The first two times I saw the Clientele, they were plagued by technical difficulties and the injustice of opening for Peter Bjorn and John to a crowd more interesting in taking iPhone photos of themselves, respectively. Respect wasn’t the name of the game for some surprisingly rowdy drunks (at a Clientele show!) at the band’s Spaceland gig on Friday, but they sounded triumphant nevertheless. After opening with a cover of Big Star’s “Nighttime” and dropping song-of-the-2000s contender “Since K Got Over Me,” the band launched into a career-spanning setlist both beautiful and forceful. Frontman Alasdair MacLean referred to an early run of Bonfires on the Heath tracks as “my new songs,” but the band — which features rock’s most undersung rhythm section — took ownership of their catalog. Bassist James Hornsey, in particular, isn’t a showman, but after Wilco’s John Stirratt (and Sir Paul McCartney), he’s the most fluidly melodic player working, and his talents were in full affect on “Here Comes the Phantom” and “I Wonder Who We Are.” The show’s only failing was not extending the magic longer — after a too-brief hour, encore included, the band called it a night. More photos after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
A sun-faded clip from chillwave’s most intriguing artist. Toro Y Moi’s excellent Causers of This is out now; looking forward to seeing dude in Austin. Update: after the jump, a twilight fan-created video for the track with footage from the streets of Paris in 1978. Read the rest of this entry »
Ryan Adams may love Fleetwood Macaroni and Cheese, but Sticks and Stones Clay Oven — from Ryan’s home state of North Carolina — has named all of its menu items after songs by the Southern-bred singer. A shame they don’t serve “Strawberry Wine!” (via Pitchfork)
After five years of daily blogging as of last week, Rawkblog is ready for kindergarten, which is great because I need a nap. To celebrate our half-decade of existence, we have a brand-new theme song courtesy of Wrapping Paper, who wrote this wonderful track back when we were still The Rawking Refuses To Stop! and had an accompanying photoblog (now a Rawkblog column).
Blogosphere, if you’d like to buy me a birthday drink, I’ll be at SXSW wearing a party hat. Ordinarily around this time of year, I’d do a pledge drive, but I’m going to take 2010 off because 1) my ads are actually making money for once 2) You should spend that cheddar on the Pepper Rabbit EPs. Deal? Hugs!
A girl called me a sell-out on Facebook over the weekend for buying a Coachella ticket. Said girl has joined a Facebook group (what else?) devoted to petitioning the April festival until it releases single-day passes for this year’s dates. Was she joking? Isn’t selling out ironic now? I have no idea. But it did get me thinking about festivals – and why Los Angeles and Southern California don’t have the options they used to. Read the rest of this entry »
As a person who has watched every major awards ceremony for the past two years thanks to an entertainment journalism day job, by the time the Oscars get here, the season has me a little burnt out. Awards shows are like year-end lists, but worse: mass-voted celebrations of terminally unhip, or at least un-artful, dreck. The Oscars are usually a step above the rest, though, and I suppose I care enough about the movies themselves (if not who takes home a trophy tonight) to share some thoughts on this year’s ceremony. Read the rest of this entry »
Really brutal news from Rolling Stone: Mark Linkous, frontman for psych-rock mainstays Sparklehorse, has committed suicide. Among his many recordings was 2001’s It’s a Wonderful Life, a really fantastic record in line with Mercury Rev’s Deserter’s Songs and the Flaming Lips’ The Soft Bulletin; the title track can be found above.
One of my favorite bands in the world comes to L.A. this weekend for a pair of sure-to-be glorious shows at Spaceland. They’re up tonight and tomorrow in support of the psychedelic-tinged, altogether wondrous folk-pop record Bonfires on the Heath. I’ll be the guy buying every medium t-shirt on their merch table. (Photo by David Greenwald)
Ryan Adams may love Fleetwood Macaroni and Cheese, but Sticks and Stones Clay Oven — from Ryan’s home state of North Carolina — has named all of its 
As a person who has watched every major awards ceremony for the past two years thanks to an entertainment journalism day job, by the time the Oscars get here, the season has me a little burnt out. Awards shows are like year-end lists, but worse: mass-voted celebrations of terminally unhip, or at least un-artful, dreck. The Oscars are usually a step above the rest, though, and I suppose I care enough about the movies themselves (if not who takes home a trophy tonight) to share some thoughts on this year’s ceremony. 
One of my favorite bands in the world comes to L.A. this weekend for a pair of sure-to-be glorious shows at 
