Well that was just OK…a "greatest hits" sorta gig. But why did they play everything so sloooooww? really, like a half beat slower than normal. They looked tired and listless too. Joel was wasted, as usual. Anton avoided the audience…perhaps to prevent another crazy head-kick incident? ;-)

Mon 22 Mar – Serena Maneesh w/ The Depreciation Guild

Well shit, after five years S-M returns to LA and they sounded amazing. A swirling mess of chaos…loud as fuck and brutal as hell. Brad Laner of Medicine (!) on stage was a real treat! I could even dig the lead singer's Stevie Nicks shawl and headband thing. But…a 50 minute set and NO encore?? And after going on about how "special" it was to be in LA blahblah? I'm a bit miffed.

So the Echo hosted Pains of Being Pure at Heart last nite, July 20th…I have been waiting quite a while to see these guys since I missed their last show in April at Spaceland (sold out actually). I love their ringing, jangling fuzz guitar sound and sweet vocals…really reminds me of the Smiths' lighter tunes in a way. (I feel a tinge of smugness when I think that POBPAH were probably not even BORN when I last saw the Smiths, heheh). It'd have been nice if the effing Echo had a working a/c…the place was absolutely packed solid and felt…

Fri 19 Dec – Darker My Love, The Muslims, Lumerians, The Soft Pack

WTF is with the Echoplex? This is the second show I've been to there in as many weeks and the sound is murky and fuzzy. Maybe it's the acoustics…not the best. In any case, the band rocked (no encore though, bummer).

Thu 23 Oct – Stereolab, Monade

Stereolab returned, after many years absent, to LA and was in fine form. Laetitia Sadler's side project, Monade, played the first opening slot, and they sounded much like Stereolab Lite to me. The second opener, Richard Swift, was totally inappropriate and sounded like fucking Randy Newman. Huh? Finally the Groop came on and the psychedelic lightshow only emphasized their groovy 60s pop feeling (although it seemed like the lights were being run by a 5-year old). They played a few tracks off their latest "Chemical Chords" then hit the old stuff, ending with a…

Yet another strong show by the Dandys! While I'm not so impressed with their latest album, they managed to make it sound awesome at the Wiltern last nite…and their old faves were just as good as ever. Courtney Taylor was cool and jokey…the drummer's got an ironic mustache to compliment his 70s `fro, nice! ;-) A Place to Bury Strangers were fuckin hot too…dark and intense….

Thu 24 Jul – The Vandelles, The Warlocks, the meek

Glad to see the Warlocks back in LA after their world tour, and they were glad to be back too. Sounding tight and together, they covered some of their best oldies as well as the new stuff. Bobby was lookin happy and lucid. The Vandelles however were sloppy and sounded like they haven't been practicing in their garage much. The Meek were good, at least the last tune I caught by them as we arrived….

Thu 17 Jul – The Duke Spirit, io echo

Super crowded, crap sound from every angle, the Duke Spirit still managed to shine…I'll go see them at a proper venue when they return.