The three-day Bay Area bash known as Outside Lands went off last weekend with chilly temperatures and heart-warming performances, particularly Paul McCartney’s big, fireworks-festooned finale. Along the way, there was a mix of legends, rising indie bands and guest surprises, as when Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead joined the National onstage. Oh, and Nine […]
Subtly dropping a new track on Monday via Facebook, Active Child – Pat Grossi – gave his fans a taste of his forthcoming EP titled “Rapor” (pronounced “rah-poor”) with “She Cut Me.” Although only an instrumental cut barely over two minutes, it’s another slice of atmospheric music where the harp strings tug on the heart strings […]
What a wonderful Wednesday: ‣ Up-and-coming blues guy Jamie N Commons, whose music you’ve probably heard on myriad TV shows even if you didn’t know he was up-and-coming, headlines the Troubadour, with and Nightmare & the Cat opening. That’s Commons’ video for “Rumble and Sway,” above. ‣ “An Evening With Natalie Cole” brings the singer […]
Echo Park-based recording complex Bedrock LA is getting into the festival business – the inaugural Bedrocktoberfest will go off Saturday, Oct. 5, with music from RZA, Liam Finn, Twin Shadow & Wynn (DJ set), and Vanaprasta. The one-day event, co-sponsored by LA Weekly, will also feature a magic stage with Jon Armstrong, David and Leeman and Rob Zabrecky. The festival kicks off at 3 p.m. […]
By Gabriel Jones Matt Berninger has an impressively long microphone cord, as the audience learned at the National’s show Saturday night at the Greek Theatre. The band’s frontman has made a decent living for some years now straddling the fault line between ego and id. In concert, he’s the model of elegance and civility, dressed […]
In one life, Yohei Shikano was a stage/guitar technician for Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and Yoko Ono. In another, he’s the driving force behind My Hawaii, an L.A.-based five-piece exploring an eclectic, occasionally whimsical take on vintage pop. The Japan-born Shikano and core members Justin Deming, Miles Senzaki, Jens Kuross and Daniel Seeff […]
If anyone’s been to Madi Diaz’s residency at the Bootleg this month, the sonic shift in the singer-songwriter’s sound may have come as a surprise. Sure, Diaz has flirted with bubblegum pop before, but her alt-country and folk roots remained the core of the charm on her previous records. However, new songs such as “Stay […]
If the Troubadour weren’t so crowded on Friday night, it’d have been the perfect place for a makeout party. On second thought, maybe it was, if you didn’t mind public displays of affection. The lights were low and mostly blue … the mood was bedroom-intimate … and L.A. quartet Superhumanoids certainly provided an appropriate soundtrack. […]
Symbiosis Events has just announced a lineup for September’s Symbiosis Gathering that includes Sound Tribe Sector 9 and Sphongle, the much-anticipated U.S. debut of Iamamiwhoami, smooth electro-pop outfit Poliça, U.K. duo Mount Kimbie, Hudson Mohawke and Lunice of TNGHT, the celestial R&B of Active Child, avant-cabaret troupe Vau de Vire Society and the eclectic bass […]
The Lonely Wild have become staples of the scene not just on the strength of their pulse-quickening debut album “The Sun As It Comes,” or their explosive live shows, but because they are so often present. Having paid their dues with years of sweaty club shows, the quintet of Andrew Carroll, Dave Farina, Ryan Ross, […]