Category Archives: The Playlist

The Playlist

Here’s What I Played at Harvard & Stone on May 23, 2024

Family of Light live at Harvard and Stone in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 23, 2024 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Family of Light live at Harvard and Stone on May 23, 2024. (Pic: Liz O.)

My whirlwind Memorial Day Weekend began on Thursday night with gig playing in between and after live sets from Host Family, the Rose Haze and Family of Light at Harvard and Stone. The show, presented by The Witching Hours, was fantastic and you should check out all of the bands on the bill. 

I arrived right around the time Host Family started their set and it felt like walking into Spaceland. The band has a very turn-of-the-21st century L.A. indie vibe, which I really appreciate. The Rose Haze was followed with a set that was a lot heavier than I had anticipated. Kate Ramsey is a fantastic guitarist, as well as a singer.  Family of Light hit the sweet spot between psyche and shoegaze, which influenced a decent chunk of what I ended up playing in this set. 

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The Playlist

Here’s What I Played in the New Wave vs. Darkwave Room for Klub Nocturno’s 4th Anniversary Party

Klub Nocturno 4th Anniversary Party, May 10, 2024, New Wave vs. Darkwave Room at Catch One in Los Angeles. (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Dancing to “Love Will Tear Us Apart” in the New Wave vs. Darkwave room at Klub Nocturno’s 4th Anniversary Party on May 10, 2024 (Pic: Liz O.)

Thanks to Klub Nocturno for asking me to be a part of their 4th anniversary party last night. It was amazing. Online tickets sold out a few days before the event and, from what I saw on Insta, the few remaining tickets at the door went quickly. A big surprise for the night was the first U.S. performance of Depresíon Post-Mortem. I didn’t get to see their set, but did get to hear soundcheck, which was a real treat. You can hear Depresíon Post-Mortem on Soundcloud or Spotify and you should do that as soon as you have the chance because both their covers and original tunes are fantastic. 

I played open to close in the New Wave vs. Darkwave room. Sometime after 11 p.m., while playing “Sex Dwarf,” I flashed back to Stigmata, which was *the* big Friday night alternative club when I was fresh out of high school. It was a combination of the song and the energy inside the room that made me think about being out with my friends when we were 18 or 19 and dancing so hard that we were dripping sweat, but still couldn’t leave the dance floor. I dropped “Sex (I’m a…)” into the set after that and realized that I’m 99% sure that’s how those two songs were played at Stigmata. It was long time ago— like, back in the days of paper flyers and L.A. Weekly club ads— so maybe I’m misremembering, but some things just stick with you. And, for me, those things are usually songs. 

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Adventures in L.A., Got It On Vinyl

Digging for Heat at On the Record Vinyl Fair

The Music Center in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, May 4, 2024 for On the Record Vinyl Fair (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
On the Record Vinyl Fair at The Music Center on May 4, 2024 (Pic: Liz O.)

Salt Box Records has never steered me wrong. So, when I saw a 7” with a tag on cover the sleeve that read “Italo-style Spanish synth pop,” I grabbed it. I had never heard of the band Tango?— or, at least, in that moment, I thought that I hadn’t heard them— and the song title “Breve Síntesis de los Huecos,” sounded completely unfamiliar to me. I bought it strictly because that descriptive tag, written in Sharpie by an actual human, said, “Listen to me, Liz” in a way that algorithmic suggestions never do. 

Later on, I would realize that I had previously heard Tango?, who were based in Barcelona and active in the mid-1980s. They had a self-titled song that was included on the stellar compilation, Ritmo Fantasía: Balearic Spanish Synth-Pop, Boogie and House. The two songs couldn’t be more different, though. “Tango?,” the song, is a slow groovy piece suited for pool parties and bars where they serve tapas on shady, outdoor patios. “Breve Síntesis de los Huecos” should have accompanied a montage in an ‘80s movie. It’s a vibe.

But, back to the record shopping. 

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The Playlist

Here’s What I Played at Dolce Vita’s Italo Disco vs. Space Disco Night on April 30, 2024

The Mermaid in Little Tokyo on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 for The Wolves takeover and Dolce Vita Italo disco with DJ Liz O. (Photo: Liz O.)
Scene at The Mermaid on April 30

The Mermaid was busy last night. People filtered in and out of the bar. Guest bartenders from The Wolves poured specialty cocktails. Scenes from Star Odyssey, the “Italian Star Wars,” played on the TV set. I played a mix of Italo disco, space disco and other assorted, related tunes from 8 p.m. until 1 a.m. A couple friends turned up and got a dance party going. It was a good time. Check out the set list. 

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The Playlist

Here’s What I Played for Indie Sleaze at The Offbeat on April 27, 2024

Indie Sleaze at The Offbeat on April 27, 2024 with Scarlett Casanova, Killed by Synth, Drayk and Liz O.

On Saturday night, I played Scarlett Casanova’s Indie Sleaze party at The Offbeat. It was a ton a fun. It was also a reminder that I need to go through my collection and rip a bunch of CDs that I used to play in sets during the ’00s because I was continually reminded of songs I have and probably haven’t heard since I had a laptop with a CD drive. I need to get one of those external drives too.

