Swervedriver, one of the most glorious of shoegazing bands of the 1990s, has reunited and are playing a handful of shows this summer. One of the few will be here in Los Angeles at the Echoplex on Sunday June 19th. If you want a chance to win a pair of tickets to see this mighty band reborn, make sure to e-mail me at michael[at]meltingpotblog.com before Friday at 5pm!!!

You really shouldn’t need any encouragement to give it a go for these tickets, but how about this:

or this, gorgeous cascading waterfalls of distortion…

and this too, quite possibly the greatest song to have playing on your stereo as you drive exceedingly fast on an open highway…

As I take a quick break from grading, thought I’d definitely make somebody’s week with a giveaway for tickets to see Aloe Blacc @ the Music Box this Sunday night! Since releasing “Good Things” last year, a potentially career defining LP, Blacc has been up to nothing but good things, touring the world and also keeping it close to home, especially now that it’s summertime and the Do Over has started up once again. You can catch him and his group, The Grand Scheme, at the Music Box on May 22nd if you win the tickets. For your chance to win tickets to see Aloe Blacc make sure to e-mail me at michael[at]meltingpotblog.com before Friday at 5pm!!!

Here’s a taste from one of my favorite releases of 2010, “I Need A Dollar” performed live on Conan’s show:

foto © Willie Davies for The New York Times

{Congrats to the winners, Georgia K., Garrett K. and Lucia C.!!!}

Céu is one of the brightest current stars out of Brazil, with a perfect mix of modern and classic sounds, representing Brazilian heritage, history and it’s movement forward, while also showing the influence of American Soul, Hip-Hop and Jamaican Reggae. You can get a chance to see her at a fantastic venue, The El Rey theatre this Saturday, May 7th!!! There’s a super quick turnaround on these, so if you want a chance at the tickets make sure to e-mail me at michael[at]meltingpotblog.com before Friday at 5pm!!!

Here’s a taste of what you can expect, Céu and her group performing the song “Lenda”:

This Sunday night LA is blessed to have two of the best singer-songwriters in all of indie-rockdom grace us with their collective goodness, Thao & Mirah. Just this week they’ve released a collaboration on Kill Rock Stars, and you could get a chance to check them out if you are the winner! Quick turnaround on these, make sure to e-mail me at michael[at]meltingpotblog.com before Friday at 5pm to get a chance to win the tickets!!!

Here’s just an example of the loveliness that will be on display Sunday night at the Troubadour, a nice and very personal recording of “How Dare You” recorded in Thao’s apartment in San Francisco last year by “Yours Truly”:

And damn if these vids from Yours Truly aren’t the tops, but here’s another one that’s just as good for “We’re So Sorry,” unbelievable coolness how Thao goes from strumming and singing to hitting the skins as Mirah reaches the emotional climax of the song. Enjoy

After months without any giveaways, we have two in the same week, in addition to Go! Team tickets I posted about earlier, I also have some tickets to see LA’s very own Dengue Fever! This show at the venerable Troubadour is a record release party for their latest release Cannibal Courtship which will be released the same day. If you want to go to the show, send an e-mail to michael[at]meltingpotblog.com (you can also just click the little icon under my picture on the front page) by 5pm on Monday April 18th!

Just in case you need a reminder of just how powerful Dengue Fever can be, here’s some video of them performing live on Later with Jools Holland!!!

Has it really been over 4 months since we did a giveaway????!??!?! Now that the weather is heating up (just in time to literally melt people’s faces at Coachella), great shows are coming back so hopefully we’ll get more giveaways on the regular here at Melting Pot. Today I have two giveaways for you, (just above is one for Dengue Fever!) both for shows on April 19th. The Go! Team is a big group (7 or 8 members) from the UK with a big big sound, equal parts indie rock, Hip-Hop and schoolyard chants. They’ll swinging into the Echoplex April 19th for a body rocking good time. They even have a limited edition vinyl release for Record Store Day (which is today! Support Local Record Stores!!!) of their song Apollo Throwdown. If you want to go to the show, send an e-mail to michael[at]meltingpotblog.com (you can also just click the little icon under my picture on the front page) by 5pm on Monday April 18th!

Here’s just a taste of what’s in store if you win the tickets:

{Congrats to winners Nathaniel B. and Christopher H.!}

Been a little while since we had a giveaway here on Melting Pot, but this one is mighty fine. The Budos Band will be in LA later this week, performing at the El Rey on Friday Jan. 14th. Also on the bill is KCRW’s Jeremy Sole who I believe is just doing a DJ set, but might include some live musicians in the mix. If you want to go to the show, just send me an e-mail at michael[at]meltingpotblog.com before 6pm on Thursday Jan. 13th!!!

Here’s a little taste of what’s in store for you if you win the tickets:

Dee Dee of Dum Dum Girls foto © Aaron Richter

Would have liked to have given these away over the air, but since we’re off the air today for the fundraiser, some of you are going to be lucky people indeed, getting a chance to see Dum Dum Girls return to the stage here in LA at the Echoplex December 21st along with Abe Vigoda as part of IHeartComix, Media Contender & LA Record’s Check Yo Ponytail 2 series of concerts.

