Category: SHOWS

Babes in Toyland Still Inspire and Terrify at The Roxy

Vanessa Burgundy February 14, 2015

Kat Bjelland once described Babes in Toyland as “full frontal assault” and after last night, mommy mommy I need an adult. The Roxy was packed to its crusty edges with riot grrrls and boys, riot moms (thanks for the term, Tom Morello), and celebrities alike. Hell, the first person we ran into was legendary front woman, Exene Cervenka. The excitement was infectious and the room was pulsing with what felt like good, old-fashioned high school angst. No one really knew what to expect from the band that played it’s last show 18 years ago, warm-up show at Pappy and Harriet’s aside. Tom Morello came out to introduce the “matriarchs of metal” and any doubt was kicked to the floor when Lori, Kat, and Maureen took to the stage and tore their way through a 13 song set- No banter needed. Kat’s voice hasn’t lost a drop of power and by the time they broke into their third song, “Bluebell”, every sweaty person in the room was screaming “you’re dead meat motherfucker/you don’t try to rape a goddess”. Lori hit the drums like it was Lollapalooza ’93 and you’d never know any time had passed, save for the few times she sweetly

The Warlocks and Weed Smoke Don’t Mix at The Bootleg

Danny Baraz February 12, 2015

I was excited to see The Warlocks for the first time. Attendees of Wednesday’s show at The Bootleg Theater in L.A. were treated to a stacked lineup of opening acts in both rooms of the venue. It was a well crafted build up to a band that helped define the modern day psych genre. I walked into the venue to the sounds of Gun/Her. Gun/Her are a two piece band from Los Angeles. The simple but tight bass playing of front woman Xe serves to accentuate the raw and soulful sounds that emit from her esophagus. The musical arrangements are a potpourri of post punk and blues goodness while Xe’s vocals summon the ghost of Janis Joplin. It’s a killer mix. I made a visit to the main room to check out Dream Boys who have a big, surf/indie sound like a polished sonic diamond. I opted to go back to the muck and rawness of Gun/Her before they vacated the stage for the glamorous, Blood Candy. I couldn’t really tell if Blood Candy was any good because lead guitarist Cliff was turned up way too loud. I heard the potential in there somewhere and I almost walked up to

Dum Dum Zine Party with TULIPS and So Many Wizards

JustinThomas February 9, 2015

The dream of the 90’s is alive in Portland Echo Park. Every time I venture into the hipster-friendly, conveniently gentrified, Echo Park, I can’t help but reference this Portlandia bit. It just rings so true here. A print media zine release party, conveniently located next to a record store; the only thing missing from the night is to manifest an outright time warp into the golden decade of the 90’s was the glaring of smart phones screens, which lit up the faces that lined the dimly lit, iconic Echo, smack dab in the heart of Echo Park. I arrived slightly after the live zine readings around 7 PM. I was just in time for Echo Park’s own TÜLIPS to commence the musical portion of Dum Dums Zine release party, which also served as the official LA Zine Week kick off. Upon entering, I darted straight to the bar. The Echo stands as one of the only venues where you can order a beer and a slice of pizza, which is delivered from the delectable Two Boots Pizza right next door. If that isn’t enticing enough for you then your soul is black. TÜLIPS, the self proclaimed “riotgaze” rockers lead by Taleen

Dirty Laundry TV presents: The Abigails at Harvard and Stone

Danny Baraz February 7, 2015

Our friends at Dirty Laundry TV not only have the whitest whites while keeping your colors bright and vivid, but they also really know how to throw a party. For the past 5 years, Dirty Laundry TV have made interviewing your favorite indie bands fun and hygienic and along the way, they have put together some pretty incredible live shows. On Thursday February 5th Dirty Laundry TV had their first night of their monthly residency at Harvard and Stone and The Abigails were the headlining act. The Abigails seem to draw much respect from fellow musicians. Every time I’ve seen them play there has always been notable members of other big SoCal indie bands in attendance and last night was no exception. While it wasn’t a surprise seeing Brooks Nielson of The Growlers at the show given that Warren Thomas is an ex member of that band, it was a surprise to see Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth at the Abigails show. I turned instant fanboy and she was very gracious and accommodating about taking a picture with me and Michael of DLTV. The instant the Abigails start playing music it’s easy to see why other musicians are a big

