Holy redwoods! Arcade Fire to play Henry Miller Library in Big Sur on Oct. 5

Get your keyboard-clickin' fingers ready, because what could be the show of the summer in the Bay Area goes on sale this Wednesday, Aug. 18 at noon.

Arcade Fire.

The Henry Miller Library in Big Sur.

Oct. 5.

I've only been to one show at the Henry Miller Library, seeing the Entrance Band, and it was a beautiful experience.

First of all, the atmosphere can't be beat -- you're in middle of the forest and feel hundreds of miles removed from conventional society.

Second, it's as intimate as you can get at a show -- the maximum capacity is 400.

Not to mention the Entrance Band rocked the shit out of those trees. Imagine what Arcade Fire could do.

I already have tickets to see the Flaming Lips on Oct. 2, when the Arcade Fire plays the 8,000-capacity Greek Theater, so Big Sur's my only chance to catch them here.

I don't want to say it'll take a miracle, but I just hope I'm one of the lucky 400 to win the concert lottery this Wednesday.

Rolling Stone gets it right with "hot" multimedia feature

It's moments like this when I don't mind so much that Web journalism is supplanting print -- nevermind that nobody can find a job in today's news industry. For Rolling Stone's "2008 Hot List," in between crowning the "Hot New Winona Ryders" and "Hot Sci-Fi Beyonce," the magazine deemed hippie bastion Laurel Canyon in L.A. as this year's "Hot Rock Scene." Home to musicians and free spirits galore, who shack up in abodes nesting cozily in the woods and stage jam sessions that revive the spirit of residents of times past (Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne all once lived there), Laurel Canyon also claims none other than the Entrance Band as native sons. And the reason I'm happy we live in an increasingly multimedia world? Rolling Stone accompanied its online version of the Hot List's Hot Rock Scene entry with a video (scan to the bottom of the story) for which they commissioned the Entrance Band's Guy Blakeslee, Derek James and Paz Lenchantin to give a personalized tour of the Canyon. The short video proved to be a pretty cool complement to the story that offers a compelling visual and audio illustration to back up why Laurel Canyon is where it's at. I can see why the band calls it an inspiring locale. And yes, there does appear to be "ju ju everywhere." Hot, indeed.

Show review: Entrance Band @ Great American Music Hall, Nov. 23

Discovering the Entrance Band earlier this year was like finding a new religion, a rock 'n' roll religion that re-imposed upon my musical mind the staples of what rock should be: riffs and beats that sound as powerful and exciting as they instinctively feel; bona fide technical wizardry from three monster musicians; lyrics that explore life, death, love and everything else that matters; and just enough sex and drugs to be too cool to bring home to mom, unless she grew up in the '60s, of course. Now a faithful attendee of Entrance's Bay Area gatherings, the latest being a knockout show on Nov. 23, the sabbath, at the Great American Music Hall, I joined a devout flock of a hundred or so hippies and headbangers crowding the stage, flanked by a few curious stragglers along for the ride. For all the brilliance of the performance, however, I couldn't help but feel frustrated that more than half the audience left before the L.A. trio even set up their instruments, thereby missing one of the best shows of 2008. I guess co-headliner Rodriguez was a hard act to follow, as his resurgence (read his interesting story here) and own feast of '60s folk rock was satisfying enough for some. And let me make the point that Rodriguez rocks, no doubt about it. But not too many bands circa now can top the Entrance experience. And back to religion, I want to spread the word about the Entrance Band, not so much to convert but to connect. In the church of rock 'n' roll, the more the merrier. Singer/guitarist/shredder Guy Blakeslee (aka Entrance), bassist Paz Lenchantin and drummer Derek James straight up summoned spirits with the Middle Eastern rock dervish of an opener "Valium Blues," which sidetracked midway into famed Nirvana cover "Love Buzz." The Entrance repertoire that I've seen over the course of four shows doesn't pull out a bad one in the bunch. The GAMH setlist featured standouts "Still Be There" and "You're So Fine," peaking with "MLK" and an incendiary version of "Grim Reaper Blues" to close, which the band teased into a thundering climax. On an end note, Wolfgang's Vault posted Entrance's entire Noise Pop, Cafe Du Nord show, the performance that got me all up on the band's jock, on its Web site. Check it out.

