Sunday 02.14.10: DANIEL LANOIS’ BLACK DUB / ROCCO DELUCA

Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub || Listen || Watch

Few musicians have a sound so wholly their own and so completely engulfing live as Daniel Lanois. Lanois’s music is already good on record but live takes on a whole new life of its own, filling the space and encapsulating its listeners with a kind of warm, joyous energy; making one simultaneously quietly blissful and loudly appreciative. And yet what Daniel Lanois is best known for are his production credits (big names like U2, Bob Dylan, and Peter Gabriel, to name just a few), which he has certainly earned but overshadow his music, more than deserving of its own big spotlight.

His latest project, Black Dub, puts him together with three other amazing musicians: Previous collaborators Brian Blade (drums) and Daryl Johnson (bass), along young singer (and occasional guitarist and drummer during this set) Trixie Whitley. The four didn’t disappoint at the Troubadour in LA, playing a set of new material, mixed with a few of Daniel’s own solo songs, that left us clamouring for more. – Ruckus

with:
Rocco DeLuca || Listen

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

Wednesday 03.10.10: Club NME with OLIN AND THE MOON / CORREATOWN / FINN RIGGINS / JARED MEES AND THE GROWN CHILDREN

Olin and The Moon || Listen || Watch

Not to sound too hayseed, but this album’s like beer. Sometimes you cry in it; sometime you raise your glass. The L.A. quintet with roots in Sun Valley, Idaho, have birthed a “No Depression”-worthy recording that, while hardly straying from country formula, tugs at your heart like a prairie sunset. The fivesome’s tidy arrangements help diminutive frontman David LaBrel’s crystalline vocals stand out — he doesn’t have to overplay wistful when he sings “It’s kinda hard to laugh right now / and drinkin’ makes me sick / ‘Cause the first time I saw you / I was in between sips.” – Buzz Bands

with:
Finn Riggins
Correatown || Listen
Jared Mees & The Grown Children

8:30pm / $7 / 21+

Friday 02.05.10: HELEN STELLAR / HEXHAM HEADS (formerly Shiloe) / WET AND RECKLESS / DIRT BIRD

Helen Stellar || Watch

Energized by new material and the addition of a fourth member, guitarist Eli Lhymn, Helen Stellar is finishing up work on a new album and on Wednesday at the Echo will play only its second show in the past three years.

The album — whose working title is “If the Stars Could Speak, They Would Have Your Voice — And It Would Say I Love You” — refines Helen Stellar’s neo-shoegaze aesthetic, with Evens’ soaring vocals riding a cross-stitch of reverb-heavy guitars and driving beats. Mopey, it’s not, as the paean to new beginnings “From Hear On” reveals. “It’s hopeful — very positive for the most part,” Evens says. – Buzz Bands

with:
Hexham Heads || Listen
Wet & Reckless || Watch
Dirt Bird

8:30pm / $5 / 21+

Tuesday 02.23.10: L.A. Record & White Noise present FREE ENERGY / THE BLANK TAPES / EARLY DOLPHIN / TOMORROW’S TULIPS

Free Energy || Listen || Watch

After the breakup of Minnesota indie band Hockey Night, frontman Paul Sprangers and guitarist Scott Wells formed Free Energy. Now based in Philadelphia, Free Energy take the blithe, hooky classic rock of groups like Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick, and Tom Petty as their jumping-off point. After recording a few demos, the duo recruited a full band and hooked up with– of all labels– the uber-hip NYC dance powerhouse DFA.

DFA honcho and LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy produced “Dream City”, Free Energy’s joyous sugar-rush of a debut track. “Dream City”, which we designated a Best New Track, is the last thing you’d expect from DFA. It’s a total car radio summer jam, a chugging singalong that could make a hell of a sitcom theme (a good thing!). – Pitchfork

with:
The Blank Tapes
Early Dolphin
Tomorrow’s Tulips

8:30pm / $7 / 21+

Thursday 02.25.10: VISQUEEN / BEAR HANDS / ADAM BONES

Visqueen || Listen

Honest rock-and-roll records are hard to come by these days. Every group has a gimmick or, even worse, they’re from Brooklyn. Not Visqueen. On its third album, the band, led by guitarist and singer Rachel Flotard, traffics in fundamentals (guitar, bass, drums) and fury. From the disc’s opening blast, “Hand Me Down,” to its crashing coda 10 songs later, “Jimmy vs. James,” the music is insistent, urgent, thrilling. There are no wasted notes, no flash distractions. Flotard’s voice wants to be heard, not lost in swirly atmospherics. It rises above the raucous, crunching guitar din, a thought bubble sung, clear and certain.

There’s a complexity to Flotard’s singing that makes even seemingly straightforward lines feel layered. “When you gonna fight for love?” she howls, and it sounds like both a challenge and a plea. Elsewhere she roars, wallows, reassures and threatens in equal measure, each song filled with conviction, loaded with meaning. Backing vocals by Neko Case add to the winning mix of loveliness and grit. – The Washington Post

with:
Bear Hands || Listen
Adam Bones || Listen

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Friday 02.12.10: Web in Front presents SHADOW SHADOW SHADE / TWILIGHT SLEEP / MARVELOUS TOY

Shadow Shadow Shade

A year ago last week, I wrote that L.A. septet Afternoons were a good bet to release one of the finest albums of 2009. So much for my crystal ball.

Instead, the business of writing, recording and releasing new material has moved glacially (and carefully) for the band, whose operatic pop anthems grabbed L.A. by the ears in 2008. Finally, at the outset of 2010, there is news to report: The group has changed its name to Shadow Shadow Shade (no MySpace page for that moniker yet) and has nearly completed a six-song release of all-new material.

Setting aside local favorites such as “Say Yes” and “Love Is a Western Word” for the time being, the band worked much of the year on new songs — as well as paid attention to its new management/legal team, which told the band in no uncertain terms that a name change was in order because the Welsh pop band the Afternoons were there first.

“It’s been six months of wracking our brain for a name,” says singer-guitarist Brian Canning, who explains that he and mates Aaron Burrows, Brent Turner, Claire McKeown, Sam Johnson, Steven Scott and Thomas Biller finally thrashed out a new name during a band meeting at a bar. That followed, Turner says, one 24-hour stretch that saw more than 250 e-mails exchanged between members.

The new material? It’s 35-plus minutes of music, somewhere between and full-length and an EP, and still subject to some editing, Canning says. “I want to call it a concept EP, but I shouldn’t say that because it sounds too indulgent,” he says. “Let’s just say the songs are long, and flow into one another.”

