Los Angeles Music Blog

View photos from HARD Haunted Mansion in our Friday night and Saturday night slideshows.

About 50 arrests were made at the biggest Halloween dance parties over the weekend, including HARD Haunted Mansion Friday and at Monster Massive Saturday, Los Angeles police told L.A. Weekly.

Lt. Darrell Belthius of the Los Angeles Police Department's Southwest Division said about "95 percent" of the weekend party arrests involved gatecrashers, mostly at Monster Massive at the Los Angeles Coliseum because trespassing was more difficult at Hard Haunted Mansion at the nearby Shrine Auditorium Friday and Saturday.

He said the DJ-driven Monster Massive had a capacity of 80,000 and was near it. He said Hard had a capacity of 8,000 each night and was also near it. If true, nearly 100,000 revelers descended on the Exposition Park area alone to enjoy electronic dance music on Friday and Saturday.

Timothy Norris

Deadmau5 reprises his Friday performance at Hard Haunted Mansion Saturday.

​

​As The Game, LA rapper Jayceon Taylor released three incredibly solid albums, but is now switching it up a little bit for his upcoming fourth release, "The R.E.D. Album" (December 8th). He's redacted the The and will now be referred to simply as Game. He's promised two singles this week, the first being of the "street" variety...as if Gucci Mane's presence wasn't enough to clue you in on the slant of "Krazy." This one's also produced by Timbaland.

The rumored radio single is called "LA Girl" and features Pharrell and Chris Brown and should see daylight before the end of the week.

Download Game's "Krazy" (via NahRight)

Bad news: The invite-only Pennywise show tonight in Long Beach has been canceled due to... the police.

Evidently a fistful of Long Beach County Police officers gave the venue owner (a friend of the band's) a bit of sure pressure this afternoon. If the band played the show, the cops threatened they would shut it down. "I think they were just preparing for the worst. Which is probably what's gonna happen at a Pennywise show," said a very calm Pennywise guitarist, Fletcher Dagge, moments ago. Last time Pennywise played a show in Long Beach, "there was an out-of-control turnout," with too many ticket holders who'd arrived on a first come first served basis, and the cops had to "disperse the crowd."

Tonight's show would have been the band's first performance with new singer Zolie Teglas before playing the Cypress Hill Smokeout this weekend in San Bernardino. "He's never sang with us in front of a crowd and we figured it would be good to have a hometown crowd there, just keep it small and have a nice rowdy old school bar show. It's just kinda hard to do that anymore I guess," Dagge said.

The show was intended just for a bunch of friends, with a list of about 250 people. "We didn't tell anybody except for the people on the list." How it got back to the police department is all speculation.

Pennywise hinted that a sneak attack show for tomorrow night, in another city, is on the rise. But we can't tell anybody where...

​We've received word that legendary film composer Ennio Morricone, creator of some of the most recognizable scores in the history of the medium, has canceled/postponed* his first-ever appearance in LA. No reason has been given as of yet, but we'll let you know when we find out.

Truth be told, we've been working on a Morricone feature for the print version of LA Weekly for the past few weeks -- you can read the two segments here and here -- and learned of the cancellation/postponement just as we were going to press. The editorial staff, with the help of Weekly intern John Wheeler, interviewed a whole host of film composers regarding the Italian composer Morricone, who is best known for his scores to Sergio Leone's three so-called "spaghetti" westerns: A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

*No word yet on whether this is a postponement or cancellation, nor do we know about refunds yet. We'll let you know when we know.

​
Despite the auspicious image above, the only green spotted at the Treasure Island Festival this weekend, was that being smoked by the heavy hippie and hipster quotient that swarmed San Francisco's finest former Naval base cum music festival grounds. Indeed, for any wayward Angelenos incubating fantasies about moving to the Bay Area, the two-day extravaganza provided a taunting incentive -- with the prospect of life up north seeming impossibly pleasant when complimented by a strong breeze, a gorgeous view of the downtown skyline at sunset, and the dulcet pop of Grizzly Bear and Beirut.

