Saturday 12.20.08: THE GREAT DECEIVERS (Tribute to King Crimson) / NINJA ACADEMY / POLAR GOLDIE CATS

The Great Deceivers || Watch

The Great Deceivers consist of drums, bass, keys, electric guitar and violin, plus a host of pedal boards and psychedelic effects. They faithfully reproduce some of the most challenging and original music of the late 60s and 1970s. The violinist in particular is an extraordinary talent and managed to sound alot like Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp at times. The keyboardist seamlessly melded with the harder edged sound produced by the group and sang quite well to boot. It is to the band’s credit that they managed to coordinate arrangements with violin and keys on a song like “Red” that didn’t originally feature these instruments. The Great Deceivers’ guitar player probably has the hardest job in this band and he pulled it off admirably for this first gig. He even threw in a few musical nods to Adrian Belew now and again which added a freshness I was not expecting since this material pre-dates Belew’s now famous additionto King Crimson. The rhythm section played with a non-traditional and accomplished flair. The fat, distorted bass and precision drumming provided a steadfast epoxy that solidified this radical, visionary music. – All Access Magazine

with:
Ninja Academy || Listen
Polar Goldie Cats || Listen

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Sunday 12.13.08: VAN STONE / THE RINGERS / LIGHTNIN WOODCOCK

Van Stone || Watch

Van Stone is Palmdale’s number 3 rock band, right behind number 1 Skirge, and number 2 Wind Jammer. DUH! Now, the only way we’re ever gonna catch Skirge is if all you Van Stoniacs pull together and help us raise money for a van… My mom said we can’t borrow her Nissan Sentra anymore, ‘cuz the last time we used it to haul all the ekwipment to the gig we scratched her roof with “Terry” (our six foot stainless steel lazer skull). Now I got all you Stoniacs beggin’ me to play here and there and promisin’ that you’ll let me skrew your sister and shit. BUT WE AIN’T GOT NO WHEELS!!… So if you want us to come to yer shit hole town then get off yer asses and buy our debut album: Van Stone I… and while yer at it pick up a t-shirt… the shipping is still the same, so you save money… and you could save a life too… Our shirts have been approved by the American Medical Response association for use as an emergency tourniquet… and that’s one to grow on. LIVE STONED!

with:
The Ringers
Lightnin’ Woodcock

8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 Day of show / 21+

Tuesday 12.09.08: ROBOTANISTS / KISSING COUSINS / ONE TRICK PONY / TWO GUNS

Robotansists || Listen (EP Release)

Only seven (7) songs/almost thirty-seven (37) minutes long, it’s not something of grand proportions. But, it is filled with stuff that can tickle your fancy like you’re trying to get a Tickle Me Doll modeled after you. The opener track is “Wait A Minute Here.” This was the second song that I’ve heard from this act(first being the Joy Division cover). I’ve heard this song many months ago. Still, it brings such a strong longing sense that it’s hard to properly compare it to something else. The simplicity of it adds such an epic feeling to the song. You might ask how is such possible. It’s simple, really, the fact that it feels so bare bones is how it fuels the “just out of reach” sensation of the song that the lyrics bring. Vocally, Sarah(lead vocalist) is amazing. The first half of the song, it sounds like she’s singing in the shower with the water off. Alone. Thinking about the muse of the song. Either that, or inside of an empty building strolling the halls while you listen to her from the other end. I can’t tell you how many music video ideas I had swimming around in my head when I heard this song(and still do every time I hear it). Daniel(lead guitarist)’s finger work is nothing to downplay in the least bit. He’s not merely strumming an acoustic guitar, he’s plucking at you’re heart’s attention while Sarah holds your head in a submission maneuver. If you’re not captivated by this song, then I don’t know how you can ever claim to have been in love and possess a heart. – Opinionhated

with:
Kissing Cousins
One Trick Pony || Listen
Two Guns

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Tuesday 11.25.08: CLOSED

Friday 11.28.08: ANDY CLOCKWISE / THE OUTLINE / RAGSY

Andy Clockwise || Listen || Watch

Andy Clockwise might not be a household name where you live, but for me, he might as well be Bruce Springsteen. I’ve seen many incarnations of the Andy Band, as we call it, but his newest, tightest and most mature version is the finest. Andy is hard to describe. He’s a singer-songwriter from Australia with the musical ear and skill of Jeff Lynne and the heart and soul of the Boss himself. He’s a soft-spoken intellectual that puts everything he has into his music and his performance. The audience gets it, feels it and always responds.

There is nothing manufactured about Andy. You never ask yourself if you buy it because there’s nothing to buy; he’s not selling. He’s giving himself to the audience and the rest of his band mates. Local “hired-gun” and guitar maven Joshua Norton backs him well on the bass and keys while also serving as the glue that holds the many pieces together. – Lumino Magazine

with:
The Outline
Ragsy

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Wednesday 12.03.08: Indie 103.1 Presents AFTERNOONS / USELESS KEYS / BILLYGOAT

Afternoons || Watch || MP3

The Afternoons delivered a sparkling set that strayed only slightly from the musical styles of Irving. A propulsive bass riff kicked off “Graffiti Artist” as the jangling guitars glided into place. My ears were already perked when a trumpet sounded to fill out their sound. Brian Canning and Steven Scott handled the guitars and vocals with Claire Mckeown adding another layer of opera like vocals. The Afternoons only have four songs on their Myspace page but I assume they will have some more material in time for their Spaceland residency in June. It won’t take long for the Afternoons to reconstitute the buzz they had with Irving and propel them to greater heights. – Amateur Chemist

with:
Useless Keys || Listen
Billygoat

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Friday 12.26.08: CLOSED

Thursday 12.25.08: CLOSED

Wednesday 12.24.08: CLOSED

Tuesday 12.23.08: CLOSED

Thursday 01.01.09: CLOSED

Wednesday 12.31.08: Indie 103.1 presents CLUB NME with THE HENRY CLAY PEOPLE / THE PITY PARTY / THE HAPPY HOLLOWS

