Radio Free Silver Lake: The L.A. Show Low Down (Or: "On A Mountain So Steep, Keep Your Head In A Hollow Log As The Ruling Fog Are About To Creep...")

by Brad Roberts

These Low Downs just keep getting bigger and bigger! I can hardly keep up. So many shows at so many venues, new and old... and so many new bands. You have to wonder what's going on sometimes. I often think I must be overlooking dozens of bands. Hopefully I'll get to them eventually. Here's another week crammed with goodies.

Desert Daze Festival runs through Sunday and goes for ten hours every day. And with headlining bands that include Dead Meadow, Akron/Family, Here We Go Magic, The Pity Party, The Henry Clay People and The Entrance Band, it's tough not to just skip work and settle in Desert Hot Springs for the week. If you can't get to Coachella, this seems the next best thing.

Locally we have the Casey's Bar residencies of Downtown/Union on Friday and Modern Time Machines on Saturday. Also shows featuring such wildly divergent choices as School of Seven Bells or Frank Fairfield or Animal Raps or Mama's Joy and everything in between. On SAturday, come celebrate Record Store Day with a super show at The Echo. The music starts at noon.

Had a wonderful time at the Downtown/Union residency show at Casey's Bar last Friday night that RFSL presented. Downtown/Union opened the evening playing their rollicking set of greatest hits for family and friends. The Lonely Trees are a solidly professional unit with a sultry and charismatic lead singer, Annalee Fery. And Radars To The Sky nailed it for a rollicking conclusion to the night.

Monday, April 16

- Desert Daze Festival (Day 5) w/ The Henry Clay People, Races, Living Things, The Black Apples, Gothic Tropic, Sister Rogers, Black Flamingo, Yellow Red Sparks, Dead Dawn, Nightmare & The Cat @ Dillon's Roadhouse, Desert Hot Springs

- Eric Hutchinson with Holly Conlan, Jesse Payo @ Hotel Cafe

- The John Francis @ Origami Vinyl

- Band of Skulls, We Are Augustines, The Sheepdogs @ El Rey

- GHIANT, Kim Deal, The Driftwood Singers @ Echo Country Outpost

- Manchester Orchestra, Fanfarlo @ Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre

- Philanthro LA @ The Central

- Atari Teenage Riot, Otto Van Schirach @ Echoplex

- Grace Woodroofe, A House For Lions, Miracle Days, Brandon & Leah @ Bootleg Bar

- Michael Davis With Lions,, Nik Freitas, Diampond Gold @ Silver Lake Lounge

- "School Night!" w/ Kimbra, Mini Mansions, Size2Shoes @ Bardot

- Duniven, United Ghosts, Stephan Sowan, Some Go Haunting @ The Satellite

- Frank Fairfield @ Redwood Bar

- Sean Carnage presents Religious Girls, Radio shock, Realization Orchestra @ Pehrspace

- So Many Wizards, Wildcat! Wildcat!, Magick Orchids, Jon Barba @ The Echo

DECISION:

Desert Daze Festival continues for a fifth day with an incredible line up that includes The Henry Clay People, Races (at right), Gothic Tropic, Yellow Red Sparks and a whole host of other great bands filling up slots between 4 PM and 2 AM. And if you're staying in town there's lots of good Monday residencies to choose from.

Tuesday, April 17

- Desert Daze Festival (Day 6) w/ The Fresh & Onlys, Crystal Antlers, Young Prisms, Farmer Dave Scher, The Blank Tapes, Raw Geronimo, TRC, Rachel Fannan, Babies On Acid, Mothers of Gut, Kill Kill Kill, Habits, Listen @ Dillon's Roadhouse, Desert Hot Springs

- Oh Darling, Brandon & Leah, Act As If, The National Reserve @ Hotel Cafe

- Elvis Costello And The Imposters @ The Wiltern

- John Wayne Bro, TS and The Past Haunts, Rainbow Jackson, Cuates @ The Central

- Kasabian @ Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre

- Kimbra, LP, Hands @ The Troubadour

- Miike Snow, The Big Pink @ El Rey

- Thomas Dolby @ Largo at the Coronet

- Thorogood, The Moth @ Los Globos

- Neon Indian, Housse De Racket, Friends @ Echoplex

- Paladino, Vanish Valley, Scott Mellis, Town & Country @ Silver Lake Lounge

- Spector, The New Limb, Italian Japanese @ The Satelite

- The Gyps, Death on the Radio, Motherless, Civil Disgust @ Redwood Bar

- We Were Promised Jetpacks, Chasing Kings, Tristen @ The Echo

- Zachary James & The All Seeing Eyes, Spatula City @ Harvard & Stone

DECISION:

