Friday 12.07.07: RADARS TO THE SKY

Radars To The Sky

Combining the traditional indie rock guitar-centered, multiple-part stylings of Built to Spill, early Modest Mouse, and Pavement with some more straightforward tunes in the vein of The Pixies and Death Cab for Cutie, with a hint of introspection a la M. Ward and Wilco, the band’s style hearkens back to what indie rock was meant to be, while keeping their sound firmly in the future. – Epitunes.com

with:
The Henry Clay People || Listen
The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra

Tickets Available at The Door

Thursday 12.06.07: MIDNIGHT MOVIES

Midnight Movies || Listen

Midnight Movies validate their nom de guerre by trafficking in a strain of the same type of late night eeriness that underlines classics like Eraserhead and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Their sophomore album, Lion the Girl, slated for an April release, is an alternately floating and driving affair. Schemel and Wood manufacture My Bloody Valentine-lite soundscapes that range from ominous and fractured to lazy and lilting. Olivier’s ghostly vocals always suggest an altered consciousness; it’s just not clear if she’s having a good dream or a bad one. “You saved me from the bats in the chimneys / I guess I should thank you again for that,” Olivier sings on the album’s closer, “Two Years.” – Spin.com

with:
Heloise and The Savoir Faire || Listen
Voxhaul Broadcast
Tim Myers || Listen

Wednesday 12.05.07: CLUB NME with BLOODCAT LOVE

Bloodcat Love || Listen

Bloodcat Love’s muscular, beer-soaked primitivism stops mercifully short of the clichéd theatrics that sabotage a lot of L.A. bands, and its danceability speaks to Hendrik’s years spent as a DJ, promoter and man about clubs. “Subconsciously you get a feel for what makes people move, and an understanding of what people emote to,” he says. “We do make music you can kick your heels to.” – LA Times Buzz Bands

with:
The Lieutenants
Hollerado || Listen

Tickets available at the door

PLEAS NOTE: RUMBLESTRIPS ARE NOT PLAYING. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY HAD TO CANCEL THEIR SHOW

Sunday 12.09.07: The Onion presents: PUNK ROCK KARAOKE

Punk Rock Karaoke

with:
Greg Hetson (Bad Religion / Circle Jerks)
Eric Melvin (NOFX)
Steve Soto (Adolescents)
Derek O’Brien (Social Distortion)

and YOU!!!

With special guests:
Kidneys

FMI: Punk Rock Karaoke

Presented by

Saturday 12.08.07: THE CORAL SEA

The Coral Sea || Listen

The members of the Coral Sea, led by singer/guitarist/primary songwriter Rey Villalobos, make atmospheric dream/art rock that reflects the city’s Mediterranean climate and purple-pink mountains. Rather than creating beautiful shimmering music to escape a rather bleak area — think of all the diaphanous shoegazer bands that sprung out of drab suburban England — the Coral Sea’s members write music that is the aural equivalent of a Santa Barbara sunset, sweeping colors and soft breezes rustling the palm trees. Though the band is essentially a straight-up indie four-piece, the string quartet the members incorporated into their music is what really makes them stand out. Synthesized strings are usually a nice touch, but when the strings are live, it’s a whole new experience, and Villalobos’s compositions are only stronger for having the quartet on board. Take Sigur Ros, Space Oddity-era David Bowie, Radiohead, U2 and Pink Floyd and add a splash of twee, and the Coral Sea is that sonic cocktail. And Villalobos’s sweet, clear voice is the sugar on the rim. – Prefix mag

with:
The Playing Favorites (featuring members of Sugarcult and Lagwagon) || Listen
Light FM
Exitmusic

