Tonight in L.A.: Bob Dylan, the Afghan Whigs, Beach Goth 3, Tinariwen, Francisco the Man, Tenacious D’s Festival Supreme, Tennis, Wiz Khalifa, St. Lucia, Erasure, Leon Russell, KCRW Masquerade, Broken Bells, Mineral, Gorgon City, Stranger Kings
It’s doesn’t get any more super than this Saturday: ‣ The Afghan Whigs [pictured] rock the Fonda Theatre behind their new album “Do the Beast,” their first in 16 years, and the deluxe reissue “Gentlemen at 21” (out next week on Rhino), a value-added re-release of their acclaimed 1993 album. Joseph Arthur opens. ‣ L.A. […]
Tonight in L.A.: Bob Dylan, Placebo, Erasure, Broken Bells, Charli XCX, Alice Russell, Trampled by Turtles, Mineral, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Monophonics, Roberto Fonseca, Big Freedia, Phish, Intocable, Marketa Irglova, Army of Pharoahs, Fantasia
Oh, my, what a Friday: ‣ Bob Dylan does the first of three nights at the Dolby Theatre. ‣ U.K. rockers Placebo headline Club Nokia behind the new album “Loud Like Love,” with the Moth & the Flame opening. ‣ Long-running British duo Erasure play the Hollywood Palladium behind their new album “The Violet Flame,” […]
Incoming: Alt-J, Pentatonix, Wildcat! Wildcat!, Metronomy, White Denim, Banks, Dry the River, Hanni El Khatib, Olin & the Moon, Hobart W Fink, TV on the Radio, Nas, Eastern Conference Champions, Fever the Ghost, the Acid, Matt Ellis, the Brave Ones, Ceci Bastida, Matisyahu, Jessie Ware, the Melvins, Le Butcherettes, Kimbra, Sloan, Tom Vek, Movement, Colin […]
Tonight in L.A.: Bryan Ferry, Broken Bells, RAC, Temples, Rudimental, Cage the Elephant, Factory Floor, Future Islands, Elle Goulding, Sam Smith, David Crosby, Birds of Tokyo, Rod Melancon
Couldn’t go to Coachella? Coachella has come to you. There are 10 “Localchella” shows on the schedule tonight: ‣ Broken Bells [pictured] and Au Revoir Simone play the Fonda Theatre. ‣ Bryan Ferry and Dawn Landes visit Club Nokia. ‣ RAC holds forth at the El Rey Theatre. ‣ Temples, Drowners and Bo Ningen rock […]
Incoming: Coachella, Brokechella, Joywave,  Blood Orange, Lawrence Rothman, Banta, Mystic Braves, Mosco Rosco, David Crosby, Kate Nash, Bryan Ferry, Broken Bells, Au Revoir Simone, RAC, Sam Smith, Birds of Tokyo, Factory Floor, the Bloodhounds, Temples, Future Islands, Ellie Goulding, Cage the Elephant, Heaps N Heaps, Bombay Bicycle Club, MGMT, the 1975, Cobalt Cranes, The Jon Spencer […]
Broken Bells – the mind-meld of James Mercer of the Shins and Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse) have a sophomore album coming in the new year. It’s titled “After the Disco” (aside: if only it were so) and what we’ve heard so far sounds like the Bee Gees in outer space. The duo is rolling […]
As frontman of the San Diego quintet Dynamite Walls, Tom Pritchard traded in radio-friendly rock that fell somewhere between the Strokes and U2. Some amount of label turmoil later, Dynamite Walls is no more, and Pritchard, now ensconced in L.A., has aligned with Jason Burkhart (most recently spotted with rapper Kenan Bell) as Western Scene. […]
L.A. singer-songwriter Nik Freitas has probably had very few moments to himself since he released his fourth album, “Sun Down,” in 2008 for Conor Oberst’s Team Love imprint. He’s toured as part of Oberst’s Mystic Valley Band, and most recently he’s joined the touring juggernaut of the Danger Mouse/James Mercer project Broken Bells. “Recorded on […]
[Two of my faves, Matthew Sweet and Tommy Stinson, celebrate birthdays today. Have a happy one, guys …] Top 4 shows for your autumn evening: ‣ Has it really been four years since the Futureheads played L.A.? That’s what it says here. The U.K. quartet’s fourth album “The Chaos” (recommended) is happily post-post-punk, and they […]
I’ve said everything I want to about Broken Bells, except for maybe this afterthought: It must be nice to have a production budget. Here’s the video for “The Ghost Inside,” featuring “Mad Men’s” Christina Hendricks. Feeling you, sci-fi geeks.
