Everyone is in a tizzy about The Wire coming to a close yesterday - it's one of the few shows that decided to go out while it was on top so kudos to them. The TV Junkie is barely keeping his head above water with the deluge of new shows coming out in the next week, tonight it's Julianna Margulies' return to the little screen with Canterbury's Law (that's a mouthful, say: Julianna Margulies in Canterbury's Law 10x fast). Stay tuned for more shows this week, including the fabulous Lewis Black (right) in Lewis Black's Root of All Evil which premieres on Wednesday at 10:30pm - I hope he does "the finger thing" a lot.
TV Junkie: Monday
Tonight in Rock: Lizz Wright, We Barbarians, Ari Shine
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.
Tonight in Rock: Listings & Police/American Idol News
First, some non-tonight news. This is for Sunday, but you should know now. The Police have added a second Hollywood Bowl show on Wednesday, May 28. They play with Elvis Costello. "General on-sale begins March 9 - that’s this Sunday - at 10am," says LosAnjealous.
Foo Fighters @ The Forum, 3/5/08
"This is our Homecoming show," an always energetic Dave Grohl yelled at a stopping point in the Foo Fighters two+ hour long set Wednesday night, as expected the sold-out Forum crowd lit up with cheers and screams of approval. With good reason too as the Foos have become the torch-bearers for this generations version of bold and bombastic, arena rock.(with Muse hot on their heels) There are very few bands touring today that can match the energy the Foo Fighters bring to their arena show and Wednesday's show proved their mastery.
Concert Review: British Sea Power -- Never Go See Them Live
Spaceland, Thursday, Feb 28 (With a Pause to mention their Echo show on the 27th.)
Soundcheck: The Ditty Bops & Jesca Hoop @ McCabe's Guitar Shop, 3/1/08
On Saturday evening, local green-minded band (and covergirls) The Ditty Bops (MySpace), with Jesca Hoop (MySpace), John Reynolds, and Kaveh Rastegar (MySpace), performed at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica.
Workout Wednesday: Feel the burn, LA!
With year-round great weather, awesome beaches, and a short drive to the snow, Los Angeles is the perfect place to get sweaty.
Tonight in Rock: Hackensaw Boys, Foo Fighters
Our brain is going to explode with all the great choices tonight. From friggin' amazing jazz (see, we're not swearing) at UCLA to folk-punk sensibilities of The Hackensaw Boys at Tangier in Los Feliz (video after the jump), tonight is a bounty of gold. Also, Jim Bianco will be at Amoeba and it's the first night for Wednesday night March residencies.
Galaxy Tour Falling Flat
The Los Angeles Galaxy wrapped a 3-0 win in Shanghai on Wednesday night (yup -- big time difference, folks!) thanks to a hat trick by Carlos Ruiz. Shanghaiist, our sister site, has been covering Beckhamania and has great analysis of the match against Shanghai East Asia Hong Kong United (it's unclear at this time if that fits on a jersey). In fact, they've got a lot more insight than, say, ESPN's Soccernet.
Get Your Lit On: The Week in Bookish LA
John Richardson signs A Life of Picasso: The Triumphant Years 7pm @ LACMA
Britain Continues its Invasion
100 years and nine months ago, an American ship called Chesapeake was cannonballed by a British vessel, and not in the Ron Burgundy way. Apparently, the Americans refused to be boarded, the Brits fired and an international incident was born.
Mayor Villaraigosa's Grade is Slipping Fast
No more are the days where Mayor Villaraigosa is a rock star celebrity who stood as a symbol of change for Los Angeles. The LA Times this weekend, along with LAist late last week, questioned the Mayor's time on the road with the Hillary Clinton campaign. The Mayor says the trip scheduled to end Wednesday comes to an end today because a lot was already accomplished, but the Daily News speculates the reason came "amid complaints."
Nova Express Cafe to Close This Week
It's a sad day week for those who frequent Fairfax Village, for those who need a late-night nosh alternative to Canter's Deli, or for those who love some vegan pizza -- Nova Express Cafe announced (letter below) that they are closing their doors this Wednesday at 2 a.m. (not be too confusing, that would officially be Thursday, 3 hours in).