OK, so … Bands to Watch, 2010: Shadow Shadow Shade. – Buzz Bands

with:
Twilight Sleep
Marvelous Toy

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Saturday 02.13.10: DANIEL LANOIS’ BLACK DUB / ROCCO DELUCA

Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub || Listen || Watch

Few musicians have a sound so wholly their own and so completely engulfing live as Daniel Lanois. Lanois’s music is already good on record but live takes on a whole new life of its own, filling the space and encapsulating its listeners with a kind of warm, joyous energy; making one simultaneously quietly blissful and loudly appreciative. And yet what Daniel Lanois is best known for are his production credits (big names like U2, Bob Dylan, and Peter Gabriel, to name just a few), which he has certainly earned but overshadow his music, more than deserving of its own big spotlight.

His latest project, Black Dub, puts him together with three other amazing musicians: Previous collaborators Brian Blade (drums) and Daryl Johnson (bass), along young singer (and occasional guitarist and drummer during this set) Trixie Whitley. The four didn’t disappoint at the Troubadour in LA, playing a set of new material, mixed with a few of Daniel’s own solo songs, that left us clamouring for more. – Ruckus

with:
Rocco DeLuca || Listen

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

Friday 02.26.10: MEMORY TAPES / DAZZLE SHIPS / COSMIC KIDS

Memory Tapes || Listen || Watch

More than a few of these singles came from Philadelphia’s Dayve Hawk in the guise of either Memory Cassette, Weird Tapes, or Memory Tapes. To this point, he’d served as something of a microcosm for this sound, which has created intriguingly hazy, wistful but beat-informed one-offs and EPs, but nothing weighty enough to get it past “something we did that one summer,” as if it were a road trip or ill-fated romance recalled years later. That was before Seek Magic, a record of achingly gorgeous dance-pop that captures both the joy of nostalgia and the melancholic sense that we’re grasping for good times increasingly out of reach.

Initially, Seek Magic’s power derives from an intensely personalized ability to unlock hidden chambers in our memory banks. The half-submerged guitars that introduce “Swimming Field” suggest this is as a soundtrack for a restless evening, but between its F-G chord progression and aqueous thumb-piano and panflute synths, I’m reminded of scorching July days vibing out to Wilco’s A Ghost Is Born. Instrumental breaks “Pink Stones” and “Run Out” recall the unconventional beauty of Apehx Twin’s Richard D. James Album. “Green Knight” smacks of Police’s “Wrapped Around Your Finger” in its verse and any number of mid-80s light funk with its guitar licks, the sneaker squeak in the instrumental break is one of the most evocative found sounds I’ve heard in a while. – Pitchfork

with:
Dazzle Ships
Cosmic Kids

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

Thursday 02.18.10: IMAAD WASIF / LOU BARLOW & THE MISSING MEN / AVI BUFFALO

Imaad Wasif || Listen || Watch

From his folky debut through the harder-rocking follow-up to this current album, Wasif seems to have learned a thing about how to play to the crowd, generally in a good way. There are quieter moments, and interludes that hark back to his earlier work, but The Voidist is unafraid to lay it on the line and rock out, earning comparisons to everything from stadium rockers to, yes, the aforementioned bands he’s played with on tour.

Opening and closing strong, the album is well-sequenced. The eastern-tinged melodies of “Redeemer” may feel a bit as if they’re straight out of the psych-rock handbook, but that’s almost beside the point given the strength of the riff and Wasif’s smooth vocals. The changes the song goes through during its second half are also well-handled, and a good example of how even the most straightforward tracks often contain a bit more than they first appear to. “Razorlike,” which closes the album and also happens to be the longest song here, moves through ghostly cadences into a forceful beat and thence through thick power chords that dissolve into foggy lyrical visions of empires. Throughout, Wasif’s guitar work — whether it be chugging riffs, fuzz-wah leads, or gently shimmering notes — serves as the lynchpin. – Dusted

with:
Lou Barlow & The Missing Men
Avi Buffalo

8:30pm / $7 / 21+

Thursday 02.11.10: IMAAD WASIF / BECKY STARK / VOICE ON TAPE

Imaad Wasif || Listen || Watch

From his folky debut through the harder-rocking follow-up to this current album, Wasif seems to have learned a thing about how to play to the crowd, generally in a good way. There are quieter moments, and interludes that hark back to his earlier work, but The Voidist is unafraid to lay it on the line and rock out, earning comparisons to everything from stadium rockers to, yes, the aforementioned bands he’s played with on tour.

Opening and closing strong, the album is well-sequenced. The eastern-tinged melodies of “Redeemer” may feel a bit as if they’re straight out of the psych-rock handbook, but that’s almost beside the point given the strength of the riff and Wasif’s smooth vocals. The changes the song goes through during its second half are also well-handled, and a good example of how even the most straightforward tracks often contain a bit more than they first appear to. “Razorlike,” which closes the album and also happens to be the longest song here, moves through ghostly cadences into a forceful beat and thence through thick power chords that dissolve into foggy lyrical visions of empires. Throughout, Wasif’s guitar work — whether it be chugging riffs, fuzz-wah leads, or gently shimmering notes — serves as the lynchpin. – Dusted

with:
Becky Stark
Voice on Tape

8:30pm / $7 / 21+

Thursday 02.04.10: IMAAD WASIF / MOCKINGBIRDS / JASON SIMON

Imaad Wasif || Listen || Watch

From his folky debut through the harder-rocking follow-up to this current album, Wasif seems to have learned a thing about how to play to the crowd, generally in a good way. There are quieter moments, and interludes that hark back to his earlier work, but The Voidist is unafraid to lay it on the line and rock out, earning comparisons to everything from stadium rockers to, yes, the aforementioned bands he’s played with on tour.

Opening and closing strong, the album is well-sequenced. The eastern-tinged melodies of “Redeemer” may feel a bit as if they’re straight out of the psych-rock handbook, but that’s almost beside the point given the strength of the riff and Wasif’s smooth vocals. The changes the song goes through during its second half are also well-handled, and a good example of how even the most straightforward tracks often contain a bit more than they first appear to. “Razorlike,” which closes the album and also happens to be the longest song here, moves through ghostly cadences into a forceful beat and thence through thick power chords that dissolve into foggy lyrical visions of empires. Throughout, Wasif’s guitar work — whether it be chugging riffs, fuzz-wah leads, or gently shimmering notes — serves as the lynchpin. – Dusted

with:
Mockingbirds (Members of Red Sparowes)
Jason Simon (of Dead Meadow)

8:30pm / $7 / 21+

Sunday 02.21.10: HELL YA NIGHT with BARON VON LUXXURY / DEV / TMILLS / JAMISON

Baron Von Luxxury || Listen || MP3

Baron von Luxxury wears many hats. Like fellow multiplatform multitaskers James Murphy (DFA/LCD Soundsystem) and, hell, Timbaland, he’s a songwriter, performer, and producer, not to … (more) mention a DJ and label owner. As singer/producer/songwriter for San Francisco’s electropop/indie darlings Luxxury, he concocts shiny, sexy sonic cocktails combining the modern electro sounds of MSTRKRFT and Daft Punk with the classic, quirky dance/pop/rock sounds of New Order, ELO and Devo. In his DJ guise, BvL has DJ’d at some of the finest indie electro venues from SF to NYC, and is a member of The Workout, a DJ/production team that runs a monthly residency in San Francisco and a daily updated MP3 blog at www.discoworkout.com. – RCRDLBL

with:
Dev
TMILLS
Jamison

8:30pm / $5 / 21+

Wednesday 01.27.10: SISU / ASBURY / TWILIGHT SLEEP

SISU || Listen

with:
Asbury
Twilight Sleep

8:30pm / $5 / 21+

Sunday 02.28.10: NEIL HAMBURGER / BRODY STEVENS / NATASHA LEGGERO / 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:
Brody Stevens
Natasha Leggero
Two Brothers One Mind

