Henry Clay People Record Release Show on Tuesday at Spaceland

The flyer tells you everything you need to know, except one thing: You should really be there.

Castledoor's Last Show, LANME's First Show: Tomorrow Night at Spaceland

I was hoping not to have to use the "Band Breakups" label again (and especially on CER's one year anniversary), but Castledoor has just announced that tomorrow night will be their final show. No reasons given yet, but if the past is any indication, having their hopes of breaking out of the local scene dashed repeatedly over the years likely has something to do with it. The breakup is especially jarring as it comes on the heels of their recent completion of recording for a new EP, and indications that things were once again looking up.

Castledoor will be opening for the last night of Princeton's Spaceland residency. They should be on at 10pm, preceded by the debut of LANME (Los Angeles New Music Ensemble), who describe tomorrow's performance as "[t]he first run of a series of ground-breaking compositions that fuse together rock, post-minimalism, hip hop, and electronics."

One band ending, one ensemble beginning. And all for free. Definitely worth attending. Sadly, I will be out of town for work.

Castledoor's final music video (the song begins at around 00:45):



A look back at Castledoor through the eyes of CER:

Castledoor at Echoplex (4/28/2009) and at Temporary Spaces (5/1/2009)

Album Review: Castledoor's Shouting at Mountains

Castledoor, Local Natives @ Spaceland (6/22/2009)

Video Encounter: Happy Hollows "We Will Find You" (Acoustic)

The Happy Hollows play every Monday night this month for free at Spaceland. Don't miss it. Here's an acoustic performance recorded when they were in New York for CMJ last month.


Watch the full concert at baeblemusic.com

Residency Preview: Saint Motel's September Spaceland Residency

Saint Motel plays for free at Spaceland every Monday in September. I recommend coming out for their first show this coming Monday so you get to see The Jakes (and because Mondays are at a premium this month considering the dueling Leslie & The Badgers residency at the Echo).

Here are two SM videos to whet your appetite:






And a little promo ad they did for the residency:

Tonight (My Birthday!) at Spaceland: Henry Clay People, Local Natives, Fun., Aushua

True, it's purely a coincidence that my birthday is the same day as this spectacular show, but when you can see both Local Natives and The Henry Clay People at Spaceland on your birthday (and for free) the stars have truly aligned.

And that doesn't even include Fun., which features Nate Ruess of The Format and Jack from Steel Train. They've sold out the Mercury Lounge (NYC) and Schuba's (Chicago) dates on their current tour. And Aushua is supposed to be great also. I am very excited.

Local Natives on at 11, Henry Clay at 10. Fun and Aushua keep the candle burning on both ends (9pm and Midnight, not necessarily respectively). You best get there early.

Local Natives Spaceland Residency -- The Lineups

Time to plan ahead. Here's the supporting acts for the Local Natives August residency at Spaceland:

August 3: The Union Line, The Outline, We Barbarians.

August 10: Red Cortez, Rademacher, Swim Party. This is the one not to miss.

August 17: Voxhaul Broadcast, Soko, The Lonely H.

August 24: The Parson Redheads, The Cheat.

August 31: Fun, Aushua.

You get a free download of LN's "Sun Hands" when you sign up for their mailing list. For your convenience, you can sign up right here:

Castledoor, Local Natives @ Spaceland (6/22/2009)

Two of CER's absolute favorites, playing back to back at Spaceland for free on a Monday night. This is why I love LA.

Local Natives were on first, and I don't think I've heard them sound better. They held back a little on the vocals, pursuing harmony over an unneeded vocal assault. And they even sounded great without their violinist. Each of the six previous times I've seen LN their violinist, who the band refers to as "Amanda Violin," played with them. When I noticed she was not with the band this time, I thought I was in for a poorer set, like when Princeton plays without their string section. But surprisingly I didn't miss her presence.

