Los Angeles Music Shows – Page 28

Throwback Thursday- Jon Brion

Feb 262015

Jon Brion- You Can Still Ruin My Day

Even if you have not heard of composer, musician and producer Jon Brion, chances are you probably have heard something he created or participated in creating. He has produced albums for a huge list of artists including Best Coast, Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann, Spoon, and of Montreal. He also co-produced Kanye West’s Late Registration.

Brion also composed the scores and created original music for a number of films including Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, ParaNorman, and Synecdoche.

This Friday (2/27) he is playing original music and covers at Largo

Throwback Thursday- Dengue Fever

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Feb 052015

Dengue Fever- Seeing Hands

Dengue Fever was formed by two brothers, Ethan and Zac Holtzman, along with saxophonist, David Ralicke, drummer Paul Dreux Smith, and bassist, Senon Williams in Los Angeles in 2002. They soon found Chhom Nimol, who is originally from Cambodia, to be their lead singer. The band’s earlier work contained lyrics that were entirely in Khmer and many of the songs were covers of 1960s Cambodian rock songs. This song is off their third album, Venus on Earth (2008), which was the first to include songs in English.

They are playing on Thursday (2/5) at the Echoplex

Throwback Thursday- Bush

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Jan 292015

Bush- Letting the Cables Sleep

This song is from Bush’s 1999 album, The Science of Things. Bush disbanded in 2002, reformed in 2010, and have since released two albums, The Sea of Memories in 2010 and Man on the Run in 2014. The video for Letting the Cables Sleep was directed by Joel Schumacher, who also directed many feature films including The Lost Boys and St. Elmo’s Fire.

Bush is currently on tour and playing the Wiltern on Saturday (1/31).

Throwback Thursday- Spandau Ballet

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Jan 222015

Spandau Ballet- True

This song, from the album of the same name, was a number one hit on the UK singles chart for four weeks in 1983. The band’s name, according to Martin Kemp’s autobiography, came from graffiti of the slang term seen by friend Robert Elms in a bar in Berlin. The term is a reference to the Spandau Prison in Germany where prisoners were often hanged by the drop method which caused them to twitch and “dance”.

Lead singer Gary Kemp and his brother Martin, who plays bass guitar for the band, are both actors, and are perhaps most famous for playing twin English gangsters in The Krays.

Spandau Ballet are playing two shows in Los Angeles this weekend (1/24 and 1/25) at The Wiltern

Throwback Thursday- The English Beat

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Jan 152015

The (English) Beat- Mirror in the Bathroom

This song is from The Beat’s (The English Beat in America) 1980 album, I Just Can’t Stop It. The band is now split into two touring bands- the US version led by Dave Wakeling and the UK version led by Ranking Roger, both members of the original 80’s group.

The US band are playing at The Roxy on Saturday 1/17.

Throwback Thursday- Stevie Wonder

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Dec 182014

Stevie Wonder- Superstition live on Sesame Street

This live-in-the studio version of Superstition was performed on Sesame Street in 1973.

Wonder will be playing at the Forum theater this Saturday, December 20th, for the 19th Annual House Full of Toys Benefit Concert.

Throwback Thursday- The Smashing Pumpkins

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Dec 122014

The Smashing Pumpkins- Tonight, Tonight

This song is from The Smashing Pumpkins 1996 album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The video was directed by husband and wife team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who also created the feature film Little Miss Sunshine. It was inspired by A Trip to The Moon, Georges Méliès’ famous silent movie. The couple in the video are also a couple in real life and are both voices for animated characters. Tom Kenny is the voice of Spongebob Squarepants (among many others) and Jill Talley is the voice of Karen, Plankton’s computer wife, on the same show.

The Smashing Pumpkins are touring with a new album (although not the other original members) and Billy Corgan has been getting a lot of press recently for his candid remarks about other bands and singers in an interview in The Independent and on the Howard Stern show.

The Smashing Pumpkins are one of the bands playing at the Forum Sunday (12/14) for KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas, which also features alt-J, Imagine Dragons, Interpol, Modest Mouse, Tears for Fears, Vance Joy, and Weezer.

Throwback Thursday- Pretenders

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Dec 052014

Pretenders- 2000 Miles

This song was released in 1983 as a B-side for the song “Middle of the Road”. Because it is considered a Christmas song, it is played often around the holidays and is on several holiday compilations.

Chrissie Hynde will be playing music from both her new album Stockholm as well as Pretenders songs for her show at the Pantages Theatre on Saturday Dec. 6th.

Throwback Thursday- Biz Markie

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Nov 202014

Biz Markie- Vapors

This song is off Biz Markie’s 1988 album Goin’ Off, but he did not gain real commercial success until his 1989 single, “Just A Friend”.

Currently he has a recurring segment on the kids TV show Yo Gabba Gabba called “Biz’s Beat of the Day” and is appearing in their live show this weekend at the Shrine Auditorium. He also guest starred on Spongebob Squarepants as Kenny the Cat and on Adventure Time as Snorlock the Beatboxing Slug.

This Sunday (11/23), he will be one of the DJs at the Echoplex along with Peanut Butter Wolf and J.Rocc.