Tag: Trending
Oneohtrix Point Never at The Wiltern: Post-Post-Modern Music
Rob Shepyer
May 13, 2025
Oneohtrix Point Never at the Wiltern wasn’t an ordinary concert — it was a creative breakthrough into a new form we were all indulged in. I remember being in a film class about postmodernism and asking my professor what movement was supposed to come after. The professor’s answer was “hyperreality”, which — if you’re familiar with it from painting — is a style that almost perfectly maps onto the real world… almost. Although it’s a bit difficult to imagine what hyperreality looks like in music or performance, Oneohtrix Point Never’s show at The Wiltern was an experimental leap ahead of postmodernism, and either a sidestep from hyperreality or a pastiche of it. During the show, a live puppeteer mimicked Oneohtrix Point Never’s performance, with the puppet’s antics projected live on a screen behind OPN. Seeing the duality between man and puppet provided layers of meaning to OPN’s performance, making it an autobiography in the form of a concert. For those not in the know, Oneohtrix Point Never is the pen name of electronic musician, producer, and film composer Daniel Lopatin. His rise to acclaim came in increments before his signature sound became undeniable — notably when featured in Safdie Brothers
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King Tuff Is Leaving Los Angeles: A Final Farewell at the Lodge Room?
Janky Smooth Central Command
May 10, 2025
Los Angeles, get ready to say goodbye to one of the city’s most beloved rock ‘n’ roll weirdos. Kyle Thomas aka King Tuff is bidding farewell to the City of Angels with a final hometown performance at The Lodge Room in Highland Park on Wednesday, May 15, 2025. As part of what’s being called a celebratory send-off rather than a swan song, this show promises to be a psych-fuzz-reverb drenched night of gratitude, good vibes, and garage-glam magic. related: King Tuff and The Shrine In Venice for Red Bull Sound Select Tickets for King Tuff’s farewell LA show are going fast, and for good reason: this isn’t just another tour stop—it’s the end of an era for fans who’ve followed his journey from lo-fi beginnings to Sub Pop success. Whether you’ve been spinning Was Dead since 2008 or fell in love with the introspective shimmer of 2023’s Smalltown Stardust, this Lodge Room date is a rare chance to experience the full spectrum of King Tuff’s sound one last time in his hometown. Why This Show Matters This isn’t just a concert—it’s a transmission from a singular creative force. Over the years, King Tuff has helped shape LA’s indie-psych-rock landscape with
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Sex Cells and We’re Buying- somewhere south of Hollywood Blvd
Danny Baraz
May 7, 2025
Somewhere in the heart of Hollywood on Wilcox, in a club/venue I have never entered before, Sex Cells re-emerged from it’s hiatus hole, to return to us a provocative buffet of fetish culture, avant-garde/smutty art, and self-expression. Out of the birth canal of Danny Fuentes, the L.A raised freak show turned ambassador and the individual behind Lethal Amounts gallery (but not in the alley). Sex Cells transcends traditional club nights, offering a haven for those who revel in the unconventional but fiercely protective against any potential spectators looking for a freak show or a glimpse of t&a+D. Danny Fuentes: the PT Barnum of rare humans but unlike that circus, exploitation is consensual. Lethal Amounts has long been a stalwart advocate for counterculture. If Lethal Amounts had any over arching theme, it would be that. Fuentes has curated exhibitions that delve into once taboo subjects in the mainstream- satanic rituals and serial killers and of course, forwarding and celebrating all the divine, aesthetic and historical culture that has brought the queer community to it’s current paradigm all across the world . This is our vanilla. His commitment to showcasing the extremes of human experience is evident in the gallery’s diverse array of artists,
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Death or Glory Fest Giveaway-Guess The Mystery Headliner???
