Results tagged “sparks”

The office supply store, which first purchased the naming rights to the Staples Center in 1997, has scored a deal with AEG to keep their name on LA's busiest arena in perpetuity. The original agreement was $100 million for a mere 20 years. Exact terms of the new arrangement have not been disclosed. It's the first time a major-market arena has inked a lifetime deal.

Tonight the Taste of Chaos tour will be coming through the Hollywood Palladium with New Jersey-based rockers Thursday in tow. Tampa's own all-female hip-hop duo Yo Majesty are slated to perform at the Echoplex. Local alt-rockers Olin & the Moon (LAist Interview) will be gracing Echo Curio with Next of Kin. And, lastly, we'd like to take this moment to remind you that you ought to enter to win tickets to see the LA Chamber Orchestra. But we strongly suggest heading over to UCLA's Royce Hall to catch LA's own chamber pop duo Sparks.

Since their emergence at the beginning of the 1970s, Sparks has been an outsider act. But while commercial success has only struck a handful of times in the course of their twenty-one albums, everyone who grew up during that time seems to know who they are. There’s something about the sight of Ron Mael, the sinister, Chaplinesque accountant stoically rocking out behind the keyboard, that once seen is not easily forgotten. Of all the musicians in the world Paul McCartney could have picked to impersonate in his all-star band for the 1980 Coming Up video, Mael not only made the cut, his Fab doppelganger is easily the funniest and most memorable in the clip. When guys who used to be in the Beatles are making fun of you, you've made it.

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.

I've always been intrigued by other "best of" lists, but this year I decided to take it to a whole new level. I e-mailed a handful of bands that I've seen this past year in order to unearth what exactly captivated them in '07. As music listeners, it is our duty to take a keen interest in our favorite musician's influences. After all, they rocked our little world, might as well see what rocked their little world. Therefore, this is an act of paying it forward to those hardworking, underpaid musicians who truly made a difference within the music scene this year.

I've always been intrigued by other "best of" lists, but this year I decided to take it to a whole new level. I e-mailed a handful of bands that I've seen this past year in order to unearth what exactly captivated them in '07. As music listeners, it is our duty to take a keen interest in our favorite musician's influences. After all, they rocked our little world, might as well see what rocked their...

The Donnas, Donita Sparks @ The Roxy Eagles, Dixie Chicks @ Nokia Theatre John Doe @ McCabe's Serj Tankian @ House of Blues Backbiter @ Mr. T's Bowl Peter Frampton @ The Canyon 1990s, The Airborne Toxic Event, Inberst @ The Troubadour TSOL, Smut Peddlers, 45 Grave, The Detours, The Crowd @ Vault 350...

Spoon - "The Underdog" Spoon @ Henry Fonda The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Viper Room I'm a Bird You're a Bird @ The Cat Club 14 Year Old Girls @ Pehrspace Lucinda Williams @ El Rey Gram Rabbit, Donita Sparks @ Spaceland Metal Skool, Zombies Ate My Nation @ Key Club Todd Rundgren @ Grove of Anaheim Doug Benson, Patton Oswalt @ Largo The Happy Hollows, The Western States Motel, Tigers Can Bite...

Comets 82, Sparks 72 - A long and painful season is over for the Sparks. Without a preggo Lisa Leslie, the team crashed and burned through the final half of the season, finishing with an overall record of 10-24. If you're really eager to check out some professional women's sports in LA, how about a football game later this week? Dodgers 4, Rockies 3 - The Dodgers took the rubber game in a 2-1 series...

Dodgers 6, Astros 2 - Too bad the Dodgers weren't playing double or nothing. The Blue Crew split the series against Houston 2-2. In the final game, they turned four double plays. Second baseman Jeff Kent hit three doubles, including one for a two runs. His counterpart, Craig Biggio, also had a couple hits. Angels 4, Blue Jays 3 - LAnaheim avoided a sweep thanks to a home run by Gary Matthews, Jr. and a...

