Subject: Indie Rock and Indie Pop

• Letterman, Success!

  So I'm a little late on this, but I went to go check out Cold War Kids at Detroit after the Weekly's Christmas party (on a stationary riverboat?) this past Saturday night. It was the third time I've seen CWK at Detroit—and probably the last (I mean, really, at this rate, you kids can sell out the House of Blues... or bigger)—and, as always, it was... a good show. Energetic. Interactive. All that good stuff that's already been said about their live performance. But the tightly

  December 21, 2006

• Shins-ing the Night Away: A Sounds Eclectic Evening

  [photo by Marc Goldstein] Making a classic SoCal newcomer mistake, I only gave myself 45 minutes to drive from Costa Mesa to Universal City's Gibson Amphitheatre, where influential public radio station KCRW was holding its sixth annual Sounds Eclectic concert; this year proceeds go to help convert its vast music library into digital form. After a stressful 100 minutes in my car (last time I take Mapquest's estimates at face value), I dashed out of the monstrous parking garage and through th

  April 16, 2007

• Dinosaur Jr.'s Beyond: Curb Your Cynicism, Pt. 4

  Dinosaur Jr. Beyond (Fat Possum) Release date: May 1, 2007 J Mascis and Lou Barlow settle their long-running beef and record a damned solid Dinosaur Jr. album with original drummer Murph... for Fat Possum Records? In 2007? Yeah, right. Put down the crackpipe, junior. Oh, shit, it's true. Reality just done sucker-punched your desperately trying not to be skeptical correspondent. Right from opener "Almost Ready"'s confident surge of patented, fuzz-toned Dino rock, ye olde Massachusetts power tr

  April 25, 2007

• The Worst Things in Music This Year

  Freelancer Ben Westhoff (you may recognize the name from "The Efron Scandal") posted this provocative list on our sister paper Pitch Weekly's blog. We reprint it here because this is a time of giving (said the atheist). By BEN WESTHOFF 1. Worst Album: Arcade Fire, Neon Bible This cerebral garbage entertained about 100 people, none of whom didn’t either live in Canada or work as a music critic. Speaking of critics, it’s hard to agree with Sasha Frere-Jones about anything, but he was right

  December 21, 2007

• Coachella lineup announced

  Via Coachella.com: FRIDAY, APRIL 25: Jack Johnson, The Verve, Raconteurs, The Breeders, Fatboy Slim, Tegan and Sara, Madness, The Swell Season, The National, Animal Collective, Slightly Stoopid, Mum, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Stars, Battles, Aesop Rock, Midnight Juggernauts, Does it Offend you, Yeah?, Minus the Bear, Spank Rock, dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Diplo, Adam Freeland, Santo Gold, Jens Lekman, John Butler Trio, Vampire Weekend, Dan Deacon, Architecture in Helsinki, Sandra Col

  January 22, 2008

• Last Night: Cold War Kids at the Samueli Theater

  Cold War Kids at Samueli Theater, March 26, 2008 A review by Andrew Youssef Better Than: Seeing the Cold War Kids open for the White Stripes at The Forum. Download: Heavy Boots from their long out of print Mulberry St. EP Cold War Kids dropped by the Samueli Theater for the third installment of the Off Center Series. The Kids hadn't played in Orange County since their December 2006 Detroit Bar gig, although their most recent performance in Southern California was a sold-out show at the Wilte

  March 28, 2008

• Last Night: Crystal Castles at the Detroit Bar on 4/11

  Better Than: Dissecting your old Colecovision trying to recreate the sounds of Crystal Castles. Download: "Alice Practice" from their self-titled album Video games were certainly the underlying theme of the night, as Crystal Castles and Sparrow Love Crew laser blasted the roof off of Costa Mesa's Detroit Bar. For one, Crystal Castles named their band after She-Ra's home from the He-Man series, and the amount of game sound samples incorporated into their music was simply too much to ignore. L

  April 12, 2008

• Last Night: The Alex Benefit at the Detroit Bar

  The Alex Benefit at the Detroit Bar, April 19, 2008 with We Barbarians, Nathan Willett, Delta Spirit, and Jonnie Russell from the Cold War Kids Better Than: Donating money to the Presidental Election Campaign Fund. Download: Delta Spirit's "Trashcan" from Ode To Sunshine Benefit concerts often reward audience members who are gracious enough to support the event's cause by providing outstanding live performances and the occasional surprise. These principals were definitely upheld at Detroit Ba

