Tonight Sacramento-bred alternative rockers Cake will be concluding a three-night stint at the Troubadour. Alabama-based surf rock outfit Man or Astro-man? are slated to take on the Echo. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock to catch Washington D.C.-based rocker Ted Leo. more ›

Tonight prolific Washington, D.C.-based rocker Ted Leo will be gracing Skybar at the Mondrian. The Living Sisters—a triumvirate of venerable female troubadours, which includes Inara George, Becky Stark, and Eleni Mandell, are poised to take on the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. And, lastly, Admiral Radley, an LA-based indie rock conglomerate that is... more ›

There's no question that FYF Fest promoter Sean Carlson can assemble a musical lineup that arguably rivals or even surpasses many of the longstanding festivals, including the Sunset Junction Street Festival. But will this year's problems be resolved next year? more ›

The Pogues - "If I Should Fall From Grace From God" The Pogues, Ted Leo @ The Wiltern Cypress Hill @ House of Blues Regina Spektor @ Grove of Anaheim Danzig @ The Greek CéU @ The El Rey Ghostface Killah @ Vault 350 Lucha VaVoom @ The Mayan The Binges, Sasquatch, Jessie Deluxe, HDR @ King King Tristeza, Aqueduct, Georgie James @ The Echo Bela, The Mythical Creatures @ The Viper Room The... more ›

Bruce Springsteen & Neil Young - "All Along the Watchtower" We can't recall a more star-studded Tuesday night in rock in LA in a long time. We realize that many of you might be preparing to head out tomorrow night, but friends, tonight is the night to rawwwwwk! And Neil if you're reading this... if you feel like recreating this moment from 2004, the Sports Arena is just a freeway away from the Nokia...... more ›

Margaret Cho @ Largo more ›

Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3 @ Spaceland Ted Leo @ El Rey Bob Forrest @ Blue Cafe Social Distortion @ Ventura Theatre Say Anything, Saves the Day @ House of Blues Very Be Careful, Yo Majesty @ The Echo Augustana @ The Wiltern Golden Ax @ Alex's Bar Ninja Academy, Trio Formaggio, Nick Rosen Trio, Dave Culwell Trio @ Mr. T's Bowl Fu Manchu, Valient Thorr, Seemless @ The Troubadour Pastilla, Kura, Fitter... more ›

LAist is proud to offer a weekly, chart roundup of Billboard Magazine’s most coveted rankings. Join us as we revel in the conventional standard of musical success. Let us cross our fingers, hoist our lighters, and dream together of the supreme resurrection of artist-driven recordings that will forever eclipse the dark cloud of big label greed, A&R sleaze and disposable audio. Amen. Here are this week’s chart toppers. Behold the #1s. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Billboard Charts... more ›

Out Today (The Baby List) Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum (Ryko)) LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (Capitol) Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Living with the Living (Touch & Go) Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (Sony) I'm from Barcelona - Let Me Introduce My Friends [US Bonus Tracks] (Mute U.S.) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Junk Culture (Caroline) El-P - I'll Sleep When You're... more ›

Taking footage from the Pitchfork Festival last month, the guys from The Human Giant made this video illustrating how the Tapes n' Tapes hype machine came about this year. Watch out for cameos from Ted Leo, the Inconsiderate Cell Phone Man, and of course, Handbone. more ›

We have many fond memories from Coachellas past, but right now we're totally jealous of that Lollapalooza lineup. Sunday tickets are sold out. You'll either have to buy a two-day pass or take your chances in the secondary market. more ›

There may still be value to an upper-midsized venue too far west to ever be cool, in terms of packing hordes in and lining the pockets of established bands and Goldenvoice, but the El Rey's got to be the worst-sounding music hall for a hundred miles in any direction. We caught Ted Leo's set at the cavernous, rectangular space last week. It was a wreckage of the great communicator's brilliant licks and juxtapositions crushed into a piercing high-end jumble of garbage. We'd hyped it previously in another publication as possibly the best show of the year. But it was ruined by the acoustics of the setting. When we told the sound guy at the El Rey to "turn up the bass" in hopes of salvaging the experience, all we got was the finger. For once it was possible to blame an LA audience's lack of energy on something other than typical postmodern apathy. We wanted our money back. Now: We go to a hell of a lot of shows around town, always at smaller venues. Bands that play the larger places can mostly blow us. But the last time we caught Ted Leo was with his old band Chisel at the Jabbberjaw in '95. And at least there was bass. Is it so much to ask of a venue that they don't flick you off for buying a ticket and then suggesting they do something about the sound quality for a band you really care about? Or is this just the natural landing place of music in a fascist city that shuts down its best venues (read: Jabberjaw) on the thinnest of pretexts while letting big-time greasy criminals like Ticketmaster monopolize booking at its larger spaces? more ›

THURSDAY more ›

UCLA's Hammer Museum hosts a reading by David Foster Wallace—author of Infinite Jest, Brief Interviews With Hideous Men and Oblivion—at 7:00 PM. more ›

Okay, okay. So maybe it's time to stop listening to The Cure in a darkened room and move on. We lost, fair and square this time. Maybe we were too hopeful. Maybe we didn't work hard enough. Maybe it just wasn't supposed to be this time. Whatever the reason, we're all disappointed and we have to deal with it. more ›