If Guy Garvey was half as pretty as Chris Martin, Elbow would have been at the top of the charts a long time ago, neck in neck with Coldplay. As it is Elbow's richly melodic rock, powered by Garvey's transcendent voice has long made them the darlings of critics and music geeks everywhere, but not as celebrated as they should be be the mainstream. Such is life. Over the past ten years, Elbow has gathered an extremely diverse and loyal base, which poured into the Wiltern on a Wednesday night, selling out the house. There really is something magical about standing in between a behomoth of a man, covered in tattoos, in a jean jacket with the sleeves cut off, and a tiny scrap of a girl, who couldn't be more than sixteen, wearing tons of glittery eyeshadow, and hearing them both unabashedly belting out the same song at the top of their lungs. more ›

Anaheim-based ska-infused pop outfit No Doubt will be headlining the Gibson Amphitheatre with Grammy-nominated pop punk outfit Paramore and Swedish new wave rockers the Sounds in tow. English alternative rockers Elbow are poised to take on the Wiltern with local indie rockers Mellowdrone and Manchester-by-way-of-LA singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop (LAist Interview, Reviews). And, lastly, LA-based indie rock outfit Voxhaul Broadcast will be performing with the Union Line at Pershing Square. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Airliner in Lincoln Heights to catch local electronic mastermind Daedelus, who will be performing for this week's edition of Low End Theory. Eclectic Santa Ana-based producer Free The Robots will be kicking things off. more ›

This week Anaheim-based ska-infused pop outfit No Doubt will be headlining the Gibson Amphitheatre with Grammy-nominated pop punk outfit Paramore and Swedish new wave rockers the Sounds in tow. Athens-based avant-gardists Of Montreal will be performing at the Hollywood Bowl with none other than LA-based Cambodian rock outfit Dengue Fever. English alternative rockers Elbow are poised to take on the Wiltern with local indie rockers Mellowdrone and Manchester-by-way-of-LA singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop (LAist Interview, Reviews). And, lastly, London-based electro-pop duo La Roux will be performing to a sold-out crowd at the Troubadour. 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. This year we asked some of the staffers what inspired 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 ›

The 2008 Mercury Prize for best UK album of the year went to Elbow for their album The Seldom Seen Kid, besting 11 other finalists, including Radiohead's In Rainbows and offerings from British Sea Power and oddsmakers' choice Burial. more ›

Guy Garvey is a busy... um... guy. As the frontman for one of the UK's most critically acclaimed bands, Elbow, he and his bandmates are in the middle of their global tour's North American leg, which ends here in Los Angeles Friday night at the Avalon. They have a newly-released album, The Seldom Seen Kid (read the LAist CD review here). On top of this, Guy is still selecting songs for his weekly BBC Radio show, and raising awareness for his favorite cause. more ›

Rating: 5 Stars (out of 5) more ›