The Henry Clay People || Listen || Watch

The spasmodic sagacity of the Henry Clay People can be a little like watching somebody karaoke the encyclopedia, and the L.A. quartet’s spate of shows in late 2007 seemed to augur their rise to bigger stages. The prolific foursome is getting ready for a February residency at the Echo (batten down the fixtures) by putting the finishing touches on a new EP. With last year’s album “Blacklist the Kid With the Red Moustache” just making it into many local music collections, TCHP will have the five-song “Working Part Time” EP ready for the residency. The title track ought to be the anthem for every indie rocker who juggles a day job with being in a band. And, front man Joey Siara says, the band is writing and recording more new material. – LA Times Buzz Bands

with:
The Pity Party
The Happy Hollows || Listen

8:30pm / $10 / 21+

Monday 12.29.08: THE MOVIES / EVEREST / LOVE LIES SLEEPING / ROSES KINGS CASTLES (Adam Ficek from Babyshambles)

The Movies

…the Movies were, more than anything celebrating being the Movies—a ferociously talented live act bathed in a synthy haze of weary sleaze and winking, knowing lyrics, while simultaneously echoing the Bunnymen and remaining firmly, wildly original… Their set was an impassioned, alternately subdued and unhinged performance, as James whirled around the stage in a wild-eyed fever between bassist Jessica Gelt’s sinewy, rhythmic sway and the ambient wash of keyboardist Brian Cleary, demanding that audience members kiss to win copies of the new LP, furiously running in place, and riding the mic stand—once again proving that he is one of the funniest and most dynamic singers in the L.A. music scene (the man can croon, too). The Movies’ show spun between two poles: songs like the melodic, synth-stung “Get Your Macho Out” and the slow-motion whirlpool of “Creation Lake” were a down-tempo counterpoint to the warped snarl of “Autograph” and the glistening stutter-cool of “If I Had the Cash,” with the reeling keyboard intro and propulsive, howled choruses of “Missed Opportunities” unifying both ends of the band’s spectrum before falling into “When I Was in Nam”’s sleep-drawled slow groove of Caucasoid funk. – Web In Front

with:
Everest || Listen
Love Lies Sleeping || Listen
Roses Kings Castles (Adam Ficek from the Babyshambles) || Listen

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 12.22.08: THE MOVIES / VOXHAUL BROADCAST / THE DAMSELLES / ADELINE & THE PHILISTINES

The Movies

…the Movies were, more than anything celebrating being the Movies—a ferociously talented live act bathed in a synthy haze of weary sleaze and winking, knowing lyrics, while simultaneously echoing the Bunnymen and remaining firmly, wildly original… Their set was an impassioned, alternately subdued and unhinged performance, as James whirled around the stage in a wild-eyed fever between bassist Jessica Gelt’s sinewy, rhythmic sway and the ambient wash of keyboardist Brian Cleary, demanding that audience members kiss to win copies of the new LP, furiously running in place, and riding the mic stand—once again proving that he is one of the funniest and most dynamic singers in the L.A. music scene (the man can croon, too). The Movies’ show spun between two poles: songs like the melodic, synth-stung “Get Your Macho Out” and the slow-motion whirlpool of “Creation Lake” were a down-tempo counterpoint to the warped snarl of “Autograph” and the glistening stutter-cool of “If I Had the Cash,” with the reeling keyboard intro and propulsive, howled choruses of “Missed Opportunities” unifying both ends of the band’s spectrum before falling into “When I Was in Nam”’s sleep-drawled slow groove of Caucasoid funk. – Web In Front

with:
Voxhaul Broadcast
The Damselles
Adeline & The Philistines
DJ Solid Todd

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 12.15.08: THE MOVIES / NICO STAI / DEMO TEAM / THE SAVAGES / DJ JIMMY TAMBORELLO

The Movies

…the Movies were, more than anything celebrating being the Movies—a ferociously talented live act bathed in a synthy haze of weary sleaze and winking, knowing lyrics, while simultaneously echoing the Bunnymen and remaining firmly, wildly original… Their set was an impassioned, alternately subdued and unhinged performance, as James whirled around the stage in a wild-eyed fever between bassist Jessica Gelt’s sinewy, rhythmic sway and the ambient wash of keyboardist Brian Cleary, demanding that audience members kiss to win copies of the new LP, furiously running in place, and riding the mic stand—once again proving that he is one of the funniest and most dynamic singers in the L.A. music scene (the man can croon, too). The Movies’ show spun between two poles: songs like the melodic, synth-stung “Get Your Macho Out” and the slow-motion whirlpool of “Creation Lake” were a down-tempo counterpoint to the warped snarl of “Autograph” and the glistening stutter-cool of “If I Had the Cash,” with the reeling keyboard intro and propulsive, howled choruses of “Missed Opportunities” unifying both ends of the band’s spectrum before falling into “When I Was in Nam”’s sleep-drawled slow groove of Caucasoid funk. – Web In Front

with:
Nico Stai
Demo Team || Listen
The Savages || Listen
DJ Jimmy Tamborello

8:30pm / FREE SHOW / 21+

Monday 12.08.08: THE MOVIES / RADEMACHER / VIBE SLAYER / SARAH NEGAHDARI / DJ DAVE NEWTON

The Movies

…the Movies were, more than anything celebrating being the Movies—a ferociously talented live act bathed in a synthy haze of weary sleaze and winking, knowing lyrics, while simultaneously echoing the Bunnymen and remaining firmly, wildly original… Their set was an impassioned, alternately subdued and unhinged performance, as James whirled around the stage in a wild-eyed fever between bassist Jessica Gelt’s sinewy, rhythmic sway and the ambient wash of keyboardist Brian Cleary, demanding that audience members kiss to win copies of the new LP, furiously running in place, and riding the mic stand—once again proving that he is one of the funniest and most dynamic singers in the L.A. music scene (the man can croon, too). The Movies’ show spun between two poles: songs like the melodic, synth-stung “Get Your Macho Out” and the slow-motion whirlpool of “Creation Lake” were a down-tempo counterpoint to the warped snarl of “Autograph” and the glistening stutter-cool of “If I Had the Cash,” with the reeling keyboard intro and propulsive, howled choruses of “Missed Opportunities” unifying both ends of the band’s spectrum before falling into “When I Was in Nam”’s sleep-drawled slow groove of Caucasoid funk. – Web In Front

