TVOTR, as we all surely know, rules; so too do Arctic Monkeys and Warpaint. We don’t often claim that shows are a must-see but this show is a must-see! If you want to buy tickets from L.A. Phil, go here. But if you are a gambling man or woman and think you might be able [...]

[Read more →]

… if you can’t play marching band music at the Hollywood Bowl on the 4th of July and get people to pay hundreds of dollars for the privilege, well, I guess the terrorists have already won.

[Read more →]

A freshly reunited Pavement came back in style to the immaculate and majestic Hollywood Bowl with the help of granny-art-punks Sonic Youth and heirs to the pop/thrash throne No Age.

[Read more →]

Koenig encouraged a lot of crowd interaction, amiably announcing to ‘let inhibitions go’ and just ‘do what you feel.’ The audience excitedly cooperated in the call and return chorus of Blake’s “Got A New Face” and even held their hands in the air wiggling their fingers (as demonstrated by Koenig) for the entirety of “Mansard Roof.”

[Read more →]

After the departure of wonderfully dreamy openers Grizzly Bear, upon the first footfalls of Phoenix to the stage, the entire audience merged as one oddly shaped amoeba and leaped to its feet. Groups of friends oscillated arm in arm, hollering along to their favorite tunes, and not an ass landed back down on the bench from whence it sprung for the entire hour-and-a-half set.

[Read more →]

With latter day electronica (such as that demonstrated by Chromeo) seeing a melding of organic convention (they move and have a few backing musicians), The Chem’s hark from an era when doodling in an onstage bunker was tolerable.

[Read more →]

Ennio Morricone can match a riff to a twitching cheek or imbue a drifting tumbleweed with a sense of doom. He has just canceled his only U.S. show this year and his first-ever performance in Los Angeles, but he surprised L.A. RECORD recently with a last-minute phone interview after we spent days compiling questions from our staff. This interview by Daiana Feuer.

[Read more →]

A highlight came during the obligatory encore, during which a Jimmy Kimmel (in Kanye West sunglasses) rushed onto the stage and grabbed the microphone from Flowers, saying, “I’m going to let you finish, but I just wanted to say that the Psychedelic Furs had one of the best songs of all time.”

[Read more →]

A docile crowd can send tens of thousands of watts scattering in the Bolton Canyon like so much piss in the wind and leave you feeling like you’re looking at a snow globe through a pinhole with headphones on. Last night’s crowd, fortunately, was anything but. Depeche Mode’s first night at the Bowl drew the faithful—on their feet and dancing jerkily in the allotted 2’x3’ box of personal space for almost the entirety of the 2-hour show.

[Read more →]

Toots and the Maytals are one of reggae’s fundamental bands and their songs have been loved if not covered by musicians from all over the planet. L.A. RECORD wakes a gracious Toots up from a nap he politely hopes to resume soon. This interview by Daiana Feuer.

[Read more →]