Your New Year's Eve Plans

If you're still undecided about where you're ending up Wednesday night, here are fliers for a few of the more interesting events going on... (If you're going to Spaceland, better arrive early to get in.)





(Got more? Send them here and I'll try to add them.)

The Monday Show Low Down ( Or "Thirty Degrees in LA Seems Colder than -30 in Chicago ...")

Geesh, I swear there's a tear in my beer for 2008... It was an extremely difficult year for a lot of people, myself included. But looking back it's nice to think of all the great times I've had seeing the rich group of local musicians play here.

Getting to frequent catch talented bands like Amnion, The Happy Hollows, The Movies, The Savages, Earlimart, The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra, One Trick Pony, Death To Anders, and Everest in my neighborhood really helps make Los Angeles more than just a collection of dissimilar suburbs to me... It makes it a home.

Monday, December 29
- The Movies, Everest, Love Lies Sleeping, & Roses Kings Castles (Adam Ficek of Babyshambles) @ Spaceland (FREE)
- Sean Carnage Presents Guns ‘n Broses, Soloing Over Alanis Morrissette, Dommm, Italic Indian (formerly Holy Water), & White Leopards @ Pehrspace
- Manimal Vinyl res. w/ Rio en Medio, Lickets, Amanda Jo Williams, Black Hole Oscillators @ Echo (FREE)
- Jake Labotz @ Redwood Bar & Grill
- The Color Turning, Francisco The Man, Yellow Red Sparks, & Secret 6 @ The Silver Lake Lounge (FREE)

DECISION:
Tonight's your last chance to see local legends The Movies play at their residency at Spaceland ... and indie rock all-stars Everest (fresh from a tour with Neil Young and Wilco) are joining them.

Find out why both bands have shown up frequently in many local music writers' Best of Albums/Shows lists. For FREE.

Tuesday, December 30
- Finally Punk, Bobb Bruno, & P R O T E C T M E @ The Smell
- Check One Twosday w/ Dawes, Richie James Follin (from The Willowz), & Roses Kings Castles (Adam from Babyshambles) @ The Echoplex (Free before 10:30)
- The Evangenitals, The Beeters, Box Violet, & Hello from Reno @ Mr. T’s Bowl
- Godric & Adam Pasion @ The Silver Lake Lounge

DECISION:
I've got nothing for Tuesday night, but Duke from You Set The Scene says it's worth checking out Bobb Bruno.

Wednesday, December 31
- The Hentry Clay People, The Happy Hollows, & The Pity Party @ Spaceland
- Nico Vega @ The Vogue Theatre
- MARATHON NEW YEAR w/ Smiling Face Down + Cinderella Motel @ 3 of Clubs
- Low End Theory: Themselves, Free Moral Agents, Blank Blue, Samiyam, Ras G, & Thavius Beck @ The Airliner
- Dub Club New Years with Ranking Joe @ Echoplex
- Giant Maximus w/ Moby DJ set, Benny Benassi, Dirty South, Paul Oakenfold, Mark Farina, Marques Wyatt, Mickey Avalon, & Dirt Nasty @ 8th and Figueroa
- Stone Temple Pilots @ Club Nokia
- Snoop Dogg @ House of Blues Sunset
- LA Riots, Mattie Safer, Congorock, Dances with White Girls, & Them Jeans
- Not Not Fun Records & Crops and Rawbers @ Echo Curio (FREE)
- Gears, Paging Beto, Controllers, Beat Killers, & Shoot It Up @ Mr. T’s Bowl
- Halloween Swim Team @ 1515 S. Vermont Ave
- The Wailers @ The Roxy

DECISION:
My dad always says to watch out on NYE because it's when "all the amateur drunks are out" and I agree, though probably don't want to be counted as a professional drinker.

So find a cab or hoof it out to Spaceland on Wednesday night for a show that will definitely feel more like a party, what with The Henry Clay People, The Happy Hollows, and The Pity Party all weighing in. Good times...

Thursday, January 1
- Shooter Jennings, Earl Greyhound, & Ghost Gamblers @ El Cid (FREE)

DECISION:
Hanging out at El Cid, nursing a drink/hangover, and listening to honky tonk sounds great...

Friday, January 2
- Shiloe & You, Me, and Iowa @ Redwood Bar (FREE)
- Seasons, The Monolators, The Mormons, Spider Problem, & Megalosaurus @ American Legion Hall in Highland Park
- George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic w/ The Greyboy Allstars @ Club Nokia
- blackblack, C-Drip, Koalacaust, Apple Orange, & Insects Vs. Robots @ The Smell
- The Slackers, The Impalers , Sean Wheeler & Zander Schloss @ The El Rey

DECISION:
There are some folks what are starting to put on shows out the American Legion Hall in Highland Park and have a line-up well worth checking out supporting...

Saturday, January 3
- The Tender Box, Shiloe, The Wallburds, & Atlantic Line @ The Scene
- Babyland, Big Boy, The Kris Special, Walk @ Spaceland

DECISION:
I caught Walk at Mr T's Bowl a few months back and they kind of blew me away. The music they have up on their myspace page doesn't do their live performance -- kind of an amiable relation of both Radiohead and Weezer -- justice. Definitely worth catching.

Sunday, January 4
- Pizza! & The Growlers @ Cinespace

- Part Time Punks: The Bridez @ The Echo
- Wounded Lion, Bodies Of Water, Jubilee Singers, & Tommy Santee Klaws @ The Smell
- Deadbeats, Tense, & Secret Society of the Sonic Six @ Echo Curio
- Nanna Larsen @ Redwood Bar

DECISION:
Man, I remember when there were so many good local and out-of-town acts playing at Cinespace that it was frequently worth dealing with all the hipster prom kids. Maybe those days are coming back, if they're getting Pizza! to play there.

That's it. Please let me know if I missed anything...

Radio Free Silver Lake 2009 Mix

It's a lot like what happened this time in 2007... Your general conduct has been judged to be, I dunno, radically acceptable this last year, so nearly two dozen fantastic local bands have donated a song each as a great big collective present to you.

Here's what your first rad new music mix of the new year contains:

1) Signal Hill – Llangolen (rough mix) - off their next album
2) The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra – Needle in the Camel’s Eye - (Brian Eno cover) unreleased
3) The Rhone Occupation – Told You So - off their next album
4) Manhattan Murder Mystery – Tired of Being a Man - demo
5) Automatic Drawing – The Captain and The Sea - off their recent EP
6) The French Semester – Backwards Rolling - off their next album
7) The Temporary Thing – Heartless Lover - off their next album
8) The Sweet Hurt – Where Would You Go? - off their last EP
9) Nightfur - Things Will Be Alright - off their next album
10) Death to Anders – Ann Marie (Demo) - off their next album
11) Shiloe - The Death of Madame Mustache ver 2 - alt take of song off their latest release
12) The Parson Redheads – You Can Leave It - off their next album
13) The Western States Motel – Stampede vs. Morricone’s Ghost (Tandemoro remix)
14) Light FM – Try 2 to Keep You Happy - off their upcoming album
15) Fol Chen – Cable TV - off their recent album
16) Afternoons - The Intervention of Daniel Fields - (live)
17) The Spires – David Wild - off their next album
18) Amateurs – Karma King - off their next album
19) Divisadero – The Fight - off their last EP
20) Dirt Bird - Easy - off their upcoming album

I really recommend downloading all these tracks, putting them in a play list in the order above, and burning a cd (or zapping it into your space phone or something).

