HOTEL CAFE

Meiko's Boyfriend Left Her for a Hooters' Girl. It Was the Best Possible Thing

Singer-songwriter Meiko moved to Los Angeles from a small Georgia town outside Macon in 2001. Her career has since taken off; she signed a major label deal with Universal imprint Concord Records, licensed a bazillion of her songs to TV and film, and got big in Japan (seriously, she's on the radio th ... More >>

Music Picks: Of Montreal, Kristeen Young, Sofia Gubaidulina,

Also, Federico Aubele, Fancy Space People, Golden State and others

Music Picks: Roseanne Cash, Theophilus London, Acid Mothers Temple

Also, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Raphael Saadiq, Wu Man and others

This weekend: Wild Flag, Richard Thompson, Avi Buffalo, Shadow Shadow Shade, Daedelus, Bob Mould, Eisley

Richard Thompson​You (and your fellow audience members) have died and gone to the underworld. You're in a waiting room, waiting to be processed. To entertain you, the gatekeeper drags various unsuspecting souls onto the stage to "perform songs defending their character and existence." And you ... More >>

This weekend: Best Coast, Stars, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Fistful of Mercy, Mayer Hawthorne, Junip, Pennywise, Ghostface Killah

Best Coast​"I went from being a college dropout to being NME's top-four cool list," Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino tells the Weekly's own Gustavo Turner in last week's cover story. "It's just bizarre the way life kind of turns and changes sometimes." Yeah, we'd say so. The L.A. trio's modest ... More >>

Tonight: Delorean, Nitzer Ebb, Brian Wright, Brandon Flowers, A Perfect Circle, Useless Keys

Delorean​Delorean's chipper set of dance music was one of the highlights of September's FYF Fest in downtown L.A. -- the Barcelona-born quartet's four-on-the-floor beats proved an exhilarating finish to what, for some, was a frustrating festival experience. With its layered vocals, keening sy ... More >>

This weekend: Klaxons, Chapterhouse, the Besnard Lakes, Maroon 5, Caribou, Jack Johnson, Liz Phair, Tom Tom Club, the Weepies

The Besnard Lakes​The Culture Collide festival, which kicked off Thursday night at five venues in Silver Lake, Echo Park and downtown, is making for some wonderful daze in the neighborhood. The brainchild of Filter music mag, the inaugural event has imported bands from more than a dozen natio ... More >>

This weekend: Rx Bandits, Band of Horses, Vampire Weekend, Muse, Abbot Kinney Festival, Epicenter Festival, Willie Nelson, Rancid, Waved Out II, Helmet

Rx Bandits​Few would have thought that the Orange County ska-punk kids who a decade ago started playing as the Pharmaceutical Bandits would grow up to be a Coachella band. But the quartet now known Rx Bandits has, their party in the desert last spring certifying Matt Embree and crew as musica ... More >>

This weekend: Sunset Strip Music Festival, Boris, Cyndi Lauper, the Antlers, Morris Day, Cap'N Jazz, Something Corporate, Chemical Brothers

Christina M. FeliceVanaprasta​By now, we're sure you have your strategy mapped out for Saturday's street festival portion of the Sunset Strip Music Festival. You're hitting the Sunset Strip early for Semi Precious Weapons; you're darting between outdoor stages for the likes of Travie McCoy, ... More >>

This Weekend: Sunset Junction and Other Functions (Like Service With Rev. Al Green)

Al Green​You've perhaps debated the lineup, read Nightranger's survival guide, gotten the reasoned perspective from Falling James, seen a certain local blog's mixtape and even tried to gauge the hippie traffic patterns. You either have the compunction for Sunset Junction, or you don't. Fact ... More >>

Tonight: Laura Marling, Squeeze, Sister Nancy at Dub Club, Obits, Neon Trees, Vanaprasta

Laura Marling​One week, two acclaimed U.K. folk singers: Somebody must have planned this thing. Last night it was Conor O'Brien, aka Villagers, giving a mesmerizing solo performance at the Hotel Cafe. (And, yes, this Conor O. very much recalls Conor Oberst.) Tonight, Laura Marling visits the ... More >>

