Category: SHOWS

Take This: Win Two Tickets to Suburban Fight & Sound and Fury Present Bar Wrestling at The Hi Hat

Janky Smooth Central Command July 10, 2019

Suburban Fight are the kings of underground wrestling in Los Angeles proper. Whether in a bar or a ring, whether paired with hardcore music or just straight fights from top to bottom, no one else has an aesthetic and matches that fans connect with more. Last year’s Sound and Fury festival concluded with their first partnership with Suburban Fight in a Hi Hat hardcore ho-down with Darby Allin jumping off the venue’s ceiling to deliver an insane elbow drop onto Joey Janela. This year, Allin returns to take on the mysterious underground wrestling legend Ultra Mantis Black in a match that you won’t soon forget. YOU CAN BUY TICKETS HERE OR: ENTER TO WIN 2 TICKETS TO GCW PRESENTS SUBURBAN FIGHT x SOUND AND FURY JULY 14TH AT THE HI HAT 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 Suburban Fight Ticket Giveaway Post WINNER WILL BE SELECTED ON JULY 12TH AT 11AM PST VIA EMAIL CONFIRMATION

A Tsunami of Hardcore Kids: Fury’s “Failed Entertainment” Record Release at the Observatory

Rob Shepyer July 8, 2019

Any time Ceremony make their way through Southern California, you can expect me to be there. On this Observatory date though, the band stepped down as the headliners of their tour for one night and let hometown heroes, Fury, close the show for their highly anticipated Failed Entertainment record release show. Both bands had new material to share and are on the edge of transitioning beyond fans’ expectations. Ceremony had released word of their next album Into The Spirit World Now only days before the show and Fury, who’s previous album Paramount cemented them as some of the scene’s brightest prospects, released an album that really showed their range and complexity. related content: Two Times The Biscuit Power: Gorilla Biscuits At The Roxy The entire bill was stacked with diverse genres clumped together to make for a memorable evening every stripe of rock fan could enjoy. Huntington Beach’s Diztort opened up the pit early with traditional, jagged, and pummeling hardcore that really hit that stormtrooper pace and rhythm hard for all the kids to slam to. Next, alternative rockers, Bugg, were matched with hardcore bands yet again, establishing them as the perfect breath to take between heavy noise. They too had new

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

Unheavenly Skies Above Los Feliz: Coheed & Cambria and Mastodon at the Greek

Rob Shepyer July 3, 2019

I could’ve gone to see the Misfits but seeing how it would’ve been my fourth time, I felt like I had a pass to miss a fiend club meet up for the chance to catch Coheed and Cambria’s Unheavenly Skye tour with Mastodon and Every Time I Die at the Greek Theatre. The sweeping, virtuosic, narrative-driven, poppy, metallic music of Coheed and Cambria has always intrigued me. They captured a different sound and concept than any other band within the progressive genre, which I suppose is the only one you can fit them into. And so, this sweet summer night saw the clouds gather over Los Feliz to rumble with thunder and lightning because tonight, the Rock Gods were out to play. Every Time I Die began the night with some of the best metalcore on the market today. I had been trying to catch them for awhile and was blown away by their intensity, fun, catchiness, and just how jagged their riffs were. Following them was one of the most important progressive metal bands of all time, Mastodon. I wouldn’t leave their accolades at prog metal though, they will have a lasting impact on all heavy music. It’s amazing

I Got the Mic, So Shut the Fuck Up: Freddie Gibbs and Madlib at the Roxy

Jonathan Reyes June 30, 2019

If there’s anything to take from Tuesday night’s preview of Bandana, the latest release from Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, it’s just shut it and enjoy what could possibly be the best Gangster Rap artist of the last ten years. Counter to that claim, Gibbs would have to care about accolades and “best of” lists, from his yearly revitalization and inability to create anything unoriginal, he couldn’t be bothered, the only thing that seems to matter to him is being the best version of himself. related content: The Music Millennials Make Love To: Smokin’ Grooves 2019 At The Queen Mary If Freddie has all the ingredients, Madlib is the chef preparing the courses. Their second album is Mexican candy, it’s a burger, its caviar, it’s one part Hennessy one part Freddie one part Madlib, and like a basket on Chopped it all works out into an unconventional but complete meal. Imagine being so good that you don’t need gimmicks in a genre populated by them. Think about making best rap album of the year and deciding to put a teddy bear riding a zebra on the cover. The confidence in skill to freestyle multiple times a night, I’ve seen plenty headliners