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Tuesday 02.16.10: MIA DOI TODD AND FRIENDS / BECKY STARK / F.D. SCHER / DJ FROSTY

Mia Doi Todd || Listen || Watch

Beautiful, entrancing folk songs in the truest sense roll from Mia Doi Todd – still, patient and fearless – rather akin to Joan Baez. Intimate and clear, Mia Doi Todd’s lovely songs command full attention. It’s in the combo of her perfect enunciation; her subtle variations on guitar which at times evoke natural elements, mostly of the water variety, from raindrops to thunderheads to brooding ocean to flowing river; her distinctive voice – at once earth and sky or leather and silk; her entirely masterful songwriting. Mia Doi Todd leaves no mossy stone unturned, uncovering universal emotional topics in fiercely personal fashion. In fact, there’s no bullshit at all associated with the artist or her music. She cuts right to the pithy core. Never in-your-face, though, Mia’s lyrics honestly suggest through experience while leaving enough space for you to get inside the songs as your own. – Luxury Wafers

with:
Becky Stark
F. D. Scher
DJ Frosty (Dub Lab)

8:30pm / $7 / 21+

02.09.10: MIA DOI TODD / CORREATOWN / ARIANA DELAWARI / DJ NOBODY / SPECIAL GUEST

Mia Doi Todd || Listen || Watch

Beautiful, entrancing folk songs in the truest sense roll from Mia Doi Todd – still, patient and fearless – rather akin to Joan Baez. Intimate and clear, Mia Doi Todd’s lovely songs command full attention. It’s in the combo of her perfect enunciation; her subtle variations on guitar which at times evoke natural elements, mostly of the water variety, from raindrops to thunderheads to brooding ocean to flowing river; her distinctive voice – at once earth and sky or leather and silk; her entirely masterful songwriting. Mia Doi Todd leaves no mossy stone unturned, uncovering universal emotional topics in fiercely personal fashion. In fact, there’s no bullshit at all associated with the artist or her music. She cuts right to the pithy core. Never in-your-face, though, Mia’s lyrics honestly suggest through experience while leaving enough space for you to get inside the songs as your own. – Luxury Wafers

with:
Correatown || Listen
Ariana Delawari || Listen
DJ Nobody
Plus A Special Guest at Midnight

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Tuesday 02.02.10: MIA DOI TODD / ASKA / ADANOWSKY / NICK AND MARCEL / DJ RENTERIA

Mia Doi Todd || Listen || Watch

Beautiful, entrancing folk songs in the truest sense roll from Mia Doi Todd – still, patient and fearless – rather akin to Joan Baez. Intimate and clear, Mia Doi Todd’s lovely songs command full attention. It’s in the combo of her perfect enunciation; her subtle variations on guitar which at times evoke natural elements, mostly of the water variety, from raindrops to thunderheads to brooding ocean to flowing river; her distinctive voice – at once earth and sky or leather and silk; her entirely masterful songwriting. Mia Doi Todd leaves no mossy stone unturned, uncovering universal emotional topics in fiercely personal fashion. In fact, there’s no bullshit at all associated with the artist or her music. She cuts right to the pithy core. Never in-your-face, though, Mia’s lyrics honestly suggest through experience while leaving enough space for you to get inside the songs as your own. – Luxury Wafers

with:
Aska
ADANOWSKY
Nick & Marcel
DJ Renteria

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Wednesday 02.10.10: Club NME with SILENT STAR / THE DIG / THE PASSPORTS / IMAGINE DRAGONS

Silent Star || Watch

Silent Star is Corey Miller, Ryan Dansby, Mickey Madden and Theresa Flaminio. The music of Silent Star is emotional, a little dark, but optimistic with poignant content. The feel is timeless and thought-out, while, melodically, the songs cover quite a range. Corey’s voice is lyrical with a bit of angst, but still hopeful. Band harmonies are very clean and sensual at times. The sound is multi-layered, fed by organic instruments with a few surprises. There is depth and dedication to the songs, which are classic with a retro twist, never sounding dated.

with:
The Dig || Listen
The Passports
Imagine Dragons || Listen

8:30pm / $5 / 21+

Saturday 01.23.10: WRONG WAY DRIVER / LETTING UP DESPITE GREAT FAULTS / SOCADIA / MODERN TIME MACHINES

Wrong Way Driver || Watch

Wrong Way Driver is the brainchild of Brian Thornell. Who has been a member of Pine Marten, Earlimart and The Radar Bros. as well as produced/engineered records for bands like Silversun Pickups and The Breeders. The band has been compared to Summerteeth-era Wilco, Dinosaur Jr. and Pavement, however the band has a sound uniquely their own. They’ve been playing live shows, mostly around the L.A. area of Silver Lake, since summer ’07 supporting other local and touring acts. Slowly gathering a following without a label, booking agent or management, just plain old fashioned DIY! Plans to release a full length linger in the near future…

With:
Letting up Despite Great Faults || Listen
Socadia || Listen
Modern Time Machines || Listen

8:30pm / $7 / 21+

Satuday 02.20.10: HARLEM / DANTE VS ZOMBIES / J. WORTHINGTON FOULFELLOWS

Harlem || Watch || MP3

Austin can now add another band to their ever-increasing list of up and coming young artists; this one goes by Harlem. Formed during the summer of 2007 in Nashville, TN, the duo of Michael Coomers and Curtis O’Mara were soon “blacklisted in Nashville for getting into fights with all the kids who played music there.” The duo then brought their raucous live show, which includes the duo switching between guitar and drums throughout, to Tucson and then to California. Curtis claims they “moved to California for fame and fortune but all we got was a walk-on role in a new … movie.” After landing bassist John Hostetter and finding a fit in Austin, Harlem released their debut LP Free Drugs via Female Fantasy Records, and started to generated significant attention.

The album drew high praise from basically everyone and, not surprisingly, soon drew the attention from Matador Records, which would sign the band to a multi-record deal in June 2009. The trio, now with Jose Boyer on bass, worked diligently throughout the summer in Costa Mesa, CA’s Distillery with the help of producer Mike McHugh, in an effort to produce a worthy followup. McHugh’s credits include mixing for Train’s debut album and engineering The Black Lips’ Let it Bloom.

