FRIDAY:

• The Dubplate at the Hollywood Canteen-Non-stop Reggae Music
• BELVEDERE VODKA invites you to celebrate Jigar’s 30th Birthday and they will be providing a shit load of DJ’s all night
• Fridays Dance Party at Akbar

SATURDAY:

• Dance Party Baby!-The Highlands in Hollywood-Hosted by Bryce K. Moore
• Hornz & Halos at Cranes Tavern
• Giant Robot to Kick-Off Japanese American National Museum

Continue for the rest of the awesome events on Sunday…SUNDAY:

• Gay Bar Whore (Vegas Style!) – woh
• Hamburger Mary’s–Karaoke, Bingo and Drink Specials- I dare you to go!
• RISE a weekly benefit for charity- Dance all night long for charity!

Sunday nights typically trigger the re-emergence of school or job -related preoccupations. Furthermore, Sunday nights are usually accompanied by the realization that the weekend is often ephemeral, inevitably disintegrating from our present.

However, it is time for many to realize that Sunday nights in L.A. need not transpire without the existence of the pure energy and good flow that good music can provide. All we need to do is listen to the dynamic airwaves that pervade our city every Sunday Night at 11pm. It is at this exact time, while most of the city sleeps, that an independent weekly radio show unleashes the sounds of a genre commonly accepted as the most important new musical genre of the last quarter century.

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I spent last Tuesday and Wednesday evening at Bordello in downtown Los Angeles soaking up the reunion of Merrick, a loved and local band whose official first run lasted from about 1998 to 2003. After lying somewhat dormant during the stretch of time from then to now, they seem to be reanimating.

Merrick’s overall instrumentation is Bryony Atkinson (vocals, bass guitar) and Inara George (vocals, guitar) leading the charge at the front of the stage. Scott Seiver holds down the drums while Joe Karnes plays upright bass (notably with a bow), Amir Yaghmai plays violin and Tim Aaron plays an additional guitar.

(For YouTube video of the performance continue to the bottom of the article…)

One of the major draws of this band is Bryony and Inara singing in tandem, alternating lines within single verses, backing each other up, and taking harmonies. Their voices are very complimentary, and the material sophisticated, leaving ample space for every instrument and idea.

The stage was set with chairs for all the members to make full. A single table stood at the center of the stage where the two leading ladies set their matching stemmed glasses of white wine.

Merrick opened the doors to both past and future with Ladders to Fire, the first song from their first release. It’s about climbing towards greatness & intensity: fire, while swimming through the muck of one’s internal contradictions. Poignant lyrics illustrate both stillness and ascent in the verse as the girls sing in monotone, “lifting her skirt like a Mormon hooked on junk, like a two hour day, like a monkey like a monk,” and in a beautifully melodic B-section, they go further and get more specific by singing, “you’re weak, coming on strong.” Already the drama is dark and thick while Amir paints his weeping violin in broad strokes across the entirety of the song.

The girls thanked the crowd in unison, lifted their wine glasses, interlocked elbows like newlyweds, and took sips. They then slid into Automatic, another offering from their debut. This song has multiple hooks in every department. Even if you had never heard Merrick before you could begin to understand what makes them such a beloved sensation, even after a few years’ hiatus.

Sugar Tooth has been in my head for days now. Lyrically, the song opens with Inara singing the words, “My synthetic life…” and Bryony finishing her sentence with, “Baby aspirin moon over Echo Park….”. Their lyrics had once again succeeded at puncturing holes in the floor of my depth to expand it. This band’s view of the world is so unique that it adds new expressions to one’s vocabulary. I had never compared the moon to an aspirin, but Merrick is mind altering! When this song was performed on the second night it gave me chills all the way through.

Merrick have 2 albums – the first is self titled and the follow up is “Drive Around A Lot Hard and Fast Driving Club.” Both are available on iTunes, and I highly recommend that you do your soul a favor and download them. Every single song is truly accomplished, emotionally evocative, and will spark an “I wish I wrote that!” sense of envy in many a songwriter.

It may also be of interest to some that all of these musicians are equally gifted, play in popular bands, and that Merrick’s song Infinity has been featured on Grey’s Anatomy.

In closing, dear readers, always remember that there are white-hot talents on all of the small stages in Los Angeles. This is no one star town, folks, that is most certain. It’s highly advisable (by me!!) to get out there and become a live music fan. You will not be disappointed.

