Tonight former Nickel Creek member, virtuosic Oceanside-bred mandolin player Chris Thile will be gracing Largo at the Coronet. LA-based experimental punk outfit Abe Vigoda are poised to take on Bardot for the free, RSVP-only 'It's a School Night.' And, lastly, local rockers War Tapes will be continuing their...
Tonight In Rock: Chris Thile, The Like, Abe Vigoda, War Tapes
Week In Rock: Andrew Bird, Flying Lotus, The Like, Jeremy Messersmith
This week Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird (LAist Review) will be gracing Largo at the Coronet not once, but twice. Local electronic mastermind Flying Lotus is poised to take on a two-night record release stint at the Echoplex with San Diego-bred DJ the Gaslamp Killer, Las Vegas-by-way-of-San Diego rapper/singer/DJ Gonjasufi and Ras G in celebration of his latest tour-de-force—2010's Cosmogramma; It should also be noted that the first night will incorporate a very special, newfangled live band. LA-bred all-female, retro 60s pop rock quartet the Like, who recently recorded their forthcoming debut with none other than Mark Ronson and Phantom Planet front man Alex Greenwald, will be kicking off their month-long, free residency at the Echo. And, lastly, Minneapolis-bred chamber-pop singer-songwriter Jeremy Messersmith will not only be performing at the Hotel Café, but he will also be performing at the Bootleg Theater.
Operation Aloha: An Experiment in Rock 'n' Roll
Several months ago, rock 'n' roll photographer, Christopher Wray-McCann, had an idea. What would happen if he got some of his musician friends to drop their cell phones, their laptops, and their lives and hole up in Maui in tree houses for a month to record an album? Taking all the equipment they could carry, various members of Maroon 5, Gomez, Phantom Planet and a few other bands agreed and descended upon their new jungle home. Fourteen members of what was now known as, Operation Aloha, created a light, breezy tropical album, which was created captured the spirit of Hawaii without the usual constraints of songwriting and recording.
Old Bank District Holiday Block Party w/ Dawes, Rumspringa & The Like @ 4th & Main, 12/6/08
This past Saturday, the first annual OId Bank District Holiday Block Party was held at the intersection of 4th and Main in Downtown LA. The main stage, booked by Little Radio (MySpace), featured local bands Restaurant (MySpace), Dawes (MySpace), Rumspringa (MySpace), The Like (MySpace), Whispertown 2000 (MySpace), and The Afternoons (MySpace).
Tonight In Rock: Phantom Planet, Los Lobos, Rick Springfield, Meiko
Tonight Australian-American singer-songwriter Rick Springfield (LAist Review) will be performing at Club Nokia. Social Distortion (LAist Review) front man Mike Ness is closing out his extensive stay at the El Rey Theatre. Grammy Award winners Los Lobos will be rocking out at the House of Blues Sunset. Local musician/producer extraordinaire Jon Brion (LAist Review) is slated to jam with friends at the Largo at the Coronet. The Hotel Café will kick off their three-night "ho-ho-tel" holiday extravaganza with an impressive array of singer-songwriter types, like Meiko (LAist Review, #2, #3, #4), Greg Laswell (LAist Interview, Review, #2, #3) and Gary Jules. And, lastly, LAist favorites Radars to the Sky (LAist Review, #2, #3) are slated to celebrate the release of their forthcoming full-length at Spaceland with Swedish husband/wife act Wildbirds and Peacedrums. But we recommend doing whatever it takes to get into the Troubadour. Phantom Planet, who have struggled endlessly with their musical identity since the untimely departure of Jason Schwartzman (LAist Review), will be playing their last show ever!
Tonight in Rock: Dead Sara, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Mandy Moore
"The ghost of Stephen Foster" - Squirrel Nut Zippers Flogging Molly, The Bouncing Souls, Dead to Me, Punk Rock Karaoke @ The Avalon Dead Sara @ Knitting Factory Fuel @ The Grove of Anaheim Squirrel Nut Zippers @ El Rey Theatre Blues Traveler @ Galaxy Concert Theater Eilen Jewell, Rich Wyman, Evan Stone & His Translucent Ham Sandwich Band @ The Mint Pete Yorn, Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs, Donavan Frankenreiter, Phantom Planet, Peter...
Tonight in Rock in LA - Of Montreal, The Hives, Valient Thorr, Great Northern, David Allen Coe, Lloyd Cole
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...
The Month in Rock in LA - November '07
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...
Tonight in Rock in LA - Rocket, Phantom Planet, Nico Vega, Quiet Company
Rocket Quiet Company @ Silverlake Lounge (9pm) Rocket, Gliss @ Spaceland (free) Phantom Planet, Goldenstate, Emma Burgess @ Roxy Cecilia Noel & the Wild Clams, Venice, Young Dubliners @ Topanga Days Magrudergrind, I Object, Bastardass, Ruido, Hit Me Back @ The Smell The Ringers, Nico Vega, Grey Kid @ Viper Room Squiddo, China Smoke @ The Scene Quiet Company...
Tonight in Rock in LA - James Brown, James Gang, The Like
Panic Channel, Sarah Silverman, Suicide Girls (pictured) @ Dragonfly The Grates, The Like, Har Marr Superstar (dj set) @ Spaceland Hit the Lights, Cute is What We Aim For @ Knitting Factory The James Gang @ Gibson James Brown, Angie Stone @ Hollywood Bowl The Zombies, The Holograms, Mooney Suzuki, Phantom Planet @ the Avalon Deerhoof, Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog @ The Troubadour Josh Gracin, Kelly Dalton @ House of Blues Snowden @ Silverlake...
So you wanna be a rocknroll star
Somebody once said that all rock stars want to be actors and all actors want to be rock stars. And everyone responded: Why? For God's sake, why?

