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Medeski Martin and Wood at UCLA's Royce Hall

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:06:00 PDT

Now in its second decade, the trio Medeski Martin and Wood is often lumped into a "jam band" ghetto, but within the organ group's thick bond to the almighty groove there are nods toward the interstellar explorations of Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor and other wonders of intense, genre-blind improvisation. John Medeski's lush, contemplative solo piano album, "A Different Time," only underscores the group's ability to surprise. Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, Royce Hall. 340 Royce Drive, L.A. Fri., 8 p.m. $15-$50 cap.ucla.edu.

Sigur Ros at the Santa Barbara Bowl

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 PDT

Now that anyone with a laptop can make decently epic soundscapes, how will Sigur Rós keep its lead? On "Valtari," it does it by using all its usual tricks, but in even more evocative and expert ways. On "Valtari" it's back to the essentials: oceanic buildups, flickers of treated orchestras and falsetto vocal lines that yank heartstrings, even though you know exactly when they're coming. Santa Barbara Bowl, 1122 N. Milpas St., Santa Barbara. 7 p.m. Fri. $40.50-$55.50. sbbowl.com .

Chairlift, the Antlers at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 PDT

New Yorkers may go out of their way to sneer at L.A., but hey, we don't mind recognizing accomplishment when it's due to our East Coast brethren. At the more indie-rock-inclined edition of the L.A. Phil's Brooklyn Festival, marquee acts from the neighborhood including Chairlift and the Antlers will push their experimental rock and electronica in a grander orchestral direction. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A. 8 p.m. Fri. $30-$55. Laphil.com .

Coachella a no-go? Hit up these L.A. events to quench music thirst

By August Brown — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 00:00:00 PDT

There are plenty of local music events to catch for those not heading to Indio, including Brokechella and shows at the Satellite and Sound.

As L.A.'s center of musical gravity shifts east to Coachella for the next two weekends, night life in the city will finally get some breathing room. No lines at the bar, cabs when you need them, an entire population of trustafarian party people otherwise occupied — why, it's a veritable Eden of going out close to home.

Echo Park's Little Joy gives dive-bar fans a reason to rejoice

By Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times — Fri, 5 Apr 2013 00:00:00 PDT

Comfy new booths, clean white walls and eight taps pouring craft beer are just some of the new features — not bad for a bar known for some 'heavy times.'

Things have been done in the bathrooms of Little Joy that would make even Keith Richards' skin crawl. The Echo Park dive bar was also notorious for the amount of times drunk, scrappy rockers got beat up outside of it. (Nobody likes a drunk, scrappy rocker. Not even other drunk, scrappy rockers.) And for more than 40 years, Little Joy was home to them all as well as a completely bent assortment of neighborhood characters, bums and druggies.

Not at Coachella? Don't worry — neither are these shows

By Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times — Tue, 2 Apr 2013 07:30:00 PDT

Concert picks for people without festival wristbands include Sky Ferreira, Green Day, Yeasayer, Bat for Lashes and more.

It's April, which is good news for the roughly 180,000 music fans who have tickets to the sold-out Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, set for the weekends of April 12 and April 19. But for those who find themselves shut out of the annual festival in the desert, there are numerous noteworthy concerts happening closer to home. Most even feature modern amenities such as air conditioning, and many, in fact, include artists performing at Coachella.

Coachella 2013: Jurassic 5 doesn't know 'how far' reunion can go

By Todd Martens — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 07:00:00 PST

Jurassic 5 called it quits in 2007, and if the hip-hop act's catalog isn't exactly old enough to be found encased in amber, there's been little noise on the group since its breakup. It's OK, for instance, to have been completely surprised to see Jurassic 5 near the top of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival lineup released last week.

Playboy Jazz Festival sets June 15-16 lineup

By Chris Barton, Los Angeles Times — Fri, 1 Mar 2013 06:00:00 PST

With comic George Lopez taking over for longtime host Bill Cosby, the weekend concerts will feature such acts as George Duke, Jeffrey Osborne, Herbie Hancock and Sheila E.

The lineup for the 35th annual Playboy Jazz Festival has been announced, and in addition to the weekend-long concert's signature mix of jazz, funk and R&B, the festival also revealed that comic and former late-night host George Lopez will take over for longtime host Bill Cosby this year.

Review: Black as everything and nothing at Diane Rosenstein

By Leah Ollman — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:00:00 PST

"The Black Mirror," an unusually fine group show, inaugurates Diane Rosenstein's handsome new Hollywood space. A taut and provocative visual essay, the show gathers 40 works by 21 mostly contemporary artists, including James Welling, who co-curated with Rosenstein.

Coachella 2013: Blur, Phoenix, Red Hot Chili Peppers to headline

By Todd Martens — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 22:09:00 PST

Last year the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival used technological trickery to make it look as if Tupac Shakur had been brought back to life. So what do you do for an encore to one of pop music’s biggest magic shows? Coachella organizers have turned to reunited Brit-pop act Blur and one of L.A.'s longest-running rock acts in the Red Hot Chili Peppers to anchor its 2013 festival.