I'd been hearing about it for years, the return of '80s sounds to popular music, but due to my relative disconnect from new music, it took a while to hear it for myself. But, well, it's definitely there (Which I'm sure you already know). And you know what? I don't mind in the slightest. Essentially the vibe I get is that a bunch of people took the good sounds/tones/effects from the mainstream '80s and left behind all the cheesiness while applying them to interesting, late '80s early '90s alternative rock songwriting, with a dash of thoroughly [...]
Your Saturday selections: ► Tenlons Fort 's brief return to L.A. prompts another show. This time Jack Gibson is joined by Avi Zahner-Isenberg (of Avi Buffalo ) and Will Courtney [who will be also be playing our SecondTuesdays show on Jan.10 ] at Lot 1 Cafe. ► The Smell continues to celebrate their 14th anniversary . Best Coast picks up where No Age left off last night. [That's their melodramatically Drew Barrymore-directed video for "Our Deal" above.] Tonight's lineup also includes Abe Vigoda , Dunes , [...]
THE SMELL'S 14TH ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND WITH BEST COAST, ABE VIGODA, DUNES, SO MANY WIZARDS, LUCKY DRAGONS, AND EZRA BUCHLA ON SATURDAY JAN. 8TH AT THE SMELL, 247 SOUTH MAIN STREET, LOS ANGELES. 8:00PM/ $10/ ALL AGES
THE SMELL'S 14TH ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND WITH BEST COAST, ABE VIGODA, DUNES, SO MANY WIZARDS, LUCKY DRAGONS, AND EZRA BUCHLA ON SATURDAY JAN. 7TH AT THE SMELL, 247 SOUTH MAIN STREET, LOS ANGELES. 8:00PM/ $10/ ALL AGES
The Smell's 14th Anniversary weekend lineups look pretty solid, especially Saturday. Friday...
Abe Vigoda are incredible. I love the direction they've taken in the past few years. For fans of Future Islands, The Chameleons, and Depeche Mode. Here's the video for "Throwing Shade", directed by Vice Cooler.
► The Echo's birthday month — the venue blows out 10 candles in December — swings into high gear with an Aquarium Drunkard-presented bill featuring the Soft Pack , Abe Vigoda , So Many Wizards and Slang Chickens . ► Genre-bending hometown heroes Ozomatli hold forth at Club Nokia. ► Sara Bareilles and Joshua Radin play to a sold-out Palladium. ► Arrica Rose & the ...'s hold forth at the Hotel Cafe, preceded by Jim Hanft. ► And Ocote Soul Sounds — the collective helmed [...]
The Soft Pack lead a bill that includes Abe Vigoda, Slang Chickens, and So Many Wizards at The Echo...
[Happy Friday. I'll post a radio preview in a bit, but I just want to mention here that the Buzz Bands LA show Moheak Radio moves to a new timeslot starting this week — 11 a.m. on Fridays. Talk to you later this morning ...] Your fantastic Friday: ► Portland's Unknown Mortal Orchestra plays the Echo (that's their video for "Ffunny Ffriends," above), with Gauntlet Hair and So Many Wizards supporting. ► Post Present Medium , the imprint started by No Age [...]
Happy Halloween — hope everything's ghoul with you: ► Zola Jesus , the Wisconsin-bred, L.A.-based purveyor of brooding darkwave, brings her small frame and big pipes to the Echoplex as her fall tour behind the release of her debut album "Conatus" nears an end. That's the video for her song "Vessel," above, directed by Jacqueline Castel. [Download "Vessel" here .] ► Stellar lineup at the Echo, with the Icarus Line headlining, supported by the Sister Ruby Band and Stab City . ► Perfect for the occasion, the [...]
I'd party to this playlist. And it'd be the hippest party around. Part 1 below, parts 2-4 to follow sometime, maybe today. Or tomorrow maybe. Probably. Definitely by Sunday... evening. Marvin Gaye: Medley (You/Grapevine/Your Precious Love) (5/11/1972 Live In Washington D.C.) Phish: Tube (1997/10/29 Live At Madison Square Garden) Celtic C ross: Hicksville ( Hicksville ) [...]