Sunday 12.02.07: YOU ME AND IOWA

You Me and Iowa || Listen

Featuring a good mix of indie, pop, and dance rock, You, Me, & Iowa stand out from much of the LA indie scene. They make simple, fun, and meaningful rock music that could be adaptable by hipsters, teens, and college kids alike (and everyone else, for that matter). Their short, but impressive six song set featured a mix of songs from their debut EP Bigger Than Boston and a taste of new material from their upcoming, yet to be titled full length. Their lyrics are reminiscent of early Weezer circa Pinkerton with catchy indie pop melodies the likes of Death Cab for Cutie with a hint of prog thrown in to the mix. – Billboard Mobile Beat

with:
Oso || Listen
Loverlee || Listen
Summer Darling

FREE SHOW

Saturday 12.01.07: ENTRANCE

Entrance || Listen

Guy Blakeslee is not the first musician to feel the cold chill of the grave on his neck, nor the first to evoke said shiver with eerie slides of blues guitar. His fourth full-length (the first on Tee Pee) may, however, be the happiest album ever written about death or at least the one you’re most likely to dance to, whirling gypsy style around the room. That’s because his contemplation of memento mori is unusually euphoric, full of ecstatic sweeps and jubiliant yelps. He may be staring death right in the eyes, but he’s happy about it—he can hardly contain himself.

Consider the opening sally of “Grim Reaper Blues”, a buzz of feedback exploding into great circling blues guitar riffs, the whole enterprise so enveloped in pitch-black echo that you feel you’re listening in a cave (or perhaps a sepulcher). Still there’s a party going on down here. Pass the flask, grim reaper, because Entrance is downright exultant in his howls and bends and slides. – Popmatters

with:
Tsk Tsk
Lord Jeff

Tickets available at the door

Saturday 11.24.07: WHY?

Why? || Listen

The indie folk-pop-hop-mustache rock Oakland trio is back…and they sound pissed. Why?’s new single, “The Hollows”, is a tempestuous anthem darkly laced with paranoia, acrimony, and the disturbances of front man Yoni Wolf. Driven by leisure ominous guitars, “The Hollows” remains beached in convoluted art pop featuring towering piano arpeggios with occasional electric riffs. Wolf’s hushed and jarringly angst lyrics blended with tense instrumentation deliver an edgy pop, while “The Hollows” is about as dim as a pop song gets. The Hollows EP features contributions from Boards of Canada, Islands, Xiu Xiu, Dntel, Dump and Half-Handed Cloud. – Filter

with:
The Happy Hollows || Listen
Half Handed Cloud

Friday 11.16.07: AMATEURS

Amateurs || Listen

Amateurs, a Californian foursome of soundscaping indie rockers, have the tools to both impress and confuse with their self-released debut, which boasts the loveliest CD inlay and Web site design I’ve seen in awhile. This turns out to be a fine, if shallow, introduction to the band: on the cover, an array of colors stream infinitely in and out of a telephone, and each color could be one of the dozens of moods, niches, and influences this band evokes. In spite, or because, of the number of cues and atmospheric stimuli, the album is a pleasant surprise, expertly produced (by David Trumfio, who has worked with Wilco and Grandaddy), adventurous, immediately affecting, and unpredictable. – Stylus

with:
I Make This Sound || Listen
Nightfur || Listen
Model K

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE SHOW

Friday 11.30.07: THE FREQUENCY

The Frequency || Listen

There were many other fine performances delivered during the festival’s opening night. The best belonged to The Frequency [ tickets ], a young Los Angeles-based band that conjures up a soaring mix of indie-rock, psychedelic and ambient sounds. At times, the group seemed to be channeling Pink Floyd, circa 1975′s “Wish You Were Here,” as the guitar work reached David Gilmour’s anthemic heights. In other spots, the band was as ethereal as Air or as artsy as the Beta Band. In all, the set was enough to make one thing perfectly clear: The Frequency should be on every rock fan’s radar. – Live Daily

Thursday 11.29.07 – CLUB NME with THE HEDRONS

The Hedrons || Listen

Reminiscent of the British invasions of yesteryear, the aggressive onslaught of Glaswegian rock bands continues with a fiery foursome dubbed the Hedrons. Armed with outrageous stage names — Tippi (lead vocals), Gill (bass), Rosie (lead guitar), and Soup (drums) — the edgy Nuevo-punk upstarts achieved modest local success with a trio of singles (“Be My Friend,” “I Need You,” and “Heatseeker”) all placing in the Top 20 of the U.K. indie singles chart. Their debut LP, One More Won’t Kill Us, is out now on the Scottish-based label, Measured. – Spin.com