The band played their typical, albeit great, set list. If I had any criticism, it's that they need to add some new songs to their live show, although I doubt many people have seen them enough to consider this critique. I'm sure they'll add something to the mix for their August Spaceland residency. In all, if LN were the only band playing that night I would have left happy.

Here's a video of them playing "Cards & Quarters," which is the b-side to their soon-to-be-released single for "Sun Hands." Notice Kelcey playing the keyboard with his right hand and the drum his left at the same time; I don't know how he does that.



Then up comes Castledoor. They played well and it was a fun set, but it didn't match the experience I had seeing them at tiny Temporary Spaces back in May: Spaceland was too packed and too warm to repeat that.

Here's a clip of their cover of "It Ain't Me," which they burned onto 100 CDs and handed out for free.



Pictures (EDIT: deleted because, as an anonymous commenter noted, they came out very poorly)

Castledoor AND Local Natives at Spaceland TONIGHT

Two CER favorites on the bill tonight at Spaceland for the perfect price of FREE. A CER dream show? Signs point to yes.

Local Natives open up for Castledoor's fourth residency show tonight. Local Natives should be on at 10 with Castledoor at 11. Don't miss it.

More info if you need it.

Red Cortez, Robert Francis, Kenan Bell @ Spaceland (6/12/2009)

This was my first LA show in two weeks and my first time at Spaceland in almost a month. And I thought I was getting tired of Spaceland. It was great to be back, and the night seriously calmed the "maybe I should move back to New York" thoughts that began after my East Coast trip earlier this month.

It's easy to call this show one of the more unusual ones I've attended. First, it was a benefit show for Taco Zone, a taco truck that parks outside of the Vons on Alvarado and Montana, and a taco truck that I had not yet patronized (although I did go after the show). Second, the bands didn't start playing until 10:30; instead, there were DJ sets beginning at 9. Finally, I had never seen any local hip hop in Silverlake/Echo Park, and Kenan Bell filled that role, playing to an unusual Spaceland crowd.

I got to Spaceland at 10. Small turnout. Noticing that the back room was almost empty, I thought it would be a good opportunity to spend some time there before all the smokers invaded.

Red Cortez started the live music portion of the evening at 10:30 with their rootsy post-punk. I don't know what this band did since the last time I saw them, but wow; they were significantly better than their January show at the Echo, when I left disappointed. Excellent and energetic set from this very promising (and now CER Endorsed) band.

Robert Francis was up next. I was expecting a solo singer-songwriter performance. Instead, I was greeted with a three-piece band. The first song wasn't particularly noteworthy, and I mostly tuned out the remainder of their set. The last two songs sounded pretty good, though.

After Robert Francis there must have been almost 100% crowd turnover, because when Kenan Bell took the stage I didn't recognize anyone at Spaceland. Give me hip hop with a live band any day. And Kenan Bell delivered: electric guitar and bass, acoustic guitar, drums, keyboards, and Mr. Bell on the mic. A great set that brought a party atmosphere to Spaceland. I know little about Kenan Bell, and I don't know where or how often they typically play or how they've assembled a fanbase, but the crowd was loving it. You can add me to that fanbase. CER Endorsed as well.

Red Cortez:
Kenan Bell:

Amateurs, World Record, and Death to Anders @ Spaceland (5/15/2009)

This was the Amateurs release show for their new EP, If We Dare Win.

I got to see about half of (now CER endorsed) Death to Anders' opening set, and it was a good one. They played like a band with a lot of experience and they sounded great. It was too bad so few people were at Spaceland early enough. I hope to see them again soon. During their set I was racking my brain to figure out who singer/guitarist Rob Danson's vocal stylings reminded me of, especially when he screamed. It was Goldfinger's John Feldmann. Maybe I'm onto something . . .

The World Record, a CER favorite, was up next. Their set this night did not match their impressive set at Spaceland in April closing for The Henry Clay People. It also seemed like the sound was off a bit, and the crowd wasn't as energized as they are after a THCP set. But it's good to see them playing shows and gaining a following.

