You didn't forget that the City of Los Angeles (mostly) objects to Arizona, right? Remember we passed a boycott of our neighbor-state in May 2010 following their signing into law SB 1070, a controversial immigration policy. (Then L.A. and CA got boycott happy!) So how are we holding up on that boycott? more ›

Sheriff's officials have located the missing 7-month-old girl whose mother -- Lancaster resident, 19-year-old Brittany Jasmine Hines -- was found slain on the side of a road in the Phoenix area around 8:15 a.m. Saturday. more ›

Night Two of the 2010 KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas, could also be dubbed "Hipster Night" as many of the bands featured were or are indie darlings and nearly all have played that big festival in the desert. From the french synth-pop sensations Phoenix to local favorites Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, the spectrum of performance was much more broad than that of the more straightforward rock of Night One. Also featured were Florence + The Machine, Vampire Weekend, Brandon Flowers, Neon Trees, Temper Trap and the Broken Bells. more ›

It's the most KROQ-y time of the year, and this morning on Kevin and Bean the line up for the 21st Annual KROQ Almost Acoustic Chrismas was announced. The two-day, holiday-themed, rock and rollathon will take place December 11-12 at the Gibson Amphitheatre with long-time-listeners and first-time-callers taking the stage. more ›

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Tonight Silver Lake's own indie rock sensation Local Natives (LAist Interview, Review, #2) will be concluding a two-night stint at the Music Box at the Henry Fonda Theater. Local rock trio Autolux (LAist Review, #2) are poised to headline the El Rey Theatre with none other than Gold Panda in celebration of their long-awaited sophomore studio-album, 2010's Transit Transit. And, lastly, LA-based Cambodian rock outfit Dengue Fever will be headlining an impressive bill of local acts at Ports O' Call Village for the 14th annual Lobster Festival in Long Beach. But we strongly suggest doing whatever it takes to get into the Hollywood Bowl to catch Grammy Award-winning Parisian indie rockers Phoenix. LAist favorites, Brooklyn-based indie rock act Grizzly Bear and San Franciscan lo-fi rock outfit Girls are slated to perform as well. more ›

(Part 2 of a 2-part review, focusing on the festival's music. To read about the planning, see part 1) The great thing about large, multi-stage, multi-genre music festivals like Coachella or Outside Lands is that at any given time, 3-4 acts are playing simultaneously. This allows people to, in a sense, curate their own personal version of that festival. You and a couple friends could each go off on your own and have completely different experiences, and perhaps none of you even saw any of the same bands as the others. Yet, you all had a great time, and were able to meet up for a beer and a burger at some point. more ›

This week Grammy Award-winning Parisian indie rockers Phoenix will be headlining the Hollywood Bowl with Brooklyn-based indie rock act Grizzly Bear San Franciscan lo-fi rock outfit Girls. Portland's own experimental indie rock trio Menomena are poised to take on the El Rey Theatre with none other than Brooklyn quartet Suckers. And, lastly, English indie rock outfit Mystery Jets will be gracing the Troubadour, ringing in their third studio album Serotonin. more ›

The silly little bet between Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Phoenix's Mayor Phil Gordon just got more interesting. At first the two traded wagers based on the Western Conference Finals, which has the Lakers pitted against the Phoenix Suns. If L.A. won, Phoenix would gladly accept Republican gubernatorial candidates Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner. If Phoenix won, L.A. would get the notorious Sheriff Joe Arpaio, known as "American's Toughest Sheriff." 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 ›

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 ›

A tour bus carrying passengers from Mexico to Los Angeles was involved a crash early this morning in Arizona, leaving six dead and seven critically injured. The reportedly Los Angeles-based company, Tierra Santa Inc., has apparently been "operating without insurance for nearly a year, and its buses should not have been on the road," finds CBS News. 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 ›

Sometimes, concert going does not go as well as one would hope. For instance, this reviewer had high hopes of bringing LAist readers the entire line-up of the KROQ Acoustic Christmas Night 2. Instead, I was kicked out for not having the right photo pass after Cage the Elephant's set. more ›

A group of municipal associations combined forces last week to advocate for more high speed rail in Western states, announcing the formation of a new high speed rail group called the Western High Speed Rail Alliance. At issue for them is less than enthusiastic vision of high speed rail in the West. In an editorial, the Arizona Republic agrees: "Major Western cities, including Phoenix, were left off the map in federal plans for high-speed rail. Now, five of them are refusing to be overlooked. How preposterous." more ›

LAist favorite band, Phoenix, recently played a mini-show in historic Paris. Here they perform "Lizstomania" and "One Time Too Many." With our favorable weather, Los Angeles needs a dose of this live fun. more ›

Tonight Parisian buzz band Phoenix are poised to grace the Greek Theatre with Canadian indie rock outfit Metric (LAist Interview, Review) and local garage rockers the Soft Pack in tow. Israeli shock rock troupe Monotonix (LAist Review) are poised to take on the Smell in Downtown. And, lastly, San Diego-bred DJ the Gaslamp Killer will be on the decks at the Roxy. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Troubadour to catch Brooklyn-based indie pop outfit Chairlift (LAist Review). LAist's favorite, predominantly electronic one-woman-band Glasser is slated to kick things off. more ›

