Sunday 04.19.09: HellYa! Night w/ THE EPILOGUES / ROB ROY / THE JERXS

The Epilogues || Listen || Watch

The Epilogues felt they had to do something with their new album, The Beautiful, The Terrifying, that was released this past July. They felt that, if they could take the overall success of their live shows, burn it on an album and sell it – hopefully it would translate well enough for the listener. While there is no comparison to their stage potency, the album does a fine job of demonstrating The Epilogues now definitive sound. Tracks “Hurting You,” “Caroline,” and “King Arthur” are wrought with appealingly addictive chorus lines and will no doubt burn their spot on radio set-lists. The Beautiful, The Terrifying: Make it the soundtrack to your sexy dance party this summer. – Colorado Music Buzz

With:
Rob Roy
The Jerxs

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Sunday 04.05.09: ALUMINUM BABE

Aluminum Babe || Listen || Watch

“Take the Cardigans, rub off their shiny surface and stick them in a filthy underground club and you may get an approximation of Aluminum Babe. But they elude simple comparison. They yank the bittersweet guitar song violently into funky disco terrain and then gently lick it with a creamy female falsetto – as heard in this selection of spiky and extremely original songs.

But this band are not merely austere pop fodder, and there is much more to them than your average Franz Ferdinand name-check. Aluminum Babe not only bop to disco while rocking to guitars, but they wield a sensual, subtle electronic undercurrent that could be found in some of the most obscure avant-dance corners. The moody acoustic pulse of “Dream Dancing” squeezes in among altogether more raucous, driving dance-punk energies, making for a fascinating sonic journey that is highly recommended.”  – Rock Sound

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Thursday 05.14.09: SCOUT NIBLETT / THE LOVETONES / THE STEREO WORKERS UNION / CHIEF NOWHERE

Scout Niblett || Listen

Like heat rushing in the door, Scout Niblett is suddenly in the room again. Her familiar keening moan opines, “It’s time I danced again,” and the pressure intensifies. “It’s Time” unfolds slowly, doing the grind, working her body and yours. It’s better than Bikram yoga, and twice as hot. Flip the platter and you get “My Beloved,” a grooving, stop-start hip-bumper, with the drums break-beating forward in sway with Scout’s wall of burning guitars. As always, Scout’s the player behind all the sounds on the record. This one was done at home while a foot of snow crept around outside her front door, providing the isolation required to do all the playing and recording and not go completely mad. Just slightly mad will get the job done every time.

With:
The Lovetones || Listen
The Stereo Workers Union
Chief Nowhere

8:30pm / $8 advance; $10 day of show / 21+

Tuesday 04.21.09: HEARTLESS BASTARDS / MAXIM LUDWIG & THE SANTA FE SEVEN

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:
Maxim Ludwig & The Santa Fe Seven || Listen

8:30pm / $12 advance, $15 day of show / 21+

Thursday 06.18.09: Filter presents ART BRUT / RUMSPRINGA / VOXHAUL BROADCAST

Art Brut || Listen || Watch

It’s hard to fathom it’s already been almost four since Art Brut somehow managed to both celebrate and poke fun at the music industry with its stellar debut, Bang Bang Rock & Roll. However, at the time, many critics wondered how far the English outfit’s tongue-and-cheek style could take them – after all, pretty soon they would run out of stuff to make fun of, right?

Well, come four years and two albums later, Art Brut is still running on full-force, as evident by the band’s latest creative endeavor, Art Brut Vs. Satan, officially due out May 12th via Downtown Records. Produced by Frank Black – you know, Frank Black, the Pixies frontman turned solo artists? – the 11-track effort was recorded during what the band described as a “punk-as-fuck two weeks in Salem, Oregon.”
Sound wise, Art Brut has remained fairly tight lipped about Art Brut Vs. Satan, but did not in an interview with Pitchfork that it will include an “eight-minute song.”

As for what’s up with the title, it’s simple as Argos revealed in the same interview: “Satan is everybody that’s against us. [laughs] If you are not for us, then you are Satan, and I am against you.” – Consequence of Sound

With:
Rumspringa || Listen
Voxhaul Broadcast

8:30pm / $13 advance, $15 Day of Show / 21+

Wednesday 06.17.09: Filter presents Club NME with ART BRUT / NICO STAI / TALL HANDS

Art Brut || Listen || Watch

It’s hard to fathom it’s already been almost four since Art Brut somehow managed to both celebrate and poke fun at the music industry with its stellar debut, Bang Bang Rock & Roll. However, at the time, many critics wondered how far the English outfit’s tongue-and-cheek style could take them – after all, pretty soon they would run out of stuff to make fun of, right?

Well, come four years and two albums later, Art Brut is still running on full-force, as evident by the band’s latest creative endeavor, Art Brut Vs. Satan, officially due out May 12th via Downtown Records. Produced by Frank Black – you know, Frank Black, the Pixies frontman turned solo artists? – the 11-track effort was recorded during what the band described as a “punk-as-fuck two weeks in Salem, Oregon.”
Sound wise, Art Brut has remained fairly tight lipped about Art Brut Vs. Satan, but did not in an interview with Pitchfork that it will include an “eight-minute song.”

As for what’s up with the title, it’s simple as Argos revealed in the same interview: “Satan is everybody that’s against us. [laughs] If you are not for us, then you are Satan, and I am against you.” – Consequence of Sound

with:
Nico Stai || Watch || MP3
Tall Hands

8:30pm / $13 advance, $15 Day of Show / 21+

Tuesday 06.16.09: Filter presents ART BRUT / MIIKE SNOW / GOLDEN YEARS

Art Brut || Listen || Watch

It’s hard to fathom it’s already been almost four since Art Brut somehow managed to both celebrate and poke fun at the music industry with its stellar debut, Bang Bang Rock & Roll. However, at the time, many critics wondered how far the English outfit’s tongue-and-cheek style could take them – after all, pretty soon they would run out of stuff to make fun of, right?

Well, come four years and two albums later, Art Brut is still running on full-force, as evident by the band’s latest creative endeavor, Art Brut Vs. Satan, officially due out May 12th via Downtown Records. Produced by Frank Black – you know, Frank Black, the Pixies frontman turned solo artists? – the 11-track effort was recorded during what the band described as a “punk-as-fuck two weeks in Salem, Oregon.”
Sound wise, Art Brut has remained fairly tight lipped about Art Brut Vs. Satan, but did not in an interview with Pitchfork that it will include an “eight-minute song.”

As for what’s up with the title, it’s simple as Argos revealed in the same interview: “Satan is everybody that’s against us. [laughs] If you are not for us, then you are Satan, and I am against you.” – Consequence of Sound

With:
Miike Snow (from Sweden)
Golden Years

8:30pm / $13 advance, $15 Day of Show / 21+

Thursday 04.16.09: BORN RUFFIANS / HEAVY YOUNG HEATHENS / LOCAL NATIVES

Born Ruffians || Listen || Watch

Born Ruffians is on the up and up. The young Toronto band has mostly charmed critics with its two EPs to date, but guess what? Get past Luke Lalonde’s reedy voice and the yelping singalong tendencies in backing vocals and it’s clear the group is onto something: their debut album Red, Yellow and Blue is a consistent, and consistently unexpected, pleasure.

