I just saw a bulletin on MySpace from one of my favorite IE bands, Phoenix and the Turtle, saying that they'll be playing at SpringFest at USC on Saturday, April 15th with Mos Def, Pinback, and a bunch of others! You LA people really should check them out, they are not to be missed. And did I mention it's free?


Update: I guess Pinback is not playing, also flyer--

Ming & Ping are playing tonight at The Knitting Factory in Hollywood. If you have not seen this group play before, do yourself a favor and check out tonight's show. You will have more fun than you ever thought you could at a rock show.

This morning, I found out that Mary's article on bike gangs in in the new issue of Bust, I got into my car and headed to Boarder's. It wasn't there, so I raced to Tower and found a copy. You should pick it up too because it's a great article and Mary even has a bio and photo on the contributor page. Congratulations, Ms. Millwhistle!

In other magazine news, does anyone else find it odd that a My Space friend collector is on the cover of Stuff? The only thing more bizarre is how every magazine declares Silver Lake the new Seattle once a year.

I really feel for bands who get the 8:00 p.m. set at any show in Los Angeles. Yeah, opening bands are often ignored, but when your set is at 8, chances are that the crowd will be minimal, even if you have a recognized name. It's just the logistics of traffic. If you live anywhere outside of a three mile range of Hollywood, it will take you at least an hour to get into Hollywood in the early evening. If the club is on Hollywood Blvd., the situation is worse only because it will take an extra twenty minutes just to get through the light at Hollywood and Highland.
For example, last night, Carlos was supposed to be my +1 to see Action Action open for Morningwood and The Sounds. Then he realized that there was no way he would be able to get to Hollywood from the South Bay in time for the band's 8:00 p.m. set and told me to get someone else to go with me. I put out the phone calls, leaving messages like a radio announcer, "Call me back ASAP. I'm calling everyone at once and the first person to get back to me gets the ticket. The only catch is that you have to meet me at 7:30." I said 7:30 because, in LA, that means 8:00. Sometimes it means 9:00, but usually, it's 8:00.
Some people answered their phones. Ivan and Anthony had to work. Dave said, "I just got home, there's no way I can get up to Hollywood in time." Then I started to redial the friends who hadn't answered. Tim said, "Yeah, I think I can do that."
Tim, being one of the few people who actually shows up on time for things, arrived while I was in the cabana on the roof of the Music Box interviewing Clarke. We met up with Tim in the bar after the interview, chatted with Clarke a bit more and got our tickets. Let's get this out of the way: Clarke, who plays bass and synths for Action Action, is a charmer. He's nice all around, gives a lot of high fives and is all mischievous grins when he talks, even though the band's demon van was stuck in San Bernadino and he should have probably been in a foul mood after that. Everything else about him, you will read later.
Action Action essentially stole the show for us. I told Tim that even though everyone automatically mentions bands like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, New Order and the Cure when they hear a band with keyboards (which, is pretty much every band right now), I didn't really think of any of those bands. However, references to the Big 80s are hard to avoid, since so much of the 1990s lacked keyboards (excluding techno and industrial), and I had one myself.
"Can't you hear them play 'Red Skies at Night?'"
He agreed. It makes sense, though, since their producer, Bill Whitman, also produced a bunch of albums for the Fixx. Tim mentioned that Whitman also produced Too Much Joy. I didn't know that.
The thing about Action Action, though, is that they seem to have so much fun onstage that it's impossible not to enjoy the show. Clarke, who was right in front of us, mouthed the words to every song as he pointed his bass at the crowd and jumped up and down. By the end of the set, the band had a new fan in Tim and a huge line in front of the merch booth.
We met up with Xavier of 6ixteen Days and hung out with him throughout Morningwood's set. When I first heard "Nth Degree," I thought it was a great song. Then I realized that they were spelling out the band's name in the middle of it and the song was ruined for me. Maybe I took a bit of that into the concert, because I was sort of bored by the whole thing. This was all made worse when they invited Ginger Lynn, apparently a popular star of adult film, for a song called "Take Off Your Clothes," and the singer proceed to make out and disrobe her throughout the course of the number. I was expecting Snoop Dogg to appear midway through the song to tell us how we could order the video. Nudity and rock can go hand-in-hand, but the whole Girls Gone Wild motif has become trite.
The Sounds had a weak start. I really enjoy the band's work, but the songs that opened the set seemed to lack the passion on the album. Plus, Maja Ivarsson was working the whole slinky strut that is really more stiff than slinky (think Deborah Harry in the video for "Rapture"), which wasn't working. Midway through the show, though, the band hit its stride. By "Living in America," Maja was floating on top of the audience. When she suddenly disappeared, the security guards moved to the front of the stage, leaning over in an attempt to find her. The crowd, which was already moving like a rip tide, was uncontrollable after this point. At the end of the show, I had changed my mind. The Sounds are just as good live as on album.

