Category: SHOWS

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

Bullies or Buddies: Los Angeles Music Blogs and the Scenes They Cover

Janky Smooth Central Command May 3, 2017

A solid three years into the game, COOL TITE bring it fresher and bigger than ever. Crystal, Mat, and Sergio are all about keeping it D.I.Y. and Janky Smooth wants to acknowledge and participate in how local music blogs in LA, like CT, contribute to and enrich the community, stay connected to share what music we’re all digging at the moment and to tell music fans more about when the music from that band you love is set to be played at a show, at your favorite venue nearby, or when they are releasing new music. Without confirming with COOL TITE directly that they feel the same way, I know the people at Janky Smooth feel like they are an extension of the sounds emitting from the city and collaborators of sorts that prop up the scene and some of the bands in it. When I use the word “collaborate” it’s not to insinuate that the BEST blogs work in conjunction with bands as a promotional arm- no. Leave that to Pitchfork or COS. related: Mind Meld Mondays at The Echo Continue Bringing Highest Value The collaboration is to relay the straight dope, raw dog like a conversation with

Folk Sensibilities w/ Larry and His Flask & Flatfoot 56 at The Echo

Jessica Moncrief April 28, 2017

Larry and His Flask recently embarked on a tour with Chicago natives Flatfoot 56. While both bands differ stylistically, the light-hearted attitudes and instrumental diversity of both bands have served as key components in their compatibility. This is one of those line-ups where you aren’t sure who should be headlining because they both have an equal amount of talent and clout. I had the chance to catch them on the Southern California leg of their tour at The Echo and I am certainly glad that I did. The show was an early one, and even though Flatfoot 56 had some serious issues with their tour van the day before, the show started promptly at 6pm, as scheduled. Generally speaking (from personal experience), when a gig starts that early, one could expect a light crowd for the opening bands. However, that was not the case for this show. I was pleasantly surprised upon arrival to see the ample amount of people that turned out early to catch their set; it speaks volumes for the fan base that Flatfoot 56 has built over the years. Flatfoot 56 incorporates instruments like the mandolin and bagpipes, giving them a distinct Celtic sound with a serious

Coachella to The Smell: Are Downtown Boys The Voice We’ve Been Waiting For?

Rob Shepyer April 25, 2017

My love for punk saxophone brought me to downtown Los Angeles on April 18th to see the mighty Downtown Boys pack The Smell. I had heard about the band from the same Rolling Stone article so many seem to have read that claimed this band was something special in a sudden sea of punk and having experienced their show, I find myself agreeing. Coming from the East Coast, Downtown Boys are a rarity to catch on this side of the country but as fate would have it, Coachella brought them out to punk-up that bland-ass lineup and pop the brand-new Sonora tent’s cherry. Downtown Boys are a political punk band of twenty somethings that embody all the good and bad things about the millennial generation. Hailing from Providence Rhode Island, the band started out of the collaboration between Victoria Ruiz and Joey La Neve DeFrancesco from What Cheer? Brigade. Downtown Boys signify something far greater than the new face of punk- I see their political beliefs becoming the core ideology of the “new left”, making the Smell the perfect venue to host the band. Downtown Boys’ LP is named Full Communism, as if Slavoj Zizek himself had a writing credit.

A Psych & Synth History w/ Silver Apples For The New Acid Test in SF

Janky Smooth Central Command April 23, 2017

For all the hate and bad press that San Francisco gets about the infiltration of tech-bro-douchebags ruining its wacky culture and alternative nightlife, its still the only city in the world that can throw a “psychedelic freak-out party” as authentic and trippy as The Acid Test SF’s most recent party featuring the experimental electronic pioneer Simeon Coxe of Silver Apples at The Rickshaw Stop. The Acid Test SF has been organizing these crazy, consciousness-expanding parties around the city since 2015. Of course, its namesake is inspired by Ken Kesey and the Merry Prankser’s famous Acid Test parties in Haight-Ashbury during the summer of love era. The organizers book 1960s, LSD-inspired artists such as San Jose’s garage rock outfit Chocolate Watchband and the LA-born acid rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock. This particular event was at Rickshaw Stop, a quirky venue in the lower Haight with a cozy atmosphere marked by huge red velvet curtains and vintage rickshaws. As soon as I entered the venue, I felt like I’d time-travelled back to a time when the city was still overwhelmed by long-haired hippies with flowers in their hair. The groovy looking crowd had dressed the part so well that I couldn’t tell if

Fear and Loathing With King Gizzard and Pond at The Hard Rock

Lindsay Krause April 21, 2017

There’s not much about Las Vegas that ever really appealed to me. Even one with a deep appreciation for the book/film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas has to remember that Hunter S. Thompson himself acknowledged the city’s role in the abrupt shift during the spread of the 1960’s San Franciscan counterculture. In his famous “wave speech”, he recalled Sin City as “that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.” However, when the Hard Rock Las Vegas announced an Australian trifecta of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, POND, and ORB at their poolside stage, I determined the possible waves from an epic whirlpool/moshpit/portal would be more than enough to lure me from Austin out to the desert. Sandwiched between first time Coachella sets for both King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and POND, the Las Vegas double headliner event comes at a time when both acts are beginning to creep onto a wider world stage. Formed in 2010, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard reportedly chose their name “as a joke”, however, the work ethic of the 7-piece is anything but that. Since their inception, the Melbourne natives have released 9 full lengths, with reported intentions on

When We Were Young Festival’s Most Dominant Demographic: Mine

Janky Smooth Central Command April 19, 2017

When We Were Young- We Became Experts at Sneaking In & Cutting Lines I was still hungover from Choking Victim’s secret set in Long Beach at Freebirds Salon twelve hours before, and already running forty minutes late to the festival, when I remembered that I needed to stop at Target and pick up sunscreen and vitamin C. These are the indicators I observe as I age year to year. Chalk it up to experience but the last thing I wanted was to be sun burned and hungover for day two of a very long weekend. My urgency for arrival was based solely on watching The Getup Kids play the soundtrack to my early adolescence and I was not going to let the naivety of Orange County’s ‘Surf Goth’ youth hold me up. I waited in the main entrance line for the When We Were Young festival and watched cigarette packs get emptied out onto the wooden tables, and a barrage of drug paraphernalia get confiscated and disposed of while the newly minted team of hired security guards emptied pockets. It became apparent within minutes that I was going to have to find an alternative entry if I wanted to get in

Risking Life and Limb to Cover HORSE the band at Union Los Angeles

Taylor Wong April 14, 2017

A lot of the bands we were listening to in high school are just now hitting their 10-20 year anniversary on their hit albums. There has been a resurgence of bands that many left for dead- but isn’t that the case for almost all popular art? This weekend was a major festival (When We Were Young) who’s entire line up consisted of people I thought were dead or working at Starbucks. The one comeback (although to be honest they may have never left) I was super stoked for was the night before this shit show of a festival, HORSE the Band at Union Night Club. Upon arriving, I instantly ran into Nathan Winneke, singer of HORSE the Band, just hanging out, drinking beers at the merch table, talking with fans and hanging out with his wife. I got the chance to chat with him for a bit before the first band. We somehow got on the topic of Fartbarf playing the show. Nathan told me that apparently, for the last 3 years people have been telling him to book Fartbarf and finally it just happened to work out. We talked about their sound and masks a bit which then took us

Category: SHOWS

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