Category: SHOWS

Fishbone at the Troubadour-The greatest live band of all time

Danny Baraz December 21, 2014

I’ve been trying to think of the right words to use to describe what I saw last night at The Troubadour. It’s not like it was my first time seeing Fishbone. Far from it. I’ve seen them on every size and kind of stage you can imagine from The Malibu Inn, Coachella, The Hollywood Palladium and dating as far back as Lollapalooza 1993 when they completely stole the show from all the headliners. It was almost humorous to see Dinosaur Jr take the stage after Fishbone finished their set that year. What could J Mascis have possibly done to follow Angelo Moore swimming the length of the festival audience, climbing the highest light tower and diving into that crowd during Subliminal Fascism? To date it is one of my most vivid concert memories. So how could seeing Fishbone at The Troubadour on a Friday night in 2014 compare to the times I’ve seen Fishbone co-headline shows with Primus in the 90’s or anywhere else along this journey of theirs which started as junior high schoolers in 1979? I can safely say that it was as good as any Fishbone show I’ve ever seen. How is that possible? How can 49

Janky Smoothest Bands for 2015: # 3 Them Howling Bones

Danny Baraz December 20, 2014

I’ve been listening to Them Howling Bones recently released EP religiously for the past month without the benefit of the live show litmus test. I always hold off on praising a new band too much until I’ve heard what they sound like live. I’ve had my ear ball on them to place them on our list of one of the top bands to look out for in 2015 but without the live show, I would make no such proclamation. Last night, Them Howling Bones played a free show at Pour Vous with mates, The Bloodhounds. Them Howling Bones were putting em back at the bar before the show in true rockstar fashion. Something tells me that no excuse is needed for the band to reach total obliteration but it also happened to be Them Howling Bones bass player, Armando’s birthday. They did not tuck themselves in a corner when The Bloodhounds played their solid set of the more and more common rockabilly sound that is exploding in this Southern California scene. Even in the upscale setting of Pour Vous and it’s Parisian vibe with bartenders that are referred to as Mixologists, Them Howling Bones were able to transform the atmosphere

The Dodos at Alexs Bar- An intimate show with a room full of friends

Taylor Wong December 16, 2014

The last few weeks have been filled with loud, fast punk music. I was beyond excited to have a nice mellow night at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach. Alex’s Bar is an awesome bar out in Long Beach that’s a bit bigger than the Chain Reaction and they host amazing shows. Not only do they have amazing bands come through but the booze is also ridiculously cheap there. Last night wasn’t just some ordinary bar night. The band headlining was none other than The Dodos. The Dodos is a two piece indie band that was formed by vocalist and guitarist, Meric Long, who partnered up with Logan Kroeber. Logan Kroeber was drumming for metal and punk bands before joining up with Meric. I got the chance to ask Logan after their set, what inspired him to go from drumming in a metal bands to drumming for a solo artist with out the use of a bass drum or snare? He told me about how he had gotten bored playing metal and that not having a full drum kit and Meric’s style of music challenged him. At this point in time, the band had a full drum kit which being an

Corners puts Cosmonauts To Test As Headliner at Part Time Punks at The Echo

Danny Baraz December 15, 2014

It’s amazing how many young people are picking up instruments and starting bands these days. What’s more amazing is that the attraction to do so seems to be motivated by the purest of intentions. There is less hope than ever to reach the heights of rock stardom achieved by every American generation since Elvis because of the relatively recent collapse of the music industry- When most young people at the time thought Metallica was out of touch in their fight with Napster, it appears they had a clear vision of what the future held. Bands work harder for less money. Album sales have been replaced by marathon touring schedules. Mega bands are asked to play the Superbowl for free. The tallest heights are measured by landing a single in a national commercial. Music has been devalued by a society that’s not quite sure how to make money off it anymore. While the internet is the greatest technology ever created to reach people all across the world, sell your product, book a tour and promote it, there are so many shiny objects distracting us all that the very ADD nature of it seems to have shortened the careers of many young

