LIVE ART BY KOFIE

The album cover to the right (Roy Ayers Ubiquity; Polydor, 1971) hangs in what should be my dining room — above a computer desk and just to the left of a solid state guitar amp which has been collecting dust for some three years without pause. Still, it is a prominent wall placement and it brings the room together, I feel. Adds that “Roy” touch. One need but listen to one song off this album to get a sense of what you’re dealing with in Roy Ayers; namely, seriously funky vibes, man. Serious, sticky, funky vibes. Very few jazz vibe players can successfully throw a wah pedal on vibraphones, likely, and so it was then that I found myself in the company of good friends at Crash Mansion last Saturday night for an ArtDontSleep lineup featuring the man himself as headliner.
»continue reading Roy Ayers, Najite, Tony Allen @ Crash Mansion

RADIOHEAD, JACK JOHNSON INEXPLICABLY NOWHERE NEAR INITIAL LINEUP

HEADS UP
Virgin Festival Toronto Sat 9/6
Virgin Festival Toronto Sun 9/7

You may have to travel beyond United States borders to find a good large festival that Jack Johnson is not playing this summer, but take heart: the $87/day ticket cost at Toronto’s Virgin Festival includes both the price of the ferry and $1 towards charity. Saturday’s initial lineup includes Foo Fighters, Bloc Party, Spiritualized, Wintersleep and Constantines; Sunday’s includes Oasis, Paul Weller, Stereophonics, The Weakerthans and The Pigeon Detectives.

FooStache in Valencia by Renee

PICK OF THE WEEK & TICKET GIVEAWAY

GROOVE ARMADA
(DJ set)
w/ Jason Bentley
Saturday April 5, 6-11 pm
Downtown City Hall
Event Info | Tickets
[ENTER TO WIN TICKETS]
*Please note this show is ages 21+
Set times: J.B.: 6-8 pm. G.A.: 8-11 pm. Please hydrate yourselves accordingly.

THE GUTTER TWINS w/ Great Northern Wed April 2 Avalon Hollywood Tickets Contest closed.

LOUIS XIV w/ WMMF Friday April 4 Avalon Hollywood Tickets Contest closed.

THE CRIBS w/ Ra Ra Riot Friday April 4 El Rey Theater Tickets [ENTER TO WIN]

Mudcrutch @ Troubadour (On sale 4/4) Fri 4/25
Mudcrutch @ Troubadour (On sale 4/4) Sat 4/26
Mudcrutch @ Troubadour (On sale 4/4) Mon 4/28
Mudcrutch @ Troubadour (On sale 4/4) Tue 4/29
Handsome Furs @ Troubadour Sat 4/12
Sarah Silverman, Patton Oswalt, Tim & Eric, Foreign Born & more @ Troubadour (South Toward Home Benefit) Sat 4/19
No Age @ Tiny Creatures Sat 4/19
No Age w/ Mika Miko @ Mark Taper Auditorium – Central Library (2 pm – free) Sun 4/20
She & Him @ Vista Theatre Tue 4/29
Stiff Little Fingers @ House of Blues Fri 5/2
Rush @ Nokia Theater Tue 5/6
Tim & Eric’s Awesome Tour @ Echoplex Tue 5/6
Crowded House @ Orpheum Theatre Sat 5/17 (On sale 4/13)
Crowded House @ Orpheum Theatre Fri 5/16 (On sale 4/13)
Robyn @ The Wiltern Sat 5/17
Murder By Death @ Troubadour Sun 5/18
Sweet & Tender Hooligans @ House of Blues (Morrissey’s birthday!) Thu 5/22
Dead Kennedys @ House of Blues Fri 6/6
RZA/Bobby Digital @ Henry Fonda Fri 6/20
George Michael @ The Forum Wed 6/25 (As seen on the hit ABC show Eli Stone)
Erykah Badu w/ The Roots @ Greek Theatre Thu 6/12
Crosby, Stills & Nash @ Greek Theatre (No Young) Sat 6/14
She Wants Revenges w/ Be Your Own Pet @ The Wiltern Sat 6/21
Vans Warped Tour @ Seaside Park Ventura Sun 6/22
Vans Warped Tour @ Pomona Fairplex Fri 6/20
Steve Miller Band & Joe Cocker @ Nokia Theater Wed 8/6
Dave Matthews Band @ Staples Center Wed 8/20
Dave Matthews Band @ Staples Center Tue 8/19
Outside Lands Festival @ Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (Radiohead, Jack Johnson, Tom Petty–VIP package) Fri 8/22
Outside Lands Festival @ Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (Radiohead, Jack Johnson, Tom Petty) Fri 8/22
Journey, Heart & Cheap Trick @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Wed 7/16