Boasting a bifurcated approach, with Saturday dedicated to electro-skewing acts like Dan Deacon, Girl Talk and MGMT, and Sunday devoted to indie icons like The Flaming Lips, Yo La Tengo, The Decemberists and the aforementioned Brooklyn contingent, the Treasure Island Festival provided a smaller, easier-to-manage, but equally excellent alternative to Outside Land Festival, which took place in Golden Gate Park last month. For those looking for extended coverage on the full range of eclecticism and eccentricity that took place this weekend, head over to West Coast Sound's sister blog, SF Weekly's All Shook Down. Day one coverage is here, day two here. For photos check out their Treasure Island slideshows, day one and day two.

Raymond Roker started Urb magazine out of his apartment in 1990. He initially distributed the newsprint publication out of the back of his car. It was distributed mostly in clothing and record stores on Melrose. The magazine focused on the crossroads of burgeoning dance music and indie hip-hop. Its early cover stories featured a then-unknown Moby, local spinner Doc Martin and even Cypress Hill. Advertisers ranged from independent dance music labels to rave promoters, which printed their fliers as full-page ads. By the mid-1990s Urb exploded along with electronic dance music and left-field hip-hop. It became a national glossy and even inspired some pretenders (Yrb, Industry Insider).

The publication grew to become a viable alternative to the Spins and Rolling Stones of the world. As electronic dance music, DJ culture, and backpacker hip-hop grew and became natural allies on record store shelves in the late 1990s and early '00s, Urb's role expanded: It was a bonafide bible for all things not rock. Where putting the Prodigy or Ice-T on the cover was subversive in the early 1990s, it was almost mainstream ten years later. Roker, a product of Fairfax High School, used the publication as a pulpit to pontificate on the state of rap, race relations and the White House.

Raymond Roker

​

It's Friday night and you drove out to Hollywood, found your secret parking spot, got in line and after an hour of waiting, realized that there's no way you and your friends will be getting inside the club. The night is still young, so what do you do? Fear not, dear reader, L.A. Weekly is here to help. We're excited to announce the launch of the L.A. Weekly iPhone app, the first app built for an alternative weekly paper. L.A. Weekly has always been your essential guide for where to go, where to eat, and what to do. Now you can get all of our hot tips, newest places and best restaurants on your iPhone. For free (we love that word). The app features over 200 concert and event listings that you can sort by date, nearby and neighborhood, plus over 1000 easy-to-search restaurant listings, including recommendations from our Pulitzer Prize winning food critic Jonathan Gold. You can also keep up on the latest happenings in L.A. with our "Last Night" event and nightlife coverage and slideshows, available by 9 a.m. most mornings. Download it here or search "LA Weekly" in the app store. Check out the images below for a sample of what you'll find:

​

This just in: Flaming Lips are doing a MySpace show at the Nike Theater in Hollywood on Thursday, October 15:

To celebrate the release of their new studio album Embryonic, The Flaming Lips, one of the world's most influential rock bands, will be playing a MySpace Music Secret Show in Hollywood, CA, on Thursday, October 15 for their MySpace friends and fans. Tickets for the event will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis at the opening of The Flaming Lips Pop-Up Store at The Nike Theater in Hollywood, CA, on October 15 from Noon until Midnight. Additional tickets will be available at Amoeba records with purchase of the Embryonic CD on street date, October 13. Ticket holders are not guaranteed seating. Doors for the early event open at 6:30 p.m. and will close at capacity.

​The estate of Michael Jackson and Sony Music debuted a new Michael Jackson song called "This Is It" last night at midnight, and fan reactions are coming in from around the world. Listen to the song here to make your own judgment, or rely on the "experts" at mjjcommunity.com to decide for you.