If you took Vampire Weekend’s melodic sensibility (the clean, simple melody and bass lines), threw in a serving of Animal Collective’s late-period experimental pop joy, and laid something like Alec Ounsworth’s pointed voice over the top, you might end up approaching something like Born Ruffians’ sound. What’s most apparent on their debut is the middle bit. It’s 40 minutes of joy, with few breaks. When Lalonde sings, on the opening “Red, Yellow and Blue”, that on the flag for his own country he’d include “Blue, because I’d still have sad days”, you never quite believe it. – Popmatters

With:
Heavy Young Heathens || Listen
Local Natives || Listen

8:30pm / $12 / 21+

Friday 04.03.09: FIRST FRIDAYS with BUSDRIVER / TIM FITE / THE PHATAL DJ / T-KAY

Busdriver || Listen
Tim Fite || Listen

plus Dublab DJs:
The Phatal DJ
T-Kay

@ Natural History Museum
900 Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007

FMI: http://www.nhm.org/firstfridays/

5:30pm / $9 / All Ages

Sunday 05.31.09: NEIL HAMBURGER / PLEASEEASAUR / JAMES QUALL / DAVID LEIBE HART / TWO BROTHERS ONE MIND

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:
Pleaseeasaur || Listen
James Quall (Tim and Eric Awesome Show)
David Liebe Hart (Tim and Eric Awesome Show)
Two Brothers One Mind || Myspace

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Thursday 05.21.09: GHOST (from Japan) / GLASSER / LICHENS

Ghost || Watch

Throughout their mystery-steeped, two decade-plus career, the members of Ghost have steadfastly refused to acknowledge divisions between their seemingly incompatible styles of psych-folk, Krautrock, free jazz, and a limitless variety of indigenous Japanese and world musics. On their latest tablet from the mount, Batoh and a core sextet that includes veteran psych guitarist Michio Kurihara, multi-instrumentalist Kazuo Ogino, and percussionist Junzo Tateiwa have again decided to move their sound outward in all directions at once. In Stormy Night progresses with a solemn yet utterly savage authority, with its turbulent mixture of organic stoner-folk, cumbrous experimentation and near-martial rhythms sounding like an invocation to counteract the government-led turmoil of its times. – Pitchfork

With:
Glasser || Listen
Lichens

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

Saturday 05.09.09: NOUS NON PLUS / LE CORPS MINCE DE FRANCOISE / THE BREAKUPS

Nous Non Plus || Listen

The Francophile New Yorkers of Nous Non Plus have given us American indie rock sung almost exclusively in French. Many hip musicians have long been obsessed with the nation that gave us both the pencil and duck-vomit cracker spread.

On its second album, Menagerie, the six-piece Nous Non Plus expresses a desire to “imagine Gainsbourg and Bardot as indie rockers in 2008.”

The French lyrics and boy/girl vocal interplay between singers Jean-Luc Retard and Céline Dijon (sardonically assumed names, of course) helps boost this gutsy comparison. But outside of the ye-ye vocals and French lyrics, the band doesn’t much resemble swingin’ ’60s Paris as much as your average indie pop group, which works to the band’s benefit.

The album’s highlight, “Thief Like Me” (one of just three songs on the album with an English title), is a rush of vintage synth-pop a la Ultravox, or, more contemporarily, Cut Copy or Chromeo — all analog blips and skittering disco drums over a gut-hitting descending chord pattern. – Alarm Magazine

With:
Le Corps Mince De Francoise || Listen
The Breakups

8:30pm / $10 advance; $12 day of show / 21+

Monday 05.18.09: La Record and KXLU present Monday Night Residency – GANGI / THE LIFE AND TIMES / LANDY

Gangi

Welcome to Matt Gangi’s extremely stylized yet vaguely recognizable world. Gangi’s debut, A, acquires strength from not only the exemplary songwriting, but the vast array of musical personalities that the band displays. In a span of minutes, they could turn from Neil Young to Jethro Tull. And to that end, Gangi certainly shows signs of musical schizophrenia—juxtaposing various elements that shouldn’t mesh, and yet somehow they do. But, ultimately, what great artist doesn’t suffer from some sort of acute sensitivity to their surroundings?

Whether it be a consequence of listening to too much Young (pre-Harvest days) or not, Gangi’s high-pitched crooning effectively captures his signature nasal tenor. A’s opening track “Commonplace Feathers” definitively delineates the distinctive inner workings of the aforementioned folk-rock wizard. Even the ragged claw-hammer style of acoustic guitar, which often makes its way to the foreground, is worthy of comparison. – LAist

with:
The Life and Times || Listen
LANDy || Listen

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 05.11.09: La Record and KXLU present Monday Night Residency – GANGI / SAINT MOTEL / FREE MORAL AGENTS / CROOKED COWBOY

Gangi

Welcome to Matt Gangi’s extremely stylized yet vaguely recognizable world. Gangi’s debut, A, acquires strength from not only the exemplary songwriting, but the vast array of musical personalities that the band displays. In a span of minutes, they could turn from Neil Young to Jethro Tull. And to that end, Gangi certainly shows signs of musical schizophrenia—juxtaposing various elements that shouldn’t mesh, and yet somehow they do. But, ultimately, what great artist doesn’t suffer from some sort of acute sensitivity to their surroundings?

Whether it be a consequence of listening to too much Young (pre-Harvest days) or not, Gangi’s high-pitched crooning effectively captures his signature nasal tenor. A’s opening track “Commonplace Feathers” definitively delineates the distinctive inner workings of the aforementioned folk-rock wizard. Even the ragged claw-hammer style of acoustic guitar, which often makes its way to the foreground, is worthy of comparison. – LAist

With:
Saint Motel
Free Moral Agents
Crooked Cowboy

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Friday 05.08.09: VOXHAUL BROADCAST / LOCAL NATIVES / AUSHUA / RUMSPRINGA

Voxhaul Broadcast

Outta the OC, Voxhaul Broadcast, flavored a whole lot like Cold War Kids and Kings of Leon, already moves with the poise of a well-embraced band, apparently settled comfortably in a working groove and enjoying their gig of life as successful rockers. Maybe they’ve had a look in a crystal ball. Let’s hope that forecast is accurate. The band’s general sound is psychedelic haze, heavy on sedative properties of dope or Robitussin, pavement inside your shoes when the wind’s gusting, or suspension in a vat of sticky warm molasses with your very special someone. I personally vote for the last of the three…an interesting dilemma that would take time to navigate. But I digress. Voxhaul Broadcast comes across wavy. Listening is satisfying at all levels of effort. From a nonchalant low-scale effort, the vibe is fuzzy with enough variation and effects to maintain the awareness of an interesting flow of appeasing music in the background. At a more engaged level, the song construction is far from lazy – each tune is spackled with hooks from great to small and doused with memorable, effective repetition. Lyrically, Voxhaul Broadcast’s songs call for an active stretch of the imagination: rather than feeding you the story, they ask you to make the story your own by connecting the dots and coloring in the background. – Luxury Wafers

With:
Local Natives || Listen
Aushua || Listen
Rumspringa || Listen

8:30pm / $8 advance; $10 day of show / 21+

Monday 05.04.09: La Record and KXLU present Monday Night Residency – GANGI / HEAD LIKE A KITE / DADDY KEV / BLANK BLUE

Gangi

Welcome to Matt Gangi’s extremely stylized yet vaguely recognizable world. Gangi’s debut, A, acquires strength from not only the exemplary songwriting, but the vast array of musical personalities that the band displays. In a span of minutes, they could turn from Neil Young to Jethro Tull. And to that end, Gangi certainly shows signs of musical schizophrenia—juxtaposing various elements that shouldn’t mesh, and yet somehow they do. But, ultimately, what great artist doesn’t suffer from some sort of acute sensitivity to their surroundings?

