The Hectors 4/05/11 - LaBrie's, Glendale, CA.

(Photo: The Hectors Facebook)

Earlier this month, The Hectors shared the bill with The Lonely Wild and Radars To The Sky for the former's Radio Free Silverlake Tuesday night residency this month. We have seen The Hectors before (at last year's "Undercovered" show), but this will be the first time we have made a post about them. Their music has been described as "smart, edgy pop" with "a sense of humor to go along with their pop chops, which is only natural when you consider the L.A. quartet has influences ranging from the syrupy to Fugazi."

Tonight's setlist was mostly new songs, including "Your Favorite Year" (read the story behind the song here)and has been described as "swing[ing] in orbit around more than just a few of the band’s favorite years, spinning as it does from the lovely gauze-pop of late-’80s 4AD to the meticulously ‘gazed Creation Records crunch of the early ’90s to the sprightly indie rock and pop of the last decade–essentially, a three-and-a-half minute love letter to some of dream pop’s best and more ear-pleasing elements." Whew. Fun show, and we are definitely looking forward to their upcoming full-length album.

1.) River MP3
2.) Normal MP3
3.) Tracker MP3
4.) Human MP3
5.) Nature MP3
6.) Sleeper MP3
7.) Your Favorite Year MP3
Text File

(Recorded by Mark P.)

FLAC (lossless) files available by request.

The Lonely Wild 4/05/11 - LaBrie's, Glendale, CA.

(Photo: The Lonely Wild Facebook)

Last week, The Lonely Wild kicked off their month-long April "Radio Free Silverlake presents" Tuesday night residency at LaBrie's in Glendale. (you might remember that we previously posted the Radars To The Sky set from the same show a few days ago) This was the first time we've seen The Lonely Wild live, and it was certainly an interesting treat. The Lonely Wild is a relatively new band that has gotten quite a bit of positive press, ranging from having "expansive indie country songs have breathtakingly beautiful male-female harmonies that contrast with instrumentation that recalls desolate Morricone spaghetti western twang, then blooms into lush country soul orchestrations" and "impeccably sung, confusingly catchy, stirring, hypnotic American music."

Nowhere was their type of nouveau folk stylings evident than in tonight's setlist, of course. A few of songs were taken from their recently-released album Dead End. A clever cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark" was prominently featured as well. Great show, and we look forward to seeing them again in the future.

Recorded by Mark P.

1.) MC Intro MP3
2.) Poor Fools MP3
3.) Right Side Of The Road MP3
4.) Over The Hill MP3
5.) Out Of My Mind MP3
6.) Dead End MP3
7.) Dancing In The Dark (Bruce Springsteen cover)MP3
8.) Edgeware MP3
9.) Walter MP3
Text File

FLAC (lossless) files available by request.

Radars To The Sky 4/05/11 - LaBrie's, Glendale, CA.

(Photo: Radars to the Sky Facebook)

On Tuesday night, Radars to the Sky helped kick off The Lonely Wild's April "Radio Free Silverlake presents" Tuesday night residency at LaBrie's in Glendale. It's been quite awhile since we have seen Radars to the Sky, so this was an exciting opportunity to see them again. This was a great show, full of fun highlights.

The set started with two songs from their first release, 2007's simply-titled EP. The rest of the set was for the most part (except for the "new song") composed of selections off of their debut LP that was released last year, Supra/Infra (which includes a cover of The Walkmen's "The Rat"). A couple of standouts included "Matt, You Hit Too Close to the Bone" (you can read an interesting back-story behind this song here)and the yet-to-be-titled new song, which was mostly sung by key-player/vocalist Kate Spitser in French.

1.) Basement MP3
2.) Long Walk Home MP3
3.) Mirror MP3
4.) The Apple Never Falls MP3
5.) As The Nurses Scurry MP3
6.) "Untitled New Song" MP3
7.) Matt, You Hit Too Close to the Bone MP3
8.) The Rat (The Walkmen cover)MP3
Text File

FLAC (lossless) files available by request.

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.

Walking Sleep 10/02/10 - 12th Annual Eagle Rock Music Festival, Los Angeles, CA.

(Photo: Walking Sleep website)

Part 5 of a series.

