Two for the Money...

Here are two upcoming shows in the LA area if anybody would be interested in carpooling:

1. The LA Weekly Detour Music Festival
After three years of advertising for these guys, it'd be nice if I were to finally go to one. However, given the fact that it's college football season, that's a BIG "if."

2. Kings of Leon w/ We Are Scientists & The Stills
I think I called Kings of Leon's Because of the Times something along the lines of "epic" last year. Their new album, Only By the Night? I've only heard a song so far, but I'm assuming the rest of the album is pretty awesome too.

Both supporting acts We Are Scientists and The Stills are sharing their new tunes as well. The Stills' Oceans Will Rise, which I haven't heard either (I've been out of touch with new music since July due to lack of hard drive space), is supposed to be quite excellent too; at the very least, I've heard it to be... let me see here... "rejuvenated." I don't know about you, but I'm pumped.

We Are Scientists' second album, Brain Thrust Mastery, which I actually have heard, isn't as good as their debut, With Love and Squalor, but the guys put on a pretty entertaining live show. Although they stopped bookending their shows with Phil Collins' "Against All Odds" and Boyz II Men's "End of the Road," the banter is still top notch. Just think of them as a more cerebral Blink-182.

And One for the Lovers

This just in:


I've been following this recent tour of his, and I can assure you these two shows are gonna be simply beautiful.

Since I have class that Tuesday, we're gonna all get tickets for day one and have ourselves one big, cathartic lovefest. I would highly, highly recommend that you consider going to this show if you have the capacity to do so.

Return of the Rentals, Take 3

I was fortunate enough to hear about Rentals' final show of the current tour at the Henry Fonda (after my previous Rentals post, mind you) and scored tickets for the lovefest last night. And what a lovefest it was.

Well, first things first. Opening band Copeland kinda blew. To be fair though, a couple members couldn't make it due to family issues, and the band soldiered on with an acoustic set rather than cancel. That said, you know it's pretty bad when this exchange goes on:
"I hope they play a cover."
"Of whom?"
"Anybody."

On to the main show. I was really hoping the Rentals would open the way they've been doing throughout the tour, with the 2046 strings intro and "Move On," but they just came out and rocked the house. They played all the hits, including "Friends of P," "Waiting," "Barcelona," and a bombass version "I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams," with Rachel Haden, Lauren Chipman & Sara Radle all sharing vocals. Magnificent.

And, for the record, they did eventually play "Move On," to start the encore. Although sans 2046, it was still the highlight of the show for me. Anyway, since I didn't take any pictures and it'll be a couple of days before any bootlegs possibly begin rolling out, here's their intro from Chicago with all that great crap I've been harping about:

Presenting the 2nd Annual "Noch Can't Go" Festival

The Detour Festival hits LA again this October:


Unfortunately, I will have to miss out on the fun again because I couldn't talk my cousin into moving her wedding date to a non-fun weekend.

Therefore, I must once again experience the music vicariously through one of you. Tickets go on sale this Saturday. Oh yeah, and make sure you check out Justice, for both our sakes.

TV on the Stage, Liquor in Our Bellies

TV on the Radio played the Music Box at the Henry Fonda Theatre on Friday, and speaking on behalf of Linda and Jerome, let me just say it was the shit (in a good way). Great energy and a full house made the show one for the books.

Every now and then, I sneak in lyrics from "The Wrong Way" into my prayers, namely the lines, "Teachin' folks [the score]/About patience, understanding, [agape babe]," so as you can imagine, hearing those lines live was pretty amazing. During my prayers, if I'm mumbling or I know the people around me aren't really paying attention, I try to squeeze in the words in brackets really quickly. So far, 3-for-3, baby.

Pictures courtesy of Zully's camera and a couple of vodka-Red Bulls.

3 Shows for the Price of... 3!

3 presales are going on RIGHT NOW. Get 'em while you can:

1. Modest Mouse, May 13th at the Greek Theatre
Password: ISSAQUAH
$35 + Ticketmaster's Milking Fee

2. Daft Punk, July 21st at the LA Sports Arena
Password: ROBOTS
$50 + Ticketmaster's Retirement Fund

3. Kings of Leon, here and there
Password: KINGS
Less than $30, hopefully

Sorry for the late notice. Best of luck.

Bloc Party, Live!

NME.com is graciously streaming an entire Bloc Party live show in Bristol from earlier this month. Check it out while you still can because it's probably a safe bet to say that this gem won't be up forever.

Yay-yay.

