Recording LA's Best of 2010

I didn't do this last year, but since it seems to be all the rage to do year-end best of/"top" (insert number here) lists, it made sense to try to do one. Since this was a bit of a lean year for Recording LA, this list is more of a "best of" the year, vs. a top 10+ list.

1.) Castledoor 2/22/10 - Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA. Admittedly, I jumped on the Castledoor bandwagon very, very late - just before this show as a matter of fact. It was a very strong, yet melancholy performance, pretty much due to the fact it was their last as a band. Obviously a must listen due to the circumstances of this show.

2.) The Happy Hollows 7/08/10 - Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA. Had seen The Happy Hollows for quite some time before this show, and combined with the venue (Hammer Museum courtyard) and the energy of the crowd, this show made for a pretty powerful performance.

3.) The Monolators 7/19/10 - Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA. While they were missing a band member, this particular Monolators show packed a very unique punch - it seemed to flow together just perfectly.

4.) 12th Annual Eagle Rock Music Festival 10/02/10 - (in and around Colorado Blvd.) Los Angeles, CA. (Seasons, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Radars To The Sky, The Submarines, Walking Sleep)This year's line-up for the Eagle Rock Music Festival was a particularly well-curated one, especially on the Kingsize and Ship stages. All the bands turned in great performances as well.

5.) Belle and Sebastian 10/05/10 - Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, CA. Perhaps it's a bit biased to say that by default any Belle and Sebastian show would be on a year-end "best of" list, but this was one amazing show. Combining a "setlist that was any fan's dream" in an intimate and unique venue creates one incredible show.

6.) Agent Ribbons 3/09/10 - Puka Bar, Long Beach, CA. and 12/20/10 - Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles, CA. Agent Ribbons also put on some of the best shows we've seen this year as well (they are one of our favorite bands of late) and back-to-back make for a couple of good performances.

That's all, see you next year.

Agent Ribbons 3/5/07 - Biko Garage, Isla Vista, CA.

(Photo: Kristin Cofer via Agent Ribbon's Myspace)


Awhile back, Agent Ribbons played a show at Biko Garage in Isle Vista (outside of Santa Barbara)with a few other bands. We didn't actually have anything to do with recording this show - I just found it awhile back on the community audio part of the Internet Archive. Naturally, since we have posted quite a bit about Agent Ribbons (and as recently as last week, ha ha), I thought this would be good to highlight here.

This is an interesting show for a number of reasons - one being, it appears to be the only one that exists that is more than a couple of years old. Two, while it mostly features material from their first LP On Time Travel and Romance, a few rare/unreleased songs were performed. A great blast from the past, and an essential listen for any Agent Ribbons fan.

Recorded by: Hoshwa

To download, right-click and save as.

1.) Setup MP3
2.) Soound Check Song MP3
3.) Intro MP3
4.) Worth Waiting For MP3
5.) Birds and the Bees MP3
6.) Chelsea (a.k.a. Chelsea, Let's Go Join The Circus)MP3
7.) Are You Lonely Take 1 MP3
8.) Are You Lonely MP3
9.) The Wolf MP3
10.) Obituary MP3
11.) Don't Touch Me MP3
12.) Call Me Margaret MP3
13.) Fucked Up MP3

Stream here

The Californian 11/23/10 - LaBrie's, Glendale, CA.

(Photo: The Californian facebook)

Last month, The Californian headlined the first Tuesday night residency (presented by Radiofree Silverlake) at LaBrie's in Glendale. The Californian is a band that consists of musicians that play in many other well-regarded area bands, including The Sweet Hurt, The Bird and the Bee, The Henry Clay People, and I Make This Sound. Earlier this year they released an EP Sea Of Love , and are currently recording their first full-length album.

Here, we are highlighting one of the shows from this residency. Their music has been self-described as being one of "a modern day surf band...[a type of]surf music that had the ability to be influenced by The Beatles, Radiohead, Talking Heads, Bjork, Joy Division, Nirvana, Elliott Smith, Andrew Bird, Beck, David Bowie." A very fun show, and we look forward to seeing more of The Californian in the future.

(Recorded by Mark P.)

1.) Intro by Brad MP3
2.) Everybody Loves You MP3
3.) Spin Round MP3
4.) Sea Of Love MP3
5.) Big Hell No MP3
6.) Come On MP3
7.) Goodnight MP3
8.) Coming Down MP3
9.) Honey MP3
10.) Shadow MP3
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Agent Ribbons 12/20/10 - Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles, CA.

(Photo: Agent Ribbons Myspace)

On Monday evening, Agent Ribbons headlined in the midnight slot at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles - which happened to be the only Southern California stop on their current tour in this fine state. This was interesting show because for one, this is the first time we've seen them since they released their second full-length album Chateau Crone, and also the first show since they started playing as a two-piece again (violinist Naomi left the band in October). We of course have proved to be big fans of Agent Ribbons in past, having posted shows of theirs in the past.

The setlist for this show contained many familiar songs from both of their full-length albums. A couple of interesting surprises were hearing "Bird In The Mirror" live for the first time (off of the 2009 EP Your Love Is The Smallest Doll)and the new "Dirty Pattycake Song"(best guess at the title for now) Also of note in connection to this show was guitarist/vocalist Natalie's guitar having been stolen in San Francisco at another show a few days prior to this one, which she discussed during the performance. This was a fun show as usual, and we look forward to seeing them again in the future.

1.) The World is a Cigarette FLAC MP3
2.) Boy with the Wooden Lips FLAC MP3
3.) I Was Born to Sing Sad Songs FLAC MP3
4.) Grey Gardens FLAC MP3
5.) I'm Alright FLAC MP3
6.) Bird In The Mirror FLAC MP3
7.) "Dirty Pattycake Song" FLAC MP3
8.) Birds and Bees FLAC MP3
9.) Don't Touch Me FLAC MP3
10.) Wood, Lead, Rubber FLAC MP3
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Update: Imogen Heap 10/26/05 and Bat For Lashes 6/14/09

Hello all - recently, it was brought to my attention that there were some broken links on the Imogen Heap 10/26/05 (Track 11 [FLAC] - Goodnight and Go), and Bat For Lashes 6/14/09 (Track 4 [FLAC] - Tahiti and Track 6 [FLAC] - Prescilla). They have been fixed.