The Black Angels. Photo by Jeremiah Garcia / www.IceCreamMan.com” The Black Angels area a very serious rock band. They play serious music, they don't smile on stage and they for damn sure do not look like they are having a good time. It's not that they seem bored on stage, it's that they -- either intentionally or unintentionally -- exude cool. It drips from their pulsating rhythms, from their drawn out songs, from their I-Don't-Give-A-Fuck-What-You-Think,......

British musician Newton Faulkner has been compared with everyone from Eddie Vedder to Jack Johnson, but I think Rolling Stone said it best when they declared, “If Prince was an English hippie who was obsessed with Bobby McFerrin-esque percussion and had long cinnamon dreadlocks, you'd have Faulkner.” His first album, Hand Built by Robots has gone double platinum in the UK and is picking up steam in the United States. Faulkner will play the Troubadour......

It won’t be apparent when she takes the stage tonight at the Troubadour, but the last time Tift Merritt was on the road, a rigorous year supporting her vibrant 2004 album, Tambourine, it left her so worn out that she fled to Paris to get lost. With no intentions of working but simply to take in the solitude of being a stranger in a country not her own, she nonetheless found herself plucking away melodies......

One year and four days after they played their first headlining gig at the Troubadour, Austin psychedelic rockers The Black Angels return to the West Hollywood beacon to music taste June 5 in support of their newest record: Directions to See a Ghost. The Angels' first full length, Passover, enjoyed wide-spread acclaim and love on local radio. Their second album, due out later this year (but available now in digital format) builds on some of......

It's hard to compete with St. Patrick's Day, something Jason Collett can testify to as he played to a thin crowd numbering in the few dozen at the Troubadour. It seemed the allure of corned beef and Guinness was just too much. What the revelers missed was a charming, laid-back set from Collett, a sometime member of the Canadian collective, Broken Social Scene. Collett's sound is a throwback to the old California rock sound by......

Van Hunt plays the Temple Bar tonight, the third and last in a series of LA shows | Photo via his MySpace page The Guide to March Rock Music Residencies has been updated with a few more listings -- it seems as if residencies are catching on, which is a good thing. Meanwhile, Howlin Rain plays their last LA concert before a tour promoting their new album, Magnificent Fiend, that was released yesterday. Nicole......

Reeve Oliver plays Tuesday nights at the Key Club this month | Photo via their MySpace Tuesdays are usually slow nights in LA for music and as bands prep to head Texas-way for SXSW, we'll probably see even fewer choices like tonight. But fewer doesn't mean worse. Mountain Goats and Jeffrey Lewis (great video below) play at the Troubadour tonight (and tomorrow), Working For A Nuclear Free City is back with another concert, this......

Julia Fordham | Photo by freefall 2007 via flickr If you cannot make it to hear the amazing jazz vocalist, Julia Fordham, at The Roxy tonight, opening up at Hotel Cafe tonight is Tiffany Randol, who we caught at one of strong>Alex & Sam's Tangier shows. The front woman of NYC based glam rock band, Valeze, has now gone solo singer/songwriter style, making Los Angeles her second home, and is bringing out a new......

Robert Francis | Photo via his MySpace page As we said yesterday in this column, Robert Francis fell ill earlier this month, prompting the cancellation of his Monday night residency at the Silverlake Lounge. Good news, though, the new favorite local artist of ours is playing tonight at El Rey at 8:45 p.m. with the Australian Missy Higgins performing after. There's no better way than letting you get to know Francis via a few......

These murals outside Pincher's Liquor on Pico were some of your favorites this week on LAist | Photo by Osmany Rodriguez/LAist When you read something you like on LAist, we love it when you hit the "recommend" button, and we love it even more if you put your two cents' worth in the comments. Getting a dialog going with our readers and making sure we're giving you content you can use are top priorities......

