Barack is on a roll. He doubled Hillary Clinton's vote count in South Carolina's primary election yesterday. And Caroline Kennedy's op-ed (titled "A President Like My Father") in this morning's New York Times is adding fuel to the fire as pundits across the ideological spectrum ponder the B.O. mo-mo like they haven't since Iowa, a long three-and-a-half weeks ago. Now it's all about February 5. Consider your feelings about the primary today and think about......

Dan Deacon at SXSW | Photo by Tod Seelie Thanks to those who responded yesterday to help make this LAist column more useful. You can still chime in, it's never too late. Today, here's a short form list of our picks with select MP3s embedded after the jump. THE LIST The Hectors, Coco B's and You Me & Iowa @ Silverlake Lounge | Free Why? @ Tangier (Read our preview from yesterday) | $10......

Mitt Romney is the consummate, cookie-cutter, robot-like Republican. Forget about eliciting animation or human emotion from this wanna-be prez. Even his campaign henchmen lack the ability to opine on, well, just about anything, as evidenced below. Romney is lucky to have 30 delegates on his side after Iowa and New Hampshire. Problem is, it takes 1,191 to win the Republican nomination. The 60-year-old former Massachusetts governor does have one or two things going for him,......

You Me and Iowa Things are starting to get back to normal here, after the holidays -- it's a great night in music for Los Angeles. For one, two major arts institutions are hosting some excellent concerts tonight. At the Natural History Museum's popular music and discussion series, First Fridays, Dr. Antonio Damasio, M.D., Ph.D. (Director of Brain and Creativity Institute, USC) will cover how the brain processes memory, language, emotions and decisions. And......

In a couple hours, the Iowa caucuses- or Hawkeye Caucii, if you prefer- will be starting, and that means we're off to the races for a new President. Are we the only ones screaming WTF at this? Why on Earth does Iowa get to have such a crucial role in our electoral system. Why on Earth should a state with about a fourth of the people of L.A. County get the first say in who......

So what do you think of the beards on Letterman and Conan? I thought everyone did pretty well, particularly Conan. Leno's show was practically unchanged (same old crap) while Letterman gave lots of props to the WGA. If you don't have a TV with a built-in digital tuner you will need to get a converter box by February of 2009. It seems like a long way off but it will sneak up on you. Be......

What in the world is a caucus? Associated Press does a quick Q&ALooking for a caucus update with a nifty tracker on the primary elections, check out Campaign 2008 on the LA TimesSo why New Hampshire and Iowa and what happens next? The Times Online, explains it best.How do the candidates make it work for them? Iowa has the breakdown.Even Rolling Stones is getting in on the election opinion game with their Five Not......

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, one of Hillary Clinton's national campaign chairs, is returning to Iowa to campaign for her, the Daily News reports. It is caucus day, so there's not much campaigning left to do. He was in Iowa the 29th-31st, came back to LA, and now he's off again. What exactly is he doing there? Is Hillary's campaign so worried about her numbers that they've put out an all-hands-on-deck, now or never call? Is......

A second victim of this weekend's street racing-related crash in Hollywood has died from his injuries. The first victim was Nigel Gudray, the driver of the Infiniti struck by the speeding BMW driven by an intoxicated Carlos Steven John, was burned past physical recognition in the accident and died on scene. The passenger of Gudray's vehicle died overnight as a result of his burns. The six-month-long search for missing college student Donna Jou continues......

In the decadent tradition of hand-massaged, beer-fed Kobe beef, a new taste sensation is coming to California: La Quercia artisanal pork. These happy little piggies are raised on an organic farm in Iowa and fed a diet of acorns, just like the famed pigs of Spain's jamon iberico. EaterLA had the scoop yesterday: These acorn-fed pigs are supposed to produce amazing meat, as they do in Italy and Spain. The company that's responsible for......

With less than seven weeks to go until the California Primary, Hillary Clinton still has a substantial lead in the polls among likely Democratic voters. However, her closest rival, Barack Obama, is starting to make this more of a contest than the front-runner might have anticipated, making this a murky race whose puzzle will be completed Feb. 5. Momentum in California is with Barack Obama, who finished 2nd with 30 percent, his strongest showing......

