Upcoming Shows

Beginning a nice run of shows tonight with a set by The Happy Casualties at The Blu Monkey at 5521 Hollywood Blvd. Don't know the place, but I'll find it. They're on a bill with The Seizures, Stab City and SuperDuperStar, none of whom I have heard. Also wanted badly to catch up with Automatic Drawing and Collisions at Spaceland and the timing would have been just right, but my Internet connection went haywire and I had to spend over an hour with someone in India who fixed it.
later note: Steve Sigl of The Happy Casualties called me just before I left to say they weren't playing so I got the night off.

Friday is a nightmare. I must be at the Radars To the Sky record release party at Spaceland at 11, when they go on. But I've also been invited to Echo Curio to see a night of bands from the label New and Used Records. Local bands, Shiloe and Tigers Can Bite You, along with San Francisco's Kid Mud and Geographer. All make really beautiful music, so I may begin my evening there. Pehrspace has a brilliant show that night, too. Manhattan Murder Mystery, The Transmissions, Policy and Kill Kill Kill are all great bands and I wish I could be there.

Saturday I'm excited to go to this year's Christmas Sweater Festival for which I was happy to pay for an 'A' ticket, since it's a benefit for Doctors Without Borders. It also happens to feature some of my very favorite bands like Amnion, Castledoor, The Happy Hollows, The Pity Party, The Deadly Syndrome and even the orgiastic, carnival that is Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros. It's at The Echoplex and starts early, 7 o'clock. Now I just have to find that hideous red reindeer sweater I remember I have...somewhere.

Sunday, December 14, 2008 offers another marathon. First I got word of a performance by one of my favorite finds this year, The Stevenson Ranch Davidians. They completely seduced me at The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra's wonderful EP release party last July 3rd. I saw them for the second time later that month and, again, they were incredible. Then I heard they'd lost their drummer so I figured they'd be down for a while. Well, here they are, billed as semi-acoustic, so I don't know whether there's a drummer or not, but in any incarnation, they are worth seeing. later note: Just heard it's a solo acoustic show by lead singer/guitarist, Dwayne, so I'll look forward to hearing that. They're playing with bands I don't know, called Quarter After, Sky Parade and Bluniform at a place called Cafe Corsa, near downtown and early. They play at five.

Then The Echoplex announces "a charitable night of music presented by Otik Records and Confessions of a Would-Be Hipster to benefit Midnight Mission and lower-income families in East L.A." featuring Aaron Espinoza of Earlimart and Tandemoro, a couple more of my favorites. I could get here after Stevenson Ranch is done. What a December this is turning out to be!

Monday night, December 15, 2008, Gangi return to the local stage after a brief absence, and I can't wait to hear another band I consider one of the real finds of the year. They're at the Echo with Voices Voices, BlackBlack and Le Coste. And, again, The Movies residency everyone is describing as triumphant is at Spaceland.

Tuesday I have a ticket for the incredible Amanda Palmer at The Fonda. It'll be my sixth time seeing this force of nature and I never get tired of it. Can't wait!
Also, Seasons play at Spaceland that night. Damn!

Can't write more now. Gotta run!

whrabbit