Gareth Kantner looks over an empty Sunset Blvd. from his office during the Sunset Junction Festival back in August, 2008 | Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist "It's like your invited to the party but you have to stay in the bathroom," explained Gareth Kanter, owner of Cafe Stella and the properties at Sunset Junction (the red ones like Intelligentsia and The CheeseStore of Silver Lake). As the festival was in progress north of Sanborn St.,......

The Pasadena Symphony is citing "recent extraordinary conditions in the financial markets" as reason why they are canceling their November concert, according to Laurie Niles, a violinist who writes a blog. "What?" she writes. "A couple weeks of plummeting stocks and...kablouey? What about the sponsor that the Symphony already had lined up for the concert? Or the tickets that have been sold?" The symphony's website does not note any cancellation and a concert is also......

For the second straight year, the Hip Hop Live tour, which teamed up top emcees with the instrumentation of ten plus piece band, rolled into the House of Blues. The lineup for this year's tour featured Little Brother, David Banner and Talib Kweli. Once again the band backing the three acts was the Los Angeles-based Rhythm Roots Allstars. Just like many other hip-hop shows, the stage on this night was very crowded. Unlike your typical......

Photo by GarySe7en via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr THIS CULTURE TASTES LIKE CHICKEN The city will host their 21st annual "Taste of Encino" cultural festival. The event will take over a strip of Ventura Blvd. and include music, dance, and storytelling. This free festival will also feature a moon bounce and rock climbing wall for you to enjoy. I'm sure your kids will like them a bit more though. VISIT THE......

The Hotel Cafe was a very nice place to be last Tuesday, as three Dangerbird acts took the red-lighted stage. Starting up at 8pm, and playing the most riveting set of the night, was "the better looking half" of the two-thirds Irish band La Rocca. Singer/guitarist Bjorn Baillie and bassist Simon Baillie played a handful of mesmerizingly pretty songs, all on their own, taking shots at their missing band members and cracking jokes about their......

The Deadly Syndrome hamm(er)ing it up via their MySpace page It was only a matter of time before hipster boys and girls grew up to have boys and girls of their own, and were left with the dilemma of how to reconcile a live music obsession with a dearth of available babysitters. Presto chango diapero! Kidrockers to your rescue! Beg, borrow, or reproduce – all you need is a little one and a sense......

You saw the video, but here's some of what went down during Weezer's music video shoot of their song "Troublemaker," as seen through the eyes of LAist photographers Tom Andrews and Michael Zampelli. Many world records were attempted, but not all were successful like the longest guitar cable used in a music video. However, they did earn five world records: Largest Air Guitar Ensemble (consisting of 233 participants), Largest Game of Dodgeball (consisting of two......

No Age performing at LA Central Library (more photos here) | Photo by LAist Music Editor Josh Pressman Local band No Age recently taped a performance at CBS' Late Late Night with Craig Ferguson scheduled to be aired on October 27. Although, they made it through the taping, they almost didn't because of an Obama t-shirt. Guitarist Randy Randall explains to Stereogum in an e-mail: After the rehearsals, the people from CBS said I......

1st Annual Lake Balboa Music Experience happens this Saturday, Oct. 11th, from 4pm to 10pm....

Photo via MURS' MySpace profile LAist got some time in with Los Angeles rapper MURS. MURS has just released 'MURS FOR PRESIDENT' on Warner Bros Records, and is a member of the rap groups Living Legends, and Felt. He hails from the Los Angeles neighborhood of Mid-City. I call him a homie-by-proxy! MURS stands for Making Underground Raw Shit - but it should stand for My Ultimate Rare Sit-down. LAist: Congrats on the new......

The rumors were true, so if you've already booked your vacation time or hotel room, change it up. This year Coachella has been moved up two weeks from its regular last weekend of April slot to the 17th-19th with the country-folk version of the fest--Stagecoach--following the next weekend on April 25th for two days. (Photo: Joey Maloney)......

The murder of 17-year-old high schooler and football player Jamiel Shaw made headlines and had reverberations not only in his community, but city-wide. Now rapper Ice Cube has voiced his heartbreak over the death of a young man with a promising future--a death caused by senseless violence. His video for "Why Me?" uses the Shaw case a reference point for this kind of tragedy. The Daily News explains that "Cube says the Shaws are......

The first sign should have been the earplugs being handed out at the door... 17 years ago My Bloody Valentine delivered what is considered not only their greatest achievement but a classic album by any measure. Loveless was the climax of the My Bloody Valentine sound as well as epitomizing the entire shoegaze movement. Since the release of that landmark album the band faded and disbanded. There was no wall of sound to be heard......

Founding member of the folk group Kingston Trio Nick Reynolds died Wednesday in San Diego of acute respiratory disease and other illnesses. The band is credited with jump-starting "the revival folk scene of the late 1950s and paved the way for artists such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez," according to the Associated Press. One of the groups more popular songs--M.T.A.--which is about the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, interestingly enough still rings true with Los......

With the remarkable infusion of whimsical melodies and cutting lyrics, Stars has created a long history of fiercely bright pop. The kind of pop songs that lift you up with the beauty of their melodies and then crushes your heart with the tortured elegance that leaves you hungry for more. Touring to support their latest EP, Sad Robots, Stars frontman, Torquil Campbell was kind enough to grant an interview with the LAist from Oklahoma City.......

To promote the release of MURS for President, which hit stores today, the LA native will be signing copies and performing at Amoeba tonight at 6:30 pm. MTV viewers might recognize him as that guy with the crazy hair who has been popping up in between episodes of “The Hills.” However, fans of the local hip-hop scene, which LA Weekly recently declared, “for the first time in over a decade, its vital signs are stable,”......