Harlem’s second album, Hippies, is set to be released April 6th, two weeks after a scheduled appearance at South by Southwest. According to Strangeglue the 16-track album “is a blend of cocky indie-rock and unabashedly catchy garage-melodies.” Don’t just take their word for it; check out the first release off the new album, “Friendly Ghosts”. – Consequence of Sound

with:
Dante vs. Zombies
J. Worthington Foulfellows (ex- THEE MAKE OUT PARTY)

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

Monday 02.22.10: LAist presents Monday Night Residency – PRINCETON / CASTLEDOOR / LANME (Los Angeles New Music Ensemble) / NEW VILLAGER

Princeton || Listen || Watch

But Princeton — Jesse and Matt Kivel, soft-cheeked identical twins who trade off guitar and bass, as well as lead vocals; the keyboardist Ben Usen; and the drummer David Kitz — isn’t nearly as uppity as its reference points, or its colleagues. The band’s debut album, “Cocoon of Love” (Kanine), which will be released this month, is charming and frisky, with touches of the Cure and Leonard Cohen, and even some shoegaze pop. And onstage, the band was improbably tender, even a bit naïve, undercutting its lyrical hauteur at almost every turn. – NY Times

with:
Castledoor || Listen
LANME (Los Angeles New Music Ensemble)
New Villager

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 02.15.10: Monday Night residency – PRINCETON / LE SWITCH / WADE RYFF AND FRIENDS / ADAM STERN

Princeton || Listen || Watch

But Princeton — Jesse and Matt Kivel, soft-cheeked identical twins who trade off guitar and bass, as well as lead vocals; the keyboardist Ben Usen; and the drummer David Kitz — isn’t nearly as uppity as its reference points, or its colleagues. The band’s debut album, “Cocoon of Love” (Kanine), which will be released this month, is charming and frisky, with touches of the Cure and Leonard Cohen, and even some shoegaze pop. And onstage, the band was improbably tender, even a bit naïve, undercutting its lyrical hauteur at almost every turn. – NY Times

with:
Le Switch || Listen
Wade Ryff & Friends
Adam Stern || Listen

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 02.08.10: LA Record presents Monday Night Residency – PRINCETON / CASXIO / RAFTER / HISTORY OF MANNERS

Princeton || Listen || Watch

But Princeton — Jesse and Matt Kivel, soft-cheeked identical twins who trade off guitar and bass, as well as lead vocals; the keyboardist Ben Usen; and the drummer David Kitz — isn’t nearly as uppity as its reference points, or its colleagues. The band’s debut album, “Cocoon of Love” (Kanine), which will be released this month, is charming and frisky, with touches of the Cure and Leonard Cohen, and even some shoegaze pop. And onstage, the band was improbably tender, even a bit naïve, undercutting its lyrical hauteur at almost every turn. – NY Times

with:
Casxio || Listen
Rafter || Listen
History of Manners

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 02.01.10: Viva Radio presents – Monday Night Residency – PRINCETON / 60 WATT KID / ACTIVE CHILD / TS AND THE PAST HAUNTS

Princeton || Listen || Watch

But Princeton — Jesse and Matt Kivel, soft-cheeked identical twins who trade off guitar and bass, as well as lead vocals; the keyboardist Ben Usen; and the drummer David Kitz — isn’t nearly as uppity as its reference points, or its colleagues. The band’s debut album, “Cocoon of Love” (Kanine), which will be released this month, is charming and frisky, with touches of the Cure and Leonard Cohen, and even some shoegaze pop. And onstage, the band was improbably tender, even a bit naïve, undercutting its lyrical hauteur at almost every turn. – NY Times

with:
60 Watt Kid || Listen
Active Child || Listen
TS And The Past Haunts

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Saturday 04.24.10: SHEARWATER / WYE OAK / HOSPITAL SHIPS

Shearwater || Listen || MP3

Shearwater continue to explore the beauty, menace, and fragility of the natural world and that increasingly rare species, the indivisible album on The Golden Archipelago, the band’s most absorbing and accomplished work to date. The new record is the third panel of a triptych that includes 2006′s enigmatic Palo Santo and 2008′s acclaimed Rook, albums linked by themes of environmental and personal decay and humans’ impact on nature. In The Golden Archipelago, Shearwater turn to a portrait of life on islands a world of alternating lushness and austerity, numinous silences and sudden cataclysms, and the strange flowerings of plant, animal, and human life that only arise in isolation. These are intimate subjects for songwriter Jonathan Meiburg. As a researcher, he’s camped on islands at the edges of the world, including the Falklands, Tierra del Fuego, the Galapagos, Madagascar, Nunavut, and New Zealand’s Chatham Islands, and once spent a few surreal months in a remote Aboriginal settlement in northern Australia. Adding his grandfather’s WWII experiences as a radio operator in the South Pacific to these travels gave Meiburg plenty of fodder for the songs of The Golden Archipelago, in which he weaves these times and places together with common feelings of wonder, grief, and defiance.

with:
Wye Oak || Listen
Hospital Ships

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

Tuesday 04.13.10: RETRIBUTION GOSPEL CHOIR / PEASANT / STEVENSON RANCH DAVIDIANS

Retribution Gospel Choir || Listen || Mp3

In recent years, slowcore pioneers Low have forcefully shaken their defining somberness and dabbled in what actually might be called rock. So it wasn’t a total shock in 2008 when singer-guitarist Alan Sparhawk formed Retribution Gospel Choir — essentially Low minus angel-voiced wife/drummer Mimi Parker — to canoodle with more classic sounds. What’s more surprising is how naturally he’s made the shift. The band’s second album gets a bit hackneyed at times (bar-rockin’ trifle “White Wolf”), but Sparhawk generally seems re-energized, channeling Crazy Horse (“Poor Man’s Daughter”) and crafting the sort of genuinely rousing chorus (“Hide It Away”) that Low never would’ve indulged. – Spin

with:
Peasant
Stevenson Ranch Davidians || Listen

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

Friday 01.29.10: Spaceland and ArjanWrites.com presents Superfraiche featuring VV BROWN / RENI LANE / LOVE GRENADES / SCOTT SIMONS

