The L.A. Show Low Down (Or: "A Little Walk Through The Neighborhood, People Nod Because It's Understood...")

by Brad Roberts

Other than Herbie Hancock at Hollywood Bowl, there's a scarcity of major name shows, shining a light on the fertile local scene instead. The major music event of the week appears to be the FYF Fest downtown, but I find the line up a little lackluster, though I'm sure that there are those who will disagree. As the city slows down for Labor Day weekend, it's a welcome breather leading up to a fall season that promises to be a brutal endurance test of pleasurable experiences. Everyone from Arcade Fire to Broken Social Scene to Pavement to Eels are on my schedule, with a hundred shows in between.

Gliss are on the final Twilight Sleep residency bill at Silver Lake Lounge, and they are an amazingly talent threesome who have been favorites of mine for a few years already. The way they rotate musical instruments could easily be seen as a stunt, but when you hear how well each plays every instrument, you just say, "oh yeah, they have to". And their Los Angeles/Copenhagen home bases make their fuzzy/glam/Euro-pop/indie psychedelics make perfect sense. And speaking of Monday residencies coming to a close, Fol Chen have had, maybe, the most creative, free-form residency I''ve ever heard of. From having a metal band cover their songs...to a chance for audience members to come on stage and be recorded for the next album, no matter whether they could play or sing or not. The Echo has been the scene of chaos for the past few weeks. Madness.

You have to dig a little deep, but there are shows around town with a lot of highly recommended bands like Helen Stellar, George Glass and Death To Anders, The Submarines, The Pity Party, and more. Just check below for the details.

Monday, August 30

- Twilight Sleep, Gliss, The Hundred Days, Big Moves @ Silver Lake Lounge

- Battle Tapes, Cinderella Motel, Frentik, The Nukes @ The Viper Room

- Hypercolors (debut of new Mae Shi band), Nicole Kidman, Generation, Dimples, So Many Wizards @ Pehrspace

- Nations Afire, Diamonds Under Fire, Sederra, Railroad To Alaska @ The Troubadour

- White Arrows, Grouplove, Superhumanoids, Whispertown 2000 @ Spaceland

- Fol Chen, Sister Crayon, Evan Voytas, Rachel Goodrich @ The Echo

- Rachel Goodrich, AM @ Bardot

DECISION:

Twilight Sleep have had a residency highlighted by some of the best opening acts of the month and tonight they go out in high style with the fabulous Gliss (thanks to Robotangel.com for the photo). As members of the local scene (and Copenhagen) they somehow fly under the radar of most music lovers, and I can't understand why. I've seen them a dozen times and they give some of the most impressive displays of musicianship I've ever seen. Come out and see why tonight at Silver Lake Lounge. White Arrows finish up their residency as well, with a strong bill at Spaceland that includes the long unseen Whispertown 2000. And Pehrspace is featuring the debut ,of the new Mae Shi band, Hypercolors. Get ready to be splattered against the walls, along with the art in this tiny art gallery. I saw Mae Shi here once, and the wall nearly blew outward.  

Tuesday, August 31

- Jenny and Johnny @ Amoeba Music

- Anna Nalick, The Life of Riley, Billy the Kid, Rebekah White @ Hotel Cafe

- Pacific Hurt, LESANDS, Mississippi Man, Never Ever @ The Troubadour

- The Submarines, Obi Best, Sea of Bees @ Bootleg Theatre

- The Charmkin Rebellion, Telegram, Fake Problems, Electronic Meat @ Spaceland

- Bobby Bare Jr., Blue Giant, Stephen Brower and the Silent Majority @ The Echo

- Sabrosa Purr, Italian Japanese, Gooby Goo & Peekers @ Silver Lake Lounge

DECISION:

I have always enjoyed the live shows of the folk duo, The Submarines (above), and their back on the local stage tonight with Obi Best at Bootleg. Making a name for themselves, really fast, are LESANDS, and they're at The Troubadour tonight, with Mississippi Man, opening for Pacific Hurt (formerly: Aushua). I saw LESANDS open for Fol Chen during that residency and their electric performance at The Echo was impossible to turn away from. For fans of nice indie power pop, Telegram is worth checking out at Spaceland.

Wednesday, September 1

- Princeton, Bonedaddys, Reflectacle @ West Los Angeles Bandshell

- Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter @ Hollywood Bowl

- Ty Segall, Garotas Suecas, Grass Widow, The Franks @ Spaceland

- Jamie Drake, Amber Rubarth, Jes Hudak, Casey Lee Hurt @ Hotel Cafe

- Exploding Flowers, Risidual Echoes, Starving Daughters @ Silver Lake Lounge

- Seven Saturdays record release, Helen Stellar, Tape Deck Mountain @ Bootleg Theatre

DECISION:

Legendary jazz great, Herbie Hancock, whose list of accomplishments is nearly endless, does the Hollywood Bowl tonight. And speaking of bowls, local stalwarts Princeton (above) play the West Los Angeles Bandshell tonight. I'll be at the Bootleg Theatre to see Helen Stellar at the Seven Saturdays record release show. 

