The Tindersticks with Spain at the Henry Fonda Theater, 3/13/09

Spain

Partiality 

Aside, those boys sure do know

How to set a mood. 

The Tindersticks

Here and there, their grey 

Nick Cave/Morrissey hybrid

Glowed silver and warm. 

Elvis Perkins at the Troubadour, 3/12/09

Off-kilter on-stage

Set-up broke down all reserves

Toward the new record. 

Spain at Create/Fixate, 3/7/09

Environmental 

Challenges deterred not the

Subtle loveliness. 

Neko Case at Amoeba Hollywood, 3/5/09

Feral, furious

Yet intimate, comical

I wish I were her(s).

Animal Collective at the Troubadour, 2/27/09

Crowd full of lucky

Happy hoppers fed the vibes

Off of which they thrived. 

This is one of those shows where I am forced to break from my regimented 5/7/5 format to expound upon its greatness. That is, not the format, but the show. I am hard pressed to remember a more genuinely happy crowd of people at the Troubadour, a venue immortalized in my heart as a joyful place regularly. The band was evidently very excited to make the show happen, and because the place was packed to the gills, no one really had much room for motion. During "My Girls", everyone chanted along, hopping and swaying in unison, a collective being of appreciation. The band rattled the walls of the little club until a little past midnight, but we all could have probably run marathons around Los Angeles as we dispersed onto Santa Monica Boulevard. Animal Collective sounded phenomenal, and I could probably delve into the subtleties of the performance on "paper" elsewhere, but I believe that when I reflect back on this evening, it will be my fellow Los Angelinos that I remember, my fellow lucky bastard ticketholders, and the kindness that was evinced as a consequence of said luck. 

Miranda Lee Richards at Spaceland, 2/24/09

At the end of the

Day, the woman is one hell

Of a songwriter.