Whether it be a consequence of listening to too much Young (pre-Harvest days) or not, Gangi’s high-pitched crooning effectively captures his signature nasal tenor. A’s opening track “Commonplace Feathers” definitively delineates the distinctive inner workings of the aforementioned folk-rock wizard. Even the ragged claw-hammer style of acoustic guitar, which often makes its way to the foreground, is worthy of comparison. – LAist

With:
Daddy Kev || Listen
Head Like A Kite || Listen
Blank Blue

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Friday 04.03.09: VALIENT THORR / NIGHT HORSE / THE HIGH SAINTS

Valient Thorr || Listen || Watch

Valient Thorr seem to be angling for a position at the head of a marching mob; their combination of punk-rock speed, crushing riffs, screaming solos and anti-The Man lyrical sloganeering is a compelling and forceful one. The MC5 did this pretty well back in 1970, but Valient Thorr do it just as strong. They’re smarter than they pretend to be, synthesizing obvious influences (everyone from Bon Scott-era AC/DC to Turbonegro) into a pummeling roar, over which frontman Valient Himself rants about the cops and the conspiracy that keeps us all slaves. Their MySpace page lists David Icke, Alex Jones, Wilhelm Reich and Nikola Tesla as influences. Google those names while you rock out to this killer slab of plastic. Valient Thorr won’t save the world, but they’ll shake your candyass loose for you. – Alternative Press

with:
Night Horse
The High Saints || Listen

8:30pm / $8 advance, $10 Day Of Show / 21+

Tuesday 04.14.09: ANDY CLOCKWISE / TYLER STEELE / BROKEN METERS / JACK ADAMS

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:
Tyler Steele || Listen
Broken Meters || Listen
Jack Adams

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Sunday 03.22.09: VOODOO ORGANIST / MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY

Voodoo Organist || Listen

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, The Cramps, and Deadbolt all put pounding beats under devilish, creepy imagery and played it up for campy goodness. L.A.’s The Voodoo Organist strolls past the same unkempt cemetery of influences, but instead of rockabilly underpinnings, the erstwhile Scott Wexton looks to the lounge for inspiration, using Hammond organ, synthesizers, and Theremin. The Voodoo Organist’s new Darwin Dance Hall Days seethes with tongue-in-cheek exotica that falls somewhere between Mojo Nixon and Esquivel. A solo artist for a long time, Wexton now tours with a drummer banging a collection of junk percussion. – Decider

with:
Manhattan Murder Mystery

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Wednesday 04.08.09: Club NME w/ LIVING THINGS / BLOODCAT LOVE / WHITE ARROWS

Living Things || Listen

Living Things are proud radicals who direct their musical outrage at the direst current events—war, oppression, plunder. Yet stylistically they’re retro, committed to an idealized ’60s garage psychedelia stripped of blooze strutting and doped-out solos. Yoking their opener to an instantly hummable “Take to the streets and run with me,” then qualifying that message by singing about the equally catchy attractions of backyards that rhyme with credit cards, they’re hip enough not to worry about ideological consistency. In a way, in fact, inconsistency is a principle for them. Wordman Lillian Berlin murmurs more than he declaims and prefers to share vocals with members of a shifting communal entity dubbed the “Living Things Choir,” and if that fuzzes up the lyrics, well, like most bands, Living Things are more into emotions than ideas anyway. It’s just that their emotions are about the end of capitalism. – Blender

with:
Bloodcat Love || Listen
White Arrows

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Saturday 05.16.09: 89.9 KCRW presents LONEY, DEAR / LIGHTS ON / AM

Loney, Dear || Listen

With Loney, Dear, you get the deeply personal songs, you get the rawness, but you also get a production masterclass and a gift for arrangement to make Brian Wilson smile. Never more so than on Dear John, which adds a new fondness for synths and electronic beeps and blips to Loney, Dear’s armoury. Naturally, such sounds are incorporated subtly into the trademark sound of Loney, Dear, aka Emil Svanangen; delicate beginnings, cyclical structures and lovingly layered build-ups that threaten to overpower Svanangen’s quiet, high-pitched voice, but somehow never quite do. The only time you wonder whether Svanangen hasn’t gone too far into electro noise is on Under a Silent Sea, when a synthesized simulation of the Psycho strings rends the air. It shouldn’t work, but somehow Svanangen makes it fit. It’s always the sign of an artist on top form that they have the confidence to sequence an album so the best tracks come at the end, and the final run here — the bouncy Summers; the wistful, voice-stretching Distant; the ominous Harm/Slow; the powerful Violent; the gorgeous Dear John — is really something special. – Times Online

With:
Lights On
AM

8:30pm / $10 Advance, $12 Day Of show / 21+

Thursday 04.23.09: CASXIO / OH DARLING / VANAPRASTA / THE NIGHTS

Casxio || Listen || Watch

If after one listen to Casxio’s “Seventeen” you aren’t filled with a false confidence that tells you that your dancing ability is far beyond par, you might be an emotionless android. The LA quartet have rightfully stockpiled props for their frenzied live show. The tunes are a fresh-as-heck and high-pitched nod to classic Prince and Talking Heads. Casxio’s Myspace features a slew of their jams, but of the bunch, URB has selected the sweet nothings from kinky bass powered “Seventeen.” With a local following which is only going to expand and a debut record somewhere in the near future, Casxio is the band to watch. So grab Mr. or Ms. right-now and shake your moneymaker. – URB Magazine

With:
Oh Darling || Listen
Vanaprasta
The Nights

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Friday 03.20.09: THE CORAL SEA / THE SPIRES / KARIN TATOYAN / AVI BUFFALO

The Coral Sea || Listen || Watch

The Coral Sea’s lead singer and songwriter Rey Villalobos makes sure to always carry his acoustic guitar with him everywhere he goes, just in case inspiration strikes. One of such places was his car, where the rudiments of the majority of the new album were composed.

The band has created a sound that is emotional and vulnerable, as well as structured, layered with atmospheric ambiance. They have blended gorgeous orchestral arrangements with indie rock for a warm, dreamlike quality.

