Tag: alexs bar

Photo Recap: Brujeria at Alex’s Bar

Janky Smooth Central Command May 15, 2022

Heavy metal’s own narcos party band, Brujeria brought their black magic marijuanaut show to Alex’s Bar and everyone was flying as the band brought the brutal, fun times they’ve always been known for. Whoever conceived of Brujeria is a goddamn genius, the whole place erupted in mosh and dance the whole night long. Photos by: Pedro Carrera Brujeria

The Spits Stain SoCal With Stops at Teragram and Alex’s Bar

Jonathan Reyes February 7, 2022

What was the allure for The Spits to perform at Alex’s Bar last week? Did they have a message? A new album is what they’re performing, But what, if anything, were we giving them; I heard it muffled under the crash of flesh punctuated by cheers and laughter from the web of limbs clambering over each other seeking the sound. What they find inside is their own; I like to watch wild smiles form on their faces. Does the band see it? Do they feel it? I guess I can only wonder, from what I gather, its preservation of legacy not tempted into glorification. The Spits are just doing the damn thing. Related Content: The Spits and Surfbort at Alex’s Bar Opening Bands Shine as OFF! Plays Alex’s Bar 16 Year Anniversary Relentless as their tour schedule has to be. I was not surprised to see them looking so virile as they pushed past the crowd on their way to the stage, onto their part of the court. They came in with considerable brother energy, which as if to set the tempo for the evening was how the vibe was. I was inspired to come closer to the center. I

Ming River Drunken Punk Rock LBC Matinee: The Spits and Surfbort at Alex’s Bar

Janky Smooth Central Command July 4, 2019

Matinee show crowds can be a gamble. Even if the bill is solid, you never know if the allure of the lazy Sunday will win over the show. Even if people attend, will they have the energy needed to make it a show to remember? At this particular matinee show, you needn’t worry. On one hand, because the lineup of Die Group, Surfbort, and the Spits is a right-left-right combo of ferocious rock n’ roll. On the other, because the show was sponsored by Ming River Baijiu liquor company. Ming River was offering free shot samples of their different flavors as well as fantastic drink specials. The crowd was at the venue getting well lubricated two hours before the first band even took stage. Most opening bands need to start playing in order to get people to crowd the stage. Most bands with drummers on lead vocals are boring to watch. Die Group is not most bands. Clad in all black and in leather motorcycle jackets no matter how bikram yoga hot the stage gets, the trio deliver monstrous fuzz guitar over solid garage grooves. Eric Big Arm uses every inch of his side of the stage while drummer and

Voluntary Electrocution: Le Shok at Alex’s Bar

Jessica Moncrief July 9, 2018

Le Shok has sent shock waves along the California coast since playing a secret show at Zebulon, performing at their official reunion at Burger Boogaloo and most recently, with a home town show at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach last Friday. The show was announced in conjunction with the “We Are Electrocution” group art show at 4th Street Vine, as well as a Burger Records repressing of their seminal album. With an all-star support line-up of local favorites such as Terminal A, The Tissues, and Assquatch, it’s no wonder many fans, myself included, were left scrambling on social media event threads trying to get our grubby hands on a ticket after the show sold out in a cool 4 hours. Promises of blow jobs and death threats for tickets littered the event page in the days leading up to the show, proving the loyalty and lengths people were willing to go to relive the punk nostalgia of nearly 2 decades past. For all of you that were fortunate enough to cop a ticket, enjoy relieving the joy and insanity of the night and if you are one of the sad fucks that didn’t make it in (like I almost was), here are some photos of

Warning At Alex’s Bar: In the Front Row “Watching From a Distance”

Rob Shepyer October 23, 2017

The rise of doom metal’s popularity after the 2000’s had generated numerous doom and stoner bands that have saturated the scene with a lot of the same old sounds. Some bands take doom places that aren’t even metal I’d argue, like Australia’s Divide and Dissolve. One of the second wave doom bands that were able to leave a mark on the genre and get people to reconsider the possibilities of playing slow and heavy is the United Kingdom’s Warning. Their 2006 album Watching From A Distance was the most sensitive and gut-wrenching metal I had ever heard up to that point- it was doom-poetry. Oddly, it may be the case that Warning take more influence from folk than traditional doom bands like Candlemass or Saint Vitus or even Black Sabbath. Doom is simply the musical vehicle the band needs to perform the message. Warning planned to tour Watching From A Distance in its entirety earlier in the year, with Sound And Fury promoting their first Los Angeles show in years, unfortunately for Warning, the reign of president Donald Trump plagued them with visa issues and stopped them from entering the country. My hopes of checking the band off my bucket

