Matador Records has announced that tickets for its’ 21st anniversary celebration in Las Vegas will go on sale tomorrow morning at 9am PST via ticketfly.com. As previously mentioned on LAist, the three day “Lost Weekend” music fest, will take place over October 1-3 at the Pearl Theater inside the Palms Casino. Given the ridiculous lineup and the fact that the Pearl has a capacity of 2,100, getting tickets might be akin to a crapshoot. But hey, a little gambling alongside our indie rock is part of what makes this such an appealing gig in the first place. more ›

Ready for a road trip? Indie super label Matador is turning 21 this year. And what would any right-minded individual do to celebrate that milestone birthday? Head to Vegas of course. more ›

With Coachella behind us, some of those bands are going to be playing more locally this summer. The Hollywood Bowl this morning announced additional bands and one new show (that some of you already knew about). more ›

At this point in their career, Sonic Youth present a paradox: they’re radicals that are also reliable entertainers. However far out they might go, they eventually come back to something that sounds vaguely like 1987’s “Schizophrenia”: fast, strummy guitar lines, a hazy vocal track, a driving rhythm section, harmonies twisting like vines, a colossal racket wrapped around a deceptively catchy tune that threatens to explode at any moment. The intent is to expand the number of possibilities - see their “serious music” side projects for an example of how far they’re willing to go in this pursuit - but truthfully, they’re not that far off from AC/DC when you look at the big picture. more ›

Tonight legendary NYC-based noise-infused rockers Sonic Youth will be headlining the Wiltern with none other than San Franciscan noise-infused pop outfit Sic Alps. LA-based DJ collective the Glitch Mob (LAist Review) are poised to take on the El Rey Theatre. And, lastly, LA-bred electro-punk trio Meho Plaza will be performing in-store at Origami Vinyl. But we strongly suggest heading over to Spaceland to catch local, predominantly electronic one-woman-band Glasser. more ›

As Wilco prepares to unveil its seventh studio album, the soon to be released "Wilco, (The Album)," the band is barnstorming across the U.S. and world. Earlier this week, I spoke with Wilco's guitar wizard and Los Angeles native Nels Cline from the road, in Oklahoma City. Nels, one of the newest members of the group, splits his time between riffing with Wilco and his own avant-garde jazz band, the Nels Cline trio. We talked about his two musical worlds, his thoughts on Wilco before he joined the band and the bodily harm he does to himself on stage. more ›

Two months ago, LAist interviewed Neil Schield, owner of Origami Vinyl in Echo Park, to learn about his passion for vinyl records and his decision to open a record store amidst a tough economy. In the weeks since, the store has flourished, and today marks a very special occasion. For one day only, Origami Vinyl has been transformed into "Sonic Youth's House of Shifting Plates and Ridiculous Juice" in celebration of the release of the band's new album, "The Eternal." more ›

Elvis Costello and The Attractions essential 1978 record This Year’s Model was re-released for the twenty-third time earlier this week as a deluxe 2-CD set. This year’s model of This Year’s Model includes a bevy of previously released bonus tracks, and a previously unreleased live concert. more ›

100 years and nine months ago, an American ship called Chesapeake was cannonballed by a British vessel, and not in the Ron Burgundy way. Apparently, the Americans refused to be boarded, the Brits fired and an international incident was born. more ›

Although critics have raved about Juno, including myself, I have occasionally heard that it made a few people gag, and I've definitely heard mixed responses to the decidedly twee soundtrack. (I love that word. Twee! ...Not related, sorry.) Chicago Sun-Times critic Jim DeRogatis's rant about both the movie and the soundtrack is already making the blog rounds and iliciting quite a few responses. more ›

Release Date: January 29th, 2008 more ›

I've always been intrigued by other "best of" lists, but this year I decided to take it to a whole new level. I e-mailed a handful of bands that I've seen this past year in order to unearth what exactly captivated them in '07. As music listeners, it is our duty to take a keen interest in our favorite musician's influences. After all, they rocked our little world, might as well see what rocked their... more ›

As I prepared to move here from New Jersey in 1988, I kept hearing the same thing: “It’s all plastic Hollywood showbiz hair-metal people trying to make it big. You will not succeed and you will hate it.” more ›

Lydia Lunch w/ Sonic Youth - "Death Valley 69" more ›

MIKE WATT AND THURSTON MOORE, HALLOWEEN 2007 IN VISALIA Oh man, these were too good to wait for Saturday. Watt just sent me these, fresh off the road. Thurston Moore asked him to do a 10-minute Bass solo version of Young Man Blues at a pizza place in Visalia last night. (More pics after the jump)... more ›

They are the Go! Team. They are from Brighton, England. They sound like a group of cheerleaders dancing to Motown at the end of a tunnel while you're on acid listening to Sonic Youth. more ›

Artist: No Age Album: Weirdo Rippers Label: Fat Cat Records Release Date: 08/28/2007 Perhaps you had a chance to see No Age at one of their shows at the end of the August at the Troubador or perhaps the Fuck Yeah Fest. If you missed them you'll have a chance to see the LA-based duo of Dean Spunt and Randy Randall (frickin' love that name) again but until then you should consider giving their... more ›

