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Jonathan Richman: The Gift Of Being Present at Ojai Valley Women’s Club
Michelle Evans
December 17, 2025
I was not expecting to have my heart broken at the Jonathan Richman show at Ojai Valley Woman’s Club this past December 9th, 2025. Jonathan Richman is arguably the kindest soul in punk, except I’ve never actually heard anyone argue this. On the surface he comes off as simplistic, idealistic and perhaps even naive. Not everybody “gets” Jonathan Richman and by all accounts this seems perfectly fine with him. He’s never bent himself to appear any differently than exactly who he is. When he led the highly influential proto-punk band The Modern Lovers, their fast, energetic hit “Roadrunner” sort of blew up in its own way and turned them into a household name…if your household was hip enough at least. Following this success, The Modern Lovers responded by opening their very next show with silly, cute and quaint “I’m a Little Airplane,” complete with stretched out airplane arms by Richman and, yes, airplane noises from the entire band (nnnyyoww nnnyyoww!). Audience members constructed paper airplanes and floated them towards the stage, to the delight of The Modern Lovers. The scene made the concert look more like a children’s show and was not at all what the audience was expecting following
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Every Cap’n Jazz Song Is My Favorite- Live At The Wiltern
Michelle Evans
December 10, 2025
On November 20th 2025, I saw Cap’n Jazz at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, CA and then immediately drove to Las Vegas. The familiar five hour, starlit drive through the glowing blue Mojave Desert served as a catalyst for my mind to wander and wonder…is time travel real? What the hell just happened at the Cap’n Jazz show? related: Emo Is Hot Mulligan at The Hollywood Palladium As Southern California was being drenched by a rare storm, a weird-ass but perfectly curated variety show was going down on Wilshire Blvd. The curiously stacked lineup looked like any one of the mixed CDs I would have made in high school. Some thoughtfully burned acid jazz courtesy of Digable Planets, an angsty AFI track, “The Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats. A perfect compilation. I would take a sharpie and scribble “Trix Mix” or something equally dumb on the white surface, but man would that tracklist hit hard on the bus ride to school. Here at The Wiltern, Cap’n Jazz invited four wildly eclectic supporting bands to the bill, as well as four different DJs buffering the sets. related: Ceremony Gets Their Flowers at Hollywood Palladium Anthony Family, a new project led
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Habak Find Beauty In The Horrors Of Humanity At The Roxy
Rob Shepyer
December 5, 2025
The Habak show at the Roxy on November 29th, presented by Viva! was more than your typical winter punk rock invading West Hollywood. I first heard of Habak after seeing Lagrimas open for Soul Glo at Zebulon in 2022 and then following the band until their Teragram takeover with Habak- I knew Los Angeles was witnessing the formation of a new scene, subgenre, and phenomenon in punk music. Both Habak and Lagrimas represent a style known as melodic crust. related: Earth’s Crust- CY Fest 2024 at Belasco Sonically akin to a lovechild between Deafheaven and Doom, Habak represents the emotional interior of anarchism. With so much political activity both in underground and mainstream circles, we often get exposed to the surface of rebellion but never the glacier of emotionality underlying the action. We see the rallies, the chanting, the rioting, the rhetoric, but when anarchists go home, we rarely see the pain to empathize with. Habak gives the world a sonic synthesis of that pain so we don’t have to venture into every anarchist’s home to see it for ourselves. How does that pain feel? Like suffered screaming over the most beautiful, dissociative harmony. related: Avant Garde Headbanging w/ The
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Oi My God: Cock Sparrer at The Palladium
Danny Ryan
November 28, 2025
On November 22nd and 23rd 2025, legendary Oi band, Cock Sparrer played two sold out shows at the Hollywood Palladium. Have you ever experienced something that you felt you “weren’t supposed to”? Whether it’s something paranormal, shocking, surreal, from another dimension, or like you accidentally found yourself having traveled back in time? While there is a rising scene of newer Oi bands like The New York Hounds and The Chisel, seeing an original band from the 1970’s movement is nearly unheard of nowadays with legends from founding groups like Angelic Upstarts and The Business unfortunately passing away in recent years. related: LA Still Believes In Anarchy – The Exploited at The Regent Of all the original boot-boy skinhead Oi bands from 1970’s England; few have even come close to reaching the cult status that Cock Sparrer has in modern times. Hell at this point, the term “Oi” is almost unanimous with Cock Sparrer nowadays and especially their 1983 no-skips masterpiece of an album Shock Troops. Returning to Los Angeles for the first time in 25 years to completely take over The Hollywood Palladium on November 22nd and 23rd like it was a coup run by unruly ‘77 Rude Boys, this