Over the weekend, art patrons around Los Angeles received the 08/09 season mailer for the new Broad Stage in Santa Monica as part of Santa Monica Community College's Madison Campus. It's an interesting season of over twenty-five performances including some that caught our eye like the Grammy-winning all-male A Capella ensemble Chanticleer, the Cirque de Solei-esque Diavolo dance company, the cutting edge new music series Jacaranda, the baroque orchestra Musica Angelica, and well-known jazz man......

"The Hives have rocked stadiums of 40,000 or more! You 1200 people should present no problem...," bombastically declared Hives' frontman Howlin' Pelle Almqvist to the Mayan Theatre crowd last Thursday night (9/25/08). While the statement is both egotistical and brash, Almqvist was entirely correct (and with names like Dr. Matt Destruction, Nicolaus Arson, Vigilante Carstroem, Chris Dangerous and the aforementioned Howlin' Pelle, you'd better be able to back it up). The Swedish imports rocked the......

Photo via festival website Some 40 concerts and hundreds of musicians later, The World Festival of Sacred Music ends today with a free concert on the beach featuring over 300 performers such as The Pasadena Scottish Pipes and Drums ensemble, Agape Choir, a REMO Drum Circle facilitated by Christine Stevens, Viver Brasil, Capoeira Batueque, Swing Brazil and Banda Juvenil Solaga from Oaxaca. The event, called Honoring the Sea, takes place on the beach at......

TOP CHEF: Well not exactly, but the Covenant House in Hollywood seeks guest chefs to share their love of cooking and baking with 18-21 year old homeless youth on Sunday evenings. The Covenant House provides food, shelter and counseling as well as education, job skills training, and employment placement to youth living on the street in hopes of forging a brighter future for each individual. They offer mentoring opportunities as well. Contact their volunteer coordinator......

Photo by GarySe7en via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr COOL OFF AT GRIFFITH PARK Summer may be over but the temperature is still high, that's why you should attend The Great Los Angeles Ice Cream Party. Meet at the old merry-go-round at 2 p.m. for free ice cream and fun for all ages. Optional donations go to LA Commons, a non-profit organization bringing public art to LA neighborhoods. JUMP ON THE APATOW......

Silver Jews is coming to town. On just the second tour of a 20-year career, DC Berman and his familial touring band will visit LA tonight behind its sixth recording, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. Berman answered a handful of questions from the road, via e-mail. How do you write songs? I build their walls and then lay siege to them for weeks. It's a dialectic between the artistic voice and the critical voice in......

Tomorrow, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra will celebrate 40 years with their season concert opener, which is LAist's classical pick of the week. KPCC put together a very nice report on the group starting off with the city's mural dedicated to classical music that shows off Alan Vogel and ten others over the 110 Freeway near the Staples center. &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://podcastdownload.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/145/510211/95084607/KPCC_95084607.mp3"> Photo via the LA Chamber Orch's website......

Imagine yourself gliding down the PCH with the warm summer breeze blowing through your hair in a red convertible (preferably with fins). This is the vibe that emanates from the Western States Motel's classic Californian sound. Originally a one man band, Carl Jordan formed, wrote, and produced this first album himself in his home in Los Angeles. With his new work hailed by critics as an intelligent, poppy disk Jordan was compared to Jeff......

Some bands are simply meant to be seen live. While many artists boast consistent and impressive catalog recordings, often it’s the eccentric and vibrant live performance experience that ultimately outshines the archive. Such is the case with My Morning Jacket, as evidenced by their ambitious and protracted Greek Theatre stop in Los Angeles on Sunday night.......

Last year L.A. LIVE opened the first phase of its massive project with the NOKIA Theatre, accommodating 7,100 people per show (The Emmys were there on Sunday). This year on November 10 Club NOKIA will open its doors for the first time to 2,300 fans of Beck (tickets go on sale Saturday). Their line-up, which includes Matisyahu, Usher and B.B. King has only been announced through February. Also in December, the GRAMMY Museum located next......

This Sunday's free festival on Abbot Kinney in Venice is always a popular community event. What's nice this year is that Hotel Cafe, who is prepping to launch their own record label with its debut "Live from The Hotel Cafe" on iTunes next month, is booking on of the three stages at the festival. Part of their line-up includes recognizable names such as Jesca Hoop, Greg Laswell and Laura Jansen. Also, War Tapes will be......

Investigators look over the debris left by the Learjet on the outskirts of the Columbia Metropolitan Airport (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick) The Van Nuys-bound Learjet carrying DJ AM and former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker that crashed Saturday morning killing four others has sad twist. One of the victims, Chris Baker who was Barker's personal assistant, lost his brother last month. "Baker's death was the second tragedy to hit the family. Last month, Baker's 24-year-old......

Today, former LA Times music columnist Kevin Bronson began blogging at his new website, buzzbands.la: "Here I am, digging Buzz Bands out of the trash bin at 2nd and Broadway, where my former employer, the Los Angeles Times, deposited it a few months ago," he wrote in his second introduction to the site. "Either out of obstinacy, or passion, or vanity, or a weird cocktail of the three, I will undertake sharing my thoughts and......

The LACO has been a major contributor to the music scene in Los Angeles for 40 years. You've probably heard their musicians in many movies, music recordings, and seen them (the mural of an orchestra on the 110? The LACO). How about seeing them live? LAist has covered them several times before, and this year is a good year to check them out for yourself. The LACO is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and bringing......