Photo by Truejustice, used under Creative Commons.

Los Angeles, I know you’ve said it before. “I like all kinds of music. Well, except for hardcore Scandinavian death-metal/polka mash-ups and, ugh…country.” I know you’ve said it, because I said it myself. Then, when I wasn’t looking, I started liking a little country music. Then a lot. At first I thought it was what some would call a “guilty pleasure,” but then I realized I didn’t feel all that guilty about it. It turns out, I like a little twang in my tunes.

Truth be told, up until a few months ago, I really didn’t know much about Vince Gill. I bought tickets for the Fourth of July fireworks spectacular at the Hollywood Bowl, and it just happened that Gill was the featured artist that night with the Hollywood Bowl orchestra. I became a fast fan, though. Vince Gill is a pretty darn good guitar player, and one hell of a songwriter. It was a great show. Hence my excitement about seeing him this week at a much more intimate venue like Club Nokia.

Thanks to our friends at Goldenvoice, I’m able to offer you an opportunity to see Vince Gill, too.

What: Vince Gill in concert.
When: Friday, 22 October 2010. 8:00pm.
Where: Club Nokia, at the LA Live complex. Downtown Los Angeles.

I’ve got several pairs of tickets for lucky Blogging.LA readers. All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me you want to go to the show, and what your guilty pleasure is, whether country music or whatever else.

Don’t want to take a chance on winning tickets? You can buy tickets online here.

Enter now, and I’ll see you there Friday night. I’ll be the guy in the cowboy boots and Pølka Dêthmöngerz t-shirt.

Update: Contest is now closed! Congrats to our winners (who were selected at random – check your email)!!

My favorite Australian import The Temper Trap is back in town! They’re of my favorite bands from anywhere actually, and fantastic live. Like, I bought an actual physical CD at their show at the Roxy last year. That’s a big deal.

You’ve most likely heard The Temper Trap already, even if you haven’t heard of them. Their songs have appeared in just about every TV show and commercial (and one particular downtown LA-centric movie!) made in the past year and a half. Or at least it sure seems that way…

Their show downtown may be sold out already, but blogging.la has scored a bunch of FREE tickets to see The Temper Trap Friday night at the Fox Theater in Pomona (details here) in the beautiful San Gabriel Valley. You can take the 210 on the way back so you can hit the Sonic in Duarte!

We have four pairs of tickets to give away, so to enter the contest, just comment below and let us know what’s been your favorite TV appearance by The Temper Trap? Or at least, what’s your favorite track off their debut album, Conditions?

I’ll get you started with my fave:

When I first heard Sleigh Bells‘ single, “Crown On The Ground,” on pitchfork, I was beset by equal parts revulsion and amazement. Squelching, overpowering guitars rattling out a stattaco, distorted-into-the-red rhythmic melody, accompanied by flattened vocals that provided more of a melodic layer than the guitars themselves–as if the vocals were a synth texture–was almost unlistenable, with producer Derek Miller utilizing the blown-out-speakers sound as a defining feature of the duo’s sound.

But it was unlistenable in that bracing, so-intense-it-hurts kind of way, the way I love that first ice-cold sip of Diet Coke because it hurts so good going down my throat. Sleigh Bells make your ears bleed, in an irresistible way. Alexis Krauss belts out anthems like a raver-cheerleader, her one-note vocals providing additional audio textures, as if Derek is using her voice as yet another layer of instrumentation.

Sleigh Bells are fucking amazing.

I’m really excited about this show, and apparently everyone else in LA is too, because it’s SOLD OUT. So blogging.la is now one of the only ways to score tix.

Wanna win your way into the show? Leave a comment telling me what you thought the first time you heard Sleigh Bells. We’ll pick one lucky winner to get a pair of tix to the show.

Info on the show is here.

Yup, this one’s for SUPERCHUNK, VASELINES, and TELEKINISIS.

The show is at the Music Box on Tuesday, October 19th.

What, you wonder, do YOU have to do to score two free tickets?

The first person to comment with a sentence (in English) using all the letters of the alphabet wins.

