In a press release sent yesterday evening, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) stated that "peak energy demand reached a record-setting high last weekend and near-record on Monday, indicating the need for customers to reduce their electricity use." Megawatt usage over the weekend and on Monday broke records. Monday's demand was the second highest for a weekday in April while both Sunday and Saturday's power usage peaked at the highest ever for......

Photo by delara-photos via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The trial of Juan Manuel Alvarez began today. Among his charges are 11 counts of murder for the January 2005 incident involving him parking his car on the tracks and causing a Metrolink train to derail. The stretch of San Diego beach closed to the public last week following a fatal shark attack has reopened. Swimmers are cautioned to keep close to the......

Photo by KeithJ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Hot temperatures, low humidity, and brisk winds helped to whip up the flames yesterday in the foothills of Sierra Madre, as a fire that broke out mid-afternoon Saturday has now blazed through approximately 400 acres. The fire was first reported shortly before 2 p.m. close to Santa Anita Canyon Road, and caused some initial evacuations from the nearby recreation areas, including a Boy......

There's a primary afoot and, if reports from all over the country can be believed, voter turnout in every state has consistently exceeded expecations. That ought to come as no surprise, considering that we're still talking about it, instead of fending off the latest iteration of Swift boating. Ordinarily, by this point in the game the remaining primaries would be mere formalities, Kabuki performances held mainly to support the pretense that the people who bother......

"Who Watches The Watchers", by ~db~ via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr. A year after the LAPD launched an offensive to rid Downtown of drugs and crime, the results are mixed. Violent crime is down and shoplifting is up, but some opponents of this broken windows campaign are deriding the heavy handed tactics they say police have used. But officials said, look at the results and, hey, it worked for Giuliani in NYC......

Clippers 99, Heat 98 - With Shaq in Phoenix and Dwayne Wade injured for the season, the Clippers had an opportunity to beat somebody -- and actually took it. Cuttino Mobley hit a pair of free throws in the final three seconds to seal the deal. He led the way with 29 points. Since the Clippers won't be lucky enough to face many more horrible teams like Miami, Andrew Kamenetzky atSportsHubLA has some ideas on......

This is the 'cute' part of Electrocute. They play at Spaceland tonight | Photo from their MySpace page On Friday we interviewed Jay Babcock of Arthur Magazine -- he books a series on Sunday nights at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. More Eastwardly, Alex & Sam will play their second show of the Sunday residency spot at Tangier in Los Feliz (for all February residencies in LA, check out our guide). Last week......

We've never been to the Celebrity Center for a concert, but we can vouch for Cowboy (not Country!) musician Dave Stamey if you're into that kind of thang. Still, for those inclined to roots music, The Arthur Adams Band will be at the Baked Potato in Studio City playing blues. The Arthur Adams Band @ The Baked Potato Editors, Hot Hot Heat, Louis XIV @ The Wiltern Manic Hispanic, Death by Stereo, GG Elvis &......

The Wiggles Do The Humpty Dance. It's trippy! Digital Underground @ Viper Room Social Distortion @ House of Blues Sunset Reverend Horton Heat & Pato Banton @ House of Blues Anaheim Donovan Frankenreiter @ Canyon Club The Electric Prunes & Strawberry Alarm Clock @ Knitting Factory Mere Mortals & Seasons @ The Echo The Root Down @ Temple Bar The Germs & The Adolescents @ Key Club......

Almond Florentines are one of those holiday treats that I look forward to every Christmas. Light and crunchy, these decadent nibbles are super easy to bake and make a great holiday gift- but watch out, they're also highly addictive! 1 cup butter 1 cup sugar 1/3 cup honey 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 4-5 cups sliced almonds 1 cup chocolate chips 5-6 aluminum pie plates Combine butter, sugar, honey, and whipping cream in a......

Lakers 123, Warriors 113 - We're still pretty sure this is a .500 team masquerading with an occasional good run, and now even their Phil Jackson is down on Kobe and Co. The Laker's coach told the media that a 50-win season is out of reach. His squad, however, responded by out-scoring the nation's hottest team on Sunday night. Kobe Bryant led the way with 28 and both Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum hit double......

