Category: SHOWS

Live Desolation: Khemmis at the Echoplex

Dillon Vaughn July 10, 2018

Performing an album in it’s entirety is generally reserved for bands with monumental releases; devoting a night to a single release shows confidence in the structure and integrity of the album as a whole and seemingly elevates the title and importance of the gig from a show to an “event.” Doubling down on the critical success of their previous releases, Khemmis performed their new album Desolation in full recently at the Echoplex for the first night of a very short run of intimate album release shows in LA, Chicago, and Denver. related content: Los Angeles Strikefest At The Regent: By Die-Hards, For Die-Hards Desolation was something I avoided listening to before the show as I wanted my first experience to be in a live setting. I had only seen Khemmis once before – at last year’s Psycho Las Vegas – and while a late afternoon festival set time doesn’t generally lend as well to showcasing a bands strength as a headlining set does, their performance was still something that cemented me as a fan and remains a highlight of the weekend. That being said, the LA event did not disappoint. Beginning the night with a powerful performance of Hunted’s title

Voluntary Electrocution: Le Shok at Alex’s Bar

Jessica Moncrief July 9, 2018

Le Shok has sent shock waves along the California coast since playing a secret show at Zebulon, performing at their official reunion at Burger Boogaloo and most recently, with a home town show at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach last Friday. The show was announced in conjunction with the “We Are Electrocution” group art show at 4th Street Vine, as well as a Burger Records repressing of their seminal album. With an all-star support line-up of local favorites such as Terminal A, The Tissues, and Assquatch, it’s no wonder many fans, myself included, were left scrambling on social media event threads trying to get our grubby hands on a ticket after the show sold out in a cool 4 hours. Promises of blow jobs and death threats for tickets littered the event page in the days leading up to the show, proving the loyalty and lengths people were willing to go to relive the punk nostalgia of nearly 2 decades past. For all of you that were fortunate enough to cop a ticket, enjoy relieving the joy and insanity of the night and if you are one of the sad fucks that didn’t make it in (like I almost was), here are some photos of

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones See The Next Wave Coming at the Regent

Janky Smooth Central Command July 7, 2018

Halfway through The Mighty Mighty Bosstones set at the Regent in Los Angeles, California, vocalist Dicky Barrett boasted that the band had booked two “new” ska bands as openers for the gig from two different countries- Mexico and the U.K. He went on to remark that we are now entering a “Fourth Wave of Ska Music.” This follow up commentary begged two questions: the first being whether or not we truly experiencing a “Fourth Wave” and, secondly, if so, is this something we should be celebrating? related content: Finally, A Ska Review: Less Than Jake At Teragram “The Fourth Wave of Ska” is indeed a terminology which is beginning to be thrown around lately. In fact, Angel City Records recently released a compilation of 24 current ska groups titled “Birth Of the Fourth Wave of Ska,” with a heavy emphasis on bands who pay homage to the soul, R&B, and Motown roots of the First Wave of ska born in the 60’s in Jamaica. If the Fourth Wave is to be defined by a return to ska’s 60’s roots, neither of the Bosstones’ opening bands would truly fit into the category. Mexico’s Los Kung Fu Monkeys would not only be disqualified by the

Los Angeles Strikefest at the Regent: By Die-hards, For Die-hards

Dillon Vaughn July 6, 2018

Festival season is here and California has no shortage of options for niche entertainment seekers; from Arroyo Seco Weekend and Smokin’ Grooves to Burger Boogaloo and Summertime in LB, whatever musical religion you subscribe to has it’s fair share of representation. Delving into the true deep-cut side of things, there’s one fest that stands out as the real assembly for die-hards: Los Angeles Strikefest. Created and lovingly curated by the heavy hitting Church of the 8th Day and Nightforce Productions (a new face in the LA metal scene) version 1.0 of Strike Fest didn’t pull any punches and delivered three nights of bucket-list worthy acts. related content: The De-Evolution of Burger Boogaloo The first evening was the shortest of the three but remained far from being a pre-show. Fans were treated to sets from Los Angeles’ own media darlings Dread and Blade Killer, Matt Harvey (of Exhumed) performing in both Pounder and the reunion of Dekapitator, and a very hyped and rare performance by Detroit’s Demon Bitch. Closing out the night was Nasty Savage, the band serving one of the most direct examples of bleeding for the art. Warned by security to watch for “flying glass and metal and shit”