VV Brown || Listen || Watch

Travelling Like The Light boasts a rare kind of head-turning indie-pop magnificence more than capable of both remunerating anxious fans and silencing – if not fully converting – detractors. The chequered-floor locale of debut track Crying Blood provides a slightly more accurate indication of Travelling Like The Light than the darker, more contemporary riffage of big-money launch single Shark In The Water. That’s not to say we’re talking a solid album of potato-mashing doo-wop lunacy – rather, Brown’s largely-50s influence permeates each track with different approaches and to varying extents, creating an eclectic yet uniform collection of songs.
The Wurlitzer wonderment of Quick Fix and L.O.V.E. impart a refreshing demonstration of a pop simplicity lost on any number of electro-heavy buzz artists, a sentiment further echoed on the endearingly unpretentious Crazy Amazing. And still, the surprises come thick and fast. Tales of gut-wrenching misery are camouflaged as beaming, uptempo numbers; the titular ballad is stripped back to little more than a temperate heartbeat rhythm; and the aforementioned Crying Blood drops everything for a fleeting burst of 1-up bleepery. And yet, there’s no feeling of any kind of gimmickry in this. Travelling Like The Light, with all its quirks and foibles and cheeky winks, comes over as an honest representation of Brown’s form and talent. More than anything else, Travelling Like The Light tears through any hastily-assigned pigeonholes or fashion-focused stigma, and validates the authentic musician behind the gloss. – BBC

with:
Reni Lane || Listen
Love Grenades
Scott Simons || Listen

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

Saturday 01.30.10: NICO STAI / CHIEF / YIKES! A LION / FENCES

Nico Stai || Watch || MP3

On the verge of becoming America’s next big Indie Rocker. Evoking memories of Bob Dylan and Post Sgt. Peppers Beatles, Nico manages to create the fullest sound of any solo artist in recent memory. Easily the most musically intriguing solo artist to come along since Sufjan Stevens, and on track to become one of the great artists to emerge from the Echo Park/Silverlake scene. – The Deli Los Angeles

with:
Chief
Yikes! A Lion
Fences || Listen

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Thursday 01.28.10: FISHTANK ENSEMBLE / DIEGO’S UMBRELLA / JESSICA FICHOT

Fishtank Ensemble || Listen

The LA Weekly calls them “cross pollinated gypsy music….one of the most thrilling young acts on the planet.” Formed in 2005 and playing everywhere from the hippest LA clubs to festivals, cultural centers, museums, parades, and even on the street, the band includes two explosive violins, the world’s best slap bass player, musical saw, flamenco and gypsy jazz guitar, trombone, opera, jazz and gypsy vocals, accordion and one little banjolele. Tackling everything from French hot jazz to wild Serbian and Transylvanian gypsy anthems, Flamenco, and oddball originals, the band is a not to be missed event for world music lovers…and everyone will love this intoxicating mix of music!

with:
Diego’s Umbrella
Jessica Fichot || Listen

8:30pm / $7 / 21+

Sunday 01.03.10: DIRT DRESS / TOMORROW TULIPS / MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY

Dirt Dress
Tomorrows Tulips
Manhattan Murder Mystery

8:30pm / $5 / 21+

Sunday 01.10.10: THE TERRAPIN / THE HECTORS / SEASONS / DIVISADERO

The Terrapin || Watch

“Heavy ethereal pop.” – LA Underground

“BEAUTIFUL, EPIC, POWERFUL…SPINE TINGLING. In the extremely flooded market, this is the type of music that reminds me of how much I love music.” -SayCheeseAndDie.com

with:
The Hectors || Listen
Seasons
Divisadero || Listen

8:30pm / $5 / 21+

Tuesday 01.05.10: WHISPERING PINES / OLD TOY TRAINS / SPACE WAVES

Whispering Pines || Listen

“It’s rare these days for me to set foot in a rock club, but I’d heard so much about Los Angeles psych-cowboy rock band Spindrift that on my recent visit to LA I decided to have a listen. Lucky for me on this pleasant Southern California evening I arrived on time to catch the opening act Whispering Pines, perhaps named after the consummate Richard Manuel track off the second Band record. I was taken by surprise right from the start when they kicked off their set with what sounded to me like a missing track from Honky Tonk Heroes. A great mix of rock culture’s pleasures – loud music, wreckless demeanor – and country’s more precise discipline and tradition. Their poise and swagger was like that of a cross country touring band just back from 2 months on the road – effortless, awe-inspiring, and tight as nails. Song after song I was pleasantly surprised by their exceptional musical abilities from breezy west coast harmonies to blistering southern rock guitar licks, to hip shaking drum and bass grooves to blazing harp solos. A really nice blend of tunes with 4 out of the 5 members sharing vocal duties. The final kicker was a barn burning version of JJ Cale’s classic tune Crazy Mama. If my eyes were shut I’d think I was at the Fillmore East listening to the Allman Brothers. These guys are definitely blazing their own trail, keeping roots rock alive and well, and leaving behind a cloud of desperado dust for those who dare to follow.” N. Taylor

with:
Old Toy Trains
Space Waves

8:30pm / $5 / 21+

Saturday 01.02.10: DEVOTIONALS (Featuring Tyson from Two Gallants) / HONEYCOMB / MYSTERY LIGHTS / COBALT CRANES

Devotionals (Featuring Tyson from Two Gallants)

with:
Honeycomb
Mystery Lights
Cobalt Cranes

8:30pm / $5 / 21+

Saturday 01.09.10: 60 WATT KID / GLASSER / WHITE LEOPARDS / PETER KOLOVOS

60 Watt Kid || Listen || Watch

60 Watt Kid started their set beautifully and sweetly, samples of a woman “intrigued by the idea of virtual plastic surgery” lending themselves somehow to the build-up of a wondrous tune. Then they got into a second tune, Dylan Wood looping some “Wipeout” style drums into beautiful, fragile song structures. I realized that I was the only one sitting down. The rousing crescendos that suddenly dissipated into atmospheric delicacy, and the punctuation by guitarist Derek Thomas of what sounded like a child’s xylophone all kept the audience on their toes and quiet as sweaty church mice, even when front-man Kevin Litrow ended a song with “God Bless Patrick Swayze!”

Cutting the set much too short, they wrapped up with their Willy Alexander-esque “American Standard,” an against-type rockabilly tune, wherein Litrow meandered through the audience shouting things at people. They plunked the last few echoey notes, and sadly, the hip-hop CD started its thing once more. As the audience made its way to the lawn, I caught one young man with a Misfits tattoo on his neck tell his girlfriend “These guys were siiiiick!” – LA Record

with:
Glasser || Listen
White Leopards
Peter Kolovos

8:30pm / $7 / 21+

Wednesday 01.13.10: CLUB NME with THE MEETING PLACES / WRONG WAY DRIVER / THE ROBOTANISTS / OVIDEO

The Meeting Places || Listen || Watch || MP3

In a way, the Meeting Places’ name is perfect. Like the best of their shoegazing forebears, the L.A. quartet’s music glistens in the place where fuzz-filled soundscapes meet memorable melodies. The quartet of Scott McDonald, Chase Harris, Dean Yoshihara and Arthur Chan has been an on-again, off-again proposition since early in the decade, taking a break after their promising 2006 album, “Numbered Days,” but recently scored some song placements on “Gossip Girl” and set to work on new material. The surging “Millions” marries emotional atmospherics to layered swell of melody in a way that would make fans of the likes of Chapterhouse and Slowdive woozy with bliss. – Buzz Bands

