Category: SHOWS

Model/Actriz at The Smell by Joshua E.J. Perez

Model/Actriz Revisit Their Roots For a Good Cause at The Smell

Aria Silva-Espinosa October 28, 2026

When stripped down to a bare-bones venue and sans eclectic wardrobe, the Model/Actriz live show experience at The Smell on Oct 20th 2026 still held enough gravity to force every single body into orbit around the performance. While selling out the shoebox venue was never a challenge for Model/Actriz , the last true DIY venue in Los Angeles serves as a petri dish in which the impact of a performance of this caliber can still bloom as it did when they played this room 10 years ago. related: The Next Wave of Sound- Model/Actriz and Girl Pusher at The Hi Hat After a decade playing together, 2026 has been a generational run for the band. They’ve even breached the membrane between the underground and mainstream music scenes by securing a coveted slot on the Coachella lineup, collaborating with Miley Cyrus on a track for her new album as well as opening for her Hollywood Bowl show earlier in the week. Admittedly my own (probably incorrect) perception of Ms. Cyrus’ fanbase is one that wouldn’t appreciate the Model/Actriz abrasive noise rock style but respect the invitation extended to a band she can appreciate, despite their stylistic differences. Commendable is the ability

Ecca Vandal at Teragram Ballroom by Abraham Preciado

Ecca Vandal Swell That Flooded the Teragram Ballroom Is Riding That Wave Into Australia

Abraham Preciado October 20, 2026

South African born rapper, singer and songwriter Ecca Vandal made a tour stop at the Teragram Ballroom for two sold out, headlining shows on Sept 28th and 29th. There has been a deafening buzz all around the world about the artists 2026 album- Looking For People To Unfollow and that has turned into sold out shows all across the world. Ecca Vandal has 4 more stops in the U.S. before finishing out the tour in her home base in Australia and New Zealand. related: Let The Zoomers Rage- 2Slimey at The Echoplex Before Ecca Vandal made her enigmatic appearance on stage at the Teragram Ballroom, a family of rock, Speed of Light opened the night with their heavy grungy sound. The trio sure the audience felt their family bond through the lead singer/bass Riley Christensen, Tyler Christensen on drums, and Cameron Christensen on lead guitar. Combined they formed a sound reminiscent of the Stooges. The family band was followed by Ezcodylee, a rap rock band, with a recent release this year, Stunt 4 Life. Ezcodylee brought a mix of old school rap attitude with an alternative crunch sound and vibe. related: F*ck Reddit, Hardcore Lives IRL- Sound and Fury 2026

Cold Waves Los Angeles 2026- New Venue, Same Attitude.

Abraham Preciado September 28, 2026

Cold Waves Festival annual stop in Los Angeles made its presence known in their new home at the Pacific Electric, just outside of Chinatown. The venue was filled with echoing post punk and industrial sounds for 2 nights. Cold Waves Los Angeles brought together artists from across genres and showcased the strength and influence the scene has maintained through the years. Night 1 Cold Waves Festival Those who arrived early on night 1 were met with a standout performance and rewarded with the pulsating sounds of Miss Trezz. Her set was a perfect way to ignite the first night. Miss Trezz is a Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and performer carving out her own space at the intersection of industrial pop/dark electronic music and synth-Pop. The multi-talented artist definitely left the audience craving more of her unapologetic stage presence and hypnotic sounds. Miss Trezz won over a packed room and walked off the stage with new fans after her head turning performance. related: Cruel World 2023- Redemption and Romance at The Rose Bowl Dil.dox continued the night and made their presence known with their unique, high energy sound assault. The Los Angeles based duo caused the room to immediately erupt with

The Prodigy At The Novo: Jilting Every Generation

Danny Baraz May 22, 2026

The Prodigy tour stopped at The Novo in Los Angeles for two dates last week. I attended night 2 on Thursday, May 14th to pay homage and dance to the 2nd most important band in electronic music history. Kraftwerk were the first but the truth is that very few people get “Kraftwerk recall” when getting songs stuck in their head. The Prodigy is the soundtrack that’s playing in your memories of the past but also still forward enough to stand up to any Zoomer litmus test of what gets to survive into their era. related: Sextile at The Novo- The Most Important Band in Los Angeles? Speaking of Zoomers- the incredible thing about this show is how little this felt like legacy dance music or even, legacy pop. After all, The Prodigy are a soundtrack of an entire era in multiple cultures that span generations- so what is that if not popular? A lot of electronic acts from the ‘90s perform with the cautious energy of museum exhibits, polishing old hits for audiences looking to relive their youth. The Prodigy still played like they were trying to blow the roof off The Novo before security shuts them down and they

