I’m happy to report the smashing success of The Bird and The Bee, Haim, The Damn Sons, and [Post-foetus] at the Tricot Showroom. The Fire Marshall almost shut it down, but FMLY came to the rescue. Out of respect to FMLY members Cameron Rath and Cody Silberfein, I wave my awkward pre-show experience walking up and down the winding staircase, wristbands, everybody wait outside, form two lines on the side, keep this middle area clear, one hour delay thing to just say thank you. Fuck the paddy wagon, rock the house.

I learned about FMLY that evening, described by Gray on the staircase as “a music collective, an art collective, basically throws shows, dedicates itself to bringing music back into prominence and is for the people.” Anonymous people found this show through your own Losanjealous, LA Weekly, KCRW, The Onion, Santa Monica something or other, The Bird and The Bee MySpace page, and THEFMLY.COM. The mostly under 21 audience came to honor their local band favorites, not necessarily The Bird and The Bee. Elijah said of Haim, “They’re very good. They’re like a girl pop band with testicles.” Most people to whom I spoke said that they’re REALLY good. Someone else said he did not know much about the Bird and The Bee, that he had one of their albums, “the, um, laser one” (Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future), and he was there to support [Post-foetus]. “I don’t really know them that well. I don’t really know them,” said another.

The next thing I knew, I was striking up a rapport with Serena of Serena Interiors. We discussed her Eastern positive outlook, meditation, new journeys… and then we were friends. This is something that happens at FMLY events, but how was I to know.

Inside, I appreciated the large loft Tricot: loud as hell, bricks for walls, open bar left, juice cage right, and up front, everyone around a ground level stage. The Tricot slowly filled with people. I tried to find out the name of the first band. No one knew it was [Post-foetus]. I noticed a Macbook Pro running noises and keyboard drops, a cellist with three guitar pedals near her chair, drums, two guitarists, a bassist, and front man Will Wiesenfeld. This singer, writer and recordist performed syncopated hand claps while uttering primal screams and chants over the six piece accompaniment.

I caught up with him after his set:

»continue reading The Bird and The Bee, Haim, The Damn Sons, and [Post-foetus] at the Tricot Showroom, March 14, 2009

Back to basics: Big Mike’s Philly Steaks & Subs. Ribeye steak sliced thin, served on a Steak roll with perfectly grilled onions, mushrooms and just the right amount of cheese. 6″ for about 5 bucks. Make it a combo with a hefty portion of garlic fries and a soda – You’re looking at $7 and change. No wagyu beef, heirloom tomato ketchup or foie gras butter here. Just a damn good cheesesteak.

12″ on the counter
»continue reading Under $10: Big Mike’s Philly Steaks & Subs

PHOTO: Zune Marketing Goofball Totally Arrested, Calle Seis, SXSW 2007 by Victor

Oh, hello there. We’re all down in Austin for the big music conference and festival. I just got off the treadmill, ate 37 lbs of BBQ and washed it down with a pitcher of Shiner, mixed with 50% Dewars. This is my usual SXSW training ritual (maybe you already knew this?) but sometimes I change it up and mix the Dewars with Red Bull, Lone Star and then some more Dewars on top. One time, I loaded up a pitcher with eight layers of the free booze the day parties were all going to be slinging, just to make sure my stomach wouldn’t be taken by surprise. I won’t get into the details at this time but suffice say that didn’t work so well.

I’ll stop bending your ear now; just wanted to let you know we should have some great stuff rolling out in the week to come (to say nothing of the content that’s waiting to be pushed out the door at present). In other words, if content’s light this week, we’ll catch up with a vengeance so stick around.

» All manner of SXSW miscellany

Akron/Family wrapped up three nights at the Steve Allen Theater last Thursday. Their new album, Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free will be released 5/5 on Dead Oceans. Tapers are welcome at all shows; current tour dates follow the jump.