with:
Rademacher
Vibeslayer
Sarah Negahdari (from Happy Hollows)
DJ Dave Newton

8:30pm / FREE SHOW / 21+

Monday 12.01.08: THE MOVIES / EAGLE & TALON / WRONG WAY DRIVER / THE LEMURS / DJ KEVIN BRONSON

The Movies

…the Movies were, more than anything celebrating being the Movies—a ferociously talented live act bathed in a synthy haze of weary sleaze and winking, knowing lyrics, while simultaneously echoing the Bunnymen and remaining firmly, wildly original… Their set was an impassioned, alternately subdued and unhinged performance, as James whirled around the stage in a wild-eyed fever between bassist Jessica Gelt’s sinewy, rhythmic sway and the ambient wash of keyboardist Brian Cleary, demanding that audience members kiss to win copies of the new LP, furiously running in place, and riding the mic stand—once again proving that he is one of the funniest and most dynamic singers in the L.A. music scene (the man can croon, too). The Movies’ show spun between two poles: songs like the melodic, synth-stung “Get Your Macho Out” and the slow-motion whirlpool of “Creation Lake” were a down-tempo counterpoint to the warped snarl of “Autograph” and the glistening stutter-cool of “If I Had the Cash,” with the reeling keyboard intro and propulsive, howled choruses of “Missed Opportunities” unifying both ends of the band’s spectrum before falling into “When I Was in Nam”’s sleep-drawled slow groove of Caucasoid funk. – Web In Front

with:
Eagle & Talon || Listen
Wrong Way Driver
The Lemurs || Listen
DJ Kevin Bronson

8:30pm / FREE SHOW / 21+

Wednesday 11.19.08: INDIE 103.1 presents CLUB NME with DIAMOND LIGHT / MEGASAPIAN

Diamond Light
Megasapian

Resident DJs Dia and Solid Todd spinning. No cover after midnight.

8:30pm / $5 / 21+

Thursday 02.19.09: DUNCAN SHEIK with Lauren Pritchard / HOLLY BROOK @ Echoplex

Duncan Sheik || Listen

In addition to writing the music for the Broadway musical hit Spring Awakening, Grammy nominated singer–songwriter Duncan Sheik is collaborating with Playwright Steven Sater on The Nightingale, a musical based on the Hans Christian Andersen classic which premiered during the 26th annual O’Neill Music Theater Conference. Sheik has composed original music for the Public Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night and for The Golden Rooms of Nero, which opened at the Magic Theater in San Francisco earlier this year. His self-titled debut album on Atlantic Records, was an enormous popular and critical success and spent 30 weeks on the Billboard 200. Other albums include Humming, Daylight, Phantom Moon (Nonesuch Records) with lyrics by Steven Sater and his latest, White Limousine (Rounder Records),Duncan’s songs have appeared in many Film Soundtracks including Great Expectations, The Saint, Teaching Mrs. Tingle, Three to Tango, What a Girl Wants, Transamerica and Amazing Grace (a documentary about the late Jeff Buckley).

The performance will feature songs from his forthcoming CD/theatre project, “Whisper House”, as well as “Spring Awakening” and his earlier recorded work. Sitting in on the tour will be Lauren Pritchard who played Ilse in the Broadway production of “Spring Awakening”.

plus:
Holly Brook

@ Echoplex
Enter at
1154 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

7pm / $37.50 / all ages

Saturday 12.06.08: DRESSY BESSY / COLOURMUSIC / THE MINOR CANON

Dressy Bessy || Listen || Watch

When Tammy Ealom started singing about a gal obsessed with the ‘60s in the song “Do You Whisper?” on Saturday night, it was hard not to think the song was, well, about Ealom herself. In most photos of the band you’ll find Ealom decked out in a ‘60s-inspired get-up and she plays a Hagstrom II guitar from the era as well. You can also hear it in a lot of the bouncy pop tunes she’s written over the last decade.

But on the band’s new album, Holler and Stomp, that ‘60s thing just ain’t quite as prevalent as it’s been on previous albums. Buy hey, musicians have to grow and with that comes change. While the music gotten a tad edgier and harder and some of the bubblegum pop has been shaved off, Ealom, guitarist John Hill (who also plays in Apples in Stereo), bassist Rob Greene and company still put on a hell of energetic show.

They ran through nearly the entire new album, tossed in few awesome cuts from their 2003’s self-titled album like “This May Hurt (A Little),” “Baby Six String,” and “Just Once More,” as well as a few from Electrified. And if that wasn’t enough, the band pulled out “Extra-Ordinary” from its 1999 debut album, Pink Hearts Yellow Moons. – Westword

with:
Colourmusic || Listen
The Minor Canon

8:30pm / $8 Advance, $10 day of show / 21+

Friday 11.21.08: WAR TAPES / THE HUMAN VALUE / SHILOE / THE BLACK KITES

War Tapes || Watch

Billy Mohler (Macy Gray, Jimmy Chamberlain Complex, etc.) is a world-class bassist. Yet he modestly moves onto drums to complete War Tapes alongside his wife Becca (bass/vocals), her kid brother Neil (vocals/guitar) and Matt Bennett (guitar). Their band-as-family approach shows as, while it’s all-but impossible to discuss War Tapes without mentioning Interpol and Editors, they’ve moved away from the partisan ‘Pol-itics of their early recordings to create something altogether warmer and more organic. The skinny-tied chiming guitars and late-night loneliness remain, but now Neil’s allowing a ragged humanity into his previously deadpan vocals and there are more (and more poppy) bro/sis harmonies and Robert Smith-y six-string silver linings. War Tapes are of a type and utilize familiar dynamics, but there’s rare, labor-of-love authenticity here. Fashionable, fervent and urgent, it’s easy to hear why they’ve already opened for Smashing Pumpkins, Tiger Army and The Bravery. – IE Weekly

with:
The Human Value || Listen
Shiloe || Shiloe
Black Kites || Listen

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Tuesday 11.18.08: THE LONELY H / IMPOSSIBLE SHAPES / THE VICIOUS GUNS