Jonny Cat Cancer Benefit at Alex’s Bar: Punk Rock, Love & Compassion

Jonathan Reyes July 26, 2017

It’s hard making fun of something when that thing revolves around someone dying of cancer but all my friends know me to pick the lowest hanging fruit so here we go. I’ll present this as half review and half roast. “Didn’t this show already happen 15 years ago?” A fair point from the man in the band playing surf rock in animal masks in 2017. Another good point he made was why a bar would have a curtain behind the band. There was definitely a feeling like this was a fire that had been diminished but relit for a honorable cause: Trying to Save Jonny Cat from cancer. I wasn’t familiar with Jonny Harbin aka Jonny Cat but the effort being displayed by his loved ones made the night feel like paying for a PBR was a noble act. Jonny is based out of Portland’s music scene. His most notable band being Cyclops before starting Jonny Cat Records, putting out records of local PDX bands. Plenty of people do the same but from talking to his friends and learning about him, I believe he stands out in the crowd. RELATED CONTENT: IN THE RED RECORDS’ 25TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY: WEEKEND AT

Le Butcherettes Leave A Pint of Blood On Stage at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach

Aria Silva-Espinosa May 18, 2017

Mex-American punk trio Le Butcherettes are sheer intensity personified onstage. On a Wednesday night at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach, the crowd sizzled anxiously under the ominous glow of the shadow-casting red lights.The entire venue has been arranged to allow for maximum capacity, standing room only. Photographers clamored on top of the scattered bar furniture, desperate for a clear shot at the stage which is only elevated slightly from the floor at the very front of the venue space. The enlivened crowd is thick, anxiously buzzing and seemingly impenetrable. Everyone wants to get in on the action and Le Butcherettes come with a satisfaction guarantee for punk music lovers. Alex’s Bar is tactfully decorated with skeletons, Lucha Libre masks and religious iconography. It is a perfect setting for the evening’s headliners to tear it up- Mexican garage punk-style. Draped in red, Teri Gender Bender took her position onstage and delivered a rallying cry of a performance. Teri is accompanied onstage by her bandmates Riko Rodríguez-López and Alejandra Robles Luna. Le Butcherettes opened their set with a song called ‘La Uva’, which was recorded with help from Iggy Pop and is featured on the newest album A RAW YOUTH. Teri displays

Celebrating Cheetah Chrome’s Birthday with Sex, Drugs, and Rock N Roll at Alex’s Bar

Jessica Moncrief February 26, 2017

The hand-picked line-up of locals supporting Cheetah Chrome and his band at Alex’s Bar was about as solid as it gets. So, cheers to the insane minds that made Cheetah Chrome’s Birthday Bash an unforgettable evening of beauty, brutality, and bruises. related content: Opening Bands Shine as OFF! Play Alex’s Bar 16 Year Anniversary Prologue For those of us in the trenches, going out night after night to document the music scene, each show is a dice roll. We painstakingly wade through mediocrity. Furthermore, we pay for overpriced drinks and parking and suffer from lack of sleep. So what pulls us away from the comfort of our home vinyl collection? For me, I seek those nights where everything comes together. Nights when parking is a breeze, the opening band rocks, the atmosphere is 100% party, the crowd is full of beautiful people, and the beer is reasonably priced. Every show serves as part of a never-ending quest to relive that first real high. That space in time where the music entered my soul like a needle piercing a vein, transporting me to another level of consciousness. Thankfully, this ended up being one of those nights that makes this music junky’s struggle worthwhile. The