Cabaret Voltaire And Their Last American Show at The Bellwether

Rob Shepyer May 18, 2026

Cabaret Voltaire was one of those bands that Los Angeles goths didn’t expect to ever see in their city again. Other bands in that group of rare elusive artists are Einstürzende Neubauten, Laibach, and Dead Can Dance. Throughout 2016 to 2019, Cabaret Voltaire played numerous European shows and festival dates while Americans salivated at the thought of them crossing the Atlantic. At the time, Trump-era visa standards made it difficult for many bands to play in America, especially ones with more revolutionary mindsets like Cabaret Voltaire, who have been making revolutionary music on both overt and subliminal levels since the band’s inception in 1973. related: Nitzer Ebb And Flow – A Night of Dance and Darkness at The Music Box Then, when the band reunited again in 2025, Los Angeles thought it had another chance at seeing the proto industrial electro punk legends. Before that, Stephen Mallinder, the band’s creator and visionary multi instrumentalist and singer, would make DJ appearances, only deepening the desires of LA’s underground for his band. Our wish was finally answered on May 12, 2026, when Cabaret Voltaire transformed The Bellwether into the best goth club in Los Angeles for one night. There was a special feeling

Let The Zoomers Rage, Millennials: 2Slimey at Echoplex

Danny Ryan May 5, 2026

Rage Rap promoter Echoe brought viral rapper 2Slimey to the Echoplex for his first Los Angeles concert on April 26th, 2026. Janky Smooth was in attendance for this vital moment in hip-hop history, and we have some thoughts on why you should give Gen Z a chance to rage in their own way, free of oldhead criticism. Gen Z really can’t catch a break in cultural analysis. From their affinity for early 00’s JNKO jeans and tacky jewelery to their gravitation towards nu-metal and emo music through TikTok. I ALWAYS see millennials complaining about how zoomers don’t have their own culture and just rip off the nostalgia from past generations, but we also have the nerve to shit on every attempt they DO make at creating their own culture. Their AI Italian brainrot memes, the “Chicken Jockey” Minecraft movie phenomenon, their parasocial obsession with pop stars and Twitch streamers – all of these contributions they have made towards the social zeitgeist often get dismissed as creations by dumb rowdy kids who were tragically warped by the internet. This sort of boomer-mentality of yelling at the clouds over the world changing is nothing new, but it’s incredibly disheartening to see peers

Eyehategod and Crowbar at Ventura Music Hall: Sludge for the Social Media Age

Rob Shepyer April 6, 2026

On March 27, 2026, I witnessed a rare performance by Crowbar at Ventura Music Hall opening for the almighty Eyehategod and it made me ask the question- how well do social media and heavy metal truly mesh? It’s nice to see our favorite bands gain exposure and release content for us all to enjoy, but is anything lost in the transaction when a band subjects themselves to tap dancing for mass media? In the case of Crowbar, they’ve gained quite a bit of notoriety from TikTok after their song “Repulsive in Its Splendid Beauty” went viral and meme-ified the band into music made for big boys who ride hogs and take no shit. The virality of the band didn’t just lead to exposure, though. It translated into ticket and merchandise sales that are noticeable to everyone in the know. related: Fresh Fridays: Neurosis, ADULT., Këkht Aräkh, Flea, and King Tuff Crowbar is a legendary band, and the song was a classic off a sludge metal masterpiece long before TikTok was developed. They didn’t need this bump in fame to cement their status as heroes in the worlds of sludge metal or their hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana. related: Acid Bath

Angel Du$t and SOS Booking Remind Us That They Are The Ones To Watch at 1720

Danny Baraz April 2, 2026

Hardcore is in the midst of frenzy right now. A common but chaotic part of the cycle for any genre having a moment. Turnstile going for the gold by making their music less appealing to it’s base. Ceremony being enshrined in this generation’s Hardcore Hall of Fame. Scowl dating the industry. It happens to every well established scene, every time there is a renewed interest. And then there’s Angel Du$t… It’s interesting to contrast Angel Du$t and Turnstile- not just because of the heavy collaboration of members between the two bands, historically. It’s a tale of two different approaches. I’m seeing Angel Du$t cement a legacy that is nowhere near being fully realized at this present date. related: Turnstile “Shake It Up” at The Novo It’s been fun watching Angel Du$t evolve their sound organically over time rather than the extreme shift that has been commonplace for bands in the scene the moment the light is shining brightest on them. This is nothing new. The euphemism is that the sound has “matured” which, for both music and people is code for less fun. I do not begrudge people for attempting to make a better life for themselves. I don’t begrudge

