Part of an ongoing series. Earlier this year, Boston-based and self-described "punk cabaret" duo The Dresden Dolls (MySpace) performed at The Wiltern, with guest appearances by cellist Zoë Keating (MySpace), formerly from Rasputina, and violinist Meredith Yayanos (MySpace). Opening were Seatle-based Smoosh (MySpace) and locals Lavender Diamond (MySpace). On August 4th, Dresden Dolls' frontwoman Amanda Palmer (MySpace) begins her solo tour, in support of her upcoming album Who Killed Amanda Palmer? at The Troubadour......

On Wednesday, the city of Seattle found out that their SuperSonics would be packing their bags and leaving for Oklahoma City. Thanks to owner Clay Bennett, in 2008-09 there will be no pro basketball in Seattle for the first time in 41 years. "He drained the Sonics' joy out of Seattle," said Seattle Times' columnist Jerry Brewer of Bennett. Cheer up Seattle. It's not all gloom and doom. Some good news for the city arrived......

This week's classical pick takes us to the Westside (believe it or not) with the Seattle Symphony making their debut at Royce Hall. The Seattle Symphony is headed by Gerard Schwarz, who has turned this once struggling group into a top notch orchestra that is recognized internationally with the help of frequent recordings and its support of American composers. Although they are often known for their performances of later 20th century repertoire, the symphony......

Big Business, Red Fang, The Cops @ Spaceland (Tho Cops reviewed on LAist, 3/20/06) New York Dolls @ House of Blues (Anaheim) Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra, George Sarah & String Trio @ Safari Sam's (George Sarah video below) The Riders of the Purple Sage @ Live at the Lounge (Hermosa Beach) Peter Himmelman @ McCabe's (Music for the kids) Sunday Residency (See all March Residencies) Alex & Sam, Liz Pappademas @ Tangier ($8), Los Feliz (Read......

The city of Ventura has been taken off the map. Specifically, the Greyhound Bus Line service map. This week the company shut down the station in Ventura, and wiped it off their route, to the surprise of many who had been hoping to hop a bus out of town. So is busing it a relic of a bygone era? One possible reason behind the elimination of the stop is "Greyhound’s owners are trimming costs," according......

100 years and nine months ago, an American ship called Chesapeake was cannonballed by a British vessel, and not in the Ron Burgundy way. Apparently, the Americans refused to be boarded, the Brits fired and an international incident was born. A century later, our shores are still under assault, but less from the nautical variety and more of the musical kind. Very recently, we have been boarded by British Sea Power, who rocked Spaceland Thursday......

Ah, another glorious, status conscious, conspicuously consuming day. I've spent such a long time typing away on my Macbook Air, and now I'm just about ready to drive home to Beechwood Canyon where I'll spend the evening watching Bravo. Hotcha! But hmmm, now that I think about it, maybe a stop at Pinkberry for some deliciously monotonous icy sludge would add to the perfection of the day. No, wait! I've got it! I'll cap things......

Lakers 111, Sonics 91 - Seattle had no chance against the surging Lake Show. Kobe was ejected in the third and it didn't matter (double technical after arguing a call -- not a huge deal). LA has won 11 of their last 13 and all but one was on the road. The Lakers got double digit contributions from seven players, led by Pau Gasol's 22. Ducks 6, Blackhawks 3 - This game was all about......

RocknRollDating.com is the creation of Eagle Rock resident and music industry veteran, Daniel House. He has created the free online dating site with music as the coming-together concept. Put in your favorite bands and concerts, your preferred genres and the normal dating profile stats such as heights, sex, etc. and go find your mate based on the tunes you share in common. Or maybe you'll find someone who will let you experience new music. Tonight,......

Is the word Hipster even allowed to be used anymore without disdain dripping from the user's tongue? Is it outdated? What about the connotation - good, bad, both? The Anti-Hipster's Guide to LA is a listing of people, bars/clubs, musicians/DJs, artists, installation, etc etc that may be deemed hipster-centric but don't really carry the negative connotation of the word (meaning pretentious, inaccessible, you get my drift). Sitting in Cafe 101 on Super Bowl Sunday, drinking......

Photograph of Michael Strahan, coach Tom Coughin (holding the Vince Lombardi trophy) and quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning by Tien Mao Gothamist was amazed after the Giants won the Super Bowl, the city went wild, and it witnessed a ticker-tape parade.Barack Obama drew 20,000+ ahead of Seattle’s Saturday caucus.Londonist had Super Tuesday too.Elusive guerrilla street artist Banksy revisits Los Angeles.After the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and came this close to making......

You may have heard that February is Breakfast month here at LAist, in which we celebrate the glory that is the morning meal. But our celebration is twinged with sadness for those who may have been fans of the a.m. food fare served up at Starbucks. The company has announced they are ditching their breakfast sandwiches and declaring that their Mission: Lure Customers Back from Fast Food Joints that Sell Breakfast Eats that Include Some......

For Westsiders, two bands of note at The Good Hurt tonight: Atomatique (powerpop) and Kinetic Stereokids (DJ/Rock/Ecclectic). Downtown, check out The Smell for experimental trip-hop etherealsim with All Neon Like. Popular Seattle singer/songwriter/rocker Jeremy Enigk will be at the Troubadour and there's a great mix of psychobilly, Spanish ska and surf at The House of Blues. Get fresh with some down South banjo fiddlin', mandolin fingerin' and jew harpin' at The Hotel Cafe as Ray......

