Everyone's a Critic
I was getting bored with Tom Petty's music, but when I heard all the hype about his new album, Mojo, I decided to buy it. Wow! If I had to pick one word to describe …
Cameron and Vashti say Golden Triangle's L.A. tour stop was "a mess," partly 'cause the venue pocketed some of the band's earnings. Setting up at the Pink isn't being easy, either. There's some protracted fiddling …
Touring to promote their new EP How The West Was One, Carbon Leaf drew a faithful crowd to the Belly Up who heard a selection of songs primarily from their last three studio releases. Reminiscent …
L.A. septet Ozomatli delivers such engaging, energetic shows that their studio work can be anti-climatic in comparison. Their fifth disc opens on a Latin house party spilling into the street. “Are You Ready?” is an …
Here is the perfect soundtrack for your next dark-alley dance party. Flirty, flamboyant, and flagrantly sleazy, Night Work channels the sweat of a thousand dripping discos into a lean 45 minutes of new wave, retro-pop …
Lovers of Latin jazz flocked to the Saville Theater for a sold-out performance by the Bobby Matos Latin Jazz Ensemble. Most of the members of this red-hot sextet hail from New York City, and there …
As the curtain is about to fall on the Modlins, they say goodbye with the release of not one, but two new studio albums. At showtime, fans old and new pack the Tin Can as …
Charlotte Gainsbourg put forth 5:55 with some help from her French compatriots (electroduo Air) and her U.K. ones to boot (Nigel Godrich at the board, Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannnon on lyrics). She brought forth …
Sound-check or disco-punk John Cage tribute? Rafter's drummer pounds out quarter note kicks in time with programmed 808 bass drops; square-rimmed Rafter Roberts strumming Gibson SG makes no sound till the tubes get warm. A …
Hot Hot Heat's latest offering screams, “We are unique, damn it!” With their desire to play multiple styles of music, make up words (“Implosionatic”), and spell ghettoized versions of real ones (“Buzinezz Az Uzual”), it …
What's up with the platypus? It's like a duck smeared over a beaver, but then it swims like an otter and, really, what sort of mammal lays eggs, anyway? It's totally ridiculous and probably alien, …
About halfway through his engaging summertime set, Kenny Loggins told the people who had gathered to see him at the San Diego County Fair that, given the venue's proximity to MCAS Miramar, "We'll probably have …
Fans were growing impatient as the Tubes had allowed 45 minutes to elapse after the long warm-up set by local trio Vacscene. But they hit the stage and made amends by showcasing their stellar rhythm …
Something about truly insane rock 'n' roll turns a crowd into one flailing, orgiastic organism — sharing space, joking about collisions, unafraid of looking foolish. Even before Ty pulls a fan onstage — placing the …
The Smoke Fairies had me at "Frozen Heart." Actually, on more comprehensive listening to their collection of bits ’n’ pieces, they had me at "When You Grow Old." Will you remember me, the singer wonders. …
Once known as the “sixth Eagle,” John David (aka J.D.) Souther walked away from the music industry in the 1980s to try his hand at acting; he returned 24 years later in 2008 with If …