Last month, Walking Sleep played at this year's 12th Annual Eagle Rock Music Festival (along with previously-posted Seasons, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Radars To The Sky, and The Submarines)We have had the pleasure of seeing Walking Sleep perform before under their old moniker The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra - however, these were all-cover sets (at last year's Undercovered extravaganza, and performing as "Fleetwood Mac" last Halloween at The Echo) This time, though, we got a short but sweet look at them playing their own original material. (their song "Don't Be Fooled" was recently featured on Grey's Anatomy as well)

As noted, Walking Sleep was originally known as The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra, and they are described as "combined male and female vocal harmonies, classic rhythms, and curiously dark lyrics...drawing influence across genres and decades, their songs include echoes of the melancholy psychedelic pop of The Zombies, the uptempo stomp of classic Motown, and the moody melodicism of Fleetwood Mac, but placed in a modern context, akin to bands like Belle & Sebastian and The Shins." This set of songs lived up to that, which was mainly culled from their recent debut LP release Measures, along with a newer one. A fun little show worth downloading.

1.) Don't Be Fooled MP3
2.) When The Breathing Stops MP3
3.) In a Dream MP3
4.) What We Forgot MP3
5.) Final Chapter MP3
Text File MP3

FLAC (lossless) files available upon requests.

The Submarines 10/02/10 - 12th Annual Eagle Rock Music Festival (Kingsize Stage), Los Angeles, CA.

(Photo: Orrin Anderson via The Submarines Myspace)

Part 4 in a series.

Resuming our series on this year's Eagle Rock Music Festival, earlier this month The Submarines played at said event (along with the previously-posted Seasons, Manhattan Murder Mystery, and Radars to the Sky) I've been listening to The Submarines for awhile, since they released their first album, and we saw them at last year's Sunset Junction - but this is the first time we've been able to get a listenable live recording of them. Their brand of bouncy, indie pop rock has gained quite a following - songs of theirs have been featured on the television shows Weeds, Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl; in commercials for the Apple iPhone; and in the film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.

Their set at this festival was a mini-compilation showcasing the highlights from their two full-length albums Declare A New State! and Honeysuckle Weeks, along with an untitled new song. The Submarines seemed to be one of the biggest draws of the night at The Kingsize/Ship stages, judging from the extremely-enthusiastic crowd. I would like to note though, that the sound quality of this recording is a bit on the average side - due to proximity, crowd, muddiness, and low vocals at times. However, since live recordings of The Submarines seem pretty rare, it's worth a download anyway.

1.) Swimming Pool MP3
2.) Peace and Hate MP3
3.) The Thorny Thicket MP3
4.) "New Song" MP3
5.) You, Me and the Bourgeoisie MP3
6.) Xavia MP3
Text File

FLAC (lossless) files available upon request.

Radars to the Sky 10/02/10 - 12th Annual Eagle Rock Music Festival (The Ship Stage), Los Angeles, CA.

(Photo: Callie Giovanna via Radars to the Sky myspace)

Part 3 in a series.

Last Saturday, Radars to the Sky (along with previously-posted Seasons and Manhattan Murder Mystery) played as part of the line-up for this year's 12th annual Eagle Rock Music Festival. We are familiar with the band, having posted their set from last year's "Undercovered" show (and catching a couple of their performances around town in the past) - this is the first time we gotten a set with them playing their own material. Radars to the Sky are a band that "play a gritty brand of power-pop as fuzzy as it is catchy...balancing out lead singer Andrew Spitser's impassioned efforts is the sweeter sound of his wife Kate, whose cooing vocals give a much-needed cool-down to the band's heated sound."

This short set featured songs from their recently-released (and first) full length album Supra/Infra, along with a couple from their two older E.P.'s Big Bang and Debut. An excellent little set that left us wanting more. On that note however, Radars to the Sky do have the Monday night residency at Spaceland this month (as of this writing, remaining dates are the 11th, 18th, and 25th) - so, if you reside in the Los Angeles or surrounding area, I highly recommend checking them out.

1.) Long Walk Home MP3
2.) Mirror MP3
3.) Prufrock MP3
4.) As The Nurses Scurry MP3
5.) You Take It To Heart MP3
Text File

FLAC (lossless) files available by request.