Cardinals 12, Dodgers 2 - At least the Dodgers took the first game from St. Louis. They were hammered in the rubber game, as Mark Hendrickson allowed eight runs on 11 hits in just 2 and 2/3 innings. Andre Ethier was the only Dodger holding up the offense, with a double, triple, and RBI. Angels 6, Twins 2 - The Angels shut down Minnesota in three straight games this weekend. Jared Weaver lasted 7.1 innings...

Dodgers 5, Reds 4, 11 - After being shutout for 28 innings, the Dodgers scored early and late to snap their six game skid. Rafael Furcal yo-yo'd throughout the game. After scoring on a sac fly in the first, he stranded runners in scoring position three different times. He redeemed himself in the 11th, smacking the game-winning home run. Takashi Saito got the save. DC United 1, Galaxy 0 - In the humid rain of...

Reds 1, Dodgers 0 - Life is wacky in Dodgertown. The pitching staff has been riddled with injuries, but held Cincinnati to one run. This was just days after shutting down Barry Bonds, who has smashed three homers and set the career record since departing LA. Meanwhile, the offense has a catcher hitting almost .300 but they've been shutout in three straight games. They actually haven't scored in 28 innings, making the Angel's post All-Star...

Angels 10, Red Sox 4 - LAnaheim has won the first two games in a clash of baseball's best records. Gary Matthews, Jr. shone with 4 RBI, 3 runs, and 3 hits in five at-bats. He hit a homer in the 8th and robbed another from Boston's Coco Crisp. Joe Saunders allowed four runs on eight hits, but still got the win on just 5 and 1/3 innings of work thanks to a five run...

Giants 4, Dodgers 2 - Maybe it's better this way. If Barry had tied (or passed) Hank Aaron in Chavez Ravine, it would have been the second time the Dodgers gave up the record breaking shot (yup, Hammerin' Hank hit 715 against the Boys in Blue). That's not to mention the riot that would have ensued. This isn't exactly the most hospitable town for any Giant, much less that Giant. It was a bigger game...

Giants 3, Dodgers 1 - Barry Bonds surprisingly was all smiles despite a bitter reception at Chavez Ravine. While he didn't tie Hammerin' Hank for the career home run title, he did reach base on two walks and scored a run. Brad Penny allowed all three runs in six innings for just his second loss of the year. Baseball royalty on hand included Tommy Lasorda, Bud Selig, and Alyssa Milano. Wait, did we just write...

Seattle 2, Angels 0 - After piling up the runs against the Detroit, the Halos couldn't connect in Seattle. Kelvim Escobar pitched all eight innings with seven strikeouts in the loss. Appropriately, Ichiro Suzuki had three hits, a run, and an RBI on Japanese Baseball Night. Rivalry Week - While LA develops a split personality disorder during that "other" rivalry week (Trojans-Bruins), the city unites in loathing of the San Francisco Giants whenever the ol'...

Angels 13, Tigers 4 - The Angels got back on track this weekend, hammering NL Central leader Detroit for 34 runs in a three game sweep. Anaheim reached double-digits in each game and had 12 runs by the end of the third inning on Sunday. Chone Figgins had three runs in the finale and every starter scored at least once. Rockies 9, Dodgers 6 - Los Angeles couldn't sustain a 9th inning rally and dropped...

Galaxy 2, Pachua 1 - The Galaxy was without its biggest star (Beckham wasn't on the bench, much less the field), but 19,317 people still showed up to watch the struggling squad knock off one of Mexico's best club teams. Landon Donovan scored go-ahead goal in the 81st minute. Next up, the Galaxy will host Chivas -- the real Chivas of Guadalajara -- in more SuperLiga action on Saturday. Astros 7, Dodgers 4 - When...

Dodgers 10, Houston 2 - Los Angeles has been consistently inconsistent since the All Star break, and didn't show true dominance until going on the road. Chad Billingsly improved to 7-0 with a complete game, and even held the Astros scoreless until the final out. The Dodgers also looked good at the plate, with 3 RBIs from both Luis Gonzalez and James Loney. Jeff Kent (who scored on a wild pitch) had four hits before...