Haley Dahl, Queen of Rock in 2019: Sloppy Jane at the Bootleg Theater

Rob Shepyer June 29, 2019

Have you ever felt proud of someone you’ve never met but who’s art you know? That’s how I feel about Sloppy Jane and Haley Dahl after seeing her show at the Bootleg Theater. I feel incredibly proud and inspired by the journey she’s taken as an artist. It was only a few years ago that Sloppy Jane was a small band playing small clubs if not being relegated to ugly, claustrophobic dungeons, attics, and backrooms. In those spaces, she used to have wild, unchained performances, where often times she wound up naked, covered only in blue drool all over her naked, natural body. People would dismiss her as a shock artist even though one could make the GG comparison. Women would get offended and disgusted, men would gaze creepily at her, children would cry, asking mother what she did with all her clothes. She wasn’t getting naked as an empty gesture though. Looking back on it, it wasn’t about us, it was about Haley preparing herself as an artist by bracing all the embarrassment and awkwardness of public nudity to develop her stage power until she was beyond comfortable on any stage with any kind of instruments handy. related content:

Ya’ll Mother Fuckers Need Jesus: Twin Temple at the Roxy

Rob Shepyer June 29, 2019

“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” My opinion of Twin Temple is complicated. Before I clarify how, know despite the hilarious title, this is certainly not an endorsement of Christianity. I think worshipping a human being is just as whack as worshipping satan (or perhaps is slightly less) whether it’s for show or not. Twin Temple, Alexandra and Zachary James, are a band with all the talent in the world that thought of a brilliant concept and materialized it into a package perfectly knit together with all its working parts contributing to something that is powerful and magnetic. Musically and theatrically, the members of this band were born to make and perform music. Removing the satanic component from their sound, they’re single handedly bringing back doo-wop with a sweet vengeance. Their latest banger “Satan’s a Woman” and a sold out Roxy performance are only two examples of how. related content: Echo Part Rising (Five Pointed) Stars: Twin Temple The rub lies in satanism, for me at least. I have so much to say about satanism and satan in music and how it relates to this band and cultural moment that I’m just

Slug Cult Has Risen: Cancerslug 20 Year Anniversary at the Whisky

Rob Shepyer June 23, 2019

In the world of horror punk, the Misfits and our dark lord, Glenn Danzig created a model that would inspire every band that dared perform catchy, anthemic songs about such topics as murder, sexual deviancy, and all things morbid or B movie shlock. Since them, no one has come close to creating a comparable legacy or body of work… with one exception. That exception is Alex Story’s band, Cancerslug. Where the Misfits had a die hard following known as the fiend club, Cancerslug has the Slug Cult. Where The Misfits infused their punk with the humor, crassness, and swagger of New Jersey, Cancerslug’s music could’ve only come from the muggy, humid, bluesy and Christ-fearing land of Alabama. Where Danzig knew how to capture imaginations and become larger than life on stage, Alex Story surpasses his presence with wolfish prowling, wild moves and a monstrous anatomy. Where the Misfits had a few notable albums, over their 20 year killing spree, Cancerslug has a huge body of work with notable songs on every single album and as time went on, they never compromised or lost direction. For this reason, Cancerslug needs to be considered among the best of the horror punk genre. If

