Marilyn Manson and Slayer bashed open our collective brains, and feasted on our souls. We in turn worshiped and thanked them for every second of it. Of course, it's a haul getting one's ass all the way out to the damned Irvine Meadows/Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, but where else can these dudes play? Promoters aren't letting all of us head bangers and moshers into the Hollywood Bowl anytime soon. Pffft... we'd destroy that place.

The stereotypical Slayer/Manson concert-goer is either wearing a black shirt, or no shirt, denim shorts, or black jeans, always long haired, sometimes tattooed, and their arms raised in the air waiting to be raptured by Satan. Our kind of people. But it is ultimately a mixed crowd ranging from a girl dressed as Nazi cheerleader, to children, even the elderly. Everyone was really friendly and excited for the show.

If you didn't have a studded belt, or a chain wallet, getting through the gates was easy. But girls for some reason really got a more thorough frisking, and took twice as long as boys. Just a few yards in there was a pack of impatient looking, long haired dudes. I took my place in the pack, and stood with my arms folded, tapping one foot anxiously, until my girlfriend was finally done being groped by security. As we were approaching the stage in the middle of Slayer's first song we learned that an ambulance had already been called for the first major injury of the night. Nobody seemed surprised.

Slayer hooked it up, because they seemed to know that it's those classic older albums that we're going crazy to hear. They didn't focus too much on showing off their new album, choosing to only play a few songs from it. Our hearts raced each time Tom Araya approached the mic, and went into one of his weird monologues, before screaming "WAR ENSEMBLE!" or "MANDATORY SUICIDE!" And before you're jaw could drop, Kerry King was churning out the riffs while banging his bald tattooed head, and Jeff Hanneman was simultaneously drilling away with the fastest hands this side of Oktoberfest. You couldn't really see Dave Lombardo that well, but when the double bass kicked in, your rib cage felt like it was going to go into cardiac arrest so was impossible to stop feeling his presence. The crowd behaved like they were being electrocuted the entire time, and loving it completely.

When Manson hit the stage, the energy of the crowd was completely different. It was high energy, and the fans were no less passionate. People were in a more of a trance, but still on their feet and pumping at least one fist. That is suiting to the nature of Manson's music, which isn't thrash-based like Slayer and has a slower tempo. Manson is a great showman, and took full advantage of the catwalk, while his band are bathed in thick colors of light as they ground out their thick layered blend of evil.

over 50 photos after the jump

Pigeon John is so LA that he doesn't neglect the South Bay, like so many others choose to do. That's why he's gonna be at Venezia in Redondo Beach tonight, bringing the love to all the bitches, as per usual. We love Pigeon John, partly because he can make non-hiphop people stop and say, "Hey what's that? Turn it up!"

The Luminaries will be holding it down closer to LA if you're not down to head out to the beach. They'll be playing at The Derby, cruise in sometime around 9-ish. They're a spiritual hip-hop collective focused on making a damn difference, and entertaining you in the meantime. Don't sleep on this.

If all else fails, you still have Urban Underground @ the Airliner. Special guest Wild Child of Stones Throw Records is the headliner, and he's bringing that Oxnard grittiness that made his group Lootpack renowned within LA underground hip hop.

Photo via Quannum

Slayer and Marilyn Manson will be rocking the Irvine Meadows / Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine this Friday. The two are doing a summer-long, 41-date, world-tour together, and are going to make us all cry tears of joy and blood. Having seen Slayer several times, I can assure you that seeing them live is priceless.

Slayer just released a special limited edition of "Christ Illusion" which originally debuted a last year. The original line up hadn't recorded together since "Seasons in the Abyss" in 1990, making "Christ Illusion" the best Slayer album in at least 16 years. It's giving the fans what they want, need, and have jonzed for so long to hear. Slayer that's nice, crunchy, and evil.

In case you don't want to believe me, because I am a Slaytanic Wermacht, you only have to see that they won a Grammy for "Eyes of the Insane", and busted out a top 5 debut upon their album release last year.