Rush @ Hollywood Bowl Slint @ Henry Fonda Sanjaya Malakar, Melinda Doolittle, Lakisha Jones, Jordin Sparks @ Staples Center Division Day, Saint Motel, The Health Club, Moving to France @ Viper Room Buckwheat Zydeco, Doug Legacy & the Zydeco Party Band @ Safari Sam's Patton Oswalt @ Largo Snow Patrol, Hot Hot Heat @ Greek Johnny Polanco @ El Floridita Metal Skool, D’Amato, The Hammer, AL-CE-MI @ Key Club Plasticsoul, Brandon Schott, The Breakups,...

Angels 3, Devil Rays 0 - LAnaheim avoided the sweep in Tampa and ended a three game losing streak. Kelvim Escobar's fifth straight win came on 7.2 innings of scoreless work. The Halos had three doubles in the game, but haven't gone yard in 114 innings. Mets 13, Dodgers 9 - The Dodgers slipped into a first place tie with San Diego, but it wasn't due to a lack of offense. The team had 19...

I'm not impressed by Beckhamania. Sure, I'm excited about David Beckham's arrival. He's a world class icon coming to compete in our backyard. I planned my Saturday around his first match in a Galaxy uniform, despite the fact that it's just a friendly in an obscure tournament during the MLS All Star break. I embedded a semi-regular "Beckham Watch" in our "LAst Night's Action" segments and I've posted highlight videos of his greatest plays. Beckham...

Phillies 15, Dodgers 3 - After loosing 10,001 games, Philadelphia took out 124 years of cheesesteak-fueled frustration on the Dodgers. Starting pitcher J.D. Durbin had three of the team's 26 hits one of 15 Phillie runs. All this from a guy who had never reached base before in his life. Heck, he'd never won a game in his life, either. Check both off his to-do list. The Dodgers actually had a respectable 14 hits (yup,...

Dodgers 10, Phillies 3 - Imagine how good the Dodgers would be if Jason Schmidt were healthy. On Monday it was another All Star, Brad Penny, who notched his 11th win of the season and gave the Blue Crew their 5th in a row. Jeff Kent and Matt Kemp each contributed a three-run shot. The Phillies trailed by as many as nine en-route to their MLB leading 10,001st franchise loss. Beckham Watch - There's drama...

Braves 8, Dodgers 6 - The Dodgers couldn't hold an early lead against Atlanta, as Brad Penny's stellar stats were tarnished with six runs and nine hits in just four innings. Chipper Jones was the star of the game, going yard from both sides of the plate. His 372nd career home run sealed the win for the Braves and set the club's all time record. Angels 5, Rangers 2 - LAnaheim avoided a sweep against...

Dodgers 7, Braves 6 - It feels like a good summer in LA. The weather is hot, the Dodgers are in first, three of the Blue Crew are going to the All Star Game, and everybody has the day off for the 4th. Well, almost everybody. The Dodgers will be back in action tonight and hope for some more on-field fireworks. Last night they connected for 13 hits to power home 7 runs. Wilson Betemit...

yes. even if we had $3,000+ to pay to see Prince, we'd see the Donnas and their friends at Safari Sam's tonight The Donnas, Donita Sparks, The Binges @ Safari Sam's Prince @ Hollywood Roosevelt LA Guns, Love-Hate, Little Caesar, Rhino Bucket @ The Knitting Factory Steve Winwood @ House of Blues Widespread Panic @ Orpheum Moving Units @ Music Box Colin Hay @ Largo Battles, Ponytail @ The Troubadour Motorycle Black Madonnas, Backbiter...

A shooting suspect has been in pursuit by the LAPD for the last hour and a half. Driving a silver pick up truck and circling the city of Los Angeles, the suspect is allegedly responsible for a shooting in Tijunaga. Dozens of police in cruisers and helicopters.are following him as he drives on the 5, 10, 110, 101, and other freeways. KCAL 9 has been broadcasting the chase and they're streaming that broadcast online....

How would they fill up two hours in the American Idol finale? That was the question on LAist's mind tonight. (And we were particularly bummed since we had to give up the first hour of Lost for this!) Since the show seemed just as long as the Oscars, it was only fitting that AI had filler like the "Golden Idols" -- awards for the freaks during the early part of the show. Remember the...