with:
Wrong Way Driver
Robotanists || Listen
OVIDEO

8:30pm / $7 / 21+

Sunday 01.24.10: THE MINOR CANON / RADEMACHER / ANDREW LYNCH / QUIET AMERICANS

The Minor Canon || Watch

If you’re a fan of emotional, lyrically direct songs, this will be right up your alley. The record hits an early peak during “If Wishes Were Horses” when the furious guitar merges with screaming horns and a growing urgency in singer Paul Larson’s voice. Later in the record, the ferocity has faded away. In “Not There” Larson has given up hope on his lost love, but the pain’s clearly not going away any time soon. The most overlooked record of the year. – You Set The Scene

with:
Rademacher
Andrew Lynch
Quiet Americans

8:30pm / $7 / 21+

Wednesday 01.06.10: CLUB NME with WET AND RECKLESS / BUTTERFLY CHILD / TIGERS CAN BITE YOU / RHONE OCCUPATION

Wet & Reckless || Watch

Singer-guitarist Emily Wilder fronts this new trio, whose edgy girl-group stylings lean toward the punk and pointed rather than the pretty and predictable. Wilder is joined by Deanne DeVries on drums and Gelt on bass. Listen closely before you swoon, boys. – Buzz Bands

with:
Butterfly Child
Tigers Can Bite You
The Rhone Occupation

8:30pm / $7 / 21+

Tuesday 01.12.10: OBI BEST / THE MONTHLIES / QUEEN KWONG / MEREDITH MEYER / MR SHOVEL

Obi Best || Listen || Watch

You’d think pop writers would be out of new hooks and topics to write about by now. Mostly you’d be right, but Alex Lilly will have none of that. As the brains behind the Los Angeles-based ensemble Obi Best, Lilly tends to a pop topiary garden, pruning melodies, watering the arrangements and planting new lyrical ideas ‘til each song radiates its own particular quirkiness.

Obi Best shares an affection for analog synths and ’60s chanteusery with the Bird and the Bee, with whom Lilly tours as a backup singer, and yet the band’s digital release, Capades, brings its Bacharach-isms and girl-groupiness past the sugary homage stage. The album is clever without resorting to irony, smart without a hint of pretension, and swooningly pretty in the least obvious of ways. – Prefix Mag

with:
The Monthlies || Listen
Queen Kwong
Meredith Meyer || Listen

Plus DJ:
Mr. Shovel

8:30pm / $7 / 21+

01.08.10: FIRST FRIDAYS with ATLAS SOUND / TUNE YARDS @ natural history museum

with:
Atlas Sound
Tune-Yards

plus:
DJ Spider

And resident DJ:
Them Jeans

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

FMI: Natural History Museum

5:30pm / $9 / All Ages

Thursday 01.21.10: IDAHO FALLS / RED CORTEZ / OLD CALIFORNIO

Idaho Falls

“Featuring a line-up that includes former side-men for Black Eyed Peas, Mojave 3, Hope Sandoval, Cake and the Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Idaho Falls seamlessly mix the sound of California country pop with psychedelia and spaced out noise.” – The Los Angeles Times

“8 out of 10 stars. God, I love this record in so many ways. That a band have managed to independently release an album that’s so beautiful to look at and hold is a feat in itself… It’s an album that screams out to be listened to, and fortunately, this time around at least, you really can judge the book by its cover.” – Americana U.K.

“4 out of 5 stars. Setting a standard for today’s country-fied indie bands.” – All Music Guide

with:
Red Cortez
Old Californio

8:30pm / $7 / 21+

Sunday 01.31.10: NEIL HAMBURGER / JP INCORPORATED / BRENDON WALSH / NICK FLANAGAN / BARBARA BUTTERFIELD

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:
J.P. Incorporated (formerly Pleaseeasaur) || Listen
Brendon Walsh
Nick Flanagan
Barbara Butterfield

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Friday 01.08.10: COBALT CRANES / ALLAH LAS / KINCH / JEFFERTITI’S NILE

Cobalt Cranes

with:
Allah Las
Kinch || Listen
Jeffertiti’s Nile

8:30pm / $7 /21+

Friday 01.22.10: MOVITS / THE BLASTING COMPANY

Movits || Watch

MOVITS! hail from Sweden (as though you couldn’t tell from the video), where they’ve recently made their mark with their innovative style. Combining elements of big band swing, jazz and layering hip-hop vocals over it, they’ve come up with something refreshing in a landscape oversaturated with thumping techno beats, teen starlets and emotional manboys with shaggy hair. Their debut album Äppelknyckarjazz opens with a swing track reminiscent of every upbeat big band track of the thirties and forties you can think of. Even as the second song’s beats leans more toward the hip-hop end of the spectrum, it all blends seamlessly as the album goes on. – Pop Culture Reference

with:
The Blasting Company || Listen

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

Sunday 01.17.10: HELL YA! presents ADAM FRANKLIN AND THE BOLTS OF MELODY / RABBITS / THE ARMS

Adam Franklin and The Bolts of Melody || Listen

It’s not like Adam Franklin sat idle from 1999 to mid-2008, when his band Swervedriver was on an extended hiatus (the boys got back together to play some gigs and a little festival called Coachella). He had his Toshack Highway folky/electronic/what-the-hell hybrid in the interim, and lately he’s been hanging out with Interpol’s Sam Fogarino recording as Magnetic Morning. Oh, and he’s got his Bolts of Melody backing band fleshing out his numbers under his very own given name. And it is this incarnation that brings us Spent Bullets, his second “solo” full-length record.

Franklin has always had a near supernatural grace with melody, and this record is no exception. Sure, it has Swervedriver fuzzed-out crushing wall of sound rock ‘n’ roll moments, opening with the quick slap of “Surge” and cropping up again in the noisy stack at the end of “Autumn Leaf.” But if you are looking for SWD, just pick up the re-releases of Mezcal Head and Raise. The lure of Spent Bullets is that Franklin manages to create walls of lush texture, not noise, and spins melodies that wrap like satin ribbons around your body. The languid and languorous guitars and rhythms are liquid and seductive. – Prefix Mag

with:
Rabbits
The Arms

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

Tuesday 01.26.10: SUMMER DARLING / BY SUNLIGHT / VANAPRASTA / SHILOE

Summer Darling || Listen || Watch

I went back inside and was simply floored by what I heard. Summer Darling were catching full steam and plowing through a hyper tense set of amazing music full of tension and emotion. To say I am not easily impressed would be an understatement, but I was enthralled with what I heard coming off the stage.

The double Fender guitar attack really let the intricate guitar interplay shine over a thumping but precise rhythm section. At times they conjured up images of early Fugazi. Maybe not so much in the actual songwriting style, but in the tome of the music. They were above all earnest in they intentions.

