Massive Attack returned to L.A. on Sunday night for the second time this year, playing a career-spanning set that included “Babel,” “Atlas Air” and “Splitting the Atom” from their most recent album “Heligoland.” The occasion was the LA Weekly-sponsored “LA 101” at the Gibson Amphitheatre (although except for afternoon sets by three local bands on […]
En route back from my Arizona vacation on Saturday night, I detoured to Pioneertown to catch Cold War Kids’ set at Pappy & Harriet’s. It was the second date in a mini-tour the Long Beach quartet is doing to test-drive new songs from its forthcoming third album, “Mine Is Yours” (due Jan. 24 on Downtown). […]
By Tiffany Hoagland There’s a drumming noise inside everyone’s head that started last night during the first of Florence + the Machine’s three sold-out shows at the Wiltern Theatre. No sooner had the red curtain risen than the crowd heard frontwoman Florence Welch’s mighty drumstick fall, commanding absolute attention with her hit song “Drumming,” off […]
The HARD Haunted Mansion last weekend was a tale of two stages. A typically (for a HARD event) insane lineup brought out the costumed masses to the Shrine Auditorium, and the two-night, Halloween-appropriate event rewarded the early arrivals and the well-prepared. ||| Photo galleries by Kristy Sparow Yes, it took up to an hour and […]
Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett and their whimsical collective Gorillaz regaled a sold-out Gibson Amphitheatre with a visually gripping performance on Wednesday night that featured guest appearances from the like of Lou Reed, De La Soul, Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon, Miho Hatori and Bobby Womack. Photographer Carl Pocket sends along this gallery.
You could stand there Saturday night and marvel at the scant artistic progression Interpol has made since its second-wave post-punk milestone “Turn on the Bright Lights” came out in 2002, or you could join the delirious, black-clad masses in convulsing to the New York quintet’s every thunderous rhythm and guitar lick. Or you go a […]
The following thought occurred to a certain music writer Tuesday night during Superchunk’s thwackingly good set at the Music Box: I should have name-checked Superchunk a lot more over the past few years of scribbling about buzz bands who aspire to high-energy guitar rock. The Chapel Hill, N.C. quartet – visiting to promote “Majesty Shredding,” […]
Review and photos by Laurie Scavo Foals’ shape-shifting show Monday night at the El Rey Theatre revealed the Oxford, U.K., band’s split personalities – party-starting dance band and brooding art-rockers. Energy was high early in the set for songs such as “Blue Blood,” “Olympic Airways,” “Cassius” and the title track from Foals’ recent album “Total […]
The Cypress Hill SmokeOut at San Bernardino’s NOS Events Center on Saturday had its share of problems, reports David Hall of the OC Register. The weed-added festival featured Manu Chao (top photo, who have added a date Tuesday at the Troubadour), as well as Incubus, Basement Jaxx, Paul Oakenfold, Deadmau5, Erykah Badu and MGMT. Photographer […]
If you came to the Mayan Theatre on Wednesday night prepared to be swept away emotionally by Frightened Rabbit’s poetic anthems of love, loss and redemption, your expectations were half met. The other half of you departed absolutely certain that frontman Scott Hutchison could give fellow Scotsman Craig Ferguson a run for his money on […]
