Part of an ongoing series. Earlier this year, local band Rocket (MySpace) performed at Spaceland (MySpace) in Silver Lake and The Echo (MySpace), before embarking on a nationwide tour. Tonight, they perform at The Viper Room (MySpace) in West Hollywood, and it will be their final one for the next two months, as they are returning to the studio to record new material.......

On Saturday night, local bands Xu Xu Fang (MySpace) and Film School (MySpace) performed at the Henry Fonda Theater, opening for the reunited Swervedriver (MySpace). Xu Xu Fang's next local performances are at the Manimal Festival at Pappy and Harriet's (MySpace) in Pioneertown on June 7th, Indie 103.1 (MySpace)'s Check One... Two (MySpace) on June 15th, and The Viper Room (MySpace) in West Hollywood on June 16th for their The Mourning Son EP release......

Luckily, since SXSW Music officially starts on Wednesday, tonight's massive line-up of residencies is hardly affected, save for The Voom Blooms who are replaced by We Barbarians and others at the Viper Room tonight (full list of tonight's residencies after the jump). However, the exodus of Los Angeles based bands is upon us. Also, ticket sales for 2008 Premiere Marquee Club have begun. The "club" has no membership fee and will host over 60 concerts......

Test Your Reflex plays this month at Hotel Cafe on Wednesdays | Photo by Luke Wooden via their MySpace Despite SXSW starting up this week with 100+ Los Angeles based bands heading over there, residencies are growing stronger and more venue-diverse across the line, especially on Monday nights where the volume makes it hard to choose from. Here's to a great month of residencies, rock on. Mondays The Chapin Sisters @ The Echo (Free),......

Part of an ongoing series. Last Sunday, local electronic pop duo Electrocute (MySpace), perhaps best known for their song "Bikini Bottom" on the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie soundtrack, concluded their February residency at Spaceland (MySpace) in Silver Lake. The lineup included Totally Radd!! (MySpace) and Har Mar Superstar (MySpace). This month, the artists who've shared their stage include Punk Bunny (MySpace), ARP (MySpace), Laco$te (MySpace), The Lady Tigra (MySpace), and B.R.A.M (MySpace). Tonight, Electrocute performs......

At the Viper Room | Photo by brian boulos via Flickr Harry Morton, son of famed Hard Rock hotelier Peter Morton, is no longer content with opening crudely-named margarita bars. No, the Li-Lo-lovin' entrepreneur has decided to purchase the infamous Sunset Strip club The Viper Room: with plans to franchise, of course. While the Viper Room has only been a part of the Strip since 1993, it immediately rocketed to infamy when River Phoenix......

The Vacation starts off their Thursday night Viper Room residency tonight | Photo by Brian Romero Tickets are still amazingly available for tonight's intimate Macy Gray show at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. For something a little more rock n' roll, Hell Ya! and Girl School are teaming up in their monthly residency at The Viper Room with The Vacation in the first night of their weekly February residency (for a guide to February residencies,......

For those who joined us last night (thank you for coming!), we witnessed many hot and bothered moments with an excellent band we've never hard before -- The Makers (we can't find their website, help). They are in residency at Seven Grand every Tuesday and we highly recommend checking them out. For tonight, first night residencies for this month happen at the Viper Room, Hotel Cafe and the Silverlake Lounge (see our Guide to February......

Electro rockers, Piel, will play tonight at Crash Mansion | Photo from their MySpace page Last chance to catch bands in their Monday night January residencies. That, plus Fred Armisen, who LA Weekly says "does Prince better than Prince." Fred Armisen, Petra Haden, Chelsea Peretti @ The Troubadour Bloodcat Love, The Growlers, Sons & Lovers, Idyllists @ The Viper Room The Parson Red Heads, Idaho Falls, The Monolators, Papercranes @ Spaceland Piel, Odd Modern......

Two weeks ago, local band Rocket (MySpace), recently profiled by The LA Times' Kevin Bronson, performed at The Viper Room in West Hollywood. Later this month, they will embark on a West Coast tour, and open for The Horrorpops (MySpace) and The Pink Spiders (MySpace) in February. Locally, Rocket will be at the House Of Blues in San Diego on February 15th, the H.O.B. in Anaheim on February 16th, and Club Underground (MySpace) at......

