Lovers Drugs

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 6/20-6/26

Posted on by Kristen

This weekend was supposed to be SO much fun, but I ended up spending most of it sleeping. I guess I can only run away from sickness for so long. Fortunately, before the fever descended, I was able to spend an amazing night Weds at Empire, the weekly party Semi Precious Weapons throws at On the Rox (bar above The Roxy). So many of my friends were out, celebrating a few birthdays. SPW put on a stripped down miniset, including a slower version of their new tune “Free Booze” that I might just enjoy more than the original. Finally, we all danced the night away to tunes provided by my favorite DJ (DJ High Voltage). Such a memorable night! There are only two more Empires left (this Weds and next) so if you haven’t been, be sure to get on the list and go!

As for the rest of the week, here’s my wish list. At the moment, I can’t really fathom going out, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to. So many good shows this week. You’ll have to enjoy them for me until I’m back on my feet.

 

Monday: Armada at The Viper Room (11:15)
ALSO: Anna Nalick at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)
ALSO: Jenny O FREE at Bootleg (9pm)
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 featuring Shane Alexander, John Elliot, Joel Eckels, and Jon Green (9pm)

 

Tuesday: Blue n Green: To Jopin With Love benefit concert at The Hotel Cafe featuring Tony Lucca, Keaton Simons, Raining Jane, Stop Motion Poetry, and SO many more (9pm)…door proceeds to benefit The Joplin Schools Tornado Relief Fund
ALSO: Lovers Drugs at Lot 1 Cafe (9pm)
ALSO: Two Gallants at The Echo (9pm)
ALSO: Paris Carney at Room 5 (9pm)

 

Weds: High Voltage Night at The Mint featuring Eli James, Hell & Lula, and Toy Bombs (9pm)
ALSO: The Watkins Family hour at Largo at The Coronet (8:30, 10)
ALSO: Meiko at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)
ALSO: Jarrod Gorbel and Bell X1 at The Troubadour (8:30, 9:30)
ALSO: My Morning Jacket at Pantages Theater (8pm)
ALSO: Empire Presents Semi Precious Weapons On the Rox (10pm)…free with RSVP to rsvp@semipreciousweapons.com

 

Thursday: War Tapes and Dead Sara at Bootleg Theater (9:45, 10:45)
ALSO: Austin Hartley Leonard, Chris Pierce, and The Canyons at The Hotel Cafe (9,10,11)
ALSO: Allen Stone and Nikka Costa at The Roxy (8pm)
ALSO: Lovers Drugs at The Prospector in Long Beach (9pm)
ALSO: The Kooks at The Troubadour (9:45)
ALSO: Okkervil River at The Wiltern (7pm)
ALSO: The Mountain Goats at The El Rey (8pm)

 

Friday: Lakes at The Hotel Cafe (11pm)
ALSO: Rooney and Maniac at The El Rey (8pm)
ALSO: Viza at The Troubadour (11:15)
ALSO: Alex Dezen at Bootleg (9:30)

 

Saturday: The Silent Comedy at The Roxy (1pm)
ALSO: Terra Naomi, Lelia Broussard, Andy Clockwise, and Brother Sal at The Hotel Cafe (9,10,11,12)
ALSO: Jamestown Revival at Room 5 (10pm)
ALSO: Allen Stone and Nikka Costa at Saint Rocke (9pm)

Sunday: Jonah Montraga at The Hotel Cafe (7:30)

 

To Keep in Mind:
June 29th: Brooke Fraser at The Music Box
July 4th: Hotel Café Presents Ford on the 4th of July featuring Truth & Salvage Co., Cary Brothers, The Rescues, Anya Marina, etc.
July 14th: Parade of Lights at The Viper Room
July 15th: Curtis Peoples at The Hotel Cafe
July 19th and 21st: Alkaline Trio at The Troubadour
July 22nd: Langhorne Slim at The Echo
July 26th: The Indigo Girls at The Troubadour
July 28th: A Perfect Circle at Gibson Auditorium
August 12-14th: Outside Lands in San Francisco
August 18th: The Veronicas at The Viper Room
August 19th: Buckcherry at The Roxy
August 18-20th: SSMF
September 22-24: Hotel Carolina (South Carolina)

~ Kristen

 

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Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 6/15-6/19

Posted on by Kristen

Just because I’m sleep deprived and drowning in my to do list, doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about what is most important…bringing to you my picks for the rest of this week’s musical offerings.