Part of an ongoing series. Three weeks ago, The Airborne Toxic Event (MySpace) concluded their January residency at Spaceland (MySpace) in Silver Lake with a show that included The Deadly Syndrome (MySpace) and Castledoor (MySpace). It was a chance to see all three of Kevin Bronson's bands to watch on the same stage in a single night. So many people (including Kiefer Sutherland, who had recently completed his DUI prison sentence) descended to Spaceland......

No Age plays at El Rey tonight with the Liars More What Made Milwaukee Famous? Yes, more of that! "Sultan" - What Made Milwaukee Famous &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://aprodxn.com/laist/zfiles/sultan.mp3"> "Resistance" - What Made Milwaukee Famous &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://barsukmusic.blaireau.net/WhatMadeMilwaukeeFamous_ResistanceSt.mp3"> Liars, No Age @ El Rey Built to Spill, Meat Puppets @ Echoplex The Lovemakers, Astra Heights, Something For Rockets @ The Troubadour (Astra Heights video below) Marilyn Manson, Ours @ Wiltern Kimya Dawson @ Amoeba Records (See who won't be......

West Indian Girl plays The Troubadour tonight | Photo by Ty Parker via their MySpace LA Weekly points us to some hot picks for tonight. About Girl in Coma: "Joan Jett knows a thing or two about rock & roll, and her latest protegees, Girl in a Coma, on her Blackheart label are one of the best and most interesting bands to come out of Texas in a long time," writes Falling James. They......

Their next Los Angeles show is on March 3rd at The Troubadour (an all ages show at that). See Koga's fantastic photos of Airborne at a Spaceland soundcheck.......

As I sat in the Troubadour balcony, looking down on Moistboyz singer Dickie Moist screaming to a crowd of roughly 70 people like a stadium full of Billy Graham disciples, something occurred to me: Rock 'n Roll used to have real power. It changed society, outraged moralists, defied suppression and even affected the way artists in other music forms approached their compositions, and this was during the 50s, when the average Rock song was either......

Mellowdrone | Photo by Todd Becker via their MySpace page UPDATE, 12:10 P.M.: We forgot to remind you that Sia is playing this afternoon in Santa Monica for free. 2:00 p.m., Starbucks, random (see first bullet in Extra, Extra list). Maybe you're going on a rock n' roll date tonight with one of these bands. Or maybe you're going to the launch party of RocknRollDating.com. Or maybe Valentine's Day sucks and you'll be joining......

For those of you who don't know, Moistboyz are a politically vulgar Punk-Metal hybrid Featuring Lead Vocalist Dickie Moist (Guy Heller,) and Lead Guitarist Mickey Moist (AKA Mickey Melchiondo, AKA Dean Ween of Ween.) They've been playing and recording ittermittently since the early 90s, with increased activity during the 2000s. Their music somehow manages to combine methamphetamine levels of energy, and aggressively in-your-face politics that, frankly, defy all description. (It's true - I don't like......

For a band of two 16-year-olds and one 17-year-old, Din Caliber has a huge sound that's quite exciting. And Linda Perry, record label owner/producer (credits include Gwen Stefani, Pink, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilara), has her eye on them. The home schooled trio practices four to five nights a week for four hours and has played the House of Blues and a few shows at the Whiskey A Go Go. Tonight they play the Knitting Factory......

Aimee Mann will play tonight and tomorrow night at Largo. Dinner is booked, but they say come down early for drinks | Photo via MySpace Usually Tuesday nights are slow for music in this town. Not tonight -- the spirit of Super Tuesday and democracy must have rung clear to bookers. Of course, LAist is having a party too, starting at 7:00 p.m. at Seven Grand. Choices, choices. If there's a show you do......

Pity Party at Little Radio on New Years Eve | Photo by Koga/LAist Despite it being Superbowl Sunday, February residencies got off to a great start last night with Alex & Sam at Tangier. Tonight is the first night of February residencies at Spaceland, Silverlake Lounge, Crash Mansion and The Echo/Echoplex. By last Thursday, The Airborne Toxic Event had gained so much popularity from their January residency, they had to reject 300 people from......

