Category: SHOWS

Hot Chip Make Machines Come to Life at The Greek

JustinThomas August 13, 2015

As the sun set last night over Griffith Park, both hipsters and middle aged white people congregated to relish in the sound waves of some of the better names in independent dance music. The historic Greek Theatre played host to a booty shakin’ line up consisting of Com Truse, !!!, and dance music staple, Hot Chip. Getting from Santa Monica to Griffith Park during rush hour is a gruesome task I do not wish upon even the worst of my ex-girlfriends. Yet there I was, Tinder swiping in grid lock traffic for two hours. Due to this, I completely missed Seth Haley’s electronic act Com Truise. I did, however, see Haley walking around the hospitality area, and if his beard was any indication of his performance, then I am sure it was nothing short of magnificent. !!!, audibly pronounced Chk, Chk, Chk, was next up. Taking the stage just as dusk was turing to dark, !!! had the task of loosening the hip muscles of the crowd that was beginning to fill in – and loosen they did. Lead singer, Nic Offer, looked like he could pass as Wayne Coyne’s twin as he danced the stage around in his short shorts. Overall, !!! had

Earl Sweatshirt at Low End Theory Fest 2015

Low End Theory Festival Wobbles The Shrine Auditorium

Danny Baraz August 12, 2015

When The Gaslamp Killer commandeered the decks at The Shrine for his set at Low End Theory Festival, I instantly started peaking. The interesting thing about that is that I wasn’t on any drugs. Something about how the visuals on the screen behind him were synched to the music in his set wobbled my eyeballs and made me question reality. That is what good art is all about. When Low End Theory convened for the very first time at The Airliner in Lincoln Heights on a random Wednesday in 2006, there is no way founders could’ve predicted how far reaching it would become. Even as dreamers dream, the reality of the waking hours and empty rooms is a deterrent that slows most people into a “it wasn’t meant to be” mind frame. But even the inconceivable becomes a minor afterthought when all you care about is shaking walls and windows and the impulse to entertain yourself and your friends as much as entertaining strangers. The second annual Low End Theory Festival at The Shrine Auditorium this past Saturday was a far cry from the empty rooms of the Airliner 9 years ago. 5000 people packed The Shrine to pay homage

Django Django Fit Their Big Sound Into The Constellation Room

Danny Baraz August 10, 2015

To state that the self titled, debut album by Django Django was a success would be an understatement. It was one of my favorites of 2012. I saw them live for the first time at a sold out show at The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood in 2013. It was their first show in Los Angeles and the venue was bursting with a capacity crowd. Flash forward to 2015 and a valiant effort at a follow up called, Born Under Saturn. Nowhere near as powerful as their first release but still, some great tracks on the new album. With a previous engagement the night of their Thursday night show at the El Rey in Los Angeles, I decided Django Django were worth the drive down to Orange County to check them out at The Observatory. The night was full of surprises. Surprise 1: Django Django were playing in the smaller, low capacity room inside the Observatory called the Constellation Room. How is it possible that a band with one of the best albums of just a few years ago is not playing the biggest stage at The Observatory? I was happy for myself and the other patrons that we would be

Kevin Parker at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Tame Impala: Tie Dye in the Sky at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Danny Baraz August 8, 2015

There was tie-dye in the sky Thursday night in Los Angeles. Fluffy clusters of clouds blanketed the sky overhead and in the west, off in the distance, The fire of sunset in the clouds over the Pacific Ocean was the perfect backdrop, as I made my way over to Hollywood Forever Cemetery to see Tame Impala play the first night amongst the dead. I was a bit nervous. Tame Impala has been one of my favorite bands for the better part of a decade but my love for the band has been put to the test with the release of their latest LP, Currents. The over produced album under delivered on the epic and anthemic arrangements I have come to love and expect. While I love the risks that were taken, I’m not in love with the final product. How would these new songs play live and how many songs I love will be bumped from the set list? The power of the perfect setting for a concert cannot be overstated. As we walked down the main path of the cemetery, we were surrounded by the concrete and asphalt tombs of Hollywood royalty, such as Valentino, Mickey Rooney and Cecil