Many thanks again to all the bands who took part in this... Please do right by them in 09 by purchasing music directly from them via their sites or at shows. They really deserve your support.

UPDATE (12/30/07): Fixed The Western States Motel track, cut The Hearts of Palm UK cover (by band request), and added songs by Shiloe and The Parson Redheads.

[Photo by Jeff Koga.]

New Xmas Songs From Great Local Acts

I'm not really a Xtian so feel kinda funny saying merry christmas, but, happy holidays! I hope you're enjoying them with people you heart and stuff. Here are five xmas songs from some bands you probably like a hell of a lot, if you live around here.

1) Amnion – Little Drummer Brother
2) Pizza! – Christmas is air (all around us)
3) Thailand – Queen of the North
4) Death to Anders – Our manager says that writing a Christmas song is a good business decision (because the bloggers will eat that shit up)
5) Princeton – Where’s My Christmas Morning?

Come back Friday for a mix of more than twenty free (non-xmas-themed) tracks... A great big gift from some excellent local groups, like The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra, The Parson Redheads, Fol Chen, and more.

Some of Our Favorite Local Bands’ Favorite Albums & Shows of 2008 - Part 2

If you didn't see the first part of this article -- what where, as the headline might suggest, some of our favorite local bands listed their favorite albums and shows for 2009 -- then click here. If not, it's time to read all of the entries from the lovable stragglers that sent theirs in over teh weekend.

Samuel Bing – Fol Chen

The last show I will see in 2008: Underground Railroad to Candyland @ Echo Curio, 12/19/2008.

What's dead? Is punk dead? Duh! What else is dead? Capitalism? Looks that way! So who won? Looks like a draw!

Anyway, I left the FC/HLP compound to see UR2C at the urging of The Mouse. I got there and almost immediately started laughing. Not because anything was funny. (Well, the singer's glasses were pretty funny.) These guys made me laugh because they seriously do not give a shit that sounding like The Damned in 2008 is not exactly an envelope-pushing proposition. Nor do they seem to notice/care that all of their songs are shout-alongs based on the blues-derived I-IV-V progression, which is the sonic equivalent of wearing khakis and a chambray shirt. (I have to revise that last statement: All of their songs were I-IV-V shout-alongs except for the cover of a late-Roger Waters-era non-album Pink Floyd obscurity called "When The Tigers Broke Free," which is about how Roger's pa got snuffed in WWII. [And a cover of "Bastards of Young" by the Replacements.] If ever there were a song less appropriate for a sloppy live rendering by a band with a full-time bongo player, I think "When The Tigers Broke Free" is it. It's a first-person narrative about the bitterness Roger Waters feels when he finds the form letter "kind old King George" wrote to his mum on the occasion of his dad's death in battle defending the Anzio bridgehead. Fun stuff!)

Anyway, they were either the best live band I saw this year, or the last live band I saw this year, and I'm pretty sure it was both. I'm going to see them every chance I get and you should, too – and soon. Because if the history of rock music tells us anything, it's that this kind of magic just doesn't last. Is that good or bad? Who knows!

Also, Dirty Projectors at the Echo this summer were ridiculous. They are inventing a new language and if you don't learn it (or start your own) you're gonna be left out of the conversation.

Princeton

Matt

The Walkmen 'You and Me'
Beach House 'Devotion'
No Age 'Nouns'
Wolf Parade 'At Mount Zoomer'
M83 'Saturdays=Youth'
Times New Viking 'Rip It Off'
Silver Jews 'Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea'
Marnie Stern 'This is it & I am it ...'
Bodies of Water 'A Certain Feeling'
Cause Co-motion 'It's Time'

Jesse

Ruby Suns- Sea Lion
Air France- No Way Down
Bodies of Water- A Certain Feeling
Hercules and Love Affair
Karl Blau- Nature's Got Away
No Kids- Come Into My House
Beach House- Devotion
Aidan Smith- Allotments
Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes
El Guincho- Alegranza

Ben

The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
Beck - Modern Guilt
Hot Chip - Made in the Dark
Bodies of Water - A Certain Feeling
Sigur Ros: með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Magnetic Fields - Distortion
Wolf Parade - A Mount Zoomer
Ruby Suns - Sea Lion
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Randolph – One Trick Pony

albums:
third- portishead
soft airplane- chad van gaalen
oracular spectacular- mgmt
Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust - sigur ros

shows:
happy hollows, die die die, the monotonix, and YO! MAJESTY!!!!!!! @ blender theater NYC
the mae shi @ spaceland
dorian wood @ pehrspace
die rockers die @ anywhere they play
jeffrey lewis @ spaceland

Ken & Melissa - Shiloe

Favorite Albums of the Year:
We loved the Raconteurs album, Consolers of the Lonely. (In my opinion, Jack White is probably the best songwriter working in rock and roll right now.) In Rainbows by Radiohead was another great album, even though it technically came out right at the end of 2007. Tons of local bands put out excellent new material this year too: The Monolators, Summer Darling, Wait Think Fast...oh, and Melissa was very excited about the "new"/old EP from the Spells (Carrie Brownstein from Sleater-Kinney + Mary Timony), titled Bat vs. Bird, that Carrie posted on her blog recently. It was a good year for EPs!

Favorite Shows:
For the most part, we're too poor to afford to see big touring bands anymore, so the only non-local show we went to this year was Black Francis at Spaceland, which was excellent. Other favorite shows: Kissing Cousins and the Karabal Nightlife at the Bordello back in February (a show so good that Melissa joined KC and Ken is recording the new Karabal record!)...Family Tree Analog at Mr. T's Bowl in October (a revelation)...Io Echo's pre-Halloween show at Spaceland (they dressed up as Republicans! AAAAHHH!)...the Monolators' album release show w/ Summer Darling (gong!! bass attack!!) and the penultimate night of the Monolators' Pehrspace residency in November...Wait Think Fast's CD release show at the Echo...the Henry Clay People CD release at Spaceland...and getting to play with Black Kites, the Human Value and War Tapes at Spaceland in November.

Pauline Lay – Divisadero

I'll admit I haven't been as active with buying records and seeking new music as I used to be, but these are the albums that have managed to break me away from Harry Smith's Folk Anthology and NPR:

Foot Foot - Trumpet
The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra - Escapements EP
Fol Chen - Make the Orange Sound...or whatever the cdr Adam handed me at the All-Star Lanes is called
Dirt Dress - Theme Songs
The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me
Deerhunter - Microcastle
Atlas Sound - Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
The Finches (everything)

and, lately
Love is All - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night (they make me think of the Raincoats which is always a good thing).

My most memorable shows are mostly ones where I'm at the soundboard, but that's kinda nice, right? It's pretty great to see bands in, what I reluctantly call, my second living room.