Headline says it all: R.E.M., Modest Mouse & The National tickets will go on sale this weekend. Posted prices range from $30-125. See you in the Ticketmaster queue at 10am, Saturday. Can you spell your two garbled keywords faster than me?!?

UPDATE: Presale info now live. Presale begins April 3 (Thursday) at 10am.

RELATED
» SXSW ‘08: R.E.M. @ Stubb’s
» R.E.M. Head to Hollywood Bowl, Announce 2008 Tour Dates
» Tales From The Amoeba Dollar Bins, 1/26/08

» SXSW ‘08: R.E.M. @ Stubb’s (above)

» SXSW ‘08: My Morning Jacket

» SXSW ‘08: Yo La Tengo

» SXSW ‘08: Tapes ‘n Tapes @ Austin City Limits Studios (above)

» SXSW ‘08: Kimya Dawson

» SXSW ‘08: Carbon/Silicon

» SXSW ‘08: Martha Wainwright (above)

» SXSW ‘08: Lykke Li

» SXSW ‘08: Los Campesinos!

» SXSW ‘08: Robyn (above)

» SXSW ‘08: Islands

» SXSW ‘08: The Rascals

» SXSW ‘08: The Kills (above)

» SXSW ‘08: Ed Harcourt

» SXSW ‘08: Destroyer

» SXSW ‘08: Black Mountain (above)

» SXSW ‘08: Jens Lekman & White Williams

» SXSW ‘08: Peter Morén & Dizzee Rascal

» SXSW ‘08: The Mae Shi, HEALTH and The Tough Alliance (above)

» SXSW ‘08: The Wedding Present

» SXSW ‘08: Handsome Furs, Helio Sequence and El Guincho

» SXSW ‘08: Duffy (above)

» SXSW ‘08: The Pan I Am

» SXSW ‘08: Lightspeed Champion

» SXSW ‘08: The Soundtrack of Our Lives (above)

To my knowledge everything we’ve posted this year (to date) falls after the jump. Presenting: The Second Annual Questionably Helpful Losanjealous SXSW Coverage Index…
»continue reading SXSW 2008: Coverage Index

Mysterious, sporadic, occasionally inappropriate – not unlike your grandfather – the Losanjealous Benevolent Society compiles strange happenings and fun events in LA; the more bizarre, the better. If you’re organizing or know of an event you think belongs on the list, send the info to tips@losanjealous.com.

FRIDAY

American Zombie Premiere @ Laemmle Sunset 5
Since when did you turn down a zombie movie on the big screen? $6 coupon for the opening weekend here. Showtimes: 12:30, 2:50, 5:10, 7:30 & 10:00. Q&A schedule: Friday (3/28) and Saturday (3/29) after the 7:30PM show.

SATURDAY

Santa Monica Airport Art Walk
Free; 1:00 – 5:00pm. Browse the art, look at planes, possibly look at art depicting planes. The Ruskin Group Theater will perform highlights from its popular trademark monthly offering at 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.; admission to the theatre is equally free. Send Hamp Simmons up to heaven in style this year. Won’t you? @ Santa Monica Airport (Directions)
»continue reading Weekend To-Do List

SabatinoGate: 339 comments and counting (as of 429pm PST Thursday) for the Times’ apology regarding Chuck Philips’ inaccurate Tupac Shakur conspiracy report. You’ll of course recall the original story was heavily touted as the Times’ first-ever web-exclusive investigative report. They’ve since replaced said inaccurate article (602 diggs) with an apology, but the original article’s title remains damningly cached in their search engine. (Bonus! The mobile edition is still live as of Thursday afternoon. Read this hilarious collector’s item while you can. Print if necessary!)

