Category: SHOWS

Photo Recap: Yob and True Widow at 1720

Janky Smooth Central Command March 25, 2022

Yob is doom metal’s most powerful trio. The motto “Yob is Love” is something you feel anytime you feel the warmth within their kinetic synergy onstage, as their bombastic doom sounds pass between each player. Love is what you feel as you blast through walls of sound and come out the other side feeling no pain, but pleasure instead. They played 1720 with True Widow and gave the city another taste of doom metal redefined through their transcendental lens. Yob True Widow

The Final Piece: Puzzle at The Vermont

Dillon Vaughn March 23, 2022

As usual, Minty Boi has been killing it with their bookings, maintaining the crown of the most forward thinking promoter in LA. Catching a rare set by Fletcher Shears’ solo endeavor Puzzle at the recently opened Vermont Hollywood truly felt like a leap into a new era thanks to both the music and the venue itself. related content: The Growlers Reclaim Castle Beach Goth And All Is Right With The World Again The Garden have a unique reputation because they’ve managed to become increasingly accessible while simultaneously cramming more dissonant and challenging elements into their music. The frequently mentioned 20+ solo records released over the years by Fletcher is absolutely a noteworthy feat, but even more impressive is how varied those releases manage to be while clearly maintaining their creator’s fingerprints. Throughout most of the night the entire crowd in the Vermont bounced in unison and collectively lost their shit while screaming along with the lyrics to every single song on the setlist – something you hardly ever see in the city with the biggest reputation for low attendance and an abundance of crossed arms and bored gazes. related content: … And We’ll Pretend It’s Christmas Day At The Roxy

Art’s Spirit Animal: Yves Tumor at the OC Observatory

Rob Shepyer March 22, 2022

Attempting to describe Yves Tumor to a stranger on an elevator, I told them the band was like a psychedelic Prince. This is a bit reductive, but a compliment to all parties nonetheless. Yves Tumor is much more than an artist to be compared to anyone in such definitive terms. Yves Tumor deals in abstracts and pushing boundaries beyond definitions and comparisons. Yes, there’s elements of sunshine psych and vintage hard rock riffage; yes, they broke out into an ode to Faith No More’s “Be Aggressive” at one moment of their OC Observatory set; and yes, they’ve cultivated all the murky plummets of the Jungian shadow to make themselves much more than a band of humans, they’re something transcendent when they take a stage. Yves’ singer, a mystery man conspicuously named Sean Bowie, created music to escape from his dull, conservative surroundings as a young adult. With so much art pouring out of him, the last two signifiers that come to mind when staring at him onstage are “dull” or “conservative”. Sean Bowie is a living enigma, transcending categories to exist simply as art itself. Or more colloquially, Sean Bowie is art’s spirit animal. related content: Desert Daze 2021: Music,

PHOTO RECAP: Serpentwithfeet at The Fonda

Janky Smooth Central Command March 13, 2022

One of the brightest, most unique and spellbinding voices in alternative R&B, Serpentwithfeet, brought his boundary-pushing show to The Fonda Theatre and gave Los Angeles a taste of romance, tragedy, drama and comedy all through the vehicle of rhythm and blues music. Supporting him for this unforgettable show was Devin Tracy. Here are some incredible pics from the show. Photos by: Erika Reinsel Serpentwithfeet Devin Tracy

Love at the Lodge Room: Habibi in Highland Park

Rob Shepyer March 12, 2022

There was a time in the early 2010’s when the worlds of garage rock and psychedelic indie music were still male dominated arenas. Of the few bands that broke the gender mold in garage rock and made fans want to see more women in the spotlight at these low lit shows, New York’s Habibi is both one of the most important and under-recognized outfits. Combining Iranian romance and cool with lo-fi East Coast indie rock was always a recipe for uniqueness and trendsetting. related content: Dream James: Arooj Aftab at Lodge Room The word Habibi, which means “My Love”, signals warmth and acceptance. Just the vibes their shows emanate, especially this one at the Lodge Room, which showed a chiller, more laid back side to garage rock than many in Los Angeles are accustomed to. Our garage rock is heavy and fuzzy while New York’s is more atmospheric. Habibi’s realness felt like New York, the music had no inclination to rush anywhere and was firmly grounded in the moment. They’re much more The Velvet Underground than The Doors. The Lodge Room was the perfect venue to host this event. Something about the sacred imagery and architecture becomes very beatnik under

Turnstile “Shake it Up” at the Novo

Danny Baraz March 11, 2022

As I stood in the Novo vaxx card checkpoint line that wrapped around the block and took an hour to traverse, I found myself wondering what it would be like to see Turnstile in such a controlled environment, with a barrier and many different obstacles blocking the way between the stage and the floor. While I was waiting outside lamenting, I missed openers Citizen, Coco and Clair Clair. Sorry guys. It’s hard to believe Turnstile released Pressure to Succeed 11 years ago. While Turnstile have ruled the hardcore scene, to a large degree, to simply call Turnstile a hardcore band would be missing the mark on the massive mutt of music that spawned them. But even with the hints of hardcore punk and most recently, emo (don’t hate me) laced into their songs and albums, make no mistake, they are a hardcore band. Related Content: The Most Complete Sound and Fury 2017 Review on Earth It had been a few years since I saw Turnstile live at Nature World Night Out and the first time since their album, Glow On hit most hipster top 10 albums of 2021- no small feat for a hardcore band from Baltimore. And with that