Here’s what I’ll be up to if I can get over my Bonnaroo-lag:

Weds: Keaton Simons at The Hotel Cafe (10pm)
ALSO: Augustana at the House of Blues Sunset (6:30)
ALSO: The Civil Wars at The El Rey (9pm)
ALSO: Squealer at The Viper Room (10:30)
ALSO: Semi Precious Weapons at On the Rox (10pm)…free with RSVP at rsvp@semipreciousweapons.com

 

Thursday: Dom Liberati CD release at Good Hurt (10pm)

 

Friday: Lovers Drugs at Mr. T’s Bowl (10pm)
ALSO: Nico Vega at House of Blues Anaheim (9pm)
ALSO: The 88 at The Hotel Cafe (10:30)

 

Saturday: Pasadena Make Music Festival http://www.makemusicpasadena.org/program.html FREE featuring Ra Ra Riot, The Morning Benders, Saint Motel, Jenny O, and many more downtown Pasadena (11am)

ALSO: Bro Am in SD. FREE daytime show at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas featuring The Silent Comedy and The Howls (11am), evening show at The BellyUp featuring Johnny Rzeznick, Fiction Family, Little Hurricane, hosted by Switchfoot (9pm) http://www.switchfoot.com/c/bro-am
ALSO: Brett Dennen at The Orpheum Theater (7pm)

 

Sunday: Emery and Kemble Walters and The Blank Faces at The Roxy (8pm)
ALSO: Of Verona at The Viper Room (9pm)
ALSO: Nico Vega at The Canyon (9pm)

 

 

To Keep in Mind:
June 24th: Rooney at The El Rey
June 25th: The Silent Comedy at The Roxy
June 29th: Brooke Fraser at The Music Box
July 4th: Hotel Café Presents Ford on the 4th of July featuring Truth & Salvage Co., Cary Brothers, The Rescues, Anya Marina, etc.
July 14th: Parade of Lights at The Viper Room
July 15th: Curtis Peoples at The Hotel Cafe
July 19th and 21st: Alkaline Trio at The Troubadour
July 22nd: Langhorne Slim at The Echo
July 26th: The Indigo Girls at The Troubadour
July 28th: A Perfect Circle at Gibson Auditorium
August 12-14th: Outside Lands in San Francisco
August 18th: The Veronicas at The Viper Room
August 19th: Buckcherry at The Roxy
August 18-20th: SSMF
September 22-24: Hotel Carolina (South Carolina)

~ Kristen

 

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 5/30-6/5

Posted on by Kristen

Running out the door to go get my mind blown away by Dead Sara at Hemingways in Hollywood. I’m really enjoying the holiday weekend and the fact that I just woke up from a lovely nap.

As usual, lots of great shows this week. I’m most looking forward to New Band Love’s Parade of Lights return to LA on Weds. They are playing The Silverlake Lounge. Afterwards, I’ll be running to On the Rox to catch the deadly combo of Indians and Semi Precious Weapons. Talk about a crazy night!