Dear MCA,

I would like to marry you and have 1000 of your Buddhist-rapper babies. While this may come across trite or ill conceived I assure you I am neither a crazy person nor a stalker fan. Of course I think you make great music, but what I’m saying is that I have not been harboring these feeling for two decades hoping that one day I’d have a chance to spring them on you. These are, in fact, very new feelings. About 24 hours old, actually.

Dinosaur tape recorder in hand, I showed up at Capitol Records yesterday with some silly questions and a simple hope that my contributions to the sit-down discussion would be intelligible and well received.

But then you and your handsome man-band arrived and I turned to jelly bits. I did this quietly. No one knew. I hid it.

And sure, Ad-Rock was cool. I dug his bowler hat and all the smart ass remarks. Yeah, Mike D was great, with his confessions of Barbie surf vans and his affection for footie pajamas. But you Mr. Yauch, you walked into that conference room with the coolest half-sneer this shy gal has ever seen, and then out flashed this big-eyed, warm smile, and that was that.

Things got off to a rocky start between us and TD Camp. We think he possibly knee-jerk reacted to our review of the new album "From The Ground Up" (see the comments), and wanted to give the San Francisco native a chance to tell his side.

Bored Stiff's album comes out today, click here to check it, blah blah blah... OK! here's the interview:

LAist: Whats life like as a musician/record label owner?

TD Camp: I'm a producer/DJ/record label owner. That means lots of late nights in the studio or clubs and endless work on the computer.

What's cool about your new album?

Bored Stiff's album is very authentic. The music is mostly sample based using rare soul, jazz, and funk sounds, and the lyrics really capture the way the group was feeling while recording. It's smooth sounding, but raw in sincerity and originality. You can listen to it on our website.

What is the hardest part about your work?

The work never ends. I love my job, but right now it's a 24 hour a day job...

Do you smoke weed? If you do, or if you don't, what do you think about medical marijuana?

I do smoke from time to time, but I've found that I get more done when I don't smoke often. I was taught to give thanks when smoking and respect weed. Clients in my studio smoke all the time. There aren't many rappers I know that can go to the studio without a couple blunts. As for medical marijuana, I'm all for it. Sure people abuse the system, but that's because it's stupid that it's illegal to begin with. I think it's great that there are stores all over the Bay Area that sell really good trees, but it's a shame many youngsters don't know anything about Rastifarians and their history.

LA has the best.....?

Plastic surgeons, clothes & underground Hip-Hop crowds and scene.

Fountains of Wayne played a tight, if not under appreciated, set week last week to a trickling-in crowd who at least knew the words to Radiation Vibe. Chris Collingwood and the boys humbly played the part of the opening act and Squeeze fan. “Enjoy the show!” they shouted, as if one had not just taken place.

With a synthy and sexy Take Me I’m Yours, Squeeze emerged with some new players and some old faces. There were brief moments of grandpa-rock, but overall the new wave boogie woogie pop was in tact -- time warp preserved for a clear Los Angeles night, and giving us all a refresher course in true hipster music.

My personal favorite detail of the evening was the fan blowing directly in face of Glenn Tilbrook making his purty British curls blow around like a supermodel.

Their latest compilation album, Essential Squeeze (Universal), is in stores now.

Oodles of noodles after the jump...

When it comes to crotch identification, no one works harder than LAist.

Last week one of our favorite LA blogs, Defamer, ran the underwear photo above (and to the right), accompanied with a story about a movie and blah blah blah. But the mystery remained: Who's Crotch is That?"

Happily, our tireless hours of up-close interviews and in-your-face journalism have not been for naught. Thanks to an amazingly reliable source close to the project, we have solved the mystery of this unmarked package.

Turns out that last week’s script-delivering, banana smuggling bandit was none other than LA native Branden Williams, boyfriend of Amy Smart, and Homeboy #1 from Can’t Hardly Wait. Apparently, this chore was a labor of love as rumor has it the man has an apparent obsession with male strippers. And also, the tattoo is real. Go you.

The nearly naked stunt was a deft, attention getting maneuver aimed to garner studio partnership for the hopeful Untitled Male Stripper Comedy (with Chris Pontius of Jackass fame already attached to the project).