The De-Evolution of Burger Boogaloo

Rob Shepyer July 5, 2018

Just like in my last Boogaloo review, Janky Smooth apologizes for the opinions herein and advise that anyone below the age of 18 or with an aversion to graphic language, obscenity, or humor, should not continue reading. related content: Burger Boogaloo 2017: The Ballad of John and Iggy Burger Boogaloo 2017 was so good that when we left Mosswood Park last July, we didn’t think 2018’s festival could possibly be better. After all, what band could out-punk Iggy Pop? What sort of headliner could possibly drive the festival further in its evolution? Were they going to bring David Buoy back from the dead? Total Trash productions was clever though, they knew they had to think outside the box if they wanted to make Burger Boogaloo California’s undisputed champion of festivals. So what did they do? They realized that progress doesn’t necessarily have to move forward like we’d expect. No, the answer was De-Evolution. And in the spirit of this movement backward, to the primordial swamp we once infested and called home, what was once the Gone Shrimpin’ stage in 2017, an ode to foot fetishes, was now Toxic Paradise. A mutant stage with tentacles and eyeballs sticking out of the

Attaining the Supreme: Shelter at the Constellation Room

Rob Shepyer June 28, 2018

What is the function of music? Is it to make you dance? To emotional move you? Or is it to inform you? In Shelter‘s case, they provide a special form of information for the audience. Not of the political or personal variety, but rather of the spiritual. Spiritual information that will make your soul feel full. Attain enough of this spiritual information, through study, meditation, and yoga, and you might be rewarded with the “Supreme”. What exactly is the Supreme? It is something beyond beauty and the sublime, it is a state of being that language fails to describe, but perhaps music stands a chance in translating the Supreme into sound and performance. The first band I arrived to see was Berthold City, a band started by the guitarist of my favorite hardcore bands, Strife’s Andrew Kline. Even in their fourties, this band was jumping around wildly, with bodies that hadn’t suffered the usual damage dealt by the typical rock and roll lifestyle. The songs had a sweeping, hardcore feel and though the turnout was small this early in the evening and the audience was a bit stiff, we all felt connected to the music and each other. With songs

Arroyo Seco: The Nostalgic, the Timeless, and the Real

Rob Shepyer June 27, 2018

Read this in the voice of Paul Mooney: Arroyo Seco is so white that it makes Stagecoach look like Smokin’ Grooves Festival. related content: Black Is Beautiful: Smokin’ Grooves Festival At The Queen Mary All kidding aside, this festival gave me more food for thought and introspection than any concert I had been to all year. The music add me think about getting old and how to stay eternally young. Neil Young made me think that humanity, as a whole, has lost some vital realness. Day 1 Arriving too early on Saturday, I moseyed onto the festival grounds under a burning white sun that would turn all of Los Angeles a brittle pink. Dipping my feet into the music, I wandered about the stages catching glimpses of Maxim Ludwig, who sounded as close to adult/dad rock as I’m ever willing to listen to or Typhoon, a band from Portland that sounds and looks exactly what I imagine most bands from Portland sound and look like: Fiddles, beards, tattoos, and beanies. I enjoyed the bands, just not enough to stay at a stage until I found a nice shady spot under a tree to watch some good, ol’ fashioned rock and roll

The Horrific Beauty of A Place To Bury Strangers: APTBS at the Regent

Grace Dunn June 26, 2018

A Place To Bury Strangers grant you access into their dome of ear deafening delights. Oliver Ackermann, Dion Lunadon and Lia Simone are the gatekeepers seething with energetic enthusiasm like a rabid dog foaming at the mouth. Upon arriving to The Regent, the first thing one ought to check for at this gig is the merch table. Why you say? It’s not often you find custom made pedals from one of the band members. First comment I hear from some guy, “They’re cheaper to buy here than online.” He turns to the lady merch keeper and asks, “You guys take card?”. related content: The First Real Day Of Summer: Hinds At The Teragram On top of the usual merch from touring bands, you can buy ‘Death By Audio’ (DBA) effects pedals crafted by lead singer/guitarist wizard Oliver Ackermann. There is great inspiration that has been spurred from his DIY pedal company. The documentary ‘Goodnight Brooklyn’ directed by Matthew Conboy gives great insight into the glorious history that raised out of the beginnings of DBA. It builds up the expectation for each wild APTBS performance. I settle into the crowd 10 minutes before their set time. Random enough, I look around the arches of the

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

Category: SHOWS

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