As for the rest:

 

Monday: Maniac FREE at Bootleg Theater (10pm)
ALSO: Lovers Drugs at The Airliner (9pm)
ALSO: Taylor Locke and The Roughs FREE at Silverlake Lounge (11pm)

 

Tuesday: Transfer, The Daylights, and The Parlotones at The Troubadour (8:30, 9:15, 10:15)
ALSO: The Filthy Souls FREE at Piano Bar (11pm)
ALSO: Amie Miriello at The Hotel Cafe (10pm)

 

Weds: Parade of Lights at Silverlake Lounge (9pm)
ALSO: Indians and Semi Precious Weapons at On the Rox (10pm)…FREE with RSVP

 

Thursday: Chasing Avalanche and Youngblood Hawke at The Viper Room (9, 12)
ALSO: Manchester Orchestra at The Music Box (8pm)

 

Friday: The Shakers at The Roxy (8pm)
ALSO: Barcelona and The 88 at The Hotel Cafe (9:30, 10:30)
ALSO: The Lookout Kids at Molly Malone’s (10pm)
ALSO: Love and a .38 and Boy Hits Car at The Viper Room (11pm)
ALSO: Arctic Monkeys at Hollywood Palladium (8pm)

 

Saturday: Christopher Dallman, George Stanford, and Brother Sal at The Hotel Cafe (7,11,12)
ALSO: The Bird and The Bee at Bootleg Theater (8pm)

 

Sunday: Independence Jam in Oceanside featuring Cold War Kids, The Silent Comedy, Band of Skulls, Everest, etc. at the Oceanside Pier Amphitheatre (4:30)

 

To Keep in Mind:
June 6th and 7th: Band of Skulls at Bootleg Theater
June 7th: Death Cab for Cutie and The Lonely Forest at The El Rey
June 9th: Adele at Hollywood Palladium
June 9-12: Bonnaroo (TN)
June 13th: Florence and The Machine at The Greek Theater
June 15th: Augustana at The House of Blues Sunset
June 17th: Nico Vega at The House of Blues Anaheim
June 29th: Brooke Fraser at The Music Box
July 19th and 21st: Alkaline Trio at The Troubadour
July 26th: The Indigo Girls at The Troubadour
July 28th: A Perfect Circle at Gibson Auditorium
August 12-14th: Outside Lands in San Francisco
August 18-20th: SSMF
September 22-24: Hotel Carolina (South Carolina)

~ Kristen

 

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 5/23-5/29

Posted on by Kristen

It’s a bad sign when you’re purposefully consuming caffeine at 10pm on a Sunday night when you know you need to be up early in the morning. But, it’s been that kind of a day. I’ve nothing insightful to say unless you want to talk satiety hormones or the nucleus tractus solitaries, so I’m just going to get straight to my weekly list of distractions. Starting with Nico Vega Monday night and ending in a weekend of Lakes, The Silent Comedy, and Dead Sara…I can’t really complain about anything, now can I?

Here’s what I’ve got on my radar:

 

Monday: Nico Vega and She Wants Revenge at The Roxy (8pm)
ALSO: Milk Carton Kids at The Hotel Cafe (7pm)
ALSO: Taylor Locke and The Roughs and Youngblood Hawke FREE at Silverlake Lounge (11, 12)
ALSO: Chris Robinson Brotherhood at The Echoplex (8:30)
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (9pm)

 

Tuesday: Alberta Cross at The Satellite (10pm)
ALSO: Scott Weiland at The Viper Room (10:30)
ALSO: Holly Conlan at Saint Rocke (9pm)
ALSO: Jacqueline Epcar at Molly Malone’s (8pm)

 

Weds: Kevin Devine and Ten out of Tenn at The Hotel Cafe (9:30, 10:30)
ALSO: High Voltage night at The Mint featuring The Film Noir, The Orange Effect, Adam Bones, and The Violet Lights (8pm)
ALSO: The Makepeace Brothers at Bootleg Theater (10pm)
ALSO: Indians FREE at Three Clubs (10pm)
ALSO: Boyce Avenue and Jack’s Mannequin at The Roxy (7pm)
ALSO: Semi Precious Weapons at On the Rox (10pm)…free with RSVP (rsvp@semipreciousweapons.com)

 

Thursday: Stevie Nicks at The Wiltern (7pm)
ALSO: Red Circle Underground (10pm)

