Category: SHOWS

From The Bay To L.A. Classic Metal Burns Bright: Hell Fire At Echoplex

Rob Shepyer April 20, 2018

With my recent concert-going escapades seemingly devoted to punk, in all its forms, it felt like I had forgotten my first love: heavy fucking metal. And, in attending the Echoplex’s Metal Monday showcase, it was as if the prodigal son had returned to church. In a sense, I mean this literally because the show was booked by Church of the 8th Day, Los Angeles’ most prolific metal promoter. On this, the day after the Christian sabbath, once the religious had gotten their fill of rest and ritual, it was time for the devils to come out and play; and those devils were Hell Fire. The opening band originated and hit close to home, Blade Killer, is a gem in the Los Angeles metal scene. Immediately, the frantic guitar-work of Jay Vazquez and Jonathan Rubio kicked in, backed by a pummeling flying V bass of Kelsey Wilson and the lighting fast, swagger-filled drumming of Peter Lemieux. The singer of the band, Carlos Gutierrez, harkens the greatest metal singers you can think of, both Iron Maiden singers Bruce Dickinson and Paul Dianno, at times. Seeing as the lead guitarist, Jonathan Rubio, was celebrating his birthday on this night, he didn’t hold back

The Murder City Devils at Teragram or: How Spencer Moody Learned to Love The Stooges

Rob Shepyer April 19, 2018

After seeing The Murder City Devils for the 2nd time on Sunday at the Teragram Ballroom, I spent a great deal of time contemplating the band’s sound and impact. During one especially thrilling interlude, lead singer Spencer Moody told the story of how he was born in existential crisis, wondering what his purpose would be. Then, one day, he skated to the record store and flipped through vinyl until fatefully landing upon a Stooges record. In his own words, it changed his life. Iggy and The Stooges made him feel like he wasn’t alone, that there were other people in this crazy world that thought like him. The Stooges gave him purpose. Dwelling on this point and correlating it to the band’s sound, I feel like I have an easier time comparing The Murder City Devils to the godfathers of punk like The Stooges, The New York Dolls, The Dictators, or The MC5 than I do fitting them into today’s slew of garage rock bands. That organ they employ, most prominently in songs like “Press Gang” harnesses a throwback sound but it’s not just the music that feels old, it’s the entirety of the band’s presentation. You feel that swinging saloon

In the City of Sad Angels: Loma and Jess Williamson At The Bootleg Theater

Aria Silva-Espinosa April 17, 2018

Jess Williamson brought a brand new album and a newly-assembled band to The Bootleg on Sunday evening. Originally from Texas, singer/songwriter Jess Williamson recently made the move to Los Angeles. Her forlorn and sorrowful music has a bit of a country feel, an obvious product of her Texas roots. Her breathy delivery and use of organ sounds on the keyboard had the room rapt and attentive, swaying along with Jess’ voice. As she has formerly cited, sadness and heartbreak has a definitive influence and a prominent theme in the lyricism. Her set concluded to appreciative applause from the audience. related content: A Softly Harsh Friday The 13th W/ The Soft Moon and Boy Harsher At Teragram The sound of chirping birds brought the attention of the milling crowd as Loma began their set. The stage now prominently featured an easel with a drawing pad at the foreground. Emily Cross has a uniquely fragile vocal style and when manipulated, conjures the image of a chorus of sad angels. She didn’t look quite comfortable in the performance space as she paced with clasped hands and turned her back to the audience. It enhanced the effect of Loma’s sound, which is tender and

A Softly Harsh Friday The 13th W/The Soft Moon and Boy Harsher At Teragram

Rob Shepyer April 16, 2018

Friday the 13th should be celebrated with blood… with killing… with a haunting of your soul. That might not require a weapon unless of course, you mean music and in this case, The Soft Moon‘s post punk is the sharpest knife. Selling out show after show on his tour, Luis Vasquez’s trio from Oakland, CA, has created a new sound in an old form. Lethal Amounts brought together three musical acts, each dwelling in the same realm of dark music but from completely different approaches. Drenched in blue lights and dense shadows, Liebestod is a one man show that uses noise to disjoint and sever your connection to anything familiar in music. He’s a noise performer with an industrial edge that uses electronics to make every show a completely new and original thing. Improvising with every fidget of his wires, I’m not even sure if he knows what sonic monster, he’ll end up spawning even so, it was pleasurable to the eyes, the ears, and with the foundation shaking bass, to the skin and bones too. Based in L.A. but hailing from St. Louis, the rust belt, one can imagine what sort of industrial upbringing fueled his current line of