  April 20, 2008

• Last Night: Rilo Kiley at the Glass House

  Rilo Kiley on April 24, 2008 at The Glass House By Gabriel Ryan Better Than: Driving all the way to Coachella and sweating your ass off. Download: Rilo Kiley's With Arms Outstretched I think last night was one of the most interesting Rilo Kiley shows I've ever attended. For one, the crowd was antsy because of technical difficulties throughout the set, and two, I don’t think half of the audience knew any of the songs played other than what was on the new album. The night started off with the

  April 25, 2008

• Last Night: The Cure @ Shrine Auditorium

  Last Night: The Cure at the Shrine Auditorium June 1st, 2008 Better Than: Trying to find parking at the Hollywood Bowl. Download: "The End Of The World" from The Cure Homepage. After selling out the Hollywood Bowl, The Cure added another stop to their itinerary as they played the Shrine Auditorium. I would venture to say a good majority of the audience was in attendance at the Hollywood Bowl the previous night as well. Sixty five days of Static stated the obvious when they announced to the

  June 2, 2008

• San Diego Street Scene lineup announced

  The two-day lineup for this year's San Diego Street Scene was just announced today, and it doesn't look half bad, in this humble ex-music editor's opinion. Headliners include Beck, the Black Crowes, X, Tegan and Sara, Justice, plus Spoon, TV on the Radio, STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9), Michael Franti & Spearhead, The National, Atmosphere, Cat Power, Hot Chip, The New Pornographers, Vampire Weekend, The Hives, Cold War Kids, Ghostland Observatory, Spiritualized, Antibalas, Man Man, The Mother Hips,

  June 16, 2008

• Crystal Antlers Score EW Mention

  Long Beach's Crystal Antlers, who this year already netted an 8.5 on Pitchfork for their self-released EP (which was subsequently sntached up by Touch and Go) and just last night played the Bowery Ballroom in NYC as part of the CMJ Music Marathon, saw their good buzz streak continue with a mention in national mag Entertainment Weekly's music section this week (the issue currently on stands with the cast of the more boring than ever "Heroes" on the cover). Getting in EW is an accomplishment in i

  October 26, 2008

• Album Review: Deerhunter, 'Microcastle'

  Deerhunter Microcastle (Kranky) Bradford Cox’s oversized persona threatens to overwhelm almost anything his band Deerhunter does. In concert, the singer/songwriter—who has Marfan Syndrome and is shockingly thin—often makes things bloody and uncomfortable. On his group’s blog, he battles music pirates and his own demons. But fans are wise to ignore the hype; almost two years after releasing the masterful Cryptograms, Deerhunter’s new Microcastle is equally stunning despite sounding alm

  October 28, 2008

• Last Night: The Faint, Kool Keith, Passion Pit at Grove of Anaheim

  Last Night: The Faint, Kool Keith, Passion Pit at the Grove of Anaheim, Nov. 3, 2008. Better Than: "The Jagermeister Music Tour" with Hinder, Trapt and Revelation Theory at the Grove the night before. Well, I'm sort of guessing, but I feel pretty confident. (How great is it that those bands are sponsored by Jagermeister? Talk about knowing your audience.) Download: Any of The Faint's albums. They're all pretty sweet. When it was first announced, the idea of New York rapper Kool Keith (under

  November 4, 2008

• Last Night: She & Him, Lavender Diamond at the House of Blues

  (photo by Christopher Victorio) Last Night: She & Him, Lavender Diamond at the House of Blues, Anaheim, Nov. 5, 2008. Better Than: "The Happening," this summer's M. Night Shyamalan flick that co-starred Zooey Deschanel. But really, what isn't? Download: The eminently likable "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" from She & Him's Volume One. Though perhaps not yet a household name, Zooey Deschanel is most certainly A Movie Star, having appeared in films as diverse as "Elf" and "The Hitchhiker's Gui

