Olin & The Moon Update: Free Downloads, New Video, and Upcoming Show(s)

So, what's been going on with CER Favorites Olin & The Moon? Glad you asked.

First, the band has a free EP for you to download when you sign up for their mailing list. The track listing:

1. Terrible Town
2. Wagon Wheel
3. Drivin' West
4. Friend of Feeling Good
5. Footsteps (unreleased)

You can sign up for their mailing list and grab the songs right here. I highly recommend you do so.

Also, about a month ago the band released a video for "Terrible Town" which features footage from their West Coast tour with fellow local alt-country band Leslie & The Badgers.



Finally, Olin & The Moon is playing at Pershing Square in downtown LA next Wednesday. It's hard to imagine a more pleasant summer evening.


And while it's not confirmed yet, I'm sure they'll be playing at the Echo one Monday in September in support of Leslie & The Badgers' September residency. That's a one-two punch that should not be missed.

What 2 Go 2: June 29 - July 5

This week starts off with three highly recommended shows and then seems to completely fizzle out.

Monday: The opener for the Oliver Future residency at the Echo is . . . Casxio. Make sure you're there by 10, and stay for Oliver. Wish I hadn't missed Oliver Future this month.

Tuesday: Leslie & The Badgers CD Release Show at Spaceland. Olin & The Moon opens.

Wednesday: Fitz & The Tantrums bring their old school soul to Spaceland. Here's a sample:

Fitz & The Tantrums Performing LIVE! that's right LIVE!!! "Breakin' the Chains of Love" from Fitz&theTantrums on Vimeo.

What 2 Go 2 (W2G2): June 1 - June 7

It would be hard to beat last week, so I'm skipping town. That reasoning isn't accurate, but I won't be in LA from Tuesday to Sunday, and my flight tomorrow is too early for me to reasonably attend the Castledoor residency show at Spaceland. So no LA shows for me this week, and the blog will be a little slow as well.

But if I were in LA it would be a good week, and a week where I could see a bunch of local bands I have not yet seen.

Monday: Castledoor residency at Spaceland. The Monolators, who I have not seen but very much want to, open. Oh well #1.

Tuesday: Tough call.

• Olin & The Moon's record release show at the Echo. Soon-to-be-tourmates Leslie & The Badgers join in, along with Eagle and Talon and Deep Sea Diver.

• But if I were in town, I'd probably be at The Bordello seeing The Movies play their first show in many moons. Seasons opens. Haven't seen Seasons yet, and have only seen The Movies once. Oh well #2.
  

Thursday: Fol Chen at the Echo. Haven't seen them yet either, and it's their last show before they go to London. Double oh well.

Friday: I'll be in New York, and hopefully seeing Kittens Ablaze as the sun sets at Hillstock's Rooftop Kickoff Party in Brooklyn. I'm very much looking forward to this.

That's all I got. Enjoy the week.

Or The Whale, Olin & The Moon, Leslie & The Badgers @ Silverlake Lounge ( 5/20/2009)

Or, the Whale

It was a folk-rock/alt-country night at Silverlake Lounge this Wednesday, and the show was well worth the trip.

I walked in for the last song and a half from Pilot Speed. They's from Toronto, play a variety of modern rock, and are on Wind-Up Records (none of which I knew before I saw them). I liked what I heard.

Leslie & The Badgers played next, and covered the twangy country spectrum. Leslie is sweet and has a great voice, and the band was in sync. Nashville should be all over this; they would make a good crossover band.

Or, the Whale followed. Before tonight I knew nothing about this band besides their name. They absolutely stole the show. Or, the Whale is from San Francisco and they simply have it together. Great folk/americana. Vocal harmonies (both male and female), a very talented keyboard player, and a lot of energy. They're releasing a new album in September, and hopefully that will coincide with playing some more LA shows. This is a band I will be seeing again.

Here's a video clip:



Olin & the Moon closed out the night. The entire show was very off schedule, so while Olin was supposed to be on at 11 they didn't take the stage until 11:40, and by then Silverlake Lounge was mostly empty. You can probably see where I'm going with this: it wasn't their best set and they knew it.