Think Yo La Tengo or Sigur Ros coupled with David Bowie. In describing The Coral Sea’s debut album, Firelight, Relative Theory Records said, “Very few times do you see a band come out of the gates with such emotion and amazing structure as The Coral Sea. I can only hope that this is not their peak, and that The Coral Sea continues to provide us with wonderful albums in the future.” – The Pop! Stereo

With:
The Spires || Listen
Karin Tatoyan
Avi Buffalo

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Wednesday 04.29.09: Club NME with OLIVER FUTURE / FRANZ NICOLAY (of The Hold Steady) / MONEYBROTHER (Sweden)

Oliver Future || Listen

In Oliver Future’s new configuration, Lit will remain out front, his brother will man a bank of keyboards affectionately called “rig-zilla” and Raver will drum. “Sam just went out and bought a kit and said, ‘I’m going to be your drummer and we’re going to be a three-piece,’” Noah Lit says. “So the story is we just downsized because of the economy.” Lit says the trio “locked ourselves into an antique storage warehouse” and thrashed out new songs. “If you like the more epic and weird stuff on the first record, you’ll like his,” he adds. “There’s no feeling anymore that we have to write a single. But in a weird way, when there’s just three people playing — even though the songs are out there — everything just sounds more simple. “Before we were like an aircraft carrier. But there’s something to be said for being minimalistic.” – Buzz Bands

with:
Franz Nicolay (of The Hold Steady) || Listen
Moneybrother (from Sweden) || Listen

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

Tuesday 03.31.09: BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE / VOID OV VOICES (Attila Csihar of Mayhem)

Bohren & der Club of Gore || Listen

Bohren & Der Club of Gore’s great strength is in their extreme simplicity, as the quartet base each song around Robin Rodenberg’s massive double bass playing, which slowly, lugubriously creeps along, holding down the rhythm with single thrums on the strings, which are tuned so low, you can hear the vibrations in your gut. Morten Gass and Christoph Closer provide accompaniment on piano, Rhodes piano, and tenor saxophone, displaying only the barest minimum of improvisational flair, while drummer Thorsten Benning accentuates the basslines with subtle beats, sounding more atmospheric than rhythmic, like a somnambulistic Elvin Jones. The overall effect is hypnotic, enthralling, sounding like a demonic hybrid of the Bad Plus and Candlemass. These musicians could easily be Satan’s own jazz combo. – Pop Matters

with:
Void of Voices (Attila Csihar of Mayhem)

8:30pm / $12 / 21+

Thursday 03.26.09: EARLY MAN / RED FANG / BARRIO TIGER

Early Man || Listen || Watch

Early Man remind us of the days when [Ozzy Osbourne] was shooting chickens, biting heads off of bats and pissing up the Alamo. Not only that, but they’ve got a stock of riffs that Tony Iommi would be proud of. Every track on the album seethes, and broods. They chug in a thoroughly satisfying manner, cutting a stoned groove not seen since the early days of the mighty Sabbath. That they can create such a heavy sound with just two people is nothing short of genius.

There are of course other reference points, there’s the galloping rhythm of Iron Maiden, the Bay area Thrash of Metallica, and the ridiculous overblown soloing of The Fucking Champs. All of these elements combine to make for an engaging album, and one that awakens an innate need for simple thrills. Early Man are the kind of band that could save metal from extinction, and with Closing In they suggest that the only way forward is to start heading backwards. – musicOMH

with:
Red Fang || Listen
Barrio Tiger

8:30pm / $10advance; $12 day of show / 21+

Friday 04.17.09: Aquarium Drunkard Presents THE CAVE SINGERS / POCAHAUNTED / THE FINCHES

The Cave Singers || Listen || Watch

It must be the combination of shuffle stomp percussion and picking and strumming that had Matador Records labeling the Cave Singers as a folk band. But this is a misnomer; the zeitgeist that propels roots revival is a far cry from the traditional folk movement typified by Joan Baez and Woody Guthrie. The Cave Singers sing personal tunes, not protest songs on this, their debut record. These are songs that speak to the history of brash American individualism. It’s what I love about this new, dark spin on roots music. While the Cave Singers aren’t quite Gothic-Americana, they’re in the company of other Northwest bands like Hillstomp and Glassell Park 3, forging an entire new genre which mixes indie rock urban sentiments with roots music. – Three Imaginary Girls

with:
Pocahaunted || Listen
The Finches || Listen

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

Wednesday 04.15.09: Club NME with LEMON SUN / TRANSFER / HOLY ROLLING EMPIRE

Lemon Sun || Watch || MP3

“…Packed with hard driving drumbeats and accompanied with Rob’s strong voice… the listener is then rocketed into the abyss of their own imaginations. Not to mention the heavy guitar riffs that seems to resonate and awaken anyone’s soul.” – Deli Magazine

“…Lemon Sun are a versatile local pop outfit with a sound that employs all your fave 60′s-jangle-harmony-beat conventions without the tired retro smarm…charasmatic guitar-pop without pretense. Refreshing.Keep it simple, silly!”
Amoeba Records

“Their deliciously syncopated Hot Rocks’ style compositions are easy to love.While such on stage guitar-mageddon could have been deadly in different hands, each sweet, soul inspired confection was rhythmically unwrapped and devoured with the most perfect grace… Lead singer Rob Kolar rightfully belongs in the brave new generation of blue-eyed soul singers; his frequent comparisons to a young Eric Burdon (or a male Chris Clark) are not without merit.”
- L.A.Record

With:
Transfer || Listen
Holy Rolling Empire || Listen

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

Saturday 03.21.09: LOW FLYING OWLS / CARINA ROUND / SWEATERS / SQUARE ON SQUARE

Low Flying Owls || Watch

Comprised of Jared Southard on vocals and guitars, Andy Wagner on guitars and keyboards, Michael Bruce on bass, and Sam Coe on drums, Low Flying Owls’ music evokes early Pink Floyd, T. Rex, The Dandy Warhols, Mercury Rev and even The Doors, yet is uniquely and utterly their own. Low Flying Owls are the intersection at which British shoegazer rock and California psychedelic pop meet, their music is a “beautifully crafted sonic landscape” (CMJ New Music Report). Together since 2001, Low Flying Owls have forged a reputation as one of the best bands in Northern California, drawing sold out crowds to their shows on the Sacramento, Bay Area and Southern California club circuits. – Drowned in Sound

with:
Carina Round || Listen
Sweaters
Square on Square (Former Marjorie Fair)

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Thursday 03.19.09: NICK JAGO / SCOTT FAIRBROTHER / BOBBIE MARIE

Nick Jago

Nick Jago was born on July 19, 1976, in Abadan, Iran. He is of British and Peruvian origin. His father is from England and his mother is from Peru. Growing up in Iran, Peru, Argentina, Venezuela, and England, he eventually left England to be with his family after they relocated to California in 1996. Prior to his leaving, Nick studied Fine Arts at Winchester School Of Art, hoping to become a painter.

After meeting Peter Hayes and Robert Been upon his arrival in the States, Nick switched his focus from painting to music, helping form the later internationally successful band, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. As the drummer for the band, Nick toured around the world for several years after B.R.M.C. left the San Francisco Bay Area for Los Angeles all to quickly attract the interest of a few record labels. The band later went on to tour with a collection of high profile musicians such as the members of U2, The Rolling Stones, and Neil Young.