Death Hymn Number 9 at Alex's Bar 16 Year Anniversary

Opening Bands Shine as OFF! Plays Alex’s Bar 16 Year Anniversary

Danny Baraz February 3, 2016

Alex’s Bar in Long Beach knows how to celebrate their milestones.. In their 16th year, Alex’s Bar has managed to survive the early years of the many obstacles put in their path by the city of Long Beach to become the most important music venue in the city. Maybe it’s because of this that the celebrations they put together to mark their anniversaries are so notable. It’s always predicated on making sure it’s twice as fun by making it a two night affair. Last year, it was two nights of Rocket From The Crypt This year, for their 16 year anniversary, they booked Keith Morris’ OFF! to play two consecutive nights. Alex’s Bar: 15 Years of Punk Gratitude w/ Rocket from the Crypt What’s left to say about OFF!? I wrote about OFF! in great detail after their show at The Echo. Keith Morris, Dimitri Coats, Steven McDonald and Mario Rubalcaba deserve every word of praise they get for their achievement of making honest, hardcore punk music in this world of corporate numbers crunching. Please check out my piece on OFF! playing The Echo last year. OFF! Transform The Echo From Peaceful Indie Venue To House of Raw Aggression No.

Take This: OFF! at Alex’s Bar 16 Year Anniversary Ticket Giveaway

Danny Baraz January 20, 2016

When I think about the state of punk rock, it’s strange to consider that Keith Morris is still the one leading punks to the promised land. Even at 60 years old, Keith Morris really has one of the only legitimate, new HARDCORE punk bands in America. OFF! has all the elements of aggression, commentary and legitimacy that are required to achieve respect in a genre that eats it’s own. It must be a strange thing to be a living icon. That’s not something you can retire from. OFF! is playing a two night stint at one of our favorite punk rock bars in the country; Alex’s Bar in Long Beach. These dates serve as a celebration of Alex’s Bar’s 16 year anniversary. Both nights are chock full of impressive opening acts that range from established legends to legit, up and coming, next wave punks. On Friday, Jan 29th OFF! will be joined by young guns, Kim and the Created, Death Hymn Number 9 and yet another solid and viable Matt Caughthran project, The Drips. On Saturday, Jan 30th, OFF! is joined by legend Mike Watt and his Missingmen as well as a second consecutive night of The Drips and

Bass Drum of Death kill in Long Beach

Taylor Wong February 6, 2015

I’m sure Long Beach has plenty of great bars and venues but lately it seems that Alex’s Bar is really the only one worth going to. Affordable drinks and some of the best line ups I’ve ever seen at a bar. Last night Alex’s Bar brought us a performance from Bass Drum of Death with a great cast of opening acts: The Vespertines, Zig Zags, and Rudy De Anda. The first band of the night was a local, Long Beach band. The Vespertines had the unfortunate, first time slot. Although the room was almost desolate at this point, Vanessa Acosta was still a ball of energy on stage. I could really appreciate what the Verpertines were trying to do because they don’t have the standard, 4/4 beat of a garage band. Vanessa reminded me of Pedro Torres of Them Howling Bones mixed with Cassandra from Wayne’s World. Not only did Vanessa have a talented voice but she can also play a mean trumpet. Following the Vespertines came the Zig Zags and they were on point last night. It seemed like they were a little annoyed that they had been bumped down a position in the line up. I can understand why

Alex’s Bar: 15 years of punk gratitude w/Rocket from the Crypt

Danny Baraz January 31, 2015

Last night, Alex’s Bar in Long Beach celebrated the first of two nights dedicated to the amazing punk rock bar’s 15 year anniversary. It’s not just the extreme care and thoughtfulness that is taken when booking bands or the red light, burlesque vibe and the fact that they don’t murder your wallet at the bar that make Alex’s Bar special. It’s the people that run it and the regulars that insist that it’s their second home. Owner Alex Hernandez and his wife Paige treat everyone who works for them like family and everyone who walks in the bar like long lost friends and really are just amongst the nicest people I’ve met in Rock and Roll. In the end, it’s about the music. The owners of music venues who have long been established and enjoyed some success typically hire someone to do the booking after a period of time. But Alex loves music as much as his patrons and still hand picks the bands that play the venue. When I asked him why he picked Rocket from the Crypt to play the two consecutive nights marking the bar’s milestone, he simply said, “Rocket from the Crypt got me through the