Tag: boy harsher

Siouxsie Sioux at Cruel World 2023 by Albert Licano

Cruel World 2023- Redemption and Romance at The Rose Bowl

Danny Baraz May 26, 2023

One of the definitions of the word “Cruel” is, “to cause pain and suffering”. As much unintentional cruelty as Cruel World 2023 inflicted on the psyches of so many attendees by abruptly shutting the festival down half way through Iggy Pop’s set on Saturday, festival promoter and corporate media juggernaut Goldenvoice offered an olive branch of redemption by giving those who didn’t have to leave town on Sunday what most of us came to see- Siouxsie Sioux playing her first set in L.A. in 15 years. The build-up to Cruel World 2023 was palpable- not only for the 1000’s of out of towners that took time off of work, booked airfare, hotel and budgeted all year for what was for many, their annual vacation but also an elusive enthusiasm from Angeleno music fans who are jaded and spoiled by their residency in the music capital of the world. It would’ve been tough for any festival to live up to the magick we witnessed at Cruel World 2022 which peaked on the 2nd day of the festival where we witnessed Bauhuas bloody the stage and make the moon disappear but somehow, Goldenvoice rode 2022’s wave into the shores of excitement and

The Sounds of Spring in Summer: Primavera Sound LA 2022

Rob Shepyer September 22, 2022

On the surface, Primavera Sound LA appeared to have an almost perfect lineup. There was something for everyone. Legendary rockers like Kim Gordon or Nine Inch Nails, extreme acts like Mayhem, exotic and rare imports like Arca, Drain Gang or Chai, young bands on the verge of greatness like Amyl and the Sniffers or Dry Cleaning, or massive millennial bands like Cigarettes After Sex and Fontaines D.C. For those who fancy themselves adventurers across the modern musical landscape, this was a necessary expedition. I checked many bands off my must-see list all in one weekend and these weren’t even the headliners. If Primavera Sound could be defined by two things though, they would be expert curation of international artists and an unforgettable set by Nine Inch Nails. related content: Stroking to LCD: This Ain’t No Picnic Prior to Primavera weekend starting, I checked out Dark Side‘s Hollywood Forever show, their first performance since 2014. It was a mind-bending musical experience, transcendent of whatever it is we call psychedelic rock into something beyond genre or ideals. With this in my rear view mirror, I had high hopes for their performances finishing Primavera’s opening day on Friday along with the rest of

11 Must See Artists at Primavera Sound LA

Janky Smooth Central Command July 25, 2022

Somebody pinch us, Los Angeles must be dreaming. It seems too good to be true, that we’re getting our own version of Primavera Sound, one of the most eclectic music festivals in all the world. Primavera is known for its unique and top-notch curation, with a taste for exotic artists that range from all over the musical and geographic map. You can catch Mayhem or Kim Gordon or Girl in Red. There is something for everyone at Primavera Sound LA, but knowing their audience, everyone going is pretty much into everything. They might not listen to black metal, but they’re down for the vibe, at least for an hour. Primavera Sound is about capturing the wide spectrum of fun there is to be had in the name of music, sweet music. We’ve chosen 11 artists we’d rather die than miss at the festival for you to check out. You can buy tickets to Primavera Sound LA here. Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor’s festival return to Los Angeles sees him headlining once again in a slot that ensures he will get the platform he needs to let his art make a powerful statement about the world we’re living in. There’s so

Two Nights of Emotional Body Music: Boy Harsher at the Belasco

Rob Shepyer April 26, 2022

Boy Harsher‘s rise from underground dance music phenoms to one of the most in-demand goth duos in music, is not just a tale of triumph over cookie-cutter culture, but also a testament to the power of pure emotion and sensuality over pop, glamour, and the mainstream. Boy Harsher’s music is coined Emotional Body Music, a play on Nitzer Ebb’s Electronic Body Music which is a play on Electronic Dance Music. The three of these acronyms dance around each other in a story that has Boy Harsher, Jae Matthews and Augustus Miller, as its protagonists. On the softer side of taste that industrial and goth fans usually enjoy, Boy Harsher appeals to everyone that wants to spend the night losing themselves to irrational movement. To become a total extension of your emotions, to let your body lose control for the sake of release and resurrection by the end of a set, it’s hard not to care how you appear but if you can start moving incrementally harder, you may be able to redefine yourself as the person thats surpassed your previous self’s problems. related content: The Sound Of Sex: Boy Harsher Seduces The Echoplex I remember seeing Boy Harsher at Substance

Spooky Psych Sounds: Levitation 2021

Grace Dunn November 24, 2021

Words by: Scott Urian and Grace Dunn Photos by: Grace Dunn I had no idea what to expect on my way to Levitation 2021. It was my first Levitation experience. Damn – it was also the first time I had been on an airplane, travelled out of state, or seen a single show with a crowd of more than a hundred people in the past two years of surprises and confusion. My overall takeaway from this experience was more surprises, more confusion, and absolutely no doubt that I will be back next year. My navigator of all things bizarre in Austin was none other than Grace Suzette. Photographer of the psychotic, Levitation veteran, and devout member of all things loud. With her confidence and my wide eyes began a four day melee of music at various venues in the Red River District that would have killed me had I not been having so much fun. related content: Psych & Fury: Levitation 2019 Thursday Angelica Garcia at Stubb’s Angelica’s deserved a much denser crowd. Those who planned their night around Crumb can’t be blamed, but missed out on a showcase of pure talent that started the momentum of the whole weekend.