The Lonely H || Watch

There’s a grizzly demeanor to the fuzzy sound they bring forth, opening mouths and hearing a century-old sense of survival and getting by spill forth like rapids. It’s fast and it’s loud and it goes for the throat where it wraps around like a muffler. The Lonely H takes us back to a time when all facial hair was becoming and charming, when a mustache demanded respect, when the musk of unshowered-brand body odor was heroic, when bell-bottomed jeans were not the exception, when a guy could get some peyote whenever it was called for and when moonshine went down the hatch like lemonade. They might sleep on a bed of cacti and have unhealthy obsessions with Paul Bunyan, Wyatt Earp and Ulysses S. Grant and there’s a complex in some of their songs where they feel as if they were actually lonely, unable to associate with the ways around them. This current time is course and disgusting, slobbering with text messages and the wireless revolution. The music rewinds to the places that they wish they could teleport back to and get reconnected with trappers and musket-toting dudes who could skin a fox in two minutes flat, who could laugh through their blackened teeth frighteningly and with the tar from their lungs and throat hacking up with it. This is only if they can take Mick, Ronnie, Keith and Charlie with them. They’d likely need Brian Jones as well and would put up a fit if he wasn’t in that time machine. – Daytrotter

with:
Impossible Shapes || Listen
The Vicious Guns

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Sunday 12.07.08: Indie 103.1 presents FRIENDLY FIRES / FUNERAL PARTY / GLASSER

Friendly Fires || Watch || MP3

But the big surprise of the night was the first opener Friendly Fires, who pulled off a trick I’ve been waiting for a band to fully realize — that cowbell-heavy Liquid Liquid dance beats would sound fantastic with gigantic shoegaze-ambient guitars and the shimmering house synths that too many peers, such as M83, can’t seem to use right.

They have a humdinger of a single in “Paris,” whose lovestruck take on the City of Light (“And every night we’ll watch the stars, they’ll be out for us”) is as cliched as the day is long, but still hits with a panoramic wallop. The snare drum-less chorus is a weird little thing, and almost a comedown from the percussion-mad, Tom Tom Clubby verses, but the endearingly clumsy-dancing frontman Ed Macfarlane has an athletic falsetto that can veer from sounding like Bilinda Butcher to arena-emo in a single line.

The rest of their self-titled debut (out Sept. 1) is a bit more martial and Rapture-ish, especially the almost offensively catchy, Blondie-inspired “On Board,” but it’s expert party music (they cover old-school Chicago house dude Jamie Principle’s “Your Love” live) with the kind of starry-eyed romanticism that should transcend the nightclub circuit and into some off-peak MTV play. It doesn’t hurt that, as seen above, they look pretty good doing it. I could totally see this band opening for Panic at the Disco as easily as LCD Soundsystem, and that’s no slight. Makes a boy want to crack a decanter of Burgundy and make out with a raccoon-eyed little art student on the banks of the Seine, no? – LA Times

with:
Funeral Party
Glasser

8:30pm / $12 advance, $14 day of show / 21+

Thursday 12.04.08: RELENTLESS SEVEN / GRACE WOODROOFE

Relentless Seven

with:
Grace Woodroofe || Listen

8:30pm / $20 / 21+

Tuesday 12.16.08: KARIN TATOYAN / WAR TAPES / SEASONS / EXITMUSIC

Karin Tatoyan || Watch

A performer who swirls between musical extremes, Kárin Tatoyan is the possessor of a unique and hauntingly gorgeous voice, one that alternately croons and erupts from the center of an increasingly left-field musical approach. Her music is a strange, prismatic nebula strewn with jagged, twinkling glass—it kisses even as it cuts, it shatters and shimmers simultaneously as layers of electronica fold into pockets of post-rock minimalism and booming orchestral majesty. – Web In Front

with:
War Tapes
Seasons
Exitmusic

9PM / $8 / 21+

Saturday 12.13.08: 18TH DYE / DEVON WILLIAMS / THE MEETING PLACES

18th Dye || Listen || Watch

Comparisons to Sonic Youth aside, groundbreaking, catchy, and consistently explosive rock have always been the sonic signature of legendary 18th Dye. On the new album, Amorine Queen, 18th Dye proves their reputation from the 90′s as a well acclaimed, highly respected international rock band.

Amorine Queen reflects the energy of group’s past releases, but mixes the hard-hitting and noisy rock sound with a more melodic approach. As a result to this development, 18th Dye doesn’t just thrill the fans from ten years ago, but also carry away a new audience – a fact that’s hard to miss at their recent concerts. As in the old days, the new songs are characterized by loud guitars and catchy pop melodies – delivered with an ultra cool, almost arrogant detachment.
-Spectre Music

with:
Devon Williams
The Meeting Places || Listen

9PM / $8 / 21+

Friday 12.12.08: RADARS TO THE SKY (record release party) / WILDBIRDS & PEACEDRUMS / ARCHWAYS / THE HECTORS

Radars to the Sky || Watch

I can report to you with confidence that Radars to the Sky took advantage of the opportunity in every dimension conceivable; it was by far the best show I have seen them play… they are purveyors of an epic sound that demands and thrives on an excellent soundsystem. Their clever musical moves, swift guitar flourishes, keys that haunt beneath the skin of the thing, Andrew Spitser’s undeniable voice, and their penchant for roping you in with the beat and rhythm were as engaging as any piece of musical entertainment you could ask for. – Classical Greek Theater

with:
Wildbirds & Peacedrums || Listen
Archways
The Hectors || Listen

9PM / $8 advance; $10 day of show / 21+

Wednesday 11.26.08: Indie 103 presents CLUB NME with CIRCUS MINOR / PAPER PILLS / UNARMED / BROOKLINE

Circus Minor || Watch

The band uses its music to taunt and resurrect the ghosts of LA’s forgotten lovers, rebels and that long forgotten belief that meaning can indeed be found in impermanence. This House is Haunted, the band’s sophomore disc, is a collection of howling compositions and gypsy-lust, rock and roll lullabies—each song on the record flowing together like chapters in a novel about the tragic love affair between condensing and expanding musical space. Think Black Sabbath sipping Absinthe in a lush bar with Black Heart Procession. It’s music that shares its secrets with promiscuous impunity and assumes listeners would rather be haunted than head banging…rather be chasing ghosts than chasing the next big thing. -Music Nation

with:
Paper Pills || Listen
Unarmed
Brookline

plus DJs Dia, Jennifer, and Solid Todd spinning rock, indie, punk, electro alternative. No Cover after Midnight.

