Brightblack Morning Light hang at the fringe of society (even by desert rat standards), with stories of commune life and solar-powered recording sessions, a fondness for crystals and yurts onstage, and tales of performances holding Anasazi arrowheads in their mouths. I've even heard "Everybody Daylight" in a yoga class — but just let that go. Breathe in Brightblack Morning Light deeply and hold it, because what comes next is pure sonic bliss (and because life's too short to be a hater, cynical hipster). When Nathan "Nabob" Shineywater (on slide guitar) and Rachel "Rabob" Hughes (on her junk store Rhodes) supernaturally coalesce after about five minutes of playing, they conjure up a ghostly, ancient blues crawl — executed at the clip of a dirge — and it's one of the more enlightening and enjoyable live experiences to be had. The saxophone sighs and slightly swung beats (compliments of Otto Hauser, from Devendra Banhart's band) invoke cool, twilight breezes off the mesa and whiffs of burning sage and hash — the perfect soundtrack for an early summer's eve. - Wendy Gilmartin, LA Weekly
Riverboat Gamblers || Listen|| Watch
Armed with an increasingly long list of accolades for their energetic live show, Underneath the Owl is ostensibly an excuse for Denton, Texas, five-piece the Riverboat Gamblers to hit the road with some fresh material, but damned if these guys haven’t started to learn the pleasures of studio rattery. Owl splits the difference neatly, keeping the fanbase happy while still pushing the ball forward. Side A is all the big, obvious, high-sheen rock, meant to be heard blasting out of speakers in a sweaty dive bar, but it’s stuff that tends to mash together in the haze of a few PBRs. Side B, tho, while hardly a sea change, shows a willingness to grow and experiment. “Robots May Break Your Heart” sounds like a rejected Flaming Lips or Grandaddy EP title, but the band’s fearless enough to go ahead with the song anyway, and toss in some xylophone and a robotic guitar riff over lyrics like “flesh is flawed, you know it’s true”. Hey, at least it’s different, as is the steel guitar that anchors the relationship-as-film metaphor “The Tearjerker”. The breakneck “Keep Me From Drinking” boasts a Guitar Hero-worthy solo from lead guitarist Fadi Eli-Assad, and closer “Victory Lap” plays like a post-millennial “Danny Says” and captures the blur of life on tour better than any ode-to-the-road tune these ears have heard lately. Until the Gamblers blow into your town, stick with Side B. - Popmatters
With
Miss Derringer || Listen
Underground Railroad to Candyland
8:30pm / $10 adv, $12 dos / 21+
KING KHAN AND THE SHRINES
MARK SULTAN / WOUNDED LION
Echo
King Khan & The Shrines || Watch
Most people didn’t hear about King Khan and the Shrines until last year, when What Is?!, their most recent LP for German label Hazelwood, seared the band’s combustible combo– Stax plus Nuggets plus hiss-covered indie-rock screwiness– onto listeners’ collective noggins. It was as if they were the Dirtbombs on simultaneous James Brown and Sun Ra kicks, or Black Lips with less of the Vice-ready comedy and more underlying pathos. Now signed to Vice, King Khan and the Shrines present a few of the best tracks from What Is?!, along with some of their earlier cuts, on label debut The Supreme Genius of King Khan and the Shrines. Despite the appropriately over-the-top title, it’s not so much a Greatest Hits– What Is?! has slightly better songs overall– as a chronicle of how Khan became King.
The strongest tracks, where the band’s unhinged nostalgia meets not only squealing discord but also Khan’s stupefying jester/soul-man antics, appeared previously on What Is?!. Take nourishment from the Hammond-drenched soul food-stamps of “Welfare Bread”. Hear Khan go howling mad and a step past girl-crazy amid the sitar-like guitar and wah-wah pedals of “I Wanna Be a Girl”. The string-tying absurdity of “69 Faces of Love”, or the prickly dick jokes and “Venus in Furs” string drone of “The Ballad of Lady Godiva” are sadly absent, but the deafness-repping James Brown of “Land of the Freak”, the Stooge-ian assault of “No Regrets”, and the relatively sane red-line retro of “Outta Harm’s Way” are all present and accounted for, as they should be. - Pitchfork
With:
Mark Sultan || Listen
Wounded Lion
Save Money when you order tickets by mobile phone
text Khan to 467467
The boys of Passion Pit are Boston’s hottest up and coming dance-party darlings. The five began as one when Michael Angelakos decided to record some songs as a present for his girlfriend. Since talent doesn’t go unnoticed for long, Passion Pit went from being a Valentines Day present to opening for Death Cab For Cutie in a matter of months. Fans of Death Cab and the Postal Service might notice a similarity between Angelakos’ and Ben Gibbard’s vocal styles. The six song EP features light, airy synths grounded in subtle new wave and pop grooves. “Better Things” and “Sleepyhead” burst with fluttering synths, upbeat majors, and funky samples that have Passion Pit gaining comparisons to groups like The Go! Team. Since these two songs are recent additions to the upcoming reissue, they just might hint at what to expect more of on Passion Pit’s full length, which is slated for early 2009. - Urb
With:
Harlem Shakes || Listen
Cale Parks
@ Echoplex
enter at 1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Save Money when you order tickets by mobile phone
text manners to 467467
Watch the video!!!
EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS
Live Performance on KCRW
Grizzly Bear
An In-Studio Performance
Recorded Live At WNYC
The Brooklyn band Grizzly Bear releases one of the year's most hotly anticipated albums next week, but fans can hear some of its songs sooner than that: On Thursday, May 21, the group performed a special acoustic set, including material from Veckatimest, when it opened WNYC's American Music Festival with a live in-studio broadcast and webcast. Grizzly Bear performed new songs in the studio, with host David Garland welcoming the band and asking its members about their new music. LISTEN TO THE SET AFTER THE JUMP.
Last night's show was great. Pilar does an excellent job of allowing the venue space she plays complement her delivery. This evening's host was La Cita, and the crowd was definitely in the mood to dance. With a performance that was as high energy as I've ever seen her give, she hammered out each song with a contagious fervor that had people fighting to carve out a personal dance floor while still keeping her in their sightline. Arms in the air, contorting bodies, and a bevy of whistling applause eruptions were easily conjured by Miss Diaz who was notably backed by members of fellow L.A. acts Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Ima Robot, and La Santa Cecilia. If you didn't catch it last night, you've got another change on June 3rd. Attendance is highly recommended.
So yeah, helluva weekend... anyway, one of the bigger shows we've ever done. And finally someone from the balcony posted video of the event!
Drake Best I Ever Had, Every Girl LIVE & Exclusive Interview
URB magazine interviews DRAKE for their 15 annual next 100 issue:
"yes he was wheelchair jimmy on canada's saved by the bell-ish melodrama"
Read the article HERE
Check out what our friend Randy has put together for his group project ONE TRICK PONY! Oh, hell yeah! Simon too!
Exclusive First Listen: Danger Mouse And Sparklehorse Team Up With David Lynch
Hear The Year's Most Mysterious Album In Its Entirety, Weeks Before Its Release
When the first cryptic bits of news about Dark Night of the Soul began trickling in earlier this year, it all sounded too good to be true. Though the whole project was shrouded in mystery, it appeared that Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous, two of the most inspired artists making music today, were collaborating on a new album. That alone was enough to get our geek gears spinning with excitement. But there was an unusual twist that few of us at NPR Music could make sense of: Director David Lynch was somehow involved. MORE AFTER THE JUMP
A Song That Gives You Chills, Dinosaur Jr., Black Moth Super Rainbow, More
All Songs Considered, May 12, 2009 - Has there ever been a song that gives you chills down your spine every time you hear it? For Bob Boilen, it's "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" written by Sandy Denny and performed by Fairport Convention. You can hear it on this edition of All Songs Considered and tell us the song that gives you chills — no matter what — on the blog. Also on the program: the sharp guitar playing of Sarah Siskind, adventures in sound with Black Moth Super Rainbow, the 12-string guitar explorations of James Blackshaw, the heavy emotions of Dinosaur Jr. and the electronic pop music of Passion Pit.
Hey! It's our friend Ashley!
Meet Ashley Jex: Founder of JAXART Records
If Wonder Woman had hung up her cape and chosen to give up her life of fighting crime and instead wanted to get into the local music scene, she may have asked some pointers from Ashley Jex. At the tender age of twenty five, Jex has created a local music empire. Not only has she launched a very influential record label, JAXART out of her living room, she still makes time for her music blog,Rock Insider, and her band The Monolators, and somehow her day job. She can do it all. LAist caught up with Jex in her industrial epicenter (aka living room) to ask her how the heck she manages to stay awake. Here is some of what was said...MORE AFTER THE JUMP
The video of the first single from NYLON Records' Plastiscines
It's just so, so, NYLON Records-y...
Ida Maria:
Neurosis Meets Sass In 'Naked'
By Christian Hoard
NPR.org, May 6, 2009 - Long before the U.S. release of Fortress Round My Heart, Ida Maria Sivertsen was an indie-rock It Girl overseas and on music blogs here. By the end of 2009, "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" may well be overexposed. But until then, it's best to enjoy it as a likable slab of garage-pop that's both confessional and bloody-good fun — a song where the singer wears her heart on her sleeve, but prefers to wear nothing at all. MORE AFTER THE JUMP
Exclusive First Listen:
Grandaddy's Jason Lytle
Hear His Entire Solo Debut Two Weeks Before Its Official Release
Few songwriters possess Jason Lytle's gift for telling stories. In a 15-year run as the frontman and creative force behind the Modesto, Calif., rock band Grandaddy, Lytle penned an inspired catalog of neo-psychedelic pop songs, with gut-punch tales of destitute drunks, failed suburban dreams and at least one robot that died from a broken heart. They're songs that unfold with the plainspoken elegance of a Raymond Carver short story, striking a curious and utterly affecting balance between the cosmic and the comic...more after you click on the image above.