PHOTO RECAP: Drain at 1720

Janky Smooth Central Command March 8, 2022

SOS Productions should stand for Sold Out Shows because they are on fire with their recent events, most notably Drain‘s appearance at 1720 which brought every kid and their boogie board out of the wood work to surf the crowds all night during this hardcore banger for the history books. If you’re not familiar with Drain by now, they’re one of the dopest sounding hardcore bands with a crossover edge at the moment. Their Sound and Fury set is so legendary, crowds keep trying to recreate the magic. Along with No Pressure and Ingrown, this was a night LAHC won’t soon forget. We stan for Drain here at Jankysmooth, so here are a bunch of photos from the night. Photos by: Manuel Arredondo Drain No Pressure Ingrown

ShadowMANcer: Dorian Electra’s Hyper Pop Pandemonium at El Rey

Rob Shepyer March 7, 2022

Dorian Electra has been one of the hottest tickets in town ever since their 2019 album Flamboyant introduced them to the world as a satirical songstress, non-binary clown, voice for voiceless misfits, and hyper pop visionary. Between then and now, the pandemic severed any chance to see them perform live but for a small handful of shows that I kept on missing. Dorian then released My Agenda in 2020 and all bets were off. Dorian was no longer an underground sensation, they were a pop icon in the making. Canoodling with the likes of Charli XCX, The Village People, The Garden, Grimes and Pussy Riot on tracks and live, they sticking to their roots as they ascend the ladder. In other words, if Dorian wins and goes all the way, they’re taking the underground up with them. For this, the My Agenda Tour, Dorian was playing a parody of a villain that embodied in them the right wing’s biggest boogie man, some kind of hidden puppeteer hellbent on turning the world gay. Dorian, who’s purpose as an artist is to challenge comfort zones and expand boundaries, was ready to wage war. As a music blogger delving into the many undergrounds of

PHOTO RECAP: Provoker and Boan at The Regent

Janky Smooth Central Command March 3, 2022

Two stand out heavyweights of modern post punk have shown audiences new peaks of emotional pleasure and pain through their music. San Francisco’s Provoker and Los Angeles’ Boan put on one hell of a show for their fellow statesmen at The Regent. Formed by Jonathan Lopez to created scores to imaged horror movies, Provoker’s debut album Body Jumper let LA drown in synths and delicious depression. Our city’s goth scene is no stranger to Boan and they brought it too with powerful, retro cascades into emotional landscapes only empaths dare tread. Check out the photos from the show below. Photos by: Pedro Carrera Provoker Boan

The Pharaoh’s Favorite Death Metal Bands: Nile and Incantation at 1720

Rob Shepyer March 2, 2022

Lineup changes, signing to Napalm Records, taking Sanguisugabogg on tour, and combining forces with the almighty Incantation were just a few reasons I had to check out Nile‘s Los Angeles show at 1720. Nile is one of my favorite death metal bands, not just because they’re brutal, crushing and technically awesome, but with their use of Egyptian imagery, I’m able to bite into a more cohesive, fuller vision that harnesses a whole world of brutality beyond death metal–history and mythos. related content: Soulfly And Nile: From The Amazon To The Whiskey A guy dressed as King Tut, touting an Egyptian staff romped around the pit during each band, cursing the mosh pit to higher levels of violence it would’ve never reached otherwise. This made my first viewing of Sanguisugabogg all the more intriguing. What I appreciated most about this band, currently stirring up a bunch of hype in underground circles, was how dirty their sound was. I was just reminiscing the other day on how Chris Barnes era Cannibal Corpse created the superior death metal sound as every instrument added to a more rotten, decayed atmosphere. Sanguisugabogg doesn’t sound rotting as much as they sound filthy and gritty, but that’ll

Homesick 2022: Let the Ceremony Begin Anew at The Glass House

Janky Smooth Central Command February 8, 2022

Homesick Festival returned to the Glass House last Friday night with a killer lineup including headliner Ceremony, Touche Amore, Show Me The Body, and more. Early on in the show the crowd was loosely scattered throughout the 800-capacity space when bands Laughing Matter and The Umbrellas opened the show. The energy picked up immensely with up-and-coming hardcore group Militarie Gun. Lead singer Ian Shelton got the band moving — jumping around on stage to crowd-favorite songs “Ain’t No Flowers” and “Big Disappointment.” The vibe drastically changed as the noisy-electronic Special Interest took the stage with singer Alli Logout getting up close and personal with fans at the barricade. Her brooding and aggressive stage-presence was hypnotic and I really enjoyed their performance even though their sound stood out on an otherwise punk and hardcore lineup. I was most excited to see Show Me The Body, who are known for their sludgy hardcore sound while incorporating elements of hip-hop and the electric banjo. The crowd had finally fully filled in the venue — leading to a huge pit for the final three sets. Their set was electric, but I was especially impressed by bass player Harlan Steed who was absolutely shredding on

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

Category: SHOWS

Subscribe to the Janky Newsletter

ticket giveaways, exclusive content, breaking news and of course- Music, Art & Activism