So it was gratifying when Who vocalist Roger Daltrey announced that his own Tommy tour would follow the album as faithfully as possible. At the Nokia Theatre on Wednesday, Daltrey and his band of young American players, along with Pete’s brother Simon Townshend on guitar, gave the work life as a raw, bloody piece of rock and roll once again. more ›

It was an interesting year for fans of the old guard. As time passes, our beloved dinosaurs are being forced to adapt or die, in an environment in which their only property of value - material recorded a long time ago - can no longer be sold for a profit. They have responded by creating box-set packages large and gaudy enough to appear to be worth something. more ›

Ken Russell's The Devils is one of the most controversial films ever made. Based on the Loudun possessions of medieval France, it's a brutal critique of theocracy and power, and its own poster frankly warns the matrimony of sex, violence, and sacrilege "is not for everyone". Nearly 40 years on, The Devils has yet to be released uncut on home media. But BAFTA and the American Cinematheque bring it to the Aero this weekend to tempt fate and pay tribute to Ken Russell. The "Brave New Worlds" series also features sci-fi-devo-mind-warp Altered States, the D.H. Lawrence adaptation Women in Love, and Tchaikovsky biopic The Music Lovers. If the name Ken Russell still leaves you wondering, "Who?", then head up to Hollywood, where the Egyptian hosts Russell's film version of The Who's Tommy, paired with Lisztomania, another Roger Daltrey-starring bizarro rock opera. more ›

Just four lines into the LA stop on Roger Daltrey’s “Use It Or Lose It” solo tour - so named for the singer’s desire to keep his instrument in shape for a planned burst of activity from his “other” band, the Who, in the coming year - he seemed in danger of losing it... It was a nervous moment, especially with the knowledge that Daltrey’s ailing throat had forced a few last-minute cancellations during the Who’s 2007 tour. But he plowed on, muttering “we’ll come back to that one,” picked up an acoustic guitar, and led his band through a dramatically re-arranged version of “Who Are You.” Now in a more familiar vocal range, he managed to warm up and start belting it out. And from that point, through the whole two-hour show, everything was more than fine. more ›

Tonight legendary English singer-songwriter, best known as the founder and lead singer of the Who, will be headlining the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown. Long Island-bred pop punk outfit Brand New are poised to make their long-awaited return to Los Angeles, performing twice at the Hollywood Palladium as well with Atlanta-based indie rock act Manchester Orchestra and Portland's own folk rockers the Builders and the Butchers (LAist Interview) in tow. And, lastly, San Diegan garage rockers the Soft Pack (LAist Interview) will be taking on the Echoplex with none other than lo-fi noise-infused rock duo Wavves, Sacramento-bred psych quartet Ganglians and, of course, local lo-fi pop act Best Coast. But we strongly suggest heading over to Largo at the Coronet to catch Québécois singer-songwriter Patrick Watson. more ›

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. more ›

A rainbow over Burbank/ Photo by Julie Wolfson/LAist more ›

Pixar continues its phenomenal string of delivering fantastic films with would have benefited from more Blake Lively and changing the setting to a Swiss nudist colony. Werner Herzog may not be the best director around, but he's on the short list of most interesting. How can anyone not already own all of these Monty Python masterpieces? more ›

Vocalist Roger Daltrey capped a non-stop four-day weekend of Who activity on Monday at the Arclight Cinema in Sherman Oaks, taking fan questions at the big-screen premiere of the Who’s Live At Kilburn 1977. Curious fans overflowed the theater, one of a small handful of screenings before the film’s release next week on DVD. This concert film, unseen since it was filmed for possible use in Jeff Stein’s documentary The Kids Are Alright and then shelved, captures Keith Moon’s last public performance, putting the final exclamation point on one of the greatest runs in rock history. more ›

Tonight we've got our fair share of shows, but nothing extraordinary. Legendary English rock band the Who will be playing their second and final night at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown. Much to our surprise, NY-based hip hop group Onyx will be playing a reunion show at the Echoplex. And local folk singer/song-writer Charlie Wadhams will be kicking off the first night of a month-long Sunday Residency at Tangier. But we recommend stopping by Club Nokia, which just opened its doors earlier this month, to catch LA mainstay Beck (LAist Review, #2) in all his glory. And for those of you who are still on the fence, Jenny Lewis (LAist Review) is also slated to open the show. more ›

Tonight legendary English rock band the Who will be stopping through the Nokia Theatre. Van the Man will be performing 1968's Astral Weeks in its entirety at the Hollywood Bowl once more. And, of course, Coheed and Cambria will be plowing through the third night of a series of shows at the Avalon in which they perform their catalog in its entirety—tonight they'll be revisiting 2005's Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness. SF-based buzz band the Dodos will be playing at the Echoplex with local blues-rock duo Restavrant. Lastly, LA-by-way-of-DC psych-rockers Dead Meadow will be checking into the Troubadour for a night of hazy riffs. But we strongly suggest heading over to Spaceland to see Portland-based Starfucker (LAist Review). The auspiciously-named electro-pop trio seized hold of the masses at this year's CMJ Festival in New York. Catch them before they're huge! more ›

“That was the toughest bunch of opening acts we’ve ever had to follow,” noted Roger Daltrey midway through the Who’s set on Saturday night at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. It can’t be easy having to follow your own best material, but they did so anyway, capping off a spectacular VH1 Rock Honors taping that began with heartfelt tributes from Incubus, Tenacious D, Foo Fighters, Flaming Lips and Pearl Jam. more ›