Sonic Youth Sneak Preview,
The Year's Best Jazz Record (So Far), More
The New York-based group Sonic Youth has been making some of the most inspired and influential rock music of the past quarter century. The band is about to release its 16th studio album and its first for the Matador record label. The Eternal won't be out until June 9, but you can hear an early cut on this edition of All Songs Considered. Also on the program: Pakistan-born singer Natasha Khan and her Bat For Lashes project; music from the grasslands of China and Mamer; French singer Marianne Dissard; Ethiopian jazz legend Mulatu Astatke and the Londo-based jazz group Heliocentrics; and the Atlanta-based rock group Manchester Orchestra. Listen to the entire story! Just click on the image above!
Download this show in the All Songs Considered podcast.
Cool Kid's Gone Fishing mixtape is finally finished. Free download after the jump. The artist themselves are the ones who are giving out the mixtape download for free!
download here
From one my favorites, ROCK INSIDER:
Los Angeles by way of Oregon psychedelic pop outfit The Parson Red Heads have something to celebrate! Their new EP “Orangufang” is available on Rock Insider's very own little vinyl label JAXART Records!! Be sure to download to "Raymond" from the release above and order the 7 inch now to get the exclusive digital EP with two more amazing tracks.
The record is also available at Origami Vinyl in Echo Park. Read a great article about Origami Vinyl in the LA Times. It was featured on the front page of the paper! [READ MORE]
Exclusive First Listen:
Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band's
'Outer South'
NPR.org - When Conor Oberst hit the road last year in support of his eponymous solo debut, he took with him a group of close, longtime friends he dubbed The Mystic Valley Band. The group of half a dozen musicians had helped Oberst record his country-flavored album in Tepoztlan, Mexico's Valle Mistico in early 2008. While on tour, Oberst and members of the band continued to write and share songs with one another, eager to capture the energy of their live performances. By the end of 2008, Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band had enough material for a second album, and entered a studio in Tornillo, Texas, to lay down 16 new tracks. The album they came up with, Outer South, won't be released until May 5, but you can hear it in its entirety on NPR Music as an Exclusive First Listen. CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE.
the new must see...
Anvil: The Story of Anvil
meet the charm known as WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS
Watercolor Paintings - Telephone Wires from If You Make It on Vimeo.
some more really fun kids we met a few days ago...they go by name PANGEA
DENGUE FEVER
Sleepwalking Through the Mekong follows Los Angeles based band Dengue Fever on their recent journey to Cambodia to perform 60s and 70s Cambodian rock n' roll in the country where it was created and very nearly destroyed. The odyssey is a homecoming for singer Chhom Nimol and a transformation for the rest of the band as they perform with master musicians and record new songs along the way.
yeah, as many of you know from seeing them live, they're really THAT good! check out this footage from their current tour.
COMPETITION IS NOW OPEN!
The Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council is a grassroots-level advisory committee set-up by a 1999 revision to the City of Los Angeles Charter that created the Neighborhood Council system. We represent our community on issues ranging from affordable housing and sustainability to arts, land use, education, and public safety.
Our 28-member volunteer Board of Directors represents residents, business owners, public and private sector employees, the homeless, social service providers, artists, and educators across Downtown and is elected by stakeholders every two years. Past successes include ArtWalk and other community events such as Park[ing] Day LA, Project Homeless Connect, community mixers and advocacy on many community issues.
The Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council logo competition is now open through May 12, 2009 and we're looking to redefine our image to reflect the qualities of Downtown and the neighborhood we so proudly represent.
How to Enter: Enter up to three submissions and help us define our organization by emailing your submission to logo@dlanc.com. If you have any questions, please email us at logo@dlanc.com All entries will be on display for public viewing at the May 14, 2009 ArtWalk! MORE INFO AFTER THE JUMP
Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Says Sunset Junction Needs an Overhaul
[...]Ultimately, the Board voted unanimously in favor of a motion stating that it will "oppose the Sunset Junction Street Festival in its current format." What this means for the future of the popular festival is still unknown... LAWeekly.com
Relocation, fee changes, cancellation? Speculate wildly!
Here's some video of Soko's last and only known L.A. performance:
Echo Park Named One of Top 10 Great Neighborhoods
And when you hear that, you might find yourself asking which Realtor came up with that ranking. Luckily, this time there is some creditability behind the designation: the American Planning Association. They "singled out Echo Park because of its breathtaking topography set in the hills above downtown, historic architecture, pedestrian-oriented streets and stairways, and engaged residents who, over the years, have gone to great lengths to protect and preserve their community," according to an APA release (add: their website has more info and history on why EP was chosen) .... more after you click on the image!
SUBMIT YOUR PICTURES!!!
THE MAE-SHI @ Spaceland
THE MOVIES @ Spaceland
DENGUE FEVER @ Viper Room
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