Category: SHOWS

Persistence of Consistence: Yo La Tengo at the Teragram Ballroom

Travis Beck June 25, 2018

Yo La Tengo are the type of band that screams road trip music to me. You feel their sound more than you hear it. Angelic emotion runs through their balancing of rhythmic melancholy and sprinkles of sonic hope. It’s the type of music you put on in the background before merging onto the freeway and zoning out so completely, you feel like a machine. House parties are another great venue for Yo La Tengo music, I would imagine, as the vibe seamlessly blends in with the casual ambiance and physical bodies chatting and standing around. Some people might sit on the couch, or lay on the floor passed out with a warm Michelob Ultra as “Dream Dream Away” hums on in the ether. related content: The Dead Milkmen Deliver Cartons Of Fun For 2 Nights At Teragram All appropriate scenarios for Yo La Tengo experiences. But seeing them live at a venue? I’m not sure. Maybe I’m horribly out of shape, getting old or just plain lame, but half way through the show I was desperate for a couch and/or recess. The lullabies were lulling me to sleep. But it was so goddamn beautiful. I absorbed the pain, and bit

The New Voice of New York Hardcore: Krimewatch at Resident

Rob Shepyer June 23, 2018

The scene was Sound and Fury 2017, a stage that hosted the young, renegade hardcore sisterhood known as Krimewatch. Upon that stage I saw real punk rock potential, Emma Hendry, Shayne, Sean Joyce synched together perfectly, making fast and brutal music that acted as a vehicle for Rhylli Ogiura’s charisma, strength, and message. A year later, they returned to the West Coast to play a few dates that I knew I couldn’t miss, not because I needed to hear them again necessarily but rather because I can tell when shows will go down in the history of a scene’s landscape and development. LA hardcore will always remember the times Krimewatch flew out to inspire us. related content: The Most Complete Sound And Fury 2017 Review On Earth Krimewatch wasn’t the only act that drew me to the show, Anthony aka Anthony Anzaldo of Ceremony was gracing the Resident stage first in his signature lingerie get-up. Having seen Ceremony numerous times and Anzaldo’s other hardcore band, Ex-Youth open for Judge in San Francisco, this solo-project performance showed me yet another side of this versatile talent’s abilities. Drawing inspiration from heroes like Prince, Bowie, Robert Smith, and George Michael; Anthony’s guitar-work feels like

Black is Beautiful: Smokin’ Grooves Festival at The Queen Mary

Aria Silva-Espinosa June 22, 2018

Gates to the Smokin’ Grooves festival opened bright and early on Saturday morning with artists playing as early as 11:00am. There’s always a special group of people who hit the festival grounds as soon as gates open, intent on getting the full 12-hour experience but the early crowd gathering on the water’s edge consisted largely of people with young children. Relaxed vibes, diverse music and a behaviorally mature crowd sets Smokin’ Grooves apart from other festivals because it appeals to a broad spectrum of music fans. Headlined by timeless legends like Erykah Badu and The Roots, Smokin’ Grooves brings a sampling of the best of new and old R&B, funk and soul music to Long Beach. Because LBC is more or less equidistant from Downtown LA and Orange County, this festival drew an impressive crowd for a festival in its first year. And truly, as each person moved past me I couldn’t help thinking “Wow, that was the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen! No, they have to be the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen!” Smokin’ Grooves is a cultural celebration, a PRIDE festival and a big family picnic all rolled into one big, three-stage festival in the looming

Janky Meets Marty: The Dwarves at Marty’s on Newport

Jessica Moncrief June 21, 2018

If you frequently attend concerts in the Southern California area, you have likely received a barrage of promotional emails from a place called Marty’s and you may even recognize the name. The Observatory’s talent buyer Jeff Shuman & X’s manager Mike Rouse have bought out Marty’s, a dive bar gem smack dab in the heart of butt-fucked Tustin, California—in its past life, the bar was known as Marty’s Bar and Grill and hosted mostly karaoke nights and occasionally cover bands. Today, the pair have changed the name to Marty’s On Newport and are developing a business model for Marty’s similar to smaller independent music venues such as The Casbah in San Diego and The Redwood In DTLA. The location may not be as prime as the previously mentioned venues but a huge mailing list of dedicated music junkies, long standing relationships with legendary musicians, and the allure of seeing well known bands in an intimate setting (a max capacity of only around 150 guests) could be the key components that lead to the success of this endeavor. related content: A Bloody Reunion: Bleeding Through At The Observatory Last Monday, a free, secret, show at Marty’s, featuring The Dwarves and The Hurricanes was announced online. It was