500 Greatest Songs, Live!

Here's an ambitious endeavor: Coming this May, Smith's Olde Bar in Atlanta will be hosting a ten-day marathon featuring 500 bands, each of which performing one song on Rolling Stone's 2004 greatest songs list. They've already got about 100 bands signed up, and the proceeds go to the kiddies, courtesy of the Songs for Kids Foundation.

Random fantasy question: If you could choose any two or three songs on the list to perform, which would you choose?

I'd want to take a crack at Salt-n-Pepa's "Push It," and maybe follow with the Modern Lovers' "Roadrunner," but yeah, definitely gotta push it real good.

"They're Like The Cranberries If Their Parents Loved Them"

That quoted from my friend Leah Dewolf here in lovely District of Columbia....

Hi everyone,
Juliet here, back for sloppy seconds, live in the basement bar at 930 club (thanks 930 for your free wifi), after drunk dialing Enoch (don't be fooled, I may have a cup of Jager in me, but I still remember everything I say) in the middle of the Camera Obscura show.

This show perfectly fits the bill here in DC, high 20s after the snow last night, everything is icy outside and in might I add with band and crowd. I listened to C.O. music at work last week preparing for this show. Unfortunately to say, that was as good as it was going to get.

Think cuteness to the max minus the puppies and kittens.
Think 60s pop/lounge band with ponytails and bangs.
Think Saddle Creek Records style with their large, six piece ensemble.
Think Rilo Kiley (and might I add, R.K. is one of my favorite bands) but super sedated.
Chris said "girl version of Belle and Sebastian" (the last I checked, Pursuit of Happiness had female vocalists and is something you can dance to)
Think of indie darlings getting married, C. O. is their band in powder blue suits, playing the wedding march with their lovely organ and again at their reception.
Think that if people were to go nuts at their show, they would resemble the Peanuts Gang in Charlie Brown Christmas.
Think of a satisfactory makeout section with no passion, while you are planning your next day...without the dude.

xo J

Okay, I Believe Now

I'll Believe It When I See It

The LA Times has reported that some pretty big bands will be playing Coachella this year.

For those of you without a log-in and don't feel like signing up, here's the article in its entirety:

Rage Against the Machine, the seminal L.A. band that made heavy music into political manifesto, will reunite after a seven-year lull for one show as the headliners at the 2007 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Sources say Rage, which played the main stage at the first Coachella in 1999, will be joined by other familiar faces for the eighth edition of the festival, which covers three days this year and begins April 27: Red Hot Chili Peppers, which headlined in 2003, are back, as is Björk, who topped the bill in 2002.

Organizers were mum this weekend and it was not clear which day Rage or the other acts were slotted to play; that announcement is expected in the next few days. Other acts expected in the eclectic lineup: Arcade Fire, Interpol, Willie Nelson, the Roots, Manu Chao, the Decemberists, Arctic Monkeys, Sonic Youth, Crowded House, Air, Tiësto and Kings of Leon.

Tickets go on sale Saturday, via Ticketmaster. Three-day passes will cost about $250 and there will be a limited number of single-day passes available.

The headliners are not novel, but they are potent. The Peppers are up for their first best album Grammy right now, and Björk remains a mesmerizing figure to fans of avant pop. But in Southern California rock circles, there is very little that could compete with the excitement of a Rage Against the Machine reunion. The quartet's hybrid of funk, rap, metal and leftist ideology was as subtle as a Molotov cocktail; in the 1990s, its aggro-anthems made it the only band that mattered to a fan base that included East L.A. protest kids as well as those in Hollywood punk circles, college dorms and mainstream rock festival mosh pits, where politics were secondary to the group's feral energy.

The band is vocalist Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk. Their split came amid rumors of bad blood between De la Rocha and his mates, who went on to work with Chris Cornell in Audioslave. However, Morello and De la Rocha appeared together at a 2005 rally for the urban farmers of a South Los Angeles community garden.

Who's in for a motel room?

Update:
Stereogum's got a full lineup, and it's confirmed by Billboard.

Party with the Fat Kids

End of the year consensus band TV on the Radio will be performing around the country beginning in March. Come check them out with four of your beloved cake lovin' bloggers.

Jerome, silent-partner Linda, and I will be going to the March 30th show at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, while Juliet, who just recently popped her blog cherry, will be checking them out on April 18th at the 9:30 Club in DC. I know the tickets for the LA show are $18 before all the Ticketmaster bullshit, and I'm assuming the other shows are comparable, so go see them!

Here's their full itinerary.

Hickchella

With the announcement of the 2007 Coachella lineup looming only a few weeks away, people like me begin to grasp at straws for any kind of leak, be it rumored artists, some kind of behind-the-scenes drama, or if they finally loosened up on the outside food rule. Seriously, even though this only happens once a year, I'm getting pretty tired of hiding candy in my shoes and crotch.

