Category: SHOWS

The Primitives at Part Time PunksThe Primitives at Part Time Punks

The Primitives: Yet Another Rare Score for Part Time Punks 12th Anniversary

Rob Shepyer June 12, 2017

At this point, the musical muscle memory I’ve developed as a contributor for Janky Smooth has revealed at LEAST one thing- I know how to spot a good show from a mile away. So, when Part Time Punks announced that The Primitives were playing Los Angeles for the first time in twenty-three years aaaaand on top of that, it was the 12th anniversary of Part Time Punks, well I knew there was no earthly way I was going to miss it. The last few months of the weekly club alone have bestowed upon us Gene Loves Jezebel, James Chance and the Contortions and the first ever L.A. gig of British sensations, Sleaford Mods. Along with marquee headliners, Part Time Punks have excelled at booking complimentary opening acts, as well- and this past Sunday was no exception. related content: Part Time Punk Past… The openers for The Primitives gig on Sunday were Susan– a band made up of three women, none of them named Susan, playing alternative pop rock. Jessica O, the band’s guitarist plucked her six string with punchy sounding notes and soloed with impressive chops. Combined with bassist Bobby B. and drummer Katie Fern, the three would harmonize with

Punk Rock Bowling 2017 Kicks Off w/ The Sonics, Throw Rag & Moore

Vanessa Burgundy June 7, 2017

There was a handful of early-bird punks and a few scattered tourists as we approached a surprisingly sleepy version of downtown Fremont Street but with a line-up including Dr. Madd Vibe (feat. Angelo Moore from Fishbone), Throw Rag, the Mutants, Chicken Hawk All Stars, and OG (that’s original garage) rockers The Sonics at Fremont Country Club– we were about to get woke the fuck up. related content: The Sonics Teach Garage Rock History 101 at The Observatory It was the unofficial opening night of Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival 2017, now in it’s 19th year (how old are we?!), and the Stern brothers have yet to disappoint- although it was now 9:30pm and the doors were not yet open. Of course we overlooked the first day sluggishness as we got a sweet and smooth welcome from our Hollywood homeboy and star of the night, Chicken Hawk All Stars lead singer/Fremont Country Club venue owner, Big Daddy Carlos. It was at least 10:15 before the curtain came up with Dr. Madd Vibe’s blaring instruments and dueling vocals as loud as Angelo’s hand-painted, psychedelic suit. Always a showman and masterful musician, the energy was there but the crowd had not yet caught

The Transcendental Jams of Kikagaku Moyo at Austin’s Scottish Rite Theater

Lindsay Krause June 5, 2017

A Masonic double-headed eagle emblem keeps a watchful eye on top of the glowing sign for Austin’s Historic Scottish Rite Theatre. Over the weekend, this former German opera house transformed into an enchanting lair to host rising experimental Japanese group Kikagaku Moyo. It’s not often that one gets to experience a touring act in a location outside of the typical bar scenario, and the spooky elegance of Austin’s oldest theatre (it was built in the late 1800s!) played a role in elevating the evening, thanks to event producers Perfect Life Presents. Austin acts Hidden Ritual and Soft Healer provided opening support at the theatre that evening. Hidden Ritual’s brand of post-punk exuded the eeriness of a western-noir film, complementing the ominous air in Scottish Rite. Local lighting crews Etherwave and ACID Light Show collaborated on a curious visual backdrop which intertwined black and white vintage 16mm film clips and vivid liquid lights. Overhead the theatre ceiling glowed softly in replicated patterns of celestial bodies in the night sky, prompting Soft Healer’s singer to remark “the sky looks great this evening”. Formed as a busking collective in Tokyo during 2012, Kikagaku Moyo have released 3 full length albums and are currently

Pallbearer & Gatecreeper Stop at Echoplex Reminds Us- Guitar Solos Matter

Rob Shepyer May 27, 2017

Pallbearer’s tour brought them to the Echoplex on May 18th with support from Arizona death metal savages Gatecreeper and local avante-garde-post-experimental-jazz-metal-poets Grand Lord High Master. Doom metal is back in style because sorrow and surrender and being in touch with your feelings are back in style. Maybe “being in touch with your feelings” is overstating things just a little. At the very least it’s being in touch with the fact that you have feelings. Emo might have had its resurgence for the same reason and in times like these, you have to understand why. If not, you might just join in the mourning process yourself. Pallbearer is one of the leading bands in the new wave of doom metal. What they do is an original spin on an old style that sounds both new and familiar to the ear. Combining elements of classic hard rock, prog rock, and even shoegaze, the band’s latest album Heartless is a tour-de-force. Listening to Heartless, I hear just as much Guns n’ Roses or Metallica as I do classic doom like Candlemass or Cathedral. The band is not afraid to flaunt their talent their virtuosity, they stretch notes and solo often and in a