Dum Dum Girls, in my mind, leads the pack of the current wave of “girls in the garage” bands, including Vivian Girls, Best Coast, Agent Ribbons, Frankie Rose & the Outs, and on and on. The band recently rescheduled their US tour for 2011, this will be the first show they’ve played since Dee Dee’s mother passed. I’m also trying my hardest to get them into the KPFK studios sometime before February. If you want to see them live and in person, make sure to e-mail me (michael[at]meltingpotblog.com) before 6pm on Monday.

Here’s something a little different, DDG unplugged at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Festival May 2010:

Another giveaway, for another show on Friday November 12th, also slightly retro styled sounds from NY’s the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. They perform at the Echoplex on friday and if you’d like to see one of the best (and fuzziest musically speaking) indie-pop/rock bands around today, hit me up at michael[at]meltingpotblog.com before Thursday at 6pm!!!

Here’s a video from the group for their song “Young Adult Friction” shot on Super 8!

Retro soulster Mayer Hawthorne is coming back to LA this week to perform at the Music Box at Fonda, this Friday November 12th. If you’d like to go courtesy of Melting Pot, just drop me a line via michael[at]meltingpotblog.com before Thursday at 6pm!!!

Here’s the video for what remains my favorite track from mr. Hawthorne, his version of the New Holidays “Maybe So, Maybe No”:

I’ve been a fan of the Heavy ever since I first heard a few of their songs on an advance single ahead of their first release “Great Vengeance and Furious Fire” in 2007. Kelvin Swaby, lead singer, was already on my radar because of some work previously done with one of my favorite trip-hop acts, Alpha. The Heavy on record are largely a rock group, often aided by samples. Live they are nothing but a high octane rock’n'roll act, with Swaby bouncing all over the stage. In a relatively short period of time they’ve moved from playing smaller venues like the Echo, to being a supporting act for the likes of Sharon Jones to headlining the El Rey all by themselves.

A measure of their success is based on the ace placement of one of their songs in a KIA commercial, but the boys (and girl, perhaps, if Little Hannah Collins is still in the group) have the chops to stay in the game a bit longer than some of their commercial assisted peers. If you want tickets to the see UK’s The Heavy perform at the El Rey in Los Angeles, make sure to e-mail me at michael[at]meltingpotblog.com before Noon on Friday 11/5!

For your musical enjoyment and general bemusement, here’s the KIA commercial that made the boys stars…one of the better stories to come out of the use of music in commercials.

Just as an additional track, here’s one of my favorites from their superior debut record:

One of the most iconic DJs in all of turntabledom will be in the Los Angeles area for two shows this upcoming week, DJ Shadow. We’ll be giving away tickets to his Anaheim show during Melting Pot this weekend, but I also have tickets to see him in Los Angeles at the House of Blues on Sunset on Halloween night! If you’d like to go courtesy of Melting Pot, just drop me a line at michael[at]meltingpotblog.com before 12noon on Saturday, October 30th, and don’t forget about the other DJ extravaganza that we’re giving tickets away for too, Ninja Tune XX!

{Congrats to Stephanie A. and Greg E. winners of the tickets to Ninja Tune XX!!!}

Ninja Tune is one of the longest running and most respected electronic music labels out there with a roster that has featured some of the best DJs and producers in recent memory, including Kid Koala, Amon Tobin, Coldcut, Bonobo, The Cinematic Orchestra, DJ Vadim, Up Bustle & Out, Deadelus, The Bug and the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra. They are celebrating their 20th anniversary with a series of shows all over the world and will be here in LA on Oct. 30th, taking over both the Echoplex and the Echo as part of the festivities. if you’d like to go to join in the revelry with Kid Koala, Amon Tobin + special guest Cut Chemist, just drop me a line at michael[at]meltingpotblog.com before 12noon on Friday.

Couple of high concept examples of what you’ll hear from two of my favorite DJ/Producers of all time:

Amon Tobin – Esther’s

Kid Koala – Fender Bender

One of the best indie-rock acts to emerge out of Canada will be taking over the Wiltern on October 19th, Broken Social Scene. For the most part after the release of “Forgiveness Rock Record,” one of my faves of 2010, the group has been streamlining their appearances, but you should probably still expect the indie-rock equivalent of Parliment-Funkadelic when they hit the stage. If you’d like to go for free hit me up at michael[at]meltingpotblog.com before 12noon on Monday Oct. 18th!

Here’s some tuneage from a recent appearance Jimmy Fallon’s late night show:

Everyone should know the name of Corin Tucker. She’s an honest to goodness pioneer in the realm of all things rock having been in two seriously influential bands, Heavens To Betsy & Sleater-Kinney. She’s also one of the best and most distinctive singers of all-time. She’s recently gotten back to playing music and is on tour with this amazing band, including one of my favorite all-time drummers, Sara Lund, formerly of Unwound. In addition to offering her new record as part of the current KPFK fundraiser, we have a few tickets to go see her at the El Rey this week in Los Angeles. Quick turnaround on these tickets, please send me a message at michael[at]meltingpotblog.com by 12noon tomorrow if you want to go!

Here’s recent video, from last week even, of the band having some fun on stage playing Sheila E’s “Glamorous Life” which strangely totally fits in a very subversive way: