September is here, which means a slew of great residencies around town are launching their first week. That's right, people. Rock shows for free! What a magical concept. In a town where there are so many great acts to go and see the LAist will try and guide you through the best of the best. This week we're featuring Olin and the Moon an amazing up and coming local alt-country act. Blending classic gritty country......

Dave Matthews Band sax player, LeRoi Moore, died earlier this afternoon at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center "from sudden complications stemming from his June ATV accident on his farm near Charlottesville, Virginia," according to a statement given to TMZ. Moore, 46, lived in Los Angeles and had returned to begin an intensive physical rehabilitation program after the June 30th accident that left him with a punctured a lung and some broken ribs. Although Moore usually played......

Brooklyn indie rockers Pela were supposed to play Spaceland back on March 8, but a few days before, frontman Billy McCarthy was injured while playing a gig in Chicago, forcing them to cancel the rest of their tour. The injury occurred during the show's triumphant finale... as the band played the anthemic 'Cavalry' the frenzied crowd climbed up on stage to sing and dance along, and when the disorienting strobe lights started flashing, McCarthy......

Walter Meego is not a dude, it's actually Justin Sconza (vocals, keyboards, guitar) and Colin Yarck (keyboards, computer), a Chicago-bred but LA-living electronic-alt-pop duo. Throw Andrew Bernhardt in the mix (or on the mix, hmmm?) and you've got one hell of a kick-ass live band. They hit the El Rey earlier this week as the openers on The Presets' tour, playing to a sold out crowd.......

The Mae Shi Versus Orochon Ramen. All photos by Carrie Meathrell So I think The Mae Shi are robots. I know, I know – they look like your typical cute-as-shit L.A. indie band, but start talking about the Book of Revelations and cybernetic intelligence with them, and you’ll start to get this funny inhuman feeling. And they’re certainly not clunky, "Forbidden Planet!" style robots, but super smooth Cylons, like something out of a Dan......

There is little doubt that by now you have seen them on MTV, heard them on KROQ or Indie or seen them on SNL, if you haven't then it must be dark in that cave. The ginormous hype machine known as Vampire Weekend came through LA Thursday night to play their first proper show in support of their debut self-titled album. With tickets reportedly going for upwards of $400 a pair on ebay, (!!) the......

It was quite an amazing scene Monday night at the Wiltern, the place was completely packed for a band that had no singer, no lyrics of any kind and was basically just guitars and drums. While some would think this wouldn't be an exciting concert to see or it would be inspiring or emotional as seeing a band with a singer at the front they would be wrong, very wrong. Emotional and inspiring are......

If you haven't heard their infectious single "That's Not My Name" burning up LA radio stations, you will soon enough. The Ting Tings, the latest UK import, brought their carefree blend of electro/dance/pop duo to Echo Park's Rec Center Studio in what was their first (and most likely of many) "proper" show in Los Angeles Tuesday night. The Rec Center was packed to see the Tings, a band that at this point really only......

Bikes and graffiti are on tap for today. / Photo by Lush.i.ous via LAist's flickr pool. GRAFFITI ART Ghettogloss presents the graffiti art of Jersey Joe in Silverlake. The exhibit runs until March 20, but the opening reception is tonight from 7-midnight. 7 pm // Ghettogloss // 2380 Glendale Blvd #C, Los Angeles // Free. RIDE & TALK * RIDE-Arc monthly ride -- themed "Trolly" -- happens tonight. The group rides along for awhile......

Spaceland, Thursday, Feb 28 (With a Pause to mention their Echo show on the 27th.) I really wanted to write a positive review. I walked into the Echo on Wednesday, February 27th, firmly intending to come out again 3 hours later with a gloriously sycophantic description of the show. I was planning on pure hagiography, with illuminations and everything depicting the sure-to-be brilliant performance. It came then as a depressing shock when the band utterly......