Redd Kross & The Side Eyes: A Great Case For Nepotism at The Echo

Janky Smooth Central Command May 24, 2017

It was a packed house last Tuesday night at The Echo, as Redd Kross played the last show of a month long tour in their home base of Los Angeles, CA. They have been traveling the nation on their “Beneath the Valley of the Teen Babes of Monsanto” tour. related content: Redd Kross, Melvins & OFF! Commemorate Teen Babes From Monsanto Before Red Kross took the stage, the audience was treated to the high-energy tunes of local band The Side Eyes. They have been gaining much popularity with their punk sound that is somehow peppy and aggressive, catchy and beefy, all at the same time. They drew their own crowd of enthusiastic fans who were rocking out and showing the band tons of support. The band features lead singer, Astrid McDonald- a beautifully fierce front woman with dynamic vocals and an imposing stage presence. If you have yet to hear them, you’re missing out on something special. After powering through an upbeat set, they ended with “Don’t Talk to Me,” a cover from Astrid’s mother and Go-Go’s bassist, Charlotte Caffey’s OTHER band, the Eyes and the subject of a split single with her dad Jeff McDonald’s band, Redd Kross, released by In The Red

Me First & The Gimme Gimmes Inter-Review At The Fonda Theater

Dave Unbuckled May 23, 2017

Me First and The Gimme Gimmes made their welcome return to Los Angeles at the Fonda Theater on May 13th to a sold out crowd that was comprised of every demographic one could think of. After all, the band has been celebrating their 20th anniversary for the past two years, and were prepared to perform their greatest hits, both of which incentivized longtime fans in their forties and your typical Los Angeles punk teenagers. The band was joined by openers Kid Congo Powers and Together Pangea, both who were warmly received, and both who stood out from the typical Fat-Wreck bands that usually get put on these bills. Perhaps it was the absence of Fat Mike on this tour that separated this from your standard Gimme Gimmes appearance, though the band did have suitable substitutes in tow, including Chris Cheney of The Living End. Some in the crowd seemed disappointed that their punk rock idol wasn’t performing, but most got over it as soon as the band opened their set with “Summetime,” off of Are a Drag. But for both Janky Smooth and myself, this was a special show since I was interviewing Spike Slawson in the hours before fans would even

Com Truise & Clark At Forefront of Breaking Stigma of Electronic Music

Aria Silva-Espinosa May 22, 2017

Electronic music often carries a heavy stigma for being repetitive or unoriginal. Unfortunately, many artists get lumped into the broad category of ‘EDM’ thus rendering their art unpalatable or unapproachable for a significant portion of music enthusiasts. What people fail to recognize is that, just as electric guitar is central to many genres of music, so is the overarching use of ‘electronic’ sound manipulation equipment in music. The Regent in the heart of Downtown L.A. hosted Clark and Com Truise on a Thursday night and the turnout was an impressive mix of people, a relatively diverse sample of audience members. As was expected, there was a significant number of visibly and obviously people under the influence of party drugs. Wide-eyed, they passed through the space respectfully and amicably. English electronic musician Chris Clark performs under the abridged moniker Clark. Although he was an opener for Com Truise’s headlining show, Clark absolutely blew it out of the water. He’s been in the scene since 2001, when his first album Clarence Park debuted on Warp Records. His set was about as dynamic as electronic music can be, ranging from deep house to an almost noise-rock sound. The experience is heightened by the

Angelo, Dirty Walt, Norwood- Fishbone trifecta

Fishbone at The Echoplex: The Royal Treatment for Chim Chim

Janky Smooth Central Command May 19, 2017

Saturday night at the Echoplex started off with the Uber driver dropping us off in front of The Echo, where we waited outside for 2 minutes before we realized it was the wrong place. So we run across the street down some filthy stairs around a corner and now we are at what appeared to be a back parking lot. A simple barricade across the front of the drive-way and a few security staff in black shirts greet us and conduct a cursory cavity search and inspection of our immediate threat level. My friend has her trusted ass-pocket flask, (empty by now) confiscated with the promise it will be returned at the end of the night. We are ushered passed a mountain of trash bags and assorted garbage piled high along the side of the building. Just another by-product of the glamour and the glitz of Los Angeles nightlife and moments away from yet another Fishbone show under my belt. Once inside, the show was already in full swing with the latest offering from drummer Stephen Perkins (Janes Addiction/Porno for Pyros) entitled Tabitha– a powerhouse trio consisting of Perkins and the Okai Sisters (originally from Tokyo) on Guitar and Bass. They

