Category: SHOWS

L7 Stop Pretending They Are Dead at The Echo

Danny Baraz May 30, 2015

By Danny Baraz On Thursday May 28th, L7 played a show for the first time in 18 years. This brought up a lot of feelings and emotion for me. I’ve seen L7 play more shows than any other band. I would not be easily swayed by the power of this moment because at their peak, they were one of the most ferocious live bands in the world. While a caricature of the past could have the power to entertain, what I wanted to see was the raw, authentic and over amplified band of bad ass chicks that were so incredible that being women was hardly a part of my internal narrative about what impressed me about them. THAT was what I wanted to see and I wouldn’t give them a pass on this “warm up show” simply because L7 were ready to relive their glory days and collect a paycheck. The Echo, a venue that didn’t even exist the last time all four original members of L7 played a show, was more packed than I had ever seen it. As soon as I saw the skeleton hands forming the L and the 7 on the backdrop of the stage, shit

King Tuff and The Shrine in Venice for Red Bull Sound Select

Paige Vreede May 30, 2015

A slew of music devotees inundated the streets of Venice last night as The Shrine supported King Tuff at Del Monte Speakeasy. With the term “speakeasy” in the venue title, it was evident only a limited amount of people would be fortunate enough attend. Red bull Sound Select presented this extraordinary show at a cost that is less than your morning coffee, so it was no shock that hundreds of humans embellished in black stood agog in a line that wrapped around the corner. As I entered the oldest speakeasy in Los Angeles (Happy 100th Birthday Del Monte), I instantaneously knew I was in for a commoving night. I found myself in a dimly lit room that looked as though it was only capable of maintaining a 100-person capacity. Knowing that The Shrine and King Tuff were to perform in this intimate, yet grimy setting was invigorating. I knew I would soon relive my 15-year-old angsty teenage days, with no shits given and one motive: to enjoy some damn good music. To say The Shrine warmed up the crowd exquisitely would be a complete understatement. They didn’t just warm up the crowd, they melted faces. Ironically enough, faces weren’t the

Julian Casablancas Secret TIDAL Show at The Dragonfly

Justin Cornwall May 24, 2015

Dragonfly hasn’t popped up on my personal radar for a few years now. When Janky Smooth received a personal invite from the owner, Anthony Belanger to see JULIAN CASABLANCAS & THE VOIDZ perform on their stage, we did not hesitate whatsoever. Julian Casablancas, of The Strokes has moved past but not completely parting with his early 2000’s alt-rock alma mater. The Voidz were born out of Casablancas breaking a rut in 2013 and they have chugged along together to bass heavy riffs at a steady pace. I had seen them perform at FYF in 2014 and was left totally unimpressed (tons of their early live reviews were negative) – but that particular set was at a festival and festival sets can so easily be ruined by outside factors (production, poor sound, shitty people). I’m a Strokes fan and was eager to check out the private showcase – I had no issue in giving them another shot. This performance absolutely filled the empty void I’d felt between The Voidz and I. Before entering the venue, we were forced to turn in our cell phones at the order of staff and signs bearing the TIDAL logo. Yes, that TIDAL. The music illuminati (Jay

Shannon and the Clams shot by Lester Guijarro

Shannon and the Clams: Case of the Mondays at The Griffin

Paige Vreede May 20, 2015

When mastermind Jason Finazzo (singer of The Birth Defects and manager of The Griffin) began brainstorming with musical genius, Ty Segall, they decided Monday nights will no longer serve as a night of post-weekend blues, but as a night of prodigious talent. With previous acts such as Thee Oh Sees, Wand and The Coathangers making appearances at The Griffin in Atwater Village, it was no surprise that the raw talent of Shannon And The Clams were invited to immerse us in their tasty tunes this past Monday. Upon entering The Griffin for the first time, I immediately felt as though I had stepped into a different era. With candle lit tables and exposed brick arches, I felt as though I was meeting me mate William Johnson for a few lagers at our favorite pub. I was extremely curious as to how the night would proceed given the context of the genre amongst the seemingly intimate backdrop that surrounded it. To my surprise the room presented itself as nearly empty – something that made absolutely no sense to me considering the extraordinary talent that was to come. In a state of boredom, I decided to walk to the neighboring liquor store