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Emo is Hot Mulligan at The Hollywood Palladium
Danny Ryan
November 25, 2025
Hot Mulligan headlined the Hollywood Palladium on Nov 19th 2025 and that’s important. I’ll tell you why. What qualifies as “Emo” has shifted dramatically in many waves throughout the years. There are some that consider 90’s Midwestern Emo like American Football to be the pinnacle of the genre, while others look all the way back to the 1980’s melodic hardcore projects like Embrace and Jawbreaker as the roots of the scene. Regardless, true up-and-coming Emo artists have been relegated to the underground again in the post-Hot Topic and MCR years of pop culture, with many of them choosing to take influence from all waves of Emo rather than wasting time with arguing about “what real Emo music truly is”. related: Emo Never Dies – My Chemical Romance at T Mobile Arena Hot Mulligan are one of the few Emo bands in more recent years to transcend out of the underground and into more mainstream status, as evidenced by their Hollywood Palladium headlining show on November 19, 2025. Just because they have reached the status of headlining a venue as massive as The Palladium doesn’t mean they have forgotten their underground punk roots however. Hot Mulligan wants to emphasize that they
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Substance Festival 2025: The Post Pandemic/Post Punk Era
Danny Baraz
November 14, 2025
Substance Festival in Los Angeles has become a right of passage in this city and this past November 7th and 8th we attended the 2025 installment in the festival’s return to the Belasco Theater. Approaching this Substance Fest review with any overt enthusiasm would be antithetical to the spirit of the way we revel in the morose nature of this art- the oddly mesmerizing decay of destruction/creation approached with a somewhat detached dreariness that is direct in it’s aloofness. But also… the fucking horrific beauty of it all… or whatever. related: Cloak And Dagger Fest- The Heart Of Los Angeles Bled From Dusk To Dawn Even with the orbits and cycles of pop culture and music circling back to black lipstick among the masses, the mainstream attention can cause a scene to go into lockdown and it’s members more discerning on where they spend their show dollars. So for Substance Festival, it was important to pull in the beating heart of the scene at the increased ticket price. related: Sextile At The Novo- The Most Important Band in Los Angeles? A touch for curation in the dark arts is what scene loyalists look for most and their return to the
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The Saints at the Teragram Ballroom: Still Stranded After All These Years
Janky Smooth Central Command
November 11, 2025
I never thought I’d ever get the chance to see The Saints live, especially after the passing of frontman Chris Bailey. When I heard the band was reuniting with a new lineup, I had my doubts. The Saints are a legendary Australian band whose influence shaped countless others. But seeing their current incarnation on November 5, 2025 at The Teragram Ballroom, featuring original members Ed Kuepper and Ivor Hay, proved that they truly do justice to the old classics. The lineup was rounded out by Mark Arm (Mudhoney), Mick Harvey (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds/The Birthday Party), and Peter Oxley (The Sunnyboys). Touring as The Saints ‘73-‘78, they focused on the band’s golden years-and it was everything a fan could hope for. Of course all the obligatory “hits” were played like “I’m Stranded” and “This Perfect Day.” The 90-minute set was perfect. related: Cruel World 2025 at The Rose Bowl – We’re Only Happy When It Rains Opening the night were The Chimers, an Australian guitar/drum duo who delivered a driving post-punk set that perfectly set the tone for what was to come. Words and Photos: Albert Licano The Saints at the Teragram Ballroom weren’t just a nostalgia trip-they
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Soft Play and KennyHoopla Make WeHo Punk Again at The Roxy
Taylor Wong
November 4, 2025
It was Tuesday, September 23, 2025 at the legendary Roxy Theatre on Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood, and the night had that undeniable buzz that only happens when a crowd knows they’re about to witness something unhinged in the best possible way. The audience was young, charged, and balanced; a good mix of people, but it was the women who owned the pit. They slammed, laughed, picked each other up, and set the tone for the night; wild but communal. The lineup was a dream pairing for anyone who still believes live music should leave a bruise: KennyHoopla and Soft Play, two acts with nothing to prove but everything to burn. related: L7 Celebrate 40 Years w/ Lunachicks And Friends at The Belasco KennyHoopla took the stage like a live wire, feeding on the room’s pulse from the first note. He was restless and genuine, bounding from one end of the stage to the other, never still long enough to cool down. His set felt like sprinting through an emotional minefield: loud, tender, and kinetic. Some of the tracks in the mix included “how will i rest in peace if i’m buried by a highway?”, “ESTELLA”, “hollywood sucks”, and “monalisa,
