PHOTO by Sung. Full set here.

Debuting the Doolittle show to the U.S. at this first of a three-night-stand at the Hollywood Palladium, Pixies have the crowd won over before a note is played. But nonetheless they will deliver the goods over the course of an hour and half set that unfolds. One of the side effects of the play-a-classic-album show is that the fixed script largely eliminates the element of surprise and prunes out the most casual fans. The collective vibe is thus more akin to that of something like Rocky Horror screening; the converted going to church. It’s heartening to see multiple generations of fans, even if the mean age might skew a bit towards the Gen X’ers. One little ‘tween girl skipping around has an endearing tiny iron-on shirt with their four faces in silhouette.

After a pixelated projection of Buñuel and Dali’s Un chien andalou, famously source material for the poetry of Debaser, they take the stage, three of the four of them clad in slimming all black, David the lone hold out in a white button down. A quartet of conjoined glowing globes, something between a science fair molecular model and rosary beads, dangles over them. Lo-fi but effective stage art (to go along with projections of unique new song-length films assigned to most of the songs). They ease into the set with four Doolittle-era B-sides. And while I had hoped for Kim’s “Debaser” bouncing bass eighth-notes to be the first sounds of the night, going with the B-sides proves to the be right way to go–a nod to the deeper fans, serving to build the anticipation, while setting the album in some kind of context.

»continue reading Pixies, Peforming Doolittle, Hollywood Palladium, November 4, 2009

Vampire Weekend’s self titled debut marked the first time in recent memory that my Album of the Year was decided in January. After nearly two years of missing the band in NY (even having to give away a ticket to go to a company Christmas party), I managed my way to Long Beach last night for the kick off of their California Mini-Tour (stopping in one Starbucks towns like Pioneertown, Lomita, and Visalia) in promotion of their upcoming sophomore, Contra. The Art Theater of Long Beach had been converted into an unconventional music venue, with first come first serve seating and some limited standing area by the stage.

In front of a crowd of about 200, the young New York City band wasted no time getting into new material, opening with long-time live staple, “White Sky,” which will appear on Contra. Other new tracks included “Holiday,” “California English,” “Run,” and “Cousins,” which is heavy on the surf guitar and quickly becoming my new favorite. The new single, “Horchata” (’dedicated to Lola’s across the street,’ where they apparently have really good horchata), sounded particularly tight for a new addition.

»continue reading Vampire Weekend Bring Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa to Long Beach Movie Theater

PICK OF THE WEEK

Pixies
Doolittle Tour
Wed 11/4 w/ No Age
Thurs 11/5 w/ Black Gold
Fri 11/6 w/ Rain Machine
Hollywood Palladium
 

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THIS WEEK’S TICKET GIVEAWAYS

Ian Anderson
Performs the Acoustic
Jethro Tull
Fri 11/6
The Wiltern
Info | [ENTER TO WIN]

Bostich + Fussible
Nortec Collective Presents
Thurs 11/5
Echoplex
Info
[ENTER TO WIN]

Múm
w/ Sin Fang Bous & Hildur Gudnadottir
Fri 11/6
El Rey Theater
Info
[ENTER TO WIN]
 

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The Cribs
Johnny Marr’s first L.A. Cribs appearance
w/ The Blood Arm
Mon 11/9
Info
[ENTER TO WIN]
 

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HEADS UP

The Books @ Hollywood Forever Masonic Lodge Mon 11/23
Cold War Kids @ The Wiltern Fri 1/22
Fishbone, Less Than Jake, Cage, The Swellers & screening of the Warped Tour 15th Anniversary Movie @ Glass House Sat 12/5
The Start w/ Mellowdrone @ Troubadour Sat 12/12
Tom Morello, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Tom Gabrel, Shirley Manson, Butch Walker, Jarrod Gorbel, Charlotte Martin and more @ Avalon (Pablove Foundation Benefit) Sat 11/21
U2 @ Anaheim Stadium Sun 6/6/10 (On sale 11/9/09 10 am)
U2 @ Oakland Alameda County Colosseum (On sale 11/2/09) Wed 6/16/10
City and Colour @ Henry Fonda Sat 1/23
Squirrel Nut Zippers @ El Rey Fri 1/1
Lady Gaga w/ Kid Cudi @ Nokia Theater Wed 12/23
Lady Gaga w/ Kid Cudi @ Nokia Theater Tue 12/22
Fat Freddy’s Drop @ The Roxy Fri 11/20
The Cribs w/ The Blood Arm @ The Roxy Mon 11/9
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Miquel Atwood-Ferguson Quintet, DJ Sets by Madlib, Coleman & B+ @ Echoplex Fri 11/6
Deftones @ Avalon Thu 11/19
50 Cent, T-Pain, Pitbull, Fabolous, Jeremih and Jay Sean @ Gibson Amphitheatre (Power 106 Cali Christmas) Wed 12/16
Them Crooked Vultures @ The Wiltern (Dave Grohl, Joshua Homme and John Paul Jones) Tue 11/17
Slash, Ozzy Osbourne, Perry Farrell, Billy Idol, Travis Barker, Chester Bennington (Linkin Park), Andrew Stockdale (Wolfmother), Dave Navarro & more @ Avalon (Layn Rocks: Los Angeles Youth Network Homeless Benefit hosted by George Lopez) Sun 11/22
We The People Festival @ L.A. Center Studios (Bad Religion, Suicidal Tendencies, Madvillian, Flobots, Anti-Pop Consortium, Daedelus, Blu&Exile, Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds & more) Sat 11/21
Lizz Wright @ Luckman Theatre Sat 11/7
 