Tonight: Phosphorescent, Villagers, Jesca Hoop, Midnight Juggernauts, Polls, Twin Sister

Sebastian MlynarskiPhosphorescent​Good things some to those who ... make good music? Ah, it'd warm our blog band-besotted cackles if it were always so. But there is a happy story to tell about Phosphorescent, the Brooklyn-based, Athens, Ga.-born alt-country band who this spring released the t ... More >>

This Weekend: Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Rage Against the Machine, Robyn, Jackson Browne, Lyle Lovett, Keith Urban, Delta Spirit

via MySpaceMiguel Atwood-Ferguson​Tonight's installment of Grand Performances at California Plaza -- one of our town's finest, free music al fresco opportunities -- figures to be especially grand. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, the composer/producer/arranger/multi-instrumentalist who boasts a resume ... More >>

This weekend: The Swell Season, MGMT, One Day as a Lion, Die Antwoord, Shelby Lynne

Piper FergusonThe Swell Season​Boy, girl. Boy, girl. Boy, girl. It's a bill made for date night on Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl as some of music's favorite collaborative couples team up to provide a soundtrack for your wine and cheese. Of course, the Swell Season -- Glen Hansard of Irish r ... More >>

This Weekend: Sharon Jones & Dap Kings, Dead Man's Bones, Warped Tour, Black Francis, Danzig

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings​Can it get any more real that Sharon Jones? Well, it can't get any more heartwarming. The leading lady of the Dap-Kings is, after all, a rising star at 54, having shucked the uniforms of her previous careers (corrections officer at Rikers Island, and armor truck g ... More >>

Live in L.A.: Make Music Pasadena (with Matt & Kim, Natalia Lafourcade, Warpaint), Opening Night at the Bowl, Freestyle Fellowship, Jamie Lidell, Erykah Badu, Billy Joe Shaver

Warpaint​Pasadena is used to its parades, but on Saturday its denizens will be traipsing around Old Town to get an earful of music rather than an eyeful of rose pedals. What's impressive about the annual Make Music Pasadena is how many constituencies the festival is serving over one day. With ... More >>

Live in L.A.: Merle Haggard, X, Playboy Jazz Festival, Henry Rollins, Murs, the Glitch Mob, Dr. John, Tortoise

​Even if the only ink you sweat is your printer cartridge and your idea of iron comes in your vitamin supplements, there's a lot to recommend at this weekend's Ink-N-Iron Festival: the tunes. Among the the tatted masses, meticulously coiffed pompadours, corseted pin-up girls and acres of machi ... More >>

Live in L.A. This Weekend: Angels & Airwaves, Miike Snow, Enrique Bunbury, Flight of the Conchords, Nas & Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley

Via Fuel.tvAngels & Airwaves​Say what you will about Angels & Airwaves' radio rock (outer-space emo is the phrase that comes to mind), but Tom DeLonge has a plan. Working around the cash register jingle of inevitable Blink-182 reunions, he's made three increasingly ambitious albums with his n ... More >>

Live in L.A. This Weekend: Flying Lotus, Carole King & James Taylor, Bajofondo, Patti LuPone, Sonny Rollins, Metalfest, Wavefest and enough indie rock to start a blog

Flying Lotus​Avant-garde beatmaker Flying Lotus is the toast of the town right now, the release of his new album "Cosmogramma" having hit the shores of electronic music like a tsunami and folks still buzzing over his eye-popping set at Coachella. For the man born Steve Ellison, this weekend's ... More >>

Live in L.A. Tonight: The Like, Sweethead, Los Campesinos, Fang Island, War Tapes

The Like​All signs point to yes -- fans seem to be really in love like with the new incarnation of the Like. Original members Z Berg and Tennessee Thomas, now hooked up with bassist Laena Geronimo and keyboardist Annie Monroe, are kicking off a four-Monday stand tonight at the Echo leading up ... More >>

Live in L.A. This Weekend: Drive-By Truckers, Peter Gabriel, Les Savy Fav, First Fridays

