Category: SHOWS

A free show with Lil B, Trash Talk and ho99o9 at The Regent: What could go wrong?

Danny Baraz December 27, 2014

Last week, a flyer started appearing online about a mysterious show at a mysterious location. I first saw it on Lee Spielman’s Instagram account. It listed three bands- Ho99o9, Trash Talk and Lil B and an RSVP link from event organizers and sponsors, UNIF clothing and HAM on Everything. That RSVP link displayed ominously and intriguingly, inviting all to show up early to an undisclosed location. What could go wrong? A line started forming around the Regent Theater in Downtown Los Angeles almost as soon as the location was announced. By the time I got there at 9pm, there was a snake of people, 20 deep, that wrapped around a square block of Main Street, around 4th, down to Los Angeles street and up to 5th street and back up to Main. The VIP line was also about 200 deep. For an hour, understaffed security wouldn’t let anybody in as the crowd swelled and the line kept getting longer and longer. I fought and burrowed my way through the middle to land on the coattails of young Mr Fucktard as he and his crew penetrated the threshold of the doors to the Regent Theater. There is no way I would’ve

Josh Schwartz benefit at the Echoplex: L.A.’s Feel Good Moment

Lawrence Rengert December 23, 2014

A few weeks ago I was in Highland Park and stopped by Brent Rademaker’s house. He gave me the low down on his new project, Gospel Beach but casually dropped that there was an unannounced benefit planned to aid an ailing local music legend, Josh Schwartz, who had been diagnosed with ALS. It was going to be a reunion of sorts, bands whose heyday had come and gone would perform just this one show to raise money for Josh’s out-of-the-country treatments, an experimental hope that his debilitating condition could somehow be stopped, healed, cured or reversed. Several of these bands hadn’t played in years, but the names are familiar: Beachwood Sparks, Summer Hits w/ Ariel Pink, The Tyde. Josh had some hand in the creation or promotion of each one, was a mentor or added his guitar parts. In fact, Josh had been a magnet for several people and they would speak of him at the concert as “the only meaningful person they met in LA” or “the guy who recorded my first album” or “the best guitar player in Los Angeles.” There would also be a select few newer bands playing. Mostly very young garage types from Orange County;

Another epic Lolipop Records show with Mystic Braves and friends at The Echo

Taylor Wong December 21, 2014

Lolipop Records graced us with another great lineup in LA last night at The Echo- Levitation Room, Drinking Flowers, Mr. Elevator & The Brain Hotel, and headliners, Mystic Braves. This show was like a high school backyard party. I say that not because the crowd was mostly under 21 but because all the bands playing and half the people attending were people I have met through out LA shows. These bands frequently play 5 Star Bar in Downtown Los Angeles. Another reason it felt so tight knit was all the bands that came out to support these artists. At one point I was at the bar sandwiched between Cherry Glazerr and Isaac Rother and the Phantoms. On the smoking patio I ran into members of The Shrine, Jesus Sons, and The Santoros. It really gives me a warm feeling seeing that kind of support. The first band up was Levitation Room. Now I had written about Levitation Room at Them Howling Bones EP release party and how it just wasn’t the right venue for them. Last night was a different story. These guys are meant for a stage and that’s what The Echo gave them. They were the first band

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

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

Danny Baraz December 21, 2014

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

Category: SHOWS

Subscribe to the Janky Newsletter

ticket giveaways, exclusive content, breaking news and of course- Music, Art & Activism