Hooliganism Trumps Hate: Pussy Riot At The Echo

Aria Silva-Espinosa April 10, 2018

In terms of global affairs, Pussy Riot came to us when we needed them most. Building political tensions between the United States and basically everyone else seem to be constantly in the foreground of conversations and news briefings.Gaining notoriety for activism in their home country of Russia, Pussy Riot made a name for themselves by speaking out against Vladimir Putin and his anti-LGBT, anti-Feminist agenda. Similarly, we seem to be struggling with our own self-important leader with a relatively corrupt agenda ourselves. Three founding members of the band were arrested, tried and convicted in 2012 for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”, including Nadya Tolokonnikova who actually served a sentence of over a year. The inciting incident for the arrest of the members of Pussy Riot came in the form of a demonstration held inside a Moscow church, the congregants of which did not take kindly to the women donning neon ski masks and dresses who stormed the altar to recite a “punk prayer” before being detained by relatively unenthusiastic authority figures. This was all caught on video and was widely distributed by media sources when news of the arrest spread and caught the attention of Amnesty International, who named the

Spring Break Can’t Last Forever: Riff Raff At Los Globos

Aria Silva-Espinosa April 4, 2018

It’s something about the impulsive “Spring Break Forever” mentality that carries this fitting sponsorship between the Four Loko brand and Riff Raff’s highly stylized personal brand. For those who haven’t had the misfortune of a lengthy relationship with the canned malt liquor beverage, to try to offer an explanation of the Four Loko Experience might prove difficult in an objective light. When I was a senior in high school, Four Loko was available for $2.50 a can and to this day, I have never been as drunk in my life as I could get off ¾ of a Blue Raspberry-ish flavored drink. Lovingly referred to as “blackout in a can” on the ever-trustworthy Urban Dictionary, the beverage’s original recipe was banned in a number of states due to the severe health risks it posed to those who consumed it. The company has since reformulated the drink to remove some of the stimulatory ingredients, since being accused of marketing to underage drinkers with bright colors, fruit flavors and boasting energy drink-like properties. Still, it has always been my experience that underaged drinkers will literally drink anything, regardless of flavor or the promised effects. related content: Beach Goth 4: The Party Of

Sex Cells’ Divine Ball At El Rey: The Filthiest People Alive

Rob Shepyer April 3, 2018

Fierce Fiesta: Scum’s 2 Year Anniversary W/ Limp Wrist At The Echoplex

Rob Shepyer March 28, 2018

There was something queer about March. Even the month’s name conjures up the image of boys with chiseled jaws in uniforms and leather boots. Or maybe it was the number 3 that was symbolic; of a third chromosome? A third gender? Or a third nipple or partner? Whatever it was, this merry month’s man-on-man madness began with me seeing Fischerspooner at the Fonda, where myself as a straight, life-long fan of queer cinema and music, got to see a myriad of males half naked on stage, sweaty and throbbing. Then after attending sCUM’s 2 year anniversary show at the Echoplex with Limp Wrist headlining, I got the sense that East Los could be the new Weho and that LGBTQ punks have ideas to express, verbal and non-verbal, that straight punks can neither access nor fathom. With Lethal Amount’s Sex Cells Divine Ball approaching on the 31st, who knows, I might start behaving in ways I never thought possible in February. I don’t think I’ll be going cruising but hell, I might try to suck my own. related content: Los Crudos Play The Echoplex Right When L.A. Needed It Most sCUM is a party for queerdos of color at Club Chico created