Marvelous Toy, The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra (w/Angele Correa), Radars To The Sky, Death To Anders 2/15/09 - All-Star Lanes, Los Angeles,CA.

(apologies on the lateness of this post - it's been a busy week, and this took longer to put together than I thought it would)

This post-Valentine's Day, Radio Free Silverlake and The Eagle Rock Bowling and Drinking Club presented "Undercovered: Great L.A. Bands Celebrating Great L.A. Bands." It was a great night of 4 bands from the L.A. indie scene covering and paying homage to bands from the same area.

And what a great night it was. Marvelous Toy covered The Henry Clay People. The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra covered The Monolators. Radars To The Sky covered Rilo Kiley. Death To Anders covered The Happy Hollows. The audience wore hats on their feet and hamburgers ate people. (okay, maybe the last part didn't happen - well, that I know of anyway)

Previously, I had only seen a couple of Death To Anders songs live and Angela Correa twice. As someone who's still learning about a lot of locally-based musicians, I confess I wasn't familar with alot of what was being covered. However, what I heard was good, and look forward to seeing any of these people perform in the future.

The venue itself was interesting - this show took place in the bar of a bowling alley (a teeny one too, around 22 lanes). I was kind of afraid of the surrounding environment because, let's face it, bars are usually super-noisy. However, these came out really well considering.

Marvelous Toy

1.) Lefty's Lament (Divisadero) FLAC MP3
2.) The Uniform (The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra) FLAC MP3
3.) Cold Star (The Hectors) FLAC MP3
4.) No Wedding Cake (Fol Chen) FLAC MP3
5.) Fine Print (The Henry Clay People) FLAC MP3
Fingerprint
Text File
MD5

The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra (with Angela Correa)

1.) The Monumental Life (The Movies) FLAC MP3
2.) Oh No, Everything Has Changed (The Monolators) FLAC MP3
3.) Long Walk Home Again (Radars To The Sky) FLAC MP3
4.) Where's yer Dirty Mind? (Avi Buffalo) FLAC MP3
5.) Black and Blue (Divisadero) FLAC MP3
Fingerprint
Text File
MD5

Radars To The Sky

1.) Introduction FLAC MP3
2.) Lovers Who Uncover (The Little Ones) FLAC MP3
3.) The Chronic Sigh (Thailand) FLAC MP3
4.) It Really Shouldn't Matter (Radmacher) FLAC MP3
5.) Don't Be Fooled (The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra) FLAC MP3
6.) A Better Son/Daughter (Rilo Kiley) FLAC MP3
7.) Camera Lens (Death To Anders) FLAC MP3
Fingerprint
MD5
Text File

Death To Anders

1.) Victoria (Radars To The Sky) FLAC MP3
2.) Parking Lot (Manhattan Murder Mystery) FLAC MP3
3.) Loose Talk (One Trick Pony) FLAC MP3
4.) Kissing Families (The Silversun Pickups) FLAC MP3
5.) Driver (The Happy Hollows) FLAC MP3
Fingerprint
Text File
MD5

Bedroom Walls 8/04/07 - Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA. (Part Three)

(Final post in a series of three.)

In this last post, we take a look at this Spaceland show, which coincidentally happened to be one of Bedroom Walls' last in this incarnation. (edited to add: maybe?) It was part of a good Saturday night line-up with Radars To The Sky, Rademacher, and Death To Anders (and if anyone asks, no I didn't record them that night - though, this will hopefully change in the future)

This was a nice little set that turned out pretty well. One noteable feature is a seemingly rare acoustic duet between Adam and Melissa on "In Anticipation Of Your Suicide" - definitely worth the download.

1.) Introduction MP3
2.) The Idiot MP3
3.) Winter, That's All MP3
4.) In Anticipation Of Your Suicide MP3
5.) "unknown" MP3
6.) Kathy In Her Bedroom MP3
7.) "unknown" MP3
8.) Do The Buildings And Cops Make You Smile? MP3
9.) Who's Been Driving Round For Days MP3
10.) "unknown" MP3
Text

FLAC version available upon request (by e-mail)