Here is a mix of tunes by bands that were mentioned in LAist in July of 2007: Powered by Podbean.com the Dwarves - Detention Girl (Anti interviewed Blag Dahlia of the Dwarves) Snoop Dogg - Beautiful (Anti reviewed Snoop's show) Gnarls Barkley - Crazy (Paul Dateh plays violin on 'Crazy' interviewed by Tony Pierce) Spoon - Infinite Pet (concert previewed by Michele Reverte and reviewed by Joey Maloney) Interpol - Slow Hands (CD review... more ›

You may have noticed a new button on our left-hand column with the title We See The Best Concerts. It dawned on us the other day that we really do go to the best concerts and we usually write about them the next day or a few days later. So here's a wrap up of all 37 shows we reviewed this month, with links to the posts just in case you missed it. Chris... more ›

After the amazing Redd Kross - Sonic Youth show at the Greek, we all headed over to an afterparty at El Cid. Thurston had asked punk legends Saccharine Trust to perform their classic album, Pagan Icons. The album thing was kind of a theme. If you want to know where bands like Nirvana got their inspiration from, in addition to Daydream Nation, you really need to add Pagan Icons and Born Innocent to your... more ›

The double-header of Redd Kross and Sonic Youth completely blew my mind Friday night at the Greek. I had fantastic tickets (because my husband's online kung fu is the best), a photo pass (Thanks to the kind people at Nederlander Productions) and I was even on the list for the after-party (Thanks to Saccharine Trust and Dave Markey). more ›

If I had to make a list of my top 100 albums of all time, Redd Kross' Born Innocent would at least make the top 20. I can't even begin to describe how excited I was to learn that this album was going to be performed live as the opening act for Sonic Youth at the Greek. I had to get tickets for the show. Nothing against Sonic Youth, who would have rocked the roof off had there been one. But I have not seen Redd Kross play a set list like this since - oh, around 1985. more ›

Sonic Youth @ Urban Outfitters - Santa Monica Daft Punk, Ratatat @ LA Sports Arena The Rentals, Goldenboy @ Spaceland Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons @ Kodak The Dwarves, The Dickies @ Galaxy Theatre Veruca Salt, The Flys @ Key Club Erasure @ Grove of Anaheim Theo & the Skyscrapers @ The Echo Rasputina, My Brightest Diamond @ The El Rey Nervous Gender @ The Cocaine Black Kites, The Transmissions, The Switch @... more ›

Sonic Youth - "Kool Thing" (yes we know tonight they're playing Daydream Nation in its entirety but surely there will be an encore, right?) Sonic Youth, Redd Kross @ The Greek The Dwarves @ Safari Sam's The Bird & the Bee @ El Rey Pigeon John @ The Troubadour The Cribs @ Amoeba (6pm) Boz Scaggs @ The Canyon Jon Brion @ Largo Cool Britannia @ Hollywood Bowl Johnathan Rice, Whispertown 2000, Everest @... more ›

Here's the LAist Mix for June 2007 - an audio summary of only a fraction of the bands and music events we mentioned or reviewed last month. Powered by Podbean.com Peanut Butter Wolf - Casio[LA Tour heads up by Kemp Powers] the Misfits - Static Age [Punk Rock cover bands concert review by Elise Thompson] Keren Ann - Sailor and widow [concert preview by Michele Reverte] the Killers - Sam's Town [Street Scene preview... more ›

Sonic Youth continue to push the envelope. Two weeks ago they let it out that they're going to be working with Starbucks on a cd that will only be sold there, and today we learn that they are going to play a free gig at the Urban Outfitters on the Third Street Promenade. Is that where the Teenage Riots happen these days? Anyways, they're Sonic Youth and because their music has stayed pure throughout... more ›

- Graduation was canceled today at UC Riverside when police found a firebomb - LA Times more ›

They look like they just won the talent show, and they sound like something your grandmother would have liked. Old timey strings and brass arrangements mashed up with Talking Heads sensibilities mixed with a little something called originality and you begin to scratch the surface of the Arcade Fire. Playing an equal assortment of new faves from the recently-released Neon Bible to the old hits off 2004's Funeral, the 9-piece band of multi-instrumentalists from... more ›

We had a pair of tickets and two posters for the Sonic Youth show at the Greek next month for a lucky winner who dared to either daydream or tell us a story. It will be a historic show as the band will play their entire Daydream Nation album. AS won with the story below that was chosen randomly. We understand that there are still a few tickets left for the July 20th show,... more ›

A collection of tunes from several of the bands/musicians reviewed or highlighted by LAist staffers during the month of April 2007. LAist April 2007 Medley: Iggy Pop – Nighclubbing Nirvana – Negative Creep Lily Allen – Smile Lemonheads – Hate Your Friends The Jesus and Mary Chain – Taste of Candy Sonic Youth – Silver Rocket CeU – Malemolencia Bombay Dub Orchestra – Feel (Thievery Corporation Remix)... more ›