»continue reading Akron/Family at the Steve Allen Theater, Thursday, May 12, 2009

PICK OF THE WEEK & TICKET GIVEAWAY

Primal Scream
w/ Brian Jonestown Massacre
Monday March 16
Club Nokia
Info
[ENTER TO WIN]
 

Simian Mobile Disco
w/ JDH and Dave P
Monday March 16
Henry Fonda Theater
Info
[ENTER TO WIN]

R.K.M & Ken-Y
Friday March 20
Club Nokia
Info
[ENTER TO WIN]
 
 

TUESDAY
And You Will Know Us By The Trail of the Dead @ Echoplex
Ladyhawke @ Troubadour
Mickey Avalon, The Pricks and special guests @ The Roxy (Mark Mahoney’s Shamrock Social Club Presents The Annual St. Patrick’s Day Party)

»continue reading Losanjealous Concert Picks: March 16 – 22

»continue reading Downtown Burger Assery: D-Town Burger Bar

»continue reading Efterklang, Spaceland, March 10, 2009

The Greek and The Gibson announce their 2009 season today. Perhaps of particular note for Losanjealenos are shows by Neko Case (Jason Lytle opening) and Andrew Bird (opener TBA), on June 12 and July 10, respectively.

The two venues are also once again pairing up on the Premiere Marquee Club, which has the exclusive pre-sale of the season going on now through April 7 (including the aforementioned two shows). Club members get their hands on the best seats in the house. Full details here.

Full schedule of the season’s shows follow below.

»continue reading Greek, Gibson Announce ’09 Season–Andrew Bird, Neko Case, Among Many Others

Your camp maintains the phony twitter feeds from washed-up celebrities, movie characters and inanimate objects are the jokes of yesterday. Our camp disagrees, cut from the cloth of the devout followers of John Kreese (as scripted by Paul Scheer). Still, we sit and sup daily, side by side on twitter, unequivocally agreeing that tweets from the Kogi BBQ Truck occupy a special, indescribable, sacred place within the psyche of today’s wired Los Angeles foodie. Things have been more or less balanced within the kogiverse, once we accepted and acknowledged that fact. When Phony Kogi showed up on the playground one day and thousands of people begin following his feed, we had questions, naturally. Are all of the thousands of followers in on the joke, over at fake Kogi feed? If so – or, more importantly, if not – where did they come from? The legitimate Kogi feed has less than 9,000 followers at press time. Where and how might a lawsuit be filed, based solely on text characters? Would that be defamation of text character? (“They used our trademarked capital “L” trick, so we sued for infringement…”) And just what is Phony Kogi’s beef, is he sick of the overhype of the original Kogi? Disgruntled ex-employee? Jealous competitor? Just bored? How long until Phony Kogi gets pulled? Will he get pulled? Are there twitter police? What twitter expert out there can tell me how this stuff plays out, or if it does? Help. Also, who cares. Let us all enjoy a hand-picked basket of tweets from Phony Kogi at this time:

New special for Lent: Anyone willing to wait 40 minutes for their food will get 5% off.
12:19 AM Mar 4th from web

is at Terminal 6 LAX you’ll luv our Venice Alley Kimchi Quesadilla
8:19 PM Feb 24th from web

We’ve just added a third truck. Dubbed ‘Negro’ this 60ft semi-trailer truck is big and black with supplies to satisfy multiple customers.
8:19 PM Feb 23rd from web

»continue reading Are You Following the Right Kogi?

HBO’s Rome is a richly layered, gloriously appointed drama set in antiquity, boasting a Cecil B. DeMille exactitude tradition, filmed in Italy, and upholding the historical context of its setting. When in HBO’s Rome, revenge is laudable, something like underwear is optional, and gods, dirt, graffiti, slaves and blood are everywhere. How respectfully did HBO add a sense of the real?

If you’ve watched the series (both seasons are now available on DVD), you’d remember Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo (Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenpon) and the upstairs-downstairs bifurcations in the narrative that drove these two centurions through the downfall of the Republic to the rise of the dread Roman Empire. You’d also remember commendatory performances, resplendent cityscapes, a male slave with a bloated and gaudily decorated phallus (a single, unforgettable moment in which Atia of the Julii attempts to placate one of her enemies with the gift of big love), clay jars filled with ash, swagger, fire, aqueducts, death by garroting, fruits and meat hanging from hooks, smoke stains on the hearthstone, and sadistic and violent acts of pater familias.

Last Thursday, The Getty welcomed us to the Second Annual Villa Council Lecture made possible by the Villa Council, one of a triumvirate who rose to take bows (and rightly) for making this possible. At stake, nothing short of pushing the craft and creating glimpses of historical fiction from the point of view of the entertainment industry. Jonathan Stamp, historical consultant for Rome, geeky, gawky, spirited and British, took his seat next to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and commentator Patt Morrison for a go-round on whether accurate portrayals are even possible in Hollywood.

»continue reading Veni, Vidi, Veracity: HBO at the Getty Villa