The Monday Show Low Down (Or "We're Gonna Have to Cross the Line Just to Find the Line...")

By Joe Fielder

Over the last week, we've started posting contributions from some talented new contributors... a group of folks who share a common lurve for the local music scene... and you'll see even more soon as we ramp up the site to provide more posts per week: features, interviews, ticket giveaways, photo galleries, and the like.

As mentioned before, we're reworking its look and feel to be more like our smarter, prettier sister-site Radio Free Chicago. Yes, that means we'll shortly be abandoning the DIY default look of Blogger. We're shooting for later this week, even.

Enough about us, here's what the week is looking like in shows here in town:

Monday, March 9
- Spider Problem, The Dead Ponies, & Obedient Waves @ The Roxy
- The Binges, Kissing Tigers, Pink Mochi @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Michael Gira, Larkin Grimm @ Echoplex
- Larkin Grimm @ Echo Curio
- Alex and Sam @ The Hotel Cafe
- Amar and Sean Carnage Present The record release party for… “Future Stars and Small Wonders” featuring: Bizzart, Pizza!, Walter Gross, Big Epoch, K!X 2.0 @ Pehrspace
- Wait.Think.Fast., Summer Darling, Shiloe, Two Guns @ The Echo (FREE)
- Nico Stai, The Shys @ Spaceland (FREE)

DECISION:
If you're sorting out your free residency plan for the month, tonight might be a good night to catch dreampop act Wait.Think.Fast. over at The Echo. They've got some good supporting acts and you'll probably want to catch the return of Great Northern over at The Silver Lake Lounge next Monday night. (That one's not free, but we'll have some tickets to give away for it later this week.)

Tuesday, March 10
- Ian Ball, Leslie and the Badgers, Ruthie Foster, Big Eagle @ The Hotel Cafe
- Cut Copy, Matt and Kim @ The Henry Fonda Music Box
- Neil Halstead @ Largo
- Oren Lavie @ Largo
- The Pretenders @ The Wiltern
- Akron/Family, Golden Animals, MaxMaven @ The Steve Allen Theater
- Learning Music, Ana Egge, Ruby Friedman @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Spirit Vine, Hard Place, Native Fauna, Polyamorous Affair @ Echo Curio
- Oh No Not Stereo record release, Phonocast, The Wong Boys @ The Viper Room
- Rocco DeLuca & The Burden, HoneyHoney @ The Troubadour
- Captain Ahab, Kocho-bi-Sexual @ The Smell
- Efterklang, Peter Broderick, Eulogies @ Spaceland
- Sleepy Sun, Foreign Born, Larkin Grimm @ The Echo

DECISION:
Tuesday night is all about seeing indie rock snake charmers Foreign Born play at The Echo. They'll likely be performing some new material from their upcoming album, too.

Wednesday, March 11
- Cut Copy, Matt and Kim @ The Henry Fonda Music Box
- Sara Bareilles, Tony Lucca @ The Hotel Cafe
- John Digweed, Kazell @ The Mayan
- Club Moscow Presents The Library's EP Release Party @ Boardner's of Hollywood
- Nico Vega, Von Iva, Semi Precious Weapons @ The Knitting Factory
- Anavan, Birds & Batteries, LACO$TE, VOICEsVOICEs @ The Smell
- Birds and Batteries, The Rhone Occupation, The Faraway Places @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Club NME: Spirit Animal, Asa Ransom @ Spaceland
- HeartsRevolution, Beni, Guns N Bombs, Classixx @ The Echo
- Next of Kin, Young/Lost Ones, Post War, Electric Russia @ Mr T's Bowl
- Oren Lavie @ Largo
- The Deepsea Goes @ L'KEG
- Spindrift, The Upside Down, Lower Heaven @ The Redwood Bar

DECISION:
If there's any part of you that enjoys the hell out of old Ennio Morricone spaghetti western scores, you'll probably want to see Spindrift at Redwood Bar on Wednesday night.