with:
Black Sugar
Bullets for Dolly

Friday 11.23.07: WHITE OUT with NELS CLINE

White Out with Nels Cline || Listen

White Out, it would seem, has quite a deep bag of tricks from which to pull their beguiling instrumentals. “Ghost Mirror Image” begins the album with sounds that wouldn’t seem out of place in a science fiction movie. Winant’s percussion forms a supple bed over which the remaining trio conducts deep space ray gun battles amidst ships jockeying for position in the cosmos – think Wendy Carlos Williams scoring outtakes from the original Star Wars with some help from a light-handed Han Bennik and you have a pretty decent idea of what’s going on here. That is, of course, until all the sounds on display fold back on themselves in a singularity and turn into a cacophonous black hole. – Dusted Magazine

with:
Alasdair Roberts
Charalambides

Sunday 12.30.07: RENO IN LA with NEIL HAMBURGER

RENO IN LA – a monthly night of variety and comedy

hosted by:
Neil Hamburger

with:
Quacker
Arthur Nakane

The best of Reno-quality entertainers, right here in Los Angeles!

All the glamour, celebrity, and excitement of a Reno casino showroom – for the first time ever in our little town!

Sunday 11.25.07: RENO IN LA with NEIL HAMBURGER

RENO IN LA – a monthly night of variety and comedy

hosted by:
Neil Hamburger

With special guests:
Imagine “The” Band || Listen
The Abe Lincoln Story || Listen

The best of Reno-quality entertainers, right here in Los Angeles!

All the glamour, celebrity, and excitement of a Reno casino showroom – for the first time ever in our little town!

Wednesday 11.28.07: CLOSED FOR FILMING

Tuesday 11.27.07: CLOSED FOR FILMING

Thursday 11.22.07: CLOSED FOR THANKSGIVING

Monday 12.17.07: Monday Night Residency – THE BINGES

The Binges || Listen

What can one say about the Binges… for starters there a straight forward four on the floor Rock-N-Roll machine. They have a great buzz right now around LA with there constant playing and promoting, touring with Priestess in Canada at the moment doesn’t hurt either. People ask me, JD do you think The Binges are the saving grace for the developing rock scene here in LA? My response, their on the right track. They have solid playing from all the players. Guitarist Mayuko Okai plays like Angus Young circa If You Want Blood and sister Tsuzumi. Okai kicks the bass just as hard. Drummer Skanky Smith is possessed by the power of rock-n-roll when he plays. Its either that or an epileptic seizure . Dylan Squatcho Mr. lead vox himself has the element of coolness and a laid back feel to him at times . All together one top notch band among the LA scene to watch out for and check out! – All Access Magazine

with:
The Ringers || Listen
The Harlots
Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip

FREE SHOW

Monday 12.10.07: Monday Night Residency – THE BINGES

The Binges || Listen

What can one say about the Binges… for starters there a straight forward four on the floor Rock-N-Roll machine. They have a great buzz right now around LA with there constant playing and promoting, touring with Priestess in Canada at the moment doesn’t hurt either. People ask me, JD do you think The Binges are the saving grace for the developing rock scene here in LA? My response, their on the right track. They have solid playing from all the players. Guitarist Mayuko Okai plays like Angus Young circa If You Want Blood and sister Tsuzumi. Okai kicks the bass just as hard. Drummer Skanky Smith is possessed by the power of rock-n-roll when he plays. Its either that or an epileptic seizure . Dylan Squatcho Mr. lead vox himself has the element of coolness and a laid back feel to him at times . All together one top notch band among the LA scene to watch out for and check out! – All Access Magazine

with:
The Wildbirds || Listen
Codebreaker
This Moment in Black History

FREE SHOW

Monday 12.03.07: Monday Night Residency – THE BINGES

The Binges || Listen

What can one say about the Binges… for starters there a straight forward four on the floor Rock-N-Roll machine. They have a great buzz right now around LA with there constant playing and promoting, touring with Priestess in Canada at the moment doesn’t hurt either. People ask me, JD do you think The Binges are the saving grace for the developing rock scene here in LA? My response, their on the right track. They have solid playing from all the players. Guitarist Mayuko Okai plays like Angus Young circa If You Want Blood and sister Tsuzumi. Okai kicks the bass just as hard. Drummer Skanky Smith is possessed by the power of rock-n-roll when he plays. Its either that or an epileptic seizure . Dylan Squatcho Mr. lead vox himself has the element of coolness and a laid back feel to him at times . All together one top notch band among the LA scene to watch out for and check out! – All Access Magazine

