Category: SHOWS

50 shades of Spooky Black: Models, Partiers and Real Hip Hop Heads at The Well

Taylor Wong November 18, 2014

LA got spooky this weekend at The Well. Saturday evening we were blessed with the first ever Spooky Black and The Stand4rd performance in LA, and who better to put the show together other than the people at The Well and UNIF? I was pretty stoked to have been able to cover this show after our access to Chance the Rapper was cut down to just a writer. Spooky Black was definitely a rare and worthy replacement for Chance the Rapper. I had no prior knowledge of what Spooky Black sounded like before this weekend. I mean I did check him out on Spotify Friday night, but prior to this I always thought he was just some white rapper from the butt fuck middle of no where. After doing some research I was pretty excited for this party. The dude has talent for a 16 year old Minnesota boy. He reminds me of a young softer version of How To Dress Well. Other than the fact that they had great performers for the night, UNIF threw a kick ass party. The bar was open all night with Colt 45’s, Vodka, and Gin (at least thats all they had when i

Dum Dum Girls Headline Night 16 of 30 Days in L.A.

Janky Smooth Central Command November 18, 2014

November 16th, night 16 of the Red Bull 30 days in LA. Well I made it, the back end of the month of November. Boy has it been exhausting. This night we were given a performance by Lowell, Tapioca And The Flea, and Dum Dum Girls. I wasn’t familiar with any of the bands other than my boys in Tapioca, so I was pretty excited to see what was in store for me. As soon as I got there I saw a lot of familiar faces. It was a cool mix of people I had met over the course of the 30 days and a large group of supporting friends were there, shit even my ex-girlfriend was there. The venue was The Well, a small clothing store in DTLA with a artist warehouse space in the back. The show never hit capacity which shocked me seeing as how it was a sold out show. I got to the show a bit early so we took advantage of the free pizza and prize give away. I’m pretty stoked on my new ear plugs I won. These ear plugs actually came in handy as soon as Lowell started playing. I definitely wasn’t

Them Howling Bones Record Release at the L.A. Fort

Taylor Wong November 17, 2014

Punk fuckin’ rock! That is how I would describe November 14th’s Them Howling Bones EP release Party at The LA Fort. The LA Fort is this cool little artist collective over in bum fuck LA- I’m serious bums are actually fucking on the street outside The Fort. I have to go into more detail about the venue for you to understand just how punk rock it is. There are absolutely no bathrooms or running water and the entire place smells like BO mixed with shit and bad breath. Last time i was there was there was for Pangea and FIDLAR which was way too legit, minus the part where I was flat tired by a shoe with dog shit on it. Even last night I was approached by a fat crack head prostitute when i was getting ready to drive off in my car. This place just bleeds punk rock. I got to the show a bit early which was perfect since I found parking right in front. I didn’t want to have to pay homeless joe another 5 bucks to watch my car. Getting there early was also smart because they had an open Colt 45 bar for the

Chance The Rapper And My First Hip Hop Show by Justin Cornwall

Justin Cornwall November 17, 2014

I’d never been to a hip-hop or rap show prior to setting foot in the House Of Blues Hollywood last night. Chance the Rapper, Azizi Gibson, Kamandi baptized me into a new world – and I couldn’t be happier with the lineup. After some confusion with the House Of Blues and the Red Bull team, I eventually made my way into a sold out night and settled myself up on a balcony. Kamandi is going to be huge. The New Zealand native performed his first show in America, in Los Angeles, opening for Chance. He may have underwhelmed the crowd, but he left an imprint on me that I won’t soon forget. He fits the exact same vein as Flume, but more aggressive and gritty. He got under my fingernails and had me digging for more. Bass heavy creations flowed from his laptop through the PA and caught the ear of those with fine taste. The majority of the crowd was full of “basic bitches”, as many nowadays would say, and for the most part shrugged off Kamandi’s set. However, he ended his set with a reworking of “Return Of The Mack” which pulled everyone into his universe for the

Death From Above 1979 at The Regent Theater

Two Nights of Death From Above 1979 and MSTRKRFT in L.A. and The O.C.