"Personally I found it disappointing that the song vocal was so 'tinny' and that it is obviously unfinished. the song has managed to get massive coverage and attention, certainly it has across the UK and it is a bit of a let down. No other song released by Michael Jackson in the future (assuming there will be one) will manage to get that kind of attention across such a wide range of stations and I feel the opportunity has been wasted. Sony just found a demo with the same title as the concerts and put it out there, despite the fact there is no proper end to the song and the sound quality isn't up to scratch. They should have made the effort to secure some new material and send it out as a single. With a half good, contempory song, Sony could have achieved so much more. Shame." -- bobmoo79

Chromeo is one of those '80s-crazed dance music acts that makes the cool kids in empty Ray-Ban frames go off the Richter like a South Pacific earthquake. It was Chromeo that was about to take the stage when dozens of fans climbed down an Inglewood Forum balcony to get a closer look, prompting cops in riot gear to shut down the 18,000-strong Hard Summer festival in August. In a show review last year we described the duo's giddy fans as nearly hyperventilating with joy at its appearance.

May Truong

Chromeo's Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel, left, and David "Dave 1" Macklovitch

​

We found Chromeo's talk-box antics, "gangsta" references and Dazz Band-like sound to be a little contrived, but the duo has made an impenetrable connection with the millennial generation that's as true as a t-square. It belts out corny, vocal tunes ("Tenderoni") that recall the innocent, Back to the Future side of the 1980s while also maintaining currency with digitized percussion and punkish, nu electro attitude. The pair of Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel and David "Dave 1" Macklovitch started in Montreal in 2002 and foreshadowed the mix-and-mash tidal wave of '80s-flavored dance music that's resonating with the American Apparel crowd today. The duo also DJs (Macklovitch's little brother is Kanye West conspirator and champion spinner A-Trak), and it professes to dig deep into the electro-funk crates with pure reverence.

Recently we started getting Twitter direct messages from someone named @studiodog, and at first we couldn't figure out if the person was an oddball Smashing Pumpkins fan sending news updates on Billy Corgan's progress in the studio or an insider. But as we parsed them further, it started to appear that @studiodog was actually in the studio, and sending us tidbits of information.

So we started sleuthing, and uncovered a treasure trove of oddities from the recording of the new Pumpkins album in Chicago. Like this:

another day in the studio

Wow, they're getting a lot done, and Corgan's voice has never sounded more chimplike. (Sorry, Billy, we couldn't resist.)

Ulrich Schnauss is pissed and wants to get paid

​This one came out of left field. Who knew Axl Rose (allegedly) had such good taste in pastoral techno?

Word arrives that Guns 'n Roses are being sued by German techno artist Ulrich Schnauss, whose gorgeous, bucolic instrumental tracks seem the polar opposite of the sturm und drang of Chinese Democracy. But the Guardian UK is reporting that Schnauss has sued Rose for copyright infringement, claiming the track "Raid n the Bedouins" samples two different tracks by Schnauss, one from his Far Away Trains Passing By, and another from A Strangely Isolated Place. Listen for yourself after the jump.

​

Who in their right mind would pay this? [link deleted*]

YOU ARE BIDDING ON 2 TICKETS TO SEE THOM YORKE WARM UP SHOW AT ECHOPLEX!!

ALL SALES ARE FINAL.PAYMENT IS WITH PAYPAL ONLY-THERE ARE NO REFUNDS FOR RESCHEDULED EVENTS ONLY IF EVENT IS CANCELLED!! ANY QUESTIONS EMAIL ME BEFORE BIDDING.

Is there anyone who would pay that, especially considering there may be slap-bass involved?

UPDATE 1:33 PM: That listing just got pulled. May have been a scam. Still an asshole looking for a ticket? Try here or here.

Larry Tee has floated through contemporary club history like Forrest Gump on ecstasy, seemingly everywhere you'd want to be. Growing up in Atlanta, he hung out with R.E.M. and co-wrote fellow Atlantan Ru Paul's 1992 hit "Supermodel (You Better Work)." In 1990s New York he became a DJ on the club kid circuit, manning the decks at Roxy, Twilo and the Palladium and MCing festivities at the infamous Disco 2000 parties at the Limelight. He was a central figure in the club kid movement during much of the drama (murder, mayhem) depicted in the 2003 film Party Monster.