Saturday VH1 held its Rock Honors concert for The Who at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. VH1 had everything running like a well-oiled machine. Photographers were assigned numbers and led onto the carpet in small groups, kind of like boarding Southwest airlines. I was assigned the very last number of the very last group. There was none laster than me. We were led to the back row of a riser, which caused some photographers to insist upon a new area being specially created for them. The rest of us chose a more zen approach -- I saw one of the uber-competent organizers from The Florence Henderson Show there and knew they would pull it together. Our patience was later rewarded by having the photography gods smile down upon us. more ›

Opening night for The Who's rock opera Tommy, the story of a troubled and unfortunate World War II veteran who eventually overcomes his handicaps to become a pinball master amongst other things. The show is an audio treat, presented in high definition 3-D audio. more ›

FILM* more ›

In order to inspire you to get those last-minute cards in the mail today, here are four very personal holiday messages to and from your favorite musicians. more ›

The Mods and Rockers invite all Beatles fans, Anglophiles and latent mods and rockers to attend A Holiday Rave-up: A Very British Sixties Christmas! tomorrow night. more ›

I am thankful for… Thanksgiving - even though I think it’s a stupid holiday, and I pretty much hate all the food associated with it - for giving me the opportunity to spend the day with family that I love and actually enjoy being around. I am thankful every day that I am able to make a living being creative and doing something I love. (Except for when I’m on strike) I am thankful... more ›

After the successful release of their new album "Honeycreeper", international pop duo superstars Puffy AmiYumi are touring some West coast cities inlcuding the Key Club in Los Angeles November 16th, and the House of Blues in Anaheim November 18th. Puffy AmiYumi epitomize the phrase "I'm huge in Japan", but they don't just stop there. They're huge everywhere. It's as if the Beatles were two Japanese chicks, and started mashing out records in the mid-90s. They're... more ›

Here are some Halloween songs that will make your skin crawl! more ›

I made my way to the yellow covered tents at the far end of the WeHo Book Fair fifteen minutes early, for the panel that had made me cream when I read about it. Moderated by Hilary Carlip, “Cracking Up: Women on the Verge of Laughter” was a discussion with five female writers whose work ostensibly falls under the heading “comedy”: Beth Lapides, Cathryn Michon, Meghan Daum, and Erika Schickel. more ›

The West Hollywood Book Fair, now in it's sixth year, will take over West Hollywood Park this Sunday from 10am - 6pm. We like to think of the WeHo book fair as the calmer, cooler cousin to the LA Times Festival of Books - great authors, excellent panels, live readings and good food - but much easier to navigate. As with any festival, planning the who/what/when is key...especially when trying to pack it all into one day. more ›

As a music collector, I’ve always salivated over the concept of The Lost Album. I’ve scoured endless record stores searching for that elusive bootleg of Homegrown - the scrapped Neil Young album, or the lost Brian Eno-produced Television demos, or the abandoned Johnny Cash/Bob Dylan album. (they laid down 15 songs in 2 days back in 1969) more ›

Photo by Prawnpie via Flickr I recently discovered that my friend's brother does PR for Lee Scratch Perry, one of the first reggae artists and experimenters in dub. Being half-Jamaican, (but born in Louisiana), I was a bit ashamed for only barely recognizing the name, but hey, my dad was listening to The Kinks and The Who at the time, and took off to England as soon as he was old enough, so I... more ›

Thursday's Metro Board meeting to hear public comment and vote on new fares for public transportation in Los Angeles was, simply put, an amazing scene. An estimated 1500 people showed up with approximately 1498 of them opposing the insanely high raised fares (try 500% for some passes). During public comment, speakers spoke with passion, anger, tears and fury. One of the day's best quotes came from a woman who held her baby in her... more ›

John Butler Trio, Brian Wright & The Waco Tragedies, Steve Carlson Band @ The Hotel Cafe more ›

The Submarines, "Brighter Discontent" Tonight: The Who @ Long Beach Arena Division Day, La Rocca @ Spaceland Eastern Conference Champions, I Make this Sound, The Procession @ Silverlake Lounge The Binges, Andy Dick & the Bitches of the Century @ King King Metal Skool, Shapes of Race Cars, Pearl @ Key Club Tuesday: Rockstar Supernova, The Panic Channel, Dilana @ Long Beach Arena Money Mark @ Amoeba (free, 7pm) Mezzanine Owls, Black Palms @... more ›

New releases! Now newer every week!! We begin this installment with a boatload of terrifying and perplexing tribute records, followed by noteables in every genre, including some promising rock offerings, a vault of soundtracks, fancy cello-ing, and more Frankie Valli than you can shake a stick at. Tribute Various Artists - Bluegrass Tribute to Modest Mouse (CMH) Various Artists - Bluegrass Tribute to the Shins (CMH) Various Artists - Can You Bring It? Sing... more ›

In the Summer of 1989 or 90 (who can remember these things) LAist had an opportunity to see either The Who at the Coliseum, Stevie Ray Vaughn with B.B. King at the Greek, or Randy Newman at the Universal. They would be free tickets, but all of the shows were happening on the same night so we had to pick one. And even though we had no idea that SRV was going to die... more ›

Bowling for Soup - The Great Burrito Extortion Case (Jive) J.J. Cale & Eric Clapton - The Road to Escondido (Reprise) The Chelsea Smiles - Thirty Six Hours Later (Acetate) El Goodo - El Goodo (Empyrean) Europe - Secret Society (Sanctuary) The Evens - Get Evens (Dischord) Foo Fighters - Skin and Bones (RCA) Josh Groban - Awake (Reprise) Jim Jones - Hustler's P.O.M.E. (Product of My Environment) (Koch) Librarians - Alright Easy Candy... more ›