Reverend Horton Heat, The Adicts and The Smut Peddlers at The Observatory

Danny Baraz December 13, 2014

Last night I remembered why I used to hate Orange County. The reminder came in the form of an awesome show with a diverse lineup that featured Reverend Horton Heat, The Adicts, The Smut Peddlers and Sean and Zander. It drew the type of crowd one might’ve seen at punk shows in the 80’s and 90’s with all it’s assorted tribes and politics. All the punk rock crews were represented from UNITY skins and SHARP’s and I even had some interactions with an old school dude reppin the L.A.D.S. But this is Orange County afterall and it just wouldn’t be a punk show in the O.C. if there weren’t a huge Nazi Skin contingent present to guard the Mother Land from invading brown people. The fact that The Smut Peddlers were on the bill brought the South Bay Skins even further south than the South Bay to add to the already hearty skinhead stew. But times are different and even with a group of people that would’ve blown like an over heated pressure cooker in a different decade, I witnessed no real violence last night. I got to the Observatory just in time to see Sean Wheeler and Zander Schloss

Allah-Las in La La Land: A cold, rainy night and warm vibes inside The El Rey Theater

Danny Baraz December 12, 2014

On the heels of an extended fall tour, the release of their second album, “Worship the Sun” and the upcoming birth of the new year, Allah-las must have quite the lofty visions of 2015 in their collective third eye. On Thursday, December 11th, the Allah-las made a stop at the El Rey in Los Angeles with Tashaki Miyaki. There was a mosaic of Burger Records alumni in attendance at this event. There were also the usual caravan of beautiful women, chronic appreciators, an over flow of “man bun” hairstyles, retro-thrift store army’s of fashionable special forces and cocaine, Gucci attitudes that seem like permanent, fixed appendages to these types of L.A. shows. Burger stars such as Warren Thomas of The Abigails and Clementine Creevy of Cherry Glazerr were in the house as Burger roster mates usually are when their friends, mentors and influencers play local gigs. The Allah-las took the stage to gaze upon a packed house. Almost instantly, a wave of good vibes washed over The El Rey Theater as the reverb hit our ears and the projected, live liquid visuals by Mad Alchemy hit our eyes. Lead Singer Miles Michaud cocked his head to the right, opened

Burgerama 4 Announcement Party with together Pangea, No Parents and Others.

Taylor Wong December 9, 2014

Five dollars made all the kids holler last night in the Constellation Room at The Observatory. Burger Records threw a show last night with bands White Night, Unkle Funkle & Free Weed, No Parents, and Together Pangea. This show was a Burgerama 4 line up release party even though the Burgerama line up had actually leaked to the internet before any one at the show actually knew who was playing. They actually never told us what the line up was. You had to be paying attention to the music the DJ was playing to get the list of bands. Pretty fuckin clever if you ask me. Here is the amazing lineup for Burgerama 4 taking place March 28th and 29th at, of course, The Observatory in Santa Ana. Tickets go on sale this Friday, 12/12/14 at 10am and you can purchase them here. Oh boy oh boy oh boy. The opening band White Night played mid speed thrashers. The first couple songs hand the crowd second guessing White Night. I decided to stand in the empty pit and grab a few photos. That was my first mistake of the night. The children of the corn, as I like to call

Action Bronson at The Observatory: A Gigantic Man with Unlimited Energy

Danny Baraz December 9, 2014

Monday night saw one hell of a mixed crowd at The Observatory for Action Bronson and his posse. The parking lot was riddled with tailgating thugs equipped with ski masks, 40’s, prescription drugs as well as punk teenagers skating curbs and drinking beers they stole out of their dad’s refrigerator. The latter were mostly there to catch together PANGEA and the unveiling of the Burgerama 4 lineup in the Constellation Room. However, upon entrance the crowd seemed to dissolve into each other and mingle between both shows. Bronson’s bill hadn’t posted any kind of opening acts so the crowd was ambiguous to what they’d be seeing. Turns out there were six opening acts before he even touched the stage. That’s right…I said six. The crowd was pissed. Not entirely because the music sucked but because they were just as excited and anxious to see Action Bronson as I was. The first few openers simply could not get the crowd moving. There were even a few cringeworthy moments where audience members began to drown out the music by chanting, “BRONSON, BRONSON, BRONSON” The entire show was plummeting downhill. I even saw a guy in the front row fall asleep on the