Foot Foot (record release) and Palms (formerly the Finches) @ pehrspace
Correatown (record release), The Sweet Hurt, Daniel Ahearn, Jack Wilson, Jr and Cobra Lilies @ pehrspace
Amnion, Castledoor, Avi Buffalo, Phoenix the Turtle @ pehrspace
Abe Vigoda, Crystal Antlers, The Muslims, AM, No Paws No Lions @ pehrspace
Red Maids' first show @ pehrspace
Eagle Rock Bowling & Drinking Prom with Fol Chen and Castledoor
One Trick Pony, everywhere
No Little Kindness, everywhere
Monotonix and Anavan @ the smell
Dirt Dress (everywhere), The Happy Hollows, Widow Babies, The Primos, AM, Traps, ps @ Guerillafest
Christmas with Bessie (Smith) @ Edgar Varela Fine Arts, a fine night of Bessie Smith covers

and, the incredible sounding Kingsize Soundlabs/Ship Studio/Eagle Rock Bowling & Drinking stages @ The Eagle Rock Music Festival. I couldn't believe how great all the bands sounded outdoors! Listing Ship and Light FM earn extra points for that night.

Jesse & Lindsay - The Karabal Nightlife

Albums:
The Shivers, Beaks to the Moon
Beck, Modern Guilt
Okkervil River, The Stand Ins
Everest, Ghost Notes
Obi Best, Capades
Vampire Weekend, self-titled debut

Shows:
Okkervil River & Sea Wolf at the Henry Fonda
BRMC & Black Angels at the Clean Air Clean Stars Festival in Pioneer Town
Destroyer at the Troubadour
And (funnily enough) The Shivers at Scotland Yard pub in Canoga Park =)

Jordan Huddock – Marvelous Toy

FAVORITE 2008 ALBUMS:
The Walkmen – You and Me
Fleet Foxes – s/t
Blitzen Trapper – Furr
AC Newman - Get Guilty (not sure if this one's out yet but i heard it and loved it)

FAVORITE 2008 SHOWS:
Blitzen Trapper @ Echo
The Walkmen @ Troubadour
Red Cortez (as the Weather Underground) @ Safari Sam’s (AIDS Benefit Show)
Ed Harcourt @ Echoplex
The Deadly Syndrome @ the Hammer
Fol Chen @ Let’s Independent!
Afternoons @ Check One Twosday
Bishop Allen @ Echo

Jason Brown - Nightfur

I like the 08' releases by Winter Flowers and Xu Xu Fang.

The Monday Show Low Down (Or "Melville Considered Action the Enemy of Tension...")

Not surprisingly, there aren't too many shows going on this week, what with some kind of holiday going on. Check out the column to the right for the full list, but the highlights are the free residency tonight with The Movies and the -- unfortunately separate, though thematically appropriate -- shows on Saturday with Princeton and Manhattan Murder Mystery.

We'll have another collection of year-end favorites from great local bands tomorrow and then an article containing free mp3s (either songs from 2008 or demos of upcoming albums) from many of those same acts later in the week.

It should be a pretty amazing mix based on what's come in so far, so be sure to check back in...

Some of Our Favorite Local Bands’ Favorite Albums & Shows of 2008

Sure, I could tell you about my favorite albums and shows of 2009, but wouldn't you rather hear what people who actually play music think?

So, I asked a few dozen great local artists what they liked the most over the course of the last twelve months and here's what they had to say:

Sarah Negahdari – The Happy Hollows

Favorite albums (in no particular order) of the year are:

Death To Anders- Ficticious Business
The Movies- Based 0n a True Story
MGMT- Oracular Spectacular
Pity Party - Orgy Porgy
No Age- Weirdo Rippers
The Transmissions- Greater Imperfections
Henry Clay People- For Cheap or for Free
The Soft Hands- Hours Pass By
The Mae Shi- HLLLYH

Favorite Shows- There were SOOOOO many amazing shows we got to see this year!!! In no particular order my faves were:

1. The Primos, Widow Babies, Dirt Dress, Traps ps and AM performing as Guerilla Fest all over LA. My favorite show I have Ever seen (and was lucky enough to be a part of) in my whole life.
2. The Movies were amazing, the best, at their Spaceland residency.
3. One Trick Pony was unbelievably good, so classic, at the Sidewalk Cafe in NY.
4. Johnny Foreigner stole my heart and blew my mind at SXSW
5. Monotonix were really, really, entertaining at the Blender Theatre at CMJ
6. Death to Anders gave a perfect, oh so perfect, rocking me to my soul, show on the last night of their Echo residency.
7. The Pity Party melted my face off and blew the audience to shreds at their Beauty Bar showcase at SXSW.
8. Deerhoof at the Great American Music Hall. I got to stand right next to Greg Saunier, and feel his rhythms crashing through me as he went ballistic on the drums. I also stood in awe, and took serious mental notes, from my favorite guitarist, John Dieterich. I almost died that night because I went to Heaven...
9. The Mae Shi- they are always too goood

Claire Mc Keown – Dirt Bird & Afternoons

My two favorite albums of 08' would have to be Amnion's 'AmenNamo'. -This album is ridiculously good. I must have listened to aTon about two hundred times. And, The Movies 'Based on a true story''. Such a great album that is right up there with their first album, that I adore and worship, 'in one era'.

My favorite shows come in two's as well. The first was Amnion playing in the restaurant at Tangier on a baby grand. Dirt Bird and Tenlons Fort (he was amazing!) played as well. Aaron Embry turned it into this joyous place filled with hope. It felt as if nothing could ever go wrong because there was no wrong. Everyone was dancing or singing along, or just pounding their fists on the dinner tables. Pure Magic.

The next was Jon Brion's last performance at the old location of Largo. He ended his masterful set with the kinks 'Waterloo sunset'. But after that the owner of Largo, Flanigan, did a gorgeous cover of Bjorks 'All is full of Love'... There wasn't a dry eye in the place. If you haven't seen Jon Brion then do. It's a pilgrimage for all musicians of Los Angeles. The man is motherfucking talented.

Diana Salier – Automatic Drawing

I never follow new releases as closely as I should, but these few definitely stood out to me...

Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell
The Submarines - Honeysuckle Weeks
Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead

I also don't go to enough shows (haha) and can't remember anything I went to when I lived in NY earlier this year, but these stand out in recent memory:

The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra w/ Princeton - The Echo
Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band - Henry Fonda
The Parson Redheads w/ HT Heartache - Spaceland

Mike Corwin – Red Maids

Favorite Album: Liz Pappademas - 11 Songs
Favorite Show: El Haru-Kuroi and Killsonic at Self-Help Graphics Benefit

Matthew Teardrop – Manhattan Murder Mystery

Favorites?
I got a lot of mileage out of the new Death to Anders, Monolators, and French Semester cds.

Most of my favorite shows this year involved The Health Club, Seasons, Guppies and Die Rockers Die.

Also there's this homeless dude who hangs around on Sunset and Hyperion and if you give him money he'll make up a song for you on the spot. I gave him five bucks one night and he sang me a song about my bike and that was one of my favorite shows of the year.

