The Valley Arena
- Mini-Interview: Tandemoro
- Mini-Interview: The Deadly Syndrome
- Band of the Week: The Black Pine

Mini-Interview: The Henry Clay People

If you haven’t seen The Henry Clay People play out here in LA yet, it’s probably just a matter of time. They’re basically the hardest working men in indie rock show business… performing week after week at places ranging from The Silver Lake Lounge to The Cocaine at Live Jazz, The Scene in Glendale to The Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club, and every place seemingly in-between.

We recently spoke with lead Joey Siara shortly after the release of the band’s new album, The Kid With The Red Moustache.

Hi, Joey. How are you doing today?

Hi there, Mr. Joe. I'm doing just fine. A bit tired I suppose. We played with The Happy Hollows in Long Beach last night and those kids stay up late. It's tough to keep up with such born rock and rollers.

Your new album just came out. Congrats! How was your release party at The Scene?

Why, thanks. It's actually our third full length but first since moving to the greater LA area. It's the first one that we're really trying to play in support of. The Scene show was tons-o-fun. A lot of very wonderful people came out.

There's a great little "scene" (though I hate to use such a loaded word) of people/bands that are blossoming thanks to eastside venues like The Scene, Mr. T's, The Cocaine (though not exactly east side), and The Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club.

I cannot possibly stress enough how important these venues are to preserving the goodness of rock and roll music in Los Angeles. They operate on the periphery of the Echo Park/Silver Lake scene and therefore don't get as much attention -- but they will soon enough, I'm convinced.

These venues don't have the latest sound systems and whatnot but that's the charm of the whole thing--the music is very real sounding and down to earth and has that great DIY punk spirit to it. There's no distance between band and audience. The people/bands that hang out at these places are among the friendliest and most sincere that I have ever met.

I was at The Cocaine on Sunday night to see Downtown/Union, One Trick Pony, and The Transmissions and it was such a great collection of interesting people, very positive vibes and stuff, kinda felt like an old episode of Cheers or something.

How long have you been together? You had another band with many of the same members before, right?

In my mind, The Henry Clay People have been together roughly five years, though we were called Vallejo By Knife for part of it and have undergone a few line-up changes. I've been playing in bands with Eric (our drummer) for about twelve years now--which is crazy to me. I can't imagine playing with anyone else.

How did your music change with the new act?

Initially, we were doing more of a gritty Hot Snakes bar rock thing. We'd wear leisure suits and moustaches and what not and go nuts on stage. When we recorded our first full length we realized that the songs weren't transferring as well as hoped. So we just kept writing and recording (at least fifty songs in the last four years) and natural selection takes place and certain traits develop and certain appendages become obsolete and so on.

And your brother has been playing with you for five years?

Yep. It helps to be genetically linked to the lead guitar player.

Now, you recorded the album with Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Godspeed, You Black Emperor!) and Colin Stewart (Frog Eyes, Destroyer). How did that come together?

We used to have a manager/over-zealous friend that would go to great lengths to contact people that I would never in a million years contact (our manager has since gone MIA, Jeff come back). Anyhow, he managed (as managers do) to get our demo in the hands of Colin and Howard. They responded with enthusiasm to the demos. I was shocked. From there we had the logistical nightmare of planning a recording session.

And what was your experience recording? It was up in Montreal, right?

Initially, the plan was to record at Jackpot! in Portland which I was really excited about because some of my favorite bands recorded there... but we had a last minute scheduling conflict. Long story short-we recorded in both Portland and Montreal.

The experience was amazing and terrifying. We'd be recording and Efrem from Godspeed would just show up to hang out with Howard. In Portland, Larry Crane (who edits Tape-Op magazine and has worked with Elliott Smith and Sleater Kinney) would constantly be stopping in to check his email. Needless to say we were all intimidated and a bit indie rock starstruck.

Howard and Colin made us feel comfortable, though. They're both Canadian and so everybody shared a mutual love for Neil Young and hockey. What more could you want?

They're also analog recording purist types so we didn't use any digital stuff (except my brother's delay pedal) and we tracked it mostly live in a room together. So that was interesting. It forced us to be more of a live band rather than studio wizards.