This weekend marks the height of the "celebrity" dog-and-pony shows for the Democrats: Hillary Clinton brought daughter Chelsea (we wondered where she was) and her momma Dorothy Rodham on the campaign trail in Iowa. And Barack Obama brought out the big gun -- Oprah Winfrey -- to Iowa and South Carolina. But Republicans have friends in Hollywood, too. Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, also has his own celebrity endorsement: Chuck Norris. Yup. Walker......

Supporters of Hillary Clinton willing to shell out $250 a plate can dine at the Democratic Presidential candidate-hopeful's only Los Angeles stop before the Iowa caucuses, a last minute campaign and fundraising event to be held this Monday night. The swank gathering will take place at Social, which is legendary restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow's toney eatery located in the landmark Hollywood Athletic Club. KCBS-2 is reporting that there will be a VIP reception as well as......

If you want to laugh non-stop for an hour and a half, then go see Bob's Holiday Office Party at The Lounge Theatre in Hollywood. This slapstick Holiday play is hilariously fucked up and the riot that is the party at Bob's will leave you smiling like no other. The whole audience is LOLOLOLOLOLOLROFLOLOLOLOL the whole time -- pure insanity. Every year in a small Iowa town, insurance agent Bob Finhead throws an office party......

On Monday, we previewed the Democratic candidates in the run up to the Feb. 5 California Primary and Jan. 31 Iowa Caucus. Today, we'll look at each Republican candidate vying to be the leader of the GOP world as we prepare to profile all candidates on a deeper level than this brief glimpse allows. All poll numbers cited are from Pollster.com, unless otherwise noted, and are current as of Dec. 2. While we will......

With two months left until the Feb. 5 California Primary and 31 days until the Iowa Caucus, candidates from both parties are in full election cycle mode as they try to convince voters of their cause. As we countdown to the Jan. 31 caucus and the CA. Primary, let's take a look at each candidate from the parties in a primer that is not intended to be complete but is meant to offer a brief......

"Steven" - Voxtrot VHS or Beta, Foreign Born, Afrobots @ The El Rey Voxtrot @ The Music Box @ Fonda Dia de Chango @ Temple Bar Soulsavers, Spain @ The Troubadour Tom Paxton, Dan Crow and JP Nightingale @ McCabe's Guitar Shop Cake @ The Grove of Anaheim Summer Darling, You Me and Iowa, Loverlee, Oso @ Spaceland Damon Dae & Burning Wagon @ Jerry's Flying Fox The Locust, Upsilon Acrux, Yip-Yip, Sleeping People......

Dethklok - "Bloodrocuted" The Pogues @ The Wiltern Michelle Shocked @ Temple Bar West Indian Girl, The Mae Shi, Ashkon @ The Highlands Dios Malos @ Rio Honda College Jon Brion @ Largo Danzig @ Grove of Anaheim Northern @ The Troubadour Matt Costa @ Detroit Bar Vincent Fernandez @ The Gibson The Ringers, Dutch Pink @ Viper Room Bad Dudes, Planets, Totally Serious @ The Smell You Me & Iowa, Coco B's, Saint......

Those of you who've been following the presidential race as closely as I have (and, really, who hasn't?) are no doubt aware of the conventional wisdom surrounding Hillary Clinton's candidacy – namely that she now appears unbeatable. Pundits and reporters alike have been buzzing about her insurmountable lead – often clocking in in the high double digits – over her next two closest rivals, Obama and Edwards, for what has seemingly been weeks now.......

We all hear about the Iowa Caucus, but do we really know, as Californians, what's going on over there? Previously: LAist Interview: Jacob Soboroff of Why Tuesday......

Some are considering it "if you can't beat em - invest in em", but any good judge of fads know that the worst thing that Starbucks could have ever done to Pinkberry is fork over $27.5 million to the local frozen yogurt chain so they can continue to multiply at a rapid pace. Why would Starbucks want people eating a quasi-yogurt treat next summer at Pberry instead of slurping down a freshly made Frappuchino at......

