Tonight, tonight ... famed Chicagoan alternative rockers the Smashing Pumpkins will be performing at the Viper Room. Canadian indie rockers Hot Hot Heat will be concluding their seemingly endless residency at the Bootleg Theater. Philadelphia's own psych rockers Dr. Dog (LAist Review) are poised to take on the Hotel Café in celebration of...
Tonight In Rock: Hot Hot Heat, Dr. Dog, Damien Jurado, Big Moves
25 Reasons Why Silver Lake Jubilee Is Going to ROCK
Like a pre-teen who just got a hold of his first Playboy, looking at the list of bands playing the Silver Lake Jubilee makes us hyperventilate. The question is of course, what should you see? With such a plethora of names and genres, how do you know where to go? Fear not! We have put together a list of a dozen bands per day that you simply must see. As usual we've included a list of tunes so you can judge for yourself and more importantly set times of when they go on!
Tonight In Rock: Weezer, The French Semester, The Steelwells, Tenlons Fort
Tonight LA-bred Grammy Award-winning alternative rockers Weezer (LAist Review, #2, #3, #4) will be performing at UCI's Bren Events Center (Canceled!). LA-based indie rockers the French Semester are poised to continue their month-long residency at the Echo. And, lastly, Fullerton-bred indie rock quintet the Steelwells will be performing at the Silver Lake Lounge with none other than fellow OC-based folk outfit Yellow Red Sparks. But we strongly suggest heading over to Pehrspace to catch Texan folk maestros Tenlons Fort (LAist Review, #2, #3).
Little Radio's Summer Camp Returns August 16th
It may be months late, but Little Radio's weekly Summer Camp series finally returns on Sunday, August 16th, with performances by The Living Things, Har Mar Superstar, and Restavrant as well as DJ sets by Ana Calderon, Daisy O'Dell, and Clifton Weaver. Summer Camp runs every Sunday thereafter until September 20th. "That's three Sundays in August, then 3 more in September," according to Little Radio. "Let's just call it September Camp. New location, new pool, new turf. Same water slide and shennanigans!"
Tonight In Rock: Iglu & Hartly, Avi Buffalo, Mike Doughty, Signal Hill
Tonight "pretend-gay, LA surf-rock in-joke" Iglu & Hartly will be ringing in their latest disc at the Roxy with Pop Noir in tow. Soul Coughing front man Mike Doughty is poised to headline the Hotel Café. And, lastly, experimental instrumental outfit Signal Hill will be gracing the Silver Lake Lounge. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Echo to catch local indie rock duo Avi Buffalo (LAist Interview). LA-by-way-of-Austin folk rock maestros Tenlons Fort (LAist Review, #2, #3) are slated to open.
Tonight In Rock: Dwarves, Mike Stinson, Tenlons Fort, The Hectors
Tonight legendary Chicago-bred punk rockers the Dwarves will take on the Knitting Factory. LA-based indie rockers the Hectors are performing at Spaceland. On the earlier side of things, Redwood Bar & Grill will be hosting its weekly Brunch Americana with none other than Mike Stinson at the top of the bill. And, lastly, raucous PA-based rockers Eastern Conference Champions are poised to play at the Scene in Glendale. But we recommend heading over to the Hotel Café to catch Texan folk rock maestros Tenlons Fort (LAist Review, #2, #3).
Tonight In Rock: Jon Brion, The Little Ones, Gram Rabbit, Afternoons
Tonight is one of those nights where you find yourself asking, "Who isn't playing in LA?" You've just about always got Jon Brion (LAist Review) jamming with friends at Largo at the Coronet. Joshua Tree-based indie rockers Gram Rabbit (LAist Review) will be headlining the Troubadour with English psych rocker Pop Levi in tow. LA's own buzz band the Afternoons (LAist Review, #2) are slated to rock Spaceland with equally buzzworthy Xu Xu Fang (LAist Review, #2, #3, #4, #5). The Hotel Café will be hosting its usual bevy of singer-songwriters, including Greg Laswell (LAist Interview, Review, #2, #3, #4) and HoneyHoney (LAist Review, #2). And, lastly, LAist favorites One Trick Pony and Tenlons Fort (LAist Review, #2) are poised to put on a stellar set at the hole-and-corner Pehrspace. But as enticing as the aforementioned shows may be, we strongly suggest heading over to the Museum of Natural History, where they'll be kicking off the fifth annual First Fridays Series. LA locals the Little Ones will be accompanied by Montreal's finest, Plants And Animals.