Janky Smooth Central Command
May 7, 2025
Death or Glory Music & Tattoo Festival is the newest kid on the festival block and its buzz has already made a huge splash. With the very first San Diego performance of Detroit hardcore legends, Cold as Life, they are going to host a performance West Coast Hardcore Kids have dreamt about ever since the band reunited. Hosting one of hardcore’s most notoriously badass bands isn’t all that’s causing chatter in the scene though. The festival already has a diverse lineup of bands within the hardcore and hardcore punk genres, giving audiences a taste of every vibe out there today. Add a tattoo convention and San Diego Harley Davidson for the venue, and you have one of the most insane and hardcore cocktails that will ensure this fest will go down in So-Cal history. Oh but that’s not all. One of the headliners of this baby hasn’t even been revealed yet. Followers on the festival’s instagram got a sample of the fest’s lineup but came away with more questions than answers. Namely, who else is headlining Death or Glory??? Well, fans will find out eventually but if you can predict who’s going to be on the next lineup announcement in
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Model/Actriz- Pirouette: Bend Bodies/Break Brains/New Album
Danny Baraz
May 5, 2025
Boston-forged and Brooklyn-based post-punk provocateurs Model/Actriz returned to us on May 3 with Pirouette (True Panther Records), the feverishly anticipated follow-up to their blistering 2023 debut, Dogsbody. Known for their physical, feral live shows and vocalist Cole Haden’s magnetic, almost confrontational presence, Model/Actriz are back to twist the knife even deeper—dance or die. The first time I became aware of Model/Actriz was in 2017 when I was invited to see another friend’s new band at the Hi- Hat in Highland Park. I missed my friends’ band but I did NOT miss Model/Actriz. I knew, then and there, that I had witnessed something special there and instantly the bands’ first EP- “NO” became a classic in my catalog. related: The Next Wave of Sound- Model/Actriz at The Hi Hat While their follow up EP, AVA did not hit as hard for me, it served as a laboratory for their first full length 2023 release- Dogsbody. Where Dogsbody introduced the band’s vicious fusion of noise rock, industrial grooves, and sweaty club tension, Pirouette sharpens their edge without losing any of the body-moving chaos. Produced with a tighter, cleaner mix that never loses its grit, the record still slithers and screams with the
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Swing Heil: Anti-Fascist Hardcore Punks Swing Kids Return to Los Angeles
Rob Shepyer
May 4, 2025
Swing Kids have reunited. They already brought their abrasive, unhinged brand of hardcore punk to San Diego, and now, they’re heading up a few hours north to make a statement at Highland Park’s Lodge Room. Justin Pierson has always been political, even in his most oddball musical projects but when leading Swing Kids, performances become political strikes. Swing Kids was a band that came together with a purpose. Using the model of swing and jazz bands that performed under a specific ethical code, they fueled their hardcore punk with the collective fists of the Anti-fascist movement. SWING HEIL! They began in the 90’s when politics was perhaps less salacious, but just as disgusting and repressive. To counter the bombast and gall of the current administration’s messaging, Swing Kids have plugged back in. SWING HEIL! Swings Kids isn’t just a band, it’s a movie, and it’s a real life phenomenon during a time when the backdrop to music was institutionalized holocaust, racism, and propaganda everywhere to bury freedom of thought and spirit. Today, Swing Kids reunited at a strategic moment, where to combat a new fascism they contribute to the new anti-fascism. SWING HEIL! Take a look at the documentary they
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Obituary At The Bellwether: 35 Years of Cause Of Death
Danny Baraz
April 30, 2025
This past Saturday, April 26th, in the year of our Lord, 2025, Obituary, along with Nails brought their tour celebrating 35 years of Cause of Death to The Bellwether in Downtown Los Angeles. Tampa Florida’s Obituary released their second album, Cause of Death in 1990—35 years ago. I was a freshman in high school. I had never heard anything like it and I found out pretty quickly that NO ONE else had heard anything like it, either. My teenage feelings of suffering and despair and confusion and anger finally had a soundtrack. I was just getting into thrash metal and hardcore punk and picking up a guitar for the first time. My preferences leaned toward frenetic chaos with a high bpm. Fast and hard. But Obituary and Cause of Death showed me a new way—grinding, low tempo, heavy riffs that slowly dragged bodies across the floor. Sludgy breakdowns building to blast beat eargasms that changed my life forever. Slayer and others showed them the way but it was Cause of Death that had that mix of thrash and sludge that really got me off. That cassette lived in my Walkman for a good 3 months, uninterrupted. It formally introduced a
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Teen Mortgage and Spoon Benders Tear Zebulon Apart – Night One Recap
Taylor Wong
April 29, 2025
