Decemberists - Los Angeles I'm Yours (w/ L.A. Phil)

YouTube's best sounding clip of The Decemberists performing with the LA Philharmonic last Saturday at the Hollywood Bowl. This song is pretty cool and the orchestra add a lot of oomph to it. I'm excited to see Bright Eyes perform with them as well later this summer. Check out this Playlist that someone set up on YouTube to view most of the songs from this show.

The Polyphonic Spree - Lithium

A video of The Polyphonic Spree doing a Nirvana cover from their homecoming Dallas show the other night. I love this song, and it's a good choice for them - I just wish they would have made it their own and put a little more of a twist on it. But those shows look like a lot of fun. This makes me want to go buy tickets for their L.A. date.

Coming Attractions: The National

Music blog darlings, The National, are rolling into L.A. tomorrow for a sold out show at the El Rey. The quintet claim Brooklyn, but everyone knows they're from Cincinnati (Hey if I were from Cincinnati, I wouldn't claim it either - but it is kind of a shame to rob Ohio from some music notoriety.) If you don't have tickets to tomorrow's show, NPR is offering the next best thing - last week's stream of their entire set in Washington D.C. Their latest release, Boxer, has been receiving overwhelming reviews from everywhere. I have yet to jump on this bandwagon, but I've always really liked their first album, Alligator, so maybe someday I'll finally get around to hearing what all the hype is about. You can check out the NPR stream by clicking here.

Weekend Concert Roundup: Los Angeles

Friday, June 22nd
Skinny Puppy, The Silver Daggers @ Henry Fonda Theater
Divisadero, The Louvre, The Solvents, 1985 @ Pehrspace
Division Day, The Switch @ Safari Sam's
Rob Crow, Johnny and the Moon (Dante Decaro of Wolf Parade), Manic @ Spaceland

Saturday, June 23rd
The Police @ Dodger Stadium
Skinny Puppy, The Silver Daggers @ Henry Fonda Theater
White Mice, Chuck Dukowski Sextet, Finally Punk @ The Smell

Sunday, June 24th
DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, Carlinhos Brown, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars @ Hollywood Bowl

Streaming Live Video of Bonnaroo 2007

Click HERE to see a live video stream of a ton of the acts going on down in Tennessee for this year's Bonnaroo. Maybe you'll even catch a cameo by Naked Guy. Here's the schedule of which bands AT&T will be streaming:

June 15th Lineup
12:30 PM Uncle Earl
01:15 PM Cold War Kids
02:15 PM Brazilian Girls
03:45 PM Kings of Leon
05:00 PM Paolo Nutini
06:15 PM Gillian Welch
07:45 PM The Nightwatchman
09:00 PM Lilly Allen
10:00 PM The Roots

June 16th Lineup
12:45 PM Old Crow Medicine Show
01:45 PM Spearhead
02:15 PM Regina Spektor
03:30 PM The Black Keys
04:15 PM Damien Rice
05:45 PM Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
07:45 PM The Hold Steady
08:15 PM Mago: Billy Martin & John Medeski
09:45 PM TBA
10:15 PM String Cheese Incident

June 17th Lineup
12:30 PM Robert Glasper Trio
01:00 PM John Butler Trio
02:00 PM The Flaming Lips
03:00 PM Bob Weir & Ratdog
04:30 PM Wolfmother
05:30 PM Wilco
07:15 PM The White Stripes
08:45 PM Widespread Panic

Dan Deacon - Best Show of the Summer?

I hope that I'm not building this show up to something that it can't possibly live up to, but I haven't been this excited to see someone perform in years. Dan Deacon is coming through L.A. this weekend at the pinnacle of his hype machine (I've read countless arguments of genius vs. retard) - and videos like this one back up the claim of genius. Known more for his live performances and crowd participation than his actual recordings, the Deacon live show has been built up as one of those, "yeah I was there" type moments. I've seen all the pictures, all the videos, and read all the reviews, and tomorrow it's finally time to get drunk and dance with this guy. This video is crappy quality but it's the most recent one I could find that showcases not only how fun this is going to be, but also how incredibly bad some people are at dancing. And the best part about it- no one seems to care.