Wendy Wang – The Sweet Hurt

Benji Hughes - "A Love Extreme"
Bon Iver - "For Emma, Forever Gone"
Priscilla Ahn - "A Good Day"
Obi Best - "Capades"
A.A. Bondy - "American Hearts"
Al Green - "Lay It Down"
Deerhunter "Microcastle"
HoneyHoney "First Rodeo"

E.P.'s
Castledoor "'Til We Sink"
Parson Red Heads "Owl And Timber"

Shows
Jogger at The Smell 11/20/08
Henry Clay People record release w/Parson Red Heads, Le Switch 10/3/08
My Bloody Valentine 10/1/08
Dr. Dog at SXSW 03/08
Liz Pappademas and friends (Killsonic) at Tangier 8/14/08

Nick Ceglio – Death to Anders

Blitzen Trapper -- Furr
The Mae Shi -- HLLLYH
Thailand -- The Remote Controller Absorbs the Place
The Happy Hollows -- Imaginary
The Transmissions -- Greater Imperfections
Mad Gregs -- Big Nun
O'Death -- Broken Hymns, Limbs and skin

Keith Waggoner - Amateurs

I really got into that Bon Iver record earlier this year. Also played the shit out of Dennis Wilson’s Pacific Ocean Blue/Bambu reissue. Would have to say my favorite though, came from some local kids. The Henry Clay’s For Cheap or For Free is one of the most refreshing things I’ve heard in ages. And their record release show was undoubtedly my favorite this year. It totally made me love rock n’ roll again. I didn’t even really know any of their songs at the time (I’d seen these guys once a while back), but I remember standing on the side of the stage at Spaceland grinning and bobbing my head, totally dumbfounded by how good they were.

Hunter Curra – The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra

I am a local whore... new albums by Divisadero, Henry Clay, Obi Best, Jenny Lewis, Western States Motel, Airborne, Le Switch, and the Movies, dominated my CD player. I also got stuck on Vampire Weekend's infectious release. I really enjoyed watching the Damselles & the TC4 play various times this year. They have 'IT' factor.

Andrew – The Temporary Thing

I can tell you my favorite album *from the dollar bin at Amoeba* this year: "Jackie Gleason Presents: Music, Martinis, and Memories"

Geoffrey Geis – Pizza!

These aren't in any real order, but our favorite shows were as follows:

Locals: Abe Vigoda at Eagle Rock Music Fest, The Mae Shi at Echo Curio in August, Fol Chen's Radio Free Silverlake appearance, The Monolators at Pehrspace in September, Manhattan Murder Mystery at Mr. T's in November, Big Whup at 122 Glendale in February, Zombelle with band at Pehrspace in November, and John Thill at Ports o' Call Bedroom sometime over the summer.

Non-locals: David Byrne at the Greek, REM at the Hollywood Bowl, Jeans Team at Spaceland, Elvis Costello at the El Rey, Pigeons or Panthers at some house party out in the Inland Empire.

Favorite albums:
We liked "Don't Dance" by the Monolators, "Skeleton" by Abe Vigoda and "HLLYH" by the Mae Shi. Also awesome were David Byrne/Brian Eno's "Everything That Happens," Kanye's "808s and Heartbreak" and of course "Tha Carter 3." Oh, and "Vampire Weekend."

Rob Danson – Death to Anders

Favorite Albums: Divisidero - Lefty. Blitzen Trapper - Furr. Henry Clay People - For Cheap or For Free. Happy Hollows - Imaginary EP

Favorite Shows - Fol Chen @ Lets Independent. Radars to the Sky @ Spaceland (Spaceland recording release show). Mae Shi @ Echo Curio. Manhattan Murder Mystery @ Echo Curio, The Monolators @ PehrSpcace (Final Residency Night)

Riaz - The French Semester

Favorite albums of 2008 in no particular order: Dr. Dog - Fate, Spiritualized - Songs in A&E, the Mumlers - Thickets and Stitches, Seun Kuti - Many Things, Divisadero – Lefty, Indienella - Self titled

Favorite Show: Eagle Rock Festival w/ Radar Bros. especially blowing the old mind.

Evan Way – The Parson Redheads

Gosh - here are a few fav albums of the year. Always hard to boil it down.

1 - Everest - Ghost Notes
2 - Blitzen Trapper - Furr
3 - Henry Clay People - For Cheap or for Free
4 - Fleet Foxes - S/T
5 - The Sweet Hurt - In The Shade Of Dreams

We got to see a lot of our favorite show, over and over again, when we toured with Blitzen Trapper. And, in fact, we got to see some more favorite shows on our other tours ... man, what a fun year:

1) Blitzen Trapper @ The Independent (San Francisco, CA)
2) Everest @ The Artistery (Portland, OR)
3) Earlimart @ The Casbah (San Diego, CA)
4) The Spires @ Spaceland
5) Jeremy Enigk / Damien Jurado @ Spaceland
6) Fleet Foxes @ El Rey

Josiah Mazzaschi – Light FM

Favorite Albums:
Tiger's Can Bite You - Steve Ward Hears Voices
Earlimart - Hymn and Her
Human Value - Push and Pull
Tv on the Radio - Dear Science
Pinback -Autumn of the Seraphs
The Spinto Band - Moonwink
Radiohead -In Rainbows
Rademacher- Era EP
Jesus and Mary Chain - The Power of Negative Thinking
Favorite Shows:
Shout out Louds, Love and Rockets, and Swervedriver at Coachella
M83 at the Fonda
Earlimart at Echoplex
Built to Spill at Troubadour
Exitmusic at Boardners
Divisadero, Parsons Redheads, The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra, etc at Eagle Rock Music Festival

Jonathan Leahy – The Broken Remotes

Favorite albums of 2008
A Love Extreme / Benji Hughes
M83 / Saturdays = Youth (duh!)
Ida Maria / Fortress Around My Heart (not sure this is released yet, have advance copy)
Radiohead / In Rainbows
Mates of State / Re-Arrange Us

Favorite shows of 2008:
Henry Clay People at Spaceland
Le Switch at The Echo
Throw Me The Statue at the Silverlake Lounge
International Noise Conspiracy at Eagle Rock Center for the Arts
The Hold Steady at the Wiltern

Jacob Summers – The Rhone Occupation

Records: Chris Walla: "Field Manual", The Perishers: "Victorious", Liam Finn: "I'll be lightning"

Shows: the kooks at the echo, Radiohead at the Hollywood Bowl, shys opening for albert hammond at spaceland, Dr. Dog @ the el rey. Death Cab at Nokia. Sharon jones and dap kings, feist at Hollywood Bowl.

Erica Elektra – Hearts of Palm UK

Favorite Albums:
Crystal Castles - S/T
Albert Hammond, Jr. - Como Te Llama
Human Highway - Moody Motorcycle
Midnight Juggernauts - Dystopica
Portishead - Third
M83 - Saturdays = Youth

Karma – Super Karma

These were my favorite albums, in order of importance.

Fleet Floxes
Vampire Weekend
Of Montreal
Beach House
Dept. of Eagles
m83

The best show I saw this year was Fleet Foxes, and The Decemberists at the Wiltern.

Jason Bays - The Spires

Haven't been buying a lot of new records this year but the few I did buy and loved are:

1. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks / Real Emotional Trash - Heavy medieval riffage meets oblique lyrics and hooks. Watch your speedometer will listening.

2. Times New Viking / Rip It Off - Great pop record buried beneath a mountain of treble and hiss. Much like early Guided By Voices records. The noise adds mystery and a little danger to whole thing once you acclimate.