Support the Underground!!!: Hospital Productions Showcase at Zebulon

Rob Shepyer June 22, 2019

If you dabble in every genre of music, especially the underground, you would know that there’s nothing quite as unique and special as a good noise show. Using electronics, artists can flex their psychic powers as if putting the beasts living inside them on full display. It’s not about melody, lyrics, structure or even songs, what it’s about is creating an atmosphere and manifesting chaos itself into a material thing, if sound can be considered material. Dominick Fernow of Prurient and Vatican Shadow created Hospital Productions for all things noise and though their home is New York, Eighty-Four booking was able to wrangle a bunch of their artists for an unforgettable showcase. For two days, we shook the foundation of Zebulon and mangled our minds with noise. related content: 84 Ways To Die: Horrendous At The Echo Up until this point, I attended fair share of incredible noise shows. Eric Wood of Bastard Noise, Drew McDowell, Russell Haswell, David Scott Stone, all these guys wow’d me but still, after these two nights, those past shows felt like they were only preparation for this showcase. related content: Berserktown 3: The Craziest Festival On Earth I was there from the first artist’s set

The Music Millennials Make Love To: Smokin’ Grooves 2019 at the Queen Mary

Jonathan Reyes June 19, 2019

Every year a festival comes to Long Beach, each a little bit different and improved from the previous model. Summertime in the LBC on their first try, was a fun but flawed fest, I told security I was with the Wu Tang Clan and they let me on stage. The next year I wasn’t as successful telling them I used to be in NWA so I had to be on stage with Ice Cube. In 2017, Goldenvoice claimed The Queen Mary as their testing ground for boutique music festivals. Having abandoned Orange County, Long Beach offers something missing from The Observatory, a destination. How can you beat listening to music with the ocean to your side and the legendary Queen Mary in your sightline, combine a destination with an experience and you have Smokin’ Grooves‘ sophomore year. Crowds don’t clap after the set is over. It’s the weirdest thing. Its like not tipping on a to go order, you feel kind of bad because they did kind of take care of you but not really because they just did their job. related content: Summertime In The LBC: This Is Your Dad’s Hip Hop House background makes Ravyn Lenae‘s music a little more

Garage Guitar God, Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds Melts the Echo

Rob Shepyer June 17, 2019

La Puente’s own, Kid Congo Powers is one of punk rock’s most venerated and legendary guitarists. With stints in the Cramps, the Gun Club, and Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds, some of rock and roll’s most important and influential bands, Kid Congo not only infused their sound into his but he infused his sound, personality, and energy into those bands. With Echo Park being garage rock’s ultimate So-Cal hub and stomping ground, where bands like the Cramps and Gun Club still influence the music, attitude and fashion, Kid Congo Powers gracing the stage at the Echo is like a patron saint blessing a church, this church though, is the church of Southern California punk. related content: Forty Years Of Youth: Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds At The Forum Perhaps the most understated part of Kid Congo’s career is his solo work with the Pink Monkey Birds and their albums on In The Red Records. In fact, during this performance the work off those albums stood out and felt more riveting than Cramps or Gun Club songs he played. For this performance in particular, Kid Congo was celebrating 10 years of the album Dracula Boots, an album which encapsulates the themes

Photo Recap: Princess at Teragram

Janky Smooth Central Command June 14, 2019

It’s been three years since Prince left this planet but his impact still resonates with so many people. For everything he’s done as a mega talent, genius songwriter, and iconic performer, he’s created a lasting imprint on music that can neither be denied nor forgotten. Whether man or woman, Prince made music that shook you to your core and made you dance the night away, providing the soundtrack for some of life’s most important moments. His birthday, June 7th, was only days before Princess’ return to Los Angels for a sold out show at the Teragram ballroom. For those of you unfamiliar, Princess is the ultimate Prince cover band made up of SNL’s Maya Rudolph and singer/songwriter Gretchen Lieberum. The duo’s charisma, humor, and knowledge of all things Prince make them the best party hosts you could ever imagine and so, it’s no wonder this show sells out every time. We had to be there and capture the event on camera, so our own Jessica Moncrief attended the show to capture these images: Princess

Category: SHOWS

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