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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Air + Style Day 2: Snowblind in So-Cal
Aria Silva-Espinosa
March 9, 2018
Construction cranes tower over Exposition Park, obscuring the view from the festival grounds. Although Sunday means progress is stalled, the skeletal half-constructed stadium leaves the stages set up for the festival looking dwarfed in comparison. The lineup boasts a lineup similar to what I would put on a ‘Sunday Morning’-type of playlist, Gucci Mane included. Like any Sunday of a festival, it took awhile for festival-goers to start filing in. A good percentage of the earlier crowds consisted of families with school-aged children and even stroller-bound infants. This serves as a reminder that this is just as much of a family-friendly sporting event as it is a music festival. related content: Air + Style Day 1: The Church Of Dram When attending a festival, it isn’t uncommon to be forced to make the heartbreaking, relationship-ruining decisions about which sets you’re going to catch and which will have to be sacrificed due to conflicted scheduling. Not so with Air & Style; the sets are split between two stages and staggered so nobody has to miss anybody they want to see. related content: Air + Style Saved By Hard Rain Washing Away Crowds We caught part of the Cloud Nothings‘ set and being
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Air + Style Day 1: The Church Of Dram
Rob Shepyer
March 8, 2018
Skating and snowboarding has always been closely tied to all things rad in music, whether it be the fast pumping feel of punk rock as your wheels hit the pavement or those sleek hip hop stylings when your board glides through powder. I am neither sort of boarder but I am a music nerd and so, the sight of Dram on this year’s Air + Style lineup made the festival a must-attend event for me. In my attempt to capture an experience with every modern name in this new breed of hip hop music, Dram was the blaring piece missing from the puzzle… not anymore, though. related content: Air + Style Saved By Hard Rain Washing Away The Crowds I had a few reservations on the festival at first, not knowing exactly what I’d get into, especially waiting in line for my press pass with snooty USC kids all around me. But then, hopping through the gates and seeing what this event really was, I immediately had a change of heart. Skate park shows are a special happening and waiting for Ex-Cult to play the first trick competition really got my blood pumping for some lightening fast action. The first
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Earthless Liquified My Face At The Teragram
Rob Shepyer
March 7, 2018
I had heard about Earthless forever ago but because of my natural skepticism, I didn’t really feel any need to see an instrumental band that wasn’t some kind of post rock outfit. Then after I heard Bill Burr raving about how incredible Earthless were live, I got about a guzzler’s gallon of fuel put in my engine to go see the band. Fast forward to last week when Dillon told me about the show, and I finally caved and decided to dive in, head-first. And boy was I ever glad to have caved and dived in. This was my first legitimate psych rock show, I know admitting that probably decimates any shred of credibility I had left but it’s true. I was always into the more extreme side of music and then also as a contrarian, seeing everyone in LA get so wrapped up in the whole Desert Daze scene probably made me want to avoid it. I’m not gonna be shopping for bellbottoms at vintage stores anytime soon, but maybe I’ll pop into more psych shows. I dressed in a “Canadian tuxedo” just to fit in at this show and I wasn’t the only one. All that said,
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Crossing They Might Be Giants Off My Bucket List At The Regent
Rob Shepyer
March 5, 2018
Jessica and I had been waiting a long time for this show. Before it was even announced, we would dream about seeing this little nerd rock band that only had the most obscure hits in the mainstream. Songs like “Particle Man” or their cover of Jimmy Kennedy’s “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” were the oddest songs to ever put a band on the map but these were the songs we grew up on. Then upon the show’s announcement, all bets were off and after few emails were sent: boom, we found ourselves at a sold out Regent Theater for an evening with They Might Be Giants. related content: Nature World Night Out At The Regent: Building Bridges Between Hardcore And Hip Hop This band’s stage presence was one of the funnest, most delightful, and hilarious that I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. John and John, Flansburgh and Linnell, still have an incredible chemistry on stage, almost like a Laurel and Hardy of rock. Flansburgh joked that the band was opening for themselves and his incredible stage banter only continued through the night. In response to one person’s flash photography, he stated it was okay for us to do what we needed to do: take
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