The shorter the better – Oh and “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog” is out.

It’s easy to categorize music. And some (ummm, okay, less enlightened types…) might say Kruder and Dormeister are ‘dance music’ stars. Ha!… We know they are so much more!
Together, they blend, twist, experiment and enchant as no other producers do. They are one of the few who take notes into whole new forms. They harness tribal beats and split them up, coax you into a sweet mood late in the night and then blast a jolt of lightning into the aural mix. It’s sweet and damned exciting.

They are not to be missed.

I’m stoked they are gracing our beloved city this Friday night at Club Nokia. I’ll definitely be there groovin’ along with many others in the know.

If you want to hang for free and get your musical world rocked, tell me what Kruder and Dorfmeister means to you. And why you should be one of the chosen ones. We’re giving away four pairs of tickets. Get your thoughts into the comments below and we’ll pick four of the most worthy (or most entertaining) ones to attend the show. And if you miss the giveaway, you can always score tickets here.

If you read that headline and thought to yourself “FOK!” then this post is totally for you. If you didn’t, you are clearly missing out on life. As you should know Die Antwoord is the most zef rave rap crew from South Afrika ever, hell the world ever, maybe the only rave rap crew even. It’s seriously next level. That shit got mega huge on the web earlier this year, and their first album ‘$O$’ just came out today. I’d say it looks awesome, but since I designed it that *might* sound a little self serving. Anyway, if this is still all news to you, or if you remember seeing their stuff a few months ago but haven’t heard anything recently, check this video that just came out for ‘Evil Boy’ which is off this album. Warning, it’s sorta NSFW. Maybe. Depending on where you work.

OK, all that aside they are playing Sunday, October 17th at The Music Box and I’ve got a few tickets to give away. You want them? Post a comment and tell me why you deserve the tickets. (What’s that you say, you promise to dress up like Ninja or Yolandi? That’s a pretty good reason.) At 10 PM today I’ll consider the responses and pick whoever impresses me most. So whatchu got?!

I’ve got Tickets to Give Away again, Kids!
Not just One Night but TWO!!

Spend Halloween Weekend with Nick 13 and TIGER ARMY!

Tiger Army shows are always awesome, and their Halloween shows are Legendary.
They’ll be at The Grove in Anaheim, on October 30th with Jack Grisham & The West Coast Dukes and Throw Rag
and on Halloween October 31st with Mad Sin and Hillbilly Casino.

Not to be Missed!

I have Four Pairs of Tickets to each show to Give Away! And a surprise Extra Pair for one of the nights! Ooooo…Bonus! Which night? Well, you don’t know, do you? Is it a Trick, or is it a Treat?

To enter the contest leave a comment on this post, and make sure to let me know what night you want to go. If either night is fine, let me know that. (That’s a good way to get an edge in the contest, I’m not gonna lie.) Winners will be selected randomly, or perhaps capriciously. It amounts to the same thing.

Oh, and no one will be getting tickets to both nights,  so don’t ask. Seriously.

Have Fun and Good Luck.

Tiger Army Never Die!

Sleater-Kinney was basically the soundtrack of my angsty high school years, and I am endlessly nostalgic for late 1990s, post-Riot Grrl girl rock. So I am totally stoked that Corin Tucker, S-K’s former guitarist and vocalist, is touring again with a new project. The Corin Tucker Band is playing at the El Rey, on Wednesday (that’s the 13^th) with Portland’s The Golden Bears and local kids Wait.Think. Fast. and thanks to the friendly folks at Goldenvoice, we’ve got several pairs tickets up for grabs!

Wanna go see the Corin Tucker Band and get your awesome lady rock on? Just comment below and let us know who your favorite female rock musician is!

ALL GONE ALREADY. THANKS!

Did you know that Gogol Bordello is playing in LA next week? That’s right, it’s at Club Nokia downtown and thanks to the exceptional generosity of the folks at Goldenvoice I’ve got some tickets to give away. Maybe to you. Do you think you have what it takes to win them? Well, you have to be a master of Gogol Bordello trivia to get these bad boys. Well, maybe not a master, but very well versed. OK maybe not even very well versed, just semi-familiar. The question is this: What color will you wear when you get old and go crazy?

