Molly Bergen

Photos by Ian Dickson and Molly Bergen for the LAist. The dragons descended down upon Chinatown yesterday and drove out all the bad spirits. Saturday January, 31st marked the 110th annual Golden Dragon Parade. It is held every year in celebration of the Chinese New Year and draws over 100,000 people. This year was no different. The parade was packed with dragons of every size shape and color. Giant dragons that were held by twenty...

Four words I never thought I would hear uttered at Club Nokia issued from young woman from the crowd. "I love your accordion!" she screamed. Next to me a drunken man in a plaid fedora raised his hands in double devil horns while stomping his feet. Really I thought that sort of thing was reserved for polka festivals and street fairs, but I guess I was wrong. You might well ask, who was inducing such...

All photos were taken by the very talented Benjamin Hoste for the LAist Drummer and one half of the two man band the Voyeurs, Sean Johnson is shopping for a pilates DVD. Not for himself, but for his girlfriend so they can try it together. We're at a Target in Eagle Rock trying to decide between the core version or the one for weight loss. The other half of the Voyeurs, Jonathan Hylander is...

Photo by Kazumichi Kokei The east coast band performed their brand of clever pop at Largo at the Coronet last Wednesday to an enthusiastic crowd. The beauty of Fountains of Wayne lies not in their hooks, although they're very catchy, but in their attention to detail. If the Devil is in the details, Fountains of Wayne must hang out with him all the time. Their lyrics are alive with seemingly mundane activities of every...

Photo by Leslie Kalohi for the LAist. Baltimore's Beach House performed their synthesized pop before a huge crowd at the Fonda Theater on Tuesday night. With her long hair, heavily ringed fingers, and dark clothing, Victoria Legrand, gave off the appearance of a gothic lady that got lost looking for her heavy metal band, wandered into this indie troop, and decided to stick around. Her voice had all the appeal of glazed doughnut that had...

Photo by Leslie Kalohi for LAist The most beautiful thing about Largo is that it's silent. The man who runs both the Coronet and the Little Room forbids all electronics including cell phones from being turned on in the theater with a vigilance that would impress the Soup Nazi. Due to the strict enforcement of this rule, the sound quality at these concerts are unparalleled. There are no distractions, no talking, and you can give...

Photo by the talented Leslie Kalohi for the LAist If you were standing outside the Troubadour last Wednesday night, your ears would have been awash in accents from all over the British isles. Scots, English, Welsh, and even the odd Irish lilt filled the air to the point at which if you closed your eyes, your ears no longer believed your brain's messages that you were in fact in West Hollywood. The catalyst to...

Photo by the talented Ryan Roco via Myspace The Delta Spirit, those unconventional rockers from San Diego, will be headlining a show at the El Rey tonight in support of their album Ode to Sunshine. Their hit Trashcan in which they use an actual trashcan lid as percussion launched them from local rock band to radio sensation last year. The band was formed when friends Brandon Young (drums) and Jon Jameson saw Matthew Vasquez...

Last Saturday, Guitar Center held it's 20th anniversary Drum Off. Local and regional competitions were held in Guitar Centers across the country over the past few months. In the end six undiscovered drummers, the creme de la creme, made the cut and were flown to Los Angeles to compete against each other for $25,000 and a tons of other cool stuff. You know, sneakers, jeans, ad deals, drum sets, cymbals, things like that. And who...

All photos were taken by the very talented Ted Newsome. Born the son of a professional guitarist who played with Bo Diddley, Rocco Deluca had blues in his soul since he was a boy. Inspired by the classic Delta bluesmen, Muddy Waters, Son House, and Robert Johnson, Rocco Deluca has created a blues/rock sound that pays homage to these late greats. The kind of blues that make you want to rip off your shirt...