Thursday, September 2

- Marijuana Death Squad, Holloys ,Woah Hunx @ The Echo

- Dr. John & the Lower 911 @ Santa Monica Pier

- Traveling Lady w/ Big Joe Hurt & Daniella Katzir, Seneca Hawk, Michelle Macedo, Carl Restivo w/ The Bad Beat Jackpot @ Hotel Cafe

- Ian Cooke, Broken Numbers Band, Eugene and the 1914 @ Silver Lake Lounge

- Nite Jewel, Teen Inc., Heart Shaped Rock, Peanut Butter Wolf @ The Troubadour

- Cody the Band, J. Irvin Dally, Michael RJ Salman, The Driftwood Reunion @ Hyperion Tavern

- Universe, dubBUMBA, little gold, Lovey Doveys @ The Smell

- Graham Forest, Traffique, George Ellias, Hand @ Spaceland

- Kisses @ CineSpace

- La Santa Cecilia @ The Bordello

DECISION:

Marijuana Deathsquads is built out of pieces of Building Better Bombs, who may or may not be on hiatus and whose members count among their projects/collaborations: P.O.S. and Private Dancer and Bombs Party Squad, This free-form atmospheric noise combine will be on display with Holloys and Woah Hunx tonight at The Echo. Dr. John & the Lower 911 play the final Twilight Dance Series summer concert at Santa Monica Pier. Couldn't resist this great shot.

Friday, September 3

- The Delta Mirror, Afghan Raiders, Healamonster & Tarsier @ Spaceland

- Venrez, L. Michelle, Kevin Morrison, Omar Alexander @ The Troubadour

- Stereo Total, Hawney Troof, Kisses (live), Allister Izenberg @ Echoplex

- Media Blitz, Summer Vacation, Imperial Can, Roman Candles @ Pehrspace

- Southern Culture on the Skids, Lynda Kay, Jeremiah and the Red Eyes @ The Echo

- Spirit Vine, The Pity Party, Jesus Makes the Shotgun Sound, Useless Keys @ Five Stars Bar

- Sky Parade, The Quarter After, The Dolly Rocker Movement @ Bootleg Theatre

DECISION:

Five Stars Bar has a great bill with The Pity Party, Jesus Makes The Shotgun Sound and Useless Keys (above), The Delta Mirror are over at Spaceland, and that makes a lot of beautiful music on this rather slow Friday.

Saturday, September 4

- FYF Fest 2010 w/ The Rapture, Panda Bear, Sleep, Dead Man's Bones, Unbroken, !!!, Man Man, The Mountain Goats, School of Seven Bells, Warpaint, Vetiver, The Growlers and more @ Los Angeles State Historic Park

- Dan Bern w/ Common Rotation & The Dust Bowl Cavaliers, Deadstring Brothers, Charge & Deliver, Mark Tschanz & Devon Dunsmoor @ Hotel Cafe

- Heather Woodbury’s "As the Globe Warms (8p) followed by Kris Special, Stellaluna, Worker Bees, Ugly Winner (9p) @ Echo Curio

- Mark Burgess, Veil Veil Vanish, Repeater @ The Troubadour

- George Glass, Off Campus, Death To Anders, Crash Holiday @ Pehrspace

- Sara Radle @ Casey's Bar

DECISION:

The FYF Festival is today, but, apart from The Mountain Goats and Vetiver, there aren't many of my must-sees on the bill. There seems to be something for any music taste, so I'm sure it's going to be a hot time downtown, but it's so wide ranging and there's so many names I don't know I'm not sure there's enough I need to see. Meanwhile, everyone's favorite new band, George Glass, is playing with everyone's favorite new, old band, Death To Anders, at Pehrspace, (I just couldn't resist throwing the flyer in) and the radiant Sara Radle has a show at Casey's Bar. 

Sunday, September 5

- Shawn Hlookoff, Don Gallardo, Kelly McGrath, Sara Silva @ Hotel Cafe

- Dre Allen, Nektars, Beneath The Underdog, Four Way Free @ The Troubadour

- Cobalt Cranes, Night Beats, Boom Chick, The Myonics @ Echo Curio

DECISION:

Other than Cobalt Cranes at Echo Curio, I'm not familiar with any of the bands playing on this very spare Sunday night. Happy Labor Day, and tell me what I've missed here: RFSLshowlistings@gmail.com

Comments

[Nathan Kondor]

Hey. The pehrspace calendar lists the incorrect lineup and links for the upcoming George Glass show mentioned in this article. It is George Glass (http://www.myspace.com/georgeglass) Off Campus (http://www.myspace.com/offcampusband) Death to Anders (http://www.myspace.com/deathtoanders) and Crash Holiday (http://www.myspace.com/crashholiday). Thanks! See you there.

[Amy]

Do you know when George Ellias will be playing again?