Danny Baraz
Substance Festival 2025: The Post Pandemic/Post Punk Era
Danny Baraz
November 14, 2025
Substance Festival in Los Angeles has become a right of passage in this city and this past November 7th and 8th we attended the 2025 installment in the festival’s return to the Belasco Theater. Approaching this Substance Fest review with any overt enthusiasm would be antithetical to the spirit of the way we revel in the morose nature of this art- the oddly mesmerizing decay of destruction/creation approached with a somewhat detached dreariness that is direct in it’s aloofness. But also… the fucking horrific beauty of it all… or whatever. related: Cloak And Dagger Fest- The Heart Of Los Angeles Bled From Dusk To Dawn Even with the orbits and cycles of pop culture and music circling back to black lipstick among the masses, the mainstream attention can cause a scene to go into lockdown and it’s members more discerning on where they spend their show dollars. So for Substance Festival, it was important to pull in the beating heart of the scene at the increased ticket price. related: Sextile At The Novo- The Most Important Band in Los Angeles? A touch for curation in the dark arts is what scene loyalists look for most and their return to the
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Sextile At The Novo: The Most Important Band In Los Angeles?
Danny Baraz
October 22, 2025
A bold question. What elements create rank of importance in art? It’s easier in a music scene. Sextile played The Novo on October 11, 2025 and they left a lasting impression for anyone who was there to witness it. Walking into the venue that night felt like stepping into a vortex where underground club culture, raw post-punk perfection, and Los Angeles local band chaos fused into something futuristic. I’ve seen Sextile before, but this was different. This was a band leveling up in real time, playing like they were headlining a festival the world hasn’t invented yet. And Los Angeles showed up to The Novo, hard. The Novo was already buzzing the second I walked in, bodies packed shoulder-to-shoulder on the floor, the balcony filling fast with goths, punks, ravers, skaters, fashion kids, and aging industrial heads who looked like they’d been waiting 20 years for a band like this. Sextile draws tribes. And when a band pulls that many subcultures under one roof, you know something important is about to go down. related: Dark Entries- Bauhaus at The Palladium related: The Lost Coverage of Substance Fest 2022 – Los Angeles Theater The night kicked off with the kind of
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Seducing Tommy Meehan At The Gwar Museum-Janky Smooth Sessions
Danny Baraz
October 20, 2025
Awhile back at the Osees show, I ran into Tommy Meehan. Tommy’s band Squid Pisser was main support for Dwyer and his band of merry thieves that night and I said hi to him at the merch table after their set. related: Osees At The Teragram- A Rose By Any Other Name We caught up briefly and I found the short chat so intriguing that I asked Tommy Meehan out on a date… and he accepted. We were to meet at the museum, or rather, the Gwar exhibit at Beyond The Streets Gallery in Los Angeles. Tommy walked me through every Gwar artifact at the installation that is running through November 2nd, 2025 where the label owner, scene impresario, band leader, innovative guitarist, animator, satirist and historian revealed his life long obsession with Gwar- I instantly fell in love with the fact that this man is in the midst of all his dreams coming true. It’s intoxicating to be around and Tommy Meehan is an easy guy to like and root for. This was our conversation: Background on Tommy Meehan Tommy Meehan is one of the most quietly influential figures in the Southern California punk and hardcore underground—a
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L7 Celebrate 40 Years w/ Lunachicks and Friends at The Belasco
Danny Baraz
October 7, 2025
The Belasco’s air was sticky, buzzing, electric- like static before a tornado on Friday Oct 3rd. L7 and Lunachicks had a gig in Downtown Los Angeles. Those bands shared the stage again, for the first time in decades, in what felt like a life event for everyone involved for L7’s Fast and Frightening 40 Years Anniversary show. As much as I love Riot grrrl scene, the L7 legacy always stood on it’s own and I never appreciated pundits who would lump every hardcore girl under the Riot grrrl label. L7 had their own brand of feminism which included the Rock For Choice festivals that spanned over a decade and I include the times I saw them perform on the lawn of the Federal building in Westwood for causes that varied from saving rainforests, to legalizing cannabis at a time when people were still doing long prison sentences for the plant. But what I appreciated most about L7 was that they fucking shred. Say everything and anything else you want about them, every single one of them, at the top of their craft amongst their peers. And that was still the case as of October 3rd. related: L7 Stop Pretending They’re Dead
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Circle Jerks Throw Birthday Party For Keith at The Hollywood Palladium
Danny Baraz
September 29, 2025
On Friday, September 19, 2025, the Circle Jerks played a show at the Hollywood Palladium in honor of Keith Morris’ birthday and he invited some friends. The Circle Jerks, Ceremony, Negative Approach, and Rocket From The Crypt- a nice final touch for connoisseurs. It’s the kind of lineup that makes you shake your head and laugh at how good we have it when a night like this comes together. The story of the night was celebrating the birth of Keith Morris with all his friends and his band, the Circle Jerks. Somehow, at 70 years old, there is no noticeable decline. In fact, the eye test reveals that he’s thriving. It would be illogical to suggest he doesn’t suffer from some unseen ailment that comes with wear and tear on the human body. But… if his shoulder hurt, his hemorrhoid was flaring up, his arthritic pinkie knuckle burned, or he had to piss every 20 minutes at the age of 70- there was no hint of any of that. As far as I could see, his feet were planted firmly, his diaphragm engaged, and there was no pee-pee dance. But there was most definitely joy. related: Janky Smooth Interviews Keith Morris
