[This weekend’s concert calendar is more crowded than the 405 on a Friday afternoon. Superstars, stars, shoulda-been-stars, rising stars, fading stars – this weekend has it all. And it’s topped off by Sunday’s performance at the Greek by modern-day supergroup Monsters of Folks … see below for the word on the street about that. Here’s […]
The debut album from Letting Up Despite Great Faults – the tongue-twisting moniker of L.A.’s Michael Lee – is as much a feat of DIY techonology as it is artistry. It’s essentially a bedroom pop record … made in a really high-tech bedroom by a really fussy guy who a couple of years ago trashed […]
The long-awaited sophomore album from Robert Francis, “Before Nightfall,” is out this week (physical release is next Tuesday), and the single “Junebug” is the free iTunes download of the week. More on this one later; this is just a heads-up to grab this song while it’s free. ||| Download: “Junebug” (and, previously, “Little Girl”) ||| […]
As coming-out parties go, Harper Simon’s could have used an exploding cake or something. The singer-songwriter, celebrating the release of his self-titled debut album on Wednesday night at the Echo, gave a performance that came off as tentative despite his aw-shucks charisma and oh-so-sweet material. The 37-year-old son of pop great Paul Simon seemed a […]
[We’re a little behind at Buzz Bands HQ this morning, forgive us. Here’s the show menu for Tito Jackson’s birthday …] Yo La Tengo [pictured; download below] are back, behind the release last month of their new album “Popular Songs.” They headline the Avalon tonight. … South African wunderkinds Blk Jks, getting a lot of […]
Pretty Lights – the name under which Derek Vincent Smith creates his gnarly electro/hip-hop soundscapes – are not selling a lot of records. The Fort Collins, Colo.-based producer is filling rooms, however – all but a couple of the dozen or so dates on his current tour have been sold out. Pretty Lights’ latest album, […]
Inveigh: To protest or complain bitterly or vehemently. Yep, that’s my Bronx. You want to rail against some injustice, you want Matt Caughthran doing your talking for you. The Jamie-James Medina-directed video for “Inveigh” – off their third album, released last year – captures the rage in its eye-blinking glory. The Bronx have been spending […]
Canadian quintet Jets Overhead landed on my radar in 2007 when a friend sent me one of those breathless missives that went something like, “Dude, you will love these people. And they’re giving their album away.” Indeed, the churning psych-rock on 2006’s “Bridges” had a lot to recommend it (and it’s not too late to […]
[It’s not Oct. 31, no matter what the first item would lead you to believe, but it is Usher’s birthday. Best wishes, and here’s your deluge of shows tonight …] Canadian duo Junior Boys [pictured, with download below] headline the El Rey Theatre, and don’t be alarmed if you see some costumed crazies along Wilshire […]
[Happy birthday to Paul Simon, and here’s what’s on tap tonight:] Bob Dylan starts a three-night engagement at the Palladium, and considering the forecast I wonder whether we’ll hear “Rainy Day Women.” Johnny Rivers opens – “Secret Agent Man” was one of the first 45s I owned. … It’ll be a night of well-crafted songs […]
