Kevin Bronson on December 15th, 2008

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[Where I was and where I wasn’t this past busy weekend …]

I’m sure KROQ-FM threw one heck of a Christmas bash at the Gibson Amphitheatre this weekend, but the Cure’s MySpace-sponsored show at the Troubadour on Saturday night stole all the headlines. Strange to me that the Cure would play opposite the first night of KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas when they were performing on Sunday night. Maybe their shorter radio show they would play on Sunday. I didn’t make it to either show, but the Cure gave the 400-plus lucky ones at the Troubadour three solid hours of music Saturday — “epic,” says a friend who did make it in — and left an indelible mark on the West Hollywood’s club already legendary history. Randall Roberts of LA Weekly recaps the show here. And besides, to read OC Register critic Ben Wener’s account from the Gibson Amphitheatre that night, the Cure attendees didn’t miss much. [On Sunday, KROQ sprung Kanye West on the crowd as a surprise guest — update: read Wener’s review here. I’ll update with a link to a rundown of that when one is posted.]

So how did Buzz Bands spend the weekend?

Quickly and briefly: Started on Friday by looking in on Radars to the Sky [above], who were headlining Spaceland to celebrate the release of a live album (Spaceland Recordings captured them live last spring). The band’s earnest, blaring indie rock is guaranteed to blow you back a few feet, and Friday it did. A new single is on the way. And, as a postscript, Archways’ impressive rock-noir proved a fitting cap to the evening. More on them at a later date.

On Saturday, wearing a sweater I will live to regret once the inevitable photos become public, I hit the Christmas Sweater Festival at the Echoplex. The Pity Party [above] earned band honors for knitting their own sweaters, which were downright stylish compared to some of the festive abominations that made their yearly trip out from the back of the closet. Strongs sets by the Deadly Syndrome and the Happy Hollows, among others, made it a fun night — and the healthy crowd made it a charitable one for Doctors Without Borders.

Another benefit took me back to the Echoplex on Sunday night — “A Night of Charitable Music,” mounted by Otik Records and Confessions of a Would-Be Hipster. The Midnight Mission and Toys for Tots were the beneficiaries, and the Eastside side project known as the Damselles & the TC4 [above] nailed the spirit of the night with their girl-group stylings and carols. And, yeah, that was Ryan Wilson playing Bing to the Damselles’ Andrews sisters on one number. Postscript: Nice set by Davey Ingersoll of the late band Gosling, making his solo acoustic debut.