Fat White Family Go Commando at The Troubadour

Danny Baraz May 19, 2015

Fat White Family have a huge buzz surrounding them amongst the nouveau punk scene developing world wide. This scene has the required rawness to be given the moniker of punk but the bands that fit in the category, exist on a plane somewhere between pop and hardcore- Fat White Family are no different. No Different would also be an accurate description of the sound itself. They aren’t attempting to break new ground or even clean the ground that was painted with the vomit of their predecessors. There are no frills with Fat White Family. There is no polished, pre meditated look. If I were to sum up the ultimately inconsequential summary of their “image”, I would label it, “disheveled” or “unkempt”. Their sound is often down tempo, dark and brooding, awash with the vibrations of reverberated guitars that are so prevalent in most of the young, garage bands’ repertoires of today. I was curious how songs like “Is It Raining In Your Mouth” and “Cream of the Young” would play live and I was very happy to find that their live sound was true. One thing that was clear early in their set list at The Troubadour on this past

Corners Homecoming at The Echoplex

JustinThomas May 15, 2015

“Where are we captain”, Corners bassist, Bill Changer, asked last night to an all aged audience. The answer was obvious; we were in Echo Park congregated to see Corners homecoming show after a lengthy tour consisting of 80 shows spanning from California to Lithuania. A tip of the hat goes off to Crap Eyewear and What Youth for putting together a rad line up of bands. Each of which complimented each other quite nicely, and the crowd, which unsurprisingly dressed in mostly black, was extremely receptive and got increasingly looser as the rainy night persisted. I stumbled into The Echoplex in somewhat tardy fashion around 9 PM (I blame Southern California’s tendency to suck ass at driving in the rain) just in time to see popwave rockers, Popheart. The appropriately named four-piece, Popheart, played a nice blend of; you guessed it, pop. The four-piece performed their poppy ballads with an eerie hint of Joy Division-esque darkness. Their groovy sound warmed up the rain-drenched crowd nicely. Next up was Tropical Popsicle, who in my humble opinion wins the award for dopest band name. The four-piece, lead by Timothy Hines, are fresh off a two year hiatus, and I for one, am stoked

No Parents & Colleen Green Steal Thunder at The Echoplex

Janky Smooth Central Command May 12, 2015

Who is Rat Fist? That was my first question when I saw them headlining a show with both No Parents and Colleen Green, two artists who could just as easily headline their own show at The Echoplex. It seemed that many of the other attendees must have also been wondering the same thing, as a good portion of the crowd left before they played. Rat Fist, though not universally notorious themselves, is the side project of members of No Age (Randy Randall) and Pissed Jeans (Sean McGuinness), two pioneers of the current west coast garage punk scene. The opener, Chew Toys, was an excellent and authentic throwback to old school punk. In a scene ruled by reverb and chill vibes, genuine raw punkers like Chew Toys deserve some recognition. Husband and husband, Jay Tag and Kevin Dickson, make up the queercore duo and boy can they play their instruments. Their influences are clearly rooted in early punk bands such as The Ramones and The Clash as well as later interpretations of folk punk, specifically The Dead Milkmen. And as the Chew Toys demonstrated, power chord and pop punk vocally dominated punk still kicks ass. The next act, Colleen Green, could

Ty Segall at The Smell shot by Julien Kelly

Ty Segall Unplugged at the Smell

Danny Baraz May 9, 2015

The sky was illuminated by a brilliant flash of light followed by a loud and ominous rumble. The rain was coming down on me as I walked down the alley behind Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles approaching The Smell. As I got closer to the entrance, I saw Jason Finnazo of The Birth Defects nervously smoking a cigarette in the rain. He had been the opening act of the evening in which the band Feels and Ty Segall were trading in their face melters for acoustic guitars. “Did you feel naked up there?” I asked him as he took a deep pull off of his smoke. “Yeah, everytime I do this, I always say that I’ll never do it again”. He proceeded to go through the inventory of issues he had and I kept thinking how musicians were like chef’s- always pointing out where the meal was too salty and never giving any credit to the deliciousness of their creation. I was bummed I missed his set because I love The Birth Defects and one thing that is hard to imagine is The Birth Defects unplugged. It’s exhilarating when artists go out on a limb. I did make it