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MONDAY
Shonen Knife w/ Ty Segall @ The Echo
Vampire Weekend @ The Art Theater of Long Beach
White Rabbits @ El Rey

TUESDAY
Devo @ Henry Fonda (Performing “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!” )
LA Weekly’s LA 101 w/ Silversun Pickups, Dandy Warhols, Dengue Fever & Matt and Kim @ Gibson Amphitheatre
Minus The Bear @ Glass House
Ojos Rojos, Jason Simon (Dead Meadow) @ The Press (129 Harvard Ave, Claremont) (free)

»continue reading Losanjealous Concert Picks: Nov. 2 – 8

Set list below.

»continue reading Dirty Projectors, Jensen Rec Center, Halloween 2009

This past Halloween, thousands of Angelenos gathered at the beautiful Legendary Park Plaza near MacArthur Park for KCRW’s Masquerade: A Halloween Costume Ball & Dance Party.  With one look at the massive two-story venue (several large wings and two outdoor areas for lounging and dining at some of LA’s premier food trucks), the set list (DJ Shadow, Sea Wolf, Little Dragon, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, various KCRW DJs) and the full costume participation of the guests, we knew this was going to be a stellar night. 

»continue reading KCRW’s Masquerade: A Halloween Costume Ball & Dance Party, October 31, 2009

A costumed Vampire Weekend played a secret show on Halloween at a loft apartment in Chinatown. The location was fitting since the building was home to the legendary Madame Wong’s night club in the 70’s and 80’s. Keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij dressed up as a unicorn, drummer Chris Tomson was Ace Ventura, bassist Chris Baio wore a giant shrimp costume, but I could never quite make out who singer Ezra Koenig was supposed to be. The band tore through a full set of new and old songs with Mansard Roof and Oxford Comma sounding better than ever. It was a relaxed house party atmosphere with the main room crowded only during the performance. Throughout the night guests mingled around the kitchen turned DJ & bar area, the smaller family room space, and the rooftop terrace. The latter I discovered through climbing a long second stairway and half expecting to see Kareem Abdul Jabbar around the corner at the top as in Game of Death. Free Colt 45’s were served and, in a shoe store that was open on the ground level, free Tecates were offered. Ironically, no Horchata was to be found.

Der Golem, Wie Er In Eie Welt Kam

Direction, analog synths and miscellany by Brian LeBarton (Beck)
Percussion by Carla Azar (Autolux)
Cello by Vanessa Freebairn-Smith

Over the course of 90 minutes in a darkened room under Disney Hall last night Brian LeBarton, clad in a fur-and-rubber wolf mask, made enough improvised bleeps, blurps and flatulent noises to equal the output of six men with an array of vintage synths surrounding his workspace. Supporting musicians Carla and Vanessa were tastefully subdued, never at the forefront for any extended period of time. Nothing was rehearsed beforehand.

Golem, the movie itself, 90+ minutes of shadowy lighting and fantastic 1920 surrealist sets by Hans Poelzig (playbook of which Theodore Geisel must surely have taken a page from), has been scored a variety of ways over the ages (fun and notable example: dig the brief death metal montage by Mike Patton’s Fantomas, here). I’m not exactly sure the reason, but spacey free jazz and analog sounds lend themselves to silent German Expressionist films quite well, and last night’s performance was well-executed and no exception, drawing parallels for myself to the scoring of Murnau’s Nosferatu by the venerable Tortiose a couple of years ago up in Chicago.