The Amateurs played a pretty good set. At bottom, any band with a full time trumpet player is all right by me (especially when it's not a ska band). The band opened with "Chain Reaction" and played both old tracks and the other two tracks on the new EP. Fun, but I got tired and left early.

Amateurs pictures:



World Record pictures:

Gangi at Spaceland (5/11/2009)

The second of Gangi's May residency at Spaceland. I went to this show expecting good things from Saint Motel and to be mildly fascinated by Gangi. My experience was almost exactly the opposite.

I was unimpressed with Saint Motel. I like their recorded output, but their live show didn't bring anything to the table. After their set I expected to stay for a couple Gangi songs and leave early.

Gangi, though, was a delight to see. They're simply a "cool" band. I really liked how they began most of their songs with various samples and then dove into more traditional indie rock territory, while the samples continued to loop. They played new tracks and old tracks, and I'm looking forward to hearing the new songs and seeing them perform again in the future.

My only regret: that I didn't see Gangi the Monday before, when Head Like a Kite opened.

Local Natives at Spaceland (5/8/2009)

Local Natives are obviously a CER favorite; just look over to the playlist I include on the right side of this blog or see my Featured Band: Local Natives post, the only featured band post I've ever done. Nonetheless, I was worried before the show that with this being my sixth time seeing Local Natives I'd be less impressed simply because I've seen them so many times.

But once they started playing those worries disappeared and I really enjoyed their set. Taylor said afterwards that the vocals were a bit low (he also generally said that they've been disappointed with the sound at their LA shows), but the band plays with so much energy that even if one or two things are off it's always a great set.

Video Clips:

Their cover of Talking Heads' "Warning Sign"



"Sun Hands"



Pictures:

Tonight: Local Natives at Spaceland

I haven't seen Local Natives (CER Favorites) since SXSW, and they're not going to be playing many small LA shows in the near future. First, they have no May shows scheduled besides tonight. Then in the first half of June they'll be touring the East Coast with Blind Pilot and afterwards are playing LA and San Diego with Ben Kweller.

To get on the $6 list for tonight, email info@thelocalnatives.com by 6pm. Tonight will be my sixth time seeing them, and I'm still looking forward to it. Lots of 6's in this paragraph.

Here's a video for "World News" that LN posted to their myspace recently:



And here's a cover of "Cecilia" that's been on their page for awhile



Related Posts
CER Featured Band #1: Local Natives

Notes from You, Me & Iowa at Spaceland (4/25/2009)

• I caught the last 10 minutes of Avi Buffalo's set. They were a lot better than when I saw them at 3 Clubs in March, and enough to convince me to make it out to the Echo at least once in May for one of their Tuesday residency shows.

• You, Me & Iowa are fun. Lots of energy, good crowd banter, seem like nice guys. Here's a video.
  

• The Hectors are a solid band. They're not going to blow your mind, but you're not going to want to leave their set early.

• We Are the Nights are new and have a lot of work to do, especially in the stage presence area.
  

You Must See The Henry Clay People This Month

Don't ask questions. Just go. You're going to hate yourself one day if you miss this.

• New songs ("Taste of the Tasteless" tonight and I'm sure "End of the Empire" will make an appearance next week) and newer songs (one brand new song each night)
• Covers. The third show (April 20) is devoted to covers.
  
• "Old" favorites ("Working Part Time," "This Ain't a Scene," "Andy Sings")
  
• Destroying equipment by accident. Joey knocked over Jordan's (of Marvelous Toy) keyboard not once, but twice. The first fall killed it, the second time was just hilarious. Joey appeared to trip in the middle of the stage and tumble over, and then the keyboard fell over in almost slow motion.
  
• Special Guests. Tonight Airborne Toxic Event joined HCP for "Honky Tonk Women."
• They'll soon be too big for Spaceland, if they aren't already.
  

Waited on line 30 minutes for a 40 minute set and it was still worth it. Looking forward to getting there next week a little earlier. For some mediocre quality videos from the show, check out CER's YouTube page.