P.S. In case you are curious, check out this page for the DVD of Tresspassers, which Tim wrote. He also wrote the song for the movie.

A few months back, I had the opportunity to interview Jarboe. You can read the fruits of said interview today on Popmatters. Photos are courtesy of Megan C. Brooks. You can see more of her Jarboe footage on her website.

Also, watch out for the new issue of Outburn. I dd the interview with the Numb Ones and reviews of Electric Six, The Gossip, Mogwai and Jarboe.

The incredible Black Rebel Motorcycle Club graced Los Angeles with their moving brand of folk and rock music last week and, thanks to the wonderful people at Modern Fix magazine, I spent the entire length of the show (including soundcheck) backstage.

My interview with Robert and full review of the show should be in their next issue (I'll give the heads up on it). In the meantime, here are photos of second act Elefant and the headliner BRMC. Unfortunately, we missed openers The Morning After Girls but I'll take Robert Levon Been's (BRMC) word that they were amazing.

ELEFANT

• Bokkie
• Make-Up
• Uh Oh Hello
• Tonight Let's Dance
• Black Magic Show
• Love
• Lolita
• Don't Wait
• Misfit

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB

• Feel It Now
• Faultline
• Restless Sinner
• Shuffle Your Feet
• Ain't No Easy Way
• Rifles
• White Palms
• Stop
• Six Barrel Shotgun
• In Like The Rose
• Weight Of The World
• Promise
• Sympathetic Noose
• Gospel
• Fail Safe
• Red Eyes
• Spread Your Love
• Punk Song

encore

• Grind My Bones
• Devils Waitin'
• Howl
• The Line
• Heart And Soul
• Open Invitation

All photos courtesy of Chaos In Containment/Ivan Fernandez 2006

Tomorrow night, Ana Rexia, whom you might know as a DJ for Evil Club Empire events and a veteran of the Parlour is going to be a guest judge on America's Next Top Model tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. This might just well be the best episode of the show you have ever seen because not only does he have incredible style, but his wit is piercing.

Naturally, I'm pretty sure I will be nowhere near a TV tomorrow night as I have to go out on an assignment. So if anyone can send me a copy of the show, or if you come across a link to a copy online, I would greatly appreciate it.

Cobalt Cafe might really be the most underrated venue in Los Angeles. I guess a lot of that has to do with it being an all-age venue situated in Canoga Park, at the far west end of the San Fernando Valley. If you're underage and from the Valley, Agoura, Thousand Oaks or Simi, it's pretty much the only place to go that doesn't require a fake ID or huge quantities of gas. So, by the time you're actually old enough to hang out at Scotland Yard, the neighboring pub, it feels like you're actually too old to go to the Cobalt.
Honestly, I never liked the Cobalt when I was young. This was mostly due to the fact that I always had this adversion to running into people from school when we weren't on campus. Plus I never really dug that local band Incubus that played there just about weekly in the mid-1990s. That's another thing about the Cobalt, a lot of the bands that play there go on to much grander careers. My sister saw Sublime there, I think with Save Ferris, shortly before the singer OD'ed and "Date Rape" became the biggest song on KROQ for the remainder of our teenage years. Rock Kills Kid played a residency there a few years back, but that was after I was old enough to drink at the pub and, therefore, too old for Cobalt, so I never saw them. In fact, I really can't think of one band I saw there that blew up, but I know for a fact that it happens. Maybe in some time I will be able to say, "Remember that show at the Cobalt where Winston and the Telescreen played? Oh, yeah, you don't because you weren't there, but I was."
The crowd at last night's Winston and the Telescreen show was thin, which probably was due, at least in part, to it being a miserable, thunderstorming sort of Monday night. My brother and I arrived early enough to catch Silvercities, a tight-playing local three-piece who have been making the rounds about the LA club circuit lately (they're playing at Fusion @ Bar 107 in Downtown on Wednesday). Recent comparisons bring up the inescapable use of post-punk, but I thought the band had more of a glam-meets-power pop sort of feel, along the lines of Cheap Trick or Sweet. I guess that's just more evidence that music is subjective and reducing it to scenes is ultimately meaningless.
Map, which features Paul and Trevor of Winston and Telescreen on keys and drums, respectively, followed. Frontman Josh plays a mean guitar in the Robert Smith-vein and the Sea and Cake influence noted on the band's My Space page is very evident.
Balthazar Monsoon and I have probably gone on about Winston and the Telescreen long enough for readers to already know what to expect in terms of sound and performance. (Refresh yourself with Balth's interview here.) This is a twee-lovers dream band with waltzing guitar riffs, pretty keyboard lines and a singer who spins around as he plays tamborine. Trust me, when this band is picked up by much cooler bloggers and ends up on a Pitchfork year-end chart, you will kick yourself for missing last night's show.
Unfortunately, we had to leave before the last band played. I think that they were called Minus My Mind and hail from Montana, but my Google searchs have turned up nothing.

