The Portland Cello Project, the six-year-old string ensemble that has covered the likes of Radiohead, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Rihanna and even Pantera, has expanded its palette to tackle the latest music from Beck. The 42-year-old songwriter, of course, released his latest effort, “Beck Hansen’s Song Reader,” as a book of sheet music. And the […]
By Gabriel Jones It’s been a few years since Beck has toured or put out a new album. He’s grown, raised a couple of kids; we’ve grown and perhaps moved on to other artists. And at Thursday’s show at the Santa Barbara Bowl he and his audience seemed like long-lost lovers who’ve found each other […]
Our show picks for Morrissey’s birthday (Moz himself is in San Diego tonight): ‣ The Riverboat Gamblers’ new album “The Wolf You Feed” is out today, and the Texas punk-rock quintet celebrates with a show at the Satellite, supported by Biters and Roll the Tanks. ‣ The Mark Lanegan Band swings back through town behind […]
So much talent, so little time. That’s kind of the story behind supergroup Digital Noise Academy, a long-in-the-works studio project helmed, more or less, by rocker/producer Ken Andrews (Failure, On, Year of the Rabbit). When Andrews first told me about DNA, it was late 2008, and he and his collaborators already had a substantial batch […]
Jessica Dobson has, in today’s parlance, mad skills. She was signed to Atlantic Records at age 19, back in the middle part of last decade, and in typical major-label fashion they had no idea what to do with an artist whose work could not be plugged neatly into some format. The Orange County native persevered, […]
Picks for a super Sunday: ‣ Twenty years after his death, French songwriter/actor/director Serge Gainsbourg remains a huge influence on the pop music of today. Tonight’s Serge Gainsbourg Tribute at the Hollywood Bowl features the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra led by Jean Claude Vannier and Scott Dunn – accompanied by an A-list band including bassist Justin […]
Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore has been keeping busy with plenty of tour dates since the release of his third solo studio album. Produced by Beck (who also provided synths and drumming on the record), “Demolished Thoughts” is surprisingly a bit more acoustic and folk-oriented. However, the energy within these tracks should not be underestimated; […]
Jeff Miller, senior city editor for Thrillist LA and an occasional contributor to this blog, was there the first time the Foo Fighters played a gig at 1717 Silver Lake Blvd. – the first show booked at the venue by Spaceland Productions. He wangled his way into Tuesday’s surprise show too and tells all: By […]
[Shows to consider while waiting to hear Jason Bentley interview electro-pop sensation David Lynch this morning on KCRW (10:15 a.m.):] Tonight’s top outings: ‣ Olin & the Moon, their new album “Footsteps” getting them some deserved attention, continue their residency at the Echo with fine support from Wire in the Walls and Family of the […]
Before Beck was a platinum record-selling superstar, he was a DIY folk singer, whose sense of whimsy and experimentation shone through on indie albums he released both before and after he signed his major-label contract. This is the Beck to whom fledgling songwriter Joel Morales was drawn. “He was so insouciant and carefree, and, maybe […]
