Tag: The Regent Theater

LA Still Believes In Anarchy: The Exploited at The Regent

Danny Ryan July 7, 2023

While many foundational classic punk bands still tour regularly, the reckless soul that the genre is known for can often be missing with how much older the artists have become. Rather than the stagedives, partying, and rowdy moshpits that you’d expect at a punk show, many landmark bands unfortunately feel more like seeing a nostalgic cover band that you’d find at a local bar. While age has affected the energy of many artists, that has only made it more special when you experience the rare event of seeing an early punk band wreak the havoc that they would have in the prime of their career. The Exploited are one of the few examples of a classic punk band that’s able to bring this anarchy to modern audiences, transforming The Regent into the environment of a rowdy 1980’s club with their recent show hosted by Concrete Jungle Entertainment and Nothing Less Booking. With a perfectly crafted lineup of chaos including Conflict, Total Chaos, and Section H8, the spiritual essence of punk rock could have not been more prevalent in the venue that evening. The Exploited proved to us that punk’s not dead, you just have to know where to look for

Nirvana Leads to Nothing… at the Regent

Rob Shepyer September 25, 2018

90’s alternative music is having an organic and overlooked revival that is making for some of the best rock and roll of this decade. Whether it be the post-grunge sounds of Culture Abuse or the hardcore infused shoegaze of Nothing, you should get into these bands before you miss the boat. related content: NOTHING Unhinge Echoplex Audience By Bending Sonic Waves Having just released an album and made the cover of Revolver magazine, Nothing is riding a wave at the moment with a cult-like following of hardcore kids that fell in love with gaze. This new album, “Dance on the Black Top” is for my money, the band’s best. You’d think that would make this Part Time Punks show at The Regent something magical to me but such wasn’t exactly the case. Nothing isn’t a bad live band, they’re just hit or miss. Hit or miss because something is missing. What great live music does, which is suspend your thinking mind and connect everyone by making them forget themselves, Nothing achieves this phenomenon better on record than in performance. It’s a big deal when Part Time Punks moves from the Echo or Echoplex to the Regent and opening up the

Magick Man: Killing Joke at the Regent

Rob Shepyer September 7, 2018

Killing Joke is a band that cannot be pigeon-holed. The moment you call them a post-punk band, they put out an industrial album. But within either camp, they were always the misfits of the bunch. Their post-punk was more rhythmic and off-kilter than their peers and their industrial was more lyrical and poetic than the average black leather electro act. Then you have a lead singer like Jaz Coleman, a true enigma. Most singers paint pictures from their own personal experiences but often times with Killing Joke, their songs take on the perspective of eternity. And what I mean by that is, Jaz would step out of his shoes and trousers and into the shoes of time itself, watching human history and making connections we can’t see through his lyrics. related content: The Growlers Reclaim Castle Beach Goth And All Is Right With The World Again One of the rarest acts you could ever see play in America, these English gentleman of the dark arts came out with an album called Pylon in 2015, which they planned to tour in the US, playing the Regent. As fate would have it though, Illness befell the band and they cancelled all their American

One Friday Night in Hell Part 1: Show Me The Body, Twitching Tongues, and Vein at the Regent

Rob Shepyer July 11, 2018

Last Friday was when all this heatwave insanity started. I swear, bad weather in Los Angeles isn’t routine, it’s regional illness, like the flu. And with the temperature outrageously into the hundreds during the day, nighttime didn’t spell any relief for us with our without a sun to shine. A kid could be driven to do crazy things without air conditioning. They could find themselves getting into all sorts of trouble, trying to find a cooler place to hang. All the shows that were booked throughout the city on Friday ended up being havens from the boiling streets and so all the troublemakers were let indoors, to cause street havoc in the damn music halls. Weeks ago, Dillon and I decided to test ourselves on this outing and try to cover as many shows as possible. They were scheduled perfectly to hop between. The first of show of the night was fittingly hardcore at the Regent. No matter what happens there, the music would get our blood pumping to prepare us for any kind of band or audience we could come across that night. Code Orange’s sold out miniature festival of a bill featured enough amazing bands that I didn’t

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones See The Next Wave Coming at the Regent