with:
Biblical Proof of UFOs || Listen
Get Up Get Down

FREE SHOW

Wednesday 11.21.07: CLUB NME

Dewar’s Drink Specials: $3 before Midnight, $1 after

Tuesday 11.20.07: Ranch Party w/ DAVE GLEASON

with:
Dave Gleason || Listen
King Straggler

Hosted By Merle Jagger

FMI: Ranch Party on Myspace

$8 at the door

Thursday 11.01.07: NO-MIND

No-Mind

with:
The Tartans
Black Umbrella
Trophy Wives

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR

Thursday 11.15.07: THE KING KAHN AND BBQ SHOW

The King Kahn and BBQ show || Listen

“Hot dang!!” and other assorted soulful yalps were rising like Thanksgiving burps upon the return last night of that deranged duo of doo-wop, King Kahn & BBQ. These guys release records with the birthing frequency of a particularly randy female rabbit, so to say they were in town to support such and such record is off point, as they’re more than ready to breathlessly tell you about their next slab. Since Kahn lives in Berlin (and is busy with his infinite side projects and his family) and BBQ lives wherever he lays his turbin (while also dishing up side-stuff, like his fine recent In the Red CD under the Mark Sultan moniker), it’s always a treat whenever they can get into town, and this was no different. The band flopped onstage set list-less, and took requests while churning through their sock-hop messaround. – CMJ

with:
Haunted George
Pleaseeasaur || Listen

Wednesday 11.14.07: Indie 103.1 presents CLUB NME w/ POLYTECHNIC

Polytechnic || Listen

The pop melodies of early Supergrass, the swaggering faux-crap aesthetic of early Pavement, the jangly Manc idiocy of early Primal Scream… none of these tenets are really all that noticeable in the long run. Where Polytechnic’s debut is strongest is in the way they obscure these sounds and make them golden on their own terms… Following suit, there is evidence of indie-pop dot-to-dot in terms of the tricks they use on Down Til Dawn (you can’t swing a cat for handclaps and ‘wooh-wooh’ harmonies), but when they’re combined quite so sweetly with subtle dents in the mould, it feels more like the homecoming of something we know after some time in the wilderness. Indeed, the intrusive bassline during the chorus of ‘Still Spinning’ cleverly takes the focus away from what is actually of rather gorgeous melodic interest. We know what we’re hearing, but we also like that we’re being asked to hear it in an alien way. – Drowned in Sound

with:
Castledoor
Mighty Six Ninety

Dewar’s Drink Specials: $3 before midnight, $1 after midnight

Sunday 11.18.07: RADEMACHER

Rademacher || Listen

Some exciting local talent has sprouted recently, ranging from the madcap home-taped micro-hits of Reid May to the icy boy-girl-boy-girl indie drawl of Rademacher. The latter group has been self-releasing EPs since 2004 and building a following on tour sojourns with the Joggers and Man Man, with whom it shares some melodramatic vocal quirks and occasional shambling moments. Though the licks and cadences from its valley elders are impossible to miss, the band still creates a brutally contemporary sound, and its onstage panache recently led Billboard magazine to recognize its “potential to break into the big time.” – SF Weekly

with:
Earlimart Duo (Aaron Espinoza & Ariana Murray)
Tigers Can Bite You || Listen
The Karabal Nightlife || Listen

