• The Dreaming plays the Whisky tonight @ 6:30
• See Don’t Stop A.I. at the El Rey @ 7:00
• Ryan Adams will be playing at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus @ 7:00
• What could be better? Earth, Wind & Fire will be playing at San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino @ 7:30
• Afro-Cuban Jazz Masters play the House of Blues on Sunset, Presented by KKJZ @7:30
• See The Black Dahlia Murder at the Key Club @ 7:30
• The always amazing Boyz II Men play at the House of Blues in Anaheim @ 8:00
• Check out Dengue Fever at the Echoplex with Fools Gold & the Holloys @ 8:00
• Mary Gauthier and Mark Olson play the Troubadour @ 8:00
• The Knitting Factory plays host to Entrance plus Langhorne Slim / Moonrats / Rumspringa / Chrystal Antlers, as well as The Wylde Bunch with Imajin / Baby stone @ 8:30
• Enjoy The Pricks, Mudluscious and Inverse at The Roxy @ 9:00
• Molotov plays at The Wiltern @ 9:00
• Indie 103 and Ascap present the Airborne Toxic Event with the Deadly Syndrome at Spaceland @ 9:00

• Ryan Adam and The Cardinals | 7:00pm at Royce Hall (Map) | All ages | Tickets $34.50 – Buy Now
• Jessie Evans, Von Iva and Deadbeat | At the Silverlake Lounge (Map) | 21+ | Tickets $10 -Buy Now
• The Section Quartet and Leviathan brothers | 8:00pm at The Echo (Map) | 18+| Tickets $8 – Buy Now
• Mr. Lif and The Perceptionists | 8:30 at the Knitting Factory (Map) | All Ages | Tickets $14 – Buy Now
• El Ten Eleven, People Noise (ex-VHS or Beta), The Kax | 9:00pm at The Scene (Map) | 21+ | No Ticket Info Available – Contact Number 818-241-7029
• The Mars Volta | 8:00pm at UCI Bren Events Center (Map) | All Ages | Tickets $39.50 – Sold Out

• A & R Knights featuring Brave Citizens / City City play the Knitting Factory @ 7:30
• The Pac Sun Tour featuring the Audition hits the Knitting Factory @ 7:30
• Bluebeat Lounge Acoustic night featuring Jesse Wagner / Jared Palazzol also takes over the Knitting Factory @ 9:00
• Deana Carter will be performing at the Roxy @ 7:30
• Led Zepplica rocks the House of Blues on Sunset with Bella Donna and Heart Love Alive @ 7:30
• Cantus performs at the U.C. Riverside Fine Arts @ 8:00
• See Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at the Troubadour @ 8:00
• The Bravery will be playing at House of Blues in Anaheim @ 8:00
• Spaceland will be hosting Drug Rug @ 9:00
• Keith England featuring Mike Melvoin with Special Guest Pete Christlieb play the Catalina Bar & Grill @ 8:30

Photo by TwistedHalo via Flickr

In honor of LA Weekly’s cover article: Tom Petty’s Los Angeles, which explores the various L.A. locales, from Ventura Boulevard to the Sunset Strip of Petty’s life and songbook, I’ve complied a lesser-known pop song map of Los Angeles. Everything you need to know about the City of Angels is contained herein.

1) “Walking in LA” by Missing Persons

If you’re not a jogger, dog-walker or transient, and still walking in Los Angeles, God bless you. Drivers question your sanity. Panhandlers ignore you. Bicyclists edge you from the sidewalks. This song will help acclimate one to the new pedestrian caste system in this town.

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Tonight a little known indie pop outfit called MGMT (pronounced Management) is playing the Echo. I was treated to this band’s infectious rock as they took the opening slot at a recent Of Montreal show here in L.A. It’s not an easy task for any opening act to win over an audience, even more so for a largely unknown opening act. More difficult than that is opening for an established indie group like Of Montreal (a band widely known for their great live performance complete with costume changes, light shows, and theatrical shenanigans).

MGMT did manage (no pun intended) to put on a fabulous show that night and gain a legion of new fans, yours truly included. If you like Of Montreal, or the post-punk electro-pop stylings of the Flaming Lips, then give these guys a try. After hearing the Brooklyn based band it was no surprise to discover that they also share the same producer as the Flaming Lips, Dave Fridmann. This is a band that doesn’t just stand there and play…they go all out…and we like bands that go all out. Doors open @ 7:30.

R&B and LA are four letters rarely associated with each other, which is why Ron Patterson’s first two albums, “The Best Kept Secret” and “The Best Kept Secret II” are so appropriate. Thankfully for Angelinos searching for an R&B scene, they can see Ron Patterson, one of the brightest and talented young R&B artists around who believe it or not, is from LA, blow the doors off Club Derby in Los Feliz, this Saturday, January 26^th. I was fortunate enough to sit down with him before the show.

Cityzine: What’s your first memory of music?

Ron Patterson: I don’t even remember how old I was, but I remember hearing the song with Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder, “Ebony & Ivory” and I remember singing along with my family… I was at my parent’s house in the living room…

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• The Blakes play the Glasshouse in Pomona @ 7:00
• Social Distortion play the House of Blues in Anaheim again tonight @ 7:30
• Ingrid Michaelson will be playing at the Troubadour in West Hollywood @ 8:00
• If you’re up for a drive, Pepper will play The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano @ 8:00
• Spaceland hosts the Airborne Toxic Event featuring Radars to the Sky @ 9:00
• Hey Will Power with Money Mark play the Echo @ 8:30
• The Knitting Factory comes alive with The Whiskey Saints / the Squares / Miniature Tigers / Big moves @ 8:00, as well as Anna Troy with Robin Henkel and Cathouse Thumpers @ 8:30
• Watkins Family Hour performs at Largo tonight with special guests @ 9:00
• The Roxy will host Moving Picture Show with A.I., Gods and Monsters and Glacier Hiking @ 10:30

Have a groovetastic night!

Photo via Flickr by adubphoto

January 23^rd – January 30^th

Song of the week will be featured in a new format. Instead of two long paragraphs from Zach and I about the song, we will present the song in a conversation between the two of us that ends with a brief conclusion.

Song: Come On Eileen

Artist: Dexy’s Midnight Runners

Keith: So, “Come On Eileen”, fun tune or pathetic music making?

Zach: I say fun tune, it’s a high energy song, always gets a solid reaction at a party or a bar

Keith: Maybe that’s because the bar and/ or party is pathetic: this song is only a hit in the 80s.

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Get your tents, hotel reservations, or rental house agreements, because we’re going to the desert for a weekend this spring. Friday April 25 to Sunday April 27 there are over 100 acts to see at the 2008 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Each year, Goldenvoice pulls the hottest artists to the polo fair grounds in Indio, providing the greatest venue for live music, and this year is no exception.

When the line ups are announced in January, there is usually a load of disappointment when your favorite band doesn’t happen to be playing. But let me assure you, as a Coachella veteran having only missed the first year, there are plenty of bands you do like, and even more you never heard of waiting to make you a fan. The promoters do a good job of assembling a wide variety of acts, covering almost every genre, and attracting an assortment of characters and music lovers.

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