Wilco Set to Bring Some Sky Blue Sky to L.A.

Wilco HeadQuarters has just announced the second half of Tweedy and Co.'s summer tour. I figured there had to be a West Coast jaunt to the Sky Blue Sky fun, but the initial tour listing had me a little worried. While we will be missing out on Low's opening stints from the first half, Wilco is usually known for bringing along worthwhile opening acts. The lone Los Angeles date is scheduled for August 29th at the Greek Theatre. No word yet about when tickets go on sale, but you may as well get your mouse clicking finger ready because this one is going to sell out in minutes. It seems like I've been getting a lot of presale opportunities here at work lately, so I'm gonna see if I can hook that up. With all this "sellout" hubbub going on about the new VW ads featuring Sky Blue Sky tunes, I'm glad to see some newsworthy Wilco headlines for a change. The countdown to August begins! For now check out this video of "What Light" from Sky Blue Sky:

Do you think that they'll play California Stars with it being at an outdoor venue and all?

Coming Attractions: Menomena

This show has kind of snuck up on me. I think some of the disappointment from missing their last show at the Echo has carried over, but Tuesday's show at the Troub might make up for it. I've read that their live instrumentation is unparalleled and just a sight to see, so I'm pumped to see that for myself. If you have tickets to this show, consider yourself lucky - it sold out in only a few days - and their last L.A. performance was impossible to get into (We tried sneaking in the back alley to no avail.) I'm expecting to hear more of their debut material now that they aren't touring specifically for the newer release. For now, check out this amazing live video of theirs recorded for "Juan's Basement" in Brooklyn. This Juan dude has one of the coolest gigs in the world apparently hosting his favorite bands in his basement. The song is called Muscle 'n Flo off the new Barsuk release Friend and Foe.


If You Go: Tuesday, June 12th. Menomena @ The Troubadour, 10pm. Doors at 8pm. All Smiles (with members of Grandaddy open at 9pm.)

Los Angeles: Your Weekend of Rock!

This is a notable weekend for live rock in Los Angeles. The fun starts tonight, and goes through next week, with a string of soldout LCD Soundsystem shows at the El Rey. There are three great shows that I would love to see tonight, but I have something even better to do tonight - watch the hometown Cleveland Cavaliers play in their first NBA Finals. Here's what the weekend roundup is looking like:

Thursday, June 7th:
Castledoor, Signal Hill Transmission, Dynamite Walls, Speaker Speaker @ Silverlake Lounge
Mice Parade, Tom Brosseau, Kira Kira, Caroline @ The Echo
The Mae Shi, Tik//TIk, Anavan, Kevin Shields, Ex-Oblivione @ The Smell

Friday, June 8th:
Morrissey @ Hollywood Bowl
The Raveonettes (Special Electric Duo Show), Midnight Movies, The Pity Party @ The Echo

Saturday, June 9th:
Thunderbirds Are Now!, The Junior Varsity @ Spaceland
Wax Tailor, Socalled @ The Echo

Sunday, June 10th:
LCD Soundsystem, Planningtorock @ El Rey
CSS, Bonde do Role, Yo Majesty @ Henry Fonda

Can I Get a Goddamn Timpani Roll?

So Pitchfork beat me to posting this scoop, but I was able to get my presale tickets before the throngs of P4K readers grabbed them all up. Bright Eyes has announced yesterday that they will be playing the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra in September. Multi-instrumentalist Nate Walcott will be providing all of the arrangements as this will be the first time Bright Eyes has ever attempted something like this. It comes closely after the LA Phil are scheduled to play with the Decemberists, so I hope that this becomes a Hollywood Bowl Series. Indie band + orchestra + The Hollywood Bowl = a great night for any music fan. This date is currently the only U.S. date that Bright Eyes has scheduled after returning from a summer jaunt in Europe for the Cassadaga tour. I wonder if they'll haul out some of the back catalog for this special event ("Let's Not Shit Ourselves", "False Advertising?"). For now check out this old music video for "Bowl of Oranges" and just imagine an 88 piece behind it:

Another Local Spotlight: The Mae Shi

This Los Angeles four-piece have accomplished a lot in their 5 year lifespan. They have put out 4 records, toured the nation a couple times, and shared the stage with the likes of The Mountain Goats, Xiu Xiu, and Deerhoof... but you can read all of this in their succinct bio on MySpace. The Mae Shi put out original, catchy, and just plain intriguing rock/pop/electronic/bootyshaking music. As you can see from the picture, they use quite an array of instruments ranging from the standards to the quite bizarre (they even sell their own homemade electronic sound-boxes.) The Mae Shi are playing tomorrow night at The Smell w/ Kevin Shields (NOT from My Bloody Valentine apparently), tik///tik, and anavan. Here's a list of their upcoming L.A. dates to round out the month of June:

June 7th: w/ Kevin Shields, tik///tik, and anavan @ The Smell
June 25th: w/ Abe Vigoda, HEALTH, and UpsilonAcrux @ Pehrspace
June 28th: w/ The Locust @ Troubadour

Check out their sing-a-long pop tune, "Run To Your Grave" off their upcoming 2007 release.