Danny Baraz November 16, 2014

Death from Above 1979/MSTRKRFT: Night 2 in LA. Within the 20 minutes between opener, Hustle & Drone leaving the stage and Death From Above 1979 taking it, the house went from sparse to capacity. The night was filled with false fire alarms and a few sound issues of the newly opened and opulent Regent Theater in Downtown Los Angeles- A gorgeous venue that is still working out the kinks. The P.A. was filled with the sounds of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and other old country classics as a surprisingly eclectic and beautiful crowd filed in to witness a show by the experimental thrashers from Toronto. I myself discovered DFA in 2008- a good 2 years after they had already broken up. O.G. DFA fans love to separate their fan base into a B.C and A.D. category- a snobbishness I have been guilty of myself on many occasions. Now it appears there is a third category of fans that have discovered the band after their more, commercially friendly, reunion release of The Physical World in September of this year. This was my first time seeing DFA live after devouring the catalog for the past 6 years with no satisfaction or release

Run The Jewels: Taking Hip Hop Back at The Echoplex

Danny Baraz November 14, 2014

It’s been years since anyone in hip hop has released an entire album of “destined to be classic” tracks, much less two. Over the last couple years rappers like Danny Brown, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q have released some classic tracks but the entire body of work leaves much to be desired. Weak beats and lazy lyrics dominate the landscape in the mainstream and the underground. B-boys have all but disappeared in this era of club bangers. Graffiti is now called “street art” and dance crews now have large shows in Las Vegas. Then on April 9th, 2013 a self-titled album called “Run the Jewels” dropped and changed the game. Jaime Meline, a.k.a. El-P is not only a dope M.C. but the beats he produced with Little Shalimar and Wilder Zoby are the foundation of not one but two instant classics- Run The Jewels and Run The Jewels 2. On Thursday, November 13 El-P and Killer Mike played the Echoplex as Run the Jewels for Day 13 of Red Bull Sound Select’s, 30 Days in LA. The anticipation was thick moments before Run The Jewels took the stage. There was a buzz of speculation on some special guests and the Echoplex

Reignwolf at the Mint: Madman of Rock ‘n Roll

Danny Baraz November 13, 2014

Jordan Cook sat on a drum throne with a drum stick in his picking hand, a guitar in his other and the mic chord wrapped around his neck. Just minutes earlier he moved the entire drum kit from the stage to the middle of the floor at The Mint in Los Angeles. The time it took to set this up was inconsequential to everyone but the sound guy because when Reignwolf plays your venue, you should be prepared for every boundary of your audio system to be stretched to it’s limits. Microphones rubbing against guitar strings that are boosted by overdrive, sustain pedals, octave pedals, body parts and sweat. Foot on the kick pedal, pumping rhythms, one hand on the fret board playing licks and the other tapping the snare as an audience member unwraps the microphone chord from his neck and hold it up to Cook’s lips. Then he gets antsy again and stands on top of the kick drum and makes way for drummer, Joseph Braley and all-around utility man, Stitcx. In an instant, the entire band is melting faces again, surrounded like Baptist preachers on a soapbox in the middle of a barren swampland, surrounded by congregants.

Turn Table Tennis: Red Bull and DJ Fueled Ping Pong Tourney at The Standard

Janky Smooth Central Command November 12, 2014

SPiN LA is the Susan Sarandon (yes, from Thelma & Louise) sponsored ping pong facility housed within the ultra-modern Standard Hotel in DTLA. Last night the Red Bull team overhauled the 2nd floor courts into a full on futuristic pong tournament, coupled with excellent dance music for their night of Turn Table Tennis. This Red Bull Sound Select event was a breeze to get into, unlike the usual events held at this venue – which was refreshing. We were met, at the top of the escalator, by classic house music spun by Red Bull Sound Select signee’s White Rainbow’s Adam Forkner, and tournament check in station. Dani Meigel (one of our photographers) and myself signed up as The Residents (I’m a resident DJ at this spot on Sunday’s, fun fact) and collected our paddles. As we waited for the tournament to start, we enjoyed the beefed up sound system Red Bull had brought to SPiN. People were warming up for the tourney, whose prize was a pair of coveted passes to the Sasquatch music festival, and electric sense of competition was in the air. The SPiN LA crew was on point with immediate response time at the bar – of