Drive-By Truckers​You may not have noticed if you don't live in a neighborhood where "y'all" is the prevalent pronoun -- and no, that's not pejorative -- but the Drive-By Truckers have a new album out. "The Big To-Do" is just that, out-sized riffs, growling vocals and sweat-stained rhythms sup ... More >>

Rock Picks: The Strange Boys, Memory Tapes, Scout Niblett, Four Tet

Also, El Perro Del Mar, Phranc, Moonrats and others

Rock Picks: Van Dyke Parks, Chicago Underground Duo, Rickie Lee Jones

Also, Clipse, Imaad Wasif, Josh Charles and others

Rock Picks: GZA, the Ettes, A.A. Bondy, Mose Allison

Also, the Kris Special, Jesse Sykes, Mamak Khadem and others

Rock Picks: Sunset Rubdown, Alela Diane, Pelican, Rose Melberg

Also, Yacht, the Woolly Bandits, Linda Ronstadt and others

Rock Picks: Steve Earle, Polvo, These Arms Are Snakes, Correatown

Also, Bob Dylan & His Band, Motorhead, John Doe & Exene Cervenka and others

Rock Picks: Winifred E. Eye, Stagecoach, Marianne Dissard, Thao

Also, Franz Nicolay, Sweet, Tinted Windows and others

Jesca Hoop "Farewell Show" Tonight: She's Moving to Manchester, England

Please don't go. Jesca Hoop, whose gorgeous, singular pop songs, has announced a series of four "farewell shows," which will take place at the end of April at the Hotel Cafe, a venue that has long supported her work. Hoop's aesthetic, which her former boss Tom Waits described as "like going swimmi ... More >>

Rock Picks: Mulatu Astatke, The Soft Pack, Katy Perry, Merle Haggard

Also, Cut Chemist, NOFX, Hal Blaine’s 80th bash and more

Rock Picks: Raveonettes, Amebix, Thorns of Life

Also, the Head Cat, the Spanks, Jimmy Webb and others

Rock Picks: George Clinton, the Kris Special, Banyan

Also, Eleni Mandell, Tom Verlaine & Jimmy Rip and others

Rock Picks: Amanda Palmer, Metallica, War Tapes

Also, J.D. Souther, Von Iva, Juliette Commagere and others

Rock Picks: Aretha Franklin, Lucinda Williams, Deerhunter

Also, Rodriguez, the Monolators, Nas and more

Rock Picks: Part Time Punks Festival, The Breeders, Rodney Crowell

Also, Uh Huh Her, James Intveld, Miranda Lee Richards and more

Rock Picks: The Kooks, Neil Young, Jerry Cole Memorial

Also, Kaki King, The Notwist and more

Rock Picks: Rupa & the April Fishes, Gnarls Barkley, Emmylou Harris

Also, Black Kids, Chromeo, Alejandro Escovedo

The Bowmans at the Hotel Café

Rock Picks: Seun Kuti, Thievery Corporation, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Also, Death Cab for Cutie, Ingrid Michaelson and more

Rock Picks: Dethklok, Billy Bragg, Erykah Badu, Mr. Gnome

Also, shows by Listing Ship, Detroit Cobras and more

Rock Picks: The Dirtbombs, Robyn, Dizzee Rascal

And other May 15-22 shows

Rock Picks: Slick Rick, Tapes 'n Tapes, Kate Nash

And other May 8-15 shows

Nightwatchmen tonight at The Hotel Cafe with .... Counting Crows?

That's the rumor, anyway, and I'm trying to confirm it right now. But it makes sense: the Crows' new album, Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, dropped last week; they've been in town all this week gigging (a few nights ago for the Yahoo! Live series, and tomorrow at the Apple Store at the Grove); an ... More >>

Rock Picks: Exodus, Altamont, Art Ensemble of Chicago and more

For the week of Jan. 18-24

Rock Picks

For the week of March 29 – April 5

Rock Picks

for the week of January 25 – February 1

Rock Picks

For the week of Jan 18 – 25

Trout-Faced Piano Man Sings of Sex, Dogs

Rock PIcks

For the week of Nov. 24 - 30