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Its that time of year again--the 13th Annual Punk Rock Bowling Tournament & Music Festival is happening next weekend. Yup, while hipster indie fans may get random festivals in the middle of deserts, we get a  four-day-long music festival set in the heart of Vegas, baby! Thanks to the hardworking people of BYO Records and Smash Magazine, pogo, beer and punk-rock can be enjoyed with all-you-can-eat crab legs!

Man, I'm still trying to forget about the debauchery brought forth by attending last years show with my friends....we had all just turned 21 and it was our first time in Vegas.

Well, this year is looking even better with the lineup of bands being almost legendary....

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Brandon Ferguson

​Some say the sport of roller derby is experiencing a resurgence--but it probably never really went away. Though its 1970s heyday has long since passed, the commitment to the sport demonstrated by the girls who don old-timey skates, fishnets and knee pads is impressive. More »

​So this guy named Take Some Crime put on a full-body, gold-lamé zentai suit and recorded himself dancing to Monarchy's "Love Get Out of My Way" on YouTube. The band was so impressed, they invited him to join them on stage at Coachella. He also choreographed a flash mob dance for you to practice before hitting the desert. Watch and learn it after the jump. We'll be taking pictures, so see you there!More »

​The realm of underground hip-hop is full of innovators, insane rhyme slangers and true architects of boom-bap artistry. But at what point does one move from innovator to "hip-hop genius"? For most avid backpack rap fans, that term has been and always will be synonymous with Madlib. More »

Beth Stirnaman

​Singer/actor/poet/writer/DJ/etc. Henry Rollins is bringing the first American stop of his worldwide 2010 spoken word tour to Solana Beach's Belly Up Tavern on Wednesday, Feb. 17.

So far, it's the closest he's getting to Orange County, let alone the state of California, so if you want to see him, start saving your gas money now.

From Rollins' official site: "There will be two different legs, weeks apart. I have to go to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa between the two US legs. SO . . . if you don't see your state listed, hang in there, I will hopefully be in range on the next leg. The tour will be very long and hopefully I will get to all the places where the is the smallest amount of interest. As you know, I do the best I can to get out there. If we get updates, find errors, we will correct them. As dates come in from whatever continent, we will post them as soon as they confirm."

Who knows what topics are on Rollins' list this go-round, but what I really want to know is, will he be this intense?...More »

 Maybe it's a little presumptuous on a Monday morning to claim that we've already found the best show flier we're going to see all week. But what the hell? If this titillatingly clever ode to good ol' American rock 'n roll doesn't get you going then maybe you just don't like the music as much as you thought.

That would be a shame, especially considering loud guitars and unshakable attitude are the two main commodities offered by OC/LA band and Locals Only alumnae The Studiofix. In case you missed out on their performance at Semi Sweet's album release party over at Detroit Bar last week, you can always spice up your Tuesday night with an LA road trip to The Airliner.

By now we're sure you've checked out every inch of information involving this show. I like the fact that the band saved a special place for their Long Beach compadres in Brown and Blue. And of course, you've got to give it up to The Summer Twins for adding an extra dash of tongue in cheek humor to this week's early favorite. If only all fliers could look this good.

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There's a three-day weekend coming up, y'know. (Whee!) So what better way to celebrate the day of our nation's labor to drive uptown to Chinatown and partake in some musical entertainment?

This year's FYF Fest (formerly the F Yeah Fest), takes place this Saturday at the Los Angeles State Historic Park, and features not only headliners like Black Lips (who just played Detroit Bar a couple of times in the spring), hilariously off-beat Adult Swim comedy duo Tim and Eric and No Age, but also several Long Beach bands: Crystal Antlers, Avi Buffalo and Dios. Good job, guys! No OC representation, sadly, but there are a couple of out-of-town acts we've written about lately in the OC Weekly: Kurt Vile and Telepathe. Overall, seems like a fun day at the park. Lineup info, straight from the official site, after the jump.

Oh, one more cool thing to tell you about: whichever band donates the most canned goods (all vegetables, no meat) to FYF Fest's LA offices, gets a midday slot on one of the stages. You don't even have to be in a band. As their site says, "if you want to do tell jokes, play guitar hero, tap dance or meditate on stage we are all for it." Finally, a chance to unveil my revolutionary glockenspiel/See 'n Say routine. Details here.

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Beth Stirnaman

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It's Monday morning and another Street Scene is officially in the books. And while it's important to note that this parking lot extravaganza of fog-filled stages, oddly eclectic line-ups, mind-altering drugs and festival food has reached it's 25th year, it's also worth mentioning that I'm no longer a stranger to this two-day Coachella by the sea. Although for anyone that was there, the temps this weekend were actually fit for a desert, or maybe Satan's ass crack.

But harsh heat aside, Street Scene had plenty to offer the locals and those (like our Music Editor Albert Ching, photographer Beth Stirnaman and myself) who drove across SD County lines just to be there. Even as an avid concert and festival goer, losing my Street Scene virginity involved many images that I 'll never be able to unsee, for better or worse. A handful of those images inspired this short list of some of the best things I witnessed while traipsing around this coastal asphalt cluster fuck of color, sound and light. Here it goes, the top 12 things I'll always remember about street scene '09

#12) Drunk Speedo Man: First of all, it's not a real festival (or concert for that matter) until security has to throw someone out for partying too hard. And while I'm sure SD's "Scene Team" security guards did plenty of ass kicking and cop calling and zip cuffing between Friday and Saturday, the best example I saw came on Saturday as Albert and I were schlepping over to see The Dead Weather at the Fulano Stage. Swarmed by 3 big dudes in neon yellow security shirts, a rail-thin, pale Street Scener wearing nothing but a blue Speedo and sandals was being hauled to the front gates with his arms pinned behind his back. As the hurricane of shouting and semi-male nudity passed us, all I could hear was the fattest security guard of the bunch yelling "make a hole!" as the authorities dragged their  half-naked captive through a sea of people. Word to the wise: If you're planning on getting shit faced and out of control at a  concert, try to be a little bit more discerning about the undergarments you decide to wear that day. Regrettably, I don't have a photo of this, but I'm sure you can use your imagination.  




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It's not much, but consider this meager post the first preemptive stitch to our coverage of the Street Scene '09 festival happening in Sand Diego this weekend, Aug. 28-29. Before you say anything, we know that San Diego is not in Orange County. Though it could be argued that some cities at the ass end of the OC seem just a far away in the middle of rush hour traffic.

But geographical questions aside, our music editor Albert Ching will be giving you some up close iPhone coverage of the whole shebang, along with help from photographer Beth Stirnaman and...myself (I'm just going for the party). But yeah, it appears that the 25th anniversary of ths SD music fest has brought out a swell of indie star power and even some mainstream radio star power (thanks, Black Eyed Peas). And for those who missed out on Coachella and can't make the drive to the Outsidelands Festival in San Fran, this is the perfect opportunity to see almost the exact same line up. Literally, check it out HERE. See any familiar names?

Well for those of you who are fortunate enough to go down south this weekend, we were wondering who you're interested in seeing the most? I know, we're soooo nosy. But seriously, is it the chance to see Chuck D and Flavor Flav of Public Enemy that floats your boat (though I can't believe how low they are on the festival flier YET AGAIN). Or maybe you're looking forward to some Holy Fuck and Busta Rhymes. C'mon....tell us. We won't judge you, that much.