 

Friday: Lakes at The Hotel Cafe (10pm)
ALSO: The Script at Club Nokia (7pm)
ALSO: My Chemical Romance at Hollywood Palladium (7pm)
ALSO: Glee Live in Concert at The Honda Center in Anaheim (7:30)
ALSO: Prince at The Forum (7:30)

 

Saturday: The Silent Comedy at The Echoplex (noon)
ALSO: Fat City Reprise at The Viper Room (11:30)
ALSO: Kevin Martin at On the Rox (8pm)
ALSO: Prince at The Forum (7:30)
ALSO: Glee! Live in Concert at The Staples Center (3pm)

 

Sunday: Dead Sara at Bardot (10:30)
ALSO: Lovers Drugs at El Cid (9pm)
ALSO: Prince at The Forum (7:30)

 

 

To Keep in Mind:
June 1st: Parade of Lights at Silverlake Lounge
June 2nd: Manchester Orchestra at The Music Box
June 6th and 7th: Band of Skulls at Bootleg Theater
June 7th: Death Cab for Cutie and The Lonely Forest at The El Rey
June 9th: Adele at Hollywood Palladium
June 9-12: Bonnaroo (TN)
June 13th: Florence and The Machine at The Greek Theater
June 15th: Augustana at The House of Blues Sunset
June 17th: Nico Vega at The House of Blues Anaheim
June 29th: Brooke Fraser at The Music Box
July 19th and 21st: Alkaline Trio at The Troubadour
July 26th: The Indigo Girls at The Troubadour
July 28th: A Perfect Circle at Gibson Auditorium
August 12-14th: Outside Lands in San Francisco
August 18-20th: SSMF
September 22-24: Hotel Carolina (South Carolina)

~ Kristen

 

Watch This: Lovers Drugs “1925”

Posted on by Kristen

The third video from Lovers Drugs self-titled EP was released this week. It’s for their song “1925” and appears to be about a young woman watching a dance performance that goes terribly wrong. The band portrays both stage musicians and the woman’s saviors. Set in sepia tones, the beauty of the ballad and the dancers is in contrast to the more disturbing title cards announcing acts entitled “a tragic love is born” or “doubt triumphs over instinct.”  I enjoy the song, but I’m even more intrigued by the story in the video.

This video is just one in a series made for songs off Lovers Drugs’ EP. There will be a video for each of the six songs and together they will tell the story of this disturbed young woman, named Jackie. What we know so far of Jackie and her tale is what we can see by watching previously released videos for “Into the Light” and “Jackie Says”.  Jackie seems confined in this blue-tinted world; locked in a barren room, being forced to take medication… Her form of escape is provided by Lovers Drugs who sing to her, bringing color and light to her world.

I asked Dean, bassist for Lovers Drugs, how this new “1925” video fits into Jackie’s story. Here is his response:

“As you’ve already assessed, Jackie is a troubled young lady fighting her demons both real and imagined. You can see in the “Jackie Says” video that she is living in a mental half-way house. She often dreams of the outside world and flirts with methods of evading her surroundings whether that be a physical escape or a mental escapade, hence the 1925 theme.”

The full story of Jackie won’t be apparent until the complete 20 min. short combining all of the songs is released sometime in the upcoming weeks. In the meantime we can only speculate. How did Jackie end up where she is? Will she ever really escape or will she be confined to the world of blue forever? Will Lovers Drugs help set her free? What is the importance of all of those keys?

Okay, I’m really looking forward to the full video!

~ Kristen

For you to catch up:

 

Kristen’ LA Concert Calendar: 2/28-3/6

Posted on by Kristen

Just go home from an Oscar party. I won a prize for successfully predicting the most award winners. If anyone wants their toast to wish them a good morning…well, I’ve got you covered! For the most part, I enjoyed the ceremony. The only thing I’m slightly irritated about (well, more than slightly) is the absence of Dido singing the song that she co-wrote for 127 Hours. Now, I love Florence from Florence and The Machine, but Dido is one of my all-time faves and I was really looking forward to seeing her sing.