FREE SHOW

Tuesday 11.13.07: THE WHIGS

The Whigs || Listen

Although Athens, Georgia club favorites The Whigs have built enough momentum over the last couple years to snag opening slots for trendy, high profile bands like The Killers and Franz Ferdinand, the music of The Whigs actually hearkens back to the glory days of indie rock during the early 1990s, when American indie rock was at is most indomitable and vibrant. They might hail from Athens, the home of R.E.M., Neutral Milk Hotel, and the Drive-By Truckers, but The Whigs’ own version of Southern indie rock, while indebted to early R.E.M., sounds inspired mostly by bands from further north, more specifically, Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s Superchunk and Archers of Loaf, with touches of Dinosaur Jr. and Built to Spill tossed in as well. When performed well, that kind of simple, mega-amplified music can still sound thrilling, and judging by the apparent success of The Whigs’ live shows, and the potency of the live recordings this writer has heard, the robust sounding trio of guitarist/singer Parker Gispert, bassist/guitarist Hank Sullivant, and drummer Julian Dorio are certainly on the right track. – Popmatters

with:
Wild Sweet Orange
Le Switch || Listen
Blair

Monday 11.26.07: Monday Night Residency – SOFTLIGHTES (MOVED TO ECHOPLEX)

Softlightes || Listen

Softlightes are the type of band that make you wonder, “where the hell did these guys come from?” Perhaps it’s their “outta left field” aura that excites me, or better yet, the great electronic pop rock they’ve mastered. Their electro-pop experimentation is evident on many tracks of their debut Say No To Being Cool Say Yes To Being Happy (Feb. 13), however it’s their all too melodic talents that make the fellas of Softlightes tug on your ear like a small child on your arm sleeve. With a history that is limited to an all but locally released EP, Softlightes are entering the independent music scene with a simple and effective gameplan: show up with no background information and lots of good music. The “California pop sound” may run rampant in their native blood, but it’s their simple arrangement “Heart Made of Sound” that was too enticing to resist. The band’s clever lyrics are emphasized with playful echoes of a shouting/backing chorus, coupled with a melodic guitar strumming that is carefully complimented by an utterly spasmodic piano. – I Guess I’m Floating

with:
El Ten Eleven
Porterville
Asbury

DJs Mellowdrone

@ Echoplex
(Enter from Sunset)
1822 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

FREE SHOW

Monday 11.19.07: Monday Night Residency – SOFTLIGHTES

Softlightes || Listen

Softlightes are the type of band that make you wonder, “where the hell did these guys come from?” Perhaps it’s their “outta left field” aura that excites me, or better yet, the great electronic pop rock they’ve mastered. Their electro-pop experimentation is evident on many tracks of their debut Say No To Being Cool Say Yes To Being Happy (Feb. 13), however it’s their all too melodic talents that make the fellas of Softlightes tug on your ear like a small child on your arm sleeve. With a history that is limited to an all but locally released EP, Softlightes are entering the independent music scene with a simple and effective gameplan: show up with no background information and lots of good music. The “California pop sound” may run rampant in their native blood, but it’s their simple arrangement “Heart Made of Sound” that was too enticing to resist. The band’s clever lyrics are emphasized with playful echoes of a shouting/backing chorus, coupled with a melodic guitar strumming that is carefully complimented by an utterly spasmodic piano. – I Guess I’m Floating

with:
Sunday Drivers
Arizona || Listen
Unbusted
Unbusted

FREE SHOW

Monday 11.12.07:: Monday Night Residency – SOFTLIGHTES

Softlightes || Listen

Softlightes are the type of band that make you wonder, “where the hell did these guys come from?” Perhaps it’s their “outta left field” aura that excites me, or better yet, the great electronic pop rock they’ve mastered. Their electro-pop experimentation is evident on many tracks of their debut Say No To Being Cool Say Yes To Being Happy (Feb. 13), however it’s their all too melodic talents that make the fellas of Softlightes tug on your ear like a small child on your arm sleeve. With a history that is limited to an all but locally released EP, Softlightes are entering the independent music scene with a simple and effective gameplan: show up with no background information and lots of good music. The “California pop sound” may run rampant in their native blood, but it’s their simple arrangement “Heart Made of Sound” that was too enticing to resist. The band’s clever lyrics are emphasized with playful echoes of a shouting/backing chorus, coupled with a melodic guitar strumming that is carefully complimented by an utterly spasmodic piano. – I Guess I’m Floating

