Tonight Brooklyn-based neo-psych rockers MGMT will be headlining the Fox Theater Pomona with NY-based electro-funk act Francis and the Lights. the Swell Season, an indie folk duo formed by Irish musician Glen Hansard and Czech singer and pianist Markéta Irglová, are poised to take on the Hollywood Bowl with none other than Portland-based alt-country duo She & Him (LAist Review), or rather Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, and local indie pop duo the Bird and the Bee (LAist Review, #2). And, lastly, Philadelphia's own jangly pop indie rock quartet Drink Up Buttercup will be headlining Spaceland, ringing in their latest tour de force—2010's Born And Thrown On A Hook. But we strongly suggest heading over to Sixth Street Warehouse to catch NY-based retro 60s pop duo Cults, who will be making their debut appearance here in LA. LAist favorites, local indie pop quartet Superhumanoids, who recently rung in their latest EP, 2010's Urgency, are slated to perform as well. more ›

Tonight Brooklyn-based neo-psych rockers MGMT will be headlining the Greek Theatre with NY-based electro-funk act Francis and the Lights. John Doe & Exene, two members of the formidable LA punk rock band X, are poised to grace the Autry National Center of the American West with none other than the Living Sisters—a triumvirate of venerable female troubadours... more ›

The Ookes of Hazzard (ookes like dukes) have wonderfully covered MGMT's "Kids" in a way you might not expect from a Los Angeles band. The simple YouTube description tells the tale: "...featuring 7 ukeleles , an accordion and a cajon." more ›

With so many bands playing, the breadth of Coachella’s line-up can be a curse as well as a blessing. It forces the fans to make a choice between potentially up to 5 acts they may all love. Unfortunately, I have been faced with decisions such as Them Crooked Vultures or Grizzly Bear, Dead Weather/MGMT or Muse, and on Sunday Phoenix/Thom Yorke or Pavement/Gorillaz. Most of these decisions have essentially been an old favorite vs. a curious desire to see a different band. So far, the old favorites are up 2-0. more ›

As with last year, while you are waiting for the tape-delayed West Coast television feed of the 52nd annual Grammy Awards, LAist will be covering the awards show as it unfolds live at LA Live! This year a slew of LAist favorites, including Brooklyn-based indie pop duo MGMT (LAist Review, #2, #3, #4, #5), Parisian indie rock outfit Phoenix (LAist Review), local indie rockers Silversun Pickups (LAist Review, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6) and English indie pop duo the Ting Tings (LAist Review, #2, #3), have been nominated in various categories. They may be relatively diminutive in comparison to recording industry giants like Taylor Swift, the Black Eyed Peas, Kings of Leon and Lady Gaga, but we are rooting for the underdogs. Stay tuned for frequent updates! more ›

It's always fun to spot the first-timers at one of Jon Brion's Friday night shows. They're usually the ones with their jaws hanging open as they try to figure out how he's looping instruments into a 10-layered live performance, or how he's using the piano as percussion. Perhaps the greatest moments of awe occur as they realize he's improvising something that's never been heard before, and will probably never be heard again. It's no wonder some people have seen his show hundreds of times and keep coming back for more! LAist's two-part interview with Brion followed the same pattern as his live show--which often starts with a solo set, then incorporates other musicians during the second half. In part one of the interview, Brion discussed his early experiences with music and improvisation. In this second part, he talks about some of his favorite musicians--from the 60s to the modern day. In addition, LAist asked him about his sock collection, how he discovers new music and why he loves Los Angeles. more ›

LA has a diverse cast of characters. Whether it's the characters with stirring stories or interesting occupations or the people who are just simply characters, this town has them all. In an effort to get to know some of those characters a little better, we've created "Seven Questions with..." 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 ›

I missed the boat on getting as many CDs reviewed as I wanted to in 2008 (a subtle hint at a 2009 resolution of mine) so here are some stellar albums that deserve more than the short mention they are receiving below: 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 ›

Silver Lake's favorite son, Beck Hansen, returned to Los Angeles on Saturday night for a one night engagement at the Hollywood Bowl (9/20/08). In his largest, hometown-headlining gig, Beck took a decidedly different approach to his performance -- rather than relying on the gimmicks and theatrics of previous tours, he put the music on display. more ›

Now in its tenth year, the Lobster Festival at the Port of Los Angeles offers a mouthwatering array of not only food but local LA bands as well—most notably the Henry Clay People, Weather Underground and Olive Future. The music definitely overshadows the food this time around. And the Smell, in all of its drab glory, will be hosting LA-based experimental artist BARR and San Diego's Crocodiles, who are best known as the phoenix that rose from ashes of TPTBUTET and the Prayers. (Yes, that is in fact Kristen Gundred of Grand Ole Party's hubby.) However, the Hollywood Bowl is hosting what could easily be the best lineup to come through Los Angeles this entire year. While Brooklyn-based MGMT may be old news in Williamsburg, the buzz continues to shroud them here. The formidable and youthful band of bohemians are slated to open the extravaganza with epoch-making psychedelic pop, followed by Austin-based indie rock mainstays Spoon. And lastly, but certainly not least as far as we're concerned, hometown hero Beck will be wowing the audience, sampling tracks from his rather expansive catalog. The mere possibility of hearing anything off of 1996's Odelay excites us. But for your sake and our mental well-being, please, watch out for those bellicose "security" guards! more ›