A Hard Time at HARD Summer 2015

Justin Cornwall August 5, 2015

I have been a HARD Presents fan for a minute now. HARD Haunted Mansion 2011 at the Shrine was my first HARD event. HARD Summer 2012 was my first HARD Summer. Both events were top notch and helped forge my musical tastes as I grew into the LA being I’d one day become. Between then and now, I’ve been a part of about a dozen different HARD promoted shows and festivals. Over the weekend, on Sunday, I came upon the opportunity to head to the Pomona Fairplex to see what HARD Summer 2015 had to offer. As a fan of the brand, I had high hopes – as the lineup seemed eclectic enough in a plateauing ‘rave’ culture. We arrived later in the day, but there were still lines of barely dressed teens at the gate. It was an 18+ event but the security was barely holding the seams together with a very lax bag/ID check – there was definitely a <18 crowd at this event. We got through just fine and headed to meet some friends at the PINK Stage for some Jamie XX. There were 5 stages; 3 indoor and 2 outdoor. Pink, Yellow and 7Up (green) were

High on Fire: Metal Madness at The Echoplex

Danny Baraz August 4, 2015

With a massive swell of approval around the release of their 7th studio album, Luminiferous in June, High on Fire was booked by FYF Presents at The Echoplex this past Friday. It was the second stop on a headlining tour that stretches through to the end of August- Pallbearer, Lucifer and Venomous Maximus joined them. I was torn between this show and Stiff Little Fingers playing the last ever punk show at The House of Blues on the Sunset Strip. Ultimately, I never really liked the House of Blues and it’s corporate vibes and bad parking. Since I saw Stiff Little Fingers a couple times at the end of 2014, I decided I would go see a sick Metal lineup at an independent venue that has it’s finger on the pulse of music. Bye Bye, House of Blues. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out. I made it into the Echoplex with enough time to order a drink before Pallbearer took the stage. The venue was completely sold out. There were metal heads as far as the eye could see. I cruised by the merch booth, which was moved to a space in the back of the

The Kills Come to Los Angeles and Burn It To The Ground

Danny Baraz July 29, 2015

The duo of Allison Mosshart and Jamie Hince, aka, The Kills, played back to back, sold out L.A. shows at the El Rey and Glasshouse this week and it was my first time seeing them live, along with Baby in Vain. I am a HUGE fan of Mosshart with the Dead Weather and my love of that band rolled into a deep appreciation for The Kills. I’ve heard many people comparing The Kills to The White Stripes, over the years. That is one of the laziest and uninventive comparisons to pigeon hole a unique and creative collaboration such as The Kills, that I’ve heard in quite a long time. The Kills don’t sound like anyone else and rarely can one find the type of talent, sex appeal and presence that Allison Mosshart displays on stage. The Kills took the stage to a packed and exuberant house in Pomona. They wasted no time drawing the audience in by kicking the show off with “U.R.A. Fever” and instantly, it was on. With a battery of accompanying musicians in the background triggering samples and beating on drum modules, Mosshart and Hince stayed up front and were free from the past multi-tasking performances in which

Ty Segall Performs as Henry Rollins Observes

Ty Segall and The Birth Defects Play a Gig In a Tiny Room

Janky Smooth Central Command July 29, 2015

It was a real treat to attend a secret Ty Segall show this past Monday- you feel privileged to have stepped into some well-guarded party. The show was at The Griffin and I wondered how these other people knew about it? Are they personal friends of the bands? I could not find any information about the show on social media and I couldn’t help but wonder how long these Mondays at the Griffin are gonna stay a secret. Last night, The Birth Defects and Ty Segall performed in front of a few happy people. The last time Segall did a show at The Satellite, I was not fast enough to get a ticket. However, I managed to see him with his band, Fuzz at the Troubadour two weeks ago and now, this show at the Griffin! It was completely unexpected and a lot of fun. Birth Defects started the show a bit after 10 pm and, as they did when they opened for Fuzz at the Troubadour. They slaughtered the place, raising a monster at each song with their propulsive, raw and very loud sound. Their album ‘First 8 Mistakes’ was produced by Ty Segall, which explains the connection, and whatever they put