As the story goes, Branden The Bold walked into the studios fully dressed, hand delivered the script to the designated decision maker, and once it was signed for, he tossed it on the desk and promptly (and sexily) took off his clothes in a lavish, gyrating display of manitude.

Give these guys a green light. They work hard for the money.

Compared to Tony's pictures, mine look like they were taken from outer space. Nevertheless, there is a certain satellite-like grainy quality that makes me tingle when I look at them. I hope it does the same for you. Many more pix from the milky way cam after the jump...

If you've wondered to yourself, "What the hell does Posh do besides blowing Becks?" It may or may not come as a surprise that Posh likes to blow his money too. Victoria Beckham was just given a $5 million dollar credit limit at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills.

It's not just Posh either! Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz (ages 8, 4, and 2) are on a spending frenzy too, because nothing is more embarrassing than having last seasons pencil sharpener at school. That would be shameful!

We at LAist only hope that all this feverish shopping can wipe that dirty look off her face. Wouldn't you be happy if you could piss away money faster than MC Hammer? The truth is that we know she won't be happy because she has no soul. We like her hair cut though!

Photo AP

Come on Jimmy Fallon, just because you're some washed up SNL'er with a frightfully unlucky film carreer, and no chance of making anyone laugh, that does NOT give you a license to keep on pretending you're the Adam Sandler mini-me.

Fallon is going to marry Drew Barrymore's business partner of ten years, after meeting on the set of that movie where Jimmy was doing a Sandler role. I'm sure she's a nice lady, whoever she is, but even SHE has to admit that Jimmy's crush on Adam is starting to border on creepy instead of just the usual annoying.

And why Adam Sandler? If you're going to rip someone off all the time, why not choose someone who is funny? Adam and Jimmy both have to laugh at their own jokes, because nobody else will. Can't he just pull a Dennis Leary, and only rip off dead guys?

It doesn't matter if he is staring in romantic comedies with Drew Barrymore, bouncing around the Tonight Show with his Adam Sandler inspired songs, or literally pretending to be Adam Sandler in SNL skits, Fallon is a failure with a stutter and floppy hair.

Photo from I am a tv junkie

OUT TODAY:

Junior Senior - Hey Hey My My Yo Yo (Rykodisc)
[MP3]: “We R The Handclaps” via Fluxblog

Eisley - Combinations (Reprise / Wea)
[MP3]: “Invasion” via Lullabyes

Linda Thompson - Versatile Heart (Rounder)
[MP3]: “Beauty (feat Antony)” via Homo Eclectic

The Wildbirds - Golden Daze (Universal Republic)
[MP3]: “Way Down Low” via Come Pick Me Up

You Say Party! We Say Die! - Lose All Time (Paper Bag)
[MP3]: “Giant Hands” via Soft Communication

The Rentals - Last Little Life [EP] (Boompa)
Mae - Singularity (Capitol)
Nina Nastasia & Jim White - You Follow Me (Fat Cat Records)
The Pirates - Shakin at the Beeb: The Complete BBC Sessions 1976-1978 (Castle UK)
Dean Martin - Forever Cool (Capitol)
Various Artists - Lullaby Renditions of The Pixies (Baby Rock)
Various Artists - Get Ready, Here Come the '70s (Shout Factory)

All this and more can be yours if the Price is Right...

iTunes, AllMusic, CMJ, New Music Tipsheet, Billboard, WXPN, Metacritic, Amazon, Smart Punk, Amoeba Music

Gift of Gab is the MC for the legendary rap duo Blackalicious. I've seen Blackalicious at the Glass House in Pomona Many years ago, and watched Gab keep a packed house in awe as spit out the hits, and took time outs to showcase his incredible freestyle abilities. Since then he's put out some solo stuff, has continued to be critically acclaimed, and remains a fan favorite.

On August 15th (aka this Wednesday) Gift of Gab is going to rock the House of Blues with DJ Z-Trip and Aceyalone. So we thought it would be good timing to get Gab on the phone, see what he had to say, and ask him a few random questions.

