The L.A. Show Low Down (Or: "You Say That You’d Rather Run To Take To Another World, We’re Not Going To Wait And See, And I’d Rather Run Than Die, So Run...")

by Brad Roberts

After last week's non-stop run of shows, I'll probably take it easier this week. I think It was as much determination as it was desire to see a bunch of bands, which quickly proved my old adage that the more shows you see, the more you want to see. It's a self-perpetuating reaction, almost like a drug, when the shows are as stimulating as the ones I've just seen. The endorphin rush lasts all the next day, helping to get me through work so I can go home, put on my dancing shoes and head out into the night again.

It makes me glad I've been laying low for a few months, because the exhilaration level has been boosted to a higher pitch. Adding to this the fact that some of these shows brought out a lot of people I haven't seen in a long time. Emily Gold at Harvard & Stone on Tuesday, Seasons at the same venue on Wednesday, along with a magnificent new band called Bebopalula, and The Henry Clay People at Bootleg Bar with The Dig made for a very eventful week.

Even though I came lately to The Brian Jonestown Massacre (above), I've been able to see them through a few of their phases and have seen watched them change from a band that seemed at the end of their long, strange journey, and how they have turned into one of the most reliable acts around. From a show at Safari Sam's in 2006, when Anton threw two members of the band out of the act that night, to a show at The Wiltern in 2014 that was a model of professionalism and precision. And no matter what the dramatic circumstances, they have always delivered astounding sets of music, even at their most chaotic.

So it's with great anticipation and excitement that I look forward to the first night of their three-night run at Teragram Ballroom, A perfect venue for this band because it's not too big and not too small and this great Hippie Rock band needs both space and intimacy. Their music is so reminiscent of sixties rock, yet so completely contemporary sounding that I feel transported into the past and the present simultaneously. And you don't even need to have dropped acid for the effect to take hold. They play through next Tuesday and all the shows are sold out! DANGER: Returning back to Earth after this is over may prove to be a challenge.

Monday, May 23

• The Soft White Sixties, Only You, Jude Shuma, Andrew St. James @ The Satellite
• Drinking Flowers, Part Time, Terminal A, Second Still, Future Shoxxx The Echo
• The Cure @ Hollywood Bowl
• "School Night!" w/ Waterstrider, Alex Vargas, Irontom @ Bardot
• Rod Melancon, Sam Marine, Brian Whelan, Patrolled By Radar @ Silver Lake Lounge
• Vs Colour, Hex Horizontal, The Visitors, C.O.O.P @ The Hi Hat
• Gavin Turek, Caught a Ghost, Sophie & The Bom Boms @ Bootleg Bar
• Idlewild, The Jaguar Club @ The Roxy
• Halsey @ The Grammy Museum
• Illegal Mezcal Music Seires w/ Wet & Reckless, Plum, Night Owl @ Harvard & Stone
• "Monday Monday" w/ TBA, War & Pierce @ Hotel Café Second Stage
• Titus Andronicus, La Sera @ The Fonda Theatre

DECISION:

Gavin Turek has been enjoying a well-regarded residency at Bootleg Bar this month. Tonight with Caught a Ghost (at right) and Sophie & The Bom Boms, she continues offering top flight bills. Another chance to see The Soft White Sixties at The Satellite could get me out of the house as well. Only You, Jude Shuma and Andrew St. James play in support tonight. 

This is also night two of the three-night engagement of The Cure at Hollywood Bowl.

Tuesday, May 24

• The Muffs @ Amoeba Music
• Bones Muhroni, Main Man, King Devil @ The Satellite
• Body / Head (Kim Gordon & Bill Nace), Telecaves, Emmett Kelly @ The Echo
• Pentagram, King Woman, Wax Idols @ Echoplex
• Simon Townsend w/ Special Guests, 100 Year War, Best Friends @ Hotel Café
• Amber Rubarth, Adam Levi, The Brambles, Bryan Titus @ Hotel Café Second Stage
• Emily Gold, TV Heads, The Controversy @ Harvard & Stone
• The Cure @ Hollywood Bowl
• Buttertones, Rudy de Anda, Janelane, Beach Bums @ The Hi Hat
• Frightened Rabbit, Caveman @ The Fonda Theatre
• Jeffertitti Moon @ Townhouse Venice
• Swerve's Mixtape Residency: Bowie Night w/ The Fontaines, Albert & His Dreamboats @ Resident
• Walking On Cars, @ Bootleg Bar
• Barrows @ Silver Lake Lounge
• The Cooties, Drennon Davis @ El Cid

DECISION:

I finally got out to see Emily Gold (at right) at her residency last week, each Tuesday this month at Harvard & Stone, and it was everything I expected and a whole lot more. Their power as a live band has grown, exponentially, since I first saw them at Hotel Cafe last year and I was bowled over at the power and precision of Emily's vocals. Especially on a solo acoustic song she included which she had written only a few hours before. It was a gorgeous song and delivered with such alacrity you'd swear it had always been a part of their repertoire. This week TV Heads and The Controversy share the stage.