9pm / $5 / 21+

Thursday 11.27.08: CLOSED FOR THANKSGIVING

Sunday 11.02.08: MATTHEW AND THE ARROGANT SEA / MAP

Matthew and the Arrogant Sea || Watch

Family Family Family Meets the Magic Christian, the debut album by Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, is an intimate collection of pop songs that are by turns lush and delicates, finding a balance between the sparkly pop of Animal Collective and the deconstructive lo-fi of Pavement. Eccentricities abound, usually framed by a combination of ukuleles, synthesizers and percussion, but the band is always to keep the songs focused around a basic verse and chorus frame. The songs explore a variety of genres but are able to remain enjoyable throughout.

What binds the songs together is spare production that highlights the smallest details. Every guitar chord and note struck on the bells is distinctive and contributes to the structure of the song. Family Family Family Meets the Magic Christian finds great impact in exploring the expansiveness of minimalism.
– Prefix Magazine

with:
MAP

9PM / FREE / 21+

Tuesday 11.04.08: ELECTION DAY PARTY with DEAD PONIES / ASHES DIVIDE (Billy Howerdel of A Perfect Circle) / THE CATHOLIC COMB

Dead Ponies || Watch

For nearly two years, Los Angeles’ Dead Ponies have ridden hard to blaze their own luminous trail in the city’s immense musical terrain. Now, with a brand new video in its arsenal, the heavy yet atmospheric and accessible indie rock quartet is getting ready to take its unique sound on the road…Dead Ponies’ live performances are high energy and raw.
“When we play, we try to rock our faces off,” says Robertshaw. “Whether we succeed is a whole different matter. But for 40 minutes we’re gonna lay ourselves out with little regard for pretense.”
– Campus Circle

with:
Ashes Divide
The Catholic Comb

Election results will be broadcast in the back bar

9PM / FREE / 21+

Saturday 11.01.08: THE PARSON RED HEADS / WILLOUGHBY / THE SPIRES / THE SWEET HURT

The Parson Red Heads || Listen || Watch

The hydra-headed Parson Red Heads brought their nine-person implosion of roots-rock Americana next, proceeding to play the new, six-song EP in it’s entirety before moving on to older tracks. “County Line” began as a three-minute instrumental, a gentle rise-and-fall of graceful, near-ambient beauty, before launching into a bouncy rocker, driven by the pet sounds of Evan Way’s harmonized vocal and David Swenson’s elastic basslines; “Got it All” was a starburst of pop verses surrounded by the thunderous, marrow-rattling crash of circuitous guitar riffs; and EP closer “Crowds” featured the band’s golden vocal harmonies interweaving above a hushed acoustic churn and Brette Way’s looping drum fills.

Nine people performing on a stage could’ve collapsed into a messy spatter of musical disorganization, with songs and time signatures Jackson Pollack’d across the set; it’s a tribute to the Red Heads’ skill that their live show is equal to their recordings, if only a bit louder and fueled by a rougher, sweatier energy. They’re also more than the sum of their influences—though often mentioned in the same critical breath as the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Byrds, they’ve forged their own brand of country-and-harmony-inflected L.A. rock, one that continues a tradition instead of just standing upon it. – Web In Front

with:
Willoughby
The Spires
The Sweet Hurt || Listen

9PM / $6 advance; $8 day of show / 21+

Sunday 11.23.08: FERDINAND (Record Release Party) / DOUBLE NAUGHT SPY CAR / BOLLWEEVIL / PATRIA JACOBS

Ferdinand (Record Release Party) || Listen || Watch

Disgruntled temps from various dusty valleys of Los Angeles, splintering the rock into jagged, crunchy shards–with a soft gooey center. Unfashionable, disheveled music to set your cubicle on fire by. – Artist Direct

with:
Double Naught Spy Car
Bollweevil
Patria Jacobs

9pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 11.24.08: Co-Residency with THE WESTERN STATES MOTEL / MARCHING BAND (from Sweden) / THE VOYEURS / TIGERS CAN BITE YOU

The Western States Motel || Listen || Watch

Writing, producing, and recording under the name the Western States Motel, California native Carl Jordan’s work is the musical equivalent of that mint on your pillow at the end of the night: low-key, unexpected, and sweet. Mixing shimmery summer sounds with unlikely introspection, Jordan’s songs call to mind the smooth sounds of bands like the Shins and Grandaddy. The mellow “Rows of Homes” trots along effortlessly, the poppy instrumentals a perfect foil to Jordan’s Stephin Merritt-esque deadpan. – Spin

Marching Band (from Sweden) || Listen || Watch

This duo of Erik Sunbring and Jacob Lind play low-key, folk-touched indie pop on “Feel Good About It”, from their forthcoming album produced by Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Yo La Tengo, Lilys). Sunbring and Lind trade high, close harmonies and reassuring words over a warm, slightly ramshackle backing of acoustic guitar, piano, drums, and light electronic effects, like the Shins sliding down better-fitting chutes. – Pitchfork

with:
The Voyeurs
Tigers Can Bite You

9pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 11.17.08: Co-Residency with THE WESTERN STATES MOTEL / MARCHING BAND (from Sweden) / B.R.A.M. / THE KARABAL NIGHTLIFE

