Category: SHOWS

Off Without a Hitch: Elvis Costello and the Imposters at House of Blues Anaheim

Maggie St. Thomas December 5, 2018

Words and Photos by: Maggie St. Thomas I was escorted into the Anaheim House of Blues by Professor Steve Nieve himself, who came out to greet his daughter, my date for the night. We walked into the venue and backstage through production to the Green Room, adorned with english teas and candies, and just under a 1/2 dozen Elvis Costello mugs and Grether’s Pastilles on the table. A man walked by who I introduced myself to. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it. My eyes lit up when I saw him enjoying a small cup of espresso in the greenroom. I asked if I too could get a cup, and within seconds a tiny mug of espresso was in my hand. I am almost too embarrassed to admit I thought this was a roadie due to his friendly and accommodating demeanor, I figured it out long after my espresso had kicked in, when the man I mistook for a roadie walked onstage to the sold out venue to take the microphone, and the band kicked into “This Year’s Girl.” related content: Falling In Love All Over Again: Sparks At The Palace Theatre The Anaheim House of Blues didn’t keep fans

Shrine to a Goddess: Tash Sultana Sells Out the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles

Rob Shepyer December 4, 2018

I first heard about Tash Sultana a few years ago from a friend giving her high enough praise to crown them a genius, always the skeptic, I gave her a brief listen and certainly heard something special but didn’t pay it the mind I should have until this year. Tash’s first time playing Los Angeles in 2017, they had an audience of 300 people. Not bad for an artist that earned their chops the hard way, busking back home in Melbourne, Australia. This time around, after the release of 2018’s phenomenal Flow State, Tash sold out the Shrine Expo Hall to a lucky lot of Angelinos who got to see what was nothing short of a goddess in our presence. related content: The Queens Converge At Outside Lands 2018 I say this with as little hyperbole as possible, Tash Sultana embodies bliss and transcendence to a point that they vaguely have a quality that is not human or of this Earthly plain. Identifying as non-binary, Tash rejects labels like female, so perhaps goddess doesn’t serve them any better but because a God is not a he or she but rather an it, I will submit that a goddess is just as much an

Perry Farrell and his Kind Heaven Orchestra

Heaven on Earth: Perry Farrell’s Kind Heaven Orchestra at the Teragram Ballroom

Janky Smooth Central Command December 3, 2018

Words by: Maggie St. Thomas Photos by: Jessica Moncrief Perry Farrell is a visionary artist, human rights activist, and is most famous for being the lead singer of Jane’s Addiction and Porno For Pyros. He was also the mastermind behind Lollapalooza and seems to have a Midas touch where as just about anything and everything he touches turns to gold. His newest musical venture is a spectacular embodiment of sound and vision with state of the art instrumentation by an astounding team of musicians including Matt Chamberlain on drums; Jane’s Addiction’s bassist Chris Chaney and Matt Rohde on keys; guitarist Nick Maybury, and Etty Lau Farrell on vocals. related content: Your Vagina May Catch Fire By The End Of This Song: Death From Above At Teragram The tall and charismatic front man entered the stage of the packed Teragram Ballroom with his Kind Heaven Orchestra and trademark bottle of red wine hoisted high in his hands to the cheering applause of his adorning fans. The set had an eclectic mixture of sound right from the beginning, from the symphonic strings of violins and backup singers to funky disco pop tunes that made you just want to get high and love somebody. related

Photo Recap: Inner Wave at Marty’s on Newport

Janky Smooth Central Command November 29, 2018

Inglewood’s own Swamp rockers, Inner Wave took their power house rock and roll show to the intimate mad house that is Marty’s on Newport. With support by Lucy’s, the evening was a memorable one that is sure to leave plenty of swamp rock spirits in the walls. Photos by: Rodney Campos Lucy’s Inner Wave Crowd

Obscured by Art: A Perfect Circle at Honda Center

Janky Smooth Central Command November 28, 2018

Words and Photos by: Maggie St. Thomas The packed crowd at the Honda Center in Anaheim stood in anticipation of a remarkable evening, and that’s exactly what they got with an amazing set of solo and Massive Attack tunes by Tricky, who cast a spell on his audience with a dreamlike setting. His opening song “You Don’t Wanna” was from his Blowback album released in 2001, a high instrumental ride perfect to open with. He then went into “I’m Not Going,” from his Skilled Mechanics release in 2016. These two songs proved to be a wicked multi sensory experience from the artist. related content: Falling In Love All Over Again: Sparks At The Palace Theatre Moving on to the headliner, A Perfect Circle was a mind bending work of art with a sound that speaks for itself. Lead singer Maynard James Keenan is notorious for shrouding himself in the darkness behind the lights of his live sets. Tonight he stood at the back of the stage the entire time while delivering his soaring notes brilliantly with depth and complexity. They started out soft, almost like a composition in their performance opening with “Eat The Elephant”, from their latest release and then followed with