When next they play do yourself a favor and catch Summer Darling. I think you will pleased. – Radio Free Silver Lake

with:
By Sunlight || Listen
Vanaprasta
Shiloe || Listen

8:30pm / $7 /21+

Monday 01.25.10: YEAR LONG DISASTER / DIRTY SWEET / KARMA TO BURN / DEAD MEAT

Year Long Disaster || Listen || Watch || Mp3

Los Angeles Rock n’ Roll power trio, Year Long Disaster, have begun recording their second full-length album with Grammy award winning producer Nick Raskulinecz in Los Angeles at Sound City Studios. The new album–a follow up to their self-titled 2007 debut that served as a mainspring for Rolling Stone featuring the band in their “10 Artists to Watch in 2008” article–will be titled, Black Magic: All Mysteries Revealed, and is set for release in early 2010.

“With Black Magic there is a thread that runs through it that is quite strong, but is not necessarily a theme or concept” says Year Long Disaster’s Daniel Davies, who goes on to describe his lyrics for the new songs as “traversing schizophrenia interspersed with graveyard seductions, Pontius Pilate, girl-on-girl grinding, six foot tall cats with pistols, at least four songs about the sensuality of blood, two songs concern turning over a car and riddling it with bullet holes while screaming random obscenities at the top of my lungs to every passing motorist, allusions to 24 hour breakfasts, ancient sexual rites of the Celtic goddess Agrona, the lust of Count Drakul, sausage, egg, and cheese sandwiches, observations of a bloated man standing before a jukebox and of course, a song just about wondering how my clothes got soaking wet, covered in kerosene and why I was in a storeroom behind a riverfront Waffle House in Mississippi with a broken lock on the back door, desperate to find a hacksaw to free my shackled legs.” – Altsounds

with:
Dirty Sweet || Listen
Karma To Burn
Dead Meat

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 01.18.10: YEAR LONG DISASTER / IMAAD WASIF / GASOLINE ANGELS / THE KRIS SPECIAL

Year Long Disaster || Listen || Watch || Mp3

Los Angeles Rock n’ Roll power trio, Year Long Disaster, have begun recording their second full-length album with Grammy award winning producer Nick Raskulinecz in Los Angeles at Sound City Studios. The new album–a follow up to their self-titled 2007 debut that served as a mainspring for Rolling Stone featuring the band in their “10 Artists to Watch in 2008” article–will be titled, Black Magic: All Mysteries Revealed, and is set for release in early 2010.

“With Black Magic there is a thread that runs through it that is quite strong, but is not necessarily a theme or concept” says Year Long Disaster’s Daniel Davies, who goes on to describe his lyrics for the new songs as “traversing schizophrenia interspersed with graveyard seductions, Pontius Pilate, girl-on-girl grinding, six foot tall cats with pistols, at least four songs about the sensuality of blood, two songs concern turning over a car and riddling it with bullet holes while screaming random obscenities at the top of my lungs to every passing motorist, allusions to 24 hour breakfasts, ancient sexual rites of the Celtic goddess Agrona, the lust of Count Drakul, sausage, egg, and cheese sandwiches, observations of a bloated man standing before a jukebox and of course, a song just about wondering how my clothes got soaking wet, covered in kerosene and why I was in a storeroom behind a riverfront Waffle House in Mississippi with a broken lock on the back door, desperate to find a hacksaw to free my shackled legs.” – Altsounds

with:
Imaad Wasif || Listen
Gasoline Angels || Listen
The Kris Special

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 01.11.10: YEAR LONG DISASTER / HYDROVIBE / IT’S CASUAL / FATSO JETSON

Year Long Disaster || Listen || Watch

Los Angeles Rock n’ Roll power trio, Year Long Disaster, have begun recording their second full-length album with Grammy award winning producer Nick Raskulinecz in Los Angeles at Sound City Studios. The new album–a follow up to their self-titled 2007 debut that served as a mainspring for Rolling Stone featuring the band in their “10 Artists to Watch in 2008” article–will be titled, Black Magic: All Mysteries Revealed, and is set for release in early 2010.

“With Black Magic there is a thread that runs through it that is quite strong, but is not necessarily a theme or concept” says Year Long Disaster’s Daniel Davies, who goes on to describe his lyrics for the new songs as “traversing schizophrenia interspersed with graveyard seductions, Pontius Pilate, girl-on-girl grinding, six foot tall cats with pistols, at least four songs about the sensuality of blood, two songs concern turning over a car and riddling it with bullet holes while screaming random obscenities at the top of my lungs to every passing motorist, allusions to 24 hour breakfasts, ancient sexual rites of the Celtic goddess Agrona, the lust of Count Drakul, sausage, egg, and cheese sandwiches, observations of a bloated man standing before a jukebox and of course, a song just about wondering how my clothes got soaking wet, covered in kerosene and why I was in a storeroom behind a riverfront Waffle House in Mississippi with a broken lock on the back door, desperate to find a hacksaw to free my shackled legs.” – Altsounds

with:
Hydrovibe || Listen
It’s Casual || Listen
Fatso Jetson

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Monday 01.04.10: YEAR LONG DISASTER / OPEN HAND / TOTIMOSHI / BARRIO TIGER

Year Long Disaster || Listen || Watch || Mp3

Los Angeles Rock n’ Roll power trio, Year Long Disaster, have begun recording their second full-length album with Grammy award winning producer Nick Raskulinecz in Los Angeles at Sound City Studios. The new album–a follow up to their self-titled 2007 debut that served as a mainspring for Rolling Stone featuring the band in their “10 Artists to Watch in 2008” article–will be titled, Black Magic: All Mysteries Revealed, and is set for release in early 2010.

“With Black Magic there is a thread that runs through it that is quite strong, but is not necessarily a theme or concept” says Year Long Disaster’s Daniel Davies, who goes on to describe his lyrics for the new songs as “traversing schizophrenia interspersed with graveyard seductions, Pontius Pilate, girl-on-girl grinding, six foot tall cats with pistols, at least four songs about the sensuality of blood, two songs concern turning over a car and riddling it with bullet holes while screaming random obscenities at the top of my lungs to every passing motorist, allusions to 24 hour breakfasts, ancient sexual rites of the Celtic goddess Agrona, the lust of Count Drakul, sausage, egg, and cheese sandwiches, observations of a bloated man standing before a jukebox and of course, a song just about wondering how my clothes got soaking wet, covered in kerosene and why I was in a storeroom behind a riverfront Waffle House in Mississippi with a broken lock on the back door, desperate to find a hacksaw to free my shackled legs.” – Altsounds

with:
Open Hand
Totimoshi || Listen || Mp3
Barrio Tiger

8:30pm / FREE / 21+

Thursday 01.07.10: THE STEVENSON RANCH DAVIDIANS / THE QUARTER AFTER / MIRANDA LEE RICHARDS / KATHLEEN BALLOON WITH CROOKED COWBOY

The Stevenson Ranch Davidians || Listen

I will state right up front that I’m a big fan of The Stevenson Ranch Davidians, ever since the first time I saw them at The Echo on July 3, 2008. Stopping me dead in my tracks, I was overwhelmed by the shimmering beauty of their music as it enveloped me. I believe I wrote at the time that they reminded me of The Brian Jonestown Massacre but without the tantrums and chair throwing.

