Staples Inc.

The Rolling Stones - Staples Center - 5/20/13

The Rolling Stones Staples Center 5-20-13 If last night's concert at Staples Center really was the Rolling Stones' final show in Los Angeles after nearly 50 years of faithful pilgrimages to the Southland, it revealed that the British warhorses are still capable of major gasp-inducing surprises. Whe ... More >>

Rolling Stones - Staples Center - May 3, 2013 (With Photos and Set List)

Rolling Stones Staples Center May 3, 2013 The Rolling Stones still put in the work, as was demonstrated by their stint here in Los Angeles over the last two weeks, which included a series of rehearsals in Burbank -- Falling James lurked outside -- and their secret show at the Echoplex. See also: ... More >>

We Lurked Outside the Rolling Stones' Rehearsals in Burbank

Last week, the center of the rock & roll universe was located in an industrial part of Burbank. In one room at CenterStaging studios, Paul McCartney was rehearsing with his band for their upcoming world tour. Next door, his old pals and supposed rivals the Rolling Stones were preparing for their fir ... More >>

Rihanna - Staples Center - 4/8/13

Rihanna Staples Center 4/8/13 It was a lot of sequins and gyrating last night as pop-star, media provocateur and good girl gone bad Rihanna hit the Staples Center as part of her Diamonds World Tour. RiRi was all hair, lips and hips as she brought an unabashedly sexual swagger. Although a lot of cri ... More >>

Crowdfunding Site Wants Money To Prove L.A. Desires Return Of NFL

Some powerful forces in Los Angeles want to bring the NFL back to town. Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns Staples Center, L.A. Live and concert promoter AEG Live, had its dreams for a downtown L.A. stadium green lit by the City Council in record time in fall. And Majestic Realty, which helpe ... More >>

Morrissey - Staples Center - 3/1/13

Morrissey Staples Center 3/1/13 Better than... bacon-wrapped hot dogs. There was the requisite Morrissey drama, for that's who he is, who we want him to be: the postponement last year of the Staples Center gig with Iggy Pop & The Stooges because of his mother's health; the postponement of earlier ... More >>

The Best Concerts in L.A. This Weekend

Friday, March 1 Morrissey and Patti Smith STAPLES CENTER The Staples Center has been making headlines by going all-vegetarian for Morrissey's March 1 visit, a request that even Paul McCartney has been denied in the past. A meat-free Staples deserves mention, but it still doesn't impress more than t ... More >>

Dodgers, NFL Talk Football At Chavez Ravine

Despite big plans and grid-iron dreams in downtown Los Angeles, the NFL has held talks with the new owners of Dodger Stadium about hosting football there in the future. That according to SportsBusiness Daily, which says that, after no teams expressed interest in moving to the nation's second-larges ... More >>

[Updated] Morrissey Gets Staples Center To Go (Almost) Vegetarian for Upcoming Concert

Update (5:50 p.m., Headline changed): According to a statement from the arena, it looks like Moz and his public relations goons went a little too hard on the whole meatless Staples thing. While the venue will be serving vegan Sloppy Joes, a grilled vegetable sandwich, cheese pizza, vegan sushi, ch ... More >>

The Magnificent Chicken Should Come With A Warning (You're Going To Want A Chicken) 5 Magnificent Chickens

Some get excited over celebrity chef sightings; for us, it's books about chickens. The Magnificent Chicken, a follow-up to Brooklyn photographer Tamara Staples' out-of-print book The Fairest Fowl (2001), truly is magnificent. Alongside the photos, Staples lists each breed's finer points (a good eg ... More >>

The Best Concerts in L.A. This Weekend

Friday, January 18 Femi Kuti EL REY THEATRE In 2009, the Nigerian government forcefully shut down the Shrine, the home base of Afrobeat originator Fela Kuti. By now, however, not only is the Shrine back, it's a government-endorsed museum -- a sign, Femi Kuti told one reporter, that the revolutionar ... More >>

10 Best Eats in Thai Town: Neighborhood Grub Crawl

Some call it East Hollywood, but many more know it as Thai Town, a glowing, neon causeway of great late-night restaurants, karaoke bars and slingers of Chang beer towers. It's an area of town that not only welcomes after-hours consumption, but glorifes it --- filled with brimming bowls of pungent no ... More >>