Midnite Communion V: Los Globos Doom Spa With Bongzilla and Bongripper

Jonathan Reyes November 27, 2018

The best part of every metal song, but now it’s the whole song, scratch that, now it’s the whole set. It’s the metal equivalent of a “drop”, a slow and steady build until the crowd’s eyeballs vibrate inside their skulls then a downstroke into a solo. I told someone about this show, Midnite Communion V, and they recommended me some fancy earplugs like I was complaining, I haven’t been afraid I was going to die at a show in a very long time. Thank you Bongs Ripper and Zilla and of course, the show’s promoter, Midnite Communion. related content: Prophets Of Doom: Yob And Acid King At Teragram Cloven – Long Beach represent. There’s a little house in the middle of the city where a slim man, a slender man, with a thick Rasputin-y beard resides. Just like the namesake, his distortion won’t die. I love when an opening band sets such a heavy tone. There could be 5 people in the crowd, doesn’t matter. Cloven came through. Cult of Occult – They are masters of suspense, it would be cool if they wore executioners masks to play into the name. But that’s the easily distracted youth in me needing a

Perfume Genius at W Records Release Party

Janky Smooth Central Command November 22, 2018

Photos by: Lindsay Arth To celebrate the beginning of W Records a venture by W Hotels, the newly formed record label had Perfume Genius perform for a select and lucky few in West Hollywood. Prior to the show, Perfume Genius premiered his latest, self-directed music video for Not For Me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-kHx59QWcE With a small stage and audience, the performance was a hushed and intimate affair meant to penetrate the heart with pure emotion and moving music.

Falling in Love all Over Again: Sparks at the Palace Theatre

Janky Smooth Central Command November 22, 2018

Words and Photos by: Maggie St. Thomas It’s easy to fall in love with Sparks, the witty baroque pop/art rock duo made of siblings Russell Mael on vocals and Ron Mael on keys. Spanning the past five decades, they have masterminded musical masterpieces that have reached universal acclaim. related content: Dirty Reggae, Smooth Ska: Hepcat And The Aggrolites At The House Of Blues Anaheim Their songs are delightful, catchy, and some have been featured on cult films like Valley Girl and Kick Ass. Sparks have always stayed true to their sound while mixing elements of various stylistic periods in all their releases. Promoting their 23rd studio album Hippopotamus, Sparks were finishing their tour of Japan and Denmark, and getting ready to crash Mexico City just a few days after they hit the Downtown Palace Theatre in their hometown of Los Angeles. November 14th and 15th were their only two nights in North America and I had to be there on the first night. Sparks delivered their hits and new songs with a glorious and perfectly inventive mix just as one would expect. Their characteristic musical performance needed no time to grow on the audience, as Sparks were immediately all-consuming and fun

Ben Lives!: Ben is Dead Zine 30th Anniversary with Jawbreaker at Catch One

Janky Smooth Central Command November 21, 2018

Legendary Los Angeles punk rock magazine Ben is Dead celebrated their 30 year anniversary since first being published in 1988. As a punk rock blog ourselves, we give all due respect and praise to Ben is Dead for what they’ve done for punk rock and Los Angeles journalism and this contribution didn’t go unnoticed by bands as well. The artists that this event was able to assemble was rather remarkable considering how rare they were to see, not just at any show, but in a club like Catch One. Hot off headlining Riot Fest and selling out the Hollywood Palladium for numerous dates, Jawbreaker was set to headline the anniversary show. Also billed to play were the extremely rarely seen Skatenigs and Kieth Morris’ Midget Handjob. Those that were in attendance were treated to a show they will never forget and those that didn’t go are mostly likely never going to experience anything like this. Photos by: Jessica Moncrief Jawbreaker Midget Handjob Skatenigs Savage Republic

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

Séance: Ghostemane & Gatecreeper at the Roxy

Rob Shepyer November 19, 2018

A prediction I made a year ago seems to be coming more true every year and that’s that trap music will be the foundation of music’s future, in this case it’ll be heavy metal which trap will reinvent. I’m talking about trap metal, trap punk, trap-core, emo-trap and industrial trap. All these newborn styles are being spearheaded by a handful of young men at the beginning of their twenties, notably the man(e) who sold out the Roxy, Echo, and 1720 on a three-day tour bender to conquer Los Angeles, that man being Ghostemane. related content: Anarchy’s Monarch: Scarlxrd At The Roxy One might think that trap would have trouble being embraced by the true metal bands its competing against but with support from death metal heavyweights Gatecreeper, it would seem metalheads are fans of trap and trap-heads are fans of metal. Or maybe both are just fancy crazy…. related content: Recontamination: Dying Fetus At The Regent As always, Gatecreeper destroyed the Roxy, just as they do any venue they have the chance to play. They are clearly the best young death metal band around, having opened for every landmark American of the genre with a sound that is undeniably classic

Photo Recap: Underoath “Erase Me” Tour at the Shrine

Janky Smooth Central Command November 14, 2018

Underoath are back and no longer playing under the “christian” moniker. This musical resurrection came to the Shrine Expo Hall for the Erase Me tour with Dance Gavin Dance, Crown The Empire, and The Plot in You. Fans waited anxiously in silence until just like a kick to the face, post-hardcore heroes, Underoath hit the stage, blaring with “On My Teeth” off their new album, Erase Me. People went nuts, jumping over the railing and crowd surfing while the band reeked havoc on stage. Then just as things were getting extremely heavy and intesne, this giant and gentle band brought the crowd to tears with “I Hate It”. Over all, it was a killer show to mark the rebirth of Underoath from start to finish. Photos by: Pedro Carrera Underoath Dance Gavin Dance Crown The Empire The Plot in You

Category: SHOWS

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