I picked up their 2006 album, Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs, was thrilled to hear how close it was to their live sound, and listened to it nonstop. Many bands recreate the surfy, jangly, psychedelia of the sixties, and many do it extremely well, but few match it up with such skillful song craft. The music has a natural progressive pull and the lyrics are direct, honest and unexpectedly profound. The sound is both retro and contemporary, and it’s in a style I just never tire of.

Over the years, the first album kept on revealing new facets and different songs would come to the forefront and command my attention. I think the new CD will play the same tricks, so I’ll focus on a few cuts that immediately jumped out at me.

In the first ten seconds I knew that, despite three years between them, The Stevenson Ranch Davidians had recaptured the sound and atmosphere of that first record. There’s a certain inevitability to Dwayne’s writing which make the songs seem as if they’ve always been a part of your subconscious. Even on first hearing, they remind you of music locked deep within. – Radio Free Silverlake

with:
The Quarter After || Listen
Miranda Lee Richards || Listen
Kathleen Balloon with Crooked Cowboy

8:30pm / $5 / 21+

Saturday 01.16.10: HOCKEY / ASA RANSOM / EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

Hockey || Listen || Watch

Hockey’s another band being chased hither and yon by thin young boys and girls wielding fat wads of cash in a bid to get them to sign to their label. It’s not surprising. Talk about ticking various demographic boxes and appealing to distinctive niche markets. This Portland four-piece, who describe themselves as “new wave/soul” on their MySpace and have been bigged-up of late by Dave (Gang of Four) Allen on his Pampelmoose website, are wordy yet funky, the gritty vocals and chunky beats equally clear and upfront in the mix. Hockey could easily be enjoyed by Dylan, Springsteen and Hold Steady fans as much as they could by devotees of LCD Soundsystem and their ilk. In fact, if James Murphy ever decides to produce the Strokes then this is roughly how it might turn out. It’s been treated by the same sort of FX used to make Julian Casablancas sound as though he’s singing through a megaphone in a wind tunnel. Witty, literate songs you can dance to – they don’t quite give Dylanesque narratives a dubstep undercarriage, but they do effect a collision of opposites that is quite unprecedented. – The Guardian UK

with:
Asa Ransom
Eastern Conference Champions

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

Friday 01.15.10: NIGHT HORSE / DUSTED ANGEL / NORMANDIE

Night Horse || Listen || Watch

Bassist Nick D’Itri leans on his amp near a broken-looking organ crouched in the corner. Guitarist Greg Buensuceso runs through a lick in front of his Orange amplifier. At the center of the room, Justin Pierce sits behind his drum set and trash-talks Maranga as we walk in. Maranga wastes no time getting started. He strokes his long, reddish beard once, straps on his guitar and rips into the strings. What comes out is the Southern rock–brushed “Come Down Halo,” from the band’s recently released split 7-inch single with Sea of Air. Singer Sam James Velde, former member of rock outfit Bluebird, shakes his hair and lifts one hand to the rafters while the other clutches the mic stand. Here, in the privacy of their practice space, they rip through the Allman Brothers–tinged dual guitar lines and growling bass of “Choose Your Side,” and the rowdy, roadhouse blues of “Good Bye Gone.” “We sped up too much on that one,” Maranga tells the other guys, most of whom were friends from their high school days in Thousand Oaks.

Night Horse’s style is familiar but indiscernible; their cocksure barroom vocals and guitar-solo tradeoffs would be at home at CBGB (R.I.P.). “We’re first and foremost a rock & roll band, but we try not to be too derivative,” says Velde. If Night Horse has any derivations, they come from their label, Tee Pee Records, the New York–based outfit that curates the finest in no-gimmick, back-to-basics rock bands. – LA Weekly

with:
Dusted Angel
Normandie

8:30pm / $8 / 21+

Wednesday 01.20.10: CLUB NME with HAR MAR SUPERSTAR / NEON TREES / LITTLE RED RADIO

Har Mar Superstar || Listen || Watch

Sean Tillman keeps one foot in punk rock via Sean Na Na (which released Family Trees Or: Cope We Must in 2007), but the Minnesota-born singer has carved out an unlikely-seeming niche in the world of pop R&B as Har Mar Superstar. The shtick—pudgy dude strips to his underwear to perform slinky, sexy Prince-esque tunes—is so blatant it seems like it’d become tiresome quickly, but Har Mar pushes past novelty shock value with outrageous exuberance, tongue-in-cheek humor, and—his real secret weapon—genuine songwriting chops. The new Dark Touches, due in October, features guestwork from P.O.S., Neon Neon’s Boom Bip, and The Bird and The Bee’s Inara George. It also includes a couple tunes Tillman originally wrote for Britney Spears and The Cheetah Girls—redone here, straight-faced, with double-entendre lyrics like “I need a tall boy” unchanged. – Decider

with:
Neon Trees
Little Red Radio

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

Thursday 01.14.10: THE BUILDERS AND THE BUTCHERS / BLUE GIANT / MIA RIDDLE

The Builders and the Butchers || Listen || Watch

The Builders and Butchers are built around vocalist Ryan Sollee’s Southern-Gothic inspired lyrics backed by a host of instruments, including mandolin, pump organ, violin, stand-up bass, keys and whatever else they could find to bang on or slap together. They revisit the Spanish Civil War on “Barcelona,” a song that features an excellent dose of trumpet that offsets the tension in Ryan’s vocals. It’s a brilliant composition and sign of the band’s progress. “In The Branches” is another winner that features a choir down the stretch, giving it a gospel vibe.

The music blends gospel, country, folk in a bouillabaisse of noise and sound that leaves you on edge, but wholly satisfied. Their bio has this to say about Salvation and I couldn’t have worded it any better: “The story of Salvation is a Deep Dark Well is that there’s joy and celebration through the darkness, there’s light in the hardest of times, and when you reach the bottom may salvation light your way.” – Hear Ya

with:
Blue Giant || Listen
Mia Riddle || Listen

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

Tuesday 01.19.10: HOT RATS / LEMON SUN

The Hot Rats (feat. Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey of Supergrass) || Listen || Watch

Back in June, we told you about a brand new British supergroup featuring Supergrass’s Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey and Radiohead producer/Thom Yorke’s favorite Nigel Godrich. They called themselves The Hot Rats and were working on a full-length consisting entirely of covers.

We can now tell you that come January 19th, you’ll be able to hear said full-length consisting entirely of covers when it is released in the U.S. via Fat Possum. No official tracklist quite yet, but the self-titled affair will feature 12 classics spanning 40 years of rock, punk and even hip hop. The Kinks, Velvet Underground and Pink Floyd to the Sex Pistols, Beastie Boys are all said to have received the “Hot Rats treatment.”

What’s more, Hot Rats will celebrate the release by hitting the states in January for what is currently a four-date coastal swing. – Consequence of Sound

with:
Lemon Sun || Watch || MP3

8:30pm / $15 / 21+