In 2007, Nick started his own musical project. He is exploring moods, styles, eras and cultures.

with:
Scott Fairbrother
Bobbie Marie

8:30pm / $5 / 21+

Wednesday 03.18.09: Club NME with SMITH AND PYLE / THE HAPPY PROBLEM / HOTEL ST. GEORGE

Smith & Pyle (10pm set time) || Listen || Watch

Shawnee Smith and her close friend Missy Pyle, both actresses, met while filming a comedy pilot in 2007. It was during the filming that they began joking about forming their own band. It so happens that fronting a band was one of Pyle’s lifelong fantasies, and before long Pyle had badgered Smith into starting a band. Shawnee Smith as well as being an accomplished actress, is also a gifted musician. The album that has resulted from their collaboration is a splash of roots-oriented, rip roaring country rock called “It’s Okay to Be Happy”. Pop Rock Candy Mountain selected it as one of the “Top Ten albums of 2008”. The band has a revolving cast of great musicians including Chris Goss and Dave Catching (Eagles of Death Metal), Mark Christian (Merle Jagger), Matt Dauzat (Hydrovibe), David Henderson (Hello Reno and Goon Moon), Franz Stahl (Scream and Foo Fighters), Bryan Brown (Sid Brown and Holloys) among others. When they perform Live, the combination of these musicians and Shawnee and Missi’s storytelling charm really bring the songs to life.

with:
The Happy Problem
Hotel St. George

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Sunday 03.15.09: ZEE AVI / LUKE TOP / MICHAEL ROSAS (OF SATISFACTION)

Zee Avi (10:15pm set time) || Listen || Watch

With an eclectic pool of influences that range from such eccentrics as Cat Power, Regina Spektor, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Jolie Holland, Daniel Johnston and Chris Garneau, to jazz greats Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, to classics like Velvet Underground and Led Zeppelin, this self-described “rock lover at heart” captures the dark, bittersweet qualities of romance with a crack left open for hope and optimism. The songs on Zee Avi’s debut are about an outsider’s desire to belong and the tentative hope of moving on, filled with regret and loss, but boasting an impish, worldly wise sensibility. – Brushfire Records

With:
Luke Top
Michael Rosas (of Satisfaction)

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

Saturday 03.14.09: JULIETTE AND THE NEW ROMANTIQUES / SKY LARKIN

Juliette and The New Romantiques

Juliette Lewis has revealed the details of her highly anticipated forthcoming album.

‘Terra Incognita’ is due out this spring, and features a new band lineup called The New Romantiques, who are replacing her former band The Licks.

“Because this album is so sonically different than anything I’ve done before and captures many flavors of my emotional life and voice, it needed an entirely new name,” Lewis said in a statement.

“‘Terra Incognita’ means unknown territory – and that’s where I wanted to go musically. The guitars are more wild and atmospheric. The groove is dark and deep and allow for a lot of sonic contrasts.

“It took me five years to really cut my teeth both as a performer and as a songwriter and I wanted to break all the habits I’d gotten used to and let songs develop out of a groove or simple piano notes and melody,” she explained.

The album was produced by Omar Rodriguez Lopez of The Mars Volta. “In Omar I found a producer who understood all these facets and who could really unearth and interpret this musical identity,” Lewis said. – NME

with:
Sky Larkin || Listen || Watch

8:30pm / $10 advance, $12 day of show / 21+

Saturday 04.18.09: ABE VIGODA / THE INTELLIGENCE / THE DRONES

Abe Vigoda || Listen || Watch

“House” is the closest Abe Vigoda gets to replicating the peaky highs of Skeleton, but the sound is darker and denser than before. There’s a real heft to the guitars, and they clutter into wonderful disarray in the song’s final third, forming a perfect segue into “Endless Sleeper.” The combination of that song, and the following “Wild Heart,” displays Vidal’s newfound penchant for quiet introspection, providing a fantastic centerpiece to this EP, which contains more riveting ideas and modes of expression than most full-length albums.

There’s an undercurrent of unease, a feeling that something’s not quite right here, that runs through each song on Reviver. It’s in marked contrast to the band’s jovial presence in interviews and the fizzy juvenilia of Skeleton. But this new maturity suggests that Abe Vigoda is not a band that’s going to be easily pinned down. A few touchstones occasionally emerge; their fondness for beautiful disorientation is reminiscent of the Swell Maps’ A Trip to Marineville, and they share the cut-glass guitar aesthetic of early Wire. In fact, Abe Vigoda seems positively destined to take a similarly perverse career path to the likes of Colin Newman, Bruce Gilbert and Nikki Sudden, and it will be fascinating to see where they head next. – Prefix Mag

with
The Intelligence || Listen
The Drones || Listen

8:30pm / $8 adv, $10 doors / 21+

Sunday 04.12.09: HEADLIGHTS / THE LOVE LANGUAGE / HELLO FROM RENO

Headlights || Listen || Watch

With Some Racing, Some Stopping, the Champaign, Illinois trio Headlights steps away from the indie rock of its previous two efforts and jumps headlong into… indie pop territory. Gone are Tristan Wraight’s crunchy guitar chords and Erin Fein’s art song proclivities. In their place are eleven atmospheric tracks that flirt with classic pop, dream pop, girl group stylings, psychedelia and even bubblegum. Unlike the band’s previous two efforts, the Enemies EP and the 2006 CD Kill Them with Kindness, this disc isn’t something you’ll want to play loud. Instead, you’ll want to play it endlessly because the songs are first-rate, the songs are wonderful and…did we mention how good these new songs are? Even when it gets spacey, the songs on Some Racing, Some Stopping have hooks so catching that if they were a disease, well, I for one would be dying 1,000 deaths. Somewhere along the line composers Wraight and Fein figured out how to craft arrangements that brought out the best in their fragile melodies—and vice versa. From start to finish, there’s hardly a dull spot in the lineup. The biggest problem, in fact, is that there’s only 33 minutes of music, so every time you play the disc you’re left wanting more (hence the above comment about putting the CD on repeat play). – Popmatters

With:
The Love Language || Listen
Hello From Reno || Listen

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

Friday 04.24.09: ROCKET / SCOTT RUSSO AND THE BIG BIG BANG / THE SATIN PEACHES / MACK WINSTON & THE REFLECTIONS

Rocket

The five ladies of Los Angeles’ Rocket mash punk rock’s forward motion, girl-group lyrical delivery, and arena-filling power-pop into a slick package of chunky hooks, sing-alongs, and catch guitar riffs. – Spin

with:
Scott Russo and The Big Big Bang
The Satin Peaches || Listen
Mack Winston & The Reflections || Listen

8:30pm / $8 adv, $10 doors / 21+

Saturday 04.25.09: Rockinsider presents YOU ME & IOWA / WE FLY BY NIGHT / THE HECTORS/ AVI BUFFALO

You Me & Iowa || Listen || Watch

“Despite the band’s Midwestern moniker, You, Me & Iowa hail from Los Angeles and sound just like your typical sunny California pop band—in a good way. This is guitar/keyboard based rock with sweet harmonies, catchy melodies, spirited percussion, and slightly psychedelic leanings. The disc is just a short eight songs long, but each track bristles with sonic freshness and seems complete in itself. It’s not completely clear what the tunes are about (sample lyric: “Mama’s cookin’ in the kitchen and it sure smells great / Daddy’s locked up in the attic so he’s gonna be late”) although each word is carefully articulated, but some sort of suburban surrealism comes through loud and clear. You, Me & Iowa create a positive vibe and never let the energy flag” – Popmatters

With:
We Fly By Night
The Hectors || Listen
Avi Buffalo

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

Saturday 03.27.2009: GLISS / THE TAKEOVER UK / HELLO VEGAS

Gliss || Listen || Watch

With track titles like “29 Acts of Love,” “Lovers In The Bathroom,” and “Love Songs,” it’s clear the Los Angeles-based trio Gliss concerns itself largely with matters of the heart. But the tales of love and lust on the band’s latest album, Devotion Implosion, are complicated affairs, with suggestive lyrics delivered by frontman Marty Klingman’s seductively edgy vocals.

