Ever since her Fluxus days, Yoko Ono’s art has often revolved around the challenging of her audience’s assumptions, specifically about the nature of art, social mores, gender roles, and the nature of celebrity. The live show she brought to the Orpheum last weekend continued this tradition, bringing together a collective of first-rate musicians and famous guests for a show that held enormous emotional impact. It was a surprisingly diverse (where else are you gonna get RZA, Iggy, Vincent Gallo and Carrie Fisher on the same bill?) and even accessible package for a woman whose music is often thought of as difficult and anti-rock. But anyone expecting a Yoko show to be two hours of oi-yoi-yoi-yoi warbling hasn't heard her records, especially the new one, Between My Head And The Sky, which made up a good part of the set list. We heard a lot of different kinds of music, some of it simple, gentle and lovely. Some of it was tense and funky, some of it joyous and rocked-out. And, yes, some of it was dissonant, and she did break out the oi-yoi-yoi every so often. But the most discordant moments added texture, some of them loud and powerful, some quiet and fragile. more ›

Tonight critically-acclaimed English electro pop duo Goldfrapp will be performing at the Hollywood Bowl with New England-based experimental lo-fi musician Merrill Garbus, otherwise known as tUnE-YaRdS. Famed Pixies front man Frank Black is poised to perform under his stage name Black Francis at the Mint... more ›

This week critically-acclaimed English electro pop duo Goldfrapp will be performing at the Hollywood Bowl with New England-based experimental lo-fi musician Merrill Garbus, otherwise known as tUnE-YaRdS. Brooklyn-based soul/funk group Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings will be headlining the Wiltern. Canadian indie rock quintet Stars are poised to take on a two-night, sold-out stint at the Troubadour. And, lastly, Denton-based singer-songwriter Sarah Jaffe will be gracing the Bootleg Theater, warming up the stage for overall lo-fi rock pioneer Lou Barlow. more ›

This week New England-based experimental lo-fi musician Merrill Garbus, who performs under the pseudonym tUnE-YaRdS, will be gracing the Echo, warming up the stage for San Jose's own experimental art rock trio Xiu Xiu. Danish indie rockers Efterklang are poised to headline Spaceland. Avant-garde musician and founding member of Animal Collective Josh Dibb, otherwise known as Deakin, will be taking on a two-night stint at Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock. And, lastly, Mali-based musician Bassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni Ba will be performing at the Getty Center for this week's edition of 'Saturday Nights at the Getty.' more ›

You're encouraged to "have a drink with the dinosaurs" at the Natural History Museum's First Fridays showcase, which is a helluva lot more exciting than you'd think. It's not just dioramas and deciphering Latin genus-species information, folks. more ›

Despite what may or may not have been said yesterday, tonight local indie rock outfit the Happy Hollows (LAist Review, #2, #3) will be performing at the Viper Room with none other than Burbank-based experimental psych folk act Gangi (LAist Review). We'd like to take a moment to wish front man Matt Gangi a very happy birthday! Local indie folk outfit Marvelous Toy are poised to take on Juanita's Bar and Restaurant in Highland Park. And, lastly, LA-based indie rockers Sweaters will be headlining the Echo. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Natural History Museum to catch tUnE-YaRdS, the moniker of New England-based experimental lo-fi musician Merrill Garbus. The Atlas Sound, the experimental solo project of Deerhunter front man Bradford Cox, are poised to headline. more ›

Tonight local folk duo the Ditty Bops will be performing at the Steve Allen Theatre in Los Feliz. London-based experimental pop outfit Micachu & the Shapes are poised to headline the Echo with the tUnE-YaRdS in tow. And, lastly, classically-trained violinist-turned-singer-songwriter Christina Courtin (LAist Interview) will be gracing Largo at the Coronet. But we strongly suggest heading over to Spaceland to catch lead singer of Delta Spirit, Matt Vasquez. LAist favorites the Parson Red Heads (LAist Review, #2, #3) are slated to kick things off. 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 ›