Bad Religion at The Mayan: Hardcore Punk Lives On Through a Soft Generation

Danny Baraz November 11, 2014

It’s been interesting to attend every night of Red Bull Sound Select’s, 30 Days in LA– and exhausting. I’m a music mutt so I would probably attend at least 15 of 30 days even if I wasn’t covering them but this weekend, I went from Warpaint to Bad Religion. Now that’s a swing of emotion. I went from being brought to tears to wanting to make someone cry. Red Bull was labeling Sunday as an all punk night and claims like that are when I start to get really snobby. There is no denying the influence Bad Religion has had on hardcore punk but I was worried that they might bust out acoustic guitars for a show like this because their releases over the last 10 years have certainly lost their edge. I walked into The Mayan in Downtown L.A. and immediately became worried when I heard Foo Fighters playing over the P.A. I didn’t do my usual homework on the Red Bull bands opening for Bad Religion. I prefer letting the live show do the talking but it’s always nice to have a point of reference. I had heard The Scandals from New Jersey but had no idea what

Chillin with Thurz and Tapioca and the Flea at the K-town Karaoke Throwdown

Taylor Wong November 10, 2014

Last night I hit day 8 of Red Bull Sound Select’s, 30 days in LA. This night was a laid back Karaoke night with the title K-Town Karaoke Throwdown and was hosted by good friends of mine Tapioca and the Flea. When I got to the location and realized the event was split up into 20 rooms, I thought to myself “how the hell am I going to cover this?” Then Samuel Lopez of Tapioca and the Flea told me they had their own room for the night. “fuck yeah!” I exclaimed as I heard that. So for the following review I give you my night spent with the guys from Tapioca and the Flea. The night started off with just Samuel Lopez, Ronnie Watson, and I hanging out in the karaoke room. Sam serenaded us with music from The Beatles as we ordered up bottle service and food. Now the bottle service was actually decently priced and Tapioca and the flea was given a generous tab from Red Bull, but the food selection was just kind of odd. There were four food options to choose from, lychee, french fries, “cheese sticks” which were just mozzarella sticks with some weird

Warpaint at the Echoplex: Bringing Grown Men to Tears

Danny Baraz November 9, 2014

I need to write a review but I want to write a love letter. I can hardly think straight. My head is still spinning from Warpaint’s two hour set last night at The Echoplex. I am completely infatuated with the ladies of this band. Not just because they are all beautiful but because nothing is more attractive than women that are in command of their craft. Powerful, mesmerizing and unbearably sexy, Warpaint were coming off an extended tour and were effortlessly locked in with each other and their songs. Bass player, Jenny Lee Lindberg and Drummer, Stella Mozgawa start on the 1 with a just a quick look and one bar into the song, they smile and make eye contact, understandably proud of themselves. I’m not sure I witnessed Stella count in even once throughout the entire set and I never saw the band miss a beat the entire night. This is the best show I’ve seen the band play and I’ve seen them play quite a few times. Warpaint cannot simply be described as chick rockers because that would be minimizing the extent of their greatness. One cannot remove that aspect, though, because for women, they are an inspiration

The Julie Ruin at The Troubadour: Vagina’s and Surprises.

Danny Baraz November 7, 2014

Kathleen Hanna is an icon. She is the nut crushing, vagina wielding, punk singing, ear ringing legend of a once, DIY militant feminism. A militancy that was absolutely necessary in a 90’s era of violent, male dominated, testosterone injected dominance of the American punk scene. Her band, Bikini Kill, not only gave girls a voice in that void of misogynistic obliviousness but insisted on “Girls to the Front!”. On Thursday, November 6th, her band The Julie Ruin headlined night 6 of Red Bull’s 30 Days in L.A. at the Troubadour. The irony of looking at the big, corporate Red Bull logo behind Hanna all night was not lost on me but if Nirvana could start from the Kill Rockstars record label, to Sub Pop and eventually end up on Geffen, then The Julie Ruin could certainly play a gig with Red Bull Sound Select and retain their integrity. Bookings like this give Red Bull’s music division more and more street cred every day. I arrived at The Troubadour just before Red Bull band Bad Girlfriend took the stage. I was in a foul mood. I was fucking exhausted after covering 5 out of 6 of the 30 Red Bull dates