Wow, the Entrance Band

It's fitting that the one word so aptly summing up the Entrance Band also happens to be the title of a Led Zeppelin album: presence. Watching the L.A. trio's captivating set at the Cafe Du Nord on Wednesday was akin to bearing witness to perhaps the most truly rock 'n' roll event of this week's Noise Pop! fest. And though they've been around some years, I hadn't even heard of Entrance until learning of the show. Apparently, Entrance is this total guitar guru guy (whose real name is also Guy, Blakeslee for completion's sake) who put together a psychedelic blues rock band with two musicians equal in musical wizardry: Paz Lenchantin on fat, phat bass, from Argentina and A Perfect Circle, and drummer Derek James, pretty much a percussively flawless maniac. Entrance, on guitar and vocals, is the real deal. Playing a right-handed guitar turned 'round with his left hand, his technical proficiency blows minds with effortless, wicked-smooth solos ala Hendrix over utterly rocking Zeppelin hard blues. Though his singing sounds strained at times, it's also vindicated by its guidance from earth, air, fire and water. Judging from the eager headbanging within the Du Nord audience on Wednesday, Entrance already counts a legion of disciples, with my conversion sprouting during a segue into the Nirvana/Shocking Blue classic "Love Buzz." And at the end of the show, we learned that Entrance rock 'n' roll's not all about the sex and many, many drugs (What was that he mumbled into the mic about "sugar cube acid?"), but about politics, and songs for "the liberation of mankind." Mwah. They're badass! Exclamation point worthy. Check "Silence On A Crowded Train" from the '07 Folk Yeah! Fest:

Show preview: Entrance Band, The Mumlers, honey.moon.tree., Golden Animals @ Cafe Du Nord, Wednesday 2/27

Judging from Noise Pop previews I've spotted so far, it'll be a challenge to find in-depth coverage of shows that don't involve Hollywood actresses or snarky NYC singers. Wednesday's lineup at the Cafe Du Nord may be filled with less prominent artists, but its unique array of the folky and the freaky show it's equally deserving of buzz, or discussion, or whatever you want to call it. You've got L.A. psychedelic blues act The Entrance Band as headliners, who've obviously time-jumped from a hard rock show housed in a 1960s drug den. Totally loud, totally far out, filled with unpretentious, unwanky guitar solos and a rocking sound to which you'll happily headbang along. Plus, they've got Paz Lenchantin, from A Perfect Circle among other wondrous associations, on bass duty. May the force be with them. Groovy, groovy, jazzy, folky San Jose act The Mumlers, who just released debut full-length Thickets and Stitches, somehow manage to ride smoothly down a loosely graveled road of genres, quite a feat for a band that crowds the stage with seven musicians. Singer Will Sprott drives the sound with soul and then some, as melancholy instrumentation completes the spectacle. Sounds like a party to me. Check out the stellarly-named honey.moon.tree., San Francisco freak-folky guys prone to jamming sad Americana tunes on an assortment of acoustic and percussive instruments. Expect heartfelt vocals, offbeat lyrics and plenty of quirks coalescing into a dark sound that's firmly removed from the present time and place. Late addition openers Golden Animals are, according to their MySpace page, from the desert, an interesting locale to spawn a band so thoroughly drenched in Southern blues. While their man-guitarist/woman-drummer makeup and blues focus may scream "White Stripes," their look and sound is more of a throwback to traditional '60s rock adaptations. So if you're down, get to the Cafe Du Nord around 9 p.m. Wednesday, with $14 and an ID that says you're 21+, yum.