Helen Stellar draws comparisons to London‘s "shoegaze" movement of the early 90s with thunderous drums, thick-grooved bass melodies and distorted guitar bliss. But elements of their sound transcend the genre. A bit Radiohead and a bit Cure. Check out the last night of their Monday-night residency at Spaceland tonight at 11pm.

If you ever find yourself wondering what it would be like to see Big Whup live and in person, redirect your gaze to the video above.  This band of five does not discriminate against instruments.  These equal oppurtunists do not stop at the go-to guitar, drums and bass.  They utilize saws, violas, tap shoes, organs, triolas, banana shakers and their own bodies.  If that doesn’t sound like a good time, I’m not sure I know what one is. 

There are only two steps you must follow upon reading this sentence.  Firstly, watch the video up there ^.  Secondly, go see Open Hand in the flesh on the 24th at Origami Vinyl Record Shop in Echo Park.  Begin!

Coachella seemed to be the proper happy ending to this indie-band fairytale, right? Five L.A. lads form a band, rent a house and make some music. Their songs are laced with perfectly-pitched harmonies, inescapably catchy rhythms and epic-esque melodies. They book shows at neighborhood lounges, then sell out holiday fundraisers. Suddenly, said band (with their effortlessly-coiffed facial hair and worn in skinny jeans) make it big and achieve the impossible SoCal musical dream

— they book Coachella.

It quickly became apparent though, from the get-go of their 2 p.m. Sunday set, that this wasn’t an end by any means for the Local Natives, but a mere milestone in their budding career. "This is awesome," said a very gracious Taylor Rice to an impressively packed Gobi tent. Yet, even for a fan as big as me, I worried whether they could handle the "heat" (after all, it’s Coachella). With only a few minor sound problems in their way, the humble quintet did what they do best and did it well —





they drove their three-part harmonies home and rocked their polyrhythmic orchestration the way their fans (some smeared with tribal paint across their faces) knew they could c/o their debut album Gorilla Manor. And though we wouldn’t say this is their last desert fest appearance, the guys played as though there was no guarantee of a next time, from the opening strings of "Wide Eyes" to the shouting choruses of "Sun Hands." We can’t wait to see what’s ahead for our Silverlake sweethearts, but we know it’s big, and after what most people have been calling their "breakout performance," we know the Local Natives are more than up for challenge. –Sara Tan

We all get that text message eventually: "Hey Dude! Come to this show tonight at this hole in the wall place with bands you’ve never heard of!" You shrug it off and turn on the TV to watch South Park. Well I got that text message, and so did a dozen other people, to catch a show for Zach and Kyle of The Braces, The Sheds, and one of Chicago‘s finest: Into It.Over It. at Dig In of Highland Park. Twas a mellow night with nodding heads all around and I didn’t regret missing some primetime TV.

-Angelo Lorenzo

Deli fave Correatown uses unique chord structure and melody to enrapture her listeners. We Barbarians combine Bono-sounding wailing (less pretentious of course) with lo-fi guitar distortion. These two great L.A. acts take the stage at Echo this Thursday April 22, joined also by the talented gals of All Wrong and The Plans Change.

Fans of mathematics and non-conformist venues, I present to you: Professor Calculus!  Together since November of 2009, this gaggle of gents has taken a slightly unconventional approach to presenting their music.  Reliant solely on word of mouth, Professor Calculus prefers to play parking lots, grocery stores, public parks and alleys.  This spontaneous approach to performing adds to their raucous, punk sensibility.  While I can’t tell you where they will be playing next, I can suggest loitering in various Ralphs’ parking lots and crossing your fingers. 

Pinch me, I must be dreaming. A cool indie band of young creatives achieving socio-political relevance through music video with a classically styled send-up of film-noir police dramas might be too good to be true. Maybe I’m reaching, but the their video Ponzi Scheme is definitely worth checking out. White Lights plays live at the Hotel Café this Saturday, April 24.

(Credit: Kyle Lishok)

In the ever so apropos words of five of our hometown heroes, “I want to lift my hands towards the sun. Baby, won’t you show me warmth again?” Can I get an amen to that? The Deli LA will be part of this weekend’s sun-thirsty mass exodus that is Coachella. We know you Deli readers are either 1) stoked to be holding one of the 75,000 sold-out tickets in your hipster hands (however intense or illegal it was to acquire it) or 2) bummed and bitter you won’t be basking at the Outdoor Stage for Yorke or basting in the Gobi tent for Florence & The Machine. Either way, friends, we’ve got you covered.

5gum is teaming up with Coachella to host an exclusive live webcast of the music fest! You guys can create your own personalized concert experience via custom viewing apps with live streams at Facebook or MySpace

The Deli dream team will also be tweeting live updates from the fest and will bring you specialized coverage next week from our faves who rep’ this city, including Mayer Hawthorne, Local Natives, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Flying Lotus and Kaskade. Be sure to follow us on Twitter starting tomorrow and check out our site next week for our Coach-coverage! -Sara Tan

If you are both a fan of music and stunning frontwomen, you should make your way to The Echo on Sunday to see Love Grenades.  They are playing with Love Is All and Weave, and they would deeply appreciate your attendance. 

Saturday was the night we made contact! The Echoplex played host to a UFO themed celebration, complete with a tinfoil hat contest and an MC decked out in space gear. Mississippi Man, The Pity Party, and Voxhaul Broadcast all played out of this world sets for their earth audience. Headliners Saint Motel donned space helmets as they walked on stage and even threw in a special cover or Peter Shilling’s ‘Major Tom’ later in the evening.

–Angelo Lorenzo

Mississippi Man

Here it is!  The video you have been waiting for is here and awaiting for eager eyes.  Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros not only know how to formulate very alluring band names, but they are quite talented musicians as well.  Their debut album, "Up From Below" is available via itunes.  They are also touring the hell out of the good ol’ U S of A in the coming months, so keep an eye out on your impending vacations.