May | 2009 | ChinaShop

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Music Pop Levi Invades America

May 20, 2009 - 9:14 am

Photos by LG White

“I went to Los Angeles with Ladytron, and within a minute of waking up there, I wanted to live there. It had blue skies, palm trees, and they’ve made some serious records here. LA truly is the land of make-believe. And it was a challenge.”

Pop Levi returned to Liverpool, rounded up his current four piece band and then shipped them out to LA, too. The band, plus a few guests, helped record Pop’s first EP, Blue Honey, released by Counter Records in September 2006 and also The Return To Form Black Magick Party, though Pop laid down great chunks of it single-handedly.

Pop Levi – Never Never Love

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Music Balkan Beat Box

by Shop Keeper

May 20, 2009 - 9:09 am

Balkan Beat Box blends electronic music with hard-edged folk music from North Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans and Eastern Europe. The group was formed in 2004 by Ori Kaplan, former member of Gogol Bordello, and Tamir Muskat, producer of J.U.F.’s “Gogol Bordello vs. Tamir Muskat” and drummer for Firewater and Big Lazy.

Balkan Beat Box is the natural reaction of passionate musicians that demand the erasure of political and geographical divisions in music. While breaking down these borders, the band has created a new, unique sound that brings people together on dance floors all over the globe. Balkan Beat Box has steeped their music in a lifetime’s worth of research into their own non-Western roots. A quasi-circus event, BBB performers collaborate with artists from Bulgaria, Morocco, Spain, Israel, and Turkey, all of them drawing on a variety of styles from around the world. Every event keeps the audience guessing what the next surprise will be.

Red Bula (Mahala Rai Banda Vs. BBB)

Gallery Urban Exploration Urban Exploration: LA’s Little Tokyo

by Zoetica Ebb

May 20, 2009 - 9:09 am

If you love Japanese food, books or karaoke and can’t make it to actual Tokyo, LA’s Little Tokyo district is the place to be. Though once upon a time this place was home to 30,000 Japanese Americans, these days I wouldn’t call it a neighborhood – too visitor-oriented for that. I’ll agree with the Wikipedia description – it’s more of a cultural center, with temples, museums and a multitude of restaurants, aimed at LA residents and visitors from Japan. Though recent development and growing population of downtown have made for longer lines and a few strange additions to the area, between all the sushi, shabu-shabu and boba tea there’s little time to frown at the recently-erected Sanrio store and Starbuck’s. An abundance of shops, seasonal events, rock shows at The Cocaine and bars will keep entertainment-hungry visitors coming back for fun-filled adventures throughout the year.

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Film Adventures of Power

by Chris Gore

May 19, 2009 - 9:30 am

Optimism is making a comeback, but perhaps not as big a comeback as air-drumming after audiences see Adventures of Power. Writer/director and star Ari Gold (yes, the filmmaker Ari Gold, not the fictional a-hole agent on HBO’s Entourage) plays Power, a factory worker with a dream to one day be the best at what he’s best at… which happens to be air-drumming. In what is perhaps the most hilarious opening to an indie comedy ever, Power air-drums his way to work and throughout his day powered by, what else, a combination of the best cereals known to man. Fueled by a passionate love of the skills of master Rush drummer Neal Peart, Power is unswayed by the lack of support from friends, family or even his dad. In fact, they all think he’s an idiot. But that does not stop Power from continuing his quest for air-drumming excellence.

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Event Got My Sci Fi On Thursday Night at Bordello Bar

by Nicole Pajer and Fever Dragon

May 19, 2009 - 9:17 am

Thursday night I walked into the doors of Bordello Bar and entered a world far beyond my own. I could not fight back the “I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” vibe as I stepped to the bar to order a vodka soda. Soon enough, I was greeted by many friendly people wearing wigs, a man walked by on stilts in a glittery costume-his radiant smile accented in face paint, and a DJ started playing jams like: “Yummy yummy yummy I got love in my tummy and I feel like lovin’ you.”

“A bundle of happy, fabulous, magical, wonderful, sparkly people” was how host Jean Natalia labeled the crowd at last night’s Wig Out. Created in 2005 by Jean and inspired by a group of her performance artist friends, Wig Out is a monthly performance art wig cabaret home to the Bordello Bar in downtown Los Angeles. Each month boasts a different theme, Thursday night it was: ‘Get Your Sci Fi On!’ Past themes have ranged from: ‘Get Your Evel Knieval On!’ to ‘Get Your Bubblegum On!’