Again the Desert Daze Festival is the attraction of the day but there are major shows in town like Elvis Costello at The Wiltern or Kasabian at Henry Fonda and local attractions like Vanish Valley at Silver Lake Lounge or The New Limb (shown at SXSW at right) at The Satellite.

Wednesday, April 18

- Desert Daze Festival (Day 7) w/ Breakestra, Funky Sole DJ's Miles & Clifton, The Downtown Train, Auditory Aphasia, Dani & The Scarlett Fevers, Blac Jesus & The Experimantalists, Tang Gang, + TBA @ Dillon's Roadhouse, Desert Hot Springs

- Yacht, Classixx, The Limousines @ The Standard Hotel, Downtown

- Greg Felden, Matt Keating, Joey Dosik, Tori Kelly @ Hotel Cafe

- "Desert Nights" w/ Lady Bankers, Alaska Reid, Antoine Debarge @ The Standard

- Chuck Ragan, Cory Branan, Tommy Gabel, Nathaniel Rateliff @ The Troubadour

- Dar Williams record release @ Largo at the Coronet

- Emeli Sande @ Bootleg Bar

- Lover Lover, LA Girlfriend, Pacific Pride @ The Central

- Maxi Wild, Belowme @ Los Globos

- Miike Snow, Wolf Gang @ El Rey

- The Horrors, The Black Angels, Moon Duo @ Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre

- Country Mice, Laura Meyer, Dandelo, Raheem Cohen @ Silver Lake Lounge

- Coco Morier, The Child, The Donnies The Amys @ Bootleg Bar

- Derde Verde, Ema and Her Lady Parts, Falsetto Teeth @ Lot 1

- Guitar Wolf, Transistors, Pangea @ The Satellite

- Wild Beasts, Superhumanoids @ The Echo

- Levels, Animal Raps, Raven Hughes @ 3 of Clubs

DECISION:

I would head over to Lot 1 tonight for the Derde Verde residency thy've been putting on this month. Tonight with Ema and Her Lady Parts (at right) and Falsetto Teeth makes this the show of the night as far as I'm concerned.

Thursday, April 19

- Desert Daze Festival (Day 8) w/ Special Guest From Hell!!!, Free The Robots, Zechs Marquise, DJ Nobody, Nocando, Dot, Eureka The Butcher, Auditory Aphasia, CGAK @ Dillon's Roadhouse, Desert Hot Springs

- Buddy, Andy Davis, Stevie Ann @ Hotel Cafe

- Girls, Yuck, Papa @ Pappy and Harriet's

- CSS (Cansei De Ser Sexy), Batwings Catwings @ The Troubadour

- Cubits @ Lot 1

- School of Seven Bells, Exitmusic @ Echoplex

- Wild Flag, First Aid Kit, EMA @ El Rey

- Frankie Rose, Dive, Twerps @ The Satellite

- Gram Rabbit, Spindrift, Sexy Water Spider @ Los Globos

- The Big Pink, Io Echo, Cold Showers @ The Echo

- The Cigarette Bums, Pool Honeys, The Landers, Sharkitecture @ Silver Lake Lounge

DECISION:

Big show tonight at Echoplex with School of Seven Bells (at right) and Exitmusic. Los Globos has Gram Rabbit and Spindrift for the locals.

Weekend two of Coachella kicks off today out in Indio.

