photo by: sexy_superstar

Belmont Shores ~ Long Beach

Taco-related violence seems to be spiking across the country, something we reported last week as well. Let’s keep our heads and remember that tacos are a sanctuary, a place to put aside our differences– much like the churches of old. In brighter news, the taco lifestyle continues to gain ground not just in North America but worldwide. We’ll have international taco reports coming at you soon…

OAKTOWN: Shooting at Oakland Taco Truck is Second in 2 Weeks
SACTOWN: Best Taco Trucks Galore in Sacramento
METHTOWN: Sacremento Taco Shop Owner Busted For Selling Meth
BEANTOWN: Real Mexican Food in Boston?
CARTOWN: Review of Tacos Sinaloa in Carson, CA
CHEFTOWN: Top Chef Runner-up To Open Taco Shack in LA?

Photo Credit: “Taco Truck” by Papalars

Klein Printers ~ East Los Angeles

My son Julian with his show favorite. He’s 4 yrs old and a car junkie! Show him a car and he can name it!

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From the Los Angeles Times:

Five children and three adults were shot Wednesday afternoon by a gunman who opened fire at a busy South Los Angeles bus stop minutes after classes were dismissed at a nearby school.

In a scene of chaos that authorities were still trying to piece together, witnesses described a gunman who seemingly appeared from nowhere and began spraying the crowd indiscriminately. As bystanders dived to the ground, some adults swept up children from the path of gunfire.

This Friday, February 29th @ Safari Sam’s with 400 Blows & Donita Sparks

Unlike Brazilian Girls and the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Ninja Academy are actual ninja. Skulking in half-shadows, their various masked members stand as still as stone before unleashing a furious assault of ass-kicking, textured hard rock. Ninja Academy stuns, surprises, and makes deadly love to your eardrums with a bevy of technical mastery, bizarre musical weapons, honor, and grace.

A duo on bass and drum-kit, Indo Ninja and Outdo Ninja respectively, start off the show, playing music with a clean, Slint-like vibe of long and beautiful song scapes that occasionally burst into aggressive slaughter. We caught their last show at Malibu Inn last fall, shortly before the clan disappeared back into the shadows for a few months, no doubt hanging from eaves and strengthening their iron bodies for a bloody return.

That time has now arrived with their first live show of 2008 this Friday at Safari Sam’s, where they’ll be playing with the renowned 400 Blows and Donita Sparks of L7 fame. Thrill to Indo Ninja’s dexterous command of his bass, while Outdo Ninja hypnotizes you. Outdo is one of the most engaging, badass drummers I’ve ever seen perform, it is hard to take your eyes off of his hard-pounding, with lush flurries of hammering. These ninjas skills know no match!

A few surprises leapt from the ether on the night we last saw the Academy, including the lovely Gongis Khan, who knelt silently, almost ornamentally, in time throwing off this passive disguise to batter her Taiko drum (a big-ass Japanese drum) with the same ferocity and precision as member Outdo shows while bashing his modern kit. Their shows are a treat for the ears and eyes, with theater and mystery thrown into the mix. About halfway through, another statue unfroze in the darkness and an elusive guitar whiz named Shogun began his six-string rampage. This axeman, who resembles Mortal Kombat’s Rayden, went buck in his tabi boots, massacring a set of pedals and effects that might leave Lee Renaldo jealous. A shrieking singer on the flank, Ninjamamalickum, bolstered the musically martial expertise with Ono-ish squeals, deliriously bringing the height of Ninja Academy’s gorgeous intensity to celestial spheres.

Ninja Academy’s players are incredibly skilled, their tunes simultaneously punk, dub, complex, and gorgeous, plus their shows are moody fun. They are hard-rockingly one of the best live bands I’ve seen in a small club in L.A. Check them out this Friday at Safari Sam’s. (Photos by Rich Abagon)