Some older records I have been revisiting or discovering:

1. Finally got into The Lilys - Amazing songs and guitars. Kinda Kinks, kinda Pavement, condescending in a good way.

2. WIRE - All Records. Chairs Missing and the song Three Girl Rhumba in particular.

3. Alice Coltrane - Early Impulse Records stuff is wonderful and meditative.

4. Vince Guaraldi - A Charlie Brown Christmas. I love that record. I never get tired of it. Did you know that he died of a sudden of a heart attack at age 47 relaxing between sets at Butterfield's nightclub?

Many thanks to everyone for participating in this and some of the articles we have due for next week...

Video Free Silver Lake: Billygoat, The Deadly Syndrome, & Manhattan Murder Mystery

Tomorrow kicks off a string of year-end articles on the site, which cover a host of great local band's favorite albums and shows of the years, what they're doing next, and which acts they think you should look out for in 2009. But today? Videos!

The Tuesday Show Low Down (Or "I Can't Come Home, Grace, I'm An Adult. ...")

You know that you've become a "dog person" when you remember your puppy's birthday (Keegan now equals one), but the dates for you girlfriend's and father's escape you beyond, well, the month.

Damn. Can't believe I missed The Movies and The Savages at Spaceland last night -- but like Lou Reed said, "Some people like to go out dancin'. Other people? We gots to work! (Watch me now.)"

Here's what the rest of this week is looking like, show-wise:

Tuesday, December 16
- Karin Tatoyan, War Tapes, Seasons, Exitmusic @ Spaceland
- Check One Twosday @ Echoplex (FREE until 10:30)
- Native Fauna, Gods Gang. Spirit Vine, Vum @ Echo
- Resident Hero @ The Troubadour
- Mercury Rev with Imaad Wasif @ The El Rey
- Gary Jules @ The Hotel Café
- Mike Stinson & Dave Gleason @ The Redwood Bar
- A Pablove Supreme Benefit: Eulogies, The One AM Radio, & Sara Lov @ Space 15 Twenty (FREE)
- The Sword & Year Long Disaster @ The Viper Room
- Automatique, The Holy Angelfire, & TheRandies @ Mr T’s Bowl
- These Arms are Snakes @ The Knitting Factory
- Cheap Trick @ The House of Blues
- The Atma, Black Apples, Easy Marks, & Kingsize @ The Silver Lake Lounge

DECISION:
Tonight's line-up at Spaceland -- Karin Tatoyan, War Tapes, Seasons, and Exitmusic -- is pretty varied and interesting.

Wednesday, December 17
- HORSE THIEVES + OLIVER HALL GROUP + AMANDA JO WILLIAMS + BIG EAGLE @ Echo Curio
- Indie 103 presents CLUB NME with Them Terribles @ Spaceland
- Mezklah & Fitter @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Metallica & The Sword @ The Forum
- Low End Theory: Flying Lotus & The Long Lost @ The Airliner
- Jail Weddings, The Growlers, Some Days @ The Echo
- Ralphene, Service Group, Visa Versa, & Clevis @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Dub Club @ Echoplex
- The Virgins @ The Troubadour
- Marathon Live’s 2nd annual Musical Christmas extravaganza featuring everybody you know @ 3 of Clubs

DECISION:
I caught Amanda Jo Williams a week or so ago opening up for Eagle Winged Palace and, while freak country probably isn't for everyone, I thought it was at times pretty amazing.

Thursday, December 18
- Juliette Commagere, Obi Best, & wait.think.fast @ The Troubadour
- NOBUNNY + THEE MAKEOUT PARTY + ROUGH KIDS @ Echo Curio
- Victim Vision, Ure, & Guppies @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Respect with T-Power, Noface, Clutch, MC Ridda, MC XYZ @ Echoplex
- Emily Wells @ The Hotel Café
- Spaceland on Ice w/ Dogweed & Bollweevil @ Pershing Square (FREE)
- Decay Fest II Night 1: Kalish, The Porpoise Code, Khalija, & Sweat Shop Boys @ Pehrspace
- Metallica & The Sword @ The Forum
- Crinoline, Better Talk Now, The Mekalekahis, & Kamikaze @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Hyperion Tavern Old-Time Jam @ The Hyperion Tavern
- The Mormons, Bastidas, The Health Club, & Family Tree Analog @ The Smell
- Amazing Baby, Warpaint, & Light @ Bordello

DECISION:
I haven't caught former (?) Hello Stranger lead Juliette Commagere on her own yet, but pop acts Obi Best and wait.think.fast are good live.

Friday, December 19
- FIEND FOLIO II with MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY + SPIDER PROBLEMS + UNDERGROUND RAILROAD TO CANDYLAND + BAXTER HOUSE @ Echo Curio
- Alas Alak Alaska, Fancie, VOICEsVOICEs, Voice On Tape, & American Gil And the Major Dudes @ The Smell
- Invisible Children Benefit @ The Troubadour
- LA Record presents: YaHoWha13, The Moon Upstairs @ Spaceland
- Jon Brion @ Largo
- The Duke Spirit & The Cheat @ The Roxy
- Pins and needles, citizen savant, secret society of the sonic six @ The Scene
- Decay Fest II Night 2: Dog of Tears Orchestra, dEaThSaUcE, KnobGoblin, Defrag, & Matthew Setzer & Ulrich Krieger @ Pehrspace
- Megasapien, Cindercone, Potato Bug, Skywreck, & Former Human Beings @ Mr T’s Bowl
- People Under the Stairs "10th Anniversary Show" w/ Ugly Duckling, Cut Chemist, DJ Mark Luv @ The El Rey
- Ragsy LP Release Party @ The Hotel Café
- Darker My Love, The Muslims, Lumerians @ Echoplex
- Thee Makeout Party, A.M., Christmas Island, & Wet Cassette @ The Smell
- Club Underground @ The Echo

DECISION:
Classical Geek Theatre is putting on another Fiend Folio night at Echo Curio, this time with Manhattan Murder Mystery, The Spider Problem, and more. Should be loud and packed and fun and BYOB fabulous.

Saturday, December 20
- The Great Deceivers (tribute to King Crimson), Ninja Academy, Polar Goldie Cats @ Spaceland
- THE GIFT MACHINE + SOUL JUNK + THE RHONE OCCUPATION + MARSHWEED @ Echo Curio
- X, The New York Dolls, & Cracker @ Club Nokia
- Davin Givhan, Learning Music, The Hurt, & Eugene @ Pehrspace
- The Tulsa Skull Swingers, Sierra Swan, The Heartstring Symphony, Criminal Belly, Itti Confetti, & more @ @ Mr T’s Bowl
- English Beat @ The Key Club
- Whispertown 2000 Holiday Extravaganza @ Relax Bar
- JEWLTIDE @ The Troubadour
- Will Sheff of Okkervil River, The Tallest Man on Earth, & Bird of Youth @ Hollywood Forever Masonic Lodge
- Hepcat w/ The Expanders @ The El Rey
- Greg Proops Holiday Bash @ Largo
- Funky Sole @ The Echo

DECISION:
"Learning Music began as a collaborative album-a-month project. Started in November 2006 by John Wood (keyboardist for Inara George, Sebastien Tellier, Mike Andrews, Willoughby, Kelly Osbourne, Obi Best, etc.), the series included an album recorded entirely on handheld cassette recorder, a collection of music videos, an autobiographical musical written by a robot, and dozens of homemade electro-acoustic folk-pop anthems.

