As "holidays" go, Halloween has gotten completely out of hand. But the start of dress-up-and-get-stupid weekend is making for some good shows: ► HARD Haunted Mansion kicks off a two-night stand at the Shrine, with the opener headlines by Fatboy Slim and many other DJs,, including Laidback Luke, Tiga, SBTRKT and the Gaslamp Killer, on board. ► The Felice Brothers visit the Satellite behind the recent release of their fourth album "Celebration, Florida." That's their video for "Fire at the Pageant," above. ► Los Abandoned reunites to rock [...]
As opposed as what most would think, I'm not that big of a fan of Spanglish songs because most of the time they feel so forced, but Los Abandoned always got away with it, this virtue continues with the now solo project by vocalist Pilar Diaz. We have yet to hear the album but her brand new single "Piñata" and its video are pretty awesome.

[Happy birthday to Duff McKagan, rock star, online columnist and ... mountain climber .] My, what a diverse music menu you have tonight, Los Angeles. Let's start with a couple intriguing small shows, like at the Silverlake Lounge, where Andy Friedman & the Other Failures are in from Brooklyn. Friedman is a New Yorker cartoonist-turned-poet-turned- folk singer whose new album "Weary Things"is full of country-fied stuff that'll tickle your brain and tug at your heart. ... At Bordello, ex-Los Abandoned singer Pilar Diaz plays [...]
Aug 27, 2007, 1:51pm
MVSW
Interesting Shows around Los Angeles: Monday 8/27 Sarah Silverman @ Largo Joss Stone @ Greek Theatre Tuesday 8/28 Gogol Bordello @ Music Box Theater The Watson Twins @ Spaceland Crowded House, Pete Yorn @ Greek Theatre Wednesday 8/29 Blonde Redhead @ Glass House Meiko @ Hotel Cafe As Tall As Lions @ Roxy The Like (Club NME) @ Spaceland Sham 69 @ House of Blues (Anaheim) Thursday 8/30 [...]
Aug 20, 2007, 1:13pm
MVSW
Interesting Shows around Los Angeles: Monday 8/20 Beastie Boys @ The Greek ~In!~ Talib Kweli @ Amoeba Music Ted Nugent @ House of Blues(Sunset) Low Vs. Diamond, Oliver Future @ Spaceland Tuesday 8/21 Beastie Boys @ Wiltern ~Gala Show~ ~In!~ Foeriegn Born @ Echo The Like @ Cinespace Wednesday 8/22 Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Mayan Theatre Cary Brothers, Stars of Track and Field @ Troubadour Aimee Mann @ Largo Meiko @ [...]
Today's post is about immortality, of a sort. When my mother was a teenager she dug up a clump of the little blue wildflowers that grew on nearby Bucky's Hill and transplanted them at the edge on my grandparents' yard. My mother is gone, a victim of an untied shoelace and the balance-inhibiting affects of port wine. Bucky's Hill is gone, a victim of real estate developers who bulldozed the land flat and filled in the neighboring peat bog in order to drop down a rather prison-like condo complex on the site. The little [...]

Mining 2007.sxsw.com Part 23 OK... one more. This here is the "pomo-wave" of Los Abandoned . Download: "a la mode" (mp3) SXSW page is here . Vapor Records are here . KCRW MBE page is here . Unrelated BONUS links: - The blog Milk Milk Lemonade has yet another post on LE RUG ... here . - The Smudge Of Ashen Fluff has posted some TGTB&TQ ... here .

It's always exciting when South by Southwest announces its schedule and posts songs by many of the bands that will be appearing at the festival. I just spent several--okay, six--pleasant hours making my way through the entire list from Aa to zZz (I skipped +/- because they didn't provide a sample mp3). I admit I didn't listen to every single song. Certain categories didn't really interest me, not yet at least. But I did give ear to everything labelled rock and pop that I didn't [...]

JOANNA NEWSOM @ THE EL REY TONIGHT [MP3] Joanna Newsom - Cosmia Joanna Newsom 's daring new album, Ys , is sure to be at the top of almost every bloggers year end list. I would have my blogger card revoked if I failed to mention the more than admirable 9.4 Pitchfork rating the record recieved. Joanna and her harp will be performing live tonight at the EL REY THEATRE. Drivers beware: expect throngs of spellbound people to be exiting the [...]