by Brad Roberts
As the earth becomes enshrouded in a volcanic dust cloud from Iceland, and wandering nomads emerge from the post-apocalyptic environment of Coachella, we ponder the fate of indie-rock in a world without sun. So welcome back to the real world, put in your hazmat suits and go out to a concert. There's a glut of super shows this week and every night, even Sunday, is crowded with competition.
Monday night residencies continue really strong, making choosing very hard, for the third week in a row. At The Echo, Walking Sleep bring The Parson Red Heads to the stage for a pop music feast. Helen Stellar and Secret Alphabet play their spacey rock at Spaceland and the Silver Lake Lounge has fun times as Cobra Lilies and their remarkable blend of disparate genres, open for So Many Wizards who also blur the borders between styles and come up with something uniquely intelligent.
And a couple of shows I can't wait to see. Breathe Owl Breathe comes back to town, and I was so blown away by their set at When You Awake's Anniversary Show in February that I'm setting up an interview with them on Wednesday when they play The Echo, opening for Megafaun.
There's also a great bill at Pehrspace on Saturday. The Spires play really beautiful, moving indie pop and headline a show with The French Semester, who have been garnering a lot of well deserved positive attention lately and a performance by a newly reformed Divisadero, now featuring One Trick Pony's Randall, in a group collaboration that seems like a perfect fit.
Monday, April 19
- Juke Kartel, Overtone, Kat Parsons @ Hotel Cafe
- Walking Sleep, The Parson Red Heads, Franklin for Short, Repeater @ The Echo
- Helen Stellar, Twilight Sleep, The Meeting Places, Secret Alphabet @ Spaceland
- Fireball Ministry (record release), It's Casual, Hillbilly Herald, Philm @ the Troubadour
- So Many Wizards, Pizza!, Roundabout, Cobra Lilies @ Silver Lake Lounge
- The Like, DJ Anne Litt @ Bardot
- Sean Carnage presents: Kyle Mabson presents 420 dudes! XBXRX, Narwhalz, Longmont Potion, Castle, Neon Navajo, Jamaica Man @ Pehrspace
- New Music Monday @ Echo Curio
DECISION:
The week gets off to a roaring start with many good shows, besides the residencies, starting with The Like playing Bardot in Hollywood. I have to confess I like The Like a lot and saw them open for The Sounds at The Wiltern a few years ago They are surprisingly good musicians. The write up in this week's LA Weekly on XBXRX got me curious and Neon Navajo share the bill at Pehrspace. The residencies I mentioned above are worth re-mentioning: The Parson Red Heads with Walking Sleep will provide a bill with strong vocals and irresistible tunes at The Echo. Spaceland fills with dreamy, spacey and slightly hypnotic indie as Helen Stellar (above photo by Jessica Holmes) welcomes Secret Alphabet and Twilight Sleep to the line up. And, dammit, Cobra Lilies are opening for So Many Wizards along with Pizza! at Silver Lake Lounge. I don't know what to do. That's a lot of great music for just one night.
Tuesday, April 20
- Ozomatli @ Amoeba Music
- Natalie Merchant @ Getty Center
- Casey Neill, Amanda Jo Williams, Shakey Graves @ Bootleg Theatre
- Bear Hands, Holloys, Random Patterns @ The Echo
- Ruby Friedman, Resonant Heads, Roothub, JP Houston, Jesse Cole @ Hotel Cafe
- Eagles @ Hollywood Bowl
- Earth, Wolves in the Throne Room, Lori Goldston @ Echoplex
- Spesus Christ, Soap Collectors, Ovideo, Tempo No Tempo @ Echo Curio
- Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders, Dios @ The Troubadour
- The Bronx, Japanther @ El Rey
- Mr. Gnome, Cue the Moon @ Silver Lake Lounge
- The Kissaway Trail, Phillip Roebuck, Cate Le Bon @ Spaceland
DECISION:
I am intrigued by the atmospheric music of Ovideo (photo above by Dali Colorado) and want to check them out at Echo Curio, where they play with someone called Spesus Christ. Let's hope he's not as pretentious or full of himself as his brother. Bootleg has an eclectic line up featuring Amanda Jo Williams and Shakey Graves.