QUeUe (All photos by Chihiro Higaki) Sigh's Smell of Farewell, the Cocteau Twins tribute night at the Smell, was also a night of interesting musical collaborations, as every single performance was an amalgamation of musicians. First up was Life Group, a project featuring co-organizer Scott Cornish, and former member of Veer Right Young Pastor, members of Soft-Boiled Eggies, and current members of Devon Williams' band. They remained faithful to the original tracks instrumentally, but featured all-male vocals that lent a punkish bent to the tracks. Next was the premiere of QUeUe, a new project with members of [...]
Although Abe Vigoda has four albums under their belt at this point, the tropical punk/'80s-loving outfit decided to stick to their latest release, last year's Crush , for their Daytrotter session. The Los Angeles residents at least picked the right tracks from the record, though, particularly the Cure-esque "Beverly Slope" and pulsing " Throwing Shade ." This still won't appease Vigoda fans who miss the group's earlier tropical punk material. And you have to assume that they left that stuff off this session for a reason. Could they just be sticking with what we heard on Crush [...]
[No tantrums today — it's Fitz's birthday. Cheers to Michael Fitzpatrick on the eve of his band's big homecoming show at the Music Box:] Tonight's flurry of activity: ► This week's installment of the free Also I Like to Rock series at the Hammer Museum will sizzle with a little joie de pop — headlining are Grouplove , the L.A. quintet whose debut album "Never Trust a Happy Song" arrives Sept. 13 via Canvasback/Atlantic. The fivesome has [...]
Here's a video from Dunes , the LA trio featuring ex-Mika Miko member Kate Hall. The affiliation is relevant for purposes of fingering their track "Tied Together"'s sound - female-fronted post-punk with less spike, more wooze - and the cameos in its iPhone-cam video, a Google+ circle's worth of friends from Mika Miko's old Smell-y scene and others to boot: spot the faces from No Age, Vivian Girls, Abe Vigoda, High Places, Telepathe, Cold Showers, Nodzzz, Bleached, Pangea, Shannon and the Clams, and Devon Williams Band. Click: Read More...
Your pre-Carmageddon options: ► Talk to the animals? How about singing to them? Hands (pictured) and Abe Vigoda head up an eight-band lineup tonight for Music in the Zoo: Local Scene Night at the L.A. Zoo. The show is something of an open house-meets-picnic at the zoo, with the evening featuring two bands apiece on four different stages. Also playing: HoneyHoney , Kitten , Big Search , the Allah Las , Mini Mansions and Pollyn . More info and set times here [...]
MUSIC IN THE ZOO WITH ABE VIGODA, KITTEN, HANDS, HONEYHONEY, MINI MANSIONS, POLLYN, ALLAH LAS, AND BIG SEARCH ON FRIDAY JUL. 15TH AT THE LA ZOO AND BOTANICAL GARDENS, 5333 ZOO DRIVE, LOS ANGELES. 6:00PM/ $13/ ALL AGES
Words by Jacob Barron This column completes the quartet of seasonal soundtracking opportunities, and, appropriately, marks the column's unofficial one-year anniversary. Happy birthday soundtracking! I know we didn't post autumn until September last year, but whatever! I'm trying to get you a free dessert from Applebee's, soundtracking, so shut up and be cool. In addition to autumn, we've been through winter and spring , leading us inexorably on to summer, which I think is easily the easiest [...]
Fucked Up - David Comes to Life (Yesterday, inspired by Fucked Up's new concept double-album David Comes to Life, we set about charting the history of the ambitious impulse in punk rock. Today, we continue the series up to the present day. You can read the first part of the column here . We pick up in 1988 with one of rock music's greatest landmarks.) Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation (1988) Yet another record about which there is little [...]
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