It’s pretty obvious for anyone who has any knowledge of Gogol Bordello tunage. What isn’t so obvious is how to submit your answer. You *could* post it in the comments, but I might not see it and everyone else will see it, and also, dude, I probably won’t be able to get in touch with you because you probably used a fake name and a fake contact for your commenting account thingy. So instead, e-mail me your answer. ALL GONE ALREADY. THANKS!

With the help of the Internets, it seems “popular” music covers an ever widening spectrum of genres. The sad fact is, we just don’t get enough bluegrass. Next week that will be remedied, as Punch Brothers come to the El Rey. They will be joined by their very special guest, super producer and L.A.’s Friday night favorite, Jon Brion.

Punch Brothers feature, among others, the mandolin of Chris Thile, formerly of Nickel Creek. They will be bringing their modern bluegrass sound to the El Rey on Tuesday, 12 October, and I can’t wait. I also can’t wait to share some great music with you, Los Angeles. Thanks to our friends at Goldenvoice, I’ve got several pairs of tickets for some lucky Blogging.LA readers.

Just leave me a note in the comment section below, telling me you want to see this show. I’ll pick a few readers at random, and each will get a pair of tickets for Tuesday night’s show. Contest ends Sunday, 10 October, 6:00pm pdt.

Don’t want to take a chance? You can buy tickets online now.

Get your scary on, Blogging.la readers, I have it on good authority this year’s Queen Mary Halloween event: Dark Harbor is the best yet, and we have tickets for you. Horror aficionados don’t need the explanation, but for the rest of you: each year, the Queen Mary gets transformed into a  fun, scary Halloween party? event? park? There are bands and food, and this year there are five apparently ridiculously scary mazes. Their site boasts “more than 45,000 scares per hour” courtesy of 160 monsters and 20-foot tall flames. (It’s sounds a little like a Burning Man afterparty if you’re sober, but I’m promised it’s even more scary than that.)

Tickets are regularly $35, discounted to $29 ($25 for students) for the next two weekends (Oct. 8-10, 15-17), but I’ve got two pairs of freebies for this Friday or Sunday if you can get your clever on and provide a caption for the photo below in the comments. Keep reading for details.

Click me twice to make me bigger

So leave your best/funniest caption  in the comments below, and don’t forget to supply an email address where I can reach you. Winners will be selected sometime after midnight (of course) Thursday night by a committee of two (me and a PR guy–now you’re really scared aren’t you?). Watch your email late Thursday night/early Friday morning. If you can’t make this weekend, they can raincheck your tickets for next Friday or Sunday.

Of course, if you plan to go, you should check out the website for all the details. I’m a blogger, not your mother. Go. Have fun.

[Also, if you want to hedge your bets, the Queen Mary is giving away tickets to the best caption for this pic. Tweet your caption to @TheQueenMary with the #DarkHarbor hashtag.]

Fight Crew vs. Sirens by Stalkerazzi

The L.A. Kings’ hockey season is just getting started; the L.A. Dodgers’ baseball season is mercifully drawing to a close. The L.A. Derby Dolls‘ roller derby season is in high gear, though, and this Saturday night you can see the most exciting sport in Los Angeles as the Fight Crew battle the Sirens in a race toward the 2010 Championship (in December.) Keep reading to find out how you can win your free tickets.

Banked track roller derby is an aggressive, fast-paced, full-contact sport. These women may look nice all dolled up in skates and fishnets, but do not be fooled. They are fierce competitors who give everything they’ve got on the track in order to achieve victory.

If you’ve already been to the Doll Factory, then you know. If you haven’t, you just have to experience it for yourself. Surrounded by the roar of a sold out crowd, you’ll watch a high-speed chase on the track that will leave you breathless. Before the game and at half time, you’ll enjoy various food vendors including Hot Dog On A Stick and Garage Pizza, ice cold beer from Alex’s Bar, and a vendor village packed with jewelery, t-shirts, skate gear, and all sorts of other stuff. There’s even a live band at half-time (Eternal Youth.)