Hmmm...Where does Los Angeles rank in the nation when it comes to internet access? Just how "wired" are we in Los Angeles? A Forbes.com survey took at look at several factors, including the "percentage of Internet users with high-speed access, the range of service providers within a city and the availability of public wireless hot spots" and determined how all of the cities in the country measured up. Think we're pretty wired? Think again. Los......

Best way for LA to bring in the new year: win the Rose Bowl. USC killed Illini at 49-17, winning their 23rd Rose Bowl title. 750 bills go into effect this year and the minimum wage is now $8 per hour! The news battle in Santa Barbara continues: Wendy McCaw, owner of the Santa Barbara News-Press, has lost in court over illegal firings. She "must re-hire and give back pay — to at least......

Torontoist discovered their city's most ridiculous holiday lights setup, with 80,000 lights and two––two!––synchronized music routines. Naturally, they snagged a video. Chicago tragically loses one of its most recognizable neighborhood icons, the pigeon man of Lincoln Square. LAPD leaves body in car at crash scene, then tows it. Massachusetts plus mullet equals PR mayhem. Londonist sleeps in a Haunted plague pit. UC Berkeley students strip naked and race through campus, NSFW floppiness ensues. Phillyist......

Joel McHale hosts The Soup, a celebration of the most embarrassing moments in pop culture every Friday night on E! From Tila Tequila to Yo Gabba Gabba you can count on The Soup to gather all the "best of" moments into one big pot of funny. LAist headed to the E! studios for a backstage tour, taping of the show, and one on one with the man who is not afraid to say Oprah's Va-Jay-Jay......

1812: A major earthquake struck Southern California, destroying the church at Mission San Juan Capistrano and damaging the San Gabriel Mission. 1873: J. R. Toberman, Mayor approved a franchise for a street railway which have a run "commencing at Temple and Spring Streets, and along Spring to First; First to Fort Street, (now Broadway); Fort Street to Fourth Street, Fourth to Hill Street, on Hill to Fifth Street; on Fifth to Olive Street; on......

Lakers 111, Nuggets 107 - Allen Iverson lit up the scoreboard with 51 points but three Lakers responded with big nights of their own. Kobe Bryant scored 25, Vladimir Radmanovic added 21, and Derek Fisher had 20. Despite his big night, the Lakers only allowed Iverson one layup in the fourth quarter. Sonics 95, Clippers 88 - Seven is unlucky for the Clipper -- it's how many games they've lost in a row. Seattle led......

This is Hendrix's original grave in the humble family plot before his memorial was built. It seems a little sad and neglected in this picture, but this Seattle cemetary is actually lush with grass. The only reason for the dirt is because the constant stream of visitors created a well-worn path that didn't allow the grass to grow. On November 26, 2002 Hendrix's body was exhumed and reburied under a much more fitting marble......

In honor of what would be Jimi Hendrix's 65th birthday today, I am posting my impressions of The Experience Music Project in Seattle. Last November I visited the Experience Music Project. Many of my Seattle friends are boycotting EMP because of its founder, Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft. He pissed off a lot of people by building Qwest Field with taxpayer dollars after it had been voted down twice. The building is another strange......

Three losses in a row. A close loss in Milwaukee. A thrashing at the hands of the Boston. Then losing a 14-point lead and the game to New Jersey. That’s what last week brought the Lakers, pain and misery. And now a 7-6 record after a promising start. But like all things in Lakerdom, it all gets blown out of proportion. Some Lakers fans are running around like Chicken Little after these losses saying it's......

Rockets 88, Clippers 71 - Just as Corey Maggette and Brevin Knight returned from injuries, Sam Cassell went down with one. He's doubtful for Friday. The battered Clippers hung tough with Houston until the 4th quarter when Tracy McGrady helped Houston blow it wide open. Maggette had 21 points in his return, and Chris Kaman led the team with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Los Angeles has now dropped seven of nine after winning the......

Lakers 119, Jazz 109 - The Lakers may have won their second straight game against a division champ. Kobe may be playing team ball (and even blocked a dunk, for cryin' out loud). We're still not buying it ... Derek Fisher was 0-for-7 in the first half against his former team, but finished with 19 points ... The Lakers removed press row from courtside, adding 15 more seats which are going for $2,300 per game.......

Two really good bands (that taste great together) have announced today that they are heading East. The Art Brut / Hold Steady concert that was originally planned to happen at the Wiltern will now go down at the Music Box at the Henry Fonda on November 7. Art Brut is the crazy British band whose tune "Moving to LA" can be heard on KROQ and Indie pretty much every day, and the Hold Steady......

Photo of Volunteer Park in Seattle by sunrisesoup via Flickr Forget New Years resolutions! Now is the perfect time to make a change in your life and make a difference the lives of others. Here's a very brief list of just a few organizations around L.A. that are currently looking for volunteers. For additional resources visit www.vcla.net or www.laworks.com. Animal Support Friends of Animals- works to cultivate a respectful view of nonhuman animals, free-living......

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......

A few months ago I came home from work to find one of my roommates sitting on the couch with a glass of wine in hand. From the time I first met this friend, one thing was very clear: he loved wine. In fact, he had a very special relationship with one brand in particular, Charles Shaw. Good ole' Two Buck Chuck was a loyal friend to my roommate all through college. Chuck had......

Angels 7, Mariners 4 - The champagne Bud Light is no longer on ice. After dropping two in a row to Seattle and delaying their inevitable AL West pennant, LAnaheim closed it out on Sunday. This is the earliest the Angels have ever clinched. They will join Cleveland (AL Central), Boston (at least the AL Wild Card) and one other team in the chase to represent the junior league in the World Series. Dodgers 7,......

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. LAist saw national headlines soar this week with......