»continue reading Brief Notes on Last Night’s Live Golem Score, REDCAT, Brian LeBarton & Guests

Bestselling UK import Florence Welch treated a few Angelenos to a small, acoustic (albeit harp-inclusive) set inside the Roosevelt Hotel, evening last. Those with tickets for tonight’s show, please let me know if she skips around the Troubadour stage. I was told that she generally skips all over the stage while belting out those long sustained notes, but last night’s tiny alcove allowed for zero skipping. Seriously want to know if she skips, guys. -R

HEADS UP
Florence & The Machine @ Troubadour Fri Oct 30 (tonight) (long sold out; good luck)

HEADS UP
The Golem w/Live Score @ REDCAT Fri Oct 30
The Golem w/Live Score @ REDCAT Sat Oct 31 (ALL HALLOWS’ EVE)

Creepy German Expressionism at its finest: The Golem: How He Came Into the World gets the musical treatment it deserves this evening and tomorrow, downtown ‘neath the Disney Hall. These two screenings will feature a live score by Brian LeBarton (Beck’s music director and keyboardist) with special guest Carla Azar (Autolux) and more. Personally I’m stoked; these shows have been on the calendar ever since Brian told us about them! If you have no plans for Halloween, or your plans run on the late side Saturday, why not enter to win a pair of tickets to the Saturday screening by sending me your first and last name right here. Winner will be notified EOD; the film starts promptly at 830pm both nights. I’ll be there as well, so come say hello and if you’re in costume, go ahead, see if you can earn one of five existing pieces of our beyond-limited-edition-at-this-point Losanjealous 2009 OkiTaffy. Huzzah!

Thu 10/29 Built To Spill w/ Disco Doom @ Echoplex | [ENTER TO WIN]
Fri 10/30 Bouncing Souls w/ Bayside & Broadway Calls @ El Rey | [ENTER TO WIN]
Fri 10/30 Built To Spill w/ Disco Doom @ Echoplex | [ENTER TO WIN]
Sat 10/31 Bouncing Souls w/ Bayside & Broadway Calls @ El Rey | [ENTER TO WIN]
Thu 10/29 Land of Talk @ Spaceland | [ENTER TO WIN]
Fri 10/30 Amy Millan (of Stars) @ Spaceland | [ENTER TO WIN]

Full photo gallery below.

»continue reading U2, Rose Bowl, October 25, 2009

PICK OF THE WEEK

Phish Festival 8
3-Day Event
Oct 30, 31 & Nov 1
Empire Polo Field, Indio
Tickets & Info
[ENTER TO WIN 3-DAY PASSES]
Contest closed. Thanks to all the many of you that entered!
 
 

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Soulico
w/ Ceci Bastida
Wed Oct 28
Spaceland
Info
[ENTER TO WIN]

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Bouncing Souls
w/ Bayside, Broadway Calls
El Rey Theater
Fri Oct 30 & Sat Oct 31
[ENTER TO WIN FRI] | [ENTER TO WIN SAT]
 
HEADS UP

Band of Skulls @ Troubadour Fri 12/11
Bebel Gilberto @ Henry Fonda Wed 12/9
Lady Gaga w/ Kid Cudi @ Nokia Theater Mon 12/21
Julian Casablancas @ Palace Theater, Downtown (4-show package) Fri 11/6
Julian Casablancas @ Palace Theater, Downtown Fri 11/27
Julian Casablancas @ Palace Theater, Downtown Fri 11/20
Julian Casablancas @ Palace Theater, Downtown Fri 11/13
Julian Casablancas @ Palace Theater, Downtown Fri 11/6
Castledoor, We Barbarians @ Bootleg Theater Fri 10/23
Benefit for Laura Ann @ Echoplex (Backward Clock Society featuring Billy Corgan, Kerry Brown and Mark Tulin, The Happy Stars (Brian Young and Joe Skyward), The Pulsars, Tim Rutili, Syd Straw, Pity Party, Light FM, more) Sun 11/8
David Garza @ Largo Wed 11/18
 

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MONDAY
Peaches w/ Men @ Glass House
Tegan & Sara @ Orpheum Theatre
The Gossip @ Henry Fonda

TUESDAY
Ojos Rojos, Chief Nowhere @ The Press (129 Harvard Ave, Claremont) (free)
Sunset Rubdown @ Troubadour

»continue reading Losanjealous Concert Picks: October 26 – November 1

Set list below.

»continue reading Weezer, Hollywood Palladium, October 25, 2009

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MORE 2009 TREASURE ISLAND FESTIVAL, DAY 1

2009 Treasure Island Festival, Day 1: MGMT, Girl Talk & LTJ Bukem feat MC Conrad

2009 Treasure Island Festival, Day 1: Dan Deacon, Brazilian Girls, DJ Krush & Federico Aubele

Hat tip to Ice Cream Man for sending this our way; this is pretty cool. In the above video Glen Hansard decides to entertain the people who are waiting in line in order to hear him play inside the store. He ends by grinning and saying, “See you all inside.” The outside, cars-driving-by aspect of the impromptu performance reminds me a bit of that video we shot for John Vanderslice a while back, wherein John was chased away from the hour-plus line outside Pink’s hot dogs.

» Glen Hansard welcomes us to FingerPrints (YouTube)