Floating Away

Patrick Park @ Spaceland 7/5/07

It's just great to go out and see Patrick Park perform.  He is so talented and there is no reason that he should have been playing to a half empty Spaceland last night.  Like Duke, I have seen Patrick Park perform many times around town and agree that his debut album doesn't really do him justice.  I have heard his albums many, many times and yet after seeing him live, I am constantly trying to remember songs to see if they are on any of the CDs or EPs I have of his.  Last night was no different.  He played half a set of solo acoustic and then brought out a great back up band to add some beautiful arrangements to old classics and some new songs.   

I am really hoping his new album, coming out August 7, does him justice and makes Patrick Park the star he really should be.  Some of the songs that have been in his live repetoire for a while are truly great.  My favorites so far are "Arrive Like A Whisper" and "Everyone's in Everyone".  The new album (this time on Curb Appeal Records) has both of those songs as well as some other gems.  More info on the record here. 

Patrick Park will be playing every Thursday at Spaceland and every Tuesday at the Living Room (NYC) in July.  Definitely pencil it in, you will not regret it.

Thursday Nights at the Hammer Museum

The Hammer Museum's free Thursday night music line up continues once again.  The line up this year is solid, so don't miss an opportunity to see some of these great bands on the Westside.  More information here.

TONIGHT: Foreign Born and Great Northern
Thursday, 7/12: The Pity Party and The Little Ones
Thursday, 7/19: Castledoor and the Fields
Thursday, 7/26: Sea Wolf and Midnight Movies

Radars to the Sky, Henry Clay People Saturday Night at the Echo

At the risk of me sounding like I work for Jax, I am incredibly excited for Saturday night's show at the Echo.  Seemingly overnight, I have become a Radars To The Sky groupie and I am looking forward to seeing them headline their first show in LA.  The band was able to pick the lineup and they did a stellar job of adding fellow up and comers The Henry Clay People and Tigers Can Bite You.  The show is sponsored by Rock Insider, KXLU and Radio Free Silverlake.  Print out the flyer below and the show is only $5 to get in. 

Sea Level Records Going Away Party, Division Day and The Switch @ Safari Sams 6/22/07

Friday night, everybody who is in a band in Los Angeles headed over to Safari Sams.  I saw members of Silversun Pickups, Earlimart, The Broken West, Airborne Toxic Event, Radars to the Sky, and Lets Go Sailing.  I am sure there are many people that I didn't see/recognize/meet.  It was my first time at Safari Sam's and I was very impressed.  It has everything I like in a good music venue.  It's incredibly well lit (for photos), the stage is very high (so you can be in the back and still see the show), tons of free parking, and lots of great vantage points (upstairs, side areas, etc).  I hope to get back there again soon.

Where the hell did the Switch come from? They were incredible! I love any band that has a woman that plays trumpet AND violin AND sings back up.  From the moment they started playing, I knew I was going to love these guys.  They do the country roots rock thing brilliantly.  I picked up their EP and  have been playing it all weekend.  Lead singer Aaron Kyle's has a hoarse voice that is very remiscent of Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade.  Expect some great things from these guys.

MP3: Tongue Tied - The Switch

I hadn't seen Division Day in so long, it was just great to see those guys.  They are so nice and I am so happy that they have found a wonderful home at Eenie Meenie Records.  Their good stuff still sounds good and their great stuff sounded wonderful.  I kind of wish they could play Tigers and Tap Tap Click Click over and over again.

Division Day closed out the night by inviting The Switch back on stage and both bands played an incredible cover of Boyz II Men's It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.  It killed.  It was a great way to say goodbye to a great record store - by having two small LA bands play their hearts out to an audience of other LA bands that have been there before.  Thanks again to Todd and Sea Level Records for the impact he has had on the Los Angeles music scene.  It would be a much different place without you. 

LCD Soundsystem, Yacht @ The El Rey, 6/11/07

LCD Soundsystem's set at Coachella has been a highlight of my year, but I think tonight James Murphy just topped himself.  He played the second of three sold out nights at the El Rey and the place was just plain crazy for LCD Soundsystem.  I doubt there was a dry shirt in the entire place.  Plain and simple, he just destroyed.  James on the cowbell, Nancy on the keys, these guys can do no wrong and tonight they proved that they put on one of the best live shows around.  Highlights include a ridiculously long version "Yeah"that just went on and on and on until I literally couldn't move anymore, a great version of Joy Division's "No Love Lost" and of course "All My Friends" (which could be my favorite song of the year).  Oh, man.  I sort of love James Murphy.

LCD will be on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic today at 11 am and at the El Rey again tonight. 

YACHT (one half of The Blow) opened up.  Talk about a perfect match for LCD Soundsystem.  How often do you see a scrawny kid pushing play on his iBook and singing along.  It was nothing I would ever reach for, but I would love to see him again. 

