Radio Free Silver Lake

Video Free Silver Lake: Fool's Gold, Pomplamoose, Leonard Cohen, Taken By Trees and More...

By Jed

Sunday night's !!!/Indian Jewelry show at the Troubadour ended up to have been a wise choice. I caught most of Indian Jewelry's psych-rock set from the Loft, but traveled downstairs for the final extremely rewarding two songs. They play so often in Los Angeles, that somehow I had no idea they are from Houston.  !!! vastly exceeded my expectations, front band Nick Offer leading the packed venue in over an hour of fist pumping, hip gyrating early-mid 2000s style dance punk rocking out.

Besides the Eagle Rock Music Festival on Saturday (for which we should have a preview up some time this week), there's not too many shows on my personal radar, although the following seem worth mentioning....

1) Already love the song, and was more than pleased with the first video, but Los Angeles supergroup Fool's Gold have released yet another for their smash single "Surprise Hotel." Features 1) what looks like a small komodo dragon in the swimming pool (is it an iguana?), 2) a group of old guys have more than than a barell of monkeys and 3) a girl in a bikini playing the sax. Nice. Fool's Gold will be playing on Saturday, 10/3/2009 at Pappy and Harriet's in Joshua Tree, California, at the Manimal Festival with Devendra Banhart.

Bite-Sized News: Sea Wolf, Parson Red Heads, Everest and more!

By Whitney Hawke

- Sea Wolf's sophomore album White Water, White Bloom is out today on Silver Lake's own Dangerbird Records. They also have a song on the, no shit, the New Moon soundtrack. And actually, the New Moon soundtrack is a pretty sweet little indie-comp. Check it: Bon Iver, Lykke Li, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Grizzly Bear, Editors, and more. These bands are gonna make hella scrilla on this project. Twi-hards know no bounds.

- Local ginger-band the Parson Red Heads will start recording a new album this weekend at the beautiful studio Red Rockets Glare in Rancho Park, CA. The band will be posting previews of songs, updates on how it's going, and all-o-that on their ParsonRedHeadspace, so keep a peep out. The group is also embarking on an east coast tour throughout October, playing a few dates with Airborne Toxic Event, Northern Lights, Red Cortez, and Henry Clay People.

Ticket Giveaway: AM and The Rescues at the Troubadour, next Thursday, October 8

By Joel Robinson

Tuesday here at Radio Free Silver Lake, and tickets are on hand. And this time we are actually posting in a timely manner...who'd a' thunk it?

The tickets RFSL are able to offer will provide entry for one of our readers and a guest to take part next Thursday, October 8, in the show at The Troubadour. This show features local artist AM (pictured at right) bringing sounds off newest release Future Sons & Daughters, which is currently available online with scheduled physical release set for next February, to the masses today. The evening has AM opening in support of act The Rescues, who headline this event.

The L.A. Show Low Down (Or: "I Took Vacation For 52 Weeks, And Now My Pockets Are Full Of Receipts...")

by Brad Roberts

This week Blitzen Trapper (in above photo by Nilina Mason-Campbell) come back to town after being swamped by the Hollywood Bowl 'too-busy-dining-to-pay-attention' crowd in July. Luckily I'd seen them before at The Echo in November '08 and know what they're capable of. I just picked up their recent EP, Black River Killer, which is sounding like one of the year's best releases to me. Just as Furr was one of last year's best records. Every song, a gem. Wye Oak sound like just the kind of band to open the evening and I'm highly anticipating this show at El Rey, a perfect venue for Blitzen Trapper. Further along in the week it's Loney Dear, from Sweden, on his second jaunt through North America this year at The Troubadour. He was sensational in May at Spaceland. London's The Horrors stop by on their huge world tour and play El Rey on Thursday.

Locals we haven't seen in a while include Gangi, We Are The World and Pop Levi opening for various bands around town this week. Garnering lots of acclaim lately are Pocahaunted, who play The Smell on Thursday and Eagle Rock Festival on Saturday.

Kevin Bronson's new Buzzbands celebrates it's First Anniversary with a double EP release show for Eastern Conference Champions and Voxhaul Broadcast at The Echo on Wednesday. And The Eagle Rock Music Festival is sure to be a highlight and this is the first year I've been in town to enjoy it. The line up of about 60 bands is staggering, so I'll just toss a few names into the mix here: No Age, Fol Chen, Leslie and The Badgers, Pocahaunted, The French Semester, The Happy Hollows. Is that enough for you, or do you need more? There are more listed in the Saturday highlights below.