But I’ll try to focus on the positive. Which brings me to this forthcoming week. Let’s christen it “Biffy week” in honor of the fact that I will be seeing my current band obsession, Biffy Clyro, twice this week. The Scottsmen will be performing on Tuesday at The Troubadour. Then on Weds, they are sitting down at Bootleg Theater with Mark Z Danielewski, author of the book Only Revolutions, upon which Biffy Clyro’s 2009 release of the same title is based. Saying that I’m giddy about these events is an understatement.

Filling out the week, we have more highly anticipated shows by the likes of Everest, Semi Precious Weapons, Moving Picture Show, and After Midnight Project (another band obsession of mine). And if you didn’t get a ticket to the sold out Biffy Clyro show on Tuesday, I’d highly HIGHLY recommend jetting down to Hermosa Beach for some The Silent Comedy/Queen Caveat action at Saint Rocke. You will not be disappointed.

My complete list of shows I’d love to go to as follows:

 

Monday: Everest and Red Cortez FREE at The Satellite (9pm)
ALSO: Armada at The Viper Room (9:15)
ALSO: War Tapes FREE at Silverlake Lounge (10pm)
ALSO: J. Tillman (of Fleet Foxes) FREE at Bootleg Theater (9pm)
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (9pm)

Tuesday: Biffy Clyro at The Troubadour (10pm)
ALSO: The Silent Comedy and Queen Caveat at Saint Rocke (9,10)
ALSO: George Stanford at The Piano Bar (11pm)
ALSO: Jukebox the Ghost at The Echo (8pm)
ALSO: Jonathan Clarke and Satellite at Molly Malone’s (8,9)
ALSO: Joseph Arthur at Bootleg Theater (9:45)

 

Weds: Liner Notes with Biffy Clyro and author Mark Z Danielewski at Bootleg Theater (7pm)
ALSO: Semi Precious Weapons FREE at On The Rox (10pm)
ALSO: Lovers Drugs and Beatnik Jr. at 3 Clubs (10pm)
ALSO: Anna Nalick at The Hotel Cafe (10pm)
ALSO: Zoe Keating at Largo at the Coronet (8pm)
ALSO: Infantree at The Satellite (8:30)

 

Thursday: Moving Picture Show, Sabrosa Purr, and Great Northern at Bootleg Theater (8:30,9:30, 10:30)
ALSO: Civil Twilight at The Troubadour (10pm)
ALSO: Stephen Kellogg and Austin Hartley Leonard at The Hotel Cafe (8,9)
ALSO: The Entrance Band at The Satellite (10pm)

 

Friday: After Midnight Project at The Roxy (10pm)
ALSO: Keaton Simons at The Hotel Cafe (9:30)
ALSO: Wild Nothing and Abe Vigoda at The Natural History Museum for First Fridays (5pm)

 

Saturday: Winchester Rebels FREE at On The Rox 11:15)
ALSO: Love and a .38 and The Binges at The Viper Room (10,11)
ALSO: Alexi Murdoch at Bootleg Theater (11pm)

 

Sunday: Morcheeba at The Music Box (8pm)
ALSO: Joseph Tobin Tribute Concert featuring Joey Ryan, Jay Nash, Chris Pierce, Austin Hartley Leonard, etc. at The Hotel Cafe (7pm)
ALSO: Songwriters Round at Room 5 featuring Paris Carney (9pm)

 