"Twelve months and twelve albums later, Wood decided it was time to get out of the house. Inspired by the early works of Terry Riley, the Talking Heads, and Storm & Stress, Learning Music became a live band, which has included as little as four to as many as twenty musicians at one time."

Sunday, December 21
- Buddyhead Christmas Party: The Duke Spirit, Dead Meadow, Entrance Band, Josh Homme, Jeordie “Twiggy” White, Xu Xu Fang, Wires on Fire, & Dios Malos @ The Hotel Café
- Snow in LA: Daedelus, Busdriver, The Mae Shi, Rumspringa, Entrance Band, Fools Gold, Haim @ Echoplex
- An Evening of Sorrow w/ Emily Kokal from Warpaint & Thousand Dozen Gloves @ Bordello
- Tyler Hilton @ The Troubadour
- The Terrapin, Summer Darling, Vaudeville, Correatown @ Spaceland
- Part Time Punks @ Echo
- Xmas Benefit show for the Downtown Women's Center w/ Ladies and Gents, Box Violet, All or Nothing HC, The Outskirts, We Float, and more @ The Smell

DECISION:
I never thought I'd see Xu Xu Fang, Dios Malos, Dead Meadow, and Wires on Fire play at The Hotel Cafe, let alone together. Points for loudest xmas event at unlikeliest place.

That's it. Please lemme know if I missed anything.

TONIGHT: The Movies, The Savages, & More

Just a reminder that two of my favorite live acts in LA -- local legends The Movies and forever R0XX0Rs The Savages -- are playing Spaceland tonight for FREE.







Full show update tomorrow...

You Be The DJ at Spaceland on Friday

As mentioned before, Radars to the Sky are celebrating an album release plus raising money for The Blue Diamond Foundation on Friday at Spaceland with The Hectors, The Archways, and Wildbirds and Peacedrums.

I'll also be djing a set comprised completely of your requests... The only catch is that the bands have to be active local acts. So, whether it's The Silversun Pickups or Manhattan Murder Mystery, The Airborne Toxic Event or Eagle Winged Palace, Earlimart or The Savages, let me know.

Just message me here what you want to hear. (Even your own band's songs = okay.)

The Tuesday Show Low Down (Or "Voight-Kampf Tests Should Be Standard Practice In Both Politics And Hollywood...")

For some reason, the scene in the parking lot at Pehrspace the other night made me remember the time when a drunken brujo taught me how to cast a love spell a few years ago in Barcelona.

There were people mulling about outside Pehrspace, some sitting and talking, and the lead from Ventura's Franklin In Short -- a rambunctious Matthew McConaughey-type who seems like he might walk around parties in his underwear and bed a lot of yoga instructors -- was skateboarding around.

It made me flash to being in Spain late drinking with some Argentinian girls in a small square when a crazy old man, dressed all in white, wandered up and tried to convince us to give him beer for a spell. We didn't have much but gave him some and he proceeded to tell us that to make someone fall in love with you, all you needed to do was to write their name on a piece of paper in red ("rojo!") ink until it filled it. Then you rolled it up into a cigarette and smoked it, all the while thinking of the person.

The spell is yours now, but you kinda owe me a beer for it. I haven't ever tried it out because, well, I guess I've never wanted someone to fall in love with me if they didn't already.

Tuesday, December 9
- Obi Best & El Ten Eleven @ The Hotel Café
- Mike Stinson & Dave Gleason @ Redwood Bar
- kd lang & Mandy Moore @ The Troubadour
- Never at Night, Morning Glory, Whispering Pines, & AH Kraken @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Wilderness, San Serac, & Moonrats @ The Echo
- Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman with Boots Riley @ The El Rey
- Lemonwilde, Dynamite Walls, Deccatree, & Boo Yeah Club @ The Silver Lake Lounge

Wednesday, December 10
- Obi Best & El Ten Eleven @ Hotel Cafe
- Divisible @ Bordello
- THE SOLVENTS + MAYA DORN + THE NEXT OF KIN @ Echo Curio
- Dub Club @ Echoplex
- Longwave, War Tapes, & Eulogies @ The Troubadour
- Miranda Lee Richards @ The Hotel Café
- Moment Trigger, Aymeric Hainaux, Realicide, Obstacle Corpse, & Human Hands @ The Smell
- Indie 103.1 Wreck the Halls w/ The Pretenders, Bloc Party, CSS, & Black Kids @ Club Nokia
- Electric Russia, Sleep Tight Suckers!, The Double Dates, Young/Lost Ones @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Cartographers, Franklin for Short, Satellite Crush, & Young Hunting @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Horse The Band @ House of Blues
- An Evening with Ledisi @ The El Rey
- Weird Dreams + Jimmy Sweet + Golden Years + Dissolver @ 3 of Clubs
- Par Avion with Fashion Show w/ Saint Motel, Par Avion Band, Mossy Stone @ The Regent (new Safari Sam's)

DECISION:
Jon Hershfield from ISGOODMUSIC was djing the electricky El Ten Eleven the other night at Mr T's Bowl and I had to stop and ask who it was because it was pretty good. And the singer from pop act Obi Best has an amazing voice that's even better live than on their album.

Also, Nintendo-core act HORSE The Band's video for their song Lord Gold is really kind of amazing... (Read their About Us on their myspace page and you will not regret it.)



Thursday, December 11
- Automatic Drawing & Collisions @ Spaceland
- Respect with Total Science, Atlantic Connection with MC Kay, Machete, Sense, MC Zezo one @ The Echo
- CSS, Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head, We Are The World @ Echoplex
- Murs @ The El Rey
- Exhausted Prayer, Knelt Rote, &a Wire Werewolves @ The Smell
- Spaceland On Ice w/ The Holloys & Rumspringa @ Pershing Square (FREE)
- Low vs Diamond, Barcelona, & IO Echo @ The Troubadour
- Mike Stinson, Dan Janisch, Greg DaPonte, Dave Gleason @ The Hyperion Tavern
- Northstar Session, Montro Flora, Intricate Machines, & Hotel St George @ The Silver Lake Lounge

DECISION:
If you missed your chance to see new local indie pop act Automatic Drawing at our last Let's Independent!, you've gained another this Thursday night at Spaceland.



We've got a few pairs of tickets for the show, so you can call up someone and say, "I've got two tickets to paradise. Why don't you pack your bags and we'll leave tonight?" Write us here with your full name and why you should win to be entered into the drawing.