Bar Report: Thai Town's Darabar Has a Scotch-Tastic Secret

When you think of bottle service, you probably think of overpriced liquor, right? Nightclubs that mark up bottles of vodka to ungodly levels -- 900 percent isn't uncommon -- which are an essential fixture in parts of Hollywood and Beverly Hills, where most of the "actual cost" of the booze goes towa ... More >>

Gloria Allred Tries to Upend Mitt Romney, Seeking Allegedly Ugly Sealed Testimony From Staples Divorce Case 20 Years Ago

Update:The judge weighs in on the Allred-Romney-Stemberg hearing. See at bottom. Will the greatest October-surprise schemer in California history, attorney Gloria Allred, who trotted out Meg Whitman's housekeeper Nicky Diaz (actually in late September) before the 2010 election and instantly sank Wh ... More >>

Kendrick Lamar Flash Mob Near Staples Draws LAPD Response (PHOTOS)

Updated at the bottom with some info from the LAPD. First posted at 6:06 a.m. See also: *Skateboard Riot in Hollywood ... Another youth gathering gone out of control in L.A? Not entirely. It looks like this one was behaved. But a Compton rapper named Kendrick Lamar did appear to attract hundreds ... More >>

The Five Best Shows in Los Angeles This Week: Grimes, Madonna

Monday, October 8 Superhumanoids THE ECHO L.A.'s Superhumanoids make pop songs out of star parts -- like the glow, the heat, the empty space and of course the wisps of fire that make NASA scientists curse every time a space probe gets singed by the stuff. This is heavenly stuff, with singer Sarah ... More >>

The Five Best Concerts in L.A. This Weekend

Friday, August 10 Bomba Estéreo LEVITT PAVILION, MACARTHUR PARK Bomba Estéreo draw upon traditional styles of music like cumbia and champeta, but the Colombian quintet is too musically restless to be strict revivalists. Instead, band leader Simón Mejía pumps up their folkloric influences with h ... More >>

L.A. City Hall's 'Elephant Awareness Day' Apparently Not Enough to Keep Ringling Bros. Out of Staples Center

Surprise, surprise! Not one month after L.A. politicians wasted time and resources designating August 3 as the city's official "Elephant Awareness Day," the poster corporation for alleged elephant abuse is coming to town. This very evening, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus (owned by Feld E ... More >>

L.A. Kings' Parade Thursday: How to Get Your Free Tickets to Special Viewing And Rally

The L.A. Kings' parade is happening Thursday on Figueroa Street near Staples Center, venue officials announced last night. The event will celebrate the Kings' 6-1 Stanley Cup championship victory over the New Jersey Devils Monday at Staples. There will also be a fan rally at Staples Center followin ... More >>

Jose Lucero, 22-Year-Old Stagehand for MTV Movie Awards, Dies in Scaffolding Fall at Universal CityWalk

Updated at the bottom: Cal/OSHA confirms that Lucero was taking down the MTV Movie Awards set, and says he may not have been wearing fall protection. Originally posted at 1:05 p.m. A young man who said on his Facebook that he was on the MTV Movie Awards set this week has died tragically in a 60-fo ... More >>

LAPD Bracing for L.A. Kings Riot at Staples Center Tonight

If the L.A. Kings win Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals this evening, it will be the first Los Angeles championship won at Staples Center since the NBA finals in summer 2010. And we all know what happened after that series. Lakers fans went absolutely nuts outside Staples -- throwing bottles at poli ... More >>

Staples Center Staff, Cheerleaders Make 'Call Me Maybe' Music Video During Sportsageddon

Hey Staples Center, want some free press? You got it! But only because you apparently put a zillion hours of talent-coaxing and editing into your music video for "Call Me Maybe," the catchy-ass Carly Rae Jepsen song that recently turned into a YouTube meme. And lucky for you, it's a meme we're not ... More >>

Staples Center's Perfect Storm of Lakers, Clippers, Kings Games This Weekend

For those who oppose building a stadium downtown because, they argue, we just can't handle the traffic, this weekend could be the ultimate test: It's being called the perfect storm of sports events: The Lakers, Clippers and Kings are all playing in playoffs at Staples Center this weekend. And a bik ... More >>

Maná - Staples Center - 4/19/12

Maná Staples Center 4/19/12 Better than ... Britney Spears at selling out Staples Center. Seriously, though. With this round of concert dates Maná has now surpassed Brit's record. Staples even held an official press conference about it Thursday afternoon. But let's talk about the show. Ultra hu ... More >>

