I've seen Ra Ra Riot many times before and this show at the Music Box at Henry Fonda Theater was no different. The energy they brought when touring for their first album The Rhumb Line was intensified by a thousand this time around for their sophomore album The Orchard. The show never had a dull moment. The energy each member brings lifts you up like a surge of electricity running through your veins and makes you dance and sing to every song. By and large, the highlight of the night was "You and I Know," the debut vocal performance of violinist Alexandra Lawn. Her soft, high ranged vocals made jaws dropped, mixed with the powerful tremolo picking solo of guitarist Milo Bonacci took the show to new epic heights. From the looks of it, there's no stopping these Syracuse, New York natives from taking the indie scene to places its never seen before. more ›

In the sea of could-be’s, would-have’s, and maybe’s that is Los Angeles, it seems an impossible feat for any young upstarts to crawl out of the catacombs of the over-saturated music scene here in LA. Local Natives have climbed to the upper tiers of indie-dom and done just that; they are a rare example of what it means to truly succeed in this town. With this newfound success, they relish it and take no chances. more ›

Attention violin students everywhere: Hang in there, kids. It is possible to parlay those Vivaldi exercises into a musical career with a fan base of near-hysterical young women. Just ask the dreamy Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy, whose austere synth and drum-accompanied strings nearly brought the house down last Sunday. The profound beauty of the headlining Mountain Goats, on tour to promote their latest full-length, The Life of the World to Come, followed, and the sum total was a night of gorgeous sights, sounds, and stories. more ›

OK, OK, OK. We know that this is long overdue. But we couldn't pass up the opportunity to share the night that the illustrious Beth Ditto took the Fonda stage in what we assume was her pre-Halloween take on the ever charming Wilma Flintsone. It was all cat moves and throaty swagger, or what we've come to expect from the Gossip. No one works a crowd like this crew, and they had the fans singing along to every word off their new full-length, Music for Men. If you haven't given them (or aptly named opener's Men, fronted by Le Tigre's JD Samson) a try, it's a definite must. more ›

Mali's favorite couple, Amadou and Mariam was greeted by an adoring crowd at the Henry Fonda Theater on Friday night. The pair first met each other at the Bamako's Institute for the Young Blind when they were just teenagers. Mariam had lost her sight at five due to complications from malaria, and Amadou had lost his due to a congenital cataract at fifteen. The two of them bonded over their love of music. Mariam had been singing at weddings since she was six years old and Amadou was renowned for his guitar playing. They fell in love, married, and began touring together as "the blind couple from Mali." Thirty years and many albums later, Amadou and Mariam have gained international fame with the help of such fans as Manu Chao and Damian Albarn, who produced their latest album, Welcome to Mali. more ›

It was really comforting last Wednesday to wander out of debris strewn Hollywood Blvd, which had become an odd wasteland after tornado Free-Depeche-Mode-Concert hit, and into the Henry Fonda Theater. Especially since it was Mates of State that I had come to see. Their music is nothing if not comforting. I mean take one part true love and one part sunshine pop and you have Mates of State. The husband and wife duo, Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner, faced each other through out the whole set. Him, on his drum set, and her, on her keyboards, sang in harmony, while gazing lovingly at each other. It's like the audience wasn't even there. If it had been a Disney cartoon, tiny bluebirds, chubby chipmunks, and fawns with giant eyes would have appeared on stage and surrounded them. more ›

If you find yourself on a street corner singing "Maybe God is God. Maybe the Devil is me!" like some crazed Hollywood and Highland street preacher, chances are good that Matthew Vasquez had something to do with it. Like the sensation of a raw nerve pulsing deep down in your ear, his voice reaches into your skull, takes command of your vocal chords, and orders them to sing along, with or without you. more ›

On Thursday night at the Henry Fonda Musicbox Theater, Animal Collective played to a sold out audience in support of their recent release, Merriweather Post Pavilion. The concert was a rescheduled performance for a previous postponed date in the month. more ›

