How to See a Good Show Any Day of the Week

Wyatt Harmon is a Loose Land sibling first and foremost, but he’s also a member of TV Girl, and an avid participant in the LA music scene. We always love to hear his music recommendations and finally, we just had to ask him: “How on God’s once green/now dry and flaming Earth do you navigate this space!” Rather than type up his answers ourselves, we thought it would be more economical to just make him do it (older sibling’s prerogative!): i.e., explain his general process and his plans for the coming week. 

If you’ve been to a TV Girl show, you can think of this as a bonus episode of “Wyatt’s Corner”; and if you haven’t, consider yourself hereby cornered by Wyatt (in a non-threatening way).

I came home from a busy summer of touring about a month ago, and I think I’ve gone to two shows per week on average. I don’t have a job outside of music, so when I’m home I can afford the time it takes to scour newsletters, emails, venue websites, inst*gr*ms, etc. But the big shows still sneak up on me, so I tend to attend smaller concerts around town rather than bouncing from the Greek to the Bowl. Show announcements come from every aspect of the industry, from artist to venue to promoter to ticketing platform, even the streaming services are in on the action. Just open your Gmail Promotions tab if you don’t believe me. This information onslaught can be easy to ignore, but if you can find a way to navigate the space, you can almost always find something good to see. Sometimes there are too many great gigs to make any choice feel even halfway good.

But that’s no way to live a life. We’ve gotta do what we can with the time we’ve got, and for me, that means putting in the effort to find the right show. Process-wise, it’s not pretty, but there are still some reliable resources out there (more on those at bottom). 

Anyway, here’s what I found for the coming week (including Monday and Tuesday, even though I missed my deadline), with some context for how I found everything. I hope it helps, and I hope to see you at any of these exciting upcoming shows!

MONDAY - Cassandra Jenkins @ Zebulon

Why I Plan To Go: Cassandra Jenkins is a high-brow, indie-rock personage. Her last record a few years ago was supposed to be her last, but people loved it so much that she made another classic after that and has since been doing a whole lot of touring. I haven’t seen her in five years, but I’m super excited to see her back in action. There’s way more thought and sonic diversity in her work than you tend to see from artists who fall under the folk umbrella.

How I Found It: A friend told me about it, but it turns out I did in fact also receive emails from DoLA (the cultural events website), Sid the Cat (the promoter), and Spotify (though NB: Spotify is an unreliable marketer in this space as it doesn’t know/report if shows are sold out!!)

What You'll Get: A beautiful experience of understated intellectual music.

TUESDAY - Shannon Lay @ Gold Diggers

Why I Plan To Go: Shannon Lay plays a lot of shows around Los Angeles, and every time I see her, the entire night’s music is consistently excellent. She’s clearly selective about where she plays and who she plays with, so it makes for an easy decision whenever she’s on the bill. She’s released albums with SubPop and is deservedly well known, but we get unique access here because she’s one of the many musical talents who, like us, call Los Angeles home.

How I Found It: Via an instagram follow for the bar/venue. (A benefit of following Gold Diggers is that the shows are generally ones you can attend without purchasing a ticket beforehand.) 

What You'll Get: Renewed faith in the simple power of a voice + a guitar.

WEDNESDAY - SWEAT tour, Charli XCX and Troye Sivan @ The Forum 

Why I Plan To Go: I thought I had two previous chances to see Charli XCX in the past, but the rabid fans were always too quick for me (because she’s so fun that every fan is her biggest fan). Luckily she and Troye are playing arenas across America this time, with plenty of seats for all our butts. (Also, if you’re not already a Troye Sivan fan, get thee to a YouTubery!)

How I Found It: I was fortunate enough to have loved ones acquire the tickets on my behalf, but the people I know who did get tickets bought them immediately after the tour was announced on Charli XCX’s Instagram.

What You'll Get: The zeitgeist in real-time. Respect and admiration are mutually passed from artist to audience and back. The classic BIG SHOW experience. In green.

THURSDAY - Music Trivia @ Permanent Records Roadhouse

Why I Plan To Go: Along with the Healing Force of the Universe, Permanent Records Roadhouse is a reliably great source of excellent programming with the added benefit of real-time bin-hunting. Every few Thursdays at 6 pm they host a music trivia, which lures in music dorks from a variety of backgrounds. Trivia is indeed happening this Thursday, and it’s a guaranteed good time.

How I Found It: Sometimes you just need a music friend to tell you about these things.

What You'll Get: Music trivia… and physical media!

FRIDAY - Fcukers @ undisclosed downtown warehouse, we can only assume  

Why I Plan To Go: Fcukers are hot hot hot. They’re gonna be opening the final LCD Soundsystem residency shows in New York, so consider this your early access tip. (LCD will play eight LA shows beginning on Halloween.) The band will play live at some point, but with plenty of djs going b2b, the night is for dancing.

How I Found It: Fcukers’ instagram led to me looking at Resident Advisor, the events website for more electronic happenings around town. Lights Down Low is the dance music promoter for this show. This is the kind of show that’s at a warehouse so you buy the tickets in advance with all necessary details to follow, so connect now and enjoy later. (The last show was shut down by the cops five minutes after the doors opened… so you know the band is hot. )

What You'll Get: More sweat. Disorienting rave energy.

SATURDAY - Iji and the Lentils, Emily Yacina, and DJ Skulls Example (aka Katy from Dear Nora) @ Scribble

Why I Plan To Go: Scribble is an incredible venue/community, and if there’s a more extraordinary under-the-radar artist than Katy from Dear Nora, it’s hard to think of one. Dear Nora makes the music of Nature intelligible, somehow, and it’s always a thrill to hear the influences that underlie the artist’s sound. 

How I Found It: I noticed Emily Yacina on a poster when I left a show at Scribble a couple weeks ago!

What You'll Get: A great show at an intimate, one-year-old-but-very-grown-up venue.

SUNDAY - Coco & Clair Clair @ The Fonda

Why I Plan To Go: This Atlanta duo does fun girly rap that’s very internet in a great way. It’s pop, it’s fun, it’s NSFW. They’re not going anywhere but up, and this show could be one of your last chances to see them play a relatively small venue. 

How I Found It: I went to a show at the Fonda recently and saw them on the calendar outside. I thought I could share the good news with my girlfriend, but she had of course purchased tickets months prior. I asked her if I was in on the night hoping that she had gotten me a ticket…she said ‘no, it’s for the girls!’

What You'll Get: An extremely good time with an up-and-coming artist.

And if you want to keep things going after October 20th, here are my top five music resources for Los Angeles folks (but as noted above, it’s always a struggle!). Enjoy!

• ShowlistLA instagram account for day-of shows
• Songkick for when I’m trying to grasp the touring habits of bigger bands in the near to distant future
• Permanent Records Roadhouse website (or their flyers) -- so you can hear about Fred Armisen playing there next week!
• Venue websites like The Teragram can also show you events at their sister venues, in this case LA newcomer The Bellwether and the teeny tiny Moroccan Lounge
• Follow individual artists you like on instagram! Sorry, you just have to!

-Wyatt Harmon