Tomorrow: Local Natives, Voxhaul Broadcast, and Chief at the Echo

Bottom line: Last chance to see Local Natives in the U.S. until at least the middle of March. $5 if you buy from Ticketweb (although that option has just disappeared), $10 at the door, or free when you buy LN's vinyl single at Origami ($4).

Possible bottom line: Last chance to see Local Natives in a small venue in LA? 1) It looks like this show is on the verge of selling out. 2) Their album will be released in the U.S. in February, before they're back from Europe. A couple favorable reviews and they'll be playing the Echoplex or El Rey instead of the Echo or Spaceland.

Voxhaul Broadcast and Chief open it up. Bring a can of food and you get a free gift from the band.

Avi Buffalo at the Echo (5/19/2009)

In April I mentioned that when I saw Avi Buffalo in early March at 3 Clubs it didn't seem they enjoyed playing. Sadly I was disappointed with their set this night as well. The songs are pretty good, Avi is definitely talented, and I know they're young and playing to an audience that's older than they are, but the band's stage presence is lacking.

One issue is that Avi doesn't typically take center stage; instead, he stands stage right and the keyboard player, Rebecca Coleman, is placed in the center. She's got a great voice, and is more than capable, but I don't think she smiled once during the set and she was usually looking down at the keyboard or to her right at Avi; practically no eye contact with the audience. Same with the bass player; he stood angled towards Avi most of the time and rarely looked out into the audience. And no fault of their own, but it was so dark on stage that I could barely even see the drummer.