Friday, December 12
- Radars to the Sky Album Release Event & Benefit w/ The Hectors, The Archways, & Wildbirds and Peacedrums @ Spaceland
- Performer Magazine presents New and Used Records Showcase with SHILOE + TIGERS CAN BITE YOU + KID MUD + GEOGRAPHER @ Echo Curio
- Babyland, Not The Government, Damage Effect, & The LA Front @ The Smell
- Mike Ness @ The El Rey
- Phantom Planet @ The Troubadour
- The Eternal Triangle, Artichoke, & The Sundowners @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Jon Brion @ Largo
- Francisco The Man @ Redwood Bar
- The Transmissions, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Policy, & Kill Kill Kill @ Pehrspace
- The Aquabats @ The Henry Fonda Music Box
- Club Underground presents: Run Run Run, Von Iva @ The Echo
- FLAVORS - 90’s Hip Hop & R & B dance part with DJ Spinna, J.Rocc, J-Heart @ Echoplex

DECISION:
One of my favorite live indie rock bands in town, Radars to the Sky are celebrating an album release and raising money for The Blue Diamond Foundation on Friday at Spaceland, with The Hectors and more to boot. (I'll be djing local music requests. Message me here what you want to hear.)



Meanwhile down the lane, Bay Area-based New & Used Records is a new label that's recently put out cds by some good LA acts. This Friday, they're hosting a night at Echo Curio with their entire current line-up: Tigers Can Bite You and Shiloe w/ SF's Geographer (who both NPR and SPIN like) and Kid Mud. Should contain fun.



Saturday, December 13
- The Sweater Benefit for Doctors w/o Borders: The Deadly Syndrome, The Happy Hollows, Castledoor, Amnion, The Pity Party & more @ Echoplex
- Pehr Spacecraft Faire (Crafts and Pop Music) w/ Sea Lions, The Tartans, Catwalk, & Watercolor Paintings @ Pehrspace (FREE – 5pm to 12am)
- Beware of Safety, Emperors of Japan, Head of Destiny, & Actuary @ The Cocaine at Live Jazz
- Red67 presents Smokin Holidaze Bash with Los Ramones, Rocky Mason, & Bazerk @ Mr T’s Bowl
- VOICEsVOICEs, Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk, Pizza! & Voice on Tape @ The Smell
- Mike Ness w/ Mike Stinson @ The El Rey
- FRANK MOORE AND HIS CHEROTIC ALLSTARS + DOG + ON HOLIDAY + FANTASTIC SLEEP @ Echo Curio
- Eddie Palmieri @ The Hollywood Palladium
- Sarah Silverman @ Largo
- Sweet and Tender Hooligans @ House of Blues
- The Generators @ The Airliner

DECISION:
Saturday night's Christmas Sweater Festival is a fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders and features the musical stylings of fucking fantastic local acts like The Deadly Syndrome, The Happy Hollows, Castledoor, Amnion, and more. Really you couldn't ask for a better line-up than that.



Sunday, December 14
- Eagle Rock Bowling & Drinking Club Holiday Party w/ Writer, Good Luck Bear, Wait.Think.Fast, & Random Patterns @ All Star Lanes
- Toys For Tots Benefit with Aaron Espinoza, Pierre De Reeder, Tandemoro, Damselles & more @ Echoplex
- Ty Segall, The Fresh & Onlys, Okie Dokie, & Shark Toys @ The Smell
- Part Time Punks @ The Echo
- Medic Droid @ The Troubadour
- BABY BIRDS DON’T DRINK MILK + VOICEVOICES + Shit-N-A (60 WATT KID) + EL CHON @ Echo Curio
- Drunk Marine, Devin Hoff, & Solar Wimp @ The Cocaine at Live Jazz

DECISION:
Two holiday-themed events on Sunday worth noting: The Toys For Tots Benefit with Aaron (Earlimart) Espinoza, Tandemoro, and more at Echoplex and the Eagle Rock Bowling & Drinking Club Holiday Party w/ Wait.Think.Fast and more at All Star Lanes.




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

TONIGHT: Xu Xu Fang Vs. The Movies

Tonight's residencies see Xu Xu Fang w/ EXIT MUSIC at The Echo and The Movies w/ Sarah (The Happy Hollows) Negahdari and Rademacher at Spaceland. Very tough call! Both are FREE and both should be great fun. Here are videos...











Full show update tomorrow.

Year End Wrap-Up: Some Favorites

There are plenty of people who know music, geesh, even local music, much much better than I do. I'm really not qualified in any way, shape, or form to rate the year's best anything since I'm more of a lazy part-time dilettante than a credible critic.

But that all said, I'm still left with strong opinions about my favorite albums and shows from the last year. Like:

EARLIMART -- How do you follow up an epic, perfectly-produced album like last year's Mentor Tormentor? Well, apparently with a stripped down four-weeks-to-record cd like Hymn & Her, which broke hearts and took names with a collection of all killer, no filler indie rock tracks. (Listen to it and you'll have a new favorite songs each week for, like, months.)



ONE TRICK PONY -- Catching the hard-to-describe-well-yet-quite-rad One Trick Pony live multiple times (ideally, at small chatter-free places like Pehrspace) has made for some of my favorite nights out in LA. And Loose Talk is one of the most perfect songs I've heard all year.



DEATH TO ANDERS -- Their Dave Newton-produced album Fictitious Business hit January of 08 and nailed their irregular folk rock sound with stand-out tracks like Great Plains States, Camera Lens, and Doll, while the song Cut It quietly killed in their subsequent EP.



THE FLYING TOURBILLON ORCHESTRA -- ...released a great EP of smarty pants indie pop and developed into a consistently engaging live act over the course of 08.



THE SAVAGES -- I swear I think I could listen to The Savages all day and never grow tired of their psyche rock screamings. They make you want to quit your job and do mushrooms all day. (You know, again...) Hopefully they can resolve their police gear troubles and finish their EP soon.



THE MOVIES -- Ah, The Movies, The Movies, The Movies... They're always a great experience live and their album Based On A True Story was among the year's best, but Tim James' alternately fantastic and hilarious solo-ish performance at Bordello six months back was one for the history books.





THE HAPPY HOLLOWS -- Their recent Imaginary EP is a nice appetizer for their upcoming Dave Newton-produced album. The EP-only song Tambourine is among the band's best tracks, perfecting their experimental/accessible formula better even better than similarish acts like Deerhoof. (Sarah's 08 solo performances have also been pretty phenomenal.)





THAILAND -- Their 08 electro pop follow-up EP to last year's debut showed a band that's continuing to evolve in many interesting ways while remaining, y'know, catchy as fuck. (The track Control gets frequent play around the RFSL corporate HQ and in the company car.)

RELATED LINKS:
- Earlimart Interview
- One Trick Pony Interview
- Death To Anders Interview
- The Savages Interview
- The Movies Interview
- The Happy Hollows Interview
- Sarah Negahdari Interview
- Thailand Interview

TONIGHT: The Californian at Bordello

Most of this morning I've been listening to early recordings by The Californian, a new band comprised of folks from The Sweet Hurt, I Make This Sound, and more. They're very disparate in their influences, a nice amalgam of a few different styles that makes for some great music to listen to while driving at night in the middle of the desert... Pretty immediately likable.

You can hear rough mixes of a few songs for yourself right here. And then, like me, go see them play tonight at Bordello for $5 with Spain, Breakfast All Day, and David Dyas.

Plastic Snow: The Benefit Compilation That Keeps On Giving...

With the holidays hurtling at us with frightening velocity, LA blog Confessions of a Would-Be Hipster decided to compile winter/xmas-themed tracks by sixteen great local music acts -- such as Earlimart, Great Northern, Fol Chen, Princeton, The Hectors,, and more -- to benefit the Midnight Mission shelter.