Fitting for a band in love with a fuzzed-out sound, something sinister lurks below the seemingly romantic songs. On “Love Songs,” for instance, the line, “I’ll drag you down with me,” is sung on repeat. Like a gorgeous former child star trapped in a downward spiral of drugs and rock n’ roll, Devotion Implosion is a hazy, beautiful mess. The vocals are both weary and desperately authoritative, and the guitars, strung-out but assertive. It is this unlikely combination of impending disaster and artistry that makes the aptly named Devotion Implosion so appealing and intriguing.- NPR

With:
The Takeover UK
Hello Vegas

8:30pm / $8 ADVANCE; $10 DAY OF SHOW / 21+

Friday 03.06.09: OLIVER FUTURE / DIRTY SWEET / HE’S MY BROTHER, SHE’S MY SISTER

Oliver Future || Listen

Nothing sums up the essence of Oliver Future, and perhaps their mixed feelings about L.A., than the back to back dazzlers that close this suite. “Drowning Parade” is a soulful ballad that could be an Antony and the Johnsons outtake, with its smoky-lounge vocals, alto and tenor saxophones, and Wurlitzer piano. The gentle tune gives way to “The Slow Fast,” filled with scraping guitar riffs, techno beats, and punk rock screams “It’s a-a-a-l-l… o-o-o-n-n.” This record is on alright: on point, and on its way to being one the better surprise releases of the year. To hear for yourself, simply do what I did and put Pax Futura on the stereo. – Lost At Sea

With:
Dirty Sweet || Listen
He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Wednesday 03.11.09: Club NME with SPIRIT ANIMAL / ASA RANSOM

Spirit Animal

Spirit Animal makes soul music from Dance Angeles. Its core members have recorded and performed with The Pharcyde and Ben Harper. Combined, the four founding fathers have opened for major acts such as The Roots, M.I.A. and the Beastie Boys. The band’s catchy, meaningful songs and raucous live shows have sparked an explosive following of young, old, hip and humble. Their in-progress, debut full-length, The Cost of Living, features selected tracks mixed by Danny Kalb (Beck, Rilo Kiley, Jack Johnson), and showcases vintage synth wizardry, horn and string sections both punchy and grand, and swaths of vocal harmony — a soundscape that skillfully beckons classic and contemporary influences at once. Spirit Animal’s Internet-ready EP of cover songs, Covers I (out this Spring), will provide a brief introduction to the musical possibilities that lie ahead as they reinvent notable numbers from Beirut, Ginuwine, Alphaville and Sheila Hylton.

with:
Asa Ransom

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Thursday 03.05.09: USELESS KEYS / TSK TSK / COBALT CRANES / DISSOLVER

Useless Keys || Listen || Watch

With a name like Useless Keys, one might be tempted to dismiss them as another one of those bands that isn’t opening any new doors. This is not the case with Useless Keys, the new project of former Front frontman Michael Bauer with Rory Modica, Guylaine Vivarat (ex-Molecules) and Michael Regilio (ex-Green and Yellow TV). Discovering this upstart quartet is like discovering one of those really cool old-timey keys- you know, the really long ones with the two teeth-that you might hold on to because of a weird feeling that maybe it someday might unlock something mysterious. In just three songs, Useless Keys’ self-titled debut EP showcases a short but sweet mish-mosh of sixties melodies and modern rhythms, droney guitars and sweet vocals and delivers a few unexpected surprises. The disc starts strong with a disturbed Ray Davies-style melody on “Down Threw” and “White Noise” manages to resurrect the power of 90′s-style climbing guitar riffs in a way that actually works when mixed up with dark undercurrents that seem to be the band’s signature. And–and this is something I hadn’t thought possible– the Floydian guitar solo in “It’s All Made Up” actually doesn’t sound cheesy. From the looks of things, Useless Keys are worth keeping around. – LA Record

with:
Tsk Tsk || Listen
Cobalt Cranes
Dissolver

8:30pm / $5 / 21+

Sunday 03.01.09: NICK JAGO / THE ATLANTIC / DAVID SHANE SMITH / JESSICA JAY

Nick Jago

Nick Jago was born on July 19, 1976, in Abadan, Iran. He is of British and Peruvian origin. His father is from England and his mother is from Peru. Growing up in Iran, Peru, Argentina, Venezuela, and England, he eventually left England to be with his family after they relocated to California in 1996. Prior to his leaving, Nick studied Fine Arts at Winchester School Of Art, hoping to become a painter.

After meeting Peter Hayes and Robert Been upon his arrival in the States, Nick switched his focus from painting to music, helping form the later internationally successful band, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. As the drummer for the band, Nick toured around the world for several years after B.R.M.C. left the San Francisco Bay Area for Los Angeles all to quickly attract the interest of a few record labels. The band later went on to tour with a collection of high profile musicians such as the members of U2, The Rolling Stones, and Neil Young.

In 2007, Nick started his own musical project. He is exploring moods, styles, eras and cultures.

with:
The Atlantic
David Shane Smith
Jessica Jay

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Sunday 03.08.09: CURUMIN plus special guest MONEY MARK / LOS PIRATA / MUSAICS

Curumin || Watch

Named after a Brazilian word for “indigenous children,” hailing from Spanish and Japanese ancestry, and rhyming and scheming in Portuguese, Luciano Nakata Albuquerque has dazzled since his 2005 hybrid-funk debut “Achados e Perdidos” dropped with the help of Blackalicious’ Chief Xcel. That DJ evidently liked what he heard, and bankrolled this sophomore effort, which is easily one of hip-hop’s finest releases of 2008. That is, if you consider a mash of samba, funk, soul, rap, jazz and bossa nova to be hip-hop. “Japan Pop Show” displays skill on every level. The dance-floor grind of “Magrela Fever” might be the best club banger of the year. The title track is a psychedelic recombination of David Axelrod and Os Mutantes’ funky genes, and the subtle spacetracking of “Mistério Stereo” is as accessible for indie heads as it is for soul old-schoolers. Curumin’s classical training on percussion and keyboards has paid off heavily, especially on the instrumental groove of “Fu Manchu” and jazz and dub explorations of “Salto No Vácuo Com Joelhada” and “Saída Bangú.” It is, literally, all good. – Metromix LA

plus special guest Money Mark

with:
Los Pirata || Listen
Musaics

8:30pm / $10 advance, $12 Day Of Show / 21+

Friday 03.06.09: First Fridays with FOOLS GOLD / BLK JKS @ Natural History Museum

This season’s First Fridays celebrate “Darwin Year” through entertaining and fascinating conversations with six of the world’s foremost authors and experts on the life of Darwin, the science of evolution, and the revolutionary impact of the man and his work. Join us in discovery with an evening of programming: a curator-led tour, a discussion forum with Dr. Neil Shubin and Dr. Michael W. Quick, artist performances Fool’s Gold and Blk Jks and a DJ lounge with The Phatal DJ + Anthony Valadez (dublab.com)

with:
Fools Gold
Blk Jks || Listen

plus DJs:
The Phatal DJ
Anthony Valadez

@ Natural History Museum
900 Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007

FMI: http://www.nhm.org/firstfridays/

5:30pm / All Ages

Wednesday 03.25.09: Club NME with NO KIDS / PARENTHETICAL GIRLS / BLACK GOLD

No Kids

Deceptively monikered, No Kids are actually pretty much down with them. Though their geeky attire on the press material paints their three members (each formerly a quarter of indie-pop foursome P:ano) as studious schoolteachers, less than ten minutes into this, their debut, they extend an unexpected olive branch to modern day R&B. And as the typical plucked-string melody and salty croon of “The Beaches All Closed” continues into “Bluster in the Air” and beyond, there’s refreshingly few tongues in cheeks, the tone appreciative, if playful, rather than ironic.