Airborne Toxic Event, The Happy Hollows, Radars to the Sky @ The Troubadour 6/9/07

After seeing The Airborne Toxic Event several months back at the Echo and writing this post, we received some "hate comments" in the comments about this band (ok, so hate comments is a bit bold, but we rarely get comments, so we can take some liberties here).  I really liked them when I saw them at the Echo but wanted to see them again with the criticism in mind.  I was also incredibly excited to see Radars to the Sky, who I have been dying to see for some time, and the Happy Hollows, who I have never seen play a full set.

The Airborne Toxic Event: 

So, everything thats being said (negatively) about this band, that they are fabricated, that they know what it takes to make a great indie band and are playing to our indie hearts, that they have been given pointers about their stage show, etc.  They might be true. I don't know. I am not here to be an investigative reporter.  I am here to say that knowing what I know and reading the criticism of the band, I still loved their set, sang along to them and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I can see why people hate the band. They're really great and most indie snobs hate great things.  They seemingly came out of nowhere looking and acting like a full formed band.  I had a moment last night in the balcony, watching their set, that the band just seemed way to big for the Troubadour.  I felt like I won some radio contest to see this big band play a small venue.  That's a weird feeling to get from an unsigned band with just one tour under their belt.  I think that's where a lot of the anger comes from.  On the other hand, I did catch myself saying, oh, I can see that, a few times.  They definitely do a lot of things that seem a bit forced.  There is a lot of what seem to be choreographed moves on stage and I could have done without the anti-war rant towards the end of the set.  In the end though, the crowd loved it, the band had a great time, so does it really matter? 

Radars to the Sky: 

Radars to the Sky opened the set up to a crowd of mostly band families, parents and friends, but hopefully they won over some new fans too.  I have written about them before and have been playing "Long Walk Home" for months, but this was actually the first time I have seen them live.  Their live show is incredibly strong and Andrew, the lead singer, has an incredible stage presence that makes the band a joy to watch.  I am looking forward to seeing more of these guys (I assume they might be taking a maternity break soon, but I could be wrong). 

The Happy Hollows:

These guys didn't do it for me.  I actually loved their music, but the singing really didn't do it for me.  It could have been the sound. It could have been me.  I don't know.  There was just something about the band that I wasn't feeling.  I think I am getting old.  I had to put my earplugs in and everything.

Wilco announces West Coast Dates

I have been thoroughly enjoying Sky Blue Sky and been anticipating seeing Wilco play this new stuff live.  After announcing dates everywhere else in the country, Wilco finally got around to setting up dates on the West Coast:

Aug 21: Marymoor Park, Seattle, WA
Aug 22: Edgefield, Portland, OR
Aug 24: Greek Theater, Berkeley, CA
Aug 29: Greek Theater, Los Angeles, CA

No info on on sales yet, but go here for all tour dates.

Vampire Weekend

I am not going to go on and on about the greatness of Vampire Weekend.  If you want some praise, you can go here or here or here or here.  Just know this: the band is great and they are playing the Troubadour on July 16 as part of an ASCAP showcase.  No advance tickets are available, they will be $5 at the door.

MP3: Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma
MP3: Vampire Weekend - Walcott

I can't wait to see these guys live.

Crowded House Reunion Tour Announced

Rage? Meh. The Police? No, thanks. Crowded House? Hell Yes!  Neil Finn and the boys announced their world tour in support of their first new album in fourteen years, Time on Earth.  No on sale information yet, but they will be playing the Greek on August 28th.  Click here for more info.

St. Vincent @ Largo 5/10/07

St. Vincent (or Annie Clark) is my new girlfriend.  She just doens't know it yet.  She's adorable and plays a mean guitar.  She plays with Sufjan AND Tim Delaughter and covers Jackson Browne.  She is cute and makes funny, deadpan remarks during her banter time.  I might be in love.

I first read about her at Gorilla Vs. Bear who has been hyping her for what seems like years.  It's great to hear so much buzz about someone only t0 see them live and realize it is all very true. 

When you talk about true performers who can blow a crowd away, you are talking about Annie Clark.  My jaw was open the entire set watching her sing, stomp, and play her way into my heart.  She destroyed John Vanderslice.  So much so, that we didn't even stay for his entire set.  We all felt that we had seen the main act. 

I kept thinking watching her set that she reminded me of a much better, more talented, more accessible Nellie McKay.  McKay made a splash a few years back for her work on the anti-folk scene in New York.  The media soon labeled her an anti-Norah Jones and she signed to Columbia.  She put out one album to good reviews and her second album was shelved only for her to release it herself.  Regardless, there are aspects of her stage show and her music that  remind me a lot of Nellie.  But, I think St. Vincent has the ability to be way more accessible and enjoyable. 

She is opening up for Arcade Fire next week in Canada and has her debut album coming out on July 10 on Beggars Group (same label as the National).

MP3: St. Vincent - Now Now (from the Album Marry Me)
MP3: St. Vincent - These Days (from the EP)