Pictures:

Or, The Whale


Leslie & The Badgers


Olin & The Moon

W2G2: May 18 - 23

Last week was a bit of a letdown, although I did enjoy Gangi's residency set and my first time seeing Death to Anders.

Monday: Residency Night (but I'll be at the Dodger game)

• Gangi at Spaceland. They're definitely worth checking out before the month is over. I hope to have a review up of last week's residency show early this week.

• Golden Animals are at the Silverlake Lounge. Xu Xu Fang opens. I'm plan to check out Golden Animals next Monday.
  

Tuesday: Avi Buffalo's residency at the Echo. I still need to get to one of his residency shows. Nico Stai is also playing with Useless Keys at the Troubadour. I have yet to see Nico Stai perform, but I don't think I'll be seeing him on Tuesday.

Wednesday: Folk/Alt-Country night with Olin & The Moon (11pm) and Leslie & The Badgers (9pm) at Silverlake Lounge. The two will be touring together in June. I very much recommend Olin and the Moon's new album, Terrible Town. Or, the Whale is on at 10pm.

• Other options: Fitz and the Tantrums at The Roxy and Downtown/Union's residency at Mr. T's Bowl.
  

Friday: Oh No Oh My, who I didn't get to see at SXSW, is at the Echo for the early show. I'll be in Boston (actually flying into Boston and then immediately renting a car and driving to Newport Beach -- oh joy), so sadly I'm missing this one.

Saturday: The Dears and Great Northern play the Echoplex, but if I was in town I'd try to head over to the All Star Lanes in Eagle Rock/Highland Park for the last show ever at the Eagle Rock Bowling & Drinking Club with The Monolators, who I have never seen.

News & Notes: May 17

• I finally listened to the Passion Pit EP today. And then I listened to it again. Wow. Their full length comes out on Tuesday and I can't wait to hear it. The MGMT of 2009-2010? I'm also starting to think that I'm more excited to see PP than The Harlem Shakes at their Troubadour and Echoplex shows. Oh, and those shows: I expect them to be among the best shows I see all year. I've added a PP playlist to the right of the blog; you can play the tracks right from there with no popups. I couldn't add a full length version of "Better Things," so here's a Youtube video with it.
  
  
  

• Olin & The Moon are on the new Lucero message board compilation (as in Lucero the band). I don't completely understand who's behind the compilation, but it's a free download here.

• Princeton is performing at Lincoln Center on June 5 as part of the Virginia Woolf Conference: 2009 Woolf in the City. They'll be performing in conjunction with choreographer Stephen Pelton. Princeton will be playing their entire Bloomsbury EP and a three movement orchestral piece written specifically for this performance. The band is looking for 2 flutes, 1 Violin, 1 Viola, 1 Cello, and 1 Oboe -- sounds very promising. I'll actually be in New York on the 5th, maybe I'll go.
  

• New video for the Afternoons' "Saturday Morning (after the funeral)"

News & Notes: April 30

• Casxio is playing some shows with Datarock in June. The LA date is June 13 at Key Club.

• But the BIG news: Henry Clay People are touring with Ben Harper and the Relentless 7 starting on Monday. The LA date is May 28 at the Wiltern.
  

• Finally, Olin & The Moon's new album is available tomorrow. I'm not sure why it's being released on a Friday. They'll be touring with Leslie & the Badgers in June.
  

Video Encounter: Olin & The Moon

Olin & The Moon have a new album coming out on May 1 called "Terrible Town." Here's a teaser video containing SXSW footage.



They also posted five new songs on their Myspace page, including the title track. Check it out.

Weekend Update 3/6

I'm taking a break this weekend after seeing eight shows in eight days (more on that later), but that doesn't mean there's nothing worth your time this weekend.

Friday: The Voyeurs headline Exposure: A Photo Show at Where.

Saturday: Olin & The Moon @ Home in Silverlake. This is the only one I may go to this weekend; I'm curious about how you put on a show at a restaurant. And it's Olin & The Moon.