Category: SHOWS

The Garden “Haha” Record Release Party at The Teragram Ballroom

Danny Baraz October 20, 2015

On Thursday, October 15th, nouveau punks, The Garden held their record release party for “Haha” at The Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles. The VadaVada Vaudevillians, Wyatt and Fletcher Shears opted for a setting that reflected their art- fresh, bombastic, chemically imbalanced and extremely vivid, rather than the sterilized and homogenized stronghold that spawned it- Orange County. But even with such guests as Tyler, the Creator in attendance, The Teragram Ballroom still only reached 2/3rds capacity by the time The Garden took the stage, thus critically challenging my proclamations of L.A. being the epicenter of music in America. Afterall, if Angeleno’s aren’t swarming to see The Garden then my braggadocios proclamations about L.A. being the center of the music universe are somewhat unfounded. Joining The Garden at The Teragram Ballroom and setting the tone for the evening was ex Murder City Devils frontman, Spencer Moody and young rockers, Slow Hollows. We walked into the Teragram and Spencer Moody was already on stage. Toward the beginning of his set, Moody reminded me of a mix between Tom Waits and Lemmy Kilmister. He was quite intriguing. Moody was joined on stage by a Fender Telecaster and the most bored drummer in the world. He

Eagles of Death Metal Resurrect Tower Records for “All Things Must Pass” After Party

Vanessa Burgundy October 19, 2015

This past Thursday night, there was a screening for All Things Must Pass, a film that documents the rise and fall of the retail music business and the legacy of Tower Records. It only makes sense that I got into this invite only afterparty, for one of the Sunset Strip’s most iconic rock n roll institution’s, with the line…”I’m with the band.” Not so surprisingly, it worked like a charm and I stepped through the security gates at 8801 W Sunset Blvd, with a privileged rock n roll swagger. The after party was being held at the former Tower Records location (1972-‐‑ 2006), with the All Things Must Pass movie screening taking place down the street at Harmony Gold Theater, just prior to the show. There were sightings of Tower Records founder Russell Solomon, director Colin Hanks, and musician Moby, to name a few but our favorite sighting was, of course, The Mayor of Sunset Strip, Rodney Bingenheimer (20 year old waitress/girlfriend Kansas Bowling in tow). A Rodney sighting will forever legitimize the level of rock n roll street cred at any event. The crowd looked a bit sparse as the stage was being set for guest performers Eagles of

Albert Hammond Jr Strokes The Teragram Ballroom

Johann A. Ramos October 16, 2015

Albert Hammond Jr. headlined The Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles Wednesday night in support of his third solo album “Momentary Masters”. Who could have predicted that one of the most anticipated shows of 2015 would have landed on a hump day? The record, according to Albert himself, was inspired by astronomer Carl Sagan’s book “Pale Blue Dot”, a book about space and the future of mankind. I can’t claim that I have been able to make the connection, but I can tell you that Strokes rhythm guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. definitely composed and produced this album with an out of this world mentality. Momentary Masters is great, sonically, and the instrumentation is nothing short of spectacular, but it doesn’t do their face melting live sound justice. Directly supporting Albert were Day Wave and they played a tight set. I could tell that a lot of the audience members weren’t too familiar with the band (The chick next to me kept referring to them as Date Wave to her other friend. The band even repeated their name towards the end of their set and she still kept calling them Date Wave), the crowd seemed pleased with their set as they swayed their

The Frights Frenzy At The Echo

Janky Smooth Central Command October 16, 2015

I first saw The Frights almost two years ago in a dingy Pomona basement where I dodged flying beer cans and flailing limbs to watch their high-octane set of surfy pop-punk anthems. When The Frights lead-singer/guitarist/principal songwriter Mikey Carnevale’s guitar cut-out during the intro of their live staple “Melissa,” rather than stopping and fiddling with his cable or the power supply, Carnevale dropped his guitar altogether to deliver the song’s “fuck you, fuck you” refrain while letting the small but enthusiastic house-show crowd envelop him until he briefly disappeared into the sea of bodies. Despite line-up changes (a different drummer and a second-guitarist) and spots on huge lineups (opening for FIDLAR) The Fright’s party-boy, escapist ethos and aesthetic still seemed perfectly intact, with an appropriate amount of polish to justify a packed, headlining set at The Echo. After a raucous and dynamic set from The Buttertones, The Frights walked onto the stage to be greeted by a very warmed-up and excitable audience, launching into a one-two-punch of a set featuring standout tracks from their debut album with a few new songs seamlessly mixed in. Carnevale and and bassist Richard Dotson have their frat-boy live personas down to a science, expanding