But this organic, skewed representation of a genre that characteristically—in the mainstream at least—covets the bling and the brash, by people who patently don’t, is just one facet of Come Into My House‘s diverse, but steadfastly natural, sound. Opener “Great Escape” is a laid-back, piano-led affair, lent sheen by the discourse of mingling brass and string sections, while “For Halloween” sees No Kids’ trio of multi-instrumentalists defy the autumnal implications of its title with inappropriately sunny melodies and incandescent vocal harmonies. – Popmatters

with:
Parenthetical Girls || Listen
Black Gold

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

Saturday 03.07.09: THE UPPER CRUST / PEACHFUZZ / BARRIO TIGER

The Upper Crust || Listen

With:
Peachfuzz
Barrio Tiger

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

Wednesday 03.04.09: Club NME with PRINCETON / CUT OFF YOUR HANDS

Princeton || Listen

They may have an Ivy-bred name, but Eagle Rock, CA’s Princeton are more concerned with chamber-pop than condescension. Comprised of brothers Jesse and Matt Kivel, plus longtime pal Ben Usen, Princeton combine the Glaswegian gloom of Tigermilk-era Belle and Sebastian with sublime orchestration and Vampire Weekend’s bouncy, lilting rhythmic structures to formulate a sound that will send listeners off to a regal pop Valhalla. Check out the fluttering woodwinds and galloping melody of “Ms. Bentwich.” – Spin.com

with:
Cut Off Your Hands || Listen

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Tuesday 03.03.09: LAURA GIBSON / TOM BROSSEAU / MUSEE MECANIQUE

Laura Gibson || Watch || MP3

Laura Gibson’s new album, Beasts of Seasons, is nothing short of a masterpiece, both for its flawless and often haunting execution and for its inspired statements on the human experience. Broken into two parts, “Communion Songs” and “Funeral Songs,” the album opens with a foreboding burst of feedback and static. If it’s the sonic equivalent of darkness and what may be lurking there, then Gibson’s fragile voice and plaintively strummed guitar soon emerge as a flicker of light. It’s a mesmerizing contrast, as the curtain rises for Gibson’s beautifully gloomy and arresting meditations on life and death. – NPR

With:
Tom Brosseau || Listen
Musee Mecanique

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Tuesday 03.24.09: SPINTO BAND / MAPS & ATLASES / LIGHT FM

The Spinto Band || Listen || Watch

With an obvious love of Brit pop, a weakness for ecstatic vocal harmonies and a stimulant-fueled disposition, the six young men twitched, leaped and hurled themselves through a thoroughly entertaining and nearly non-stop set. These boys have played together for a long time, and the practice showed last night in the tight starts and stops and seamless transitions between songs. The band even played a note-perfect instrumental cover of “Genius of Love” as an introduction to one of their originals.

But it was the energy and obvious sense of fun with which the Spinto Band attacked its songs that made the performance so engaging. Dueling frontmen Nick Krill and Thomas Hughes each brought his own unique and quirky personality to the stage. While the lanky Krill ran in place and flopped his hair back and forth, the cartoonish Hughes spasmed with the high notes and donned a clothes-hanger apparatus that allowed him to play his kazoo (yep) hands-free. This was another performance that was so strong and just plain fun that I’ll have to go back to check out the record again (2005’s Nice and Nicely Done was the band’s first widely distributed disc, but its seventh overall). – Westword

With:
Maps & Atlases || Listen
Light FM

8:30pm / $10 Advance, $12 Day Of Show / 21+

Monday 03.30.09: Flaunt Magazine presents Monday Night Residency – NICO STAI / THE GRATES / TIM JAMES

Nico Stai || Watch || MP3

What is in a name, like the one possessed by Nico Stai? Nico is an L.A. based musician and his new release, his 3rd in all, The Victory Of Miss Friday is his most decisive to date. The trappings of creating records has not affected Nico as it is apparent on his newest creation. The music is entrapping, grabbing your brain cells and lulling you into a beautiful stupor. Bob Dylan, you have company now …., someone who can create a stunningly simple acoustic piece and reign in a legion of fans, but with consumer friendly smooth vocals. The music on The Victory Of Miss Friday has engaging rhythms like with in the track “Scream,” which has ensnaring vocals of the pleasant and hypnotic gesture along with driving acoustic rhythms and above all, horns. Any artist that incorporates horns into their music is my hero. “The Skies Over Your Head” offers something different, a strumming bass line behind the acoustic guitar with Nico’s urging vocals lying overhead. Dead Pony was an advancement for Nico but this is the just deserts. Stunning acoustic movements with frantic moments here and there are Nico’s calling card. Go check them out and make Nico Stai your next musical love. Check him out this March for his Monday night residency at Spaceland. -Jeffrey Easton

With:
The Grates || Listen
Tim James (from The Movies)

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 03.23.09: Monday Night Residency – NICO STAI / THE TEMPER TRAP / OH LAND / ROSIE AND THE GOLDBUG

Nico Stai || Watch || MP3

What is in a name, like the one possessed by Nico Stai? Nico is an L.A. based musician and his new release, his 3rd in all, The Victory Of Miss Friday is his most decisive to date. The trappings of creating records has not affected Nico as it is apparent on his newest creation. The music is entrapping, grabbing your brain cells and lulling you into a beautiful stupor. Bob Dylan, you have company now …., someone who can create a stunningly simple acoustic piece and reign in a legion of fans, but with consumer friendly smooth vocals. The music on The Victory Of Miss Friday has engaging rhythms like with in the track “Scream,” which has ensnaring vocals of the pleasant and hypnotic gesture along with driving acoustic rhythms and above all, horns. Any artist that incorporates horns into their music is my hero. “The Skies Over Your Head” offers something different, a strumming bass line behind the acoustic guitar with Nico’s urging vocals lying overhead. Dead Pony was an advancement for Nico but this is the just deserts. Stunning acoustic movements with frantic moments here and there are Nico’s calling card. Go check them out and make Nico Stai your next musical love. Check him out this March at for his Monday night residency at Spaceland. -Jeffrey Easton

With:
The Temper Trap
Rosie and the Goldbug || Listen
Oh Land

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 03.16.09: Monday Night Residency – NICO STAI / YOUTH GROUP / RED RIDERS / JOSH PYKE