The Western States Motel || Listen || Watch

Writing, producing, and recording under the name the Western States Motel, California native Carl Jordan’s work is the musical equivalent of that mint on your pillow at the end of the night: low-key, unexpected, and sweet. Mixing shimmery summer sounds with unlikely introspection, Jordan’s songs call to mind the smooth sounds of bands like the Shins and Grandaddy. The mellow “Rows of Homes” trots along effortlessly, the poppy instrumentals a perfect foil to Jordan’s Stephin Merritt-esque deadpan. – Spin

Marching Band (from Sweden) || Listen || Watch

This duo of Erik Sunbring and Jacob Lind play low-key, folk-touched indie pop on “Feel Good About It”, from their forthcoming album produced by Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Yo La Tengo, Lilys). Sunbring and Lind trade high, close harmonies and reassuring words over a warm, slightly ramshackle backing of acoustic guitar, piano, drums, and light electronic effects, like the Shins sliding down better-fitting chutes. – Pitchfork

with:
B.R.A.M.
The Karabal Nightlife || Listen

9pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 11.10.08: Co-Residency with THE WESTERN STATES MOTEL & MARCHING BAND (from Sweden) / THE CARTOGRAPHERS / THE BOXING LESSON

The Western States Motel || Listen || Watch

Writing, producing, and recording under the name the Western States Motel, California native Carl Jordan’s work is the musical equivalent of that mint on your pillow at the end of the night: low-key, unexpected, and sweet. Mixing shimmery summer sounds with unlikely introspection, Jordan’s songs call to mind the smooth sounds of bands like the Shins and Grandaddy. The mellow “Rows of Homes” trots along effortlessly, the poppy instrumentals a perfect foil to Jordan’s Stephin Merritt-esque deadpan. – Spin

Marching Band (from Sweden) || Listen || Watch

This duo of Erik Sunbring and Jacob Lind play low-key, folk-touched indie pop on “Feel Good About It”, from their forthcoming album produced by Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Yo La Tengo, Lilys). Sunbring and Lind trade high, close harmonies and reassuring words over a warm, slightly ramshackle backing of acoustic guitar, piano, drums, and light electronic effects, like the Shins sliding down better-fitting chutes. – Pitchfork

with:
The Cartographers
The Boxing Lesson

9pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 11.03.08: Co-Residency with THE WESTERN STATES MOTEL & MARCHING BAND (from Sweden) / WRONG WAY DRIVER / 13th HOLE (from France)

The Western States Motel || Listen || Watch

Writing, producing, and recording under the name the Western States Motel, California native Carl Jordan’s work is the musical equivalent of that mint on your pillow at the end of the night: low-key, unexpected, and sweet. Mixing shimmery summer sounds with unlikely introspection, Jordan’s songs call to mind the smooth sounds of bands like the Shins and Grandaddy. The mellow “Rows of Homes” trots along effortlessly, the poppy instrumentals a perfect foil to Jordan’s Stephin Merritt-esque deadpan. – Spin

Marching Band (from Sweden) || Listen || Watch

This duo of Erik Sunbring and Jacob Lind play low-key, folk-touched indie pop on “Feel Good About It”, from their forthcoming album produced by Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Yo La Tengo, Lilys). Sunbring and Lind trade high, close harmonies and reassuring words over a warm, slightly ramshackle backing of acoustic guitar, piano, drums, and light electronic effects, like the Shins sliding down better-fitting chutes. – Pitchfork

with:
Wrong Way Driver
13th Hole (from France)

9pm / FREE / 21+

Wednesday 11.12.08: Indie 103 presents CLUB NME with THE ENTRANCE BAND / THE GROWLERS / GOLDEN ANIMALS

The Entrance Band || Watch

When Los Angeles-based psychedelic rock trio the Entrance Band plays a show, it’s a happening. Not only because band members take sound and style inspiration from the ’60s counterculture that coined the term, as they demonstrated during a short set Sunday at the new Arthur Magazine Sunday Evenings music series at McCabe’s in Santa Monica. But also because their music creates the feeling that something fresh and powerful is afoot. A potent mix of political mindedness – including a few conspiracy theories – and musical virtuosity, their songs throb and wail and strive to open minds. -LA Times

with:
The Growlers
Golden Animals

plus DJs Dia, Jennifer, and Solid Todd spinning rock, indie, punk, electro alternative. No Cover after Midnight.

9pm / $10 advance; $12 day of show / 21+

Wednesday 11.05.08: Indie 103 presents Club NME with APES & ANDROIDS

Apes & Androids || Listen || Watch

A dance floor-ready cocktail of Queen’s bombast (complete with Freddie Mercury’s falsetto), 1980s Prince, Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie and Beck’s Midnight Vultures. On their debut album Blood Moon, A&A pump out sing-alongs like “Hot Kathy,” party starters like “We Don’t Understand You” and simmering burners like “Riverside.” “We tried to build the record into something that would be a journey when listening to the whole thing,” says A&A’s Brian Jacobs, who shares vocal and guitar duties with bandmate David Tobias.
The band’s live performances are becoming as well-known as the songs themselves, with cheerleaders, giant silver skulls, face paint and even a Korean drum circle all making appearances for a unique live experience.
– Rolling Stone

plus DJs Dia, Jennifer, and Solid Todd spinning rock, indie, punk, electro alternative. No Cover after Midnight.

9pm / $8 advance; $10 day of show / 21+

Saturday 11.29.08: HOLLY GOLIGHTLY AND THE BROKE-OFFS / FRANK FAIRFIELD / DELANEY DAVIDSON

Holly Golightly and the Broke-Offs || Listen || Watch

Golightly first performed as part of Thee Headcoatees, an all-girl group that splintered off of Billy Childish’s Thee Headcoats in the early 1990s. In 1995, she went solo, digging deeper into original blues, rock ‘n’ roll, and Americana. Under the Brokeoffs moniker, the songs are a collaboration with a kindred spirit and inspired by honky tonk, juke-joint blues, and old lo-fi 78 recordings.
- Boston Globe