Janky Smooth Central Command July 7, 2018

Halfway through The Mighty Mighty Bosstones set at the Regent in Los Angeles, California, vocalist Dicky Barrett boasted that the band had booked two “new” ska bands as openers for the gig from two different countries- Mexico and the U.K. He went on to remark that we are now entering a “Fourth Wave of Ska Music.” This follow up commentary begged two questions: the first being whether or not we truly experiencing a “Fourth Wave” and, secondly, if so, is this something we should be celebrating? related content: Finally, A Ska Review: Less Than Jake At Teragram “The Fourth Wave of Ska” is indeed a terminology which is beginning to be thrown around lately. In fact, Angel City Records recently released a compilation of 24 current ska groups titled “Birth Of the Fourth Wave of Ska,” with a heavy emphasis on bands who pay homage to the soul, R&B, and Motown roots of the First Wave of ska born in the 60’s in Jamaica. If the Fourth Wave is to be defined by a return to ska’s 60’s roots, neither of the Bosstones’ opening bands would truly fit into the category. Mexico’s Los Kung Fu Monkeys would not only be disqualified by the

Los Angeles Strikefest at the Regent: By Die-hards, For Die-hards

Dillon Vaughn July 6, 2018

Festival season is here and California has no shortage of options for niche entertainment seekers; from Arroyo Seco Weekend and Smokin’ Grooves to Burger Boogaloo and Summertime in LB, whatever musical religion you subscribe to has it’s fair share of representation. Delving into the true deep-cut side of things, there’s one fest that stands out as the real assembly for die-hards: Los Angeles Strikefest. Created and lovingly curated by the heavy hitting Church of the 8th Day and Nightforce Productions (a new face in the LA metal scene) version 1.0 of Strike Fest didn’t pull any punches and delivered three nights of bucket-list worthy acts. related content: The De-Evolution of Burger Boogaloo The first evening was the shortest of the three but remained far from being a pre-show. Fans were treated to sets from Los Angeles’ own media darlings Dread and Blade Killer, Matt Harvey (of Exhumed) performing in both Pounder and the reunion of Dekapitator, and a very hyped and rare performance by Detroit’s Demon Bitch. Closing out the night was Nasty Savage, the band serving one of the most direct examples of bleeding for the art. Warned by security to watch for “flying glass and metal and shit”

The Horrific Beauty of A Place To Bury Strangers: APTBS at the Regent

Grace Dunn June 26, 2018

A Place To Bury Strangers grant you access into their dome of ear deafening delights. Oliver Ackermann, Dion Lunadon and Lia Simone are the gatekeepers seething with energetic enthusiasm like a rabid dog foaming at the mouth. Upon arriving to The Regent, the first thing one ought to check for at this gig is the merch table. Why you say? It’s not often you find custom made pedals from one of the band members. First comment I hear from some guy, “They’re cheaper to buy here than online.” He turns to the lady merch keeper and asks, “You guys take card?”. related content: The First Real Day Of Summer: Hinds At The Teragram On top of the usual merch from touring bands, you can buy ‘Death By Audio’ (DBA) effects pedals crafted by lead singer/guitarist wizard Oliver Ackermann. There is great inspiration that has been spurred from his DIY pedal company. The documentary ‘Goodnight Brooklyn’ directed by Matthew Conboy gives great insight into the glorious history that raised out of the beginnings of DBA. It builds up the expectation for each wild APTBS performance. I settle into the crowd 10 minutes before their set time. Random enough, I look around the arches of the

Satyricon’s Final Los Angeles Show At The Regent: A Night Too Blackened To Forget

Rob Shepyer May 21, 2018

How do music writer’s typically describe the black metal sound? Frigid riffs? blast-beat drums? Cold shriek vocals? Epic? Medieval? Symphonic? These keywords are standard diction in black metal analysis but when talking about Satyricon one must introduce words like groove, experimental, and rock and fucking roll. That’s how the band set themselves apart from the rest of their contemporaries in the second wave of black metal (of the True Norwegian variety). They started with that typical winter blitzkrieg assault then evolved by slowing down the rhythm section for groove and making more chorus-heavy, kick-ass song structures while still fitting in the black metal mold. Satyricon should be credited for inspiring bands to blacken up their sound. related content: Slayer’s Final So-Cal Show At Five Point Amphitheater: The Most Insane Review I’ll Ever Write I remember first hearing Satyricon on the soundtrack for the cult movie Spun, directed by former Bathory drummer Jonas Akerlund and written by Will De Los Santos. The song “Mother North” off Nemesis Divina was featured prominently in the film and immediately made me take notice of their thrilling riffage and arrangements. Then once I saw the music video for “Fuel For Hatred” on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball,