As such, besides letting you know that in addition to the previously confirmed artists, !!!, Lupe Fiasco, and Blonde Redhead have all been confirmed through various sources. Remember the other festival I mentioned, Coachella's bastard country cousin? Stagecoach, as it is been dubbed, is up and running:

Although the Palomino Stage does generate some crossover appeal, I think we can kinda guess who're gonna show up for this one.

Kinda Secret Snow Patrol Pre-Sale Info

If you're going to be in Los Angeles on Friday, March 2nd in the year Anno Domini 2007, you might want to check out Snow Patrol at the Gibson Amphitheatre (formerly Universal Amphitheatre) in Universal City.

Taking that one step further, if you're planning to be at the show and want to get tickets, like, super-fucking early, i.e. Wednesday morning, click this Ticketmaster link. The password is "EYESOPEN." It's without the period, but that's grammatical correctness for you. The presale starts at 10 am.

It's going to be exactly like this for about an hour before the midgets come out and dance around Stonehenge.

Your First Official Coachella 2007 Update

It's a doozy, too. Next year's festival will up the ante by becoming a THREE (3, III, 三)-day event, running from Friday, April 27th through Sunday, April 29th. The first artists to confirm are Rodrigo y Gabriela, LCD Soundsystem, Cornelius, Hot Chip, Oh No Oh My and Digitalism.

Depending on who you're asking, the bigger story concerns the weekend following Coachella. On May 5-6, the Empire Polo Grounds will host a country music festival, also promoted by Paul Follet and Goldenvoice. Some of the artists already lined up include Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, and Emmylou Harris.

Early details of both events can be found via Billboard. Jesus, I just hope those country people don't show up on the wrong weekend.

And let the jacking of hotel prices begin... now.

"Seattle: Cop Killer."

Here's some funny banter from the TV on the Radio show in Seattle this past May. I'd include a music track too, but EZ Archive is acting, and will probably continue to be, stupid-retarded until version three-oh drops in November.

TV on the Radio - Seattle's Motto (Seattle live)

You're My Inspiration

Last night, We Are Scientists and Art Brut played a fairly magnificent show at the Music Box at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood.

I missed most of the Spinto Band, but the last two songs sounded pretty good. Maybe next time.

If you've never heard Art Brut's music before, it's a combination of cock rock melodies and lead "singer" Eddie Argos pretty much talking to the audience. Formulaically, it takes a bit of charisma to pull it off, and let me tell you, he's got a buttload of charm, especially when he's preaching life lessons to the kids. Example: during "Emily Kane," ad libbed lyrics include:
"If Jay-Z were in the audience
He'd grab me by the arm
And he'd say to me
'Eddie Argos...
If you're having girl problems, I feel bad for you, son
I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one.'
And I'd say...
'Jay-Z, I don't appreciate your mysognistic tone,
But I see where you're coming from."

By the time We Are Scientists came onstage, I was feeling a little bit under the weather and was just trying to stay conscious long enough to hear them play "Textbook." It was totally worth it. The repetitive nature of their songs make for either a really fun sing-a-long or can irritate the shit out of you, depending on the track. Though I will admit "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt" is a great way to start a set, the banter and songs 2-5 did leave a little to be desired. Yeah, we were pretty much out the door after "Textbook." Good times.

Here are some highlights from previous Art Brut & We Are Scientist shows:

Art Brut - Emily Kane (Vienna live)

Art Brut - My Little Brother (Vienna live)

We Are Scientists - Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt (Seattle live)

We Are Scientists - Textbook (Seattle live)

Who Wants to Roll?

Details here.

A Cheaper Ticket Means More Money for Beer

Here are some upcoming shows I plan on hitting up, and I've included links for the artists' respective tours in case you wanna catch them at a venue near you. There's a sample from each artists' most recent album so you can get a taste of the flava. I love you, too.

Nouvelle Vague - 9/8 at Henry Fonda Music Box in LA.
Blue Monday (from Bande A Part)

Ratatat - 9/23 at the Glass House in Pomona (because the LA date is a school night)
Tropicana (from Classics)

Art Brut/We Are Scientists w/ Spinto Band - 9/30 at the same Henry Fonda Music Box
Art Brut - Formed a Band (from Bang Bang Rock & Roll)
We Are Scientists - Textbook (from With Love and Squalor)
Spinto Band - Spy vs. Spy (from Nice and Nicely Done)


Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 10/1 at the Hollywood Palladium
Dudley (from Show Your Bones)