Wednesday, May 25

• Madeline Spooner, NONA @ The Satellite
• Son Little, Doe Paoro @ The Echo
• Hank Green & The Perfect Strangers, Driftless Pony Club, Harry & The Potters, Rob Scallon, Andrew Huang @ The Regent Theatre
• "Desert Nights" w/ The Parlour Suite, John Goraj @ The Standard
• Raw Fabrics, Beachwood Coyotes, Room 8 @ The Roxy
• The Who @ Staples Center
• Jonny Two Bags, Bob Forrest, The Wicked Wives @ The Hi Hat
• Greg Holden w/ Garrison Starr, Matt Wertz & Friends Record Release Party, @ Hotel Café
• Adam Friedman, Jim & Sam present "Uh Show", Cardinal Moon Record Release Show, The Glorious @ Hotel Café Second Stage 
• Send Medicine, Psychic Jiu-Jitsu, James Allen Spirit @ Bootleg Bar
• The Twilight Sad, SISU @ Teragram Ballroom
• The Crazy Brave @ Silver Lake Lounge

DECISION:

Lots of buzz surrounds Madeline Spooner these days and her residency at The Satellite has brought forth a whole new legion of fans, NONA play too.

Thursday, May 26

• Figs Vision, Talking in Tongues, Draemings @ The Satellite
• Braids, Morgan Greenwood @ The Echo
• Jonah Smith, Like Wade, Nilu, Kevin Hammond @ Hotel Café
• Theo Katzman & Anna Ash, Taylor Matthews, James Price & Jeremy Edington, Gina Sobel @ Hotel Café Second Stage
• Blonde Redhead @ The Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
• San Fermin, Ivan & Alyosha @ Teragram Ballroom
• Buzzcocks, Residuels @ The Mayan
• Cody Hudock @ The Mint
• Moderat, Telefon Tel Aviv @ The Fonda Theatre
• Kosha Dills Release Party, Adrien Vera, Dean Risko @ The Hi Hat
• Shit Giver, Man & The Smells, Jodi @ The Smell

DECISION:

Cody Hudock (at left) has long been a reliable favorite of mine. His songwriting encompasses a wide range of styles including honky tonk, Tin Pan Alley, and indie folk for a tasty recipe that is always envigorating and inviting when played live. He's been enjoying a weekly residency at The Mint.

Friday, May 27

• U.S. Girls, Fiver, Nick Malkin @ The Satellite
• Dillinger Four, Off With Their Heads, Toys That Kill, Night Birds, Rough Kids @ Echoplex
• Mother Hips, US Elevator @ The Troubadour
• Blonde Redhead @ The Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
• Royal Jelly, Owen Danoff, We The Folk @ Hotel Café
• The Singer & The Songwriter, Life of Riley, Keelan Donovan, Mariana Bell, John Statz @ Hotel Café Second Stage
• Fourth Friday with Mary and Eli w/ Young Lovers, Cthulhus, Madame Headdress @ Pehrspace
• The Jim Reynolds Band @ Taix Lounge
• Moving Units, Billy Changer, Vision, Glass Spells @ Teragram Ballroom
• Levitation Room Record Release Show, Brainstory @ Eagle Rock Center for the Arts
• Louis Futon @ The Roxy
• Soul Scratch, Beat Mosaic, Amanda Imani @ El Cid
• Bird Concerns Album Release, The Electric West, Golden Daze, Audiomammal @ The Hi Hat
• Monika, Kona @ Bootleg Bar
• Upsilon Acrux, Ahleuchatistas, Feather Wolf, Obliques @ The Smell
• Prince/Bowie Blow Out Dance Party @ Silver Lake Lounge
• The Official Keith Emerson Tribute Concert @ El Rey
• Refused, Coathangers, Plague Vendor @ The Fonda Theatre
• Phranc, Abby & The Myth @ McCabe's

DECISION:

Fourth Friday with Mary and Eli is cooking up a nice batch of musical delicacies with Young Lovers, The Cthulhus, and, performing as a trio, Madame Headdress, at Pehrspace tonight.

Or it might be a good opportunity to check out the new Jim Reynolds Band performing at  Taix Lounge as they begin their summer series of shows.

 

 

 

Saturday, May 28

• The Bulls, Kera and the Lesbians, The Regrettes, Night Talk @ The Echo
• Big Black Delta, Hunny, Fartbarf, Marc Baker @ The Regent Theatre
• Millencolin, Runaway Kids @ Teragram Ballroom
• MODE, Rush Midnight, The Great Void @ El Cid
• The Peach Kings, Luke Sweeney, Alyeska @ The Hi Hat
• The Harmless Doves @ Silver Lake Lounge
• Clinton Washington MOMS & Makhuli, JoistaRR, Isaiah Gage @ Hotel Café
• Folk Riot & Friends, Tyson Motsenbocker & Ethan Hulse, Kristen Schaeffer @ Hotel Café Second Stage

DECISION:

High energy bands at The Echo when "Play Like A GIrl" present The Bulls, Kera and the Lesbians, The Regrettes and Night Talks. The Peach Kings are out at The Hi Hat.

Sunday, May 29

• Part Time Punks Smiths/Morrissey Nite @ The Echo
• The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Mystic Braves @ Teragram Ballroom
• Share The Journey: A Benefit For Refugees w/ Simone White, Dorian Wood, Derde Verde, The Alexander Noice Sextet @ Bootleg Bar
• Who Can Sleep, My Hawaii, Dr. Fadeaway @ The Hi Hat
• Greaser, RV Ovni @ The Smell

DECISION:

Tonight is the beginning of The Brian Jonestown Massacre run at Teragram Ballroom for the next three nights and it's the night that I have a ticket. Perfect because tomorrow is Memorial Day and I don't have to go to work.   Mystic Braves @  Who Can Sleep, My Hawaii, Dr. Fadeaway @ The Hi Hat.