  November 6, 2008

• Last Night: Bloc Party, The Blood Arm at the Grove of Anaheim

  Last Night: Bloc Party at the Grove of Anaheim, Dec. 15th, 2008.Better Than: Sulking at home while it rains.Download: The "Mercury" video from Bloc Party's Web site.Rain didn't scare away the throngs of kids who soaked up a mesmerizing performance Monday night by noted Britain indie rockers Bloc Party. Touring behind their third album Intimacy, just released in late October, Russell Lissack's electronically mangled guitar on songs like "Trojan Horse" underpinned Kele Okereke's impassioned vocals

  December 16, 2008

• Rumored/Confirmed Coachella Artists Start to Trickle In

  LAist has about 20 artists they say are "confirmed" for Coachella (coming up soon! April 17-19!), and many more that are "rumored"--and given that just about every act of note is "rumored" for Coachella at this point in the year, a classification that's about as meaningful as last night's Golden Globes (though any night when Tracy Morgan and Bruce Springsteen both get to give acceptance speeches is pretty awesome).Here's who they say are confirmed:

  January 12, 2009

• Cold War Kids, Matt Costa to Tour with Death Cab for Cutie

  Death Cab for Cutie--led by the newly slimmed down (and engaged to Zooey Deschanel) Ben Gibbard--are going back on tour this spring in support of last year's Narrow Stairs, and they're getting help from two acts from 'round here; Long Beach-based Cold War Kids and Huntington Beach singer/songwriter Matt Costa.Cold War Kids are taking the first leg of the tour along with Syracuse's much-buzzed about Ra Ra Riot, with Matt Costa picking up CWK's slack in May for the final five dates (because the ge

  January 27, 2009

• Daily Coachella Update: Still No Lineup, but There is a Fake One

  It's getting to the point where the idea of the Coachella lineup is actually more appealing than whatever the eventual Coachella lineup will be, even if the actual lineup is really impressive. It's like Spock said, "having is not such a pleasing thing as wanting."So yeah, still no official Coachella bill, but a relatively entertaining fake one has made the rounds, with a mix of heavily rumored names (Paul McCartney, The Killers, Fleet Foxes), reasonable estimates (The Knux, She & Him, Yeasay

  January 28, 2009

• Last Night: Ra Ra Riot, Cut Off Your Hands at Detroit

  PR photoNick offers a hand to cut off.Last Night: Ra Ra Riot, Cut Off Your Hands at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. Tuesday, March 3, 2009. Check out pictures from Andrew Youssef here.Better Than: Listening to either of these bands' recorded output.Download: "It Doesn't Matter" by Cut Off Your Hands and "Can You Tell" by Ra Ra Riot.Props to Doug Wallen for unearthing two central truths about Cut Off Your Hands in the latest Weekly. Number one: There's a punk spirit to the New Zealand quartet's decide

  March 3, 2009

• Crystal Antlers Debut Full-Length Now Available on iTunes!

  Based on the strength of their six-song EP (entitled, uh, EP), Long Beach's Crystal Antlers were signed to Chicago's Touch and Go, the same label that helped bring the world the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and TV on the Radio. So given that, you can imagine how hotly anticipated (so hot!) their first full-length record, Tentacles, is among discriminating music lovers. Though the physical album (yes, those still exist) doesn't hit stores (yes, those still exist too, at least for now) until April 7, you can g

  March 9, 2009

• Last Night: Cut Copy, Matt & Kim at the Glass House

  Promo picCut CopyLast Night: Matt & Kim, Cut Copy at the Glass House in Pomona. Monday, March 9, 2009. Better Than: The 1980s. The word "shtick" might have been invented to describe Matt & Kim, the Brooklyn power-pop married-couple bangers that opened last night's show. It's curt, brash-sounding, ugly little cluster of letters that almost seems short and weird enough to be cute. But it's not cute. It's just... a shtick. Gross. More explanation, you ask? Ok, let's start with this shtick

  March 10, 2009

• Incoming: Silversun Pickups at the Glass House

  The Glass House's pre-Coachella week--already boasting Jenny Lewis, TV on the Radio, Conor Oberst and The Black Keys--has added another Coachella artist playing a pre-festival gig, LA's Silversun Pickups on Sunday, April 12. Tickets are $12.50 and go on sale this Friday, March 13 for $22.50. Silversun Pickups, who also played the fest in 2007, are playing the big ol' Indio hullabaloo on Friday, April 17. You may best remember them for their mainstream rock radio hit "Lazy Eye," which prompted mo

