Tony Pierce

They're old, they're gray, they steal carbon from the air, they block the sun, they buckle the sidewalks... and they're so ridiculously green it's almost like they're showing off. They are the 50+ ficus trees who have the nerve to stand in the way of progress near the 3rd Street Promenade. And they've got to go. In order to expand the popular shopping district (once known as the Santa Monica Mall), city officials have...

Morrissey being interviewed in 1984 Morrissey @ Palladium Metric @ Henry Fonda Bobby Valentino @ El Rey Twelve Girls Band @ The Greek Jimmy Dale Gilmore @ Getty The Radiators @ Fais Do-Do Jon Brion @ Largo Bill Callahan @ Echo Sir Richard Bishop @ Echoplex Black Label Society, Dope @ House of Blues Helmet, Dub Trio, Icarus Line @ Malibu Inn Reyes Brothers, Butterfly Hancock @ Whisky The Whisky Saints, Crash Kings, Jacaranda...

Wait a damn minute. You people demanded that Van Halen get rid of the Red Rocker and reinstate Diamond Dave. Sure Michael Anthony had to step down so as to get replaced by Eddie's boy Wolfgang on bass - but doesn't that make for better rock? Not according to slow-as-molasses ticket sales here in the Southland where none of the four Van Halen shows at Staples or the Honda Center have sold out. [Update:...

The LA Department of Water and Power seem to think that LA will just sit back and let them raise rates, hide money, and allow themselves to get rich. In the last few weeks the public utility has been exposed for a few troubling trends and actions that we quietly await to see what Mayor Tony, and our other elected officials, will do about it. On Sunday the LA Daily News discovered that over...

He's 80something and his self-titled cd is something that we've listened to almost every day since it was sent to us in April. Since Moz canceled perhaps that frees your schedule to take in another living legend: Charlie Louvin @ The Mint High School Musical on Ice @ Staples Bryan Adams, George Thorogood @ Gibson Black Label Society, Dope @ House of Blues Rolling Blackouts, Thunder in the Valley, Vampire Hands @ Alex's Bar...

While you were minding your own business, Mel Gibson, the LA Sheriff's Department were making sport of their power - arresting people and messing with gang members - simply to rack up points during in-house games and contests. One recent competition, described in an internal Sheriff's Department e-mail obtained by The Times, was called "Operation Any Booking." The object was to arrest as many people as possible within a specific 24-hour period. Other one-day...

When DATAROCK did their thing at Club NME in March, LAist was there sorta... and we busted with a sweet photo essay for your ass. Actually it was Wathana Lim's first contribution to our blog. Ah memories. Sniff. Recently the LA Weekly had an interview with the Norwegian duo who described how the band was created. We fell in love. He became pregnant and gave birth to a small Casio watch. As our love...

Bigmouth couldn't sell out 10 nights? There's no official word if Moz had ticket selling issues or if he's exhausted or has anxiety, or if he just wanted to road trip to Zona to check out the Cubs vs the D-Backs. Either way we have this photo and this explanation via the LA Scumbag: There was a line of people all day long waiting to get into the paladium , I just saw them...

The party is over in apartment 269 after Irvine cops acting on complaints from neighbors discovered a small brothel in the OC. One woman was charged with pimping and two were popped for whoring via Craigslist - at bare bottom rates. The three woman, all Los Angeles residents, allegedly advertised their services on Craigslist.com, and met the men in a two-bedroom unit at the Villa Coronado apartment homes in Irvine, authorities said. Kyung Ah...

- Green LA Girl takes her show to the LA Times via The Emerald City - congrats Siel! - LAT - Laker center Kwame Brown gets popped for Disorderly Conduct in Georgia on Saturday after his cousin was charged with drunk driving after going the wrong way down a one-way street. Laker fans would like to see that sort of effort in the paint - AP - Even though it's only 56-years old, and...