LAist: What are the best and worst things about being a successful rapper such as yourself?

Gift of Gab: Lotta good things, man. The travel, you know just being there making a living doing what i want to do. To be able to live this life and make a living is a blessing. Traveling is so dope, but it's also the hard part. Being away from my family so much, and missing them.

What do you do to unwind and relax when you got the day off?

i like getting massages, i like reading, i like books. You know what i mean? hang out with the people i grew up with.

Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?

The list is too long. I am a fan first. I study the artist. That's why i became so good, because i studied the artist.

Where's the best place to buy clothes?

For me, i always go to this place called Casual Male Big and Tall, they got all the latest stuff, and cool stuff, and i am a big dude, so they carry clothes for myself. Casual Male in the bay, others in the country don't have the same stuff.

What were you for Halloween as a kid?
Man, these are some funny questions (laughs) Let me see if i can even remember. I think i was Mr. Spock one year...

British pop new-wavers, Squeeze, have (mostly) reunited and they feel so good. Did you know that Molly Ringwald had a Squeeze poster in her Sixteen Candles room? Did you know that the dreamy blonde lifeguard who worked with me at summer camp had a copy of 45’s and Under in his car. Did you know I can play Yankee Doodle on a ukulele?

Slightly subversive post-punk with an energetic and upbeat sound, Squeeze makes music that doesn’t dry out or stale up with age. There’s is a special sensibility that fully preserves the pop-pleasant feeling.

Aptly paired on the menu for Monday night, are the New Jersey/New York quirk-rockers Fountains of Wayne. Heavily influenced by Squeeze, this band consistently puts out offbeat rock records that turn like they're on rails while throwing sticky hooks at your head. Even better, they sing songs about parkways and laser shows.

Win yourself a pair of tickets to this fine feathered event by responding in the comments section with your favorite lyric by either band. Winner will be chosen at random. Ps you must be a registered commenter to win, so make sure you have a login with a real email address (or we can’t contact you to give you the good news…). Good luck, poppies. Contest ends Friday Aug 10 at 3pm.

Monday Aug 13
Squeeze, Fountains of Wayne
@ Greek Theatre
2700 North Vermont
Los Angeles 90027
Buy tickets here

When Hunter S. Thompson passed away he left behind a widow who knew him unlike any other person on earth. She wrote a book about it, and crammed it full of the juicy goodness that every HST fan has a never ending jonez for.

In The Gonzo Way, Anita Thompson interviews Hunter's old friends including Johnny Depp, Ed Bradley, Doug Brinkley, Jack Nicholson, Bill Murray, Senator George McGovern to name a few. She will also in her own words explore Hunter S. Thompson the man, the myth, the husband.

Anita Thompson will be presenting and signing her book The Gonzo Way at Book Soup tomorrow 08/09/2007 at 7pm. If you can't get enough Hunter S. Thompson then you should come down and pay respect to the lady who put up with him the most. Or buy the damn thing on amazon.com, and snub the lady. LAist just thought you would want to know.

Book Soup is located @ 8818 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood

Photo AP

OUT TODAY:

Flight Of The Conchords - The Distant Future (Sub Pop)
[MP3]: “Business Time” via Tunes Consumed

Magnolia Electric Co - Sojourner (Secretly Canadian)
[MP3]: “Leave The City” via Aquarium Drunkard

The Budos Band - The Budos Band II (Daptone Records)
[MP3]: “Chicago Falcon” via Inflight at Night

Okkervil River - The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar)
[MP3]: “Unless It’s Kicks” via Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good

Augie March - Moo, You Bloody Choir (Jive/Red)
[MP3]: “The Honey Month” via I Am Fuel, You Are Friends

Superbad - Original Soundtrack (Lakeshore)
[MP3]: “SuperWhat?” via MySpace

The Fizzies - Contest Popularity (Self-Released)
Peter Case - Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John (Yep Roc)
Art in Manila - Set the Woods on Fire (Saddle Creek)
The Brunettes - Structure & Cosmetics (Sub Pop)
Chuck Ragan - Feast or Famine (Side One Dummy)
Harry Shearer - Songs Pointed & Pointless (Courgette Records)
50 Cent - Ayo Technology [SINGLE] (Interscope)

Or, choose your own adventure...

iTunes, AllMusic, CMJ, New Music Tipsheet, Billboard, WXPN, Metacritic, Amazon, Smart Punk, Amoeba Music

Ever read the Shel Silverstein poem, True Story? That's why New Music Tuesday is on a Friday. Go forth into your weekends, and rock.