If there was any doubt that raw, snarling rock n’ roll is alive and breathing fire in 2025, Teen Mortgage and Spoon Benders came to Zebulon the other night and left no survivors. Zebulon was packed to the absolute brim — a heaving, sweaty mass of bodies smashed together like a human ocean. People were bouncing off the walls (literally). It was the first of two sold-out nights, and the energy felt less like a “show” and more like a full-scale uprising. Spoon Benders kicked things off, and damn, if they didn’t blow the doors clean off. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Spoon Benders have been steadily building a name for themselves since forming in 2019. With roots in the Pacific Northwest’s rich DIY scene, they’ve gained a reputation for their blistering live shows and experimental approach to psych-rock. Their sound pulls from a range of influences — a little Dead Meadow haze, a bit of Ty Segall grit, and a touch of doom-laden groove reminiscent of early Black Sabbath. Songs like “Dichotomatic” rattled the bones of everyone crammed inside. Every note felt jagged and alive, like a sonic landslide tumbling over the crowd. If you weren’t moshing, you were probably
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Together Pangea and Prison Affair Tear Up Coachella Side Show at El Rey
Taylor Wong
April 28, 2025
In between their Coachella Weekends 1 and 2 sets, Together Pangea and Spain’s Prison Affair stopped off in Los Angeles for a sold-out show at the El Rey Theatre — a sweaty, cathartic night that offered fans a more intimate taste of the chaos they’d just unleashed in the desert. While both bands came with buzz, they offered two very different flavors of punk-adjacent mayhem — one a homegrown institution, the other a rising international cult. Together Pangea has long been synonymous with LA’s garage rock underground. Formed in 2008 when frontman William Keegan began sharing songs from his dorm room, the band quickly found footing in the DIY circuit before crashing through with 2014’s Badillac. Known for their explosive live shows and slacker-meets-sleaze songwriting, they’ve become a staple of Southern California’s indie rock scene — the kind of band that’s always on someone’s “you had to be there” list. And while their El Rey set was classic Together Pangea — wild, gritty, and tight — there was a warmth to it, too. Maybe it’s the fact that Keegan and his partner Kelsey are expecting their first child soon, a new chapter that adds a subtle sense of joy and
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Memoirs Of My First Acid Bath Show…
Jessica Moncrief
April 28, 2025
After a 28-year hiatus, legendary sludge metal band Acid Bath returned to the stage this past weekend with their first show on April 25, 2025, at The Fillmore in New Orleans. The performance was a seismic event for fans, blending raw energy and haunting melodies that captivated the audience. Acid Bath’s return not only rekindled the fire of their loyal fanbase but also showcased their enduring influence in the metal scene. This milestone event marked a powerful chapter in the band’s storied legacy. A story that is part of my story, as well. The year was 1995. I was 15 years old. My mom had just gotten clean and decided to move us from San Diego to Panama City Beach, Florida. In her heart, I think she believed that putting distance between us and our delinquent friends would somehow make it easier to manage my sister and me while she got her shit together. Boy, was she wrong. Finding new friends to get in trouble with was super easy—and one thing was for sure: Floridian delinquents in the ’90s were a whole different level of crazy compared to San Diego kids. It felt like a dream. We lived at the
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Beth Gibbons at The Orphuem: Outgrowing Your Own Creation
Rob Shepyer
April 23, 2025
Beth Gibbons at The Orpheum Theatre was more than just a showcase of new music, it was a showcase of a new Beth Gibbons for all Los Angeles to enjoy. When you think Beth Gibbons and Portishead, you think of a specific sound. An elevated, urbanized jazz that pairs well with a Bond movie, maybe, or you think of the trip hop moniker developed by her band and other English groups like Massive Attack. Beth Gibbons’ solo work, and especially her 2024 album Lives Outgrown doesn’t so much as develop on the song she help originate and cultivate though, it outgrows it with a new evolution in her artistry that includes influences from folk, psychedelic, medieval, and world music sensibilities. Driving to the Orpheum theatre on a drowsy Thursday evening, her new album gave my trip a surreal feel, making each beat of time pass by with more meaningful reflection, and each tree outstretching over the freeway walls more tranquilizing with the nature-vibes captures on songs like “Floating on a Moment” or my favorite on the album, “Whispering Love”. Skimming through the tracklist now and looking back on the show, I see both as a statement on identity, lost and
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Pentagram- Doom Ages Like Fine Wine At Ventura Music Hall
Rob Shepyer
February 21, 2025
Something about old age injects more gravitas into a doom metal musician’s art. Perhaps its being closer to the great beyond, that dark place from which inspiration comes from that we all join at the end of our days. Perhaps something about graying hair and wrinkled skin makes the purveyor of doom metal all the more convincing to an audience. Doom metal, is of course a genre about bleakness and sorrow. A long life devoted to that style of music must have experienced everything the world has to offer, so to come away with singing “doom to world” instead of “Joy to world” gives fans the assurance that this artist is the real deal, and they’re not just playing a character in a gimmick. Then of course, there’s pace. Doom metal is slow metal. Slowness and sloth are what some equate with growing old. Dragging your feet, letting time pass you by because it makes no difference. All these ideas are second nature to doom metal’s mournful verses and tones. Bobby Liebling and the boys in Pentagram have been around since the inception of doom metal. Playing this genre of music before it had a name. To them, it was
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