On Monday night, local artist and Downtown resident Elizabeth McGrath (formerly of Tongue) and her gothic country band Miss Derringer (MySpace) performed as the headliners of Indie 103.1 (MySpace)'s Check One Two Mondays at The Viper Room in West Hollywood. Opening for Miss Derringer were James Wilsey (MySpace) and Linda Strawberry (MySpace), with The Idyllists (MySpace) performing afterwards. Later this month, Miss Derringer will embark on a West Coast tour, and open for Bad......

"Imaginary Places" - Busdriver (and excellent vid filmed on the streets of LA and a great piece too) The Chuck Dukowski SEXTET, Ojos Rojos, Mythmaker @ The Knitting Factory Dave Aude, Noel Sanger, Jumpin’ Jack Frost, JO-S, Xenocide @ Crash Mansion L.A. Imajin, The Wylde Bunch, Mulatto @ Temple Bar Avenue in Oceana, Childhood Dilemma, The Aortas @ California Institute of Abnormal Arts (CIA) Ben Wendel Group @ Cafe Metropol Busdriver @ The Troubadour......

"La Gallina" - Ozomatli Los Pinguos @ La Ve Lee The Lilys @ Spaceland Pixelform @ Il Corral Rumspringa, Devil Makes 3, Chief, Army Navy @ The Echo Ozomatli & Chali 2na, Cut Chemist, Weapon of Choice @ House of Blues Pop Noir, Nude, On Blast, No One Goes Home @ The Knitting Factory Relax to Paris, That Was Then, Switch @ The Derby Count Basie Orchestra @ Walt Disney Concert Hall Ride On......

Last Friday, I made a plan to go out to Club Underground at The Echo for my birthday, and I had all my friends meet me there. On a total stroke of luck, I realized a band I had discovered a month or so before was also playing that night before Club Underground started. So I told everyone to get there at 9 if they wanted to see a good band first. The Morning......

"Big Fish" - Jesca Hoop The Kevin Eubanks Group @ The Baked Potato Kiss or Kill @ El Cid Restaurant Sarah Stanley Band, Bob Woodruff @ TAIX Office, Tiger City, Via Audio, DJs at Club NME @ Spaceland Velvet Revolver @ Gibson Amphitheatre Liz Pappademas, Sally Kellerman, Loni Trock @ Genghis Cohen Bjork @ Nokia Theatre Mia Doi Todd, Anders & Woods, Sara Lov @ Tangier Ben Lee, Cary Brothers, Kate Voegele @ El......

"Sni Bong" - Dengue Fever Dengue Fever @ Getty Center Deborah Harry @ Pantages Theatre (see our interview from earlier this week) John Mayer @ Nokia LIVE Pete Hopkins @ Key Club Pierce the Veil @ The Troubadour Bikini Science, The Atma @ The Derby Aceyalone, Leadership Crew, Epsilon Project @ Malibu Inn Jon Brion, Nels Cline @ Largo Kingsley, Self Against City, Visa @ The Roxy Diegos Umbrella, Casa do Samba @ The......

"Let Them Knock" - Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings The Tossers @ Chain Reaction Brooke Fraser, Jordan Lawhead @ The Troubadour A Place to Bury Strangers, Xu Xu Fang, Mere Mortals @ Silverlake Lounge Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings @ El Rey Theatre Oliver Future, Dan Rockett, Starving For Gravity @ The Viper Room Steve Carlson, Chris Stills, Bryan Master, Emily Jane White @ The Hotel Cafe Port O’Brien, The Cave Singers @ The......

Most of us point, shoot and load our photos into Flickr. And then there are some who scan in old photos such as Alan Light. Above is a photo taken outside the Viper Room in 1994, the year after River Phoenix's early morning Halloween death. Fans graffitied the wall between the club and what is now a cigar shop. Today, that wall is painted beige. Almost 10 years later to the day, singer/songwriter Elliot......