Bass Drum of Death kill in Long Beach

Taylor Wong February 6, 2015

I’m sure Long Beach has plenty of great bars and venues but lately it seems that Alex’s Bar is really the only one worth going to. Affordable drinks and some of the best line ups I’ve ever seen at a bar. Last night Alex’s Bar brought us a performance from Bass Drum of Death with a great cast of opening acts: The Vespertines, Zig Zags, and Rudy De Anda. The first band of the night was a local, Long Beach band. The Vespertines had the unfortunate, first time slot. Although the room was almost desolate at this point, Vanessa Acosta was still a ball of energy on stage. I could really appreciate what the Verpertines were trying to do because they don’t have the standard, 4/4 beat of a garage band. Vanessa reminded me of Pedro Torres of Them Howling Bones mixed with Cassandra from Wayne’s World. Not only did Vanessa have a talented voice but she can also play a mean trumpet. Following the Vespertines came the Zig Zags and they were on point last night. It seemed like they were a little annoyed that they had been bumped down a position in the line up. I can understand why

The LA Art/Book Fair with Thurston Moore and Ho99o9

Danny Baraz February 4, 2015

Los Angeles- our Art, Literature, Music, Culture and Tacos Can No Longer Be Easily Dismissed L.A. is in the midst of a renaissance. While most might call it gentrification, those people are not in the trenches that are being filled with artists, students, activists, authors and poets. While Manhattan and even Brooklyn are becoming more inaccessible to artists without extensive investment portfolios, the geography of Los Angeles allows those with small bank accounts and big ideas to fan out east and still be within the city and county limits of L.A. While the former glory, grit, angst, junkies, music scenes and yes, stank of Hollywood and The Sunset Strip have been replaced with chain night clubs, over priced eateries, spruced up sceneries and former botox beauty queens, Echo and Highland Park, East L.A., Boyle Heights and even the former toilet bowl known as Downtown Los Angeles are overflowing with housing, lockout rehearsal studios and concrete, commercial structures that house painters and nihilistic youth. Idealism abounds and there is even more real estate further east that can support small budgets and big dreams, at least until the day that LA is swallowed by the Pacific Ocean. Los Angeles has always gotten a bad

PPL MVR at Bardot: The Mystery Deepens

JustinThomas February 3, 2015

Spoiler alert; PPL MVR are insane. Upon sinking into the jam-packed crowd at the opulent Bardot Lounge in Hollywood, it became apparent that something was in the air aside from the looming second hand, cancer inducing cigarette smoke that slowly wafted out of the pseudo open air venue. From the right angle the venue plays host to a view of the historic Capital Records building. There was a palpable buzz around the picturesque venue about who the fuck PPL MVR actually are outside their masks, the platform boots, the fur, the lack of vowels, the names (SNWBLL, HNGRY Q, K-PO); who the fuck is this band? My attempts of digging through Reddit threads and YouTube comments speculating that PPL MVR might be Brand New’s latest side project left me doubtful at best. Also dead-ended were my attempts to eavesdrop the “in the know” pre-set chatter from self acclaimed Hollywood music producers and their assorted entourages. I decided to say fuck it and let the experience of PPL MVR wash over me from a virgin perspective. I was ready to have their lustrous, riff driven, melodically auto tune induced cuts break though my venerable hymen. Standing front row and dead center, armed

Ho99o9 recruit your children to their Death Kult at The Church of Fun

Danny Baraz February 1, 2015

Ho99o9 are the worst nightmare of white, middle America. The genre twisting duo piss on your patriotism, your politics, your god and your daughter as she explores her desires for fetish and black cock. Not only do they influence punk kids but they also have the hip hop heads. Every demographic of YOUR children are in grave danger. All the rules and protocols for basic human interaction are thrown out the window at a Ho99o9 show. Everything you think you know about punk rock, hip hop and humanity are challenged by this emerging talent that was spawned in hell by way of New Jersey. Last night, Saturday January 31st Ho99o9 played a show at an amazing DIY, artist venue called The Church of Fun and in the process, changed the game… even though most people don’t know it yet. In a packed little room filled with the type of people who make conservatives question the future of this country, the sounds of the hardcore/punk/ hip hop deviants pumped through the suspect sound system and I have rarely heard anything more magikal or evil. The writhing and swirling of violence bruised bones and stimulated the genitals of a room full of