OUT NOW:
Bat for Lashes - Fur & Gold (Caroline)
Common - Finding Forever (Geffen)
Josh Rouse - Country Mouse City House (Bedroom Classics)
Culver City Dub Collective - Dos (Everloving)
1990s - Cookies (Rough Trade)
Dr. Hook - Greatest Hooks (Capitol/EMI)
G. Love & Special Sauce - A Year and a Night with G. Love and Special Sauce (Brushfire)
Yo-Yo Ma - New Impossibilities (Sony Classical)
Elvis Presley - Elvis: Viva Las Vegas (SONY/BMG)
Shivaree - Tainted Love: Mating Calls & Fight Songs (Zoe)
Z-Trip - All Pro [EXPLICIT LYRICS] (Decon Inc)
The Raspberries - Live on Sunset Strip (Deluxe Version) [LIVE] (Rykodisc)
Various Artists - Real Life Permanent Dreams: A Cornucopia of British Psychedlia 1965-1970 (Castle)
Various Artists - Putumayo Presents: Americana (Putumayo)

Or maybe you'd prefer what's behind door #2...

iTunes, AllMusic, CMJ, New Music Tipsheet, Billboard, WXPN, Metacritic, Amazon, Smart Punk, Amoeba Music

U.S.D.A. stands for the United Streets Dboyz of America, and stand for more than just the trio of rappers Young Jeezy, Slick Pulla and Blood Raw. It stands for the struggle of having nothing and being determined enough, and good enough to fight the fight, and make it on top. Their album Cold Summer dropped with Def Jam, since then they've become the self-proclaimed "Kings of Youtube" racking up incredible hit counts even when it's just some dumb kid posting a song and their album cover. LAist went to Def Jam to chat with Slick Pulla and Blood Raw.

LAist:Tell me about Atlanta, what do you guys do to party? Is it cool?
Blood Raw: There’s something to do every night in the city.
Slick Pulla: Atlanta’s got clubs, lounges, there’s a whole lot of stuff to do. It used to be just clubs, but now they got bars and lounges. Kinda like out here in LA where every club is a “Club/whatever” It really just depends on what you’re trying to do.

What’s the bad part of Atlanta?
Blood: There’s too much to do, and spendin’ money everyday, Shit. That’s the bad part. (laughs)

Where do you guys like to buy clothes at?
Slick Pulla: We got ourselves a mean one stop shop, Walters downtown, we go there and get our shoes, our jeans, our shirts, hats, boxers. But there are a couple of spots, like um, Detail. I might get up through there because they have shoes that nobody else have either.
Blood Raw: I mean you know we really just shop at exclusive places man, we may do the Gucci thing, or the Louie thing, depending on the occation.

I didn’t know you guys would have so many tatts, where do you like to get tattoos from?
Slick Pulla: Well shoot, we got a dude that will come out to you. We got a dude Tookie, and another dude Tre
Blood Raw: Tre is out of New Orleans…
Slick Pulla: Yeah he be out of the L A, but he be down with the A. Shout outs to Tookie and Tre. Peace to them for doing a little bit of inkin’

Pshhh… I’m Jealous.
Slick Pulla: Nah man LA is the land of the tattoo. As matter of fact, I wanna get another one. But I wanna do it somewhere else, cuz I wanna see what the ink will be like. I’m gonna get some shit around my neck, a necklace around my neck, like with my kids name.
Blood Raw: I want to get this whole shit right here. Like my shoulder I want to be an angel’s wing, you know what I’m saying and build up into the whole thing.