  March 11, 2009

• [Coachella 2009] Everything New Is Old Again--and Vice Versa

  April 9, 2009

• Live from Coachella: Blitzen Trapper, Other Stuffs

  Watching Blitzen Trapper RIGHT NOW in the Gobi tent. Rootsy rocky. Y'know. Pleasant enough. "Kinda boring," said OC Weekly''s Nate Jackson. "Not bad if I was seeing them at the Gypsy Den." Or maybe he said Gypsy Lounge? Who could say. Saturday has gotten knocked for not being up to par, but it's more loaded than given credit for: Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, Jenny Lewis, TV on the Radio, Mastodon and Atmosphere all ahead. And the Killers. Yeah. I heard Joss Stone as we entered today. Sounded lik

  April 18, 2009

• Live(ish) from Coachella: Killers? Headliners? Sure!

  It's late, and I should probably sleep (or something resembling it) at this point (big day tomorrow: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, My Bloody Valentine, Public Enemy, Friendly Fires, the Cure, PB&J, Lykke Li, Okkervil River etc. etc.!) but I thought I'd share the setlist (and some totally astute observations) from Saturday headliners, the Killers.The Killers have gotten a ton of crap for not being headliner-worthy, and though the crowd for them was definitely thinner than it was for, say, Paul McCartney l

  April 19, 2009

• Live(ish) from Coachella: Sunday Morning Coming Down

  I'm in the Motel 6, a.k.a. the COMMAND CENTER, but my WiFi expired (24 hours) so I'm iPhoning it in. Pay another $2.99? Heck no! Let's talk about Saturday for a bit, no?- TV on the Radio were real good. I saw them a few years ago and was kind of "eh" on it, though I always dug their recorded material. This was lightyears from that. Makes me wish I had seen them at the Glass House on Tuesday.- Fleet Foxes, on the side stage (the "outdoor theatre," if you will) got totally DROWNED THE FUCK OUT by

  April 19, 2009

• (About to Be) Live from Coachella: The H is O

  Get ready for the longest, hottest day yet! Forecast is for 100 degrees! The Cure will probably play for like three hours! What a time to be alive. If you can manage to stay alive, at least. Never a guarantee. Huge, huge day for shows: Cure, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, My Bloody Valentine, Public Enemy, Paul Weller, Peter Bjorn and John, Lykke Li, Okkervil River, K'Naan, Friendly Fires (the show we didn't get to see at Detroit on Tuesday), Clipse. Holy poop. See you out there.

  April 19, 2009

• (Not) Live from Coachella: The N00b Reflects

  Spencer KornhaberThe "Hand of Man" crushes autos.While Albert's still sweating it out (literally! ha!) at some polo field in the desert, my Coachella experience -- my first Coachella experience -- is over. But it was fun. Why? Top things about Saturday from a neophyte:This is a good festival. Water wasn't too expensive, drunk nekkid hipsters weren't unbearably obnoxious, and it was pretty easy to see and hear most sets no matter how late you arrived. The fire-spewing dragon sculpture and the gia

  April 19, 2009

• (One Day Ago) Live from Coachella: Day Two Pictures!

  Thank goodness for Beth Stirnaman. If not for her, our Coachella coverage would consist of my blah blahing and iPhone pictures of stages from the crowd, many yards away. Thankfully, she's got a bundle of great images from day two here, so you can put a face to my inspid ramblings. Remember me raving about  TV on the Radio doing songs like "Wolf Like Me"? Well, there's a bunch of TV on the Radio pictures, including this one here of fetching frontman Tunde Adebimpe. She also got Calexico, Fle

  April 19, 2009

• Weenie Roast Lineup Announced: Weezer, Jimmy Eat World, Kings of Leon

  Andrew YoussefThe full lineup for KROQ's annual Weenie Roast show was released today, a whopping TWELVE DAYS! before the show itself. Seems kinda quick, right? Oh well. It still looks like a pretty good show, headlined by Weezer and Jimmy Eat World (pictured)--they toured together in 2001!--Kings of Leon, Silversun PIckups, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Rancid, Airborne Toxic Event and the much-polarizing Asher Roth.Tickets for the show, which takes place on May 16 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irv

