Reeve Oliver plays Tuesday nights at the Key Club this month | Photo via their MySpace Tuesdays are usually slow nights in LA for music and as bands prep to head Texas-way for SXSW, we'll probably see even fewer choices like tonight. But fewer doesn't mean worse. Mountain Goats and Jeffrey Lewis (great video below) play at the Troubadour tonight (and tomorrow), Working For A Nuclear Free City is back with another concert, this......

Test Your Reflex plays this month at Hotel Cafe on Wednesdays | Photo by Luke Wooden via their MySpace Despite SXSW starting up this week with 100+ Los Angeles based bands heading over there, residencies are growing stronger and more venue-diverse across the line, especially on Monday nights where the volume makes it hard to choose from. Here's to a great month of residencies, rock on. Mondays The Chapin Sisters @ The Echo (Free),......

Yesterday's citywide public relations blitz, "A Day Without a Bag," to bring awareness to our bad habits of using and and ditching paper and plastic bags in the trash was a quaint effort by city and county leaders -- a step in the right direction, as it were. Though, in a nation where the average household consumes 750 plastic bags a year, one day, or two bags, is hardly habit forming. And habit is......

The MTA will be testing a new 65-foot-long prototype bus - which can hold up to 131 sitting and standing passengers - on the Orange Line busway for one year starting this week. Nicely done: L.A. City Councilman Richard Alarcon drafted a measure 2 months ago that would've drastically reduced traffic congestion on one block of one street in Panorama City - namely the one where his house is located. Who's down with Gov.......

Stores on Fairfax Avenue. Photo by Terry Stamatis. The first time I saw it over a year ago, I thought it was fluke, a coincidence, a mis-hap. But no, it is true, on Saturday mornings in the Fairfax District, Orthodox Jewish families en route to synagogue share the sidewalks with Gay couples walking hand-in-hand on their way to brunch. There are no contemptuous faces or grunts. Instead, they pass each other on the street,......

Here’s the thing: this book isn’t even out yet. But because we live in Los Angeles, and this book is about Los Angeles, you’re in luck. We’re all in luck. Denise Hamilton and the bevy of supremely talented noir writers that contributed stories to this book are signing all over town this week. And the book will be, yes, you guessed it – available for signing at the readings two weeks before the rest of......

Thank God for the New York Times and its latest scintillating trend piece, which bravely goes out on a limb to inform readers that as crazy as it may sound, Koi and Republic aren’t the only two restaurants in Los Angeles. What? A New York publication writing arrogantly and stupidly about some aspect of Los Angeles culture? Stop the presses! In her New York Times regional trend essay Los Angeles: Where Stars Are in the......

photo by hexod.us via Flickr. I know I'm a little late jumping on the bandwagon of year-end Top 10 lists, but if there's one thing that never goes out of style, it's food. 10. Foxy's 206 W Colorado St. at Central Ave., Glendale Any place that puts all my favorite things into one omelette (bacon, avocado, onions, tomatoes) as a standard dish on their menu can't go wrong. 9. Rodeo Grill 1721 W. Sunset......

Music journalist James Greer has influenced a generation of music fans via his work in "Spin" magazine. A novelist, musician, and screenwriter, James is the author of "Guided by Voices: A Brief History: Twenty-One Years of Hunting Accidents in the Forests of Rock 'n' Roll." His latest novel, "Artificial Light," covers the alternative rock scene of the 1990s, the mythos of Kurt Cobain, Orville Wright's legacy and Midwestern indie rock in a book-within-a-book structure. James......

In the crowded field of public relations, marketing, specialty novelty/luxury items, and events, Kerith Elizabeth Henderson has her own thing going. Kerith’s experience of developing her own business is a noteworthy tale for folks trying to find their way and forge careers in creative, non-traditional ways while having fun. Plus it’s a reminder to us all that publicists are people too, ahem. Age and Occupation: 31. President of PRess, co-owner of PiscesSoap.com and Marketing......

Like it or not, Los Angeles is all about networking. Who, what, why and how people know each other can create smaller social associations that make big cities more tolerable and humane. Whether inclusive or exclusive, they’re part of what makes urban living so dynamic. Plus in a town like LA, with its collection of special and creative folks, crafting social networks can be both fun and practical. Mara Schwartz and Karen Allen had these......