The evening entertainment kicked off with a performance by Orange County based electro/pop/punk band: Romak and the Space Pirates, whose dark and energetic tunes conquered any resistance to dance by those in the audience. The band poked fun at the state of the CD industry by offering wearable USB flash bracelets containing their album for sale after the show. Free downloads of the disc, in exchange for fan reviews, are available here.
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Gallery Urban Exploration London Wanderer

by Zoetica Ebb

May 19, 2009 - 9:11 am

I was staying in Croydon – a neighborhood Id never heard of until being dropped off in its guts by my coach. All I can tell you about this place is it’s very far from London and Kate Moss lived there before she made it. Also, this is precisely why you should not book hotels through budget travel agencies. Fortunately, a train station was a short walk away, making escape somewhat convenient. So to London I went.

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Music Chin-Check: Get to Know Brooklyn’s Fantastic Chin Chin

by Geo Hagan

May 18, 2009 - 4:23 pm

“Our CDs definitely pack a lot of energy,” Wilder Zoby, the keyboardist for the organic jazz/funk/disco ensemble Chin Chin interjects. “But our live shows are absolutely wild – we like to involve everyone, and basically bug the fuck out!”

Chin Chin’s reputation is growing faster than a Mojave Desert cyclone, and new listeners can’t help but get totally sucked in. The band’s nucleus has three members: biological brothers Wilder and drummer/vocalist Torbitt with the third musketeer being bassist, Jeremy Wilms. However, for their widely-revered NYC shows, the band’s number can swell to upwards of ten players. The end result is an lush wall of sound made up of thick slabs of gooey Parliament-style funkiness, irresistible disco riffs and the jazziest chords this side of BirdLand. “We’ll play for as long as they give us,” Wilder says about their notorious performances. “But given the right circumstances, we could go on for about seven hours,” he adds half-joking. Chin Chin is also known for its thunderous, Mardi Gras-evoking horn arrangements, a feat they attain by incorporating trombone and trumpet players from another exceptional live band you might have heard of, Antibalas.

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Music Moderat

by Shop Keeper

May 18, 2009 - 4:21 pm

Photo by Melissa Hostetler

Modeselektor (aka Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary) and Apparat (aka Sascha Ring), two of Germany’s most acclaimed electronic acts, have joined up to release their upcoming collaborative record, Moderat (out May 12th on Bpitch Control), and in support of this, are embarking on a rare North American tour. Their live show will be an audio-visual spectacle, as the 3 members of Moderat will be joined on stage by 2 members of the video/visual art group Pfadfinderei. Three screens of video, perfectly synchronized to the audio, will be a part of what the band describes as their most improvised and concert-like performance ever.

Additionally, the single for “Rusty Nails” will be released on May 25th, complete with remixes by Booka Shade and TRG, and, as previously noted, those who purchase the deluxe version of the full-length album will also receive a DVD produced by Pfadfinderei, including bonus tracks, behind the scenes footage, and a myriad of audio/visual acrobatics.

Moderat – A New Error

Music Unwritten Law at the Roxy

by Barbie Brady and Sidney Bensimon

May 18, 2009 - 3:49 pm

Scott Russo, lead singer of Unwritten Law sits in his dressing room backstage at the Roxy in Hollywood, shirtless, jagerbomb in hand. Its been a minute since UL has played out in Hollywood, and a minute longer since they were on an all out tour. This show was a bit of a one off, while they are ramping up to finish their new album and take over the world.

Unwritten Law – Shoulda Known Better

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Music DOOM – Super Hero Lyricism

by Geo Hagan

May 18, 2009 - 12:14 pm

As mainstream rappers continue to spew couplets about how much swag they’ve accrued and how many shiny gems they can fit into their Franck Muller watches, the reclusive and prolific Doom has gone ahead and dropped the best hip-hop album this year – the aptly titled Born Like This. The new LP is a masterpiece any way you look at it; from the selection of exceptional producers (J Dilla, Jake One, Thom Yorke) to the sharp collection of wordsmiths assembled (Wu-Tang’s Raekwon and Ghostface, Freddie Foxxx, Kurious Jorge). But above all, it’s the Metal-Faced Villain’s amazing, choppy delivery, Ginsu-sharp diction and unrivaled imagination that make his latest opus a certified classic.

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