The Monday Show Low Down (Or “Have You Ever Sung Along To New Day Rising?”)

Okay, I’ve got a story about last weekend’s Eagle Rock Music Festival and it’s kind of a long one – so if you get bored at all, just scroll down to the show listings for this week a little further down.

First off, I fucking love Eagle Rock. Here in the US, we have a propensity to rebuild everything so it looks like it was made five minutes ago, but in Eagle Rock, they’ve skipped this and the buildings all appear like they were first made back in the 60s.

Walking around the closed off streets of the town during the festival, it wasn't like being in LA in 2007 anymore -- it felt like stepping out of time.

I’d been asked to introduce The Pity Party at the event, which is something that I’m not in any way good at, but people keep asking me to do, so I figure I’ll get better or they’ll just stop asking.

When I got there, the coordinator pulled me aside to ask a favor… Octavius from KXLU Demo Listen was laid up from a motorcycle accident (see video below) and could I also please introduce Bodies of Water? Fred from Demo Listen was also on-hand and could help, but couldn’t mention any of the festival’s sponsors because of his affiliation with the station.



So, yeah, I told them. No problem. A bit before I started to get extremely nervous, like I haven’t been since the last time I jumped out of a plane, so I started telling Fred – who I’d just met – crazy stories to distract myself.

You know, like when you’re giving blood and tell the doctor to ask you questions so you don’t concentrate on the impending needle?

I began talking about how I’d read on LAist that you can beat any lie detector test by simply clenching your sphincter every time you answer a question. And then that of course led into a story about the weirdest yoga class I ever took, which also involved sphincter clenching, but also “breath of fire” and singing...

We went on stage and I completely dogged it, basically acted like a paranoid android or a wooden robot, even though Fred had nicely given me some whiskey to drink before-hand.

Later on, I introduced The Pity Party and was a lot more relaxed. I brought Lawyer Jed on-stage to jump up and down and make people clap as I read through a list of event sponsors that was as long as my goddamn arm.

An hour or so later on the street, we ran into a blearingly drunk massage therapist named Desiree who told Jed that he had been hilarious on-stage, but proceeded to bag on me for roughly half an hour. We’d been drinking a bit too, so this was pretty funny.

It was one of those semi-uncomfortable moments that you kind of want to go on forever...

She said I looked like Doogie Hauser – a comment I’d also recently heard at my friend Flounder’s wedding from a cheeseball pal of his from Florida named “Blaze” and thought, oh how I’ve fallen so low to be made fun of a guy named “Blaze” – and had skinny chicken legs and was way too young to be wearing a suit. And my shoes. God. Terrible. How could I walk around like that? In public.

She made Jed, who she kept calling Chad, and I switch jackets, which she then said looked even worse. (It did look pretty dumb.) The answer? White t-shirt and jeans.

It didn’t always make a lot of sense, but that didn’t matter. It was like being at a roast, put by someone who didn’t really know you, though was doing their best based on first glance. Here’s some video of it…



On the music side, Bodies of Water were pretty amazing, The Pity Party nailed it, and The Monolators were super fun. (Here’s some video of The Pity Party from Jeff Koga.) There were a lot of people with babies or dogs, and if you didn’t have one of them, you were likely a teenager on a skateboard.



Interesting night. Anyway, now here’s what this week looks like for music.

Monday, October 8
- Fionn Regan, Brandi Shearer, & Charlie Wadhams @ The Troubadour
- Oliver Future & Hearts of Palm UK @ Spaceland (FREE)
- Castledoor, Icebird, & Holly Golightly @ The Echo (FREE)
- Indie 103.1’s Check One.. Two w/ The Oohlas, lovelikefire, & Radars To The Sky @ The Viper Room
- The Booze Hounds, The Ignorant, ALOC, Your Majesty @ The Scene (FREE)
- Morrissey @ The Paladium
- Me First & the Gimme Gimmes w/ Black Fag (Black Flag Tribute) & Teen @ The Knitting Factory
- Justice @ The Henry Fonda
- The London Broil, Abe Lincoln Story, The Digs, & The Foxx @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Right Hand Band & Almighty Opp @ Echocurio
- Erin Armstrong, Cosio, & B.R.A.M. @ Bordello
- Aushua, Oppenheimer, & Tall Hands @ The Silver Lake Lounge (FREE)

DECISION:
I’m all about the free Castledoor residency at The Echo, but if you’re on the east side, you ought to catch Radars to the Sky at The Viper Room.