Bruce busking in Copenhagen Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band @ Sports Arena Tegan and Sara, Northern State @ Orpheum Queens of the Stone Age, Mastodon @ Nokia Rakim, Ghostface KIllah, Brother Ali @ House of Blues Limbeck, Annie Stela, Rachael Cantu, Tiffany Randol @ The Hotel Cafe Abe Lincoln Story @ Mr. T's Bowl Castledoor, Aaron Espinoza, Frankel, The Morning Benders @ The Echo Hot Hot Heat @ House of Blues, Anaheim......

Hot Hot Heat @ Henry Fonda Roky Erickson, The 1990s @ The El Rey Josie Cotton @ Key Club Killola @ Safari Sam's Pinback @ The Wiltern Glassjaw @ Avalon The Spazmatics @ Dragonfly The One AM Radio @ Tangier Tribute to Herbie Hancock @ The Kodak Early risers: The Hollow Trees @ Kidspace Children's Museum - Pasadena (noon) photo by Joey Maloney......

Zucchini and other squash are abundant right now at farmer's markets and in home gardens (it's one of the easier vegetables to grow). Making big batches of delicious Italian-style zucchini soup is a good way to transform your bounty, and this dish uses flavors that will please even the most zucchini-fatigued palate. This soup can be a main course for two (put some crusty bread and butter on the side), or an appetizer for......

KROQ's LA Invasion: Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver, Kid Rock, Chris Cornell, Cypress Hill, Satellite Party, Hot Hot Heat, Against Me, others @ Home Depot Center K- EARTH Show: The Doobie Brothers, Chicago, War, The Stylistics, The Four Tops @ Irvine Meadows Rise Against, Lagwagon, Strung Out, Silverstein @ Long Beach Arena Mudhoney, the Melvins, Flipper @ Henry Fonda Scorpions @ Gibson Guster @ Avalon Pink Martini @ Hollywood Bowl The Groovy Rednecks,......

Smooshed between two auto insurance storefronts just a tad west of the official Thai Town boundaries hides Jao^ka, sheepishly, shyly, and easily overlooked. Indeed, inside the quaint restaurant on Hollywood Blvd. one could confuse this little place with any of the others in and around LA. Which is why we put their food up to a standard that no restaurant would ever wish for: the Take Out and Early Morning Re-Heat Test. We ordered......

About the Above Photo: "Every Sunday from sunrise to sunset since February 15th 2004, a temporary memorial is erected in the sand just north of the pier at Santa Monica Beach in Los Angeles and at Sterns Wharf in Santa Barbara, California and other locations around the country by local chapters of Veterans For Peace (VFP) and volunteers. This memorial is known as Arlington West... By the end of July 2007, using the U.S.......

Some fresh AIR would be really great right about now. Har har har!!! I'm such a card. Now, really, how about Air at the Greek this month, courtesy of LAist: head on over to enter our Labor Day Weekend Air Contest. In the category of Thank God It Hasn't Happened to Us Yet: over twenty thousand homes and businesses have lost power this weekend. If you're on the roads tonight, please drive safely, use......

These are the last days of summer. At least that's what they say on the news and in the marketplace. But here in Southern California, it only gets hotter as the days grow shorter. (At least the pools won't close just yet). But -- Holy Dallas Raines -- early this morning, with temps stuck in the mid-70s, we've got thunder and lightning! Unfortunately, the electricity in the air has no bearing on California's energy supply,......

Day Two of the Sunset Junction was even hotter. Hot Hot Heat, Buzzcocks, and She Wants Revenge continued the heat on Sunday. There were plenty of indie hipsters, shirtless gay men, junk food, amazing street art, cheap carnival rides, and of course photographs from me.......