Amnion's Top Ten of 2008
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. The prompt was not limited to albums that came out in 2008.
Carina Round @ Hotel Cafe and Trick Tracy, Tenlons Fort, Jenny O., Angela Correa, Rachael Cantu & Daniel Ahearn @ Mr. T's Bowl, 11/19/08
Last month, there was a great night of performances by singer-songwriters that included Carina Round (MySpace) at the Hotel Cafe (MySpace) in Hollywood, as well as Tenlons Fort (MySpace) -- backed by members of Amnion (MySpace), Avi Buffalo (MySpace), Castledoor (MySpace), and The Monolators (MySpace) -- Jenny O. (MySpace), Angela Correa (MySpace), Rachael Cantu (MySpace), and Daniel Ahearn (MySpace) at Mr. T's Bowl (MySpace) in Highland Park. Opening at Mr. T's was rapper Trick Tracy -- aka Castledoor's Brandon Schwartzel.
Tonight In Rock: Usher, Portugal. The Man, Miranda Lee Richards, AIDS Wolf
Tonight Atlanta-based R&B-pop sensation Usher will be charming the pants off ladies at Club Nokia in Downtown. LA-based singer-songwriter Miranda Lee Richards is gracing the tiny stage at Tangier. Texan indie rockers Tenlons Fort will be playing Mr. T's Bowl alongside two local singer-songwriters, Angela Correa (of Correatown) and Rachael Cantu. And Montreal-based noise rock band AIDS Wolf is plowing through the Smell. But we recommend stopping by the Troubadour to catch Halifax's own Wintersleep. The Canadian indie rock maestros will be opening for Portugal. The Man, who find themselves in the unfortunate position of sharing a hometown with a despicable woman—Wasilla, Alaska it is!
Let's Independent! 2nd Anniversary w/ Death To Anders, The Savages & Xu Xu Fang, 8/19/08
Last month, Joe Fielder, whose local music blog Radio Free Silver Lake has been in existence since February 2006, celebrated the second anniversary of his monthly Let's Independent! event, at Boardner's (MySpace) in Hollywood, with performances by Death to Anders (MySpace), The Savages (MySpace), and Xu Xu Fang (MySpace).
Summer Camp w/ Matt Ellis, Hypernova, Tenlons Fort & Castledoor @ Little Radio, 7/27/08
Last Sunday, Little Radio's Summer Camp series Downtown continued with performances by local bands Matt Ellis (MySpace), Hypernova (MySpace), Tenlons Fort (MySpace), and Castledoor (MySpace), with The Karabal Nightlife (MySpace) as well as Ladies and Gents (MySpace) among those performing earlier in the day during Open Mic.
Summer Camp w/ Bloodcat Love, Le Switch & The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra @ Little Radio, 7/20/08
Last Sunday, Little Radio's Summer Camp series Downtown continued with performances by local bands Bloodcat Love (MySpace), Le Switch (MySpace), and The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra (MySpace).
The Sweet Hurt, Tenlons Fort, Ema And The Ghosts, Avi Buffalo, Amnion, No Little Kindness & Cobra Lilies @ Mr. T's Bowl, 3/22/08
Nobody better covers the LA indie music scene than the local blogs, which include LA-Underground, Radio Free Silver Lake, Rock Insider, You Set The Scene, Squaregirls, Aquarium Drunkard, Classical Geek Theatre, Amateur Chemist, and the now-defunct Buzz Bands. Besides spotlighting up-and-coming artists and posting concert photos, many of those blogs regularly present shows -- Radio Free Silverlake's Let's Independent! have included The Happy Hollows (MySpace), The Deadly Syndrome (MySpace), Castledoor (MySpace), and Everest (MySpace).