Weekend Concert Roundup: Los Angeles

Friday, June 15th
Noisettes @ Amoeba
Sage Francis, Buck 65, Alias, Buddy Wakefield @ Henry Fonda
Mere Mortals, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Karabal Nightlife, Rocking Horse People @ Spaceland
The Long Blondes, Nicole Atkins & The Sea, The Boggs @ The Echo
Noisettes, The Maccabees, The Pity Party @ Troubadour

Saturday, June 16th
The Fratellis, Division Day @ Avalon
Dan Deacon, The Juan Maclean (DJ Set), Juiceboxxx, Video Hippos, DJ Franki Chan, DJ Paparazzi @ Echplx
Vomit Bomb, Abe Vigoda, Flexions, Teenage Talking Cars, Fifty on Their Heels @ The Smell
Lavender Diamond, Winter Flowers, Anders & Woods @ Troubadour

Thursday Rock City

Tonight marks a big night for live music-goers in the Los Angeles area. There are three TapeRock favorites scattered across town: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone is playing The Echo with Ladybug Transistor, Castledoor is headlining The Silverlake Lounge as part of their June residency, and No Age is playing their final L.A. date at Pehrspace before heading to Europe in support of their new release. All of this with K Records founder and DIY legend, Calvin Johnson playing at the Smell. AND tonight is Lebron's last stand in the NBA Finals and us Cleveland natives' last hopes at keeping alive in the playoffs. So here are the details if you go:

Castledoor, The Monolators, Amy Cooper, Ema and the Ghosts
Silverlake Lounge @ 9:00

The Ladybug Transistor, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, The Donkeys, Papercuts
The Echo @ 8:30

Calvin Johnson, Julie Doiron (ex-Eric's Trip), Jeremy Jay
The Smell @ 9:00

No Age, Jessica Rylan, Naomi, Haircut Mountain Transit
Pehrspace @ 9:00

Menomena - Weird (Live from Juan's Basement)

Here's one last Menomena live vid before the show tonight @ the Troub. This one is for the song Weird off their latest release and comes from the same Juan's Basement show in Brooklyn as the last video I posted. Doors open at 8 for anyone that is going tonight. All Smiles opening at 9. They will be playing again tomorrow night at The Glass House in Pomona, but that's probably sold out too.

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

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.

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.

Weekend Concert Roundup: Los Angeles

Friday, June 1st
Deerhoof, Autolux @ Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Matt and Kim, No Age, Japanther, Mika Miko @ The Echo
The Raveonettes - Special Electric Duo Show, Midnight Movies, The Meek @ Spaceland

Saturday, June 2nd
The High Strung, Brimstone Howl @ Spaceland
Pretty Girls Make Graves @ Glass House
Japanther, DD/MM/YYYY, The Pope @ The Smell

Brand New Heartless Bastards Video and Tour

On the heels of announcing their Austin City Limits inclusion, Cincinnati's Heartless Bastards have released their plans for the rest of this summer as well as a brand new video for their song, "All This Time." This song is one of my favorites off the new record (out on Fat Possum) and the video is done pretty well too. During the choruses, the video borderlines Target advertising, but it's still well produced. This video leads me to believe that these guys are going to start blowing up Black Keys style, but I guess only time will tell. Their tour continues tonight in North Dakota and spans the Midwest and East Coast before ending in Chicago for Lollapalooza and Austin for the aforementioned ACL.

Coming Attractions: Matt and Kim

I'm getting pumped for this weekend's featured show, Matt and Kim Friday at the Echo and I wanted to post a video of theirs. This vid comes from an outdoor BBQ in New York that they played last summer and showcases their quirky style and knack for goofiness. I love the chuckles they get when Kim starts playing a turned over bowl as her ride cymbal. Matt and Kim hail from Brooklyn and are currently on a nationwide tour supporting their new self-titled full length. They're playing three L.A. dates this week starting tonight at The Smell, tomorrow in Long Beach, and then Friday at the Echo. Check out their MySpace for more tunes.

In Other Sufjan News...

This video comes from Daily Motion and is part of La Blogotheque's coverage of the MusicNOW Festival in Cincinnati. This is Sufjan Stevens' beautiful cover of The Innocence Mission's song "Lakes of Canada." The surreal video is shot on the roof of Cincinnati's Memorial Hall during a chilly Ohio April. Without safety nets!

Weekend Concert Roundup: Los Angeles

Friday, May 25
Tommie Sunshine, VHS or BETA (DJ set), Keith 2.0, DJ Paparazzi, DJ Daniel Ledisko @ Avalon Hollywood
Abe Vigoda, Anchors For Architects, Black Black @ Pehrspace
The Autumns, The Sugarplastic @ Spaceland

Saturday, May 26
Ladytron (DJ Set) @ Avalon Hollywood
Crystal Castles, Purple Crush, DJ Franki Chan, DJ Paparazzi @ EchPlx

Vintage Bright Eyes Thursday

This is another cut off of Lifted called, "Waste of Paint." The video comes from the same ACL performance as the "We Are Nowhere and it's Now" video I posted the other day. This is one of those songs that I listened to probably 10 times before it actually hit me. This performance is especially cool for the lyrical and pacing changes. Watch until the end if you have time.