They may be far from Nashville but Canon Blue made Los Angeles and Club Nokia home for the night.

Thursday's toil and trouble: ► L.A. four-piece Vintage Trouble spent much of 2011 thrilling audiences in the U.K., where their retro rock 'n' soul transported Jools Holland fans back to the '50s and '60s , they opened for Bon Jovi and they earned reviews comparing singer Ty Taylor to a young James Brown. They bring their hip-shaking fury back home tonight, playing a sold-out show at the Troubadour. ► Summer Darling heads up a diverse bill at the Echo that includes Birds & Batteries , the Hunting Accident [...]
Last week, we launched the first mixtape of IRC's Best Songs of 2011 to a relatively strong response from regular readers and visitors. The first volume includes more than 30 top songs originally released in January of this year. They were chosen from dozens upon dozens of tracks email to us directly or that were [...] Read more, get songs or stream the entire mix on Indie Rock Cafe

Like Fool's Gold and Vampire Weekend, the new L.A. trio Gothic Tropic finds inspiration in world beats and exuberant guitars. The brainchild of Cecilia Della Peruti, who for the past two years has played with Rumspringa, Gothic Tropic takes a playful, lo-fi approach to the psych-pop on its four-song "Awesome Problems" EP, with guitar lines that poke and tickle and beats that quicken the pulse. Peruti, who's teamed up with bassist Daniel Denton (Never at Night) and drummer Liv Marsico (Stone Darling), got an assist from guitarist Sam Lopez Jr. on the EP, whose rough edges are anything [...]

Feast your ears on this energy-packed, punchy, bright and most certainly gleeful album that's as eclectic and colorful as the album artwork from Nashville natives Canon Blue. -- SKOA Read more »

We resume our reposts of the Blogophilia series this week with volumes 8 and 8.5. Why 8 and 8.5? Well, I mixed these at the same time, and the tracks came from the same collection of songs I reviewed. Calling one 8 and the other 9 didn't feel right. We've also had a 12.5, and recently a 26.5 for the same reason. Like volume 7, these two mixes really capture the summer spirit. Volume 8.5 has a throw in from an "oldie but goodie." Enjoy... Blogophilia Volume 8 [...]

Canon Blue is Daniel James, a multi-instrumentalist who, by the sounds of his sophomore record, has visions of musical grandeur. Recordings for 'Rumspringa' started in Copenhagen with Efterklang, then onto Iceland to work with string quartet Amiina – returning to his homeland, America, to complete the project. By opening with 'Chicago (Chicago)', and its brass punching intro, the record certainly sends home James' intentions of creating some heavily-prescribed, orchestral pop. Yet it also makes clear that the talented musician lacks the vocal strength to compete with the song's vibrant and meticulously created arrangement. Thankfully tracks like [...]

[Happy birthday to Ida Maria, who rocked our shoes off a couple weeks ago at the Roxy ...] Your midweek menu: ► Army Navy's second album "The Long Goodbye" came out this week, and the L.A. band will join U.K. quartet A Silent Film for a show at the Bootleg Theater. ► Malian stars Tinariwen , their new album "Tassili" coming Aug. 30 on Anti- Records, headline the Troubadour. ( Their new single [...]
When I listen to this song by multi-instrumentalist Daniel James, aka Canon Blue, I picture a couple dancing on a stage in a packed auditorium. They pace out the dramatic steps, wandering apart to end up at opposite ends of the stage, coming together and separating once more. And all the while a small but [...]

White Arrows headline The Bootleg tonight The game is over, now it's time for some real shooting - WHITE ARROWS headline this evening's championship lineup at The Bootleg Theater. Former Rumble vets GAMBLE HOUSE & RUMSPRINGA support, along with a band that we have lost it for - GARDENS & VILLA . On top of everything, the show is FREE!

[April has come quickly, soliciting our ears and filling our concert calendars. On the occasion of a new week and Miranda Lee Richards' birthday, here's what's up:] The best of Monday's madness: ► Big evening at It's a School Night at Bardot, where Crowded House frontman Neil Finn (who headlines the El Rey on Tuesday) previews material from his forthcoming "Pajama Party" CD and L.A. songwriter Jim Bianco celebrates the release of his third [...]
FATTY DEAREST, RUMSPRINGA, MOSES CAMPBELL, AND BLACKSTRAP MOLASSES ON MONDAY APR. 25TH AT THE BOOTLEG THEATER, 2220 BEVERLY BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES. 8:00PM/ FREE/ 21+
MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTER, RUMSPRINGA, TRUMAN PEYOTE, AND INCAN ABRAHAM ON MONDAY APR. 18TH AT THE BOOTLEG THEATER, 2220 BEVERLY BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES. 8:00PM/ FREE/ 21+
SLEEPY OWL, RUMSPRINGA, HANNI EL KHATIB, AND DEVOTIONALS ON MONDAY APR. 11TH AT THE BOOTLEG THEATER, 2220 BEVERLY BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES. 8:00PM/ FREE/ 21+
WHITE ARROWS, RUMSPRINGA, GAMBLE HOUSE, AND GARDENS & VILLA ON MONDAY APR. 4TH AT THE BOOTLEG THEATER, 2220 BEVERLY BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES. 8:00PM/ FREE/ 21+
GOTHIC TROPIC, RUMSPRINGA, AND DOWNTOWN TRAIN ON WEDNESDAY MAR. 30TH AT LOT 1 CAFE, 1533 WEST SUNSET BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES. 9:00PM/ FREE/ ALL AGES

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgB9yI j0c-Q It wasn't that hard to convince a friend to accompany me Monday night and catch the second round of Spirit Vine's residency at the Echo. After he answered my call with his usual warm welcome of, "What. What do you want?" I asked if he wanted to grab a drink and see a very Jonestown-ish, droney, down and out rock band. He replied, "Sounds promising...Plus, you owe me a drink." We arrived after the stupendous and always entertaining Dante vs. Zombies had finished their set. If you have never seen them before, [...]
SPIRIT VINE, DARK MOON, RUMSPRINGA, AND DANTE VS. ZOMBIES ON MONDAY MAR. 14TH AT THE ECHO, 1822 WEST SUNSET BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES. 8:30PM/ FREE/ 21+
Mar 8, 2011, 1:12pm
Fmly

I'm not sure why these weren't posted before. I think we all just got carried away with the tour right after the fest and didn't get a chance to post these. There are definitely more to come but here is something to get started with. I hope you guys enjoy! I know we did. it was so fun celebrating the end of the year with 2000 fmly members over two days. This year will be even better. You can always check out all the videos from past events at the FMLY playhouse . Emily Reo [...]