Tonight is a big night of premieres for the major networks and the late night schedule is hopping too. Come with us as we attempt to navigate this mess more ›

Matador Records has announced that tickets for its’ 21st anniversary celebration in Las Vegas will go on sale tomorrow morning at 9am PST via ticketfly.com. As previously mentioned on LAist, the three day “Lost Weekend” music fest, will take place over October 1-3 at the Pearl Theater inside the Palms Casino. Given the ridiculous lineup and the fact that the Pearl has a capacity of 2,100, getting tickets might be akin to a crapshoot. But hey, a little gambling alongside our indie rock is part of what makes this such an appealing gig in the first place. more ›

Ready for a road trip? Indie super label Matador is turning 21 this year. And what would any right-minded individual do to celebrate that milestone birthday? Head to Vegas of course. more ›

The 2010 Coachella Music and Arts Festival capped off to a rather anticlimactic ending on Sunday night, with the standout performance of Atoms For Peace ending well before the rest of the festival did. more ›

With Coachella behind us, some of those bands are going to be playing more locally this summer. The Hollywood Bowl this morning announced additional bands and one new show (that some of you already knew about). more ›

Tonight Caetano Veloso, most known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, will be gracing the Greek Theatre. Legendary Stockton-bred indie rockers Pavement are poised to take on the Pomona Fox Theater before following an eastward course. And, lastly, Portland-based alt-country duo She & Him (LAist Review), or rather Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, will be performing down the street at the Glass House. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Hotel Café to catch Portland-bred indie rock quartet Archeology. more ›

This week the unremitting three-day music marathon known as Coachella (LAist Coverage) takes over our lives. This year's impressive bill boasts a broad array of headliners, including Jay-Z, LCD Soundsystem, Them Crooked Vultures, Muse, Gorillaz, Pavement, Phoenix and Atoms For Peace. Progressive bluegrass outfit the Punch Brothers, which of course features former Nickel Creek member, virtuosic Oceanside-bred mandolin player Chris Thile, will be performing at the Broad Stage in Santa Mon Mon. Classically trained English experimental musician Micachu and the Shapes are poised to grace the Getty Center for this week's edition of Saturdays Off the 405. And, lastly, Colorado-based pop-infused folk/bluegrass act SHEL will be performing here for their first time ever, making their debut at Bardot. more ›

It seems like everyone we speak to has a hankering for the baby-faced band that is Surfer Blood. We loved them at The Village Voice party at SXSW and decided to check them out locally for the Aquarium Drunkard presented-Waved Out last Saturday. Of course, any band claiming Pavement and Yo La Tengo as influences is on the right path, but it's a really good thing Surfer Blood have got the musical chops to back up their indie rock know-how. And it doesn't hurt that they are, to cite a fan and local LA band manager who I ran into that night, "so adorable I want to put them in my pocket and manage them forever". Definitely.
more ›

At this point in their career, Sonic Youth present a paradox: they’re radicals that are also reliable entertainers. However far out they might go, they eventually come back to something that sounds vaguely like 1987’s “Schizophrenia”: fast, strummy guitar lines, a hazy vocal track, a driving rhythm section, harmonies twisting like vines, a colossal racket wrapped around a deceptively catchy tune that threatens to explode at any moment. The intent is to expand the number of possibilities - see their “serious music” side projects for an example of how far they’re willing to go in this pursuit - but truthfully, they’re not that far off from AC/DC when you look at the big picture. more ›

After 10 weeks of rerouting buses to congested streets while some sections of Metro's Orange Line were being repaved, service is now back to normal operation, Metro said today in a statement. The repaving was needed to improve strength and durability of the roadway because soon after its October 2005 opening, the pavement began to rut. Metro blamed the contractor, the contractor blamed Metro and they finally settled to split the costs of the $1.5 million project. " am an enthusiastic supporter of the Busway and ride it regularly, but this is just bureaucratic and institutional stupidity," opined Andrew at Here in Van Nuys. more ›

If you're talking about the Orange Line, over a year. Not too long after the 2005 grand opening of the busway that travels 14 miles across the San Fernando Valley, some pavement was found to be already rutting. Metro said the contractor did a subpar job, the contractor said Metro was running more buses than estimated, therefore damaging the pavement earlier than expected. But in the end, they came to an agreement to split the costs, according to the Daily News. For eight to ten weeks starting today, crews will work on fixing two segments in two different spots in two phases delaying buses a couple minutes. more ›

This time it is LA Times Bottleneck blogger Steve Hymon calling out LA County Supervisor Don Knabe, a "leader in regional transportation." Well, the regional attraction that is the 22-mile bike path running from Temescal Canyon to Torrance has a section in Marina Del Rey that could be mistaken for the San Andreas Fault, according to Hymon who says the crack in pavement is "perfect for catching bike tires." So what's he doing about it? "Surely, such a leader will be able to get a relatively small section of bike path repaved so that grumpy reporters aren't making inquiries about it, as I'm about to do." Go, Steve, Go. more ›

Not a surprise, right? Not only do we have some of the worst freeway intersections, but we have the the highest percentage of urban pavement in poor condition according to a report released Tuesday by TRIP, a national transportation research group. more ›