Los Angeles' local heroes, The Airborne Toxic Event, are coming back to town for a giant homecoming show at the Henry Fonda on Thursday. Over the past year this band has launched itself into the musical stratosphere with their self-titled album which has earned constant rotation on the now deceased Indie 103 and KROQ radio stations. Mikel Jollett founded the band after one hell of a week. In one week his mother fell ill with pancreatic cancer, then he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, and then the relationship he was in fell apart. While his mother was in recovery, Jollett found himself playing the guitar and writing songs to help him cope. A few months later he formed the Airborne Toxic Event and the band been rocketing to glory ever since. Mikel Jollett was kind enough to talk to us earlier this week. more ›

"Dude, are those earplugs?! What kind of pussy are you?" mocked Fat Mike of NOFX from atop the stage at the Henry Fonda Theater last Thursday. "Holy shit and they're orange!" an observation that probably made the unfortunate soul in the front row blush to the roots of his mohawk. This weekend was NOFX's triumphant 25 plus year reunion gigs. What was once a fringe band on the Los Angeles punk scene have emerged as legends of their time. Mostly because they've lasted for so long, a theme that was rehashed frequently over the course of the night. "Is there anyone here under 21? Because you can get the fuck out! Leave! You don't belong here! Punk rock is not for kids" Mike grinned. "I am 42 years old and I am the youngest dude on this stage. I've done the math and there is a combined 650 years of punk rock on this stage right now." more ›

A caped avenger with a Queens of the Stone Age T-shirt were among the fans who raced to the front of the stage as soon as the doors of the Henry Fonda Theater opened on Wednesday. The lady in question wore her cape with a grace that even Dracula would have envied. Among the other die hard Eagles of Death Metal fans included several men who greased their hair like the lead singer, Jesse Hughes. As the crowd began to trickle in, it became abundantly apparent that the fans had come dressed to kill. Leather jackets with chains, black jeans, and leather boots were in abundance. And why not? The bands that they had come to see had made their mark not just with their music, but by embodying what it was to be a rock star. more ›

On Monday night, while Norwegian rocker Ida Maria (MySpace) wowed the Spaceland (MySpace) crowd, Santa Barbara's Katy Perry (MySpace) returned to her singer-songwriter roots by headlining a sold out show at the Hotel Cafe (MySpace) in Hollywood, with support from last-minute openers Holly Conlan (MySpace) and Meiko (MySpace). LA-Underground observed that, "If [Perry] returned to the 50-capacity Genghis Cohen Cantina or Highland Grounds where she really started now that would be something (especially since Highland Grounds/The Dive closed last year)." But to say that this intimate show wasn't highly anticipated would be wildly inaccurate, as fans flew in from as far away as Vancouver, offering as much as $200 for a pair of tickets, and upwards of 15 paparazzi camped outside at the front and rear entrances for the duration of the evening. more ›

"I've been stretching for a week for this shit," pronounced a very excited young man in green next to me, to anyone who would listen. "I did yoga. I did Pilates. Hell, I did Pilates twice! I am ready." Yes, the simmer of excitement that radiated from the crowd was palpable on Saturday night at the Fonda. These kids were dressed up and ready to dance. As the billing promised, "All ages" did show up at the Girl Talk show. From kids that looked like they had just hit puberty to a few elderly party-goers had all turned up to dance the night away. more ›

Label: Jagjaguwar more ›

On Saturday night, local bands Xu Xu Fang (MySpace) and Film School (MySpace) performed at the Henry Fonda Theater, opening for the reunited Swervedriver (MySpace). more ›

Yesterday was Xena: Princess Warrior picket day at the WGA Strike. Tonight, Xena herself, Lucy Lawless, will be bashing heads and belting out songs over at the Roxy. And earlier this morning, we interviewed Talib Kweli who will be at the House of Blues down the street from the Roxy at House of Blues. more ›