The Universe Smiles Upon Khruangbin At The Lodge Room

Rob Shepyer March 27, 2018

Furthering my exploration and discovery of psych rock, Khruangbin, a band that completely breaks the boundaries of that genre was the next to expand my consciousness. Fusing together Thai funk, Persian psych rock, and surf rock in an alchemical equation, they are left with a solution that sounds transcendental, yet groovy; euphoric, yet cool; as if passing through the inner-inter-galactic gates of Nirvana with your shades on. It makes immediate sense that they claim Tarantino as an influence. related content: Earthless Liquified My Face At The Teragram The name Khruangbin is Thai for “Engine Fly”, but the band originates from Houston, Texas and is made up of Laura Lee on bass/vocals, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald Johnson on drums. With their debut, The Universe Smiles Upon You, the band was breaking all sorts of waves in the psych rock scene in 2015. Now, their latest release, Con Todo El Mundo (which translates to “With Everybody”), has elevated the band enough to sell out three consecutive nights at the Lodge Room in a single day. This review is based on the second night, the Friday show at the regal and sacred Lodge Room. Around 9pm, a little dynamic duo of musicians took the stage

Whoop Whoop! ICP’s Slam Fest At The Regent: A Family Affair

Rob Shepyer March 26, 2018

It feels like I had been waiting to see ICP forever. Having passed up opportunities to see both members perform solo, this stacked bill at the Regent Theater that they deemed Slam Fest, was going to be my induction to the family and just as the posse said, everyone that attended was a Juggalo. Insane Clown Posse is an essential attraction to anyone that wants to claim they’ve seen it all. They put on a show that’s unlike any other and somehow in the last couple of years, they went from mainstream mockery to one of the most relevant groups in the country. When the United States government classified Juggalos as a gang, from coast to coast, this nation’s true first family, got together to protest in their very own million Juggalo march on Washington. I don’t think any other band in the world has as many die hard fans, driven by a true cause, that they could orchestrate a similar historical moment. Not Metallica, not Radiohead, not nobody. related content: Nature World Night Out At The Regent: Building Bridges Between Hardcore And Hip Hop This true rebellion was met with fascination from every mainstream media outlet until ICP saw

Midnight Massacre: American Nightmare At The Echoplex

Rob Shepyer March 18, 2018

Like a long, dooming swing of the reaper’s scythe, death rock and hardcore rained down upon us as if by the hand of Death itself. Since the headliner was hardcore, one might not expect two death rock bands opening up the show but when you consider the history of American Nightmare, it’s not so strange at all. American Nightmare has always highlighted the darker, more gothic side of the human experience to the point that Wesley Eisold, the band’s singer, evolved into Cold Cave, a goth, dark wave sensation. Never straying too far from his roots though, Eisold always kept American Nightmare in his back pocket. Perhaps now he’s wearing those pants back-side front. It’s too sides of the same coin, anyway. A sad, depressed crooner making music you can dance your sorrow away to and a rage-filled banshee that inspires blood-lust, violence, and anarchy in mosh pits that flood onto the stage. American Nightmare was the first band in the hardcore scene to really delve into emotional, darker lyrics and tones while not straying from true hardcore and the scene. The first band to open up the evening was Death Bells, a young death rock outfit from Sydney, Australia that

U.S. Girls Sell Out The Moroccan Lounge: The Most Soulfulest Sound

Rob Shepyer March 15, 2018

My adventures through the Los Angeles music scene took me to The Moroccan Lounge on Tuesday where one of the brightest stars off the legendary 4AD records had sold the place out on a damn school night. U.S. Girls go right alongside powerful, female-led bands like The Pretenders, Sleater-Kinney, and Haim in the rock and roll halls of history but even among those bands, I can see a potential in U.S. Girls’ leader, Meghan Remy, that I don’t think shined quite as warmly or as obviously as the others. Oddly enough, I first heard about this band by watching Power Trip on Amoeba’s “What’s In My Bag” series. Where part of singer, Riley Cayle’s selection was none other than U.S. Girls’ Half Free. related content: Power Trip & Destruction Unit Leave The Teragram In Ash & Rubble related content: Nature World Night Out At The Regent: Building Bridges Between Hardcore And Hip Hop Beginning as a noise-pop project, Meghan Remy was inspired by Riot Grrrl bands and Crass to create a rebellious and beautiful amalgamation of pop, jazz, funk, and electro-punk which is best represented in the band’s 2018 release