Nu Rave Brain Wave

(photo by our own Miss Saraceno)

10. The Kills, The Horrors and The Magic Wands @ The Glass House, 5/21
Seriously, all 3 bands killed it. I’m not sure when The Horrors traded in their Haunted Mansion organs for HEAVILY Loveless-inspired fuzz, but the makeover works. And if any girl, hell maybe even a few guys, left not wanting to be Alison Mosshart, they weren’t paying enough attention.

(photo by _shade_of_blue on flickr)

9. Spectrum @ The Echo, 5/08
I can’t help it. I adore anything related to Spacemen 3. I can sit and stare into space for hours listening to them. But since seeing them live is apparently never going to happen, Sonic Boom’s Spectrum can help fill that void. This was awesome. He played Ecstasy Symphony/Transparent Radiation AND the MGMT dudes came on stage for a Devo cover. It was bizarre but I loved it.

(photo by donteatmeatnow! for reals! on flickr)

8. A Place to Bury Strangers + Darker My Love @ The Echoplex, 10/16
Loud, loud, loud, fuzz, reverb, loud, distortion, awesome, hearing loss.

(photo by rist photography on flickr)

7. Fitz and the Tantrums @ The Echo, 11/6
I don’t usually buy into the whole soul throwback thing, but something about F & the T’s really appeals to me. I mostly love the dynamic between the male and female singer, both equally talented vocalists that bounce vindictive words off each other with such convincing spite that you’re left wondering if you’re intruding on a private conversation. Throw in a talented horn section and totally danceable rhythms and you’ve got yourself a really, really fun show.

6. The Morning After Girls + Sweaters @ Hotel Cafe, 7/27
The members of these two bands probably weren’t too happy about playing the same night as Jarvis Cocker, but I was. Let’s just say it was a very… intimate performance. That sounds a little raunch, okay the place was practically empty. But neither band let that sway them! Sweaters are so much fun and never fail to bring joy into my little heart. Have you seen Sweaters? Do it. We love them. The Morning After Girls definitely slowed it down for a semi-acoustic performance of songs from their self-titled debut and (incredible) new album Alone. It was beautiful!


(both photos by Brianna)

5. The Growlers + Xu Xu Fang @ The Echo, 8/17
The Growlers and the Fang were easily my two favorite musical discoveries of the year. I saw both bands an embarrassing amount of times. And since the rock and roll gods love me, the two of them happened to play together at my favorite venue on a lovely late summer evening. So good.

(photo by slates81 on flickr)

4. The Sonics @ Echoplex, 8/21
Oh damn. THE SONICS!!! Duhhhh. What else do I really need to say? These dudes are decades older than us, and rock way harder than 99% of the bands around today. Legends.

(photo by benjamin hoste on flickr)

3. The Dandy Warhols + The Meek @ The Glass House, 6/5
I love Dandy Warhols shows because there are never any fair-weather fans there. If you like the Dandys, you probably LOVE them, know all the songs and dance like a moron (I definitely did this). Stage banter from Courtney Taylor-Taylor is ALWAYS hilarious, so you get comedy and music all in one. And I could not have been happier for my pals in The Meek opening for them. It was a perfect fit.

(photo by Chris Molina for the Scenestar)

2. Echo and the Bunnymen @ Nokia Theater, 10/24
Okay, might’ve shed a tear at this one. And that generally only happens to me at Oasis concerts. But Ocean Rain played in its entirety with a small orchestra? Wow wow wow. It was breath-taking. And there are few things in this life more enjoyable than dancing to “Bring on the Dancing Horses” in the aisles with a bunch of drunk strangers.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAND THE BEST CONCERT OF 2009 WAS

MY BLOODY VALENTINE AT THE EL REY

I don’t think I even need to explain this one.

Two of my favorite LA bands. Do it. go.

The bearded gentleman you see above is Stephen McBean of Black Mountain and side project Pink Mountaintops. Pink Mountaintops’ newest album Outside Love has been on heavy rotation for me for awhile now; simply put, it’s beautiful. The grittiness of the previous albums is stripped away to let those huge harmonies shine through. On record, songs like “Axis: Thrones of Love”, title track “Outside Love”, and “Execution” sound nearly symphonic. But on Tuesday evening, even through my gin-soaked haze, I could tell that lush sound just didn’t translate to the stage. This is probably not at the fault of either the band or the venue, but something just seemed a bit off. Maybe it was simply because they lacked the man/woman-power; after all, there are 21 musicians credited on their album and there could not have been more than 7 on stage. So although it was not the ethereal musical experience I was hoping for, Pink Mountaintops still put on an impressive performance to a packed Echo. Xu Xu Fang opened the show with the sparest of their many incarnations, numbering only 6 members as opposed to their usual 10 or 11. In true Fang fashion, the stage was foggy, the music dark and atmospheric. I still can’t completely pin down their musical style or easily pigeonhole them into a genre or sub-genre or sub-sub-genre, and something tells me they’d like that. I caught a few songs from The Pack A.D. and I will just echo the words of somebody else who was present: “They sound like a female Restavrant”. Not a bad thing by any means, but perhaps a bit ill-fitting in this lineup. But all in all, a great Tuesday night at The Echo.

About the Pablove Foundation:
The Pablove Foundation is named after Pablo Castelaz, the son of Dangerbird Records co-founder Jeff Castelaz and his wife Jo Ann Thrailkill. On May 17, 2008, Pablo was diagnosed with bilateral Wilms’ Tumor, a rare form of children’s cancer. The cancer appeared out of nowhere, with no warning signs in Pablo’s general demeanor or health. He underwent treatment at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. On June 27, 2009, Pablo’s individual fight with cancer ended. But we fight on in his name, with the spirit of love that Pablo embodied and inspired. Specifically, the Pablove Foundation makes an annual contribution to cancer research and treatment at CHLA’s Saban Research Institute, one of the top cancer research facilities in the United States. It also supports play activities, music and arts programs, and sponsors play rooms in the soft tumor units at CHLA. These ‘units’ are actually entire floors of the hospital, which are filled with brave, beautiful children at any time of the year. A strolling minstrel, a board game, a book, or an art easel bring such joy to the heart of a child whose life has been temporarily reduced to a small hospital room. For more info please visit
www.pablove.org.

Come out and support a really good cause tonight, everybody!

Tune into KCRW @ 11 today to hear Xu Xu Fang’s song “Your Way”, which has been selected as KCRW’s Top Tune of the day. Very very cool.

Upcoming XXF dates:
08/13 @ Bootleg Theater (Pablove benefit show w/ Great Northern)
08/17 @ The Echo w/ The Growlers! (you fail at life if you miss this night)

http://www.myspace.com/xuxufang

I don’t know how many of our readers are also Gossip Girl fans, but if you are one of them listen close during tonight’s episode to hear “Your Way” by Xu Xu Fang. Groovy. Even better, you can come see this song (and of course, many others) played live on Thursday night at The Echo. For FREE!

Hell yeah