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Osees at theTeragam- A Rose By Any Other Name
Danny Baraz
September 5, 2025
I had still only seen Osees under 10 times the first time I thought about missing one of their shows- I think I was offered free Lakers tickets- good seats. But the team wasn’t that good that year so I opted for the gig- which was the last time I saw Thee Oh Sees at The Teragram Ballroom. What I realized that night was that unlike the Lakers, every Oh Sees show is just as good as the first- I’ve never seen any composition of the band under any name have an off night. How is that possible? related: The 4th Wave Of Garage Rock- A Retrospective Sometimes, I imagine John Dwyer in a basement beating his drummers when they get off tempo. Like some Rock and Roll Kobe Bryant not allowing anyone who works with him to show any less passion than he in his preparedness for perfection and greatness in his craft. An artist and a scientist, taking the mathematics of art and doubling down to provide a more powerful experience. An endless human algorithm of DIY spewing content. He is not a prototype but he is a prolific model. related: Thee Oh Sees And The Practical Application
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Blood Incantation Live at The Wiltern, Los Angeles
Danny Baraz
August 19, 2025
The Los Angeles stop of the Blood Incantation 2025 Absolute Else Tour was more than just another date—it was the climactic finale of their North American run and one of the most unforgettable metal shows of the year. On August 7, 2025, The Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles’ Koreatown transformed into a cosmic gateway as the Denver quartet delivered a marathon performance that fused progressive death metal, krautrock atmospherics, and spatial ambient noise. From the moment fans entered the art-deco grandeur of The Wiltern, the anticipation was electric. The show sold out weeks in advance, and the bill reflected Blood Incantation’s expansive vision. Krallice opened the night as the experimental black metal heir apparent. Prog-metal icons Cynic elevated the night with a career-spanning journey through tech metal and jazz-inflected experimentation. Last but not least, ambient pioneer Steve Roach offered a rare live set that immersed the crowd in soundscapes of drones and deep cosmic resonance. I thought the order of the bands was peculiar but I can’t say I’d complain. By the time Blood Incantation took the stage, the audience had already traveled through decades of extreme and progressive music and even an extended regenerative period during Steve Roach’s set.
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MSPAINT and Lip Critic at Lodge Room- Disturbing The Peace
Danny Baraz
August 14, 2025
On an undersold Thursday night at the Lodge Room on a quiet night in Highland Park, MSPAINT made their tour stop in Los Angeles to support the No Separation EP. They brought with them Pat and the Pissers and a band that caught my attention at the end of 2024, Lip Critic. I really love MSPAINT but I traveled cross town to see what the fuck this weird, experimental band Lip Critic would sound like live and how the fuck they made the sounds that had been coming out of my speaker the last 6 months. I arrived in time for a REALLY great band out of Indianapolis- Pat and the Pissers. They are a interesting Descendents punk mix of confrontational, charismatic and borderline technical players. Bass player Kilmer stood out immediately but I quickly realized that the entire band was tight and lead singer Alex Beckman was born to sing at people. related: Model/Actriz- Pirouette New Album/Bend Bodies/Break Brains At the end of an extended schmoke break between sets, we heard strange rumblings and sounds coming from the venue. We rushed upstairs to find the 4 Lip Critic lunatics thrashing about the stage, 30 seconds into their set with
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Enter Das Bunker: Summer Massive 2025 at Catch One
Danny Baraz
August 12, 2025
One of our favorite club nights of the year, Das Bunker’s Summer Massive at Catch One was on August, 2nd 2025. Less than 2 weeks have passed but the mind and the heart have a hard time letting go. This post is mostly a photo recap but it’s also a shout out to the Das Bunker team for continuously producing events that bring all the generations of the scene together at this generation’s clubhouse, Catch One (rip Jewel). Along with Bar Sinister, Catch One has become the defacto collection point for those who mingle and dance in the dark and industrial arts- it has been thus regardless of changes of ownership through the decades. related: Pixel Grip, Spike Hellis and BLO Find Refuge at Das Bunker The chambers and pockets and staircases of Catch One were writhing with denizens deep into the guts of the venue while the walls wobbled with bass deep into the night. The hardwood floors of the main room and foyer had a particularly nice bounce to them underneath our boots. Every room had a DJ- mostly scene favorites with an appearance by the high priest of Cum Metal, Johnny Health. related: HEALTH at the Grammy
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Sound And Fury 2025: Everybody Spin Kick!
