[Just got back into town from the desert, and darn if it doesn’t feel like the desert here …] Quickly: The buzziest show of the evening is the Whip’s unlikely slot at the Henry Clay People’s residency at Spaceland. Not exactly a good fit, bill-wise, but the Manchester, U.K., foursome [pictured] are as good as […]
[I’m a few days ahead of myself, but I would be remiss if I did not point out that the Cure’s headlining set Sunday at Coachella falls two days before Robert Smith’s 50th birthday. Let’s all get our eyeliner just so, OK?] Buzz Bands is in Indio, where highs are forecast in the upper 80s […]
[One day left till Coachella, and my schedule sheet looks like a 4-year-old practiced drawing circles, lines and arrows on it. So many tough decisions this year …] Tonight isn’t any easier. My Bloody Valentine shakes the chandeliers at the El Rey Theatre, and the Black Keys have a pre-Coachella show at the Glass House […]
It’s easy to be wowed by the primal noises that Robert Davis, guitarist for the L.A. quartet the Yelling, coaxes out of his axe. It’s a hypodermic needle of Zeppelin juice, or a long tall drink of Jack White, and if it doesn’t get your blood pumping then you’d better stick to your hippie-fied electro-pop […]
[Happy birthday to Ed O’Brien from Radiohead. Now on with the shows …] Big doings tonight at the Sports Arena, where Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band play the first of a two-night stand; at the Palladium, where Bloc Party [pictured] holds forth; and Club Nokia, which features India.Arie. … There’s another pre-Coachella show at […]
[If you can get your noses out of your taxes for a moment, raise a glass today for birthday girl Loretta Lynn …] Another Coachella warm-up show hits the Glass House in Pomona – tonight it’s TV on the Radio, joined by Ikey Owens and Free Moral Agents. … Kimya Dawson, whose latest post-Moldy Peaches […]
[Happy 63rd birthday to the Rev. Al Green … now for some sermonizing of my own:] As if the heaping helping of Monday night residencies don’t have your concert-going plate full, some great touring acts are hitting town: U.K. dance-gazers Friendly Fires (whose self-titled debut was one of my favorite ablums of 2008) play the […]
[Random news items from my inbox …] Friends are rallying en masse in support of Peter Case, the L.A. icon who underwent emergency open-heart surgery on Jan. 15. A fund, Hidden Love, has been set up to help defray the medical expenses of the former Plimsouls frontman, 55, who had no health insurance and is […]
[Birthday cheers go out to Art Alexakis (on Sunday) and to brother of Buzz Bands, Aaron (today). Have some fun, guys …] Tonight: It’s another busy Friday for shows big (Leonard Cohen, first of two nights at the Nokia Theatre) and small (Seasons celebrating the release of its “Spring” EP at the Echo, along with […]
Music and a movie, anyone? Dengue Fever is performing at the Echoplex, and while there is no word on whether there might be popcorn, there will be a screening of the excellent documentary “Sleepwalking Through the Mekong,” which chronicles the L.A. band’s 2005 trip to lead singer Chhom Nimol’s native Cambodia. (The DVD/soundtrack will be […]