A Bloody Reunion: Bleeding Through At The Observatory

Rob Shepyer June 14, 2018

Back in the early 2000’s when I was a strapping young teenager, MTV2’s resurrected Headbanger’s Ball was a relevant place to get your metal fix and hear new bands. In those days, the young kings of the hill were Killswitch Engage, Mastodon, Lamb of God, Shadow’s Fall, and Bleeding Through. Unlike the other bands I just mentioned, Bleeding Through wasn’t just metal but metalcore, a genre that I always relegated to nothing more than Emo’s angry bastard child. Bleeding Through is not only the exception to this (stupid) rule of mine but they’re one of my favorite bands. related content: The Most Complete Sound And Fury 2017 Review On Earth After going on a five year hiatus, Bleeding Through is back with one of the best metal albums I’ve heard all decade. Love Will Kill All is in my opinion, the band’s best album. Every song kicks ass and is perfectly set in the track list to sculpt a greater concept of what the band was, is, and will always be. The heavy parts hit more authentically than other metalcore bands in 2018 and the melodic parts capture you with undeniable hooks. The album’s first single “Set Me Free” is

Sonic Punishment: Primitive Man and Celeste at Union

Janky Smooth Central Command June 13, 2018

The variety of soundscapes in metal are an interesting thing; even the untrained ear can notice a vast difference between acts like Cough (who also performed at Union in May) and Primitive Man – two bands that share the label of “doom” but approach their craft with entirely different methods and goals. With a stacked lineup including Primitive Man, Celeste, Infernal Coil, and Pendulous, this evening was an interesting exercise of the flexibility in sound and tone within those parameters for significantly different sub-genres and a fine example of just how well some of those combinations can work. related content: Crushed At Communion: Cough And Grime At Union Pendulous play a fine brand of funeral doom packed with the two most essential qualities any group in this sub-genre needs: depression and introspection. Each song (while relentlessly crushing) seemingly drifts through space as an agonized ghost: endless suffering, longing, and helplessness riddling a soul cursed to an eternity attempting to grasp a line of comfort always just out of reach. Easily the most captivating performer of the evening, vocalist Eric Rezsõ Mendoza delivers each line as if he’s crawling through miles of broken glass and gives the band the emotional strength

Psych Rock Talk Radio: Wooden Shjips at the Bootleg Theater

Robert Cohen June 12, 2018

Recently I was talking with a friend of mine who could not wrap his head around how anyone could listen to NPR for more than a few minutes. After a fair amount of prodding from others in the group, he was able to admit that it occasionally showcased relevant or otherwise interesting stories; however, its languorous, bordering on comatose, delivery of the material in his mind catapulted any idea of an extended listening session in the realm of the unthinkable. While there are many qualities separating Thursday’s Wooden Shjips show at The Bootleg from listening to talk radio, the further one goes down the rabbit hole with them, the more apparent the similarities become. related content: Between Coachellas, Brazilian Boogarins At The Echo For this reason, it’s almost poetic that the lead in to the main event of the night was named Terry Gross, in this instance being the San Francisco based rock outfit, not the eponymous radio host of NPR’s Fresh Air (although, I would’ve happily paid extra to see her shred for a couple bars). Though I’d never heard of them before and pondered over whether or not the bass player was a long lost cousin

The Dead Milkmen Deliver Cartons of Fun for 2 Nights at Teragram

Rob Shepyer June 6, 2018

The Dead Milkmen are one of the most multi-dimensional and versatile punk bands in the history of the sport. In fact, after seeing them live at the Teragram ballroom, i feel almost as if they’re two bands in one, having one cadence when Rodney Linderman (Rodney Anonymous) sings and another when Joe Genaro sings. Both sides of the coin make for a band that captures the essence of punk and the people that love the music. The set that awaited me on this Friday evening, surrounded by scene veterans that were infantilized to their teenage years in anticipation, was one that truly inspired me as an artist. I heard in The Dead Milkmen’s music a delicate and precise balance between sardonic humor, aggression, and fun that showed me what could be possible in music. related content: Who Needs Pins When you’ve Got Spikes? GBH At The Observatory The first opener of the evening was local band, Small Wigs, a rock and roll quintet with garage sensibilities and shining musicianship. The duel guitar work was impressive and thrilling but they kept it low key, making songs that felt true to an authentic rock and roll. Small Wigs photos from night 1 by