Larry Tee

​By the turn of the millennium, Tee had sobered up. In 2001 he organized New York's Electroclash Festival to showcase a refreshing movement he was sensing in clubland: The fusion of art, '80s influences and electronic dance music. The term electroclash stuck, particularly for acts such as Fischerspooner, Ladytron and Peaches. Some critics dismissed the movement as contrived, and by the mid-'00s the scene seemed to have died off. But a funny thing happened: The elements of electroclash came back with a vengeance. The nu electro movement - Justice, MSTRKRFT, Simian Mobile Disco - borrowed heavily from Tee's playbook and, today, there's nary a hotter sound.

For many fans of film scores and music, no one working in Hollywood right now understands the pairing better than Wes Anderson. From the start, Anderson's been in a groove: For his first feature length, Bottle Rocket, he had the good fortune to work with Mark Mothersbaugh, whose work with Devo and scores for Pee Wee's Playhouse made him a perfect foil for Anderson's eye. The pair worked on Anderson's first four films.

But in addition to his good fortune with composers, Anderson's taste in music has added a great layer to his work. From the classic uses of the Creation and the Kinks in Rushmore to Nico and Paul Simon in The Royal Tenenbaums to his excavation of strange Bollywood soundtrack songs for The Darjeeling Limited, Anderson's soundtracks not only score his films, but play along in our daily lives. We can't listen to the The Rolling Stones' great "I Am Waiting," from Rushmore, not to mention the genius use of Seu Jorge to perform David Bowie songs in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, without zipping in our heads back to the sequences in the films.

Dirty Projectors have just announced a Halloween show in LA -- at the Jensen Rec Center in Echo Park. The Projectors, whose last show was at the Troubadour, announced a fall tour last month, and suspiciously absent from the itinerary was an LA date (even though San Diego and SF were both there). Why, we wondered, would they not play Los Angeles?

We needn't have worried. They're playing the seldom-used (for concerts, anyway) Jensen Rec Center, just west of Sunset in Echo Park. Why, exactly, is anyone's guess, but we secretly hope that it's because they're turning the place into a haunted house or something and making it a real-deal Halloween party.

It's come to our attention through reliable sources that Thom Yorke and his new LA-based band are, in addition to performing two gigs at the Orpheum this coming Sunday and Monday, doing a secret show at the Echoplex this Friday night, October 2. This is all we know, and though we've shot an email to Yorke's publicist for confirmation or denial, we've heard nothing back yet.

Neither the Echoplex site nor Radiohead's deadairspace (where Yorke announced the quick-turnaround Orpheum shows) have posted information on the show, so this is, indeed, a rumor that we're starting here, one which could come back to bite us in the ass. One shred of evidence: the Echoplex schedule is mysteriously empty for this Friday night, and the club almost always has something happening on Friday nights. This would be the first ever performance by Yorke's new group, which features musicians Joey Waronker, Mauro Refosco, Flea and Nigel Godrich.

We'll let you know what we find out when we find out. Would we bet money that it's happening? Yes. Does it suck that they're doing it the same night as Amadou & Miriam's highly anticipated show at the Fonda? Very much.

UPDATE 9:59 A.M.: We just heard back from Yorke's publicist, who would neither confirm nor deny the Echoplex show. Read into that what you want.

UPDATE OCT. 1, 2 P.M.: Pop & Hiss got an update from Yorke's publicist this afternoon. Their reply? "We cannot confirm nor deny it, but we will confirm or deny it by tomorrow morning."

UPDATE OCT. 1, 8:35 P.M.