I hear Morrissey’s shows at The Palladium have been great so far and that he’s been doing a lot of fan service by playing a lot of earlier solo work and Smiths songs. (Going to see him play is good boyfriend duty to me, but that’s great if he’s your thing.)

Tuesday, October 9
- Bat for Lashes @ The Troubadour
- The Soft Hands, E>K>U>K, Teddy’s Cheer Club, & The Secret 6 @ The Scene
- The French Semester, Health Club, Franco Near Death, & Princeton @ Old Town Pub
- Ruins, Jesus Makes The Shotgun Sound,The Deadstock, & Recognizer @ The Smell
- Justice @ The Henry Fonda
- Carina Round & Sierra Swan @ Largo
- Captain 1, 1920A, & Seamonster @ The Echo
- Aiden @ The El Rey
- Datarock @ Amoeba Music (FREE – 7PM)
- Morrissey @ The Paladium
- The Janitor, No Way Jose, Fuckass & The Grease Patrol, Killer Dreamer, & Color Deluxe @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Hello Dragon, The Coral Sea, Light FM, & Sumo @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Justice @ The Henry Fonda

DECISION:
Bat For Lashes is sold-out at The Troubadour, so you might want to catch The Coral Sea and Light FM or The Soft Hands instead.

Wednesday, October 10
- Band of Horses @ Amoeba Music (FREE – 7PM)
- Jose Gonzalez @ The El Rey
- Other People @ The Scene
- Indie 103.1 presents CLUB NME w/ Team Facelift @ Spaceland
- Mt Eerie @ The Troubadour
- The Morning Benders, Rumspringa, At the Strike of 12, & Taylor (from Simon Dawes) @ The Echo
- Filter Magazine presents Revenge of the Sunset Strip w/ Oslo, Controlling the Famous, & DeSole @ The Roxy
- Dub Club @ Echoplex
- The Henry Clay People, The Northern Two, Divisadero, & The Hectors @ Bordello
- Marcelino Medina, Mutant Press, Xipper, The Sea Beasts, & Shatto @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Kiss Or Kill w/ Bang Sugar Bang, The Automatic Music Explosion, Beatmo, & Ginger Britt & The Mighty @ El Cid
- The Willowz, Bedtime For Toys, & Wounded Cougar @ Safari Sam’s
- Versa Vice, Other People, Levator , & The Monthlies @ The Scene
- Summer Darling Record Release, Kissing Cousins, Death House Chaplin, & Coho @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Ana Egge, Rose Rossi, Exitmusic, & Marion Raven @ Tangier
- Dorian Wood, El Haru Kuroi, & The Quartering @ Bordello
- Beirut @ The Avalon

DECISION:
Band of Horses and Beirut are both in town in support of their new albums. I haven’t heard anything off of either of them, but most people could walk away happy if they just heard a single track off their first cds...

Thursday, October 11
- Rock Insider’s Indie Schmindie w/ China Room & Casxio @ The Scene
- Harry Merry, NASA Space Universe, Ima Fucking Gymnist, Witch Lord, & Discreet Doll Band @ The Smell
- The Avengers & Pansy Division @ Spaceland
- Dolay Nite W/ The Prope, The Thingz, Murder Moiselle, Baxter House, See It Through, & Skywreck @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Bang Camaro @ The Troubadour
- The Gray Kid, Sam Sparro, Team Facelift, & Daniel Stesson @ The Echo
- The Crash Holiday, All of Us/None of Us, Sleeping Boy @ The Scene (FREE)
- Morrissey @ The Paladium
- Beirut @ The Avalon
- The Hectors @ The Echoplex
- Anna Egge, Matt The Electrician, The Sheers, & The Active Set @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Bela Fleck & The Flecktones @ The Henry Fonda
- Rogue Wave @ The El Rey

DECISION:
I mean to check out Rock Insider’s Indie Scmindie at The Scene on Thursday... The Hectors are also kicking off the local art crawl at The Echoplex.