Kim and The Created Kick Off October Residency at The Echo

Brent Smith October 8, 2015

It’s October, the harvest blood moon has arrived, and it’s time to get weird! The first night of the Kim and The Created residency at the Echo was a vibrant, cosmological event, and things couldn’t have gotten weirder for a Monday night. Dancing to the always eclectic Kim House, Deap Vally, Regrettes, and even some midnight thrashing to Melted, there was no better way to usher in the new season. Everybody was floored by Regrettes—the new poster children for local teen garage rock. Formerly known as Pretty Little Demons, and comprised of Marlhy Murphy (drums/vocals) and Lydia Night (guitar/vocals), the power pop two-piece had such a rounded and self-possessed sound that I didn’t even miss the bass. Their clean 3 or 4 chord doo-wop ditties gave a genuine expression of young ennui that you can dance to. They had a magnetism that brought the bar to life. Nobody in that room was expecting anything out of that first act. It was a lethargic Monday, even among artsy burnouts with no 9-to-5 gigs, and on a school night these girls rocked an L.A. staple. Think Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains but not as agro. And to give an idea of

Ariel Pink and Black Lips Bend Minds at The Teragram Ballroom

Danny Baraz October 7, 2015

When Ariel Pink and the Black Lips announced their co-headlining tour a few months back, I thought to myself, is there a better fit for two groups with heavy rock and roll eccentricities to be sharing a bill? Are there another two acts out there that can match each other in the perceived excesses of the rock and roll lifestyle? I couldn’t think of another Los Angeles venue I would rather see them than The Teragram Ballroom. The last few times I have seen either of these acts has been at big festivals so the warmth and perfection of sound and acoustics of the Teragram was a nice change. The sound of the two bands couldn’t be more different. The Black Lips with their sleazy garage rock vibes are the screeching, string bending beatniks who are both the paupers and princes of the punk/garage rock resurgence. Ariel Pink, our modern day Syd Barret. He rolls his third eye at your very existence as he puts romance and taboo into a contemporary context, accompanied by swirling organs and fuzzed out psychedelic guitars that have to pass through the very well populated pedal board that act as tonal gate keepers. The Black

HiFi Rockfest: Good Times, Bad Turnout at The Queen Mary

Danny Baraz October 6, 2015

People have been proclaiming the genre of Punk (in it’s most classic interpretation) to be dead for over 30 years now. Certainly they must be referring to the movement more so than the music because it seems like every time you turn around, there is a new punk festival brewing a lineup of classic bands with fascinating and improbable lineups. Hi-Fi Rockfest is the newest festival dedicated to dusting off crusty old punk legends and propping them up on a stage to perform to varying degrees of success. Hi-Fi Rockfest was organized by the trio of punk powerhouses DC-Jam Records, Dying Scene and D.O’B. Sound. I wasn’t all that interested in seeing a Jello Biafra-less Dead Kennedy’s but I was SUPER stoked to see The Sonics for the first time. Just 24 hours prior to the frenzy of the Super-Blood-Full-Moon, the celestial satellite hung brightly over the Long Beach Harbor and the Queen Mary. I arrived later than I wanted to Queen Mary Park where the festival was being held. Aside from The Sonics, I was way more interested in seeing bands playing earlier in the day like Downtown Brown, Year of the Dragon and True Rivals. And Luicidal is

Disclosure at The Sports Arena: Seizures, Car Crashes and Beer Stashes

Taylor Wong October 3, 2015

It was about two years ago to the day that Disclosure did two back to back, sold out shows at The Fonda in Hollywood. A couple nights ago, Disclosure kicked off their European and American tour here in Los Angeles at the LA Sports Arena. Not only was it their first show of the tour but it was also the first ever stadium concert. I was lucky enough to be invited over to shoot archival photos for the Coliseum and Sports Arena, once again. The call came in about an hour before the doors opened. I was over near LAX while my camera was all the way over in Hollywood and rush hour had just started. I raced home to grab my camera, well aware I would never make it for opening act Lion Babe. I made it to my apartment just in time, even after watching a car hurling down the street, crashing right into a storefront. I ran into my apartment, got my camera gear in order and step out the door locking the door behind me. Oh, what’s this? My car keys are now locked inside my apartment? At this point I have come to terms with