with:
We Barbarians || Listen
Dead Ponies
Asher

plus DJ Kid Lightning

FREE SHOW

Monday 11.05.07: Monday Night Residency – SOFTLIGHTES

Softlightes || Listen

Softlightes are the type of band that make you wonder, “where the hell did these guys come from?” Perhaps it’s their “outta left field” aura that excites me, or better yet, the great electronic pop rock they’ve mastered. Their electro-pop experimentation is evident on many tracks of their debut Say No To Being Cool Say Yes To Being Happy (Feb. 13), however it’s their all too melodic talents that make the fellas of Softlightes tug on your ear like a small child on your arm sleeve. With a history that is limited to an all but locally released EP, Softlightes are entering the independent music scene with a simple and effective gameplan: show up with no background information and lots of good music. The “California pop sound” may run rampant in their native blood, but it’s their simple arrangement “Heart Made of Sound” that was too enticing to resist. The band’s clever lyrics are emphasized with playful echoes of a shouting/backing chorus, coupled with a melodic guitar strumming that is carefully complimented by an utterly spasmodic piano. – I Guess I’m Floating

with:
Versa Vice
Kennen
DJ Induce

FREE SHOW

Sunday 11.11.07: CURSIVE

Cursive || Listen

Kasher’s ‘other’ project The Good Life – it can hardly be considered a side-project considering its success – has become the key outlet, now, for the singer’s more emotional histrionics, leaving Cursive to rock once more. While it’s true that Happy Hollow is characterised by intelligent lyrics, occasionally stemming from matters of the heart, its conceptual framework is much grander than anything released by the band’s alleged emo peers. Stories are told and intertwined from song to song, with religion and politics bobbing about in Kasher’s rifle eyes. Each takes a flurry of verbal bullets, yet ambiguity surrounds every tongue lashing. – Drowned in Sound

with:
Eskimohunter || Listen
Minipop || Listen

Limited tickets available at the door the night of the show

Saturday 11.10.07: NEBULA

Nebula || Listen

Consistently fuzzed out psychedelic rock courtesy of Nebula breathes with the ease of a recently corked vintage wine on the group’s seventh full-length, Apollo. Caught somewhere between the straightforwardness of Fu Manchu and a heightened sense of psychedelia, Nebula either poses an intensely troubling conundrum or possesses what so many bands strive to achieve; striking originality. I lean more toward the latter. It is no accident that Nebula plays with the unrelenting and almost thoughtless vigor of Fu Manchu while lacing songs with trippy riffs and cool fills along the way. Every second of the record seems precisely calculated. – Metalreview.com

with:
Bonk (from Norway) || Listen
Zoroaster

Friday 11.09.07: KCRW presents FOG

Fog || Listen

Fog was once a man, but now they’re a band. Like his friend, Jonathan “Why?” Wolf (one of the many collaborators on Ditherer), Fog’s Andrew Broder has expanded the head-count in his act while redefining the sound. The textures and the occasional sample, perhaps a comfort to existing Fog fans, are still there, but now they enhance what is at heart an invigorating experimental rock album. And it’s brilliant: Broder’s twisted tales are better than ever, this time underpinned by urgent guitar riffs, off-beats and perfect pacing. – BBC

with:
Boom Bip (Dj set) || Listen
Salt & Samovar

Thursday 11.08.07: VALIENT THORR

Valient Thorr || Listen

Valient Thorr are back with their sophomore release Legends Of The World, following in the wake of their debut album Total Universe Man – making rock ‘n’ roll in the realm of hardcore/heavy metal with dashes of gospel and soul trajectory catapulting the vocals and forming a synthesis that can be described as metal soul. Their boldness and lunging expressions, done up the way Motorhead, Kix, and Iron Maiden are legendary for doing and present day Hellacopters and Skindred lean towards, build experimental molds of knotted guitar twists and plunging rhythm sections spiked by fulminating vocals amassing an uprising fervor. – Hybrid Magazine

with:
Year Long Disaster || Listen
Supagroup || Listen

Wednesday 11.07.07: Indie 103.1 presents CLUB NME with THE THRILLS, SMALL SINS, ROCK & ROLL (from France)