Friday, October 12
- Luke Top, Eagle & Talon, & Scout Niblett @ Pehrspace
- Aesop Rock @ The Henry Fonda
- Morrissey @ The Paladium
- Marvelous Toy, The Secret 6, & Tarvolts @ El Cid
- Army Navy & Bloodcat Love @ The Viper Room
- RTX @ The Roxy
- Sleeping Boy, Danno & The Blood Vessels, The Sundowners, The Hub Caps, & Chealse Trash @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Numbers, My Disco, Bipolar Bear, & Anavan @ The Smell
- Club Underground @ The Echo
- Dark Star Orchestra @ The El Rey
- The Ettes @ Spaceland
- Akron Family & The Dodos @ The Troubadour
- Sound of Urchin, The Spores, The Virginia City Revival, Dragged by Horses @ The Scene
- The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Echoplex

DECISION:
Lots of great shows on Friday night… The Dodos at The Troubadour, Eagle & Talon at Pehrspace, Marvelous Toy at El Cid, and The Airborne Toxic Event at The Echoplex.

Saturday, October 13
- East Side Evolution w/ Masterslave, The Health Club, El Haru Karoi, Panic Movement, Manhattan Murder Mystery, & Cossack @ Self-Help Graphics
- Fujiya & Miyagi @ Echoplex
- Polysics @ The Troubadour
- 8-Bit, LAX, Young Promiss, New Legends, & Dre D @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Ninja Academy, We Be The Echo, Paper Pills, & That Noise @ The Smell
- Morrissey @ The Paladium
- Great lake Swimmers & Arthur & Yu @ Spaceland
- Brother Reade & Special Guests @ The Echo
- Dark Star Orchestra @ The El Rey
- Anna Egge, Electones, & The Greasy Bears @ Bordello
- The Lamps, Wounded Lion, Sic Alps, & Eat Skull @ The Scene
- Repeater, Protokoll, & The Valley Arena @ The Prospector (Long Beach)
- Ninja Academy @ The Smell

DECISION:
A lot of bands that normally play The Scene and Mr Ts Bowl – including Health Club, who I hear great things about -- are putting on a benefit show at Self-help Graphics downtown.

Sunday, October 14
- Peelander-Z, Bang Sugar Bang, & Valentino @ The Scene
- Duncan Sheik @ The El Rey
- The Bentleys, Heroes & Heroines, Gringo Star, & The Shannons @ The Knitting Factory
- Sword Heaven, Kevin Shields, Eustachian, Foot Village, & Robedoor @ The Smell
- Br’er, Eric Lindley, & Crib Fire @ Mr T’s Bowl
- The Nixes, Teaneck, & Jim Holmquist and the Long Holidays @ The Eagle Rock Bowling & Drinking Club At All-Star Lanes
- Grand Ole Echo w/ Randy Weeks, David Serby, Vicki Hill, & Dime Box Band @ The Echo (5PM) - Part Time Punks @ The Echo (10PM)
- Magic Markers & Cryptacize @ Spaceland
- Josh Ottum, Ana Egge, & Todd McLaughlin @ Bordello
- Black Francis & Eastern Conference Champions @ Safari Sam's
- Sara Lov, Dengue Fever, Meiko, Jessica Fichot, Culver City Dub Collective, & more @ The Pasadena Art Weekend Festival

DECISION:
I missed hearing Jessica Fichot play at The Eagle Rock Music Festival and she’s at The Pasadena Art Weekend Festival this Sunday, if you don’t mind braving Pasadena. And The Bentleys are playing that night too, if you don’t mind braving The Knitting Factory.

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