Friday, April 20

- Coachella 2012 @ Empire Polo Fields, Indio

- Desert Daze Festival (Day 9) w/ Electric Flower Group, Guy Blakesley, Lower Heaven, Chuck Dukowski Sextet, Ahkiyyini, Buffalo Electric, War Drum, The Golden Ghost, Barefoot Shrubs, Emma Ruth Rundle, Deux Sons, Milo Gonzalez @ Dillin's Roadhouse, Desert Hot Sprngs

- Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers, Brendan James with Rosi Golan, Dawn McCoy, The Borrower's Debt Record Release Show @ Hotel Cafe

- Michelle Shocked @ McCabe's

- Downtown/Union, Manhattan Murder Mystery, The Health Club, Animal Raps @ Casey's Bar

- Saúl Hernández @ The Troubadour

- Infinity, Fido @ The Satellite

- The Peach Kings, The Driftwood Singers, Warships @ Bootleg Bar

- Lemonade, Bachelorette @ The Echo

- Mama's Joy, Santoros, Phantastica @ Home Room

- Moses Campbell, Le Cos, Ezra Buchla, Junghaus @ The Smell

- Starving Daughters, + TBA @ Pehrspace

- Trippple Nippples, SUMMRDJ, Vinyl Williams, Wildcat! Wildcat! @ The Central

- Withers + 4 Bands @ Mr. T's Bowl

DECISION:

I get to host Downtown/Union's Casey's residency (seen at right) tonight as Feed Your Head and we could not be more pleased as those roustabouts Manhattan Murder Mystery and the mellifluous The Health Club (and the just added Animal Raps) are also on the bill assuring a night of powerhouse entertainment.

Saturday, April 21

- Origami Vinyl Record Store Day w/ Big Black Delta, The Henry Clay People, Races, Electric Guest, Zammuto, Jenny O, Electric Flower Group, All Tiny Creatures @ The Echo

- Desert Daze Festival (Day 10) w/ Dead Meadow, Spindrift, Crooked Cowboy, Dahga Bloom, Strangers Family Band, Cosmonauts, Juju, Dirt Dress, Joy, Silver Chords, Poor Sons, Sleepy Owl, Mysterious Everything, Barefoot Shrubs @ Dillon's Roadhouse, Desert Hot Springs

- Grant Lee Phillips, Peter Mulvey @ McCabe's

- Modern Time Machines, Wrong Way Driver, Cardboard Lamb @ Casey's Bar

- Incan Abraham, Busy Living, Special Guests @ The Central

- Saúl Hernández @ The Troubadour

- Thurlow, Steffaloo, Rene Breton @ Bootleg Bar

- Frank Infante & Clem Burke, Steve Fishman, Joey Pinter, Steve Baise, Kevin K Crazy, Squeeze, Motorcycle Boy, The Neurotics, Barrio Tiger, Sweet Justice @ The Satellite

- Godma, The Belladonna Treatment, The Echo and the Sound @ Mr. T's Bowl

- Heroes and Heroines, Malcolm Soza @ Pehrspace

- SexyWaterSpiders, Marion Belle @ HM 157

DECISION:

I may have had to miss Dead Meadow at the Desert Daze Festival, but I get my own mini festival to attend right here in Echo Park for Record Store Day at The Echo with Jenny O, The Henry Clay People and Races, just to name a few of rhe acts appearing. Modern Time Machines continue to reside at Casey's Bar every Saturday this month.

Sunday, April 22

- Desert Daze Festival (Grand Finale) w/ Akron/Family, Here We Go Magic, The Entrance Band, Incan Abraham, The Pity Party, Juju, Tropical Popsicle, Al Lover & The Haters, Nature's Son @ Dillon's Roadhouse, Desert Hot Springs

- Eric Andersen @ McCabe's

- Leon Timbo, Kevin Earnest, Martha Liz, Jack Littman, Tongue & Groove @ Hotel Cafe

- The Touré-Raichel Collective featuring Vieux Farka Touré, Idan Raichel, Souleymane Kane and Amit Carmeli @ Echoplex (6:00 PM & 8:30 PM)

- Big Tone, Deacon and the Devil, Peter Quentin @ The Central

- swanifant, Cool Angeles, Doña Nicha @ The Smell

- Soft Metals, Silent Diane, Grapefruit # The Echo

DECISION:

Desert Daze concludes today with a stellar line up that has The Entrance Band (at right), Akron/Family, not to mention The Pity Party and others.

Sorry this Low Down is so spare this week, but I'm working on a bunch of outside projects that are taking up some of my time which I'll reveal later. There just isn't enough time in the day anymore.