Alex’s Bar: 15 years of punk gratitude w/Rocket from the Crypt

Danny Baraz January 31, 2015

Last night, Alex’s Bar in Long Beach celebrated the first of two nights dedicated to the amazing punk rock bar’s 15 year anniversary. It’s not just the extreme care and thoughtfulness that is taken when booking bands or the red light, burlesque vibe and the fact that they don’t murder your wallet at the bar that make Alex’s Bar special. It’s the people that run it and the regulars that insist that it’s their second home. Owner Alex Hernandez and his wife Paige treat everyone who works for them like family and everyone who walks in the bar like long lost friends and really are just amongst the nicest people I’ve met in Rock and Roll. In the end, it’s about the music. The owners of music venues who have long been established and enjoyed some success typically hire someone to do the booking after a period of time. But Alex loves music as much as his patrons and still hand picks the bands that play the venue. When I asked him why he picked Rocket from the Crypt to play the two consecutive nights marking the bar’s milestone, he simply said, “Rocket from the Crypt got me through the

Band of Horses at The Observatory: This is personal

Danny Baraz January 29, 2015

When Band of Horses released “Everything All the Time” in 2006, I was in the midst of a transformation. I was going to use the word “mourning” to describe my state of mind at the time but that might lead to the use of a cheap pun related to a certain single off that album and something like that could minimize the statement I’m trying to make about the impact of that album on my life. I had just had my first child prior to it’s release, at a relatively young age by today’s standards and before that life changing event, my existence was in a sorry state of drug abuse and an overall aimlessness and lack of purpose. As bad as I make that sound, there was also a certain freedom in being a fuck up that isn’t so easy to let go of. That album got me through it and generated enough therapeutic tears to get me through the illogical longing to be back in that nebula. By the time Cease to Begin came out in 2007, I had my second child and along with Ben Bridwell’s lyrics, a complete shift in my outlook on life. All of

Twin Shadow at The Troubadour: New songs and awkward banter

Amir Kashani January 26, 2015

Most people who know me know I have a bit of a soft spot for Twin Shadow, so it was no surprise when I asked Janky Smooth if I could cover their first live LA show this year. For those of you living under a large solid mass formation, Twin Shadow is George Lewis Jr. Thanks to the internet, I discovered him doing a ridiculous cover of Lou Reeds, “Perfect Day”, days after Lou’s death. The rest is history. I walked up to the Troubadour, grabbed my ticket and walked in to catch Zoe Kravitz aka Lolawolf wrapping up a set. Their material is raw and she and her voice are exhaustively attractive. They have a familiar yet experimental vibe to them. The material is appropriate to groove or isolate to. The dance vibes are unmistakeable and the production on the beats is impressive. However, my focus Thursday night was not the beautiful spawn of Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz and her art projects. The Troubadour is a great venue. I walked around to find my typical sweet spot and as soon as I land into my nook, George and his band take stage. The crowd was tightly formed and

An insane lineup for another Moon Block event at the Echo

Taylor Wong January 25, 2015

The Echo is on a fuckin roll these days. Friday January 23, Moon Block put on one of the most amazing shows I have seen in a long time. Even though they were competing with the FIDLAR show at the Regent Theater, It seems Mitchell Frank is only competing against himself now because The Echo was a packed house also. The line up was made up of some amazing LA artists. The bill was L.A. Witch, Death Hymn Number 9, Plague Vendor, Kim And The Created, and last minute add on, Sad Girl. With a diverse line up came a diverse crowd, young and old, people of different ethnic origins, and people of different Cliques. Moon Block knows how to put a show together. L.A. Witch opened up the show with an already packed house. I had seen these ladies once before a year or two ago and I remember being blown away. This night at The Echo was no different from the last time. In fact they got even better with the new material that they have been coming out with. The band was very quiet between songs, and as much as I love banter, nothing beats a dark