Sunday night, I played an open format set for Splash! at The Mermaid from 8 p.m. until last call. It started out as a quiet night, which was to be expected given the excitement of the past two nights in L.A. I didn’t mind the night’s slow start either, because it gave me time to DJ and catch up with friends who I hadn’t seen in ages and stopped by early in the evening.
At around midnight, though, a swell of people came into The Mermaid. Once I spotted the wave, I rode it and dropped the L.A. party bangers, like “Nowhere Girl,” “Living on Video” and “Send Me an Angel,” plus, of course “Blue Monday” and “Two of Hearts.” When I realized that we were close to last call, I slowed it down with the Art Laboldies. To give credit where it’s due, playing “Darling Baby” by The Elgins came via a dude who was blasting the song from his bike while cycling through Chinatown recently.
I ended up double-booked on the Saturday before Halloween. While that has happened before, it’s never happened while there was a World Series game going on at Dodger Stadium. Thinking about traffic and logistics and rideshare prices stressed me out, but, for reasons I don’t know, there was an Uber Black special early in the evening, which made the first two trips a little more budget-friendly.
Anyhow, I started the night with an hour-long set of spooky tunes at artist Albert Reyes’ haunted house party. Albert, who I’ve known since 2009, when I was a new staffer at L.A. Weekly and interviewed him, spends all year building a maze-like haunted house filled with narrow hallways, dark corners and art installations. I went through the haunt before the party started and was both awed and spooked, which might be the point.
I started DJing at around 8 p.m. and heard fireworks early in the set, which I guess is when the Dodgers won game two of the series. Here’s what I played.
The crowd at Club Underground’s Halloween party on 10/25/24 dancing to Robyn “Dancing on My Own”
It’s hard to describe the energy at Club Underground’s Halloween party last night. It wasn’t just the holiday vibes in the air. Right before the party started, Freddie Freeman hit a grand slam in the 10th inning of the first game of the World Series, a dramatic victory for the Dodgers. And Underground happens to be at the Grand Star in Chinatown, just downhill from Dodger Stadium. So, in addition to the very local regular crowd, where you can safely assume there are plenty of Dodger fans, there were people who came by after the game. Someone in line showed me video he took of the reaction to Freeman’s grand slam in the crowd. There were people screaming and hugging each other, with sprays of beer that looked like rain falling over the scene. It looked wild.
All that excitement helped set the mood for the night. I’ll write more after this I wrap up this weekend’s DJ gigs (I’m at Slipper Clutch for Dolce Vita tonight and The Mermaid for Splash Sundays tomorrow), but I will say that the costumes were great, the crowd was amazing and the vibe persisted until closing time. The set list is below. Don’t forget to get tickets for next Friday at Club Underground. It’s the release party for The Cure’s new album, Songs of a Lost World, and there are some really awesome giveaways. Click here to pick up your tix now.
Olya Sonica live at Hotel Ziggy, 10/24/24. (Pic: Liz O.)
Earlier this week, Olya Sonica released her debut full-length, Alchemy. It’s a terrific album— I’m listening to it as I write this— and you can pick it up for yourself on Bandcamp or stream it on Spotify now. Last night was the album release show at Hotel Ziggy, with live sets from Olya Sonica, as well as The Dirty Shirts and Veronica Bianqui. I DJed before and after the bands played.
The directive for the gig was rock ’n’ roll and Britpop, so I thought about when I was in college, in the late ‘90s, and getting started as a DJ. At that point in time, if you went to the equivalent of today’s indie nights, you would likely hear Britpop (“Rocks” by Primal Scream and Sleeper’s cover of “Atomic” had banger status) with a lot of ‘60s— “Lucifer Sam” and “Steppin’ Stone” were throwback faves then— and some ‘70s glam, particularly Bowie, T. Rex, Roxy Music and The Runaways. That became the basis of the set, even if some of the songs didn’t exist until the ‘00s. Check out the set list below.
Between Halloween and the start of the World Series at Dodger Stadium, this weekend is going to be bonkers. If you don’t have plans, perhaps you’ll consider going to one of my gigs this weekend. I’m actually DJing all weekend and all the sets are going to be different. Keep reading for all the details.
I was on the treadmill the first time I listened to 3 AM (La La La), the latest album from Confidence Man, walking at 3.5 miles an hour, a brisk pace, but not quite enough to keep up with the strobelight pulse of songs like “I Can’t Lose You” and “Control.” Maybe I could have stepped up my own speed to a run, or at least a jog, but I didn’t feel like it, so I kept walking off beat, waiting to see if the vibe would shift somewhere over the course of an album that, four songs in, was starting to sound a little too much like a late ‘90s Eurodance throwback.