LAist just lost a writer to the Midwest, and on Monday, the Los Angeles blogasphere may lose another major player -- Mayor Sam, otherwise known as Michael Higby who is a City Hall watchdog and whistle blower. "The last week or so I've been exploring whether to stay in LA or move to my family's hometown of Waterloo, Iowa," Higby wrote in an e-mail last night to LAist. Over the past week, he's compared......

Whispertown 2000, Wintergreen, Satellite Class, You Me & Iowa @ Spaceland Toby Keith @ Irvine Meadows Mat Kearney @ House of Blues Sidestory, Greg Laswell, Marie Digby, Waz, Emma Hill @ The Hotel Cafe Tight Fitting Pants, Coffin Draggers, Tokyo Smog, Inazuma, Glen or Glenda @ Knitting Factory Paper Thin Walls, Sleestack, Great Glass Elevator, Radio Parade @ The Troubadour Old Time Relijun, Mr. Tube, Ettrick, Lucky Dragons @ The Smell Slow Motion Reign,......

Marilyn Manson - "Tainted Love" Daniel Johnston @ Henry Fonda Slayer, Marilyn Manson @ Irvine Meadows Dios Malos, Pissed Jeans, Infauxtech @ 1269 E. 6th St. (Fuck Yeah Fest Pre Party) Clint Black @ Cerritos Center Air Supply @ The Canyon Aimee Mann @ Largo Gypsy Kings @ The Greek Wild Child @ The Whisky OneRepublic, Glacier Hiking, Northern, The Cheat @ The Roxy Big Bad Voodoo Daddy & The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra @......

LAT tells us what L.A.'s top 25 "culinary bargains" are (find more Foodie news from today here). Did you know that a Louis Vuitton store also qualified as a public art gallery? Sex, scandal and assault at the Playboy Mansion: oh my! The Walk of Fame's stars have been temporarily "displaced" to make way for the construction of the new W Hotel. City Beat pleads L.A. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo's case. A woman in......

The most popular story on reddit yesterday and this morning was this blast from Texas Congressman Ron Paul who denounced the continued, failed practice of the United States to involve ourselves in unconstitutional, undeclared wars. After waving off Mitt Romney who tried to interrupt his roll by asking "what about 9/11?", Paul said that he was in Vietnam for five years and saw how pulling out of there did not end in disaster, neither......

As just the latest of high-profile California lawmakers to endorse her presidential bid, Senator Dianne Feinstein should add a bit more West Coast mojo to Hillary Clinton's already momentous campaign. The latest poll figures have her up 49% to 24% over Barack Obama in California, and she is leading the field in most other early primary states — though not in the fund-raising department, where Obama is kicking some serious tush. Her latest California......

In what is likely to be just the second amongst many casualties in the presidential race (if you'll remember, Democratic hopeful and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack already dropped out in late February), Republican candidate James Gilmore formally announced that he was dropping his 2008 bid a few days ago, citing low fund-raising numbers. While several of his Republican rivals had already managed to raise tens of millions of dollars in the previous quarter,......

For a guy who got famous because of a Monica, Matt Drudge sure seems uncomfortable about saying anything about Monica Goodling who continues to add to the case that the Attorney General of the United States lied under oath to Congress in testimony that has "the hearing room generally falling silent on Goodling's every word." What is Drudge deciding to send his millions of clickers to instead of the big news of the day?......

Brother Ali @ Amoeba (free) Albert Hammond Jr., The Dead Trees @ House of Blues El-P @ El Rey Doug Benson, Andy Kindler @ Largo AM, Jim Bianco, Buddy, Kelly Dalton, Laura Jansen @ The Hotel Cafe Gliss, Meho Plaza, The Flesh, Casper @ Spaceland Metal Skool, Vertical Chain, 3 Against 1, L.A. Bonfire @ Key Club Bodies of Water, The Parson Redheads, Muso, Knifey Head @ The Echo The High Society, Bolero, Victor......