Meatbodies Lay Waste to The Echo With Spectacular Theatrics

Jai Chebaia July 25, 2015

Around five minutes before the Meatbodies took the stage, I realized it was all about to go down. There was a mysterious Ty Segall in the corner, suiting up in god knows what, who seemed to be reading lines off his phone. Chad Ubovich, head honcho at the Meatbodies, wearing an epic red cape and face paint to match, gave Ty a pat on the back as he walked onstage to put his guitar down. Onstage, there were two drum kits. Which was weird, because as far as I knew, the Meatbodies only had one drummer. The Echo started to fill out as the crowd slowly came to the realization that they were about to witness something different, and hopefully, something memorable. The Meatbodies, who released their debut album earlier this year to critical acclaim, had obviously been planning this tour kick off for a little bit. Like any band that faces rampant success, the pressure to step up their game is always on, as the audience expects a little something more each time. As always, the Meatbodies seemed up to the challenge, and likewise, the crowd was roaring to go, laying waste to each other before the band even

HEALTH at The Echo: First L.A. Show in 3 Years Delivers

Danny Baraz July 23, 2015

By Danny Baraz HEALTH is the most original sounding bands in music today. Dissonant chords fed through filters and stomp box effects. Galloping tribal rhythms so succinct and steady that you could set a watch to them. Reverberated falsetto vocals that create a layer of tenderness through the violent rhythms. Piercing sound designs that wash over the listener in a rebirth of the senses. The dichotomy of sound that Los Angeles band HEALTH creates is extraordinary. It all amounts to a New Wave, Gothic, Punk stew of noise and melancholy melody that we have been deprived of for far too long. On Wednesday, July 22nd, the HEALTH hiatus in Los Angeles ended at The Echo with the first of three sold out shows, carefully crafted to promote their new album Death Magic. There has been a steady build up since April of this year to tease new songs from the new album. The video for the song “New Coke” was premiered on YouTube in April and has racked up over 180k views in the few months that it’s been live. Not bad for an indie band. Between the imagery of Alice Glass and Pictureplane partying in the first minute to

Jason Finazzo of The Birth Defects at The Troubadour

Birth Defects Unleash Debut Album at the Troubadour alongside Fuzz and Carletta Sue Kay

Brent Smith July 21, 2015

Sandwiched between killer sets by Carletta Sue Kay and Fuzz, The Birth Defects album release bash for “First 8 Mistakes” at the Troubadour was one for the books. Everyone who was in the sold-out, jam-packed, iconic venue got slapped with an array of musical talent many, or just I, wouldn’t expect from a West Hollywood show on another Thursday night. It’s an endangered time for relics of bygone eras like the Troubadour—an attic-like setting that incubated the legendary statuses of Jim Morrison and Axl Rose alike (even Cheech and Chong were discovered there by Lou Adler). Nudged between the border of Beverly Hills and where Ron Jeremy and Bret Easton Ellis were eating dinner next door at Dan Tana’s, the Troub stands like an old ruin among the gated anti-communities of WeHo; a stark juxtaposition to the Laurel Canyon days of magical hills, liquor corner store blues, and free-lovin’ gutter artists. If this were the 80s, I would’ve hated it for being such a glam rock establishment whore house (and I probably would’ve lived in New York anyway). But in 2015, I’m just happy the Troubadour is still around, and not yet in the hands of some ‘starchictect’ like Thom

L7 Shreds Final Night at The Fonda with Skating Polly

Vanessa Burgundy July 19, 2015

I stepped off the plane from Mexico, into an Uber, dropped my suitcases at home and drove directly to The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood to catch night 2 of L7 playing Los Angeles after their first European tour in almost 20 years. I have gone into countless tirades in the past about why I prefer any night but night 1 of multiple date stands by popular bands in Los Angeles but this time, my preference had everything to do with the opening band, Skating Polly. My love for L7 is well documented, so rather than go fanboy and write about them for the second time in a month and a half, I’ll focus on Skating Polly and let one of the baddest bitches in L.A. tell you about the baddest bitches in rock music, L7. The first time I saw Skating Polly play a show was in January of this year when they opened for legendary Los Angeles band, The Flesh Eaters. I know the real thing when I see it and since then, I have become mildly obsessed with their 3 records; and I’m not the only one. Every iconic punker that sees them live seems to want to