June Mix - 3. Notorious B.I.G. - Mo' Money Mo' Problems

Keeping our mix in the summer of 1997, Notorious B.I.G.'s "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems" is a perfect fit for the third spot. This single was released in June or July of '97 and I can remember it being the jam for the rest of that summer and then into the fall. I used to know every single word to this song, and I'm sure most of you did too. This song was the coming out party for a then-unknown Ma$e, who as we all know went on to a long and illustrious rap career. (Does anyone know what Ma$e is up to now?... Last I heard he was born again, but that was years ago.) Biggie's rap on this song is one of my all-time favorites and at the time this song came out the retro sampling wasn't as played out as it is today. Check the video, it's sort of dated with the Fuzzy Zoeller reference, but the Riddick Bowe cameo is pretty sweet.

Local Spotlight: Mika Miko

There's not a whole lot that one can say about this band other than, "Go see them live!" Their wiki article astutely states, "they gained local popularity for their frenetic live performances which emulate being at a party and often take place at parties." Before seeing them play last Friday I wasn't all that impressed with their recordings. After the first song of the set, I knew they weren't at all what I was expecting. They are about to embark on a Europe tour with fellow PPM labelmates and long time friends No Age, afterwhich will return to the States for a string of L.A./West Coast dates. Here's a video for their song "Business Cats" off the Kill Rock Stars/PPM release C.Y.S.L.A.B.F. :




Check out some of their other stuff at MySpace.

Local Residency: Castledoor @ Silverlake Lounge

Castledoor are slowly becoming my favorite local act that's playing around town these days. Their great songwriting and catchy melodies leave me kind of bewildered that I can't find more about them on the internet. They aren't even signed to a record label... their self-released EP Follow the Dove has sold out and now is only available via iTunes. The instrumentation, neighborhood, and style lead me to believe these guys are the next Rilo Kiley, and their songs can back that claim up. They are starting their June residency at the Silverlake Lounge - familiar stomping grounds for the band - this Thursday (and every Thursday in June). They also have a handful of other shows scheduled in and around the city this month.

@ Silverlake Lounge:
June 7th: w/ Dynamite Walls, Signal Hill Transmission, Speaker Speaker
June 14th: w/ Amy Cooper, Monolators, Ema and the Ghosts
June 21st: w/ Emma Burgess, The Don'ts, Japanese Barbie
June 28th: w/ Gran Ronde

Check out Castledoor's tune "Burn the Maps" off the Follow the Dove EP:
*Also* Check out their MySpace and listen to "Remember When," I can't seem to find an mp3 of it anywhere else.

Coming Attractions: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

Owen Ashworth rolls into town next week with his one-man outfit, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. A film-school dropout, Ashworth has been releasing music since 1997 in lieu of filmmaking and has steadily been garnering attention - he's shared the stage with bands like Xiu Xiu, The Rapture, etc. etc. He's slated to play the Echo Thursday, June 14th with Ladybug Transistor and Papercuts. For some catchy mid-tempo electronic pop, listen to this song, "Young Shields," the first single off the 2006 Tomlab release Etiquette. For other mp3's check out the CFTPA official site, or the MySpace.

Matt & Kim - It's a Fact (Printed Stained) Live @ The Echo

This vid comes from the Matt & Kim show last Friday at the Echo. This show's bill was incredible with No Age, Mika Miko, and Japanther opening, while Matt & Kim owned with their set. If you get a chance to see these two while their still on tour, I would definitely pay the ten bucks and go. If you want to see some of the other songs from this night's show click here.

June Mix - 2. Radiohead - Paranoid Android

This is not just one of my favorite songs that remind me of summer, it's one of my favorite songs of all time. This single was released in June of 1997 and was very different than anything else out on the radio at the time. My summer memories of this song go hand in hand with the video - which probably has something to do with sitting around watching MTV and VH1 all day instead of having to go to school. I can remember taking great pride in knowing that the men sitting around the table in the bar scene were actually the band. This is a good fit for the two slot.

The Black Keys Release Free EP

Hometown heroes, The Black Keys just recently released a live EP, creatively named The Live EP for free on their MySpace site. The 4 song digital release features the songs "No Trust," "Girl Is On My Mind," "10 AM Automatic," and "Elevator." The first two were recorded here in Los Angeles at the Troub and the last two were recorded in Nashville. I just finished listening to it, and it's definitely worth the time to head over to MySpace and download it.