Confirmed. Here's Thom, via deadairspace:

so listen right
that band thats doesnt really have a name that im working with at the moment??????
have decided to do a warm-up show on Friday Oct 2nd around 9pm at the Echoplex in Los Angeles
Its not that big, it'll be total chaos and its kind of a rehearsal but .. if you are near by..
below is a link to get tickets.
hope you get lucky with it. if not you've got to be a really really really good friend to get in: )

all the best

Those of you following the LA comings and goings of one Thom Yorke might know that he landed at the Roosevelt last Tuesday night for a surprise DJ set during Chris Holmes' weekly party. Last week we hinted at the reason for his presence.

Thom Yorke's unnamed band for the Orpheum shows.

​

This morning he posted this at dead air space:

Tue, 29 September
??????
hi
in the past couple of weeks i've been getting a band together for fun to play the eraser stuff live and the new songs etc.. to see if it could work!

at the beginning of october the 4th and 5th we are going to do a couple of shows at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.
we don't really have a name and the set will not be very long cuz ..well...we haven't got that much material yet!
but come and check it out if you are in the area. we've also got locals Lucky Dragons playing.
all the best

Click here to buy tickets for October 4.

Click here to buy tickets for October 5.

The Pablove Foundation, founded by Dangerbird Records' Jeff Castelaz and his wife Jo Ann Thrailkill, is in the middle of a fundraiser in which a bunch of really great stuff is up for sale on eBay.

If you don't know Pablove, it was started a year-and-a-half ago after the couple learned that their son, Pablo, had contracted a rare form of cancer. The disease took his life this summer. His spirit lives on within the fantastic, ever-inspiring Pablog, and through the work of Pablove. (A lot of us who never met Pablo feel a strong kinship with him due to the amazing writing of his father.)

By Kevin Bronson

There are fans who would go to the end of the earth to hear the new album from Autolux. So when you're offered a chance to talk to the Los Angeles trio about that album and they suggest meeting at the Griffith Observatory's Café at the End of the Universe, you think: Yeah, perfect.

Autolux, of LA

​

On a hazy, warm afternoon in the Hollywood Hills, bassist Eugene Goreshter, drummer Carla Azar and guitarist Greg Edwards review the past -- from the evolution of their acclaimed debut "Future Perfect" way back in 2004 to their current state of limbo -- and acknowledge that while maybe that future wasn't so perfect, they are optimistic.

"I'm optimistic all right," Edwards says wryly. "I'm optimistic that it will be a great weight off my shoulders to finally get this record out."

​Longtime LA fixture Tom Petty is releasing a multi-format live anthology that spans his entire career, and includes a full set from a 1978 New Year's concert in Santa Monica. The collection brings together material from 1978-2007, chosen by Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Ryan Ulyate, from hundreds of hours of live recordings.

We're trying to wrap our head around what exactly is included in the massive endeavor, and, for that matter, what each of the configurations will consist of. Here's what we know: The most impressive package will only be available at Best Buy, and will feature:

By Gustavo Turner

Brian Eno was in town this past weekend to give a lecture illuminating his installation "77 Million Paintings," currently at the University Art Museum in Cal State Long Beach.

Andrew Youssef

Brian Eno at Cal State Long Beach on Sunday Night (sans iPod)

​

Eno was mostly interested in talking about his general theories of art (with occasional digressions on how the "relentless beauty" of Penelope Cruz, as he would say, "gives him the horn"), but those of us attending the small press conference last Friday were treated to a rare insight into the contents of his iPod:

The Bangz have released a 'Get Well Soon' video and posted it on their YouTube channel in the wake of the shooting of Ella Ann, one half of the LA jerkin' duo. The group's other member, Sabi, has been updating her Twitter since the event happened last week. According to her Tweets (@thebangz), Ella Ann still hasn't awakened, but her condition has stabilized. The most recent Tweet, published last night: "Just left hospital,Ella is still hanging in there, she has gotten no better or no worse, still hasn't woken up, but her swelling has gone down."