Confidence Man is the Australian four-piece fronted by Janet Planet and Suga Bones and backed by the veiled and cloaked individuals Reggie Goodchild and Clarence McGuffie. I first heard them during lockdown when someone DMed me Yuksek’s track “Gorgeous,” which features Confidence Man. Two years later, the band released Tilt, their second full-length, which quickly became a personal favorite. “Angry Girl” is the song that has appeared most often in my sets since 2022 because it has a dance punk vibe that works very well at L.A. clubs and it mixes seamlessly with The Rapture’s “House of Jealous Lovers.” But, the thing that made Tilt one of my favorite albums of that year was that it was super cheeky and the music was all over the place, kind of like a cross between Bis and Chicks on Speed back at the turn of the millennium. Given the new album’s title, which definitely alludes to both KLF (“3 AM Eternal”) and maybe also references ATC (“Around the World (La La La La La)”), it seemed like Confidence Man would continue that vibe. Fifteen minutes into 3 AM (La La La), though, I started to think that the spirit driving TILT was lacking on this album.
If I were tuned into Spotify, I would have just skipped through tracks or moved on to another album, but I actually purchased 3 AM (La La La) and downloaded it without hearing more than a couple preview Reels on Instagram. I had to stick it out for the whole album.
Thomas Mellan live at The Grayson DTLA for Italo Horror Disco on Saturday, October 19 (Pic: Liz O.)
The Grayson is slammed when I arrive Saturday night. It’s just a little after 10:30 p.m., but there are crowds of people hovering over the bar, more huddled in the booths and gathered on the floor. Almost immediately, I spot someone on the dance floor, a friend who I haven’t seen in a while. We say hi and comment on the music and get back into the groove. It’s Italo Horror Night, L.A. Industrial/Dolce Vita’s Halloween party, and the vibe inside is giallo and jams. The Beyond, the 1981 Lucio Fulci film, is playing on a TV above the bar. David Christian just dropped “One Night in Bangkok,” but it’s not the Murray Head version that I know from countless spins on L.A. radio stations. I make a mental note to ask him about it.
Beetlejuice hanging at Alex’s Bar, October 17, 2024 (Pic: Liz Ohanesian)
I think I have a backlog of playlists that haven’t been posted, but this one is from last night at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach for Klub Nocturno presents Darkwave Night. Thanks to everyone who was there. The energy was fantastic. I’d write more, but I’m still half-asleep, so peep the playlist below and I’ll see you on the dance floor soon. Click on this link to see what gigs I have on the calendar for the rest of the month and follow along on Instagram.
Attention, Long Beach pals! I’m back at Alex’s Bar on Thursday, October 17, when Klub Nocturno presents Darkwave Night. There’s no cover, so come down and dance to your faves from bands like The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Boy Harsher, French Police, Ultra Sunn, Lebanon Hanover and loads more. This is a 21+ event and the party starts at 9 p.m. Alex’s Bar is located at 2913 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach 90804. See you Thursday night.
In other news tickets are running low for Club Underground’s Halloween party on Friday, October 25, so click here to get yours now. Larry G., Malvada, Jesse B. and I are going to be on the decks and it will be a good time. The night before that, Thursday, October 24, I’ll be playing Olya Sonica’s Record Release party at Hotel Ziggy. Olya Sonica, The Dirty Shirts and Veronica Bianqui play live. I’ll be spinning Brit Pop and rock classics. Tickets are available now, so click here to get yours on Dice.
As for the rest of this week and early next week, check out the list below for some very reasonably priced events. It’s pretty heavy on movie screenings on account of October being a very good month for those. You can also head over to my Discover Los Angeles column “Get Into the LA Groove,” for more events happening this weekend and early next week.
This Friday, October 11, is Gorillaz x Daft Punk night at Underground. Both floors of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open with Larry G. and I DJing all night. The last time we did a Gorillaz x Daft Punk night was back in the summer of 2023 and it was amazing, so don’t miss out on this one. Tickets are available now on Eventbrite and Dice.
Grand Star Jazz Club is located at 943 N. Broadway in Chinatown’s Central Plaza, right next to the Bruce Lee statue. Underground is Friday nights from 9:30 p.m. until 2 a.m. and it’s 21+. If you’re going to see French Police on Friday, come by after the show, the Grand Star is a pretty short drive from Belasco.
(In other Underground-related news, tickets are running low for the October 25 Halloween party, so get yours ASAP. I’ll be DJing alongside Larry G., Malvada and Jesse B.)
Added a handful of other events happening this weekend and early next week. I’m particularly excited about EXP TV’s Kung Fu Halloween going on at Philosophical Research Society on Saturday night.