Ivy Queen, Plan B, Alexis y Fido - Latino 96.3 Spring Break Bash - 4/14/2012

Latino 96.3 Spring Break Bash Gibson Amphitheater 4/14/12 Better than... Listening to 96.3 on crummy car speakers in traffic. It was ladies' night at Universal Citywalk on Saturday. The girls worked the runway from the parking structure to Gibson Amphitheater, elbows locked and dodging tourists wh ... More >>

Guns N' Roses - The Palladium - 3/9/12

See also: Tommy Stinson Interview: Guns N' Roses' Bassist Compares Axl Rose and Paul Westerberg If you took sides during the Guns n' Roses break-up and subsequent feud, chances are it was that of the curly haired guitarist and the lanky, blonde bassist, not the ginger genius who fronted the band. ... More >>

Jason Nash Is Married : Larry David Meets Lucy Ricardo in One of the Best Web Sitcoms You're Not Watching

"It's a funny thing with me. Things seem to go poorly when I am around them." A little bit clueless egoist (think Larry David) with a little Lucy Ricardo thrown in, Jason Nash plays more or less himself in his web series Jason Nash Is Married , soon on the Comedy Central website, in which he's a st ... More >>

Make Us Laugh, Funny Boy!

Jason Nash

10 Best Sports Bars in Los Angeles

Now that musicians and nerds are the cool kids and jocks are the villains, liking sports has become distinctly uncool. So where are reasonable people of average coolness supposed to go to share their now-lame passion for twentysomething physical freaks throwing or kicking roundish objects for millio ... More >>

Why Does Tyler, the Creator Have A Problem With Vince Staples?

Vince Staples​Rumors swirl about Vince Staples. He doesn't like white people. He graduated with honors from a private school in Orange County. He and Tyler, the Creator, hate each other. That last one is largely because the Odd Future frontman has loudly dissed the 18-year-old rapper. "I like ... More >>

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band - Staples Center - 12/28/11

Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band Staples Center 12/28/11 Known for his blend of heartland rock and old school R&B, Bob Seger has a fairly-staggering catalog of classic rock staples. Touring behind the release of yet another Greatest Hits package -- this time a 26-song, double disc set -- and with ... More >>

Hooters Says It's Hurting From NBA Lockout

southla.wordpress.comThe good old days.​Kobe and the gang aren't the only ones out of work amid this ridiculous NBA lockout. The longer they continue to turn up their noses at NBA officials' proposed season contract -- admittedly a pretty lousy deal -- the longer those beleaguered Hooters wait ... More >>

Farmers Field or Blade Runner Stadium?

The downtown NFL arena deal allows a sea of billboards, congestion and millions in public costs

Music Picks: NKOTBSB, Mixed Message, Earthless

Also, Catwalk, Holly Miranda, Darwin Dees, and others

Music Picks: Alison Krauss, Flying Lotus, My Morning Jacket

Also, Jaga Jazzist, Kid Cudi, Baths and others

Music Picks: The Undertones, Prince, Eternal Summers, Check Yo Ponytail 2

Also, Earth, Wind & Fire, Tinie Tempah, Arctic Monkeys, Woodsman and others

Constitutional Right to Sex

Top 10 Ways To Not Electrocute Yourself With Twinkly Lights This Year, By SCE Electric

Avoid this​Your lifetime subscription to SoCal power supplier SCE requires you care about its grandmotherly new list of "Holiday Lighting Safety Tips," or how to avoid all danger and joyfulness while lighting your humble abode this holiday season. Unless you're a DWP baby, in which case we ha ... More >>

MUSIC PICKS: Ruben Guevara, Buika, Bill Frisell's Beautiful Dreamers

Also, Combichrist, Papercranes, Simone White and others

Music Picks: BB King and Buddy Guy, Silversun Pickups, Hard Summer, W.A.C.O.

Also Lady Gaga, Frazey Ford, Whispertown 2000, Ludacris and others

Music Picks: Liz Pappademas, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Mad Professor, Bill Frisell

Also, Taylor Swift, Los Tres, Saint Motel, David Allan Coe and others

Music Picks: Soweto Gospel Choir, Paul McCartney, Melissa Auf der Maur

Also, Jay-Z, Metric, Triorganico, Air and others

Mavis Staples Joins the Fight

Anger can be power

Music Picks

For the week of October 26 - November 2

Venue Directory

Arrested Developments

Dude, where's my life?

Different Chairs

High Water Blues

The life and times of Charley Patton

Endorsements

Our recommendations in the April 10 Los Angeles city election

Rock & Roll Jinx