  May 4, 2009

• KROQ Weenie Roast lineup announced

  The 2009 version of KROQ's annual summer blowout, the Weenie Roast y Fiesta, is hitting the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater May 16. That's like less than two weeks away, so get on it. Bands include Weezer (who still don't have or bassist Matt Sharp back in the band, even though everyone knows they should), Kings of Leon, Jimmy Eat World, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Rancid, Silversun Pickups, the Airborne Toxic Event, Cage the Elephant and White Lies on the main stage and Hollywood Undead, Asher Roth, Anberli

  May 5, 2009

• Beating a Dead Horse: Coachella Third Day Pics, Easy Access Links!

  Coachella may be a distant, sweaty, sticky memory at this point, but that doesn't mean that I'm willing or able to shut up about it quite yet. Beth Stirnaman had some car troubles, causing her arduous trek from Indio to be delayed (and nothing's better than being stuck in Indio when there isn't a huge music festival going on), but did that stop her from delivering these great day three images? Heck no! Check them out here. She got Peter Bjorn & John, Perry Farrell, K'naan, the Yeah Yeah Yeah

  April 21, 2009

• Last Night: Santogold @ HOB, Anaheim

  Last Night: Santogold at the House of Blues Anaheim October 13, 2008 Better Than: watching Austin Powers in Goldmember Download: Santogold's "Your Voice" An eclectic assortment of bands offered a little bit of something for everybody as Santogold, Mates of State, Alice Smith and Low Vs. Diamond rolled into the House of Blues Anaheim for the "Goldrush" tour. Low Vs. Diamond came out with a purpose by unveiling their anglophile leaning anthemic rock tunes. I was looking for a bottle of aspi

  October 14, 2008

• Last Saturday: KROQ Weenie Roast at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

  Andrew YoussefLast Night: KROQ Weenie Roast at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater; Saturday May 16, 2009. (More pictures here.)Better Than: Wango Tango.Download: Videos from the day at KROQ.com.The KROQ Weenie Roast is typically full of surprises. With Blink 182 reuniting the night prior at a private party, the fact that TRV$DJ-AM were closing the evening led to rampant speculation that Blink-182 would be the final act. But the Blink-182 reunion didn't happen.A last minute shuffling had KROQ move

  May 18, 2009

• Cursive's Tim Kasher Keeps Busy With Multiple Creative Projects

  June 25, 2009

• Saturday Night: Dinosaur Jr., Earthless at Detroit Bar

  Andrew YoussefSatuday Night: Dinosaur Jr., Earthless at the Detroit Bar, Costa Mesa; June 20, 2009.Better than: Going to Guitar Center in search of the perfect fuzz pedal.Download: Stream the whole new album on their MySpace.Speak softly and have six Marshall amplifier cabinets behind you. My hearing still hasn't recovered from a blistering set by the legendary Dinosaur Jr. who played a sold out show at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa.

  June 22, 2009

• Saturday Night: Azure Ray, Tim Kasher, Janu and the Whalesharks at the Glass House

  Last Night: Azure Ray, Tim Kasher, Janu and the Whalesharks at the Glass House, Pomona; July 18, 2009.Better than: The quesadilla at nearby Juan Pollo (seriously, it's not very good).Snubbed song: "New Resolution," from Azure Ray's 2003 record Hold On Love.Brought back to life after nearly six years of multiple solo projects and collaborations (see Doug Wallen's article from last week's Weekly), LA-by-way-of-Omaha-by-way-of-Athens dream-pop duo Azure Ray returned to Southern California Saturday

  July 21, 2009

• Built to Spill Playing at the Galaxy Theatre!