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Detonate at The Echoplex

Taylor Wong May 8, 2015

It was a rainy Thursday night out here in Echo Park. I could imagine no other acceptable way to spend this rainy evening than at the John Spencer Blues Explosion show at The Echoplex. Now I’m a noob when it come to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, but what I have heard is that they put on an explosive show. Pun intended. So a little fact about me- I’m compulsively early to almost everything I do. This came in handy this specific evening. There were only 2 bands scheduled to play this last night. Opening for Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was a band by the name We Are Hex. About 15 minutes before they went on I realized, being human and all, I had forgotten something necessary to cover the show. I was able to rush home and back by the time they were 2 songs into their set. I was extremely glad I made it back in time, not only because I still had a job to do but because We Are Hex were simply incredible. Front woman Jilly Weiss reminds me of a grungier Exene Cervenka of X mixed with a little Brody Dalle of the Distillers. She awkwardly/adorably danced around

Desert Daze 2015: The Festival for the 21st Century

Danny Baraz May 5, 2015

It was 4:30am on Saturday morning. I pulled the Janky Smooth RV into a dusty parking lot. I had been driving this carbon spewing behemoth since 1am, after the hour it took to load it up with instruments, sound equipment and beer- The essentials that would push me through a crazy 36 hours in the Mojave Desert for Desert Daze 2015. There were hints of blue shading the dark desert sky at the edge of the horizon that peaked over some sleepy mountains. A sense of dread washed over me at the sight of this beautiful event. It meant I only had a few hours to get a little bit of sleep before setting up the DNA Vapor sponsored, Janky Smooth Jam Lounge in preparation for our open jam after party. I knew I shouldn’t have taken that dab before loading up all that gear. After being led to our lakeside cabana by a sleepy eyed angel named Art, it became clear that we were the first ones to plant our flag in this particular patch of land. By the time I woke up a few hours later, the deserted road I parked our camper on was swarming with

The Dead Milkmen Over Deliver at The Troubadour

Danny Baraz April 27, 2015

Words: Danny Baraz Photos: Taylor Wong If listening to The Dead Milkmen doesn’t instantly put a smile on your face and get your foot tapping then you are completely dead inside. For 32 years, The Dead Milkmen have taken a genre that can take itself too seriously and made a mockery of it and every other taboo and sacred topic known to man. Just like most other coveted punk bands of their era, they have recently reactivated to write new music and tour. Last night, I had a chance to see The Dead Milkmen at The Troubadour and remedy the fact that I have never seen one of the funniest bands in the world play live before. I got to The Troubadour around 9:45. Unfortunately, I missed a great local band. Johnny Madcap & the Distractions had just finished playing when I arrived. I waded through the crowd of salt and pepper patrons and parked myself next to the bar and ordered a beer. Without delay, The Dead Milkmen took the stage. “Rodney Anonymous” Linderman charismatically connected with the crowd instantly as they opened with the song “Nutrition” off of Big Lizard in My Backyard. The Dead Milkmen un ceremoniously

Fuzz Unleash Distorted Heavy Overdrive On El Rey

JustinThomas April 25, 2015

Words: Justin Thomas Photos: Taylor Wong Last night Ty Segall, and his longhaired trio, Fuzz headlined the sold out El Rey Theatre in West Hollywood with support from Endless Bummer and CCR Headcleaners. Heads were banged, faces were fervidly melted and stoner jams tirelessly ensued. News Flash: Mr. Ty Segall knows his way around a fucking drum set, Ladies and Gentleman. Arriving just after 9 PM on a Friday night, with the venue nearly one third full, Endless Bummer were already creating mass amounts noise in the realm of psychedelic bong-rip friendly jams. The Los Angeles locals, Endless Bummer, carried the torch of the thriving garage scene well. Like Fuzz, as a three piece they did an efficient job producing a wall of noise while working in the ambit limitations of two dudes hammering guitars and a girl ripping the drums apart. Next up were the San Francisco five-piece CCR Headcleaners. The Headcleaners set the pallet well for Fuzz and warmed the waters for the crowd that was beginning to trickle in. CCR had some stand out moments during their set, one of which included a stoney version of Free the Freaks off their 7 in. split with Fuzz, LAMC

Category: SHOWS

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