A Secret Riot at The Fonda w/ The Garden & Friends

Janky Smooth Central Command March 31, 2026

It was one, strange chilly Tuesday night on March 24th 2026 going to see The Garden, Hong Kong Fuck You and Ghost Mountain. Unruly punkers and medieval court jesters engulfed the dim foyer of the Fonda Theatre, barely visible without the presence of the fluorescent glow produced by the brightly lit marquee overhead. A blanket of thick black smog enveloped the atmosphere, polluted with the smell of cigarettes. Limping away towards their otherworldly expedition, The Garden embarks on another journey across the West Coast accompanied by Ghost Mountain and special guest, Hong Kong Fuck You, teasing the audience with unreleased tracks from The Garden’s anxiously anticipated album. Ending 2025 off with an aggressive, emotionally charged single dubbed ‘Ugly’, expressing the “unattractive” side of fame and the unimaginable grief of celebrity life, The Garden twins continue to explore and cultivate their signature sound. related: The Garden Summon Ghosts at The Observatory For One Strange Night In Orange County Setting the stage for the evening, HKFY (Hong Kong Fuck You) unleashed a set where deafening low-end frequencies and frantic basslines smothered the room in a thick, aggressive tension, channeling raw visceral rage that felt less like music and more like physical assault.

Brian Jonestown Massacre by Michelle Evans

Spectrums of Psyche: Brian Jonestown Massacre at Ventura Music Hall

Rob Shepyer March 24, 2026

The fact that two bands as sonically distant as ÖLÜM and Brian Jonestown Massacre could share a bill this past March 4, 2026 itself would go down in Ventura Music Hall’s history books is a testament to Psych Rock splendors. Psych Rock is the least monolithic subgenre you can find. That’s part of the sound’s psychedelic nature, that it encapsulates all the weirdness the world has to offer. That said, when a person thinks psych rock, the words come with sonic baggage. Psych Rock isn’t just an umbrella term for anything trippy, it’s a style and structure of music that is loose, vibey, wild, unhinged, dreamy, and more. related: BJM in Los Angeles- Music Snobs and Fentanyl Lolipops related: How To Humanize An Alien – Parliament Funkadelic at Ventura Music Hall ÖLÜM represents the sort of psych rock you imagine at a completely unchained house party in Silverlake circa-2015. They sounded like the best Turkish rock and roll the Middle East has to offer. It goes to show you, one man’s psychedelic is another man’s culture. That is to say, some cultures are more inherently psychedelic than others. With histories steeped in shamanism or mysticism, non Western cultures feel more psychedelic. Sure,

Hardcore’s Enfant Terrible: Kickback at 1720

Rob Shepyer March 7, 2026

Dedicated to bringing Los Angeles the most exclusive, and sometimes most dangerous bands in all of hardcore; SOS Booking outdid themselves once again by bringing one of France’s most infamous bands, Kickback, to 1720 Warehouse on February 22, 2026 after their recent headlining performance at Hellfest West. As is tradition in the genre, an uproar followed but the genre I’m referring to isn’t hardcore. If you were to ask most people about the origins of punk, they might say The Ramones or the Sex Pistols, but those who know transgressive art is rooted in literature, know that punk’s origins are in France. Arthur Rimbaud’s literature and cultural persona were the original enfant terrible that inspired the Beats, who went on to inspire the punks and it is certainly present in the mouthpiece of the hardcore band, Kickback, There have been many French enfant terribles from Rimbaud, to Comte de Lautréamont, to modern day torchbearers of the artistic tradition like Gaspar Noé in cinema, Michel Houellebecq in literature, and Kickback’s Stephen Bessac in hardcore. *The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Janky Smooth” related:

Gorillaz Invade Los Angeles With An Arsenal of Media For New Album ‘The Mountain’

Rob Shepyer February 28, 2026

Gorillaz don’t just release new albums, they release new worlds. From Demon Days to their upcoming latest, The Mountain, each album has its own story, its own physics, its own ensemble cast, and in the case of The Mountain, its own spirituality. Blending eastern traditions and sounds from Hinduism to Islam into their traditional funky alternative sound, Gorillaz’s intention with The Mountain is to put their fans on a spirit quest. They brought this quest to The Hollywood Palladium for 2 nights on February 22 and February 23, 2026; but also through their current interactive exhibit House Of Kong at the Rolling Greens nursery, which we will cover in the second part in this article. related: Gorillaz, The Most Human Band at Youtube Theater Around the world and across time, mountains have always been significant as metaphorical obstacles meant to test believers and help them rediscover their true essence. In a time of much confusion, where the human soul is routinely compromised by what we consume, we are each called to climb our personal mountains and meditate on their peaks to find new meanings for the new world in its new age. As the world changes, so do the animated

Category: SHOWS

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