8 Wounded at South LA Bus Stop; Gunman Flees
An innocent victim meeting a stray bullet is not a completely unexpected occurrence in any of the regions detailed on the LAPD's gang injunction map (view the PDF).
Igloo Tornado Show @ black maria Gallery Saturday, February 23; Also, An Interview.
Igloo Tornado is an East Side based art collective (they actually call it a Fraternity, which when you account for their frequent references to beer, can probably be taken in both the Classical Greek and Collegiate meanings) featuring the work of Levon Jihanian, Tom Neely, Gin Steven and Scot Nobles.
Soundcheck: The Airborne Toxic Event, The Deadly Syndrome & Castledoor @ Spaceland, 1/31/08
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.
Another Term for Mayor Tony?
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has begun to get the word out that he plans on running for a second term. According to the LA Times, Mayor Tony made mention of his plans, along with "his most personal remarks to date about the political fallout from his extramarital affair" on Wednesday during an interview on the Charlie Rose show.
A Bummer of a Route Selected for Crenshaw Line
The Daily Breeze headed out to Wednesday's Crenshaw/Prairie Transit Corridor Study meeting (two more left) and found themselves in what we would consider a very disappointing night of transit development:
LAist Political Notebook: McCain Flirts, Obama Soars
Thomas Pynchon once said, "If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." But if they find you in the romantic embrace of a lobbyist and you happen to be a Senator from Arizona, it doesn't matter what they're asking, just what they are reporting and late Wednesday, the New York Times broke it wide open.
Tonight in Rock: The Kevin Eubanks Group
We seemed to have missed Santa Monica based Krandon as a Wednesday night resident at Molly Malone's. The lightly meditative and chill alternative indie band's name comes from an abandoned James Joyce play written in collaboration with physicist Neils Bohr according to the band's MySpace page. If that's a little too esoteric for you, our Wednesday night pick this month is a little more down home folk style, but with a loud presence -- Brian Wright & The Waco Tragedies. But Wright and his country buddies pose a difficult choice to make with Jay Leno's very own Kevin Eubanks, who plays at The Baked Potato tonight in Studio City.
TV Junkie: Monday
Now that the writers' strike is over and it's full-steam ahead with the Oscars, you can bet that just about every TV channel is going to dogpile on the gala event. Yeah, the Grammys went ahead without interference but the Grammys are nothing compared to the Oscars. E! and CNN already have several shows lined up (look for Oscar host, Jon Stewart, on Larry King this Wednesday night) ready to tackle the exciting topics of: what will be in the gift bags? Who is Prince going to have perform at his Oscar bash? Where do the stars detox before and after the Oscars? etc.
Get Your Lit On: The Week in Bookish LA
Get Your Lit On: The Week in Bookish LA includes some outstanding readings this week from some fine, fine writers including Maggie Nelson, Anne Enright, Colm Toibin, Toby Barlow, Amy Hempel, Peter Carey, John Rechy, Martha Grimes and Russell Banks.
Honor Him: Funeral Route & Street Closures for LAPD SWAT Officer Randal Simmons
Zoom in, zoom out, click on the icons and click on the lines for more info and times of closures | View Larger Map
Tonight in Rock: Folk, Soul-Grass & some Punk Dub
Willie Nelson may be playing downtown tonight, but if you want some folk rock that's local and amazingly fresh, go hear Brian Wright and the Waco Tragedies. We heard them last week at their first show of their Hotel Cafe February residency and it was in-your-face and beautiful. But you've got a tough choice if you like this kind of music because when it rains, it pours -- Canadian acoustic folk soul-grass band, The Duhks, will be at the Knitting Factory.
Oxnard School Shooting Leaves One Dead Seriously Injured*
UPDATE, 4:12 P.M., FRI., FEB. 15: KNBC reports that the Oxnard boy has been taken off life support and "his organs have been given away."