Becoming the Night: Substance 2019

Rob Shepyer November 7, 2019

Taking every kind of music into account, the genre that best fits Los Angeles has to be post-punk, or better yet, goth. Why exactly? Perhaps it’s the way the shadows hit the concrete, or the loneliness of a city where people think being neighborly only causes more trouble, maybe it’s the genre’s long tradition from the Sunset Strip to the barrio. Goth has always stayed strong whether it’s the biggest scene in the city or not. Given all this, an annual goth festival where people can wallow and dance the night away is a necessity. In previous years, Cloak and Dagger was the go-to festival for such affairs but as of 2019, Restless Nights and Spaceland’s Substance festival which took place at the Los Angeles Theatre, is now the premiere goth festival in Los Angeles. What I found most interesting about this festival, beyond the actual music, was the fact that every major goth promoter had a hand in it. Along with Restless Nights; Part Time Punks, Das Bunker, and Lethal Amounts were also in the mix. The common threads between all the bands present at the 2 day event were darkness and electronics. Everyone wore black. related content: Cloak

Take This: Win Two Tickets to Substance Festival

Janky Smooth Central Command October 25, 2019

The ultimate post punk, industrial, darkwave festival of the year approaches in only a few weeks and we’ve got your tickets to see some of our favorite bands here at Janky Smooth. It’s so awesome to see Adult. in their rightful place so high on a lineup as direct support under Gary Numan. Both sets are sure to be bonkers. Then of course everyone can’t wait to dance and sweat to Boy Harsher. Perhaps the most exciting things on this lineup are the emotive forces behind John Maus and Lust For Youth who will be having Tamaryn sing with them during their set. It’s all going to be very wild. YOU CAN BUY TICKETS HERE OR: ENTER TO WIN 2 TICKETS TO SUBSTANCE NOVEMBER 1ST AND 2ND AT THE PALACE THEATER Step 1- Join Our Newsletter (look for pop up every time you arrive at jankysmooth.com) Step 2 – Tag a Friend in the comment section of our INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, or FACEBOOK Substance Ticket Giveaway Post WINNER WILL BE SELECTED ON OCTOBER 28TH AT 11AM PST VIA EMAIL CONFIRMATION

Is This Dungeons and Dragons? No, Cloak and Dagger, Actually

Jonathan Reyes November 20, 2018

You go to a goth fest expecting 90’s Blade as a theme, but the black light shone the crowd for what they were. The weekend crowd from Halloween Horror Nights. The music was right, the expanded line up serviced all shades of goth. The venue was straight out of Miss Murder. Alas the crowd was 6 feet under aside from a few spurts of life during Boy Harsher and Health. related content: The Sound Of Sex: Boy Harsher Seduces The Echoplex I have a theory that the venue makes the show more so than the crowd, possibly even the band. Cloak and Dagger moving the show from the State to the Los Angeles Theatre was a mistake. I think they should have applied their strict code to the venue. Damn the crowd and damn the theatre. I wanted darkness, I wanted to feel like it was a privilege and not a purchase, smaller room, a darker room, a strict dress code. related content: Cloak And Dagger Fest: The Heart Of Los Angeles Bled From Dusk Till Dawn Beside wanting more ruffled Victorian shirts and latex the music and entertainment outstanding. The Jarson family known as Body of Light brought everyone

A Softly Harsh Friday The 13th W/The Soft Moon and Boy Harsher At Teragram

Rob Shepyer April 16, 2018

Friday the 13th should be celebrated with blood… with killing… with a haunting of your soul. That might not require a weapon unless of course, you mean music and in this case, The Soft Moon‘s post punk is the sharpest knife. Selling out show after show on his tour, Luis Vasquez’s trio from Oakland, CA, has created a new sound in an old form. Lethal Amounts brought together three musical acts, each dwelling in the same realm of dark music but from completely different approaches. Drenched in blue lights and dense shadows, Liebestod is a one man show that uses noise to disjoint and sever your connection to anything familiar in music. He’s a noise performer with an industrial edge that uses electronics to make every show a completely new and original thing. Improvising with every fidget of his wires, I’m not even sure if he knows what sonic monster, he’ll end up spawning even so, it was pleasurable to the eyes, the ears, and with the foundation shaking bass, to the skin and bones too. Based in L.A. but hailing from St. Louis, the rust belt, one can imagine what sort of industrial upbringing fueled his current line of

The Sound of Sex: Boy Harsher Seduces The Echoplex

Rob Shepyer January 29, 2018

If you were to cross Jae Matthews, vocalist of Boy Harsher, on the sidewalk you may not have any idea you were just in the presence of an industrial dance goddess. Hailing from Savannah Georgia, her and producer August Muller, don’t necessarily fit into your idea of what a goth should look like but then when you hear their combined force, you sense that this is the music that the world’s darkwave/industrial dance/EBM should crowd around. Part Time Punks did it again, lassoing a lineup that could sell out the Echoplex two times over with Boy Harsher getting support from Din and High-Functioning Flesh. Both bands feature producer Greg Vand, yet both bands sound completely different. Din was first, with female vocals and guitars to pair with Vand’s must-dance soundscapes. The filtered vocals gave the industrial sounds a bit of a shoe-gaze or post punk flare. Although sounding totally unique, Din offers a more straight forward and obvious dance triggering sound than High-Functioning Flesh. Using samples of voices to make musical medleys and punchy beats that marry Susan Subtract’s punchy crust vocals, High-Functioning Flesh sounds like revolution music for the cyber punk era. I’ve seen them numerous times now and