Category: SHOWS

Alison Wonderland Uplifts L.A. at the Shrine

Aria Silva-Espinosa August 20, 2018

Every EDM festival lineup, every mainstream festival EDM selection, year after year is an exhausting shirtless sausage fest. It’s totally true, look it up. Prior to 2014-ish, very few female acts graced the lineups of dance music-focused shows and festivals. Alison Wonderland was the woman who worked her way to the main stage of some of the largest festivals in the world and for the past three years she has toured the world bringing her unique blend of original vocals and electrifying dance music to her massive international fan base. Born Alexandra Sholler in New South Wales, she’s certainly come a long way from playing classical cello in the Sydney Youth Opera for those who want to argue that electronic artists aren’t real musicians. She played bass for a while too before being inspired to go in a different direction by Swedish avant garde electro-pop duo The Knife. The rest is kind of history. She began working as a mixer and began touring in her native Australia as Alison Wonderland in 2012 and released her debut single ‘Get Ready’ in 2013. related content: Overcoming Fear With Fever Ray At The Palladium Dance music festivals are big business for a lot

Jerry Lives Forever: Grateful Shred at Teragram

Rob Shepyer August 16, 2018

For half my life, I’ve been a diehard fan of the most hippie-slaying bands you could ever hear but throughout that time, working in contrast to that was my love of The Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead were spawned out of Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests where they played as the house band and got so high that they had to improvise their sounds and obey the psychedelic flow running through them. It gave them the most original feel and song structure of any band from their era and garnered them the most cult following in the history of music. I’m sure had I been around at the time of the Grateful Dead, I would’ve been a “Dead Head” and if that undermines my punk credibility, allow me to share what I witnessed at a recent Dead and Company show at Dodgers Stadium: Dirty hippies, one wardrobe change away from crust punks, snorting cocaine right in front of sixty year old couples. Women flashing and everyone choosing their own seats with no care what was assigned to them on their tickets. Captured by The Dead’s music this month, seeing Grateful Shred perform at the Teragram Ballroom was my way of celebrating Jerry

Finally Admitting it’s Real: Portugal. The Man at The Shrine

Robert Cohen August 14, 2018

For everything pop culture as a whole has done to convince us that the best humanity has to offer comes out of relationships and love, outside of shitty rom coms, the weird and winding paths that people take to get into them often go unacknowledged. People often go months or years without expressing their true feelings; and when they do, the time and place is not always as cookie cutter perfect as it’s made out to be in the popular imagination. In my opinion, Portugal. The Man is characteristic of the many angles of this scenario in the context of a fan’s relationship with a band. Once upon a time, they were the new kid in school: a little band from Alaska whose songs would show up occasionally on a mix CD someone gave you of cool new music that had flown under the radar. A few years later after they’d earned more cred with the local kids, they start hanging out with one of the cool seniors who brings them to the next level: auteur producer Danger Mouse who produced their 2013 album Evil Friends. Their insider status secured, after a few years away they come home from college

From The Garage to The Forum, it’s Weezer and Pixies!

Rob Shepyer August 13, 2018

When you see a tour flyer for Pixies and Weezer, who do you expect to be headlining? At first thought, my money’s on Pixies, considering their contribution to creating the alternative genre, mixing low-key melody with bombastic explosions of noise. But then again, coming to find that Weezer was closing out the night, ultimately made sense. For anyone in their 30’s, Weezer IS their youth. If you’re anywhere between 30 and 40, think about how much you heard Weezer growing up. Whatever genre you gravitate towards, you know the lyrics to at least one Weezer song, probably a gang of them. You probably know their music videos and the faces of band members that aren’t the frontman. Their songs were catchy, anthemic, and genuinely powerful. All coming from four guys that exemplify American rock and roll, as both fan and musician. So hell, if Weezer and Metallica go on tour next, I could imagine Weezer going on last. This tour was all about paying homage to the bands and forces that shaped Weezer while also having enough fun on stage to prove they were masters of the craft in their own right. The audience was filled with people that had Weezer

Luna 13 G.O.A.T. Witch Record Release Party at the Viper Room

Janky Smooth Central Command August 11, 2018

Luna 13 had their G.O.A.T Witch record release party at the Viper Room last Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018. The album was put out by LA’s iconic post-punk label Cleopatra Records. The group consisted of Lilith Bathory and Dr. Luna, which together created a dark visual black-metal bass theatrical experience. Other bands playing as part of the record release party included; The Audio Virus, Artifact Corruption, and Midnight Nightmare. Words and Photos by: Abraham Preciado

The Growlers Reclaim Castle Beach Goth and all is Right with the World Again

Rob Shepyer August 10, 2018

I love Beach Goth because The Growlers know how to book a festival better than anyone blessed enough to have their own festival. In the age of mixed bills, Beach Goth offers the total package every summer, with hip hop, hardcore, punk, metal, garage, goth, and everything in between. These artists then get presented on stages decorated like nothing you’ve ever seen, this year we celebrated “The Death of a Rat” on a stinky, burning garbage heap of a stage where bands and drag queens put on memorable and boundary pushing performances. related content: Beach Goth 4: The Party Of The Year Beach Goth had to scale back this year. Usually, the festival would be two days with headliners that you could opt to see instead of the Growlers each night. This was partly due to the ambition of last year’s festival. Last year was artistically a massive success, with the Geto Boys, Bad Brains, and even a Butthole Surfers reunion. It’s also important to mention that last year, the festival was called “The Growlers 6” because someone had the audacity to try and claim ownership of the name. Call it whatever you’d like, Growlers or Beach Goth, it was