The Airborne Toxic Event at soundcheck (see more photos here) | Photo by Koga/LAist It's the fifth Thursday of the month and this is your last chance to see The Airborne Toxic Event in their January Spaceland residency. KROQ and Indie 103.1 both added their song "Sometime Around Midnight" to their rotations last week and Airborne hears this is the first time in about 15 years KROQ has done this with an unsigned band......

Shelby Lynne will be performing songs recorded by Dusty Springfield (of 'Son of a Preacher Man' fame) tonight at Amoeba at 7 p.m. It can get bit tight and uncomfortable over there, so if you just want to watch from the comfort of your home, well, there'll be a webcast. Here's Lynne playing at a live session on KCRW back in October. &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://aprodxn.com/laist/zfiles/shelbylynnekcrw.mp3"> Shelby Lynne @ Amoeba Music Drug Rug @ Spaceland Johnny Polanco y......

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......

Last night, as steady rain drenched West Hollywood, Ingrid Michaelson rocked out to a sold-out Troubadour. The mood was light and the in-between-song bantering was charming and quite often hilarious. Ingrid sings with with her mellow innocence and fragile vulnerability in full effect and is backed up beautifully by Ms. Allie Moss, her backup singer and guitarist. The enthusiastic audience managed to tease her back out for a two song encore, a melodic version......

Astra Heights, who is this week's iTunes Latino “Single of the Week,” will play tonight at The Echo. Lemon Sun will also be there. Yesterday was Xena: Princess Warrior picket day at the WGA Strike. Tonight, Xena herself, Lucy Lawless, will be bashing heads and belting out songs over at the Roxy. And earlier this morning, we interviewed Talib Kweli who will be at the House of Blues down the street from the Roxy......

Carmen Rizzo will play the Temple Bar tonight Be joyful with the electro-pop sounds of Hey Willpower (Will from Imperial Teen and Tomo from Tussle) at The Echo or get a more worldly groove on at the Temple Bar. Jackshit, who we interviewed once, plays tonight and there are two in-store performances as well: one at Amoeba (of course) and the other at Active Ride Show. There's a few sold out shows, but you......

Prominently featured in Grey's Anatomy and Old Navy ads, Singer-Songwriter and independent music wonder Ingrid Michaelson's music comes to the Troubadour this Thursday night. Tickets are all gone, but photos will be forthcoming here on LAist. Born in Staten Island, Ingrid started piano lessons at 4 and graduated from State University of New York at Binghamton with a degree in theater. She wrote the songs for her first album while on the road touring......

UK punk band, The Gallows, play at the Troubadour tonight | Photo by Michael/www.attheshow.org Punk rock from London and Toronto at the Troubadour, Frenchies visiting Spaceland, and Reggae Dub at Echoplex -- we've got an internat'l flair going on here. You can also be overly hip and cool at The Roxy (one artist, A-TRAK, is from Montreal). Gallows, This Is Hell, Cancer Bats @ Troubadour The Teenagers. Run Run Run, Mostly Bears @ Spaceland......

Ryan Adams sucks and Matt Costa is all the way in Long Beach, so if there's anything worth checking out tonight that you probably haven't done, then it's some salsa dancing in Studio City with Johnny Polanco (pictured right). His band has "contagious Latin Music that is truly appreciated by the dancing connoisseurs." Rock. Johnny Polanco y Su Conjunto Amistad @ Mama Juana's Bone Thugs-N-Harmony @ Crash Mansion Poison the Well, The Locust, Dance Gavin......

For Westsiders, two bands of note at The Good Hurt tonight: Atomatique (powerpop) and Kinetic Stereokids (DJ/Rock/Ecclectic). Downtown, check out The Smell for experimental trip-hop etherealsim with All Neon Like. Popular Seattle singer/songwriter/rocker Jeremy Enigk will be at the Troubadour and there's a great mix of psychobilly, Spanish ska and surf at The House of Blues. Get fresh with some down South banjo fiddlin', mandolin fingerin' and jew harpin' at The Hotel Cafe as Ray......