Interview: Karma McCartney

by Joe Fielder

Discovering Karma McCartney’s music is much akin to finding a message in a bottle cast adrift in time and space. The LA native’s debut album Notes From the Sky features ten songs that call to mind thoughts including -- but not limited to -- kaleidoscopes, sailor shanties, moon and starlight, floating weightless in the ocean, pinwheels, and love. They intersect on the corners of pretty, heartfelt, otherworldly, and delightful, then keep moving, animated with a life of their own, never ending.

We spoke w/ her recently about stuff. (Interview and MP3 below.)

Show Review: The Swell Season at the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

by Brad Roberts

Sunday night, September 20, 2009, was a very special night at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery when the spirits of the netherworld mingled with the muse of the musical arts. I can't help it but but every show I've seen at the Masonic Lodge in this historic cemetery has been a transcendent experience that is more than a mere concert. The setting affects performers and audiences alike.

I've seen four shows here with four of the best, most polite, most erudite crowds ever to attend a rock concert in L.A. When The Swell Season announced this show suddenly last week, I knew it would be the perfect marriage of performer and venue.

Having seen then three times before, I feel a deep affection for Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova that I suppose most people who've fallen in love with the movie Once feel. And the way that movie crosses back and forth between documentary and fiction, is also true of their concert performances.

 

Video Free Silver Lake: Yo La Tengo, Deadly Syndrome, Silversun Pickups, !!!, The Eels, and More

By Jed

Despite my poor predictions, I managed to make it out to the Sea Wolf/Afternoons/Sara Lov show last Thursday. Despite even poorer predictions, the show was sold out. But with a bit of persuasion, good luck and being at the right place at the right time, I managed to get in and catch a fabulous performance by the Afternoons (despite some minor sound issues at first) and some of the new material off Sea Wolf's recently released album White Water, White Bloom. A fine evening indeed. Sea Wolf was selling copies of the album a few days before the official release, and now, only a few days AFTER the official release, I can report that yes, it is quite good, if not altogether out of step with Mr. Church's earlier work. As usual, here are some newly released videos from some of your favorite bands, and some not so newly released videos of some of the talent in town this week.

1) For some reasons, despite dubbed by Wikipedia as "the quintessential critics' band", the glowing reviews received by I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass and their awesome video for Sugarcube, I've never caught on to Yo La Tengo.  That being said, these two performances from the Take Away Show are really nice, so I recommend watching them:
"Sugarcube", a cover of the Troggs' "With a Girl Like You" and "More Stars Than There Are in Heaven"
Part 1:

Yo La tengo - A Take Away Show - Part 1 from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Ticket Giveaway(s): Thursday at the Echo and Sunday at the El Rey

By Joel Robinson

Let's see, today is Tuesday and today that does work out to meaning tickets available to give away! This day offers a couple of giveaways, the first being for The Echo Thursday evening with Titus Andronicus, The So So Glos, and locals Radars To The Sky. The second giveaway opportunity is for Sunday at the El Rey with The Dodos and The Ruby Suns.

Show Review: Sea Wolf, Afternoons and Sara Lov at The Troubadour, and Interview with Sara Lov

by Brad Roberts (text) & Laurie Scavo (photos)

After interviewing Sara Lov, I was really anxious to see her set so I made sure to get back to The Troubadour by 8:30. Heavenly and enchanting are the words that come immediately to mind watching Sara perform. I can't help but notice that this woman never gives a half-hearted performance

 

Her measured words are deliberate and beautifully phrased, bolstered by melodies that flow with the ease of water, and yet can turn deceptively moving with a minor chord change. Sometimes I'm reminded of the film composer, Georges Delerue.

 

The theme of her set is "On Tour With a Record Player", and that is because she is accompanied by a turntable, done up to look like a travelling suitcase, where she plays a record of her musical tracks with the vocals removed. Or vocals and guitar removed so she can play live guitar on the non-piano driven songs. It works beautifully.

 

Ticket Giveaway: Pink Mountaintops, The Pack A.D., Xu Xu Fang at The Echo Tomorrow night

By Joel Robinson

Yes it is Monday so we are a bit off standard pacing. But thanks to our friends over at the Echo, RFSL is able to offer three pairs of free entry for TOMORROW's terrific show headlined by Pink Mountaintops who will be joined by The Pack A.D. and local faves Xu Xu Fang. Read on for a bit more info including directions on how to get in on the mix to potentialy win free entry for you and a guest.