Morbid Angel at The Regent: A Lesson in Death

Rob Shepyer May 13, 2018

Morbid Angel is one of the longest reigning, pioneering, OG Flordia death metal bands still touring. If one were to make a list of the “Big 4” of death metal, one would have to place them in the the number 2 slot, only after Death. Having titled their records alphabetically, the band has already gotten to K with Kingdoms Disdained an album that scrapped their former lead singer and bassist David Vincent to reunite with Steve Tucker. Under the master guidance of guitarist and band leader Trey Azagthoth, this latest 2017 release is one of the most crushing and riveting albums in the entire universe of extreme music and for a first generation death metal band to have released it among all these young kids trying to reinvent the wheel of metal, is truly significant of Morbid Angel’s greatness and right to reign. related content: The Battle of The Bays: Obituary & Exodus Clash At Teragram Ballroom Church of the 8th Day hosted Morbid Angel at the Regent with three openers, each contributing to a night of ear-splitting insanity. The first of which was Voices of Ruin, strapped with spiked leather and growls of Herculean magnitude, the band’s sound was

Whoop Whoop! ICP’s Slam Fest At The Regent: A Family Affair

Rob Shepyer March 26, 2018

It feels like I had been waiting to see ICP forever. Having passed up opportunities to see both members perform solo, this stacked bill at the Regent Theater that they deemed Slam Fest, was going to be my induction to the family and just as the posse said, everyone that attended was a Juggalo. Insane Clown Posse is an essential attraction to anyone that wants to claim they’ve seen it all. They put on a show that’s unlike any other and somehow in the last couple of years, they went from mainstream mockery to one of the most relevant groups in the country. When the United States government classified Juggalos as a gang, from coast to coast, this nation’s true first family, got together to protest in their very own million Juggalo march on Washington. I don’t think any other band in the world has as many die hard fans, driven by a true cause, that they could orchestrate a similar historical moment. Not Metallica, not Radiohead, not nobody. related content: Nature World Night Out At The Regent: Building Bridges Between Hardcore And Hip Hop This true rebellion was met with fascination from every mainstream media outlet until ICP saw

Crossing They Might Be Giants Off My Bucket List At The Regent

Rob Shepyer March 5, 2018

Jessica and I had been waiting a long time for this show. Before it was even announced, we would dream about seeing this little nerd rock band that only had the most obscure hits in the mainstream. Songs like “Particle Man” or their cover of Jimmy Kennedy’s “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” were the oddest songs to ever put a band on the map but these were the songs we grew up on. Then upon the show’s announcement, all bets were off and after few emails were sent: boom, we found ourselves at a sold out Regent Theater for an evening with They Might Be Giants. related content: Nature World Night Out At The Regent: Building Bridges Between Hardcore And Hip Hop This band’s stage presence was one of the funnest, most delightful, and hilarious that I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. John and John, Flansburgh and Linnell, still have an incredible chemistry on stage, almost like a Laurel and Hardy of rock. Flansburgh joked that the band was opening for themselves and his incredible stage banter only continued through the night. In response to one person’s flash photography, he stated it was okay for us to do what we needed to do: take

Nature World Night Out At The Regent: Building Bridges Between Hardcore and Hip Hop

Rob Shepyer March 3, 2018

Nature World Night Out is musical proof that there is more variation within the groups we separate ourselves into than between those groups. On the surface, Hardcore music and Hip Hop may seem on opposite poles of the musical spectrum but after a little bit of inspection, you realize they both have similar bounce, fashion, and both originated from the streets. Whether you’re black, brown, or white; male or female, there were artists in the Hardcore or Rap categories performing at this festival for you to project yourself onto. I remember my first Nature World Night Out, two years ago back when it was a one night event at Union Nightclub with Trash Talk and Soulja Boy co-headlining. The night was also my introduction to Antwon, Hip Hop’s ambassador to Hardcore and one of the festival organizers. Needless to say, that first NWNO was amazing and to this day, I still regret missing the second NWNO with Cam’ron… these guys booked Cam’ron to play on the same stage as Jesus Piece and No Warning for God’s sakes. related content: Trash Talk, Ratking, and Pangea: Slam Dance 101 At The Echoplex This year’s third annual installment migrated downtown to the Regent