Here's the full track listing, which also doubles as a list of some of my local favorite groups:

1. breaking up for christmas - the breakups
2. Holiday – I Make This Sound
3. Icicles (Plastic Snow Session) – Let’s Go Sailing
4. Christmas Drill – Dreaming Ferns
5. I’ll Be Home For Christmas – Earlimart
6. Shortest Day of the Year – Letting Up Despite Great Faults
7. The Last December – The Hectors
8. This King – Great Northern
9. As The Day Breaks – Carmen Rizzo
10. Christmas, California – The Sweet Hurt
11. Winter, That’s All – Fol Chen
12. Hot Sleigh – The Monolators
13. Christmas Break – The Dandelion Council
14. Where’s My Christmas Morning – Princeton
15. What Brings You Back (Plastic Snow Session) – Pierre de Reeder
16. Silent Night – Sara Lov & Dustin O'Halloran

The comp, titled Plastic Snow, is now available for just $10 -- exclusively by download at wouldbehipster.com.

The Monday Show Low Down (Or "I Don't Remember There Being A Pegacorn In Genesis...")

Last Wednesday night at The Echo was great fun with The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra and friends. Lots of good folks out, too.

Here's what this week is looking like:

Monday, December 1
- The Movies, Eagle & Talon, The Lemurs, & The Wrong Way Driver @ Spaceland
- Sean Carnage Presents Tlaxieu Music Machine, Blue Glasses, E&E, & more @ Pehrspace
- The Color Turning, Sputnik Monroe, & Violent Soho @ The Silver Lake Lounge (FREE)
- The Sixth Chamber, Harlequin Jones, Electric Russia, & Peter Cruz @ Mr T’s Bowl
- WEAVE, We Are The World, Fools Gold, Rainbow Arabia @ The Echo
- Herbaliser, J Boogie @ Echoplex

DECISION:
You really fucking need to be out tonight at The Movies with Eagle & Talon and more at Spaceland for FREE.





Tuesday, December 2
- No Age @ The Troubadour (FREE)
- Wallburds, Victoria, Black Tales, & JJ Fats @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- The Sisters of Mercy @ The Henry Fonda Music Box
- Smashing Pumpkins @ The Gibson Ampitheatre
- Gary Jules @ The Hotel Café
- Indie 103 present Check One Twosday: The Gray Kid, Love Grenades, Karin Tatoyan, Light @ Echoplex

DECISION:
Yeah, the fact that The Sisters of Mercy are playing had me spending way too much time looking up silly post-apocalyptic goth videos on YouTube today. Like this one...



But, sure, there are probably a few other shows worth considering first. (No offense to any vampires out there.)

Wednesday, December 3
- Eagle Winged Palace Release Event w/ Super Karma, Rocking Horse People, Amanda Jo Williams, & Jim Hanft @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Evangenitals, Evertheory, Die Rockers Die, & The Health Club @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Afternoons, Useless Keys, & Billygoat @ Spaceland
- Smashing Pumpkins @ The Gibson Ampitheatre
- Deadman & Emily O’Halloran @ Tanger
- Jonathan Richman @ The El Rey
- The Hanson Bros, (No Means No) , Triclops!, & Mount Saint Helens Vietnam @ Spaceland
- Aunt Dracula, Protect Me, Sprawl Out, & Frisco Dykes @ The Smell
- Spain, The Californian, Breakfast All Day, & David Dyas @ Bordello
- Low End Theory: School of Seven Bells, Gangi, & Orko Eloheim @ The Airliner
- Mack Winston and the Reflections & Supernova @ 3 of Clubs

DECISION:
Eagle Winged Palace is celebrating a vinyl release on Thursday night with Super Karma and more... (I'm ipod djing a lot of local stuff between sets.)



The Afternoons show with new group Useless Keys (who are comprised of three local acts you probably liked) should also be great.

Thursday, December 4
- The Sea and Cake & The Uglysuit @ Troubadour - Fig 8 Slo-Mo @ Mr T’s Bowl
- Mike Ness @ The El Rey
- Respect @ The Echo
- Relentless Seven @ Spaceland
- Oasis, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, & Matt Costa @ Staples Center
- VoicesVoices, ilo mar, & Sleepwalkers Local @ The Smell
- Michael Berg, Fort King, MISSINCINATTI, LOWLIGHT @ The Hyperion Tavern
- Meat Beat Manifesto @ The Knitting Factory
- Olin and the Moon @ The Mint
- Wu-Tang Clan @ The House of Blues
- Grove Hill & Blue Judy @ The Silver Lake Lounge

DECISION:
I've been meaning to see Olin and The Moon after hearing Mouse say good things about them...

Friday, December 5
- The Spires, Franklin For Short, & Frankel @ Pehrspace
- ISGOODMUSIC.COM w/ Seasons, Correatown, Thailand, The Dirty City Brothers, & Torches in Trees!! @ Mr T’s Bowl
- The Bronx & Crystal Antlers @ The Echo
- Jon Brion @ Largo
- The Submarines & Patrick Park @ Echoplex
- Robert Francis, Dawes, Romany Rye @ Spaceland
- Bryan Adams @ The Wiltern
- The Deserters @ The Troubadour
- Mike Ness @ The El Rey
- We Are The World, VoicesVoices, & Penelope Fortier @ Tangier

DECISION:
I try to catch sad and fantastic pop act The Spires every time they come down from the wilds of Ventura County... They're playing with the also quite good Frankel and Franklin For Short at Pehrspace.



Sucks that it means I've got to miss Thailand!

Saturday, December 6
- Bootie LA @ Echoplex
- SMOG SESSIONS @ The Echo
- Over The Rhine & Jim Blanco @ The Troubadour
- WHITE LEOPARDS + LUCKY DRAGONS + MONSTURO + POWDERED WIGS + ITALIC INDIAN @ Echo Curio
- Aimee Mann’s 3rd Annual Christmas Show @ The Wiltern
- Dressy Bessy, Colourmusic @ Spaceland
- Repeater, War Tapes, Seasin, The New Room,DJ Max Troy @ The Scene
- Slightly Stoopid & Bad Brains @ Hollywood Palladium
- The Antarcticans, Bizzart, Halloween Swim Team, & Tarantula Family @ The Smell
- Gunferty, The Monolators, The Karabal Nightlife, Ema and the Ghosts, & The Sweet Hurt @ Pehrspace

DECISION:
Great line-up over at Pehrspace on Saturday night... Multiple reasons to go and BYOB.

(You know, I've somehow never caught The Sweet Hurt before, though I've seen lead Wendy Want perform with about six or eight other local acts.)

Sunday, December 7
- Little Joy, The Dead Trees, & Red Cortez @ The Troubadour
- Pontiak & Biblical Proof of UFOs @ Relax Bar
- Friendly Fires @ Spaceland
- Part Time Punks w/ Free Moral Agents & Jesus Makes The Shotgun Sound @ The Echo
- The Weepies @ The Hotel Café

DECISION:
Haven't heard headliners Little Joy before, but I keep hearing great things about the newly-rechristened Red Cortez (formerly The Weather Underground).





That's it... It takes a few hours to put together this weekly update and hell if some show doesn't always slip by. If missed something, please lemme know.