Thursday, March 12
- Plants & Animals, Castledoor, Avi Buffalo @ The Echo
- Bodies of Water, Lake, Fol Chen @ Echo Curio
- Horse Stories, Leopold and His Fiction, Jenny O. @ HOME
- Sara Bareilles, Tony Lucca @ Hotel Cafe
- De La Soul @ The Key Club
- Sara and Sean Watkins @ Largo
- Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Tim Eriksen Shape-Note Extravaganza @ The Troubadour
- Thee Oh Sees, The Fresh & Onlys, Bipolar Bear, Private Beach @ The Smell
- Or, the Whale, Willoughby, Foundry Field Recordings @ The Silver Lake Lounge
- Cursive, Modern Memory @ Spaceland
- Yelle, We Are the World, Casxio @ The El Rey Theatre
- Free Moral Agents @ The Air Conditioned Lounge (Venice)

DECISION:
Some great shows on Thursday... Castledoor and Avi Buffalo at The Echo, Fol Chen and Bodies of Water at Echo Curio, Willoughby at The Silver Lake Lounge, Cursive at Spaceland, and Elvis Perkins at The Troubadour. Can't go wrong.

Friday, March 13
- Mouse's B-day Extravaganza w/ Manhattan Murder Mystery, The Besties, & Mystery Guest (plus DJ set by Squaregirl Marion) @ Pehrspace
- Exposure Photography Show w/ Works by Ben Hoste, Jeff Koga, & Simon Cardoza w/ Meiko, Adeline, & Evan Way @ WHERE Space
- Say Hi @ The Echo
- Gram Rabbit, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Crooked Cowboy @ Echoplex
- Cursive, Ladyfinger, Little Brazil @ The Troubadour
- Sara Bareilles, Tony Lucca @ Hotel Cafe
- Ben Weasel, Toys That Kill, Underground Railroad to Candyland, The Girls @ The Knitting Factory
- Lady Gaga, Chester French, The White Tie Affair @ The Wiltern
- The Twelves, Gina Turner, Little Red Radio, Destructo, Mr. White @ Avalon
- Tindersticks, Spain @ The Henry Fonda Music Box
- Casxio, The Nights @ HOME
- Jon Brion @ Largo
- Minmae, John Vecciarelli, Azalia Snail @ Echo Curio
- Purple Rhinestone Eagle, Meho Plaza, Forever, Tacocat @ L'KEG
- Richard Swift, We Barbarians, Dappled Cities @ Spaceland

DECISION:
While the third performance night of the Exposure photography show and Say Hi at The Echo are strong contenders for Friday evening, the birthday party for Classical Geek Theatre's Mouse at Pehrspace with Manhattan Murder Mystery and "mystery guest" is sure to be a great time.

Saturday, March 14
- The New Standards, The Fresh, Katie Costello, Sean Kelly, Ryan Calhoun @ Hotel Cafe
- Asobi Seksu, Bell, Resplandor @ The Troubadour
- Phosphorescent, Viva Voce, The Donkeys, Rafter @ The Regent
- Ben Weasel, Toys That Kill, Underground Railroad to Candyland, The Girls @ The Knitting Factory
- Rickie Lee Jones @ Largo
- The Bird and the Bee, Haim, The Damn Sons, Post-Foetus @ Tricot Showroom
- The Von Bondies, Nico Vega, The Pink Snowflakes @ The Roxy
- El Ten Eleven @ HOME
- Franklin for Short, Moses Campbell, Enid the Dowl, No Paws (No Lions) @ Echo Curio
- Miami Horror, Danger, Futurecop! featuring Short Circuit & The Kids Are Radioactive @ Echoplex
- Sky Larkin @ Spaceland
- Smegma, Aaron Dilloway, Joe & Joe, Allen Pyle, Pigs in the Ground, Pod Blotz @ The Smell
- The Monolators, Roman Candles, Audacity, Jonesin' @ L'KEG
- Space Mtn, Light FM, Divisadero, Siggy @ Silver Factory Studios

DECISION:
Indie pop perfectionists Light FM are always great live, Divisadero are a local band's local band, and Space Mtn haven't played for, like, ever or something.

Sunday, March 15
- Zee Avi, Luke Top, Michael Rosa (of Satisfaction) @ Spaceland
- Alela Diane, Come Gather Round Us, Josh Pyke @ Hotel Cafe
- These Are Powers @ The Echo
- Former Ghosts, Infinite Body, Felt Drawings, Amir Coyle, Knight Rider @ The Smell
- Australian All Ages BBQ w/ My Disco, The Drones, Dappled Cities, Red Riders, The Fumes, The Boat People, Leone Carmen, The Art, Hell City Glamours @ The Echo
- Part Time Punks w/ These Are Powers, Death Sentence: PANDA! @ The Echo

DECISION:
I hear Luke Top (in or out of his group Fool's Gold) come up often in discussions that run along the lines of "I'm not normally into 'world music,' but that stuff is really fun." And agree.

That's it. Did I miss anything? Please message me a RFSLshowlistings(at)gmail.com.