Today the small town of Montrose, known first as "Glendale's first suburb," hits the big 9-5, and the Founders Day Celebration is expected to be a big draw. Founders Day festivities will include awards presented to community members for service, a nine-tier birthday cake, historic photos on display, and "the ringing of the bell from the last of the Glendale & Montrose Railway Cars." The event is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 2......

Colourmusic are the rarest of musical rarities- a band from the isolated hinter portions of America's Heartland (Also known as "The Sticks") that not only doesn't suck, but actually turns out to be pretty great. And not in that sort of special olympics, everyone's a winner, "well, they're good for [insert your tiny state here]" kind of way, but actually, honestly, for realsies good. Kind of like how The Flaming Lips are so good......

Photo of Meiko, who plays at the Knitting Factory tonight, by Koga/LAist for 'Meiko & Priscilla Ahn @ Hotel Cafe, 1/23 & 1/24/08' What Made Milwaukee Famous finish up their Los Angeles tour playing along with Tulsa and the British Sea Power/Colourmusic bill moves over to Spaceland. On the Westside, there's only one choice to make and that is hip-hop violinist Paul Dateh at the Temple Bar (check out our interview with him including......

Liquid Kitty's annual punk rock BBQs have been such a success, this Sunday they are hosting a special Winter BBQ. What better to chase away the rain than with colorful drinks and hard-core thrash? Some dogs on the grill? Done! And all for the low, low, price of FREE. Liquid Kitty's BBQs are famous for reuniting long-lost 80s classics and this one is no exception. This year is marked by the return of old-school locals,......

West Indian Girl plays The Troubadour tonight | Photo by Ty Parker via their MySpace LA Weekly points us to some hot picks for tonight. About Girl in Coma: "Joan Jett knows a thing or two about rock & roll, and her latest protegees, Girl in a Coma, on her Blackheart label are one of the best and most interesting bands to come out of Texas in a long time," writes Falling James. They......

Mellowdrone | Photo by Todd Becker via their MySpace page UPDATE, 12:10 P.M.: We forgot to remind you that Sia is playing this afternoon in Santa Monica for free. 2:00 p.m., Starbucks, random (see first bullet in Extra, Extra list). Maybe you're going on a rock n' roll date tonight with one of these bands. Or maybe you're going to the launch party of RocknRollDating.com. Or maybe Valentine's Day sucks and you'll be joining......

Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers In what can only be seen as a ratification of Mike Huckabee's belief that Satan actually exists, Fool's Gold roared to the top of the box office this weekend with a robust take of $22M. Plans are already underway for a third Kate Hudson-Matthew McConaughey pairing, tentatively titled Shit Sandwich. In further bad news, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins finished second with a healthy gross of $17.1M in its first......

We've never been to the Celebrity Center for a concert, but we can vouch for Cowboy (not Country!) musician Dave Stamey if you're into that kind of thang. Still, for those inclined to roots music, The Arthur Adams Band will be at the Baked Potato in Studio City playing blues. The Arthur Adams Band @ The Baked Potato Editors, Hot Hot Heat, Louis XIV @ The Wiltern Manic Hispanic, Death by Stereo, GG Elvis &......

The Vacation starts off their Thursday night Viper Room residency tonight | Photo by Brian Romero Tickets are still amazingly available for tonight's intimate Macy Gray show at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. For something a little more rock n' roll, Hell Ya! and Girl School are teaming up in their monthly residency at The Viper Room with The Vacation in the first night of their weekly February residency (for a guide to February residencies,......

Smash Fashion plays Monday nights at Crash Mansion | Photo via their MySpace page Month-long residencies are one of the best ways to catch up-and-coming bands in Los Angeles. You have at least four times to catch a band, and each time, if they are gaining popularity over each show, it will be harder to see them. Last Thursday at their final residency concert, The Airborne Toxic Event played a sold out show with......

If you're like me and you hate pro football, or if you're looking for something to do after Football Team A defeats Football Team B in the field of Superbowly Combat, go to The Scene in Glendale tonight, and see NYC based Indie Pop Band Murder Mystery, along with LA's The Tartans and Oxnard's Maria. So why should you brave the rain and the perils of Glendale? Well if you're like me, you're in need......