with:
Frank Fairfield
Delaney Davidson

9PM / $10 advance; $12 day of show / 21+

Saturday 11.22.08: O’DEATH / LE SWITCH / DEATH TO ANDERS

O’Death || Listen || Watch

O’Death is a pack of humble Brooklyn scruffs who raise the dead with haunted Appalachian punk and go by the handles of Greg Jamie (vocals/guitar), Gabe Darling (vocals/ ukulele/guitar/banjo/ piano), David Rogers-Berry (drums), Bob Pycior (fiddle/guitar/piano), Jesse Newman (bass), and Dan Sager (trombone/ euphonium/keys). Their self-released debut, Head Home, is 15 tracks of heartfelt, full-moon delivery.
This is the sound of the Pogues madly slurping mothers’ milk and brothers’ blood at Gettysburg — banjo and fiddle ballads turned berserker by Greg Jamie’s bullfrog bleat. But don’t mistake O’Death for preservationists. The high-lonesomes of Bill Monroe and Bonnie Billy may be unmistakable in their arsenal, but these bushy-faced boys are a reincarnated cavalry charge, and they’ll be damned if they take the hill the same way twice. – SPIN

with:
Le Switch || Listen
Death to Anders || Listen

9PM / $8 advance; $10 day of show / 21+

Sunday 11.30.08: NEIL HAMBURGER / DJ DOUG POUND / MARIA BAMFORD / DAVE GLEASON

Neil Hamburger

If Neil Hamburger wasn’t the Funniest Man in America, why would the record company keep letting him make so many albums? Can’t answer that question, can you? No, it’s beyond dispute, he is the funniest. End of debate. Don’t even mention Jack Kevorkian, Neil is waaaaay, waaaaaaaay more side-splittingly hilarious, and he’s a much bigger bummer. And he’s got a million of ‘em – why, if one of his jokes falls flat or makes you groan or feel like gagging, or say the next 80 or 90 “gags” don’t exactly make you howl with uproarious laughter, just wait, because Neil will pounce with just a killer, killer line that will make you pee in your pants and nudge the guy next to you so he spills his drink (and when he hits you, that’ll be funny too). You’ll be glad you shelled out your money and chose to spend your time, on a Sunday night, no less, with America’s funny man, Neil Hamburger. – LA Weekly

with:
DJ Dougg Pound
Maria Bamford || Watch
Dave Gleason || Listen

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Friday 11.14.08: DEAD CONFEDERATE / APOLLO SUNSHINE

Dead Confederate || Listen || Watch

Georgia rockers Dead Confederate made their debut album, Wrecking Ball, in a tiny, dingy Austin studio — the same place where the sound effects for the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre were recorded. “It was a shit-shack,” says bassist and songwriter Brantley Senn, 28. “We called it ‘the dump.’ It was spooky.” The eeriness seeped deeply into the quintet’s music — a raw, howling take on Southern rock that recalls the darkest moments of Nineties grunge; not surprising, since they are the first band on the new label from Gary Gersh, the A&R exec who signed Nirvana and Sonic Youth. Lead singer Hardy Morris’ raspy vocals are a ringer for Kurt Cobain’s, while lead guitarist Walker Howle kicks out Dinosaur Jr.-like spiraling riffs. – Rolling Stone

Apollo Sunshine || Listen

9PM / $8 advance; $10 day of show / 21+

Tuesday 11.11.08: TALK TO ANGELS (from the UK) / RAMI DEAREST / TWO GUNS – Viewing Party for Low Vs Diamond on Jimmy Kimmel

Talk to Angels || Watch

The Cockpit is packed with people wanting to see this exciting band. Talk to Angels hail from Bradford and Leeds and despite their youth, they play with the aptitude and conviction of a band much older and more experienced.

They start with “To Maria”, a song that starts slowly and builds up to a cacophony of rapid drumming, noisy guitars and the sudden change in tempo can catch you off-guard if you’ve not heard the song before! It’s also the first opportunity for lead vocalist and guitarist Craig Kaye to demonstrate his vocal talents.

He possesses an excellent vocal range and has the sonorous voice of the classic rock singer. Other songs on the set included “Emily”, a song about the anguish of young love, the upbeat “Hickory Dickory” and the one they call their ‘sad song’, “She”. The band can turn their hand to rock songs of various tempos combining clever guitar riffs and percussion with deep, meaningful, sometimes angst-ridden lyrics. – BBC

with:
Rami Dearest
Two Guns

plus:
Viewing Party for Low Vs. Diamond on Jimmy Kimmel in the Upstairs bar

9PM / $10 advance; $12 day of show / 21+

Friday 11.07.08: HEARTLESS BASTARDS / THE BROKEN WEST / OTHER LIVES

Heartless Bastards || Listen|| Watch || MP3

Last night at the Southgate House in Newport, the “new look” Bastards returned home and the transition was nothing short of seamless. Nothing against Lamping and Vaughn, who are well respected and talented musicians in their own right, but HB has always been about Erika. So after a quick “it feels good to be home” from Wennestrom, the band ripped into their set and as usual, I found myself concentrating on Erika and her signature croon. With a voice that has drawn in fans like Lucinda Williams, it is hard not to. And that was not the only thing about the show that seemed familiar. Southgate House was smoky and full, with plenty of beer cans being quickly disposed of, the band behind Erika, while not quite as tight as the last incarnation just yet, did a more than adequate job and not only has Erika’s voice not skipped a beat, but neither has her lack of stage banter, which is still sorta endearing if you asked me.

We were also treated to several new songs in the set, which are rumored to all be a part of the new Heartless Bastards album, The Mountain, which is due out in January from Fat Possum. At the end of the night as I headed home I could not help but think that in more ways than one, the more things change, the more they stay the same…. – Each Note Secure

with:
The Broken West || Listen
Other Lives

9 pm / $12 advance; $15 day of show / 21+

Saturday 11.15.08: TORCHE / BLACK COBRA / CLOUDS

Torche || Listen || Watch

Primarily instrumental of execution, these songs rattle the inside of skulls and battle grey matter into submission; they roar and jerk and slide and glide and crush mountains into sawdust and splinter glaciers like those rulers in school that apparently wouldn’t shatter if you thwacked them with all your might (lie).