In no particular order... 1. Secret Shows at the Viper Room 2. La Taquiza on Figueroa 3. Saturdays with the USC Trojans 4. The Henry Fonda Theatre 5. A short hop over Laurel Canyon to see my family 6. Friday Nights at the Rainbow Room 7. Using Venice Blvd. to get from work to play 8. The newly built lane at the 405/101 interchange 9. Amoeba Music 10. Some of the most eclectic, intelligent,......

Feist, Spoon @ Gibson Spiritualized @ Vista Theatre Little Brother, Evidence, Black Milk @ El Rey Sondre Lerche @ The Troubadour The Parson Red Heads, Or the Whale @ The Echo Gliss @ The Viper Room The Jealous Girlfriends, A for Attack @ Silverlake Lounge The Airborne Toxic Event @ Detroit Bar Stars @ Glass House......

Of Montreal - "Gronlandic Edit" Of Montreal, Grand Buffet, MGMT @ Avalon Phantom Planet, The Hives @ Staples Ween @ The Wiltern David Allan Coe, Dos @ Knitting Factory Gram Parsons @ Amoeba Valient Thorr @ Spaceland Ben Harper @ Orpheum Great Northern, Robbers on High Street @ Echoplex Peanut Butter Wolf @ El Rey Ima Robot, The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Roxy Hello Stranger @ The Viper Room Mason Jennings @ Troubadour......

When Low vs. Diamond's lead singer Lucas Field sauntered on the stage and meekly opened the show with "Life After Love," I knew immediately that despite the head bobbing and dancing from a few, LvD’s live act would neither expand upon its sound nor translate to the crowd what exactly they were trying to do....

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......

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.........

Morrissey @ The Palladium Gwar, CKY, Vains of Jenna @ The Wiltern Aesop Rock, Black Moth Super Rainbow @ Henry Fonda Theater Kool & The Gang @ Cerritos Center Mickey Avalon @ Boardner's Dark Star Orchestra @ El Rey English Beat, The Disrepair @ Key Club Bloodcat Love, Army Navy @ The Viper Room Airborne Toxic Event, Low vs Diamond @ Echoplex Nellie McKay @ Largo Genesis @ Hollywood Bowl Berlin @ The Canyon......

Once this flyer made its rounds across the LA blogrings and email groups, fans of the French-born electronic act known as Justice flocked, nay, stampeded to the Viper Room Monday night to see if the renowned DJ duo would indeed make an appearence as insinuated by the cross in the word "guest". Due to my house being in fortunate proximity to the VR, I was able to see a line of tapered-jeans-and vest-clad scenesters......

It's black on the outside and as colorful as hell on the inside. It's sound system is perfect, it's Basement Bar is cozy, and the room always seems smaller than it should. A good thing. Notorious for a celebrity death and a famous former owner, the Viper Room is a jewel on the Sunset strip. The other night at the Donnas show we met Viper booker Melissa Renee Hernandez who's super hot and friendly......

Last week The Donnas held their record release party at the Viper Room to celebrate their new collection of rock, Bitchin', the first release on their own label, Purple Feather. Opening the mostly all-female Viper Room lineup was Girl in a Coma, followed by our new loves, The Randies. But the night belonged to The Donnas who were all charged up and ready to rock - perhaps more than the audience - and demanded......

The Donnas, The Randies, Girl in a Coma @ The Viper Room Justin Timberlake @ Staples Center Peter Bjorn & John @ Wiltern The Sounds @ Santa Monica Civic Matt & Kim @ The Troubadour New Model Army, Vale, Anon @ Knitting Factory The Happy Hollows, Le Switch, Rademacher @ The Echo Gram Rabbit, Abby Travis, Gwendolyn @ Spaceland Dr. Know, Bad Samaritans, Agression, Killroy, The Homewreckers @ Safari Sam's......

Built to Spill, Camper Van Beethoven @ Henry Fonda Wolf Parade, Holy Fuck @ El Rey OK Stranger, Voodoo Organist, The City Drive, The Mercy Kiss @ Safari Sam's The Brunettes, Ferraby Lionheart, Mezzanine Owls @ The Troubadour Death to Anders, The Transmissions, Health Club, One Trick Pony @ Spaceland The Starfuckers, Hypernova, Panic Club, Resistance, Vicious Licks, Drills @ Cat Club The Watkins Family Hour @ Largo Height, Pillow Fight Fight @ The......