Listen to the interview here: Deborah Harry is on her way to LA to play the Music Box at the Henry Fonda Theater tomorrow, Friday the 7th. She's got her first new solo album in fourteen years out, Necessary Evil, and you can hear some samples of it at her MySpace. Unfortunately our conversation sounds like I'm contacting her by sat-phone somewhere in Tibet but these are the days of multiline patch-ins so it couldn't... more ›

Heavy Trash - "Dark Hair'd Rider" Heavy Trash @ The Echo The Octopus Project, Pedestrian, 8MM @ The Roxy Culver City Symphony Orchestra @ Veterans Auditorium Evanescence @ The Greek Theatre Henry Franklin Quartet @ Senor Fish (The Plan to End Homelessness benefit at 4 p.m.) She Wants Revenge @ The Henry Fonda Theater Nathan Hubbard's Everything After @ Cafe Metropol Very Be Careful @ The Regent Theatre... more ›

Morrissey @ The Palladium Gwar, CKY, Vains of Jenna @ The Wiltern Aesop Rock, Black Moth Super Rainbow @ Henry Fonda Theater Kool & The Gang @ Cerritos Center Mickey Avalon @ Boardner's Dark Star Orchestra @ El Rey English Beat, The Disrepair @ Key Club Bloodcat Love, Army Navy @ The Viper Room Airborne Toxic Event, Low vs Diamond @ Echoplex Nellie McKay @ Largo Genesis @ Hollywood Bowl Berlin @ The Canyon... more ›

Morrissey @ The Palladium Datarock @ Amoeba Justice @ Henry Fonda Theater Mandy Moore @ Hotel Cafe The Mormons @ Mr. T's Bowl Aiden @ El Rey Lashes, Chris Chavez, Asbury @ The Troubadour The Bangkok Five, Izzy the Eskimo, Inverse, Ambrose @ Viper Room... more ›

Earlier this month, the LA-based and green-minded The Ditty Bops (MySpace) completed their six week Summer Farm Tour (which began at the Henry Fonda Theater) with a performance at Farm Aid at Randall's Island in New York, complete with an introduction by actress and fellow environmentalist Daryl Hannah. more ›

Due to apathy, a meager attempt to save money, and the rain (seriously! it rained!! I just wanted to say that again), I spent most of this past weekend doing fuck all at home. However, somewhere around 3 o'clock on Sunday, I got dragged out to get a few drinks at Crane's Tavern, a small bar I've only recently discovered, lurking around the corner from The Henry Fonda Theater. It's very cozy inside, like... more ›

They're probably the best band in the world right now. And they're playing at the world famous Hollywood Bowl. If you don't have tickets, break your piggy banks, go to the show and overpay for the Arcade Fire. Think of how much you hand over to cable each month or your cell phone carrier. These Canadians with their punk sensibilities and violins and megaphones deserve your attention. If not, there are some mighty fine... more ›

The Dilettantes, Run Run Run, After Midnight Project, Jake Smith @ Safari Sam's more ›

The Blessings, Backbiter, Ten-Ors, Deadbeat Sinatra @ Safari Sam's more ›

A.C. Newman and Blaine Thurier of Vancouver's finest supergroup, The New Pornographers, have issued a challenge: Translation: Make a better video than the band can, put it on YouTube, and win an iPhone... or something. (We're wondering if that "something" might include signed Neko Case undergarments, as recent history reminds us that even her used corset is worth as much as an iPhone. The New Pornographers admit that they're not OK Go when it comes... more ›

Artist: Animal Collective Album: Strawberry Jam Label: Domino Recording Company Release Date: September 10, 2007 - Today I know there are some folks who hate my reviews so maybe this is the band for you. When I first put this CD on in my car I was pissed because I had thought I'd blown my speakers out - imagine my relief in discovering that my speakers were fine and that it was simply this... more ›