Steve Brookes is worth the admission fee alone. The band’s singer/guitarist – outshone in the six-string aerobics stakes by the man to his right, the ridiculously-long-haired and fantastically named Juan Montoya – sports some quite excellently hypnotic top-lip furniture, his moustache blinking in and out of focus as he steps up to and away from the microphone. He growls like a starved attack dog, yet smiles like a kid let loose in a toy store with fat-cat daddy’s credit cards; in fact, every member of the band looks like he could look after himself in a brawl, yet exudes the sort of look-at-me showmanship best associated with less-than-manly types. Think Freddie Mercury, shorn of mic’ stand, with a shocking Halloween wig atop his head and an electrified axe in his hands: that’s Montoya, right there.

‘Thunder pop’ is what their domestic label, Rock Action, has called Torche; from this display of accomplished musicianship colliding with riffs of immediacy and head-nodding addictiveness, it’s easy to understand the ‘pop’ reference. Disposable, though, these songs are not: coming on like Mastodon playing at being The Fucking Champs for an afternoon, Torche are the discerning metalhead’s newfound party-time buddies, sure to get a drinking session started and certain to provide a thunderous climax to head-in-the-bowl conclusions. – Drowned in Sound

with:
Black Cobra || Listen
Clouds

9 pm / $8 ADVANCE; $10 DAY OF SHOW / 21+

Sunday 11.09.08: SPIRIT VINE / ELECTRIC JELLYFISH (Australia) / OJOS ROJOS / ROCKING HORSE PEOPLE

Spirit Vine || Listen

with:
Electric Jellyfish (Australia)
Ojos Rojos
Rocking Horse People

9 pm / 21+

Saturday 11.08.08: JEANS TEAM / STARFUCKER

Jeans Team || Listen || Watch

Jeans Team start in 1995 as a duo constisting of Franz Schütte and Reimo Herford. They found the legendary GALERIE BERLINTOKYO in Berlin Mitte and play their first official shows. For these shows Reimo and Franz performed to a preproduced video, they act as the companion volume. The 45 minute video ‘Baby’ (1996) is Jeans Team’s first release.

1997 Gunter Kreis and Henning Watkinson complete the band and the virtual company is needless. Now Jeans Team become a quartet of flesh and blood. The eponymous luminous advertising is dismantled from a street corner in Berlin Wedding and becomes the illumination for Jeans Team live shows.”

I have to admit that I’d never heard of Jeans Team until recently, but the quartet seem to be an institution in their native Berlin, and Adult. can’t stop raving about them. I’m kicking myself for sleeping on this. They make wonderful indie-pop and infectious elektro-disko seem effortless. – Burn Lab

with:
Starfucker

9 pm / $8 ADVANCE; $10 DAY OF SHOW / 21+

Thursday 11.20.08: Filter Presents Thursday Night Residency – WEST INDIAN GIRL / POOLABOMB / THE POLYAMOROUS AFFAIR / TREMBLEXY / SHAKTI

West Indian Girl || Listen || Watch || MP3

After expanding its head count, L.A.’s hippified West Indian Girl cooked up loose, electronically augmented rock for 4th & Wall, its sophomore album, following a departure from Astralwerks Records. Founders Robert James and Francis Ten fleshed out the group with more keyboards and vocals; huge crescendos on tracks like “Indian Ocean” and “Sofia” owe to said adjustments. With the extra members in tow, the record’s breezy ditties turn bright and ornamental. “Back to You” looks home to Buffalo Springfield, with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it pedal-steel flourishes amid acoustic-driven instrumental breaks. James’s vocals trail off frequently before he finishes many syllables, but with lyrics about “running back” to a lover, it’s an apt touch. Also adding to the record’s steady, summery aesthetic is its multitude of guitar tracks. – Miami New Times

with:
Poolabomb || Listen
The Polyamorous Affair || Listen
Tremblexy || Listen
Shakti
DJ Nynex spinning all night

9 pm / $10 adv; $12 day of show / 21+

Thursday 11.13.08: Thursday Night Residency – WEST INDIAN GIRL / MERE MORTALS / KLUM / MONDO DOMINGO

West Indian Girl || Listen || Watch || MP3

After expanding its head count, L.A.’s hippified West Indian Girl cooked up loose, electronically augmented rock for 4th & Wall, its sophomore album, following a departure from Astralwerks Records. Founders Robert James and Francis Ten fleshed out the group with more keyboards and vocals; huge crescendos on tracks like “Indian Ocean” and “Sofia” owe to said adjustments. With the extra members in tow, the record’s breezy ditties turn bright and ornamental. “Back to You” looks home to Buffalo Springfield, with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it pedal-steel flourishes amid acoustic-driven instrumental breaks. James’s vocals trail off frequently before he finishes many syllables, but with lyrics about “running back” to a lover, it’s an apt touch. Also adding to the record’s steady, summery aesthetic is its multitude of guitar tracks. – Miami New Times

with:
Mere Mortals
Klum
Mondo Domingo
DJ Pants Off Spinning all night

9 pm / $10 adv; $12 day of show / 21+

Thursday 11.06.08: Filter Presents- Thursday Night Residency – WEST INDIAN GIRL / CASXIO / HEARTS OF PALM UK / ROLL THE TANKS

West Indian Girl || Listen || Watch || MP3

After expanding its head count, L.A.’s hippified West Indian Girl cooked up loose, electronically augmented rock for 4th & Wall, its sophomore album, following a departure from Astralwerks Records. Founders Robert James and Francis Ten fleshed out the group with more keyboards and vocals; huge crescendos on tracks like “Indian Ocean” and “Sofia” owe to said adjustments. With the extra members in tow, the record’s breezy ditties turn bright and ornamental. “Back to You” looks home to Buffalo Springfield, with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it pedal-steel flourishes amid acoustic-driven instrumental breaks. James’s vocals trail off frequently before he finishes many syllables, but with lyrics about “running back” to a lover, it’s an apt touch. Also adding to the record’s steady, summery aesthetic is its multitude of guitar tracks. – Miami New Times

with:
Casxio
Hearts of Palm UK
Roll The Tanks

DJ TK disko spinning all night

9 pm / $10 adv; $12 day of show / 21+