This week legendary Poway-bred pop punk outfit Blink 182 will be headlining the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater with none other than Weezer, Taking Back Sunday and Asher Roth. Parisian buzz band Phoenix (LAist Review) are poised to grace the Greek Theatre with Canadian indie rock outfit Metric and local garage rockers the Soft Pack in tow. English alternative rockers Arctic Monkeys will be performing at the Hollywood Palladium with local pop rock outfit the Like. And, lastly, NY-bred indie pop act the Pains of Being Pure at Heart (LAist Interview) will be taking on the Troubadour. more ›

After tearing apart a sold out Wiltern, LAist faves from France, Phoenix popped into KCRW for a wonderful hour with Jason Bentley on Morning Becomes Eclectic. Addressing demand, the band returns to The City of Angels on September 16. They're playing The Greek. more ›

It takes, frankly, balls, to name your album as an homage to a man whose music has remained popular for almost three centuries. Touring in support of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, French import rockers Phoenix took to the stage at the Wiltern Sunday night not just as alt-rock stars, but rather as alt-rock gods, playing a remarkably high-energy, finely-tuned show that gripped the worshiping crowd with every note. more ›

Tonight London-based neo-soul singer Adele will be performing at the Hollywood Bowl with LAist favorite Janelle Monae. Omaha-based indie rockers Cursive are poised to grace the Henry Fonda Music Box with Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band in tow. And, lastly, early on in the day Silver Lake-based indie rock outfit Local Natives (LAist Interview) will be playing at the Echo with Saint Motel (LAist Interview) for this month's edition of Kidrockers. But we strongly suggest doing whatever it takes to get into the Wiltern to catch French alternative rockers Phoenix. LAist favorites Amazing Baby are slated to kick things off. more ›

A 37-year-old Torrance man has been arrested in Phoenix and charged with "contract[ing] out a hit to have a 32-year-old woman killed, as well as a 62-year-old male victim seriously injured," according to XBIZ. The accused is David Elms, who has been called a "as a sex-industry mogul," in the Daily Breeze, and the alleged female target a Long Beach resident who works "as an online adult model and escort." more ›

Last week we went to a sneak preview of Demetri Martin's new show on Comedy Central, "Important Things With Demetri Martin", which premiere's tonight at 10:30pm. The show has been in the works since last Spring so we are happy to see it make it on air. more ›

Within two hours of landing on planet Earth's neighbor, the Phoenix Mars Lander began sending images to NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena on Sunday evening. The current temperatures on Mars is a frigid high of -22 degrees and a low of -112. To see photos from JPL on Sunday, LAist was there to cover it. more ›

Early Sunday evening, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in Pasadena did it. In a "picture perfect" landing, the Phoenix Mars Lander made it to the northern plains of Mars in the latest of attempts to explore and understand the red planet. This specific mission is to look for signs of habitability, whether present or past (see LAist's previous entry from the day of). more ›

Update: "The Phoenix has landed, the Phoenix has landed. Welcome to the northern plains of Mars!" exclaimed EDL Communications Lead Richard Kornfeld. Another woman standing there watching was wow-ed: "That touchdown was phenomenal." It feels like being a room full of lottery winners -- everyone cheered, hugged and then someone broke out candy Mars Bars. The room's silence is now abuzz with chatter, some reporters are high-fiving, and cameramen are surrounding NASA experts for comments. more ›

Clippers 99, Heat 98 - With Shaq in Phoenix and Dwayne Wade injured for the season, the Clippers had an opportunity to beat somebody -- and actually took it. Cuttino Mobley hit a pair of free throws in the final three seconds to seal the deal. He led the way with 29 points. more ›

Lakers 108, Mavs 104, OT - The Laker's season just keeps getting sweeter. This time, it was all Kobe Bryant -- who managed to score even when triple-teamed. End result? 52 points, including 22 in the 4th quarter and 8 in OT. It was the first game between the refurbished Laker's (Pau Gasol had 17 points and 14 rebounds) and the refurbished Mavs (Jason Kidd had 15 points and 11 assists). more ›

Carter Tanton of Tulsa always gets rave reviews about his voice like this one from Pitchfork: "Lead singer Carter Tanton has a spectacular voice... [he] could probably sing a recipe for chocolate éclairs and still make it sound good." And Rolling Stone said "his indie-seraphim voice is not of this world." Both reviews referenced the similarities to My Morning Jacket. And not to forget the band, the Boston Phoenix, their hometown paper, said "we weren’t the only ones who walked out of the club convinced that we had just seen the best rock band in Boston." more ›

Was that a game or what? The Lakers staved off Phoenix’s charges to eventually pull out the 130-124 victory in Shaq’s Suns debut. more ›