[Happy birthday, Jonesy. We miss your jukebox …] Keeping it very brief today: Which legend you wanna see? Patti Smith plays a free show at the Santa Monica Pier, while the Pretenders, joined by Cat Power, are at the Greek Theatre. …. Nine Inch Nails plays the second of its four SoCal shows at the […]
Good stuff in the Silver Lake/Echo Park environs tonight, starting at the Echo and Echoplex, where there is a double dose of free shows. Restavrant, along with Spirit Vine and Mini Mansions (pictured), performs downstairs, while the Growlers’ residency continues upstairs. … Resident guys Local Natives, who enjoyed line-down-the-block status last week at Spaceland, do […]
[Salutations to birthday guy Carlos Santana today. Here’s what’s up tonight:] NYC shoegaze/jangle-pop quartet the Pains of Being Pure at Heart [pictured], who played great shows at SXSW and at Spaceland earlier this year, return to L.A. – fresh from the Pitchfork Music Festival – for an engagement at the Echo. … If you like […]
[Indie pop goddess Tanya Donnelly celebrates a birthday today.] Excellent night to be at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa, where Foreign Born supports their sophomore album “Person to Person” with The Veils opening. … The Datsuns [pictured] are back with a raucous new album “Headstunts” and are playing at the Echo with locals Spirit Vine. […]
[Happy birthday to Jimmy Chamberlin, wherever he’s drumming …] Toronto’s Constantines [pictured], now in their 10th year (yes, it’s true), hit town for a show at the Echo with a couple of lively supporting acts – Long Beach’s Crystal Antlers, with whom you are probably familiar, and Norwegian psych-poppers I Was a King, with whom […]
[Stevie Nicks blows out birthday candles today, though the big party with her admirers isn’t until Thursday, when Fleetwood Mac plays Staples Center. Meanwhile, tonight …] With her new album “Jigsaw” finally out, British rapper Lady Sovereign hits the El Rey Theatre tonight. supported by Harvard-bred pop lads Chester French. … Quality country at Spaceland, […]
[Serving up birthday greetings today to Master P. Now for a busy night on the club circuit …] She won me as a fan as South by Southwest, and now Thao Nguyen – that’s Thao With the Get Down Stay Down to the uninitiated – hits the Hotel Cafe for a big show with Samantha […]
[Happy birthday to Ed O’Brien from Radiohead. Now on with the shows …] Big doings tonight at the Sports Arena, where Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band play the first of a two-night stand; at the Palladium, where Bloc Party [pictured] holds forth; and Club Nokia, which features India.Arie. … There’s another pre-Coachella show at […]
[Birthday cheers today for Emmylou Harris, who, via her website, points well-wishers to her favorite charity, the Keeta Fund …] It’s a massive evening for shows, starting with biggies like Lily Allen at the Wiltern and Will Oldham, as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, at the El Rey Theatre. … It’s almost criminal that Billy is playing […]