Clepto and Tartar Control Raise Hell and Money for Brain Injured Children

Danny Baraz December 8, 2014

Last night, at the 13th Frame Lounge in La Habra, a bunch of weirdos got together for the Punk n Bowl Benefit Show to raise money for HBIC (Help for Brain Injured Children). There is so much low hanging fruit in jokes I could make to draw parallels between the cause we were all supporting on this night and the seeming similarities it shares with the patrons of this shindig, that it almost isn’t fair to poor, brain injured children around the world. The bill was filled with punk and hardcore bands that use shtick, comedy and props as a part of their act. Between punk cover and clown costume clad band, The Yeastie Boys and comic book concept band, The Radioactive Chicken Heads, there were just enough twisted props and costumes to unravel and unspool the calmest of dispositions. I could tell you I was there for the cause but that would be a lie. I’d rather donate online or by mail rather than drive to La Habra. I was there for two reasons- To see the bands Clepto and Tartar Control play. Clepto have had quite a ride in 2014. The year started with an opening slot at

OG’s, Toddlers and Whiskey for The Weirdos and Adolescents at The Observatory

Taylor Wong December 7, 2014

When I got to the Observatory in Santa Ana, the first things I saw were teenagers drinking whiskey from water bottles, old timers drunkenly fighting in the parking lot and babes with mohawks bouncing around. The scene has been set for one of the gnarliest punk shows I’ve seen in a long time. Last night, The Observatory had the ultimate punk line up, The Widows, Channel 3, The Stitches, The Weirdos, and The Adolescents. This was an all ages show, and when I say all ages I mean all ages. There were what i call, with all due respect, “old timers” with canes, blue hair, and driver caps as well as toddlers in patched up denim vests with mohawks. I was loving every moment of it. Out of all the shows I’ve been to, punk shows seem to be the most family oriented and friendly shows, ironically. The only time I almost got knocked out over the course of the show was when I was pulling a girl through the crowd to get up closer and forgot to say sorry to the dick head i accidentally bumped into. The first band up were The Widows. I’ve never heard of them

Avi Buffalo Ends His Tour in Los Angeles and Makes a New Fan. Me.

Amir Kashani December 7, 2014

Fridays are usually a border town for complete disasters or an absolutely awesome night we draw tales from our entire lives. Tonight started out looking like the end of the world but I chose to run over to The Echo to see Avi Buffalo. Maybe he can work out some of my issues. I’m sure he has a sound therapy team that help him with these awesome, free flowing lyrics that more or less feel like streaming consciousness. I’ll get to that in a sec. Sadly, I didn’t get to check out the opening acts. Instead I opened with a slice of cheese pizza from Two Boots and mingled with this youthful bunch of PBR handlers. I have never seen Avi live or listened to a lot of his work but being that he is a local kid who has been at this for as long as he’s has, he automatically gets my attention. As soon as the other band is done, Avi creeps up onto stage and starts coordinating his pedals and chords. I like this kid already. He’s efficient and independent. The room is nearly packed and shouting to Avi….”Welcome Home!” and “Jessica!!!”. This crew has been on tour

Seahaven Headlines The Glass House, Plague Vendor Steals the Show

Taylor Wong December 6, 2014

It’s Friday night and teenage angst is in full effect. I made my way out to Pomona for what seemed like a high school reunion. The scene was The Glass House for an all ages show featuring Plague Vendor and Seahaven. I was mainly out there to see Plague Vendor, but because I was born and raised in the South Bay and Seahaven comes from Torrance, I was put in the awkward high school reunion scenario. I ran into multiple old buddies from high school who I lost touch with for multiple reasons, and they all seamed to be happier or doing better than me. Great. The first band, Warm Thoughts (formerly Dad Punchers), reminded me of just that. There isn’t a name for their genre but I gave it the name South Bay Punk which, according to the history of Taylor Wong, started in a backyard in Hawthorne, California where, bands such as Joyce Manor and Touche Amore would play before they became who they are now. These kids were legit because they gave me that warm nostalgic feeling which is rare to come by these days. The frontman, Eliot Babin thrashed around the stage singing out of tune