In other news, one of my friends who attended SxSW got to see the Plimsouls/World Party show that I was jonsing to witness. He said it was "Fab!" World Party brought out mandolins and fiddles and the Plimsouls were "brilliant."
Next year, baby, I'm heading to Austin. Of course, I say that every year, but this time I mean it.

Also, D. at Soft Communication (which I humbly suggest reading constantly) got the new Morrissey album and had, perhaps, the most poignant reflections on it that you are likely to read.

Once upon a time, I met this guy who was like the freakiest kid in the neighborhood. So, of course, I had to develop a big crush on him. Sometime during that period, he conceded that I was weird enough for him and we started dating. Being a teenage goth and all, I had to dedicate a Smiths song to him. Never dedicate a song by your favorite band to a teenage boyfriend. They always turn out to be jerks and you'll always end up wishing that you had played "Unhappy Birthday" to him over the phone instead.
Now, you can read all the sordid details in Razorcake. Look for the piece entitled "Last Night at the Fair: Or, How to Ruin a Perfectly Good Smiths Song."
While you're reading your new copy of the magazine (found at fine bookstores everywhere or, at least, somewhere and in LA Public Library outposts), check out Jim Ruland's essay on Repo Man, Nardwuar's much-too-brief interview with Alice Cooper, Punk Rock Bowling and much more.

Last night, after watching a mildly interesting episode of the Sopranos (I really hope James Gandolfini isn't getting paid $1 million an episode to lay in a hospital bed and have completely boring dreams all season), Carlos and I headed down to the Third Annual Marginalia Festival at the Smell for a brief visit. We went primarily to show some love for Jeaux, who not only had his work on display, but also turned 30 on St. Patrick's Day. His work reminds me of Yoshitomo Nara, Takashi Murakami and a host of others that probably would not recognize by name were it not for the fact that I read Giant Robot religiously. I also got to meet Christina, whose excellent work was also on display last night. She was recently featured in Juxtapoz. Gabi M., who is a regular at Hang the DJs and just about every other club and loft party in LA, also had his photography on display. Unfortunately, we didn't run into him. Also, given our schedule of not-so-social events (i.e. work crap), we had to leave before the Super Mario opera. If you happen to find yourself at the Smell anytime this month, check out their work. It will still be on display.
While I am on the subject of the Smell, I just want to add that I'm totally over this venue. I appreciate the whole concept of trying to bring shows to an underground crowd at a reasonable price, but I'm not sure if I can handle going there anymore. This was the first time I went since the Numbers show, where some dude harrassed my friend and for $10 to park in a free lot and, upon our return, hid behind the passenger door to smoke crack. (Yes, it really was crack. No, I'm not trying to sensationalize anything.) That happened last April or May. Since then, I have avoided pretty much every show that has happened there no matter how much I wanted to see it. Fortunately, last night we found a decent spot on the street, so there were no hassles in the parking department. We got really annoyed, though, because the venue was so poorly lit that it was difficult to really get a good look at the art. Carlos broke out his flashlight and even then we really had to strain our eight eyes to try and read Jeux's comic panels.

I hope I haven't given too much advance notice, but Belle & Sebastian will be doing an acoustic set today at 3:00pm at Amoeba on Sunset. Great chance for those of us who missed their shows this past weekend to see them, and to get your copy of The Life Persuit signed by the band.