The cover of Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horrors #14, guest edited by Sammy Harkham

​Family Books, the ever-inspiring and wallet-sucking "curated" book, record and cassette store in the Fairfax District, will be hosting Matt Groening in a comic signing to honor the publication of Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #15, an issue of the series guest edited by Family co-owner Sammy Harkham. Harkham, who created and edits Kramers Ergot, an annual compendium of America's finest comic artists, hand-selected a dozen-odd crazies to draw the issue, and, if the pictures below (and at Family's blog) are any indication, it looks promising. The signing will take place at Family on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.

Participating artists include some West Coast Sound faves: Dan Zettwoch, Ted May, Paperrad's Ben Jones, Kevin Huizenga, and Harkham (his series, Crickets, is a quiet, almost zen-like experience). Given the scope and vision behind the Simpsons project, it'll surely be worth your while to check it out.

This just in from Dead Man's Bones, who continue their month long residency at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater this Friday night, and the Regent downtown on October 30.

​

DEAD MAN'S BONES PUTS OUT A CALL FOR THEIR TOUR TALENT SHOW! . Are you a Sword Swallower?  Tap Dancer?  Magician?  Impersonator?  Holder of unique trick or talent?

Dead Man's Bones, the duo consisting of Zach Shields and Ryan Gosling, also intend to clue locals into homegrown talent in their own cities by hosting talent shows at stops along their tour rather than traditional music opening acts.

​Pilates shmilates. Yoga shmoga. The true headz know what's up with exercise regimens, and go back to the aerobic source for their daily dose of adrenalin. That's right: Jane "Hotness" Fonda, whose workout tapes set the bar for struggling housewives everywhere -- and became a top selling videocassette.

Or, in the words of Jane-Fonda.net: "Pilates is dead. Long live aerobics."

We, of course, liked the originals for the music, but if you're jonesin' for some old school workout routines, Rhino is reissuing the long out-of-print audio releases of five classics:

Jane Fonda -- Jane Fonda's Stretch & Stress Reduction Program (1981 audio release)
Jane Fonda -- Jane Fonda's Weight Loss Walkout (1983 audio release)
Jane Fonda -- Jane Fonda's Primetime Workout (1988 audio release)
Jane Fonda -- Jane Fonda's Complete Workout (1989 audio release)
Jane Fonda -- Jane Fonda's Fitness Walkout (1989 audio release)

Thom Yorke spun at Tropicana at the Roosevelt Hotel last night, according to many Tweets. The Tuesday evening gig, normally a weekly event hosted by Ashtar Command/Yum Yum/Paul McCartney DJ Chris Holmes, turned up a notch when longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich showed up with Yorke, who jumped on the turntables (and apparently played Major Lazer). A source says that the surprise DJ set was totally unplanned and therefore unannounced. What Yorke's up to in LA is top secret. We've heard rumors, but we're not allowed to spread them just yet.

​

Yes, it's a little early for Coachella 2010 rumors, but we couldn't pass this one up: Brooklyn Vegan last night posted a semi-speculated, semi-reported suggestion that Pavement will be playing Central Park's Summerstage concert series next year. This morning Pitchfork seems to confirm said reunion.

​A few months back we announced the debut performance of Linda Perhacs at REDCAT in October as part of Dublab's tenth anniversary celebration. We have more details on what should be a magical evening of folk.

Perhacs, if you don't know, released a single transcendent album in 1970s, one that slowly blossomed over the intervening 40 years to become a crate-digger's classic. While living in Topanga, she recorded Parallelograms, an ethereal mix of folk and tape manipulation that sounds as fresh now as it sounded odd and confusing back in the day.

After she recorded the album, Perhacs stopped recording music, and never played it live. She will do so on October 7 at REDCAT, and will be joined by a who's who of LA underground folk and rock. Details after the jump ...

This just in:

LA Weekly is debuting a new annual music event called LA 101, which will take place this year on the concourse at the Gibson Amphitheatre on Tuesday, November 3. The party, which celebrates the annual Best of LA issue, will not only highlight the best in music, but also shine a light on the area's most innovative food and culture.