Nico Stai || Watch || MP3

What is in a name, like the one possessed by Nico Stai? Nico is an L.A. based musician and his new release, his 3rd in all, The Victory Of Miss Friday is his most decisive to date. The trappings of creating records has not affected Nico as it is apparent on his newest creation. The music is entrapping, grabbing your brain cells and lulling you into a beautiful stupor. Bob Dylan, you have company now …., someone who can create a stunningly simple acoustic piece and reign in a legion of fans, but with consumer friendly smooth vocals. The music on The Victory Of Miss Friday has engaging rhythms like with in the track “Scream,” which has ensnaring vocals of the pleasant and hypnotic gesture along with driving acoustic rhythms and above all, horns. Any artist that incorporates horns into their music is my hero. “The Skies Over Your Head” offers something different, a strumming bass line behind the acoustic guitar with Nico’s urging vocals lying overhead. Dead Pony was an advancement for Nico but this is the just deserts. Stunning acoustic movements with frantic moments here and there are Nico’s calling card. Go check them out and make Nico Stai your next musical love. Check him out this March at for his Monday night residency at Spaceland. -Jeffrey Easton

With:
Youth Group || Listen
Red Riders || Listen
Josh Pyke || Listen

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 03.09.09: Monday Night Residency – NICO STAI / THE SHYS / LADY SINATRA

Nico Stai || Watch || MP3

What is in a name, like the one possessed by Nico Stai? Nico is an L.A. based musician and his new release, his 3rd in all, The Victory Of Miss Friday is his most decisive to date. The trappings of creating records has not affected Nico as it is apparent on his newest creation. The music is entrapping, grabbing your brain cells and lulling you into a beautiful stupor. Bob Dylan, you have company now …., someone who can create a stunningly simple acoustic piece and reign in a legion of fans, but with consumer friendly smooth vocals. The music on The Victory Of Miss Friday has engaging rhythms like with in the track “Scream,” which has ensnaring vocals of the pleasant and hypnotic gesture along with driving acoustic rhythms and above all, horns. Any artist that incorporates horns into their music is my hero. “The Skies Over Your Head” offers something different, a strumming bass line behind the acoustic guitar with Nico’s urging vocals lying overhead. Dead Pony was an advancement for Nico but this is the just deserts. Stunning acoustic movements with frantic moments here and there are Nico’s calling card. Go check them out and make Nico Stai your next musical love. Check him out this March at for his Monday night residency at Spaceland. -Jeffrey Easton

With:
The Shys
Lady Sinatra

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 03.02.09: Monday Night Residency – NICO STAI / EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS / POP NOIR / HESTA PRYNN

Nico Stai || Watch || MP3

What is in a name, like the one possessed by Nico Stai? Nico is an L.A. based musician and his new release, his 3rd in all, The Victory Of Miss Friday is his most decisive to date. The trappings of creating records has not affected Nico as it is apparent on his newest creation. The music is entrapping, grabbing your brain cells and lulling you into a beautiful stupor. Bob Dylan, you have company now …., someone who can create a stunningly simple acoustic piece and reign in a legion of fans, but with consumer friendly smooth vocals. The music on The Victory Of Miss Friday has engaging rhythms like with in the track “Scream,” which has ensnaring vocals of the pleasant and hypnotic gesture along with driving acoustic rhythms and above all, horns. Any artist that incorporates horns into their music is my hero. “The Skies Over Your Head” offers something different, a strumming bass line behind the acoustic guitar with Nico’s urging vocals lying overhead. Dead Pony was an advancement for Nico but this is the just deserts. Stunning acoustic movements with frantic moments here and there are Nico’s calling card. Go check them out and make Nico Stai your next musical love. Check him out this March at for his Monday night residency at Spaceland. -Jeffrey Easton

With:
Eastern Conference Champions || Listen
Pop Noir || Listen
Hesta Prynn

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Thursday 03.12.09: CURSIVE / MODERN MEMORY

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:
Modern Memory || Listen

8:30pm / $15 advance, $18 Day of show / 21+

Sunday 03.29.09: NEIL HAMBURGER / THE FUXEDOS / ART HINTY

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:
The Fuxedos
Art Hinty

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Tuesday 03.17.09: 7th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Pogues tribute w/ OLLIN / SPEEDBUGGY

Ollin || Listen

What better way to spend St. Patrick’s Day than with a Latino punk band that plays songs written by a bona fide Irish alcoholic? Acclaimed for covering the Pogues’ Rum, Sodomy & the Lash in its entirety, Ollin always packs the house full of sweaty drunks just raring to holler along to “The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn.” Enjoy the energy of that album (played in full tonight), and watch as the band inspires sobs with their version of the traditional anti-war ballad “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda.” – Flavorpill

With:
Speedbuggy || Listen

8:30pm / $10 / 21+

Friday 03.13.09 RICHARD SWIFT / DAPPLED CITIES / WE BARBARIANS

Richard Swift || Listen

Trying to categorise Swift’s music into a genre doesn’t really work, his music often jumps about from style to style, here Swift is like a hyperactive Prince but without crossing the line of being annoying. His music always has soul, one of which would feel at home in a late 60’s 70’s glam band.

‘The Original Thought’ is one of the more funkier tracks on the album and it’s one that will be constantly spinning on repeat in your mind. There’s no reason why these tracks shouldn’t be played on the radio, they are instantly likeable with classic song writing. Something tells me, however many times you listen to Swift’s material, nothing will make you any clearer on what drives the man or what direction he will take next but you know it will be enjoyable. – Contactmusic

With:
Dappled Cities || Listen
We Barbarians || Listen

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

Saturday 03.28.09: Aquarium Drunkard Presents CHAD VAN GAALEN / WOMEN / THE BOAT PEOPLE

Chad VanGaalen || Listen

Chad VanGaalen’s never been a “rocker,” per se. The gawky Canadian home recordist’s first two albums scattered a few propulsive guitar jams in between oddball instrumentals and sci-fi murder ballads like clues in a scavenger hunt. Well, Soft Airplane is the answer. From the electric crunch of “Bones of Man” to the extremely funky electro (really!) of “TMNT Mask,” it’s clear that VanGaalen wants to turn up the volume. Even his lyrics are bouncier: “I can’t remember when I felt so good/baby, since I met you,” he sings in “Inside the Molecules.” But the singer’s quivering tenor is still fixated on death and a dystopian future, with “Molten Light” offering a chorus of “I’ll find you and I’ll kill you!” It’d be scarier if it didn’t follow a song about a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costume, but that’s VanGaalen’s charm—even at his most accessible, he’s still living in his own weird world. – Filter

with:
Women
The Boat People || Listen

8:30pm / $10 advance – $12 day of show / 21+

Tuesday 03.10.09: EFTERKLANG / PETER BRODERICK / EULOGIES

Efterklang || Listen || Watch

Denmark’s Efterklang, recipients of a rare 10/10 DiS review for last year’s Parades LP (review), are traditionalists only in the sense that they use guitar, bass and drums as cornerstones of the creations they erect, rising from the stage slowly, revealing nuances sweet and affecting with each clutch of so-many seconds. Scattered about these essentials are electronic boxes full of circuit-board wizardry, additional percussion things to swing, whack and shake…Digression terminated, the concluding fact: Efterklang, live and on record, are rarely less than an incredibly moving and inspiring listen. If you’re yet to let them breach your taste defences, watch the bombs explode below ‘til your heart pops in time. – Drowned in Sound

with:
Peter Broderick
Eulogies || Listen

8:30pm / $10adv – $12dos/ 21+