But the clued-in (including the Lizard King himself) have always known that Love was the original L.A. band. Forever Changes, their enduring classic from 1968, was folk-based, baroque and ominous, offering a "Bummer in the Summer" of Love and somehow managing to be beautiful and largely subdued while articulating the baddest of trips.

When "Love With Arthur Lee" is listed at an ultramodern hang like the Knitting Factory, it might be a little puzzling. Instead of relics faking it for some easy green, the audience will get the psychedelic blues of a newly freed man, maybe a minor historical event. In December 2001, Love frontman Arthur Lee ended an extended prison stay stemming from an incident involving a gun (of which many details are still in dispute). Lucky attendees of an unannounced Spaceland gig last month report that while the jailhouse rust may still seem fresh on his hands, today's Lee remains a performer of great power. This date is simply a must for the faithful of that other canon, in which Forever Changes holds its place. Opening with her poetry is Exene Cervenkova, once-and-again singer for one of those other L.A. icons.