Flick

Shell Shocked Lizzie

Oh what a treat! To see Beck in such a small intimate venue! When I got word that he was playing there, I nearly pissed myself. In all my years, I’ve never actually seen him live. Although in the interest of full disclosure, I really didn’t consider myself a fan of his until probably this last year.

So I placed a couple judicious calls and got myself invited to the show. Score!

So Beck will be opening for the Police on the South American leg of their worldwide tour. To that end, he decided to put on an impromptu little gig at the Echoplex with which to try out his new band. The big news here, for me at least, is Nigel Godrich on keyboard, synth and various other instruments. Although he worked with Beck on several of his albums, I believe this is the first time he has actually played live with him.

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It has been over a month since Radiohead released their latest album In Rainbows. It is the band’s seventh, and once again they’ve proven brilliance in its release, both musically and economically. If you have not heard, their album is available only on their website, at inrainbows.com. And you pay what you want. It’s free, direct from the band to you. This has inspired much talk in the music industry and was not expected by anyone. But after the announcement, it made sense that Radiohead would be the band with both the pull and balls to do it.

This is a band that emphasizes capitalism as an enemy, and has been ashamed in the past, simply for being popular in a very profitable industry. But they care nothing more than producing quality and meaningful music, while reaching as many as possible with their message. Money does not enter that equation. It has in the past, because to release a record, you had to go through a label for distribution. With people downloading the music anyway, Radiohead seized the opportunity to let the industry and the rest of the world have it.

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Mlle Caro and Franck Garcia to release “Pain Disappears” – the first ever artist album on Ben Watt’s Buzzin’ Fly

“Pain Disappears” is an essential piece of music and it’s positioned to be the crossover album of 2008 Mlle Caro and Franck Garcia.

“Pain Disappears”
Buzzin’ Fly Records
Release Date: Feb. 12
www.buzzinfly.com
www.myspace.com/mllecaro
www.myspace.com/franckgarcia

Press Release:
RIYL: Air, Au Revoir Simone, Gotan Project, Fujiya & Miyagi, Stereolab

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89.9fm KCRW and The Fold present Merrick, two nights, back to back at The Fold

Merrick was started by Bryony Atkinson and Inara George (The Bird And The Bee) sometime around ‘98 or ‘99, and is described as, “A beautifully composed, dazzling mixture of faint guitars, windy vocals, and rainy-day pop music,” said In Music We Trust. “This is heartfelt indie-folk; dark and weepy, with a scent of optimism and sunshine. The melodic tenderness of Merrick soothes you over.” Two acclaimed records and several US tours later, Merrick disbanded sometime around 2003.

Merrick has reformed for these two unique nights. Each night features different sets, as well as new Merrick compositions. They will be joined by Evan Slamka of Marjorie Fair and John Gold on 11/20. Correatown and The Pity Party perform on 11/21.

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I’d like to try something kind of special. Years ago there was a show on VH1 called Classic Albums. The focus of this show was to take “classic” rock albums from throughout the ages and break them down creatively. Although CA was able to cover many great albums and artists, there were tons that fell by the wayside. So in the tradition of Classic Albums I would like to present Another Look, a by weekly series that will take CD’s throughout rock history, that perhaps haven’t been able to have their day in the sun.

If a CD exists in history that not enough people know about it would have to be The Who’s, Live at Leeds. To give you a bit of background on this album it was originally released on vinyl in 1970 with only six tracks, considered too damaged to release fully, the whole set became a kind of Myth, in that, the word of mouth had been that this was “the Who show to end all Who shows.” So, when the album was released with so few tracks, in contrast to the two and a half hour long show, it created suspicions and anger amongst music guru’s.

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Well, something about the Holiday Season™ seems to bring out all the big name acts, but also scare away all the little ones… Maybe it’s like a survival instinct left over from the days of the Battle of the Bands? Like if the little act is around when a big act shows up, they’ll get eaten?

Also, though I normally give a weekly run-down of shows, we’ve got so little of note right now I’ll do the rest of the month.

• 11/17: M. Ward @ UCLA
• 11/20: Van Halen @ Staples Center
• 11/23: Cold War Kids (Yay!!!) @  The Wiltern
• 11/28: Iron & Wine @  Orpheum Theater
• 11/30: Aimee Mann @ El Rey Theater

Photo by MattGrommes via Flickr