[It’s Karl Wallinger’s birthday today, and I miss me some World Party …] Top show featuring fortysomethings we love: ‣ Superchunk (new album “Majesty Shredding”) and the Vaselines (new album “Sex With an X” – that’s the video, above) play the Music Box, with Telekinesis opening. You couldn’t go wrong here either: ‣ Broken Social […]
[Delta Spirit’s sophomore album “History From Below” is one of the strongest releases by a SoCal band in 2010, combining tender folk balladry with urgent anthems such as “Bushwick Blues” (performed live, above, at the IFC Crossroads House at SXSW in Austin). Two weeks ago, I did a story on the Long Beach-based band for […]
Who: Deer Tick at the Outdoor Theatre. In 3 or Fewer Words: Nice sundress, dude. I’ll Remember This for Months Because: Well, mostly because of frontman John McCauley’s sundress, actually. It was good for a guffaw or three, especially when a fan asked for something a little more revealing. “Hey, the guy in the ponytail […]
You’re never too old for a growth spurt. At least, that’s what you could have divined from the first hometown show in five months by L.A. quintet Everest. The band of thirtysomethings – whose sophomore album “On Approach” is due April 20 – on Friday night traversed moments convulsive to tender during a 45-minute set […]
It’s that time of the month – the Natural History Museum’s First Fridays show tonight features Rhode Island quartet Deer Tick and Los Angeles’ own Everest. If you can’t make it to the show but are near a computer, come back to this very blog, where, courtesy of Spaceland Recordings, we will have a live […]
[It’s John Frusciante’s 40th birthday today; think I’ll revisit one or two of his solo albums to mark the occasion. Which should put me in the mood for this busy weekend …] Today: The Clientele’s fifth full-length album, last fall’s “Bonfires on the Heath,” provided another sylvan scene in the U.K. quartet’s pop dream; the […]
There were a lot of mammals – of the stuffed variety and of the soggy variety – at the Natural History Museum on Friday night. The occasion was the February installment of the museum’s First Fridays, and along with the event’s normal fare of fossils, exhibits, tours, discussions and DJs, there were sets from two […]
[Have a safe holiday weekend. And raise a glass for birthday boy Robbie Robertson on Sunday.] Today: ‘Tis the season … for music outdoors. Among the many offerings around SoCal is a free concert series at Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena, where French songstress Emilie Simon [pictured] performs at 8 tonight. She’s also at the Bootleg […]
[A sampling of recent sounds that fell into my mailbox:] The sophomore album from Deer Tick, “Born on Flag Day,” is due June 23, and the hard-touring band led by John McCauley has some East Coast and Midwest dates in June supporting Jenny Lewis before heading west to hook up with L.A.’s Dawes for a […]
