Groove Armada: Rum Runners

Comments (0) By Lina Lecaro Wednesday, Apr 2 2008

After making the shell of the Hollywood Bowl shudder when they played with Café Tacuba on their last time here, we’d expect Groove Armada’s Tom Findlay and Andy Cato to do something big for their next L.A. visit — and they aren’t disappointing us, offering a special DJ set on the south lawn of downtown L.A.’s City Hall. Yes, we’re sure to hear their audacious club-banging staple “I See You Baby” — it’s too perfect for the outdoor setting — but cuts from their latest mix CD for the Late Night Tales series should smolder in the streets as well. For the 20th collection in the series, LNT hit up Armada for a second time (their first one was the biggest-selling mix to date), and the latest epitomizes the duo’s ebullience and eclecticism with revamped nuggets from the likes of Marvin Gaye, Depeche Mode, Gary Newman and Peter, Bjorn and John, to name a few. Also, their ’07 U.K. disc of originals, Soundboy Rock, just got released here, and it’s an infectious house-kissed humdinger. Add to that their recent landmark deal with Bacardi Rum — the distillery will release and market the band’s music, and in return Groove Armada will perform at various booze-branded events — and it looks like Armada’s got a lot more asses to shake. Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring St., dwntwn; Sat., April 5, doors open at 6 p.m.; over 21; $36.50. (213) 480-3232 or www.ticketmaster.com.