To Keep in Mind:
March 8th: Vertical Horizon at The Roxy
March 8th: Queen Caveat, Dead Sara, Little Red Radio at The Mint
March 9th: Jay Nash at Saint Rocke
March 11th: Fair to Midland at Whiskey a Go Go
March 17th: Alkaline Trio and Dead Country at The Mayan
March 22nd: War on Drugs at The Troubadour
March 26th: Lady Danville at The Troubadour
March 28th: Chris Robinson Brotherhood at The Echoplex
March 30th: Imagine Dragons at The Viper Room
April 11th: Chris Robinson Brotherhood at The Echoplex
April 16th: Matt Wertz and Ben Rector at The Troubadour
April 25th: Airborne Toxic Event at The Satellite
May 27th: The Script at Club Nokia
June 9-12: Bonnaroo!!
June 13th: Florence and The Machine at The Greek Theater
September 22-24: Hotel Carolina
~ Kristen

 

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 2/21-2/27

Posted on by Kristen

Just got back from a crazy evening of awesomeness and feeling grateful for so many things: My friends for kicking me out the door and keeping me company all night, The Viper Room simply for being there, Duke’s for having some fairly amazing cuisine, my new friends for sharing some fun stories and being crazy cool, and most importantly, Dead Sara, my new band love that blew my MIND. At this very moment I am grateful for simply existing. See…this is how I get when I’m on a music high. I need to go to bed!

But first, this week’s choice music selections:

Monday: Joe Firstman at The Hotel Cafe (9:30)
ALSO: Tony Lucca at Saint Rocke (9pm)
ALSO: Automatique at The Viper Room (10:15)
ALSO: Everest at The Echo (10pm)
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (9pm)

Tuesday: Dead Sara and Sick of Sarah at The Roxy (8pm)
ALSO: Satellite and Jonathan Clark at Molly Malone’s (8pm)
ALSO: Shawn Hlookoff at The Central in Santa Monica (9pm)
ALSO: Tom Petty Tribute night at Room 5 featuring Chris Pierce, Joel Eckels, John Elliot, Justine Bennett, Shane Alexander, Brother Sal, etc. (8pm)
ALSO: Joseph Arthur at Bootleg (9:45)

Weds: Semi Precious Weapons at On The Rox (10pm)
ALSO: Anna Nalick at The Hotel Cafe (10pm)
ALSO: Armada at The Viper Room (8:50)
ALSO: Watkins Family Hour at Largo (8:30)
ALSO: Linkin Park at The Staples Center (7pm)
ALSO: Satellite at The Central (9pm)

Thursday: Purple Melon at The Roxy (10pm)
ALSO: Holly Conlan at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)
ALSO: Best Coast at The Music Box (8pm)

Friday:  The 88 and Keaton Simons at The Hotel Cafe (9:30,10:30)
ALSO: Warner Drive at The Roxy (10pm)
ALSO: Lovers Drugs at The Good Hurt (midnight)

Saturday: We Barbarians, Kitten, and Young the Giant at The Roxy (8pm)
ALSO: Alexi Murdoch at The Bootleg Theater (10pm)
ALSO: The Shakers at The Viper Room (11pm)
ALSO: David & Devine at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)
ALSO: Stone Temple Pilots at Fox Theater (7pm)
ALSO: Local Natives at Walt Disney Music Hall (8pm)
ALSO: Josh Ritter and Scott Hutchinson (Frightened Rabbit) at The Music Box (8pm)

Sunday: Jordan Cook at The Viper Room (10pm)
ALSO: The Shakers at O’Briens (9pm)

To Keep in Mind:
March 1st: Biffy Clyro at The Troubadour
March 1st: Queen Caveat and The Silent Comedy at Saint Rocke
March 3rd: Civil Twilight at The Troubadour
March 4th: After Midnight Project at The Roxy
March 7th: The Silent Comedy at The Echo
March 8th: Vertical Horizon at The Roxy
March 8th: Queen Caveat at The Mint
March 9th: Jay Nash at Saint Rocke
March 17th: Alkaline Trio and Dead Country at The Mayan
March 21st: Joe Firstman at The Hotel Cafe
March 22nd: War on Drugs at The Troubadour
March 26th: Lady Danville at The Troubadour
May 27th: The Script at Club Nokia
September 22-24: Hotel Carolina

~ Kristen