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.
Continue reading Halloween Weekend Is Coming. Here’s Where You Can Catch My DJ Sets
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.
Continue reading On 3 AM (La La La), Confidence Man Offers a ’90s Throwback With a Twist
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.
Continue reading Italo Horror Disco Brought Giallo and Jams to the Grayson
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.
Continue reading Here’s What I Played at Klub Nocturno Presents Darkwave Night @ Alex’s Bar on October 17, 2024
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.
Continue reading Happening in L.A.: October 17 through October 13
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.
Continue reading Happening in L.A.: Thursday, October 10 – Wednesday, October 16
At 10 p.m. on Thursday night, Belinda Carlisle’s 1980s pop hit “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” played inside Teragram Ballroom, the volume increasing as the lights on the stage dimmed, then glowed purple. The members of Los Bitchos— four full-time members and one touring guitarist— take the stage and dance as they adjust their instruments, waiting for the song to nearly fade away before beginning a set that sounds nothing like Belinda Carlisle.
On Talkie Talkie, the new album from Los Bitchos, you can hear a bit of an ‘80s pop sheen in the production. It’s a subtle nod, but it’s there in the “La Isla Bonita” vibe of “Talkie Talkie, Charlie Charlie” and the dreamy Balearic disco of “Don’t Change.” On stage, though, Los Bitchos’ sound is raw and urgent, like they’re leading a party that might teeter— to appropriate a B-52s song title— out of bounds at any second.
Continue reading Los Bitchos at Teragram Ballroom, October 3, 2024
Friday, October 4, Videotheque kicks off a month of horror screenings with a Dark Shadows binge curated by yours truly. I picked out five episodes filled with tarot, witchcraft and maybe— just, maybe— a creature of the night. The episodes will make sense whether you’re new to Dark Shadows or if you, like me, have seen all 1200+ episodes. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. for the screening, which starts at 9 p.m., and tickets are $12. You can RSVP on Partiful. 4102 N. Figueroa St., Highland Park 90031.
Read “Lost in Time Watching Dark Shadows” if you want to catch up on the series.
Continue reading Happening in L.A.: Thursday, October 3 – Wednesday, October 9
Friday, September 27, is Oasis Nite at Club Underground. Both floors of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open, with Larry G. and me (Liz O.) DJing from 9:30 p.m. until 2 a.m. Tickets are available now, so click on this link to pick up yours. The Grand Star is located at 943 N. Broadway, right next to the Bruce Lee statue in Chinatown’s Central Plaza, and it’s a 21+ venue.
Then on Sunday, September 29, I’ll be playing Splash at The Mermaid with DJ Vanish. This is an open format night— so, really, anything goes musically— that is from 8 p.m. until 1 a.m. Vanish is playing the first half of the night and I’m doing the second. There’s no cover and it’s 21+. The Mermaid is at 428 E. 2nd St. in Little Toyo.
As for the rest of the weekend and early next week, here are just a few things I’ve noticed happening in L.A. that are under $30 and not sold out. For more options, check out my Get Into the L.A. Groove column for Discover Los Angeles. Click on this link for shows happening this weekend. For events happening the week of September 30, click here.
Continue reading Happening in L.A.: Thursday, September 26 – Wednesday, October 2
Paul Barker is playing upstairs at The Slipper Clutch, in a tiny, attic-like space covered with murals and old show flyers. It’s loud, and I forgot my earplugs, so I hang out towards the back of the room, which is what I did when I saw Ministry many years ago— back when Barker was in the band— at a show that ranks at number 2 on the list of loudest concerts I’ve ever attended. This show at Slipper Clutch, however, isn’t as much of a raucous. The raw and rhythmic music is comfortably booming where I stand.
As for the vibe, it’s one that I’ve always known, the fringe of L.A. nightlife. It’s also one that I often fear is edging closer to extinction because there are fewer independent spaces in L.A. and fewer events that are more about the music than whatever shit went viral last week. And, in the most pessimistic moments, I think that there are simply fewer people who are interested in leaving the house and taking the chance on something that an algorithm didn’t send their way.
Continue reading L.A. Industrial with Paul Barker, Jane Jensen and Vague Lanes @ The Slipper Clutch