Beck played his first real show in years last night at the Santa Barbara Bowl—and the highlight of the night came with the final song of the night, when Beck's 8-year-old son Cosimo danced his butt off. more ›

Tracking the journey of a specially-selected 340-ton rock from Riverside to Los Angeles for its eventual installation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has already reached an uncomfortable level of media hype, but this is just taking it a bit too far. more ›

If you raised your eyebrow at the thought of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art hauling a 340-ton, two-story rock from Riverside to the Miracle Mile in the name of art a little bizarre, well, you're not alone. Many area residents, including art lovers, a bit baffled by how this big ol' boulder is serving as art, and meriting all this hoopla. more ›

The long-awaited, incredible journey for a 340-ton rock in Riverside is (finally!) set to begin this week. LACMA says that the massive monolith that is the centerpiece for artist Michael Heizer’s piece "Levitated Mass" will begin its 105-mile trip this Tuesday from the Inland Empire all the way to the museum on the Miracle Mile. more ›

Bob Mould may not be a household name but the artists he influenced and inspired during his time fronting bands Husker Du and Sugar as well as a later solo career are quite well known. more ›

After making the small clubs of Los Angeles their personal playground to trumpet and hype the release of their newest studio (garage, rather, as it was recorded in Dave Grohl's Encino garage) release, Wasting Light, the Foo Fighters recently made their arena return to the Forum for their first full blown show in over three years. more ›

Residents of two Laguna Beach apartment buildings were evacuated early Friday after a ski-masked suspect threw a bottle of butyric acid through the window of a second-floor unit. The apartment, occupied by a couple in their 20s, was declared "red-tagged" until it could be cleaned by a hazardous materials team and a private cleanup crew, according to Laguna Beach Patch. more ›

On June 1, 1967, The Beatles released their eighth studio album. "It was twenty years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play..." begins the titular tune. Songs off Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band became classics. For your audio-centric video lunch today, a look at the album Beatle Paul McCartney said reflects their shift from boys in pop to men in rock. more ›

Every now and then when the wind blows just right and the planets align, an opening band will blow the headliner out of the water. It is an extremely rare occurence, but every so often, you arrive at a venue early and have your mind blown. If any of you were at the Troubadour on December 10th, 2010, you know exactly what I'm talking about. All thirty of you. more ›

Night Two of the 2010 KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas, could also be dubbed "Hipster Night" as many of the bands featured were or are indie darlings and nearly all have played that big festival in the desert. From the french synth-pop sensations Phoenix to local favorites Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, the spectrum of performance was much more broad than that of the more straightforward rock of Night One. Also featured were Florence + The Machine, Vampire Weekend, Brandon Flowers, Neon Trees, Temper Trap and the Broken Bells. more ›

Boston based synth-pop outfit Passion Pit came through Los Angeles for what seemed to be the 100th time on Tuesday, December 7. Yet devotees of their 2009 release, Manners, packed into the Palladium ready to hear their keyboard-heavy tunes as if it were their first show. This performance was a victory lap of sorts as the band winds down and prepares to do it all again sometime next year when their sophomore LP is released. more ›

OK LA. Tonight it's time for old punk, baile funk, indie Swedepop, country jamborees, local rock, standard blues, experimental grooves and Michael Cera. Can you dig it? more ›

Last week, LA's famed Whisky a Go-Go topped the list of The 10 Greatest Rock Venues of All Time published by Gibson Guitars. Dominating rock venue history in the esteemed company of The Fillmore, CBGB, The Cavern Club, Apollo Theater, and Max's Kansas City, the Whisky a Go-Go, opened in 1964 as part of a national club franchise. more ›

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As hard as it may be to believe, punk rockers Green Day have been around for over two decades. Since their rise to prominence in the early 90's and onward, their sound grew to define a generation and with each change in the soundscape and musical environment they have not just survived but thrived. Their latest round of success is no different as they are riding the wave of last year's smash release 21st Century Breakdown and the current Broadway adaptation of 2004's American Idiot. As they wind down nearly two years of constant touring and sold out venues worldwide, Billie Joe Armstrong and Co. made sure that Southern California and the greater Los Angeles Area (ok it was really the OC) were treated to one more of their patented rock and roll extravaganzas. more ›