Alex & Sam will play the first show of their residency at Tangier tonight | Photo via their MySpace You might recognize the girl above. Locally, that's Sam from the band Alex & Sam who is playing at Tangier all this month every Sunday night, but for those who are more pop-culture oriented (rather, American Idol obsessed), that's Samantha Sidley who got a pass from all three judges for a "Welcome to Hollywood" (she's......

Portland based musician and known as "the Stephen King of Indie Pop," Chris Robley and his band -- Fear of Heights -- play at Mr. T's Bowl tonight in Highland Park. Plenty of MP3s to check out of this indie-pop folk band below. Mr. Lif & The Perceptionists @ The Knitting Factory Jessie Evans, Von Iva, Deadbeats @ Silverlake Lounge Chuck Berghofer Midnight Jazz Band @ Charlie O's (Valley jazz club, not downtown one) The......

Sometimes you see rock tonight and sometimes you want to be rock tonight. If the latter, every Wednesday night at the Hyperion Tavern in the Los Feliz/Franklin Hills area, groups of friends gather to unite as one, to test their skills, woo the crowd and find their glory in Rock Band. Wednesday nights at the shack filled with chandeliers used to be reserved for Guitar Hero zealots, now groups of four can hit the stage......

It may be a holiday, yet Mondays are always a guaranteed good night for music with all the residencies in addition to tonight's appearance of Venice local Harry Perry (pictured right) in WeHo We Barbarians, The Morning Benders, Rio Bravo @ Silverlake Lounge Idyllists, The Movies, Light FM, C.R.A.F.T. Club @ Viper Room Radar Bros., Tigers Can Bite You, Kárin Tatoyan, Holloys @ The Echo The Parson Red Heads, The Shaky Hands, Francisco The Man,......

For Westsiders, two bands of note at The Good Hurt tonight: Atomatique (powerpop) and Kinetic Stereokids (DJ/Rock/Ecclectic). Downtown, check out The Smell for experimental trip-hop etherealsim with All Neon Like. Popular Seattle singer/songwriter/rocker Jeremy Enigk will be at the Troubadour and there's a great mix of psychobilly, Spanish ska and surf at The House of Blues. Get fresh with some down South banjo fiddlin', mandolin fingerin' and jew harpin' at The Hotel Cafe as Ray......

COMIC BOOK ART The gallery named for the year that brought us Hypercolor T-Shirts, Yo! MTV Raps, and Salt N Pepa's single "Push It" (that's 1988 for those who didn't immediately connect) is currently featuring "Under the Influence: A Tribute to Stan Lee" in a show that runs until February 1. Preview some of the artwork online and then activate your Spidey webs and crawl over to Melrose Ave. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. //......

KRS ONE, one of the greatest rappers out there, will play The Roxy tonight | Photo from his MySpace Two highly recommended Hip-Hop shows take place tonight. Experience the powerful Gospel of Hip-Hop with KRS ONE at The Roxy or explore some electronic Hip-Hop with Sole and the Skyrider Band. And we mean no disrespect to Peanut Butter Wolf who is playing at El Rey with Chromeo, but we know for sure that show......

Two weeks ago, local band Rocket (MySpace), recently profiled by The LA Times' Kevin Bronson, performed at The Viper Room in West Hollywood. Later this month, they will embark on a West Coast tour, and open for The Horrorpops (MySpace) and The Pink Spiders (MySpace) in February. Locally, Rocket will be at the House Of Blues in San Diego on February 15th, the H.O.B. in Anaheim on February 16th, and Club Underground (MySpace) at......

Sole pulls confidently on his hat while the Skyrider Band form a protective barrier Sole is a badass, a rapper, a visionary, and this Friday he will be the dopest show to check out in town. Sole is often best known for his solo work with Anticon, and did a killer interview with us back in July, but will be killing it with his new music-homies the Skyrider Band. So like they recorded this......