[Birthday greetings go out today to Lou Reed, Chris Martin and Jon Bon Jovi. Now that’s a trio …] This month’s residencies start in a big way: At Spaceland, where Nico Stai has the headlining slot, Hesta Prynn (pictured, of Northern State) gets the ball rolling early [Download: “Seven Sisters”]. Pop Noir and Eastern Conference […]
[Quite a weekend we have in store musically, assuming, that is, that you and I aren’t on the invite list for Josh Groban’s birthday party:] Friday: Everest is back; the L.A. quintet brings its vivid Americana to the Echo (with the Parson Redheads and Two Sheds) at the beginning of a West Coast swing that […]
[Belated greetings to John Doe, who celebrated a birthday on Wednesday and lent his voice to the Scott Walker tribute at Bordello. Emcee Michael Des Barres even led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday.” And kudos to Ann Magnuson for bringing down the house with her rendition of Jacques Brel’s “Au Suivant.”] All seems to […]
Former Catherine Wheel frontman Rob Dickinson is well-versed in Scott Walker, the ’60s-idol-turned-recluse-turned-avante-garde-musician who is the subject of the documentary movie “Scott Walker: 30 Century Man” and of tonight’s “A Tribute to Scott Walker” at the L.A. club Bordello. But Dickinson – one of the performers at the tribute – is not surprised Walker has […]
By Monica Alvarez Dennis Lluy must feel as if he has gone home again. The man behind Koo’s Arts Cafe in Santa Ana (1994-2002), who spent the past five years struggling to make a go of his non-profit in Long Beach, has come back to the Orange County seat. With his Koo’s Inc. in control […]
[I’m going to ratchet up the frequency of Ears Wide Open, my series of quick-hits on the new L.A. music that reaches my ears – and laptop. Here goes:] Ventura three-piece the Spires have been spreading their Anglophile wings in SoCal for a about five years, their” sweet indie-pop recalling the days of C86 and […]
Unless you’re British, or an American of a certain age, chances are you don’t know Scott Walker. Oh, you may have heard the voice – the soaring, tremulous baritone behind the ’60s hit “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” and some other gems from that era. To most, Walker’s name, if it was recalled at […]
[Happy birthday to Abe Vigoda – not the band, silly, the actor. Abe’s 88 today, and we love him as much as Conan O’Brien does.] The pride of Issaquah, Wash., Modest Mouse [pictured], hits town tonight for a show at the Palladium that, as of early this morning, was not sold out. Mimicking Birds (signed […]
It was bad enough that Nico Vega had to postpone its hometown album-release show at the 11th hour on Feb. 5 – the aftermath caused some heartache too. “You get pictures from people, ‘This is me, standing outside the Roxy after driving two hours in the rain,’” singer Aja Volkman says. “Honestly, it was hard […]
Not too long ago, Funeral Party was playing backyard parties in East L.A. Hundreds of kids came; there was cowbell galore; people danced; and life was good. As the group cultivated an underground following and took its act into clubs, they seemed to be inheritors to the Moving Units’ edgy dance-punk throne. Now they are […]