Danny Baraz
August 1, 2025
“Everybody spin kick!” was the order given in the first 4 bars of the first breakdown by Mindforce frontman Jay Petagine,Saturday headliners at the Cream Stage at Sound and Fury 2025. featured image- Basement: Joe Calixto It was the first time I was IN the pit at Sound and Fury 2025 on Saturday at Exposition Park and not backstage or out on the periphery- the difference between a nice view of the ocean or swimming in it. I use boxing’s “crab defense” during these explosions. I recommend it highly. It’s allowed me to play defense and even though the best defense is a good offense, I don’t like physically hurting people as much as I used to. It made me think of the meme about hardcore dudes in the pit past 40 and the tendency toward excessive violence toward children… and this feels like the perfect platform to explain this cultural phenomenon… related: Relive Every Sound and Fury for the Last 10 Years The first time I got hit in the head with an errant fist for fun and not fighting was in my late 30’s- not old for the world but certainly old in a music scene. Old enough
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Jonathan Richman Tour Starts Today And New Album Streaming July 4th
Danny Baraz
July 1, 2025
Indie Legend Jonathan Richman is Dropping his Rare Catalog Online and Readies New Album “Only Frozen Sky Anyway” Ahead of July 4 Digital Launch and the Jonathan Richman Tour, which starts today. One of the most beloved cult figures in American music, Jonathan Richman is back with a major announcement that’s thrilling longtime fans. The eternally whimsical singer-songwriter—known for his poetic minimalism, heartfelt lyricism, and dry humor—has revealed a Fall 2025 North American tour and an unexpected treasure trove of rare albums now available for streaming for the very first time. related: “It’s Important To Be Sincere”- Jonathan Richman at The Monday Club Richman, best known as the frontman of The Modern Lovers, and for writing the timeless indie classic “I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar,” is in the midst of a cultural revival. From being featured in HBO’s hit series Euphoria to earning praise from a new generation of artists and fans, Richman’s music has never felt more alive—or more accessible. I, myself fell in love with Jonathan Richman for the first time when the Farrelly Bros featured him prominently in 1998’s, “There’s Something About Mary”. As each decade passes, Jonathan Richman transforms more from a smug referenced
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Peach Pit & Briston Maroney Spellbind The Greek Theater
Danny Baraz
June 17, 2025
June 11 2025 felt tailor-made for an outdoor indie double bill. Ticketmaster billed the evening as Peach Pit & Briston Maroney — Long Hair, Long Life Tour and promised an “all-ages indie celebration.” The sun slipped behind Griffith Park just as doors opened at 5:30 p.m., giving 5,800 fans plenty of time to explore merch, sip local brews, and admire the Greek Theatre’s art-deco façade before the 7 p.m. start time. Briston Maroney: Folk-grunge fireworks to start the night Knoxville-raised singer-songwriter Briston Lee Maroney cut his teeth on American Idol at 15, busked bluegrass tunes through Tennessee, and independently issued EPs before landing with Atlantic Records. His gold-certified single “Freakin’ Out on the Interstate” paved the way for full-lengths Sunflower (2021), Ultrapure (2023) and the brand-new Jimmy (May 2025), a record that pairs confessional lyrics with grungy guitar crescendos. Stepping onstage beneath faux evergreens and twinkle lights, Knoxville native Briston Maroney treated L.A. like his own backyard campfire. He hurled himself into opener “Small Talk,” then immediately demanded a louder response: “Feel it tonight, Los Angeles—really feel it!” related: Music For Trees- P.J. Harvey at The Greek Theater Maroney’s nine-song set hopscotched through every era of his catalog: “Under My
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