Here is a preview of Saturday night’s bout:

What: L.A. Derby Dolls Fight Crew vs. Sirens
When: Saturday, 2 October 2010. Doors open 6:00pm, bout starts 8:00pm.
Where: The Doll Factory, 1910 West Temple Street, Los Angeles.
Why: Most exciting sport in L.A. You won’t find more fun anywhere (with your pants on.)
How: Get tickets online now! The L.A. Derby Dolls sell out every bout.

Now for the prizes:

I’ve got a pair of tickets for Saturday’s bout plus a Derby Dolls t-shirt for one lucky winner. All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me who your favorite Fight Crew or Sirens skater or Enforcers ref is. (You’ll find the team rosters at the links above; Enforcers below.) Contest ends Thursday, 30 September, at 9:00am pdt. Keep an eye on your inbox Thursday, as the winner will need to reply to my email asap.

Good luck to all. Don’t want to chance winning? Don’t let the bout sell out without you. Get your tickets online now.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that I may be a bit biased toward the sport of women’s banked track roller derby, and the L.A. Derby Dolls specifically. I am a member of the Enforcers (referee team.) In truth, I’d have been happy to tell you how awesome it is, long before I ever became a ref.)

Mira Shemeikka's Neon Indian photo used through Creative Commons

So how does chillwave sound around now, LA? Not bad right? Well I’ve got good news for you. I have an extra pair of tickets to see chillwave darlings, Neon Indian this Friday at the Music Box.

For the uninitiated, know that Rolling Stone named Neon Indian one of the seven best new bands of 2010, and Pitchfork called Psychic Chasm “one of the year’s [2009] most replayable albums.” Neon Indian is the brainchild of Alan Palomo who composes all of the music and is racking up quite a resume for a 21-year-old (see Ghosthustler or VEGA). Neon Indian will be joined by Prefuse 73 and Miniature Tigers on this tour.

Along with most others branded with the label, Palomo himself questions whether there’s even really such a thing as chillwave. Me, I can’t imagine a better way to beat the heatwave than going to this Friday’s show, imaginary genre or not. Wanna go? Tell me how much in the comments below, and one person will be drawn randomly by the end of the day Wednesday. Don’t forget to supply an email address when you comment so I know how to get in touch with you.

I’ve seen Michael Franti in concert once before and he blew me away.  You can see him this Wednesday night cuz we’re giving away four pairs of tickets to his performance at Club Nokia on September 22nd.  His music, a blend of reggae, hip-hop, jazz and rock blends so many genres, that it emerges as a style all his own.

His performance has so much energy, that you end up dancing, moving and just in general having a great time.  While he’s known for his ballads on peace and freedom, he also has a style that is just down with feeling good.

If you want to win tickets, just give us your version of why Michael wears no shoes! If you don’t win… just go here to nab a ticket… it’s well worth it!

What’s on your agenda this weekend? Me?  I could use a good laugh, always gets me going.   If that’s up your alley, check out Kathleen Madigan at Club Nokia this Saturday night at 8PM.  And if you really want to feel good, you can win a pair of tickets just by telling a good joke worthy of sharing with the world, or simply a funny story or anecdote.  (don’t worry if it’s not original, just make it funny!)

Kathleen is a stand-up comic… and a hilarious one at that.  She’s been on Jay Leno, tours constantly all over the US and has been a big hit on youtube.  Her particular brand of humor uses everyday life to poke fun of our eccentric, mundane human behavior.  She’s from the Mid-West, super accessible and then veers into outrageous antics.  Fun.

Sooooo, if you want to see her you can either buy tickets here, or in the comments section below, tell a good joke or funny experience.  The humor department here at blogging.la will choose four lucky people for a pair of tickets each.  But hurry, the contest closes in 18 hours (Friday at 11 AMish) and we need a laugh!  Don’t forget to put your real email address in when you register (it won’t be published) so we can contact you if you win!