Can you believe we are nearly into October of 2016? Where the fuck has all the time gone? This week has some epic shows from FOALS, Oh Wonder, and if you’re able to get to San Diego this weekend, CRSSD Fest headlined by Miike Snow and ZHU. Check out the rest of our list of Best Shows This Week.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
Cappa, Esme Patterson, Angela McCluskey, and Durand Jones & The Indications, School Night at Bardot, free with RSVP
Another really good bill at Bardot’s weekly free-with-RSVP series School Night. Make sure you especially get there early enough to check out opening act Durand Jones & The Indications. If you’re a fan of Vulfpeck, they’re a slightly less funky but more bluegrassy type band that jams it out really hard.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
FOALS, Bear Hands, KIEV, Hollywood Palladium, $35.00, 6:30 PM
After a whirlwind year on the festival circuit, including a home country headline spot at this year’s Reading and Leeds Fest, FOALS returns to LA bigger than ever before. Bear’s Den and KIEV opening? Good value all around.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
Oh Wonder, Kevin Garrett, The Wiltern, $25.00, 7:30 PM
We love ourselves some uptempo synthpop and this duo delivers that in spades. I caught them a number of times on the festival circuit this year, including most recently at Outside Lands in August. They’ve grown quickly in draw from their last LA date earlier this year where they sold out the El Rey. Their songs are just so damn catchy and easy to groove to. Underrated R&B artist Kevin Garrett opens the show as a nice appetizer to what is to come later.
Bear’s Den, Liza Anne, The Echo, $12.50-$14.50, 8:30 PM
This is a really strong double bill for less than 20 bucks. Bear’s Den is touring in support of their latest album Red Earth & Pouring Rain. A big recommendation if you’re a fan of Ben Howard, though there’s a synthy aspect not there in Howard’s music so much. Opening act Liza Anne first caught my attention via one of those awesome Spotify Discover Weekly playlists. The song “Take It Back” was the culprit and it became immediately stuck in my head and an addition to my starred playlist. You can download her debut album The Colder Months for free and leave a tip — which you should. Tickets are sold out to this show but you should find a way in to see her anyways. I get slight Lisa Hannigan vibes with a more upbeat spin.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
Tegan & Sara, Shura, The Wiltern, $36.00-$48.50, 7 PM
This sister duo have always been a favorite of mine and their latest album Love You to Death might be their best. Their super synthpop sound is a relatively new thing for them, having been the focus on the last two records. They write about love and heartbreak with the very best of them and The Wiltern should be a great place to catch them. Shura has been blowing up in the last 12 months and could be headlining venues this size the next time she comes around, for sure.
Regina Spektor, El Rey Theatre, $49.50, 8 PM
A rare opportunity to see the famed songwriter Regina Spektor in an intimate venue shouldn’t be missed. We hope you got tickets to one of her two shows (she has one on Friday also) because they’re sold out. Her new album Remember Us to Life drops this same weekend, so it’ll be a first opportunity to see some new stuff performed live.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
Glen Hansard, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, The Wiltern, $30.00-$55.00, 6:30 PM
The Wiltern is just having the best week of any venue. I caught Glen Hansard play a KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic show in Santa Monica last year and it was one of the more moving performances I saw all of 2015. He’s as captivating of a singer-songwriter as there is currently out there. He’s got a wide catalog of heart-filled songs that’ll ring out nicely off the walls of this epic LA venue.
Sticky Fingers, Teragram Ballroom, $20.00, 8 PM
I literally heard about this band a week ago. I was coming home from a concert in an Uber pool. The girl who was riding in the pool with me mentioned she was going to this show and told me I should check them out based on the kind of music it sounded like I was into. They’re an Aussie indie psych pop band with a reggae sound to them. Their tunes definitely caught my interest right away and I imagine their jams sound just as good live.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1
Gary Clark Jr., Shakey Graves, Greek Theatre, $29.50-$49.50, 7:30 PM
What a one-two punch on a Saturday night. Shakey Graves is always killer with his Americana jams and is a helluva guitarist. Gary Clark Jr. might just be the best and my favorite guitarist in the world right now. He will literally melt your face off, he’s so dirty on the axe. It’s probably the best bill of the whole week and the beauty of the Greek is the shows end early enough that you can still go out and have a killer Saturday night when the show ends around 11 PM.
CRSSD Fest, Waterfront Park in San Diego, single-day Saturday $100.00, 2-day pass $165.00
I’ve attended the last two CRSSD Fests, first last October and then earlier this year in March. It takes place in one of the most beautiful settings around. Seeing Tycho this year and then looking to my left from the front row and seeing the sun set was one of the more beautiful memories I’ll have all year. Saturday’s lineup is pretty stacked with Miike Snow, Cashmere Cat, Louis the Child, Trippy Turtle, Sophie and Big Wild among those performing on the opening day.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2
Phantogram at Observatory in Santa Ana, $37.50, 7 PM
After touring the festival circuit extensively with Big Boi as Big Grams, we’re so happy that Phantogram is back and with a new album to boot. We are giving away tickets to see them at the Palladium the following week, but you can catch them in Santa Ana a few days earlier.
CRSSD Fest, Waterfront Park in San Diego, single-day Sunday $90.00, 2-day pass $165.00
Day two of CRSSD Fest is headlined by ZHU. It also features Claptone, Dubfire, KAYTRANADA, Lido, and Thomas Jack. It’s a great lineup top to bottom and one of my favorite festivals to attend each year.
Photo courtesy of Pooneh Ghana