Speedy Speedy Speed Metal: Midnight At Union

Rob Shepyer June 5, 2018

Before Thrash cemented the marriage of punk and metal, speed metal was what metal heads called metal that inspired a frantic pace and pure ferocity simply through applying quickness to licks. Before doctors ever prescribed kids Ritalin, there was speed metal, fixing the attention spans of the damaged. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between thrash and speed metal but certainly bands like Motorhead, Venom, and the first two Iron Maiden albums, could fall under the category. And in the tradition of those heavyweights, Midnight and Bat went on tour together, eviscerating every city they played in and believe me, Los Angeles wasn’t able to fend off the assault. By the end of the night, the audience that packed into Union’s Jewels’ room was shred to tatters. related content: Crushed At Communion: Cough And Grime At Union This was undoubtably the best metal show I had seen all May, that means it beat out Slayer, Soulfly, Morbid Angel, The Obsessed, and Satyricon. All those legends couldn’t touch the intensity and ruthlessness that Midnight plays with. The first band to play was Wormwitch, a band that describes themselves as crust meets black metal, funny that when I heard them I thought they

The First Real Day of Summer: Hinds at Teragram

Robert Cohen June 4, 2018

High school is a strange time in life. Caught between wanting the independence you can’t have and having the responsibilities you don’t want, it provides the emotional foundation on which many people build their sense of self and either seize on the opportunity to develop further or retreat towards the path of least resistance. And while high school is likely far in the rear view mirror of many people who attended Monday’s Hinds show at Teragram, for a multitude of reasons, every aspect of the show felt like a trip back into those comparatively halcyon days. related content: What’s Left To Ponders: Pond at Zebulon Kicking off this trend was LA based Jasper Bones. Although it would be easy to say he earns this distinction through his age alone (he’s 19 and I’m pretty sure his parents were the ones standing in front of me whooping for the better part of his set), the content and form of his music were the most telling signs of the high school vibe which came to dominate the night. Going for something of a Latin D’Angelo vibe, though eschewing the more pop aspects of similar acts such as Miguel, it was obvious

Silver Linings to Sorrowful Tales: Laura Veirs at The Echo

Dillon Vaughn June 2, 2018

Touring in support of her new album The Lookout, Laura Veirs performed an intimate show at The Echo to a crowd composed of some of the most engaged fans I’ve seen for any artist at the venue; a level of energy not entirely surprising considering her previous performance in LA was with case/lang/veirs (the singer-songwriter supergroup consisting of Veirs, Neko Case, and K.D. Lang) at the Greek Theatre in 2016. Those in attendance this time around were treated to live performances of a bulk of the songs from The Lookout as well as fan favorites from July Flame, Year of Meteors and more. related content: Erika Wennerstrom Brings The Bootleg Closer To Nature A live setting for her work is an excellent opportunity to see how far Veirs’ strengths extend beyond her songwriting capabilities. Her vocal range easily exceeds the (already satisfying) levels reached in her recordings and viewers are given a glimpse of how technically proficient she is with both guitar and keys. Veirs can shred without hesitation but she knows what works for her music and how important the use of restraint really is. An additional highlight of the night was the performance by Alex Guy (of Led

Overcoming Fear With Fever Ray At The Palladium

Aria Silva-Espinosa June 1, 2018

It’s an understatement to say that I’ve struggled to find words to describe the all-encompassing spectacle that is Fever Ray, live and very much in the flesh. Adorned in a cartoon-like bodysuit with padded superhero musculature adhered in bright colors to her otherwise indistinguishable frame, she brought a more rousing performance to the Hollywood Palladium than I could’ve anticipated. related content: A Softly Harsh Friday The 13th With The Soft Moon And Boy Harsher At Teragram Fever Ray is the solo project of Swedish singer/songwriter Karin Draijer, who is already well-known for her work as one half of the the electronic pop duo The Knife. Unlike The Knife’s IKEA soundtrack-worthy melodic charm, Fever Ray is quite the other side of the coin in terms of style, lyricism and the nightmares that accompany the visuals Karin has chosen for this project. From watching her videos, I fully anticipated a Marilyn Manson meets Guillermo Del Toro house of horrors. Even the costuming of those in attendance were more suggestive of some kind of wild underground party as the crowds gathered on Hollywood Boulevard. As the lights dimmed, the crowd erupted immediately. Karin and her backup vocalists and musicians were costumed uniquely and

Category: SHOWS

Subscribe to the Janky Newsletter

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