Went to Bar One last night - http://www.myspace.com/bar1noho - for Christmas Eve. DJ Jebbers was spinning, and he dropped some funky tunes as well as some hippie rock (Dead, Phish, etc.). An interesting mix of people, but I had a great time. The bar is awesome. On the small side, dimly light with red undertones, a long stretchy bar, and they were playing great movies (some Christmas Clay Film and The Dark Crystal!!!). Good, versatile crowd. I highly suggest checking it out.

As for the turn of the New Year, I'm not going to give any advice here on New Year's Eve plans. There are a few good shows (I know Snoop is playing at the House of Blues), and concerts are always fun....no matter what day of the year it is.

The day after New Years, on 1/2, GREYBOY ALLSTARS and PARLIAMENT are playing together. I believe it is at Club Nokia downtown, and that show is really one you shouldn't miss if you love funk, love George Clinton, both or you simply want something fun to do. Denson is in the Greyboy All-Stars and he used to be the sax player for Lenny Kravitz's band back when they blew up.

Chromeo at The Key Club - FOR REAL

Write it in your calendars folks - Chromeo is playing at the Key Club on Thursday January 22nd.  Yeah - the proficient (and funky) pop-synth-hop duo is going to smash through L.A. in the smallest venue they've played at in over a year.  The Key Club, on Sunset, holds less than a 1,000 and these guys are coming off a year where their music was heard on the radio and in clubs across the world...not to mention getting hooked up with a few advertisement synch license contracts where I am sure they got hella paid.

Tickets went on sale this morning.  I copped 8 if you are looking for one.  My suggestion is buy them before they sell out...because they will.

Speaking of selling out tickets, one person who is not selling out is B.B. King at Club Nokia on December 27th and 28th.  I got hit up with a buy 1 get 1 free offer today, a mere week before those shows.  He is a legend.  I can't believe they are offering this, and yet I still am unlikely to go because I don't know who would go with me.  B.B. King is a legend, but he no longer shakes your bones.  You have to want to see him, and if you have seen him recently and you don't love the blues....you may not want to that bad.  If you've never seen him, there is probably a reason you haven't....so cheap tickets won't convince you to go.  That is the problem as I see it.

One group that should be selling out tickets is Nightmares on Wax - playing Monday February 2nd at the Echoplex.  I just copped mine.  They are dope.  That is really the best way to describe their tunes.  If you dig hip-hop, funk, soul or all of the above, you'll probably get down to some NoW.  They recently released a new record, but I think a good sampling of their style can be found on My Definition: Nightmares on Wax.   Check it out if you can, and then pick up the tickets...

I've heard good things about the new Common.  I've only grabbed a few tracks, but I intend on buying the album tomorrow and rocking out to it for the rest of 2008.  I will post with an update after its been listened to and digested....

Relentless Seven - Word's Out

So, looks like the word is out about Relentless Seven, Ben Harper's newest band. They are doing a 5 show tour through California, including 2 dates in Los Angeles - Thursday December 4th at Spaceland and Friday December 5th at The Mint.

The Mint is where Harper got his start, so it is going to be a memorable performance there I imagine.

I would say get your tickets, but they are already sold out. You might want to check craiglist, stubhub or some other avenue....except I know my tickets are will call. I think at The Mint that was the only option...Rolling Stone ran a story on the band and I think that may have let the flood gates open to people getting tickets. At the same time The Mint is only 100 people and Spaceland is tiny too.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO THE SHOW - PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I GOT TIX TO BOTH NIGHTS!!!!

Club Nokia is A New Top L.A. Venue

Went to Club Nokia's opening on Sunday night for Beck, and it was a great experience. Beck opened with "Loser" to a sold-out crowd. But, the venue didn't even feel packed. The planners of Club Nokia did a great job arranging the dance floor and upstairs to maximize comfort and concert experience. (the only biff is that the columns on the dance floor seem to be a bit larger than necessary and tend to obscure views from directly behind the columns)

Beck's performance reached a peak when every band member came to the front of the stage with handheld drum machines and headsets and broke into "Hell Yes." We were boogying like no tomorrow (we meaning me, Dylan, Elisa, Camille, Nate, Danny and their friend John).

I am already looking forward to going back to this venue. Definitely a great place to see a show. Lupe Fiasco is playing tonight (for those who are interested, I know someone with extras). Matisyahu and Flobots play on 11/18. Nas plays 11/26. The Wreck The Halls show with Bloc Party, Black Kids, CSS and The Pretenders is on 12/10. Don't miss your chance to go to this venue in it's inaugural season!

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 12th

How come Los Angeles always blows up with good music in the middle of the fucking week? I mean, I live for the weekends, but not when Wednesdays are like this ....

LUPE FIASCO @ CLUB NOKIA
GALACTIC (with Trombone Shorty) @ House of Blues
GRACE POTTER & THE NOCTURNALS @ THE TROUBADOUR

Are you kidding me? All 3 of those shows will be kick ass. Depends what your flavor is. If you want something somewhat pop oriented, but still hipster, go to Lupe Fiasco. You want some dirty, dirty funk that is going to rock out, go to Galactic. You want to here a sweet sultry voice, crooning over light melodies and classic rock, go see Grace Potter (plus, if you want to see a gorgeous women who can stroke the keys and the chords).

It would be hard for me to decide if I wasn't such a concert junkie. Having seen them all, I can say, unequivocally, Galactic puts on the best show. It is hard to hold a candle to Stanton Moore leaning forward from his drummer's seat beating his snare drum. They are the quintessence of dirty funk rock. Galactic owns the title and you should go see them if you haven't.

Obama's Way With Diplo

DIPLO IS PLAYING ELECTION NIGHT AT ECHOPLEX!!!!!!!!!!

Yes! Exactly. This is what I am talking about. Wouldn't you want to be at a party hosted by Diplo when you found out Obama won the election? I know I would and I know I will be.

I don't believe tickets to the event are sold out. http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=305465

Diplo parties are truly exceptional. He spins all the hip-hop we love - yet he mixes in flavors of things you recognize and things you wished you recognized - brazilian funk, techno, electronic indie pop, dub, etc. He has a special love for Los Angeles - and generally kicks in the indie rock crowd shout outs to stuff like LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip and more. He even has some vested relationship with Cansei De Ser Sexy - so hearing them would not be a surprise either.

If you are a lover of music in Los Angeles, and you want to be with the concert crowd when history goes down...I highly suggest Echoplex on Tuesday November 4th, 2008.