  Built to Spill are playing the Galaxy Theatre on August 25--yes, Built to Spill, the Boise-based icons of '90s and '00s indie rock. Pretty nifty.This is at least a mild surprise, given the types of shows that usually come to the Galaxy: pop/hip-hop/dance (LMFAO and Shwayze both their earlier this month) and nostalgia acts (the Smithereens there this Friday, Arrested Development next month). But certainly a pleasant surprise!Tickets are on sale now for $20. The openers, Woods and Kurt Vile, are t

  July 21, 2009

• Last Night: Cursive at the Glass House

  Last Night: Cursive, Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band and Box Elders at the Glass House.Better Than: Spending one more night sulking about Michael JacksonDownload: Cursive's latest album, Mama I'm Swollen (released March 10, 2009 on Saddle Creek Records)In the life of a mildly experienced music writer, Monday night concerts tend to fall into one of two categories. "A", you get to watch a band try to curb their disappointment as they emerge to an apathetic crowd of 50 in a room that holds 500 in an e

  June 30, 2009

• San Diego Street Scene Lineup Announced

  Tired of the Black Eyed Peas yet? No? Great! Well, they're headlining the 25th installment of San Diego's Street Scene, happening on August 28 and 29 (three weeks after playing the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa on August 7). Also playing: M.I.A., Thievery Corporation, Modest Mouse, the Dead Weather, Chromeo, Calexico, Silversun Pickups, Band of Horses, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Girl Talk and more. Highlights of lower down on the poster: Holy Fuck (rad), Los Campesinos! (super

  June 1, 2009

• Band of Horses

  August 27, 2009

• Last Last Night: Modest Mouse at the Grove

  ​Last Saturday, really: Modest Mouse and The Night Marchers at the Grove of Anaheim, Aug. 29, 2009.Better than: Getting into a thumb war during a night at the opera. Read on...I don't remember a whole lot from the last time I saw Modest Mouse, which was in 2004 at Soma in San Diego, but I do remember this: There were some lame people at that concert. As in, I left wondering, "Who moshes at a Modest Mouse show?" Similar takeaway this time at the Grove. But worse!  Two dudes right next to m

  August 31, 2009

• Crowdsourced: Modest Mouse at the Grove of Anaheim

  Beth StirnamanDon't be fooled. This picture is actually from Friday at Street Scene in San Diego, not Saturday at the Grove of Anaheim.​You've heard what clubs editor Spencer Kornhaber thought about Saturday night's Modest Mouse show at the Grove of Anaheim, and sure, it was great, and we all loved reading it. But what of the rest of the showgoing public? Why, that's what Twitter is for, friends. Enjoy these nuggets of 140-character-or-less wisdom from the big gig. Apparently the openers, the

  August 31, 2009

• [Sound Guy] Jessica Dobson's Connections Run Deep. Plus News From Local Natives and Jeffree Star

  September 17, 2009

• Vampire Weekend Release New Song, Head to Long Beach

  Esther White​Are you ready for the latest (er, first?) wave of early 2008 nostalgia? Vampire Weekend is back!

  October 5, 2009

• Release the Sounds: 'There is No Enemy,' Built to Spill

  ​Sure, maybe it's a little naive to talk about the release of an album that's already been linked, streamed and downloaded since the beginning of the month, but for the sake of staying true to Built to Spill's '90s origins (you know, back when album release dates still mattered) we have no problem spotlighting their latest album, There is No Enemy, officially in stores today on Warner Bros. Records.In fact, you can tell that the band themselves are re-examining their own past circa '97 with mu

  October 6, 2009

• [CD Review] Built to Spill, 'There Is No Enemy' (Warner Bros.)

  October 15, 2009

• Slow Fall at the Fox Theater?

  Andrew Youssef​Since reopening this past May with a show from Gogol Bordello, the Fox Theater in downtown Pomona has continually impressed by netting top-flight shows: Wilco, the Flaming Lips, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Band of Horses, Girl Talk, Ween, Cake, Marilyn Manson. After tonight's Paramore (pictured on August 1 opening up for No Doubt at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine) show, though, they've got...not a lot.

  September 29, 2009

• Last Night: Vampire Weekend at the Art Theatre in Long Beach

  Andrew Youssef​Last Night: Vampire Weekend at the Art Theatre in Long Beach (11/02/09)Better Than: the last time I saw them at the Glass House in September of 2008.After a secret show in Chinatown and a last minute show in Boyle Heights, Vampire Weekend "officially" kicked off their mini tour of California at the Art Theatre in Long Beach. Vampire Weekend is gearing up for the release of their new album Contra which is due on 1/12 on XL recordings.Selling out the roughly 400 capacity theater i

  November 3, 2009