Mosquitto and Sand Babes at Footsies: The Soundtrack for my Blackout

Taylor Wong October 2, 2015

Sunday night I made my way over to Footsies after downing half a bottle of tequila. Mosquitto and Sand Babes were set to play in the small dive bar in Highland Park. The bar was filled with familiar faces and unfamiliar faces, alike. Every one was beautiful and under the influence of something, mostly whiskey but others maybe had a little extra something, something. I only managed to put down 1 more beer during the course of the show. Actually, I take that back I was in some alley at some point drinking whiskey out of a brown paper bag with Mosquitto before their set but I’ll get back to that later. The night started pretty early with Ned Casual DJ’ing some tunes for the early arrivals. Around 11pm Sand Babes went on. At least I think it was 11, like I said the night’s a little blurry for me. They had the room packed with girls grooving to their, well, groovy tunes. I even caught myself wiggling around during their set. After Sand Babes I met up with Kevin Compton of Mosquitto and at that point that half a bottle of tequila had hit me. We made our way

Shannon and the Clams shot by Julien Kelly

Shannon and The Clams Debut “Gone By The Dawn” at The El Rey

Jai Chebaia September 26, 2015

Retro rock band Shannon and The Clams are no strangers to Los Angeles. The Oakland band has dropped three previous albums in the garage rock mecca, so when they returned last Wednesday night to mid-city hipster haven the El Rey for the record release of their 4th album, they were welcomed with warm arms and adoring fans. Opening for the headliners were fellow bay area band Cool Ghouls, who’s LP, “A Swirling Fire Burning Through The Rye”, was in my opinion one of the best albums of 2014. Consequently, watching these guys was incredible, especially on such a big stage, with even more impressive sound to match. However, what makes Cool Ghouls more unique than most garage bands, is the fact that ALL of them can sing, and not just belt out a few notes – they can fucking sing. This means not only are the harmonies crazy, but also each individual voice when alone, brings something different to the song, both emotionally and tonally. The crowd was a little thin to begin for the touring band, but there was no shortage of happy-go-lucky dancing. At times the band would break down into straight-up country punk, which by the way

The Coathangers at Riot Fest Chicago 2015

The Coathangers and Birth Defects End Tour in Southern California

Danny Baraz September 25, 2015

The first time I saw The Coathangers was at Burgerama in March. Some bands just stand out and you know when you see them for the first time, that you’ll be seeing a lot more of them. Thursday night at Los Globos was the second to last stop on the current leg of their tour with the Birth Defects. L.A. promoter, Blundertown added Feels to the bill. All three bands were in prime form. I was able to catch up with The Coathangers at Riot Fest in Chicago. They were the first band that played on Day 1 and we spoke to Crook Kid and Minnie Coathanger just after their set. I got a little tongue tied and at the time, I blamed it on the lack of notes and not enough preparation but after saying hello to them just before their set last night, I realized that I get a little tongue tied around bad ass women who can play the fuck out of their instruments and write kick ass songs. I tried to relay some information and ended up coming off like a total dick!!! It’s true. I’m a male groupie but since I don’t put out so I’m

Entering the Void at L.A. Psych Fest 2015

Brent Smith September 24, 2015

‘The unspeakable is the true domain of being.’ –Terence McKenna For lineup snobs, the 4th annual Los Angeles Festival of Psychedelic Music and Art may not have compared to the recent bills of Levitation Austin or Toronto earlier this year, or even Levitation France for that matter, which synchronistically went off on the same weekend. Nevertheless, for a homegrown spectacle, L.A. Psych Fest was a wildly intimate affair. It also served as yet another euphoric instance in today’s mushrooming psychedelic revolution happening everywhere from L.A. to Denver to Boston and beyond. If you weren’t in the crowd this weekend decked to the nines in glitter mascara and your old tie-dye, you definitely missed out. L.A. Psych Fest definitely started off on the right foot, with sick performances that first night at the Regent Theater by Jennifer Castle, Green Gerry, Mr. Elevator & the Brain Hotel, Night Beats, and epic crowd-pleasers The Budos Band on the main stage. The Echo proved to be the more fitting venue, as the fest really caught its momentum during a manic second day, headlined by instrumental giants Earthless. I personally couldn’t wait to finally see JJUUJJUU and Moon Duo live for the first time (and