If ’00s indie is your thing, mark your calendar for Underground x 2000s Nite on May 31. Maybe I wll have ripped some of those old CDs by then.

Click here for Underground x 2000s tickets on Eventbrite.

Click here for Underground x 2000s tickets on Dice.

Next gig: Dolce Vita at The Mermaid on Tuesday, April 30. Starts at 8 p.m. and there’s no cover. More information in this post.

Keep reading for last night’s set list.

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The Playlist

Here’s What I Played at Apotheke on April 26, 2024

Klymaxx album Meeting in the Ladies Room on vinyl in a metal DJ crate. (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Klymaxx’s album Meeting in the Ladies Room on vinyl. I played “The Men All Pause”

A big shout out to my friend Clifton Weaver for inviting me to play with him at Apotheke in Chinatown last night. I had never DJed there before and it was so much fun with a great crowd in a really beautiful venue. 

Check out the set list below to see what I played for this all-vinyl set. If these are the tunes that make you groove, click this link for tickets to the next Disco Matinee, which is May 5 at Grand Star Jazz Club. 

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New Music

Pet Shop Boys, A Certain Ratio, Brainstory and More April 2024 Music

I’m home on a Thursday night trying to finish a story that I need to turn in tomorrow. Since it’s already tomorrow in the U.K., the new Pet Shop Boys album, Nonetheless, is up on Spotify. So, I listen as I write and I listen again after I decide that 700 words is enough words for now and I can finish that article in the morning, when my eyelids aren’t quite as heavy and the chocolate mini Easter eggs I popped into my mouth one after the other aren’t weighing me down. 

To recap: I flipped over “Loneliness,” the first single and opening track from Nonetheless, when it was released earlier this year. It’s been doing really well in my sets too. It’s a classic Pet Shop Boys club track, the kind of that reminds you that life is sad, but you’re happy on the dance floor. They followed up “Loneliness” with the single “Dancing Star,” which I haven’t played yet, but I do quite like. It’s slightly reminiscent of “Domino Dancing,” which is probably why I picked up that vintage 12” at Rubycon last weekend. 

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The Playlist

Here’s What I Played at Underground on April 12, 2024

Club Underground at Grand Star Jazz Club in Chinatown, Los Angeles on April 12, 2024. DJ Liz O.
I took a photo while I was DJing and then remembered why I don’t take photos when I DJ.

Thanks to Larry G. for having me back at Underground on Friday night and for everyone who showed up and hit the dance floor. Some notes on last night’s set: I played the newest additions to my virtual crates really early, so you probably didn’t hear them. Mostly, I wanted to see what “Cadenas de la Infancia” and “I Forget” sounded like in a club. I might stick with them. I might not, but both Mueran Humano’s album, Reemplazante, and Jaako Eino Kalevi’s album, Chaos Magic, have been playing on repeat at home and I absolutely recommend getting both.  

I’m so happy to see people digging Pet Shop Boys’ recent single “Loneliness.” It’s a jam. The lyrics are poignant in a way that only PSB songs are. Plus, we’re only two weeks away from the new album and I, for one, can’t wait to hear Nonetheless. And— omg!— Neil Tennant sang “Rebel Rebel” with Johnny Marr in London last night. (And they did “Getting Away With It” too!) Anyhow, here’s the set list.

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The Playlist

Here’s What I Played at Disco Matinee on April 7, 2024

Toto Coelo "Milk from the Coconut" extended dance mix 12" single on vinyl (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Toto Coelo 12″ single with the extended dance mix of “Milk from the Coconut.” (Pic: Liz O.)

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to the Grand Star on Sunday for Disco Matinee. It was so much fun to dig through my vinyl crates for this one and even more fun to play alongside Jus’ B and Televandalist. 

Details for the next Disco Matinee are coming soon. In the meantime, get your tickets for The Strokes Nite at Club Underground, which is happening at Grand Star Jazz Club this Friday, April 12. 

Here are my set lists from Disco Matinee on April 7, 2024. 

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The Playlist

Here’s What I Played for Night Shift at Bar Franca on April 4, 2024

CDJ with Taleen Kali "Flower of Life" Dildox Remix playing
I got to play Dildox’s remix of Taleen Kali’s song “Flower of Life” in my set last night.

Here’s most of the set list from Night Shift at Bar Franca on on Thursday, April 4. I was using flashdrives and wrote everything down because it just takes too long to wait around for the history to load into Rekordbox on my laptop and I have no patience for that. I definitely forgot to write down a couple songs and can’t remember what they were. There’s at least one instance where I couldn’t read my own handwriting, which is generally terrible and always gets worse the more I write. The important thing, though, is that the new tunes in last night’s set include Taleen Kali “Flower of Life” remixed by Dildox, “Monaco” by Ride, Optometry’s cover of “Into the Groove” and Pedal Steel Noah’s cover of “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” They’re all keepers.

Next gig is Disco Matinee on Sunday at 3 p.m. With Jus’ B, Televandalist and I digging for our punkiest, funkiest jams, I have a feeling this will be a good one. Click here to get discount advance tickets now on Restless Nites.

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