Wednesday, April 21
- Megafaun, Breathe Owl Breathe, Hi Ho Silver Oh @ The Echo
- Jesse Plemons, Kai Elle, private showcase @ Hotel Cafe
- Foxy Shazam, Young Veins, Bad Rabbits @ The Troubadour
- Bitch, Angie Evans, special guests @ Spaceland
- HT Heartache, Thousand Dozen Gloves, Nick Jago, Roughed Up Folk @ Silver Lake Lounge
- A Fine Frenzy @ Largo at the Coronet
- Gary Numan, Battle Circus @ El Rey
- Joseph Arthur @ Bootleg Theatre
- Sky Parade, Papillon, Scott Ryan @ 3 of Clubs
DECISION:
Tonight I'm suppose to interview Breathe Owl Breathe before their show at The Echo and I'm looking forward to this, as well as hearing Megafaun, who I hadn't paid much attention to till now, but from what I've heard, they're great. I loved the combination of theatrical/musical stagecraft and the easy manner that had the crowd at Bootleg Theatre in the palms of their hands last February, where I saw Breathe Owl Breathe for the first time. Like in February, this show is hosted by When You Awake.
Thursday, April 22
- HoneyHoney, John Gold, Carla Werner, Freddie & Francine, Adam Ezra @ Hotel Cafe
- Japandroids, Nobunny, All Leather @ Echoplex
- Princeton, Active Child, Pocahaunted @ The Troubadour
- Freaky Mountain, BIKOS, The Cigarette Bums @ Hyperion Tavern
- Mount Righteous, Moses Campbell, Manhattan Murder Mystery + more @ TOW, 1450 E. 6th ST. L.A.
- Hole, Little Fish @ Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre
- Natalie Merchant @ Aratani/Japan America Theatre
- We Barbarians, Correatown, All Wrong and The Plans Change, The Cooling Time @ The Echo
- Awesome Color, Dunes, Hair Police @ Spaceland
- Grouper, John Wiese, Infinite Body, Ilyas Ahmed @ The Smell
- "Indie On The Westside" presents 7th Ray, Terraplane Sun, Aura, Ambrose @ Air Conditioned Supper Club
- Le Switch, The Mallard, Los Baby Fools @ Bootleg Theatre
- Sean Carnage presents: Voice On Tape, Chelsea Wolfe, Motorcycle Maus, Felt Drawings @ Pehrspace
- Standing Shadows, Little Birds, The Kepler Mission, Hello Menno, Minor Problems, Stormy California @ Mr. T's Bowl
- Trampled By Turtles, Old Californio, Black Tongued Bells @ The Mint
- War Tapes, Sing Orpheus, Normandie @ Silver Lake Lounge
DECISION:
Wow, I'm so happy for Pocahaunted, getting to open for Princeton at The Troubadour tonight. Pocahaunted has a great, eerie, goth-ish presence that is echoed in heavy, trance rock that is tough to resist. Princeton (above shot by Laura Heffington at El Cid) is still playing off their terrific recent album, Cocoon of Love, and are about to embark on a short European tour. I'd like to catch Freaky Mountain at Hyperion Tavern, or there's All Wrong And The Plans Change with Correatown and We Barbarians at The Echo. And Alt/country by Trampled By Turtles and Old Californio at The Mint.
Friday, April 23
- Jon Brion @ Largo at the Coronet
- Hole, Little Fish @ Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre
- Glen Phillips, Guggenheim Grotto @ McCabe's
- Everybody Was In The French Resistance...Now @ The Echo
- Awesome Color, Hair Police @ Junction Block, Downtown L.A.
