I forgot to take pics last night, save for this one of a sign in the stairwell.
I don’t know what I’m most grateful for tonight. Was it the people at Club Underground who danced to the brand new Confidence Man tune? Was it the person who admitted listening to Confidence Man, who released one of my favorite albums of 2022, because of my sets? (BTW, Confidence Man is at the Echoplex on December 2.) Or, was it the trio who listened to my rant about how Chumbawamba were the working class heroes we needed, but we didn’t deserve them and now we’re stuck with capitalist icon Taylor Swift? Maybe it’s all that.
Last night was the first time I played Gold Diggers, which is a small music venue/hotel/recording studio on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood that’s filled with disco balls and good vibes. It was Dum Dum Records Second Anniversary party and Taleen Kali had asked me to DJ alongside Ann Eliza for the night. So, this was also the third event with Taleen that I’ve played this year. (I DJed for shoegaze night at the band’s Harvard and Stone residency and at the Flowers of Life album release afterparty back in April. However, it was, Taleen noted late in the night, the first where we both ended up on the dance floor at the same time. It was also initially going to be the first time Ann Eliza and I DJed together, but we both ended up playing Vidéothèque’s reopening party last month.
Thanks to everyone who started off this week at Disco Matinee with Jus’ B, Jen Rock and me. I have two more gigs this week– Dum Dum Records Anniversary Party and Underground’s Interpol Nite– and hope you can make it out to one or both of them.
It’s only Monday, but I’m posting to remind you to make your plans for the weekend now. This Friday, November 3, I’ll be back at Grand Star Jazz Club for another round of Larry G’s long-running indie dance club Underground. Tickets are available now on Eventbrite, so scoop up yours as soon as possible.
Dancing to Blue Monday at Club Underground’s Halloween party 10/27/23 (Pic: Liz O. )
Sometime before 11 p.m. I had to take off the blazer. I had tried to hang longer in the Battle Royale costume, but the dance floor upstairs at Grand Star Jazz Club was already full and it gets pretty warm behind the DJ gear. Advanced tickets for Club Underground’s Halloween party had sold out and, from what I could tell, people showed up early and ready to party. I don’t even know what to say about last night except that the energy was high and people were down to dance to anything, as you can probably see from the set list below. See you back at Underground on Friday, November 3. Happy Halloween!
It’s zombie boyfriend season! There are a lot of Halloween-friendly songs I love, but my absolute favorite (or, at least, my favorite that isn’t part of a horror more score) is “Mi Novio Es Un Zombi” from Alaska y Dinarama. It has one of the best music videos ever. You think it’s just a concert clip, with Alaska bouncing around stage in a very fierce outfit singing about her boyfriend’s bad teeth and yellow eyes and then— all of a sudden— Freddy freakin’ Krueger pops out of the crowd, mingles with the band and starts caressing Alaska with this slasher movie hands. Just watch the video. And check out my playlist from No Controles! at The Offbeat, the first of what will probably be a handful of times I’ll play “Mi Novio Es Un Zombi” in the next week or so.
This week, you can catch me playing a few records at Vidéothèque’s Opening Party on Saturday evening, sometime between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Plus, I’ll be at The Mermaid on Tuesday, October 24 to drop an even spookier Italo Horror Disco set than the one I played earlier this month. But, there’s still a lot more than that happening in the next handful of days. Keep reading to see what my L.A. music event recommendations are for this week.
This Thursday night, October 19, INXS tribute band INXS’D is playing live at Scarlett Casanova and Los Angeles Art Society’s monthly party No Controles! Plus, Audiobahn and I will be your DJs for the night. There’s an $8 cover and tickets are available no on Eventbrite.
Oasus live at Harvard and Stone, October 13, 2023 (Pic: Liz O.)
On Friday the 13th, I DJed at Harvard and Stone in East Hollywood for a night that included live sets from Asi Fui and Oasis tribute band Oasus, plus a couple burlesque performances. Long Beach-based Asi Fui is a terrific band with a ‘90s alternative vibe. I wish I knew the name of the dubby song with the melodica that they played early in the set. They closed with a cover of Blur’s hit “Song 2,” which was a perfect good-natured troll for anyone who remembers the Blur vs. Oasis battles of the 1990s.
On Thursday, I bought a pair of Sambas and then I broke them in that night on the dance floor at 96 Tears and, let me tell you, that was the best decision I’ve made in months. It meant that I could DJ from 9:30 until 1:30 upstairs at the Grand Star for Club Underground without my back killing me well before midnight. And I could actually dance while I was DJing too, which probably looks stupid, but it’s how I keep time, so whatever.
