Tonight, tonight ... famed Chicagoan alternative rockers the Smashing Pumpkins will be performing at the Viper Room. Canadian indie rockers Hot Hot Heat will be concluding their seemingly endless residency at the Bootleg Theater. Philadelphia's own psych rockers Dr. Dog (LAist Review) are poised to take on the Hotel Café in celebration of... more ›

Tonight LA-based actress/musician Juliette Lewis will be gracing the Echo with none other than Parisian indie pop octet Tahiti Boy and the Palm Tree Family. LA-based electro pop duo Kisses, a small, newfangled splinter of Princeton (LAist Interview), are poised to perform in-store at Origami Vinyl, ringing in their forthcoming 7"—2010's Bermuda. And, lastly, LAist favorites Whispertown 2000 (LAist Review, #2) will be taking on the Silver Lake Lounge with female-fronted, bicoastal indie rock quintet, "both figuratively and technically," All Wrong and the Plans Change. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Henry Fonda Music Box to catch Philadelphia's own psych rockers Dr. Dog (LAist Review). Rhode Island-based rockers Deer Tick and Brooklyn-bred singer-songwriter Pepi Ginsberg are slated to kick things off. more ›

Tonight English singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock will be headlining Spaceland with none other than local indie pop outfit the Parson Red Heads (LAist Review, #2, #3) in tow. Philadelphia's own psych rockers Dr. Dog (LAist Review) are poised to grace the Henry Fonda Music Box. And, lastly, local ten-piece funk orchestra Breakestra will be taking on the El Rey Theatre. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Echoplex to catch Portland-bred electro-infused indie pop outfit Starfucker (LAist Review, #2). LAist favorites, Portland-based electro pop trio Strength are slated to kick things off. more ›

Tonight Grammy-nominated pop singer Katy Perry (LAist Review, #2) will be performing to a sold-out crowd at the Wiltern. Legendary Compton-bred rapper/producer DJ Quik is slated to headline the Keyclub. San Diegan indie rockers the Black Heart Procession will be rocking out at the Echo with the Mumlers and Warpaint in tow. And, lastly, if you're willing to brave the depths of Santa Ana, then head on over to the Underground to catch Philly's best psych rock outfit Dr. Dog. OC garage-rockers the Growlers, who will be ringing in their latest volume of tunes, are poised to kick off the show. (Canceled!) But we insist that you spend the evening with local singer-songwriter Kenneth Pattengale and the Found Object Orchestra at El Cid. Mr. Pattengale recently released his six full-length effort and his first for Milan Records, Storied Places, exhibiting a jolt of folksy wisdom well beyond his years more ›

December is list-making season. And for us music journalists, it is a time to look back on scores of albums, reflect upon the music and recapitulate our favorites. But this year, just like the last, we took this opportunity to flip that tradition upside down, asking the artists that influenced us what influenced them. The prompt was not limited to albums that came out in 2008. more ›

December is list-making season. And for us music journalists, it is a time to look back on scores of albums, reflect upon the music and recapitulate our favorites. But this year, just like the last, we took this opportunity to flip that tradition upside down, asking the artists that influenced us what influenced them. The prompt was not limited to albums that came out in 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 little world. Therefore, this is an act of paying it forward to those hardworking, underpaid musicians who truly made a difference within the music scene this year. more ›

Tell me this isn't the best single and video of the year 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 ›

Generously coated with crunchy quirks and utterly bursting from its chewy 60s center, Philadelphia’s lo-fi recording traditionalists, Dr. Dog headlined a packed show at the Echo last week in support of their latest record, We All Belong (Park The Van). The attending cross-section of fandom was something like suburban Silverlake meets overgrown, asymmetrical haircuts meets the Laurel Canyon revivalists. And this makes sense if you believe that Dr. Dog is what happens when The Beach... more ›

A Word or 53: Idol and Lost finish up tonight. Am pleased to see Apolo win DWTS - 24 ended with a 'blah' and as you can see we have very little in the way of new programming. Enjoy the unending Dukefest on TCM. I guess this time of year is why we have baseball to watch. Tonight - Wednesday - May 23, 2007 John Wayne's 100th Birthday (TCM, ALL DAY) Nothing but John... more ›

It was either 1986 or '87. LAist was living in Inglewood within walking distance of the Fabulous Forum. We were young and impressionable. We had heard of the legend of "Clapton is God", but we were also fascinated by a new guy named Robert Cray who was just breaking into the scene with a blues tune that was actually getting played on MTV - something unheard of unless your name was Stevie Ray. So we walked down to the Forum, bought some tickets for face value from the box office and sat in the very back of the arena. Cray's set was damn good and we thought, ok British legend, let's see what you've got. And let's just say that even in the back row of the Forum, this would-be blogger was so completely blown away that we too followed suit and scribbled "Clapton is God" in the men's room, which we are certain will be repeated late tonight after the former Cream guitarist converts some new blood. more ›

The Ataris - Welcome the Night (Sanctuary) David Bowie - Station to Station [VCT] (Virgin) David Bromberg - Try Me One More Time (Appleseed) Bobby Conn - King for a Day (Thrill Jockey) Dean & Britta - Back Numbers (Rounder) Delorean - You Can't Win (Yep Roc) John Denver - Essential John Denver (RCA) Dr. Dog - We All Belong (Park the Van) Electric Light Orchestra - Out of the Blue [30th Anniversary Edition]... more ›

The Format put out one of the best records of the year. They also gave one of the best shows in Hollywood this summer. For some reason though we haven't seen them on very many Best Of 2006 lists which makes us a little sad inside. Dog Problems was funny, uplifting, dance alongy, and sometimes deep. Bro can sing, and the songs are multilayered and unique. Maybe it's not cool to like the Format just... more ›

Recently, Philadelphia’s masters of low-fi pop rock, Dr. Dog, released a limited edition EP called Takers & Leavers. The CD is a bit hard to come by in stores, being that there were only one thousand copies produced, each with varying and unique cover art. However, the CD is available to order through their website www.drdogmusic.com. Now if this is the first time you have heard of Dr. Dog I suggest you go out... more ›