Le Butcherettes Leave A Pint of Blood On Stage at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach

Aria Silva-Espinosa May 18, 2017

Mex-American punk trio Le Butcherettes are sheer intensity personified onstage. On a Wednesday night at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach, the crowd sizzled anxiously under the ominous glow of the shadow-casting red lights.The entire venue has been arranged to allow for maximum capacity, standing room only. Photographers clamored on top of the scattered bar furniture, desperate for a clear shot at the stage which is only elevated slightly from the floor at the very front of the venue space. The enlivened crowd is thick, anxiously buzzing and seemingly impenetrable. Everyone wants to get in on the action and Le Butcherettes come with a satisfaction guarantee for punk music lovers. Alex’s Bar is tactfully decorated with skeletons, Lucha Libre masks and religious iconography. It is a perfect setting for the evening’s headliners to tear it up- Mexican garage punk-style. Draped in red, Teri Gender Bender took her position onstage and delivered a rallying cry of a performance. Teri is accompanied onstage by her bandmates Riko Rodríguez-López and Alejandra Robles Luna. Le Butcherettes opened their set with a song called ‘La Uva’, which was recorded with help from Iggy Pop and is featured on the newest album A RAW YOUTH. Teri displays

Thurston Moore: Genre Be Damned When You’re An Icon

Rob Shepyer May 16, 2017

Before I go into what happened when Thurston Moore graced the Teragram Ballroom’s stage on Saturday May 12th, I need to paint the picture of what happened immediately after. Smoking a cigarette and leaning against a neighboring liquor mart, I saw an old college friend of mine, a bit of a hipster he never really understood my taste in music. Surprised I was seeing Thurston Moore, he said he thought I was more into punk and metal. Which is true and although Sonic Youth might not exist without punk, I answered my friend that I would take any opportunity to see an icon perform and Thurston Moore is certainly an icon- genre be damned. The night began with Marisa Anderson, a Portland based guitarist that is more or less an instrumental troubadour. She played astral, flowery sounding guitar to such politically and musically conscious songs as “Bread and Roses”, explaining that in times as trying as these we must remember our victories. Bread and Roses is a song about the victory of a women’s textile factory strike and I couldn’t help but wonder where are all the Marisa Andersons are in music? Anderson plays from the heart, and gives wise

Weedeater and The Obsessed at The Regent: Blaze It Up, Fool

Rob Shepyer May 6, 2017

Doom metal is on such a comeback that I might have to become a pothead again. Until a few months ago, I had the hunch that thrash was going to have a second coming and be the biggest rage in underground metal, but at a time when Saint Vitus and The Obsessed are simultaneously touring, when Pallbearer comes out with a game-changing album, and Sleep returns to the studio, it is clear to me that Doom dancing is back in fashion. related content: Ascending the Holy Mountain- Sleep at The Fonda Theater Doom and stoner metal are siamese genres. Doom originated the slow, heavy, down-tuned sound that stoner metal altered with more distortion and fuzz in the guitars, a faster tempo and lyrics either about weed or things you’d ponder while high on weed. The month of May has huge doom shows booked by Spaceland for the Echoplex and Regent. To crack open the month, The Obsessed and Weedeater shared a stage to mesmerize Los Angeles. If you ask most people, they’d say that Weedeater is a bigger draw than the Obsessed. I suppose that’s partly due to the popularity of weed and thus stoner rock over doom but still,

Børn in the U.S.H.-United States of Horror

Danny Baraz May 5, 2017

Last night in a back yard on Echo Park Ave, there was a call to arms. Last night, Jean Lebrun and Eaddy Lawrz aka HO99O9 launched a movement and moved forward in spreading the spores of the United States of Horror. Oh, you thought it was just music? The new album from HO99O9 is the single biggest step forward I’ve seen from a band in over a decade. After their tactical assault of EP’s over the past 2 years, the first full length album from the deacons of the death kult shows an incredible amount of maturation in musicality. I was nervous about how much more polished the production sounded on USoH, intially. But the clean production delivers a clear message and makes it easier to discern the mission being delivered in subject matter, a message that should make the programming directors and editors of Fox News and Breitbart beat the drums of white fragility- which, despite what the scumbag media ratings analysts attempt to depict, is growing more and more out of rhythm with the direction this country is headed. Reminder: Kill your TV and anyone that tries to divide us- Kill ’em all. White America should be