Buzzcocks, Hot Hot Heat, The O'Jays, The Bronx, Airborne Toxic Event, She Wants Revenge, Cheb I Sabbah, Millie Jackson, Thelma Jones & Arthur Adams, Rocky Dawuni, Conjunto Jardin, The Aggrolites, The Movies, Eskimohunter, others @ Sunset Junction Street Fair Beastie Boys @ The Greek Smokey Robinson @ Cerritos Center RX Bandits, The Fall of Troy @ The Troubadour Esthero, One Trick Pony @ Roxy 311 with Matisyahu, the Wailers, Pato Banton @ Verizon Bowling......

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......

Hot Hot Heat have been added to the Sunset Junction bill. I know you know Sunset Junction, the festival spread along Silverlake's streets in late August. It's sweltering, and us indie rock fans could never quite understand how old-skool Silverlake gay men could promenade in their leathers all day long. The days of gay old Silverlake are mostly gone now; heck, the 4100 Club took over Detour years ago. Anyway, I reminisce: no matter......

Rush @ Hollywood Bowl Slint @ Henry Fonda Sanjaya Malakar, Melinda Doolittle, Lakisha Jones, Jordin Sparks @ Staples Center Division Day, Saint Motel, The Health Club, Moving to France @ Viper Room Buckwheat Zydeco, Doug Legacy & the Zydeco Party Band @ Safari Sam's Patton Oswalt @ Largo Snow Patrol, Hot Hot Heat @ Greek Johnny Polanco @ El Floridita Metal Skool, D’Amato, The Hammer, AL-CE-MI @ Key Club Plasticsoul, Brandon Schott, The Breakups,......

Hank III - "Straight to Hell" Hank Williams III @ The Roxy John Wesley Harding @ McCabe's Snow Patrol, Hot Hot Heat @ The Greek Girls Against Boys @ El Rey Theatre American Idols Live @ Honda Center Codebreaker, The Lady Tigra, ARP @ Spaceland Bad Acid Trip, Anger as Art, Hell Hath No Fury, Eve's Downfall @ The Scene......

First off this LAist was running late this morning and left his camera at home. Since I had to go to the Grove straight from work to make it on time, there is no photo of the event. No photo of me planting John Amaechi a wet sloppy kiss. So sorry folks. Amaechi’s appearance at Barnes & Noble at the Grove concluded his whirlwind promotional tour for his memoir Man in the Middle which......

- Michael Moore says he's losing weight thanks to eating fruits and vegetables - AP - Speaking of big fellas, Shaq's new tv show didn't do so well in its debut - Orlando Sentinel - Lee Baca sez Paris Hilton had something so unique that the LA jail docs couldn't cure her - People - Judge okays MTA fare hike, and then drives his import sedan home (probably) - LA Times - California tries......

Tonight's a crazy night of rock. And yet, is there anything cooler than Morrissey playing the bowl tonight? Chris Cornell, Queens of the Stone Age, Sum 41, The Bravery, Plain White T's, Silversun Pickups, Shiny Toy Guns, Cold War Kids @ Seaside Park (Ventura) Grandmaster Melle Mel & Scorpio, Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock, Sugar Hill Gang, Stacey Q, Expose, Stevie B. @ Honda Center Morrissey @ The Hollywood Bowl Reverend Horton Heat,......

At the height of the strange filmic subgenre affectionately known as the "Rupert Pupkin documentary," a genre popularized by American Movie and bowdlerized by Windy City Heat, sits the drunk, demented, one-legged granddaddy of them all: Dancing Outlaw. If you've never seen Dancing Outlaw, then stop right here. I don’t mean stop reading this review, I mean stop everything else you are doing in your life and get a hold of this movie immediately.......

So here we are, the week before Memorial Day and we're starting to see summer fruit at the Culver City Farmer's Market. There's the first apricots, nectarines and peaches, along with high season cherries (which peak between Mother's Day and Father's Day) and lingering strawberries. Whole Foods already has saturn peaches and cherries, though their charging nearly nine bucks a pound, whereas at the Farmer's Market you get something around a pound for five.......