Double Review Comin’ at You: Suicideyear at Zebulon and Pope at Bootleg

Aria Silva-Espinosa August 9, 2018

Summer is always the best time for live music, no matter where you live. Of course, Los Angeles is a premium stop for touring artists and even in the sweltering July heat, your favorite out-of-state artists will somehow find a way into your own backyard. Two shows in particular sparked my interest earlier this summer when I began filling out my calendar: Baton Rouge-based artist/producer Suicideyear at Zebulon followed by New Orleans indie sadboy outfit Pope at The Bootleg. Both artists embody two dramatically different genres of music but undoubtedly, this is a compare-and-contrast exercise in that both artists have become known as emotional music despite the vast divide between garage rock and electronic music. related content: Overcoming Fear With Fever Ray At The Palladium Suicideyear, the moniker of composer/producer/songwriter and occasional DJ James Prudhomme, has always been kind of a wildcard in live settings. When I was living in Louisiana, I once saw him play an entire festival set of early 2000’s pop and people were into it. I’ve also seen him play haunting industrial sets in dark rooms for a motionless audience. His independent projects are vastly under appreciated in comparison to the work he does in collaboration

Surfbort Shake-Up Dave’s Shit Show At Resident

Rob Shepyer August 8, 2018

Hot off the heels of a successful gallery opening and Zine release, iconic black and white rock photographer, Shit Show Dave, put on a Beach Goth after party at Resident that will not be soon forgotten. Shit… the show featured performances by Vaguess, Die Group, and Surfbort and the Resident was completely packed with rockers, groupies and all sorts of crazy fuckers, drinking, laughing and moshing hard. Costa Mesa’s Vaguess opened up the show with a sound that was undisputed garage punk and gets any human’s gears turning and heads banging. They provide an especially electric party feel that goes well with drinks, cigarettes, and whatever lubricant you need to get the job done. What job would that be you ask? Straight partying hard and punking out… ever heard of it!? Die Group were next, a band off Sex Tape records, they’re an OC and LA underground favorite. I had only heard good things about the band but none of their music until this point and having met the members, it was a pleasure to see them do what they do best. I was impressed and moved by their haunting and rhythmic garage rock. Their guitars are sonic and noisy, their

Dreams Do Come True: Adult Swim Presents The Pillows At The Mayan

Janky Smooth Central Command August 7, 2018

Our photographer, Dillon, had one of his dreams come true as Japanese rock icons, The Pillows, rolled through Los Angeles on a rare US tour presented by Adult Swim’s Toonami. If you don’t know The Pillows, then perhaps you know their great soundtrack work for Fooly Cooly (FLCL), one of Adult Swim’s most memorable anime programs. Also on the tour as support were Noodles and Cullen Omori. related content: Beast From The East: Sand At Toxic Toast Theatre Cullen Omori: Noodles: The Pillows: Photos by: Dillon Vaughn

Huntington Beach Gets Weird: The Weirdos at Gallagher’s Pub

Audrey Kemp August 1, 2018

The renowned Los Angeles punk band The Weirdos played Gallagher’s Pub in Huntington Beach on Saturday with the same tenacity as their first gig in the area 40 years ago at The Golden Bear.

Rebel Armz in the House: Immortal Technique at Marty’s on Newport

Jessica Moncrief July 31, 2018

Last weekend Hip Hop lovers rejoiced at the chance to catch Immortal Technique spit knowledge two nights in a row along alongside legends Mr.Choc and Chino XL at the ever so intimate setting of Marty’s On Newport . For those of us trying to make sense of the direction new “rap” is heading, catching the lyrical geniuses that made us fall in love with the genre is an essential role in keeping us from being jaded beyond repair. I’d like to think that trap is a fad for the kids and when it fades into obscurity (like so many other fads have over the decades) acts such as Immortal Technique, Beat Junkies, Pharcyde, KRS One will be the ones left standing the test of time. Maybe that is a fallacy, but I still maintain hope for the future of our youth. related content: Summertime In The LBC: This Is Your Dad’s Hip Hop Line-Ups like this are the defibrillation to the heartbeat that is keeping the true voice of hip hop alive. Immortal Technique and Chino XL speak with spiritual intelligence on unity, human intuition, brotherhood, respect for women and community without compromising their hard as fuck stature that has commanded

Beast from the East: Sand at Toxic Toast Theatre

Rob Shepyer July 30, 2018

There are the kinds of music nerds that collect the vinyl albums of their favorite bands and then there are the kinds that sift through the Japanese imports section looking for new favorites. Japan has always been one of the best countries to make hardcore music whether it be bands like Stalin or Loyal to the Grave or my favorite of the lot: Sand. Conceptually, Sand represents an original idea that transcends hardcore in that it makes you rethink the use of language in music. They’re a Japanese band that sings in broken English. They could just sing in Japanese but that would miss the point they’re aiming for. A foreigner might not know your language well but chances are the way he expresses it will bring new meaning to the words. Such is the case when Sand performs songs like “Poser” with unforgettable lyrics like these: Your lyrics sound like an ethics class book. A model father. Sundays in church. A Bible reading pig. I’m gonna puke. DIE! All sounds phony. What a fucking scam. Your lyrics sound like some kid slamming down cheap beers, bragging like he’s been through hell. Then through the filter of a thick Japanese