Tonight in L.A.: The Active Set, Loch & Key and Cola-Cola at IPO, Cold War Kids, Circa Survive

Kevin Bronson on
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[Moment of silence this morning to mark the passing of Fear founding member Derf Scratch …]

International Pop Overthrow surges into the second week of its annual celebration of classic and power-pop – with six to eight bands per night at rotating venues, it’s an impossibly unwieldy festival to get your ears around (especially with the dearth of band links on the event’s 1998-style website). But IPO still embodies the exuberant, inclusive spirit of its founder, David Bash. You could simply change the band names in this piece I wrote for the Times in 2000, and most of the quotes would apply.

It’s the 13th annual IPO in L.A., and Bash’s franchise has expanded to nine other cities. Tonight’s bill at the Echo is one of the best of IPO’s fortnight – particularly the scratchy, XTC-indebted pop of L.A. quartet the Active Set [pictured], the loungey boy-girl stylings of Loch & Key and the buoyant melodicism of Cola-Cola. It’s a packed night, with eight bands playing, but one of the enticements is that anyone who buys a ticket gets a free copy of “International Pop Overthrow, Vol. Thirteen,” a triple-disc compilation album curated by Bash.

||| Download: The Active Set, “Let the Games Begin”
[audio:http://www.mediafire.com/file/towb3s9elbkw0fv/The Active Set_Let The Games Begin.mp3]

Tonight’s other highlights:

‣ Orange County bound? Cold Wars Kids and the Soft Pack play a free show at Huntington Beach in conjunction with the U.S. Open of Surfing. And Eels play a warm-up show for their big international tour at the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Santa Ana.
‣ Rademacher headlines Spaceland.
‣ And prog-emo quintet Circa Survive plays at cozy show at the Bootleg Theater.

Your tastes may vary: Peanut Butter Wolf at Cinespace; William Fitzsimmons, Yellow Red Sparks and the Sister Ruby Band at the Hotel Cafe; Sage and Satellite Crush at the Viper Room; D’espairsRay at the Roxy; the Brown Betties at the Mint; Cue the Moon and Woolen at the Silverlake Lounge; the Neighborhood Bullies at the Redwood Bar.