You guys seem to play live as much as humanly possible. Why?

Why not? Rock and roll music is best heard live. So much manipulation takes place in recording so it's generally refreshing to see through all the smoke and mirrors. I think you get a way better sense of what the band is about... for better or worse.

Plus, playing live is a lot of fun for us and the only way to get better is to play more. So yeah--why not. It's easier to swallow a bad show if you know that you have a chance to redeem yourself the following week.

What's next for you?

We're doing the May residency at The Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club. It should be a blast. A lot of great bands. Then, we're planning a tour this summer with our ever so radical friends Divisadero.

Last question: Who are you listening to these days?

I usually just Ipod shuffle these days although my brother broke my Ipod so I'm stuck to what I have on disc. In my car right now I have: The Thermals, Service Group, The Monolators, Swim Party, The Arcade Fire, The Animals, The Replacements (always have a Replacements album whenever you're in a car), and The Best of Sam Cooke. All are fantastic and highly recommended.

Thanks for your time, Joey.

RELATED LINKS:
- MP3: Children of Chin (YouSendIt Link – Expires in one week)

Mid-Week Show Update: Let's Independent!, Peter And The Wolf, Earlimart, & More

So, our next Let's Independent! event at Boardner’s in Hollywood is going to be FREE and feature experimental pop act Eagle & Talon, your new favorite live act Radars to the Sky, and dancey garage rock enthusiasts The Prix.

Hope you can make it cause these shows always = fun. (Click here for more info.)

We’ve also added a number of newly announced shows to our concert calendar, most notable among them probably being:
- This Friday night, Rock Insider presents Peter And The Wolf at Pehrspace w/ The Monolators, Luke Paquin (of Hot Hot Heat), Divisadero, and Fawnhawk. This show just got announced, is a $5 donation, and should be tres entertaining.
- Tuesday, April 17 – The Fold 10 Year Anniversary Show with The Pity Party, Castledoor, and “special guests” at The Silver Lake Lounge. It’s the “special guests” part that should intrigue you. I mean, remember that acts like Cold War Kids, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and more got their start playing there, so you never know who'll show up on-stage.
- Saturday, April 28th - The Walkmen at The Echoplex (below The Echo). Not my thing, but great for people who like stuff...
- And did you hear that when Earlimart play at The Echoplex on Tuesday, April 26th that they’ll have string accompaniment again? Definitely worth checking out. Rad openers include Sea Wolf, The Parson Red Heads, and The Watson Twins.
- Update: Looks like Tapes n Tapes are now playing at Spaceland on the same night...

Here are all the bands who have new dates on the calendar (to the right): Tapes n Tapes, Castledoor, The Pity Party, Shapes of Race Cars, Carina Round, Nico Stai, Sky Parade, The Ebbs, Iggy & The Stooges, Sage Francis, Arhitecture In Helsinki, Les Claypool, Ditty Bops, CocoRosie, Busdriver, Cornelius, Sound Team, Au Revoir Simone, The Horrors, Bloodcat Love, Maximo Park, The Walkmen, Wait Think Fast, Sara Lov, Hecuba, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Happy Hollows, Radars to the Sky, The Prix, Eagle & Talon, The Renders, Kind Hearts & Coronets, The Amaturs, Secretary Bird, Robbers On High Street, Wallpaper Airplanes, Joe Kennedy, Wake Up Incinerate, The Karabal Nightlife, The Soft Hands, Death to Anders, The Breakups, Ema & the Ghosts, Yes Means Yes, Manic, Fort King , Helene Renaut, Ruthann Friedman, The Soft Hands, The Henry Clay People, The Clark 8, Evervess, The High Violets, The Sky Drops, Spindrift, and Stevenson Ranch Davidians.

Have any shows for me to add to the calendar? Pop me a line.

RELATED LINKS:
- MP3: Peter and The Wolf - The Ivy
- MP3: Peter and The Wolf - Safe Travels
- Mini-Interview: Earlimart
- Mini-Interview: Sea Wolf
- Mini-Interview: Cold War Kids