UPDATE, 3/28: The original story now follows the Times’ apology here. And the mobile edition has been yanked as of this morning.

» A Formal Apology And Its Expanding Comment Section
» No comments here yet?

Citing “high fuel prices and insufficient revenue,” Utah-based airline SkyWest will be ending its non-stop flight service from Modesto to Los Angeles. The four times daily $245 roundtrip on a 30-seat turboprop will cease to fly this June. What impact this severing of a daily connection to and from Los Angeles reaps upon the Central Valley bedroom community, home to late great Grandaddy and Gallo Wines, and its residents remains to be seen. As of press time, $51 non-refundable round trip fares on Greyhound Buslines are still available.

Be sure to check in at 209Vibe.com for the latest Modesto/Stockton scene news. Tonight, 209Vibe.com presents Indie Rock! at Valley Brewing Co. (157 Adams St., Stockton). Headlining the night will be Fainting Goats, Susurrus Rex and French Cassettes. More info here.

Did You Hear? Angry violent mobs are beating the crap out of the emo kids in Mexico in what appears to be cut-and-dried hate crimes. Blogs sounds off:

» Daniel Hernandez picked up the story last Saturday. Check his comment thread for insight from both Los Angeles and Mexico; yes, actual Mexicans weighing in on the topic at hand. (also at LA Weekly)

» Brooklyn Vegan picked up the story today; check their lengthy comment thread primarily for hipster Brooklynites talking shit about other hipster Brooklynites (and a few scattered insights) (n/b: “EmoJihad” = clever nom de plume)

Tired of comments? It’s also on Time today, comment-free.

HEADS UP

She & Him @ Vista Theatre Tue 4/29

She & Him play the Vista Theater on Tuesday, April 29. Tickets will be available here this Friday, March 28 at 10 a.m.

She & Him: Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward

Face it, we couldn’t let a full week go by without saying Mudcrutch a good half-dozen times. As previously reported, Tom Petty will bring Mudcrutch to the Troubadour in April for four nights:

04/25/08: Troubadour
04/26/08: Troubadour
04/28/08: Troubadour
04/29/08: Troubadour

On-sale date is April 4; no faxes for this show. Check back closer to that date for your easy-access ticket purchase link.

» Tom Petty Reuniting Mudcrutch for 2008 Cali Tour; Playing Troubadour in April
» Radiohead, Jack Johnson, Tom Petty To Headline Outside Lands Festival
» Tom Petty, Steve Winwood Head to Hollywood Bowl: Tix On Sale Today

Dizzee Rascal.

Peter Morén.
»continue reading SXSW ‘08: Peter Morén & Dizzee Rascal

You know, I don’t quite know what to make of that hour and forty-five minutes with Mr. Unstable Musician. There were good jokes, bad jokes, wise anecdotes, preaching to the chorus, audience participation, music theory lessons, maps, and sometimes a little music. Out of nowhere, after a certain preamble — most went on for God knows how long — he said the word cool and played “Cool” from WEST SIDE STORY while Peter Erskine backed him up on drums. From the way he was tuning his flute, he was going into it, but here’s the good part: Jeff Ernstoff is a phenomenon. Do you know that song? Boy, boy, crazy bo-oy… he feathered through the introduction, the boo da BAT da boo da boo da boo DAT part, the scat element, the staccato stops and the melody like — well, it was like having your ears massaged by Jeffrey Ernstoff. Such fierce applause after his joke festivus that on the scale of mostly I’d give it a mostly worth the tongue-tied false starts, the indulgent self-referential monologues, the filler bullshit. Mostly. (They mostly come out at night mostly.)

Jeffrey Ernstoff comes to stage pushing a shopping cart and playing his Saxophone. But he is simultaneously the overhead projectionist, the therapist, his own biographer. Funny in the Ivy League way that funny is — do you know what I mean? Wrote a splendid piano ditty that got him into the WGA (worth it — I wish I had a copy). Plucks eight different horns from the shopping cart, tells this sort of knock-knock joke with the drums, jams with his peers, tells stories, does impersonations, teaches class. Lots of surprises.
»continue reading Jeffrey Ernstoff — Exactly One Hour with An Unstable American Musician