Keith Plocek

This bad photo of the Breeders will make more sense in a moment; Credit: Keith Plocek

Neutral Milk Hotel – Hollywood Bowl – September 18, 2014

Keith Plocek
I probably don't have anything to say about smartphones at concerts you haven't heard before. And by that I mean, screw smartphones at concerts. If you want to snap a quick picture, sure, whatever, go ahead and manufacture your online persona. But when you raise your arm aloft in a......
Credit: Keith Plocek

Don't Call the City When You See a Street Couch

Keith Plocek
Street couches are a complex part of Los Angeles' urban tapestry. A discarded sofa tells stories, and you don't need a degree in archaeology to read them. Are there still cushions? It hasn't been outside very long. Is the couch on the curb with a bunch of other furniture in......
Credit: Brian Erzen

Let's Be Real: Burning Man Is Bad for the Environment

Keith Plocek
This week, 68,000 revelers will descend on Nevada's remote Black Rock Desert. (That is, assuming the rain lets up.) They will travel from Los Angeles, London, Melbourne, Mexico City and places you've never heard of. They will take part in the temporary city that is Burning Man, and will light a......
Credit: Terrence McNally

In Defense of Schwag Weed

Keith Plocek
Terrence McNallyLast week was big in the history of weed, with Colorado becoming the first state in the nation to have legal recreational marijuana. All across the Centennial State, fluffy buds twinkling with crystals are being loaded into swirled glass pipes and sparked in celebration. There is no pretense of......
Credit: Flickr / meeshypants

Venice Is the Best Neighborhood in Los Angeles, But I'm Leaving

Keith Plocek
Venice has always been too good to be true. From its not-so-humble beginnings, when a tobacco magnate named Abbot Kinney dredged a bunch of unnecessary canals to build Venice of America, to The Doors, man, and Ed Moses and Dennis Hopper, to the sliding and flying Z-Boys, to the warring......
The Great and Powerful Moz; Credit: Timothy Norris

Morrissey – Staples Center – 3/1/13

Keith Plocek
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......
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Best L.A. Novel Ever: Lithium for Medea vs. The Tattooed Soldier, Round 2

Keith Plocek
L.A. Weekly is determining the best L.A. novel ever by holding a tournament featuring 32 of our favorites in head-to-head matchups, until there's only one novel standing. For further reading: *Best L.A. Novel Ever: The Tournament Brackets *Best L.A. Novel Ever: More Matchups Pitting Kate Braverman's Lithium for Medea against......