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GBH at Ventura Music Hall- Street Punks In Paradise
Rob Shepyer
October 29, 2025
The scene was the Hi Hat. One of the most vibrant venues during its short life on York, a must attend space on Highland Park art-walk nights. I don’t remember who was playing, just that it was a punk show because Blaque Chris was DJ’ing between the bands that night. During his set, Blaque Chris spun a track that stood out to me as especially vibrant and danceable, but in that street punk way, like kicking up dirt in the discotheque. I didn’t know the song at the time and went on a long journey trying to find it. Before seeing GBH at Ventura Music Hall though, the planets aligned to tell me the song was Big Women by GBH off their “Leather, Bristles, Studs, and Acne” album. GBH is quintessential street punk- the exact sound and spirit of the punk genre and look. Songs like Big Women are exemplary of that vibe. Comical, crass, gritty, simple, rhythmic, and too much fun to stop your body from hopping up and down. It took me far too long to see them perform, but finally, I had my punk rock rite of passage on October 17, 2025 by seeing them with Slaughterhouse
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Juggalo Halloween Party: Insane Clown Posse at House Of Blues Anaheim
Danny Ryan
October 28, 2025
Insane Clown Posse was not a band I ever expected to see in my lifetime, especially if you would have asked me in my younger years. Between their goofy carnival-sounding production, overly edgy lyrics and imagery, trailer trash fanbase, their beef with Eminem; the list of reasons not to like them upon first impression is endless. As time goes on and Juggalos get older however; the perception of Insane Clown Posse has changed drastically over the years with Vice’s documentary about their Gathering Of The Juggalos festival, their collaborations with Danny Brown and more recently Jelly Roll, and their song Miracles becoming a viral sensation upon its release. ICP are the black sheep of music as a whole, and the world has mostly decided that we were a bit too hard on them over the years. related: OC Did It All For The Nookie: Musink Tattoo Convention And Music Fest 2019 I decided I wasn’t doing my due diligence as a music journalist if I had never experienced them live, and being as they never visit Southern California; this was one of the few chances I had. House Of Blues Anaheim made the ridiculously insane decision to book them right
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Sextile At The Novo: The Most Important Band In Los Angeles?
Danny Baraz
October 22, 2025
A bold question. What elements create rank of importance in art? It’s easier in a music scene. Sextile played The Novo on October 11, 2025 and they left a lasting impression for anyone who was there to witness it. Walking into the venue that night felt like stepping into a vortex where underground club culture, raw post-punk perfection, and Los Angeles local band chaos fused into something futuristic. I’ve seen Sextile before, but this was different. This was a band leveling up in real time, playing like they were headlining a festival the world hasn’t invented yet. And Los Angeles showed up to The Novo, hard. The Novo was already buzzing the second I walked in, bodies packed shoulder-to-shoulder on the floor, the balcony filling fast with goths, punks, ravers, skaters, fashion kids, and aging industrial heads who looked like they’d been waiting 20 years for a band like this. Sextile draws tribes. And when a band pulls that many subcultures under one roof, you know something important is about to go down. related: Dark Entries- Bauhaus at The Palladium related: The Lost Coverage of Substance Fest 2022 – Los Angeles Theater The night kicked off with the kind of
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French Outfit AIR Takes Us On A Moon Safari in San Diego
Grace Dunn
October 15, 2025
San Diego, California was in for an ethereal experience transitioning from summer to fall with legendary French band Air on their stunning North American tour. Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel have been on the road for a significant stretch of time earlier this year enchanting crowds with their compositions flowing out of their iconic white cinemascope ratio spaceship. I have been in grand anticipation to catch their clean, nouvelle architectural stage design celebrating their 25th anniversary of “Moon Safari” since I missed their set last year at The Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. related: Sensory Interference – Thom Yorke At The Orpheum Theatre Once the tour was announced, I originally sought out to photograph their set. To my delightful surprise, I was granted the sumptuous opportunity to capture Air in the written word; like lightning in a bottle. Venturing on a road trip midweek was a blissful escape from Los Angeles to San Diego in preparation for ascension into the cosmos by way of “Moon Safari”. Nestled in an intimate, open air venue, built 1941 into an existing canyon on Montezuma mesa, CalCoast Credit Union Amphitheater greeted patrons with a cozy and alluring aura on this brisk Autumn evening. Walking
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