The Thrills || Listen

Conor’s lovelorn croak is as adorable as ever, Daniel Ryan’s guitars twangle dreamily, Kevin Horan’s keyboards have finally been proved by DNA testing to be descended from the piano that Brian Wilson wrote ‘California Girls’ on, and there’s still a banjo player hunkered around a bonfire in some distant corner of the studio. No alarms, no surprises – the Klaxons remixes are noticeable by their absence and it clearly never crossed anybody’s mind to put a call in to Dizzee Rascal – ‘Teenager’ is simply more wonderful, bittersweet laze-pop of a hue at which The Thrills have become grand masters. ‘The Midnight Choir’ adds backwards guitars and a classical harpsichord tint that’s almost Meat Loafian, the barrelling pop aceness of ‘This Year’ seems to have hijacked Bob Dylan’s touring harmonica truck and ‘I’m So Sorry’ couldn’t be more ‘Born To Run’ if it got itself a motorbike and a job in a New Jersey steelworks. – NME

with:
Small Sins || Listen
Rock and Roll (from France)

Tuesday 11.06.07: PARTS & LABOR

Parts & Labor || Listen

Brooklyn’s Parts and Labor make rock music, but in an unconventional way. They rely on wickedly fast and tight drums, laser-taggish drones, violent feedback, and some pretty sick guitar riffs—they’re geeks on speed, in other words. Last year’s Stay Afraid was weird and abrasive and loud, but Mapmaker, though clearly related, seems a bit more accessible, and in an era where “art-rock” is getting much more attention, this isn’t a bad thing at all. While the trio’s latest never feels like a conscious bite at anything commercial, there’s an undeniable get-in-your-head aggression to “Vision of Repair,” while the noodly guitars on “New Crimes” should rock the face off anyone with a pulse. – The Village Voice

with:
Bipolar Bear
Abe Vigoda

Sunday 11.04.07: RADEMACHER

Rademacher || Listen

Some exciting local talent has sprouted recently, ranging from the madcap home-taped micro-hits of Reid May to the icy boy-girl-boy-girl indie drawl of Rademacher. The latter group has been self-releasing EPs since 2004 and building a following on tour sojourns with the Joggers and Man Man, with whom it shares some melodramatic vocal quirks and occasional shambling moments. Though the licks and cadences from its valley elders are impossible to miss, the band still creates a brutally contemporary sound, and its onstage panache recently led Billboard magazine to recognize its “potential to break into the big time.” – SF Weekly

with:
Nyles Lannon || Listen
Light FM || Listen

FREE SHOW

Saturday 11.03.07: XU XU FANG

Xu Xu Fang || Listen

After years of preparation and band-crafting, Bobby Tamkin unveils the first Xu Xu Fang release in several years with this new 12″ single. “These Days” has been a myspace gem for what seems like ages, garnering consistent praise and anxious commentors patiently awaiting the band’s every move. Tamkin, the band’s mastermind, has spent time as a drummer in the Warlocks and a newer incarnation of Medicine. But his greatest strength comes in the form of master songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and a obvious knack for arrangement. “These Days” slowly builds with layered guitars, a slow-motion rhythm and pristine slide guitar, all guided by a soothing voice that comes off like a passionate lullabye. As the song reveals itself the hooks appear vocally while guitar riffs wrap the song into tighter form. More and more changes reveal themselves as the song picks up into a heavier state of rock but never forces itself on you. The obvious feeling you’re left with is that there’s a lot of care and thought put into this band’s songs and every instrument has a purpose. – Little Radio

with:
Lion Fever
Them Hills
Magic Mirror

$8 at The Door

Friday 11.02.07: DAX RIGGS (of Deadboy and The Elephantmen)

Dax Riggs

Guitars both fuzzed-out and whining and the fast pace march of the rhythm section provided the backdrop for Riggs to fill every space in the song with plenty of hungry yeah’s and quivering vocal pitches as they poured numerous songs off their debut, We Sing of Only Blood or Love. The songs featured plenty of the darker themes — demons, death, graveyards — but very little love was audible, but it was done in an a very high-spirited, rock’n'roll kind of way. And, what rock show would be complete without some expression of political unrest. Riggs began “Radiation Blues” by saying, “This is for the war criminals that, you know, are still in power,” and then letting into the brashest of rock. A barrage of powerchords and intense drumming ringing in everyone’s ears was just what it took to get heads bobbing and joints bouncing. In one of the only encores of the festival thus far, Riggs and band offered a bit of Townes Van Zandt for the sun-soaked crowd. – Spin.com

with:
Beaten Awake
The Front