Do It. Local Natives at UCLA.

I admit it -- it's a bit difficult for me, a Trojan, to try and convince anyone to venture to UCLA for any reason. But this will be worth it.

The ever-amazing Local Natives will be playing a free show on the campus (guitarist Taylor Rice is an alum) this Thursday at noon. Having seen the hometown heroes play a few shows -- and this is not something I usually do for a band that only has one album out -- I can attest to their amazing live performances. As my boyfriend once best described, 'no one loves playing their own songs more than Local Natives.' And it's true, and often even breathtaking.

Check out what the hype is all about, and you won't regret it.

Local Natives will perform at noon at the Bruin Plaza at UCLA, located at 308 Westwood Plaza in Westwood.

-- Chau Tu

Check It. Local Natives [The Monday Download].

I was pretty bummed about missing SXSW yet again this year, but thanks to a little live streaming via NPR and KCRW, I still got to enjoy listening to some great tunes. One particularly awesome set was played by one of my new favorite bands, Local Natives, for NPR Music's Day Party at the Parish, which you can listen to here.

But if that doesn't already endear you to the (yep!) locally based band (Silver Lake, to be exact), then the following videos should. Probably inspired by the amazing Take-Away Shows from La Blogotheque (more praise about that to come another time), these creative and beautifully plotted videos take the indie rock band away from the usual stage to perform acoustic versions of songs from their intricate, soaring debut Gorilla Manor. From an alleyway to a barnhouse to an abandoned room in a high-rise, the videos do a great job of not only capturing music in a different atmosphere but also highlighting the innate talent of the band who can adapt to surroundings and still sound so darn good even in these situations.

In short, these videos are wonderful pieces in and of themselves, but also give a talented band its justice.

-- Chau Tu