Alie Ward

What’s the cure for the Deadly Syndrome? Doin’ the Antler Dance.(Photo by Alan Gastelum)WHEN: Opening for U.K. dance-punk darlings the Klaxons on Sat., April 21, in the newly reopened Ex-PlexWHAT: “It started as a joke,” says guitarist William Etling, explaining the dangerous name for this benign Silver Lake indie band......

{mosimage} Racism. Drug use. Homoerotic longing. Hipster haircuts.Kele Okereke has a lot to say. The lead singer of the U.K.-based dance-pop outfit Bloc Party is known for being outspoken about subjects of controversy, and the band’s second album, Weekend in the City (Vice), released last month, treads a fiery coal......

WHO: Absurdly rich with talent, this Los Feliz five-piece is composed of hyperliterate front man Mikel Jolet, resident spaz/drummer Daren Taylor, bassist and “tone Nazi” Noah Harmon, keyboardist/classically trained violinist Anna Bulbrook, and on guitars and keys, Steven Chen, who’s also working on his first novel. SOUNDS LIKE . . . : Having earned......

HOW THEY ROCK: After a flurry of dates over the summer and fall, including a support slot on Jet’s tour, the retro-tinged dark-pop-rock outfit is now preparing its much-anticipated EP. Tracks like “Viva Modula,” full of catchy riffs and near-guilt-inducing danceability, and the glibly titled “Yeah Yeah Sweet,” which boasts......

WHEN: Monday Feb. 12, Spaceland with Division Day WHAT: Great Northern are one of the more ethereal bands on L.A.’s indie scene: Their dreamy vocals billow and blow away into echoes, and keyboards lend a wise-beyond-their-years wistfulness. Drumbeats are low and tight, nudging into marches, and tracks are peppered with......

Midnight Movies Safari Sam’s, January 23 It’s neither midnight, nor the movies. It’s 10:46 at Safari Sam’s. But by delivering both the eeriness of the witching hour, and the atmosphere of heavy cinema, Midnight Movies are living up to their moniker. Formed in L.A. as a trio in 2002, their......

Monday, 9:43 p.m.: “Machine guns pointed at my head .?.?. I wish I was American instead.” Michael Bauer, lead singer of Eastside trio The Front, is masked behind a veil of hair, delivering an anti-war statement in the form of a narrative tune. Midway through a rumbling, distortion-heavy set at......

Thursday, 6:56 p.m.: “You do know it’s raining .?.?. right?” All day I’ve been harboring a dream: a dream to ice skate and listen to rock music, simultaneously. At Pershing Square downtown, shoegazing electronica outfit Eskimohunter is scheduled to play the Spaceland on Ice winter concert series, but my glee......

Thursday, 5:17 p.m.: Christmas is over, and the Godfather of Soul is dead. I take a walk to lift some post-holiday blues and encounter the late James Brown’s Walk of Fame star, which is littered with candles, wilting flowers and a few handwritten love notes. A small throng of strangers......

Tuesday, 11:54 p.m.: “Okay, so we didn’t bring our treadmills . . .” It’s an uncommon apology, yes. But Damian Kulash, the peachy-faced lead singer of OK Go, likely senses that the crowd at Safari Sam’s is hoping roadies will suddenly drag out a fleet of exercise machines to repeat the nerdcore choreography......