- Shane Alexander, Brother Sal, Bleu & Mike Viola, Tim Fagan, Kristen Price @ Hotel Cafe
- Joseph Arthur @ The Stronghold, Venice
- Torches in Trees, Pocket Rockets, The Raga, Gossip Tree, Ugly Winner @ Mr. T's Bowl
- Norah Jones @ Orpheum Theatre
- Elaine Layabout and LA Underground presents A Hoedown Throwdown: HT Heartache, Jamie Drake, Nettie Rose @ Pehrspace
- Tyrone Wells, Jayme Dee, Kathryn Ostenberg @ The Troubadour
- Battlehooch, Slang Chickens, Ryan Harrison and The Orphans @ Echo Curio
- Les Blanks, Rademacher @ Casey's Bar
- The Fuxedos, The Art of Bleeding, Oso, The Blasting Company @ Spaceland
- Glasser, The Samps @ Bootleg Theatre
DECISION:
It's worth it to stay up late to see Torches In Trees, who are playing at midnight at Mr. T's Bowl. I don't know the other bands, but there's usually an unusual and eclectic assortment here. Theatrical ensemble performance rock is The Fuxedos at Spaceland and Les Blanks has Rademacher co-headlining with them for their weekly engagement at Casey's Bar.
Saturday, April 24
- The Quiet record release, The Steelwells, White Lights, Uncle Daddy, Scott Simons @ Hotel Cafe
- Jennifer Knapp, Pawnshop Kings, Assembly of Dust @ The Mint
- Joey Ryan, Kenneth Pattengale @ McCabe's
- Josh Rouse @ Largo at the Coronet
- The Dharma Bums, The Richard Ramirez Beatdown, Aftergloam, The Jew Cocks, Schoenberg Knife Fight Ensemble @ American Legion Post 206, Highland Park
- Aaron Dilloway, The Haters,Pedestrian Deposit, Monsturo, Chambers @ The Smell
- The Spires, The French Semester, Divisadero, The Lunch Club @ Pehrspace
- Black Prairie, The Living Sisters, Paige, Dora, Liv and Lindsay @ Bootleg Theatre
- Shearwater, Wye Oak, Hospital Ships @ Spaceland
- Them Novus, When Planets Align, The Wallburds, Satellite Crush, Typical Situation @ Mr. T's Bowl
- Yoshitake Expe, Matthewdavid, Samuel Partial @ Echo Curio
For me, Pehrspace has show of the night with the sparkling melancholy music of The Spires, The French Semester, already an old favorite, plus the debut performance of the newly reformulated Divisadero, who have taken on Randall of One Trick Pony as singer and guitarist. This is a collaboration that should spark real excitement among those who know both bands.
Sunday, April 25
- "Kidrockers" w/ Warpaint, his Orchestra @ The Echo (1PM)
- "Grand Ole Echo" w/ Wirepony, The 1921A @ The Echo (5PM)
- Blank Dogs, Cosmetics @ The Echo (9PM)
- Rainbow Arabia, Sister Crayon, Tearist @ Space 15 Twenty
- The Monolators, Allah Las, Ancient Crux, Sean Bones @ Spaceland
- Javelin, Maus Haus, 60-Watt Kid @ Bootleg Theatre
- Nate Lapointe Band, Jamieson Trotter, Jeff Jenson Band
- Jason Castro, Michael Castro, Camera Can't Lie @ The Troubadour
- Peter Himmelman @ McCabe's
- Sonnet, Stephanie Scovolo, Annaliese, Jackie Tohn, Shawn Hlookoff, Juliet, Max Hartman, Ronit, Morgn Taylor Reid, Tongue and Groove @ Hotel Cafe
- Josh Rouse @ Largo at the Coronet
- Paleo, Hermit Convention, Olentangy John @ Echo Curio
DECISION:
his Orchestra at "Kidrockers", his Orchestra at "Kidrockers"! Quick, somebody...bring me a baby! These are the 1 PM shows at The Echo that require you to bring a kid. It's a fine idea, but I still would be real mad if I didn't know that his Orchestra (above) are playing Pehrspace on April 30.
There's the Spaceland show that looks like it will be a party among friends with The Monolators, Allah Las and Sean Bones. But it's the biggest selection of Sunday shows I've seen in a long while and encouraging to see.
Let me know what I've missed at: RFSLshowlistings@gmail.com
Vienna Teng, Alex Wong, Sara Watkins @ McCabe's is May 21st
Posted by: Mark | April 19, 2010 at 09:42 AM