Jack White's latest reincarnation Dead Weather played to a packed house at the Hollywood Palladium on Wednesday night. The adoring crowd clad in black freaked out every time someone with a hat crossed the stage thinking that it might be the mysterious Mr. White. When they finally did emerge the crowd lost it's mind, screaming, and cheering as if the Messiah had arrived. Bassist Jack Lawrence and guitarist Dean Fertita smiled at the crowd sheepishly, but lead singer Alison Mossheart grabbed the mic as if it was her last cigarette and inhaled. Dead Weather is more of a feeling than a band. They have all the right elements for a bad ass rock group: sexy lead singer, mysterious bassist, talented lead guitarist, and eccentric drummer, but no matter how badly they try it just doesn't have any lasting soul. But man alive, they've got the theatrics down. more ›

Rockers clad in black packed the Echo to the gills on Thursday night. Heavy mascaraed vamps in black stockings and dirty looking punks filled the room for the show emulating their idols on stage. If there was a king and queen of lo-fi drone-pop Kristen Gundred aka "Dee Dee" of the Dum Dum Girls and Brandon Welchez of Crocodiles would be it. This show celebrated the success of both of their debut albums which had met with such critical acclaim. more ›

The lads from Perth had received a really warm welcome to Los Angeles. Their tiny show at the Silverlake Lounge had sold out so quickly that promoters quickly added a second earlier gig, and they had been added to the lineup to one of the Monday night residencies the night before. Not half bad, for a band who's debut album, Innerspeaker, had only dropped a few weeks prior. So was this lather and fuss over Tame Impala well deserved? Absolutely. more ›

The band of Followills, comprised of three brothers and one cousin, better known as Kings of Leon played to a sold out Hollywood Bowl Monday night. Led by Caleb Followill, KOL has never sounded tighter and stronger. After their explosion in popularity following the 2008 release Only By The Night, the band has spent the better part of two years touring worldwide and has finished recording a new album. more ›

Sometimes the stars align when you least expect them to. After Laura Burhenn's previous band Georgie James broke up, the singer picked up from her native Washington D.C. and headed west to Omaha. The goal: creating an album that sounded like Neil Young if he had been put out on Motown. And then while looking for a name a sign arrived. "My friend who was pregnant sent me a list of names and I went from Mina to Myna to Mynabird," Burhenn explained. "When I went to check if that name had been used it turns out that Neil Young and Rick James were in a band that came out on Motown in the sixties called The Mynah Birds. And I thought "That's it!" We caught up with Burhenn over the weekend to discuss The Mynabirds' debut album The Things We Lost In The Fire We Gain in the Flood. Here is some of what was said. more ›

Wouldn't it be wonderful if they handed out a program with the lyrics of every song to concert goers in a band's hometown? That way you wouldn't be the fool who looked around and realized that everyone in the place knew the words except you. Such was the case inside the Troubadour last Friday night which was stuffed to the gills for the homecoming Local Natives. Before every song came screams of delight and the behind the guy's lovely harmonies was the full weight of the crowd singing along. Crowd participation night wasn't just limited to singing either. The drum laden tunes were backed up by hundreds of hands and feet keeping time along with the drummers. From the very first notes of "Camera Talk" the enthusiasm built with each song, so by the time "Sun Hands" came on, the entire place erupted in a frenzy with people singing and stomping in time to the music. more ›

It was a night of new beginnings at the Music Box (formerly the Henry Fonda Theater) on Thursday night. The revamped theater sparkled with all the seduction of a private night club. The walls newly painted with woodland creatures and nymphs and the foyer draped with golden lamps. What better place for two fresh new bands who are both riding those fickle waves of critical success to play? Both The Middle East and Mumford & Sons are enveloped in that golden halo of achievement that only comes when your first release is received well. It's before (heaven forbid) your sophomore disk slumps and the drugs problems become too much and the inner band fighting destroys everything. But there's this amazing moment when bands get it right and it seems like nothing could possibly stand in their way. hat is what Thursday night was all about, and it was gorgeous. more ›

The curtains pulled back and emerging from a cloud of bright orange smoke, the Shout Out Louds bounced joyfully onto the stage at the El Rey Theatre in front of a sold out crowd. They had every reason to be exuberant. It's been seven years since their debut disk, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, came out in the US and after being dropped by EMI and reborn on Merge Records, this band is finally hitting their stride. more ›

The cheeky, flame-haired singer, Kate Nash played to a sold out crowd at the El Rey Theatre last Tuesday. Equipped with a back up band that played well, but never showed off, Nash showcased her latest release, My Best Friend Is You. With a thick cockney accent and an appreciation for mischief, Miss Nash has long won the hearts of those who like their pop on the saucier side, but find Lily Allen a bit too bitter and Adele a tad too sweet. (Honestly, London has got the cheeky 1960s girl group influenced pop market cornered right now.) more ›