Tough choices tonight in Los Angeles. We've got the battle between cataclysmic psych-infused pop and hair metal (MGMT, RTX) at Henry Fonda Theater, Brooklyn-based folk rocker Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson and Eagle Rock's fresh-fraced Princeton at the rather homely Vermont House and, of course, the opening night of Vampire Weekend's two-date stint at the Wiltern. We suggest hitting up Vampire Weekend and saving MGMT for the Hollywood Bowl spectacular later this week, but only because we're really excited for openers White Williams and Abe Vigoda. Does it get any better than that? more ›

We've got (at least) 6 season finales tonight. Speaking of finales of sorts, CNET was bought by CBS for $1.8 billion. In a day where the old school dinosaurs have been shedding their digital assets, it's pretty remarkable that CNET's management pulled off a sale, especially for that amount, for a property that has regressed to not much more than a newsfeed, and product review site. Also, if you remember, CNET actually had original TV programming with "CNET Central" and "The Web" on the Sci Fi Channel and the USA Network. Unfortunately, CNET also gave us "The New Edge" with Ryan Seacrest as host in one of his first ever TV gigs, and for that they should never be forgiven. more ›

It's the last Saturday of the month and that means The Blue Mask at Mr. T's Bowl in Highland Park is back after a little holiday break. LA Weekly describes the all-night music party put on by fellow musicians of Motorcycle Black Madonnas as a venue to catch "some of the city’s most respected underground punk, hard-rock and bent-jazz musicians... Best of all, there’s almost no chance that the faux-rock glitterati (or celebrity trash like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan) will ever discover/ruin the place." more ›

Yesterday we started our Best of 2007 list with choices from KCRW's Nic Harcourt and Tom Schnabel. But then we realized we weren't being gentlemen. The ladies of KCRW should have gone first! D'oh! So fasten your seatbelts for The Drop's host Liza Richardson's picks for 2007. Something tells us our comments will be buzzing. Will it be for the inclusion of M.I.A.? Let's hope. 1) Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon... more ›

Friday night marked the final performance of Of Montreal's LA stint and it will never slip from my memory. I felt like I was tripping on acid. I had the worst cold I've contracted in years, surely that didn't help, and random imagery (Dave Navarro, grizzly bears, cartoon heads, and iTunes-like visualizers) was in full effect throughout the night. Between MGMT's psychedelic, synth-laden set, Grand Buffet's abrasive, hilarious antics, and the filming Of Montreal's... more ›

Joanna Newsom - "Monkey and Bear" Joanna Newsom @ Disney Hall ZZ Top @ The Greek Of Montreal, Grand Buffet, MGMT @ Avalon Loudon Wainwright III, Joe Henry @ El Rey M.I.A., The Cool Kids @ The Wiltern Ben Harper, Piers Faccini @ Orpheum Rhino Bucket @ Knitting Factory Dave Mason @ House of Blues, Anaheim Eek-A-Mouse @ Galaxy Theatre Jesu, These Arms Are Snakes @ Echoplex She Wants Revenge, Kenna, theSTART @ Henry... more ›

Of Montreal - "Gronlandic Edit" Of Montreal, Grand Buffet, MGMT @ Avalon Phantom Planet, The Hives @ Staples Ween @ The Wiltern David Allan Coe, Dos @ Knitting Factory Gram Parsons @ Amoeba Valient Thorr @ Spaceland Ben Harper @ Orpheum Great Northern, Robbers on High Street @ Echoplex Peanut Butter Wolf @ El Rey Ima Robot, The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Roxy Hello Stranger @ The Viper Room Mason Jennings @ Troubadour... more ›

The Pogues @ The Wiltern - Tonight ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead, Dethklok @ UCLA - Tonight Redd Kross @ Echoplex - Tomorrow The Polyphonic Spree, Rooney @ Henry Fonda - Tomorrow Yo La Tengo @ The Ivar - Tomorrow Low Versus Diamond @ Viper Room - Tomorrow The Bronx, The Mercy Killers @ Safari Sam's - Tomorrow Rodrigo Y Gabriela @ Henry Fonda, 11/3 Yo La Tengo... more ›

MGMT Oracular Spectacular Columbia Records Release Date: October 2nd, 2007 (digitally) When Vanwyngarden and Goldwasser, the visionaries at the helm of MGMT, met at Wesleyan University back in 2002, neither of them could have expected a four record, six figure deal from Columbia Records. Let alone being hand picked by Steve Lillywhite. Yet somehow they managed to keep those monstrous figures from tingeing their ingenuity. MGMT's Oracular Spectacular is a wondrous, synth-laden extravaganza that... more ›

As one blogger so delicately phrased it, "CMJ goes out with a whimper". There wasn't a whole lot I wanted to see on Day Five of CMJ. So I rested my weary bones, wandered around Williamsburg, and caught a couple of shows. One highlight was Ha Ha Tonka's performance at Union Pool in Williamsburg at a homey, jam-packed venue. I believe there was a BBQ going on as well. Williamsburg was lovely, flourishing with... more ›

Day Four began with jazz hands. I started off at Cake Shop to see NY native Patrick Cleandenim. He struck my interest with his brand of flamboyant, jazz-infused pop. However, it'd be nearly impossible for him to replicate the orchestral backing live and thus his live performance seemed a bit flat. Regardless, Patrick is destined for large things. His latest effort Baby, Come Home was recorded in Kansas at a studio I am quite... more ›

Yesterday commenced with an LA bang. I started off at the Indaba music loft again because they have been hosting a plethora of good (free!) shows. There's something comforting about watching bands from someone else's living room. I showed up around mid-day to catch one of my favorite LA bands Division Day. Front man Rohner Segnitz and the boys ran through a pleasant acoustic set. With drummer Kevin Lenhart on shakers, Division Day sounded... more ›