Thursday night, the Troubadour had a killer lineup of L.A. Locals: Kid is Qual and thatwasthen co-headlined, introduced by Acidic and Bikelock.  The crowd consisted of a lot of music veterans and industry people, mainly because Kid is Qual and Bikelock are offshoots of the band Jack's Mannequin.  This also meant that Jack's Mannequin lead singer Andrew McMahon was there supporting his freinds and bandmates (fun fact: he played piano on thatwasthen's "Sunlight"), which in turn meant that I was beyond excited to be there.

I’m afflicted with a lot of disorders.  I have music A.D.D. twenty-four seven, three-sixty-five.  On the rare occasion I find something I dig I switch up my mentality from the A.D.D. to O.C.D. and go full force, sometimes sending songs on a three-peat ferris wheel with no intention of letting them go any time soon.  This week my disorder-ly conduct dictated that Juan Zelada would be the latest addiction for my (not entirely unfortunate) affliction.

Lucky for me Zelada will be successfully satisfying my need to hear “breakfast in spitalfields” live and in living color when he plays the Troubadour in London tonight!  All you eighteen and overs should invest in your tickets early as Zelada has apparently not just been serenading myself as of late, but has been made record of the week on Radio 2- so you’ve been forewarned that this event will be packed (his show last night for his single release was jampacked sardine style!)

Rewind to a few years back and Zelada had another musical diamond in the rough of the world wide web “the blues remain”- which should be listened to as well, the soulful outpouring of heart on his sleeve vocals and you’ll be permanently hooked.  All I’m saying is that “Breakfast in Spitalfields” may catch your interest initially- but the rest of his various jams will fortify your musical tryst into a full-fledged relationship.  I’m talking switching up your Facebook status from it’s complicated to you're in it to win it with Juan Zelada.  Happy listening, and see you all at the show!

This past Saturday night, I saw thatwasthen and The Hush take on the Troubadour again.  I arrived to venue under the impression that The Hush was taking the stage after thatwasthen, but as I walked in The Hush’s lead singer, Jazmine Giovanni, was winding down the set.  However, the two songs that I did catch were easily enough to remind me of the sheer power behind this band.  They have perfected the mainstream power-pop-rock feel, with all the killer vocals, guitar solos, and head-banging drum fills a concert-goer could ask for. Furthermore, I really cannot get over Jazmine.  She is a truly talented rock star, and I am perplexed as to how Ke$ha can fill stadiums but the crowd at the Troubadour to see The Hush was about 30 people.

Last night, I found myself back at Los Angeles’ Troubadour—my seeming home away from home.  On this uncharacteristically chilly night, I was there to see Buffalo Tom, an Boston-based band who just released their 10th album, Skins. I had given the album a few good listens, and dug the solid rock feel, so I was excited to see the band live. I walked into a crowd of, if I may be blunt and enviably (read: obnoxiously) young, old folks, that seemed really stoked to get out of their minimal grey office buildings and into a (relatively) grungy and dim lit club.

Federico Aubele returns to a smoky realm of acoustic guitar licks, heavy rhythms and sinister dub atmospherics for his fourth studio album, Berlin 13. The record pulls from the personal transformation Aubele experienced in his time living in Berlin and the vibe of a city strongly associated with electronic music. To set the tone for this album, Aubele revisited his deepest musical influences. From the backing beats to the musique-concrete samples, and the nylon string guitar layered with his baritone voice, the result is a blending of the elements in his unique style. Recently, the musician took time to chat with Bestnewbands.com about the new album, the writing process and his goals for 2011.

Another night, another amazing concert. Let me just start by saying, I never cease to be blown away by the amount of talent abounding in the fine city of Los Angeles.  That said, I found myself once again at the always cozy Troubadour this past Saturday night to see Voxhaul Broadcast, Family of the Year, and Lady Danville. I arrived just in time to see Voxhaul Broadcast setting up, and for being about 8:30, the venue was pretty full, especially considering Lady Danville didn't come on until 10:30ish (especially now that I know what a really empty venue feels like).

(To read more Lady Danville articles, click here!  And for more Voxhaul Broadcast, go here.)

Upon entering, I quickly noticed a trend in men's fashion: those little hats that are like fedoras but not…where the brim stays flipped up the whole way around...the Jason Mraz-y looking hats.  (Ah, with a little help from Google, I have figured it out: a Castor Fedora.)  Anyways, there were hoards of dudes walking around, all looking curiously similar--white, medium weight, the little hat, a plaid shirt or v-neck, maybe a little facial hair, consistently smiley and bright-eyed.  It was like a new breed of hipster: the metro-hipster; the bathed, clean-fingernailed, somewhat-shaven hipster; the strangely approachable hipster.  Just, everywhere…

But I digress...

Lady Danville, everyone's favorite indie-rock-nerd-chic UCLA grads, returns to headline a sold out show at the Troubadour this Saturday, the 26th.  Lucky for me, I will be in attendance.  Lucky for you, this means a review will follow, so you can get all the juicy details on Monday morning.  Also playing with Lady Danville are Family of the Year, Voxhaul Broadcast, and Live Oak Revue.  So, if Lady Danville plays like I've seen them play before, the show will certainly be awesome.  Stay tuned for an even awesome-er review!  And, while you're at it, check out other articles on Lady Danville here.

As for where to see their next show, nobody knows (poetic, I know).  So, in the meantime, be sure to get a hold of the band's two EP's, Tour EP and Lady Danville EP,  and snoop around their youtube channel.

Picked By: Laurel Kathleen

Who: AM & Shawn Lee

Where: Hotel Cafe, Hollywood, CA

When: Monday, March 7th at 10:00pm

Cost: $10

Age Restrictions: 21+

Maybe the crowd, a crew of mostly sweet-faced, postpubescent hip(hop)sters, had a hard day at college. Maybe the acts’ bourbon-and-coke styles just happened not to coalesce as expected. Maybe it was just one of those Wednesdays.

But Troubadour's billing last night of DaVinci, The 87 Stick Up Kids, Free the Robots, and Freddie Gibbs with live band, The Park, never picked up the momentum for which at least two are known.

San Francisco rapper DaVinci had the always-difficult task of opening the night. The crowd began trickling in during his set, but they were there to see Freddie Gibbs (good sports The 87 Stick Up Kids confirmed that when they shoved a microphone in a front-rower’s face).

People By the Sea, comprised of husband and wife Leah Grounds and Jake Irwin and brother Dan Irwin is a heartfelt amalgam of rock, pop, folk, and sentimental singer-songwriter sounds.  I have been wary of their presence from word around the UCLA campus (the band formed at UCLA) and was first blown away by them live at the Troubadour last month. With their video for "Take Me Backwards," listeners are given a taste of the band's apt songwriting capabilities and are taken through a gradual increase in volume, dynamic, passion and mood.  The song starts out sort of blue and is taken to a sunny yellow by growing major chords and the transition of Jake's face from sad to smiling, only to briefly return to the previous melancholy.  Leah's harmonies add an indescribable element to the sound as a whole, and the song lingers as something tangible, relatable, and beautiful.

Claire Gallagher: Alrighty, who’s who? What are your names, what instruments do you play, etc?

Jacob Irwin: Well my name is Jacob, and I sing and play guitar,  Leah [Grounds] plays keys and sings, and Dan [Irwin] here plays the drums and sings as well.  I could've said we all sing.  We all sing.  And we're all in on the writing process.  I sort of get the bones of the song written, and these two help me bring it to life.