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 joined Jus’ B, Jen Rock and me at Grand Star Jazz Club on Sunday afternoon for Disco Matinee. It was great to see everyone on the dance floor for a mix of disco classics, freestyle jams and more. I played all-vinyl sets this time. Keep reading to see what was in them.
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.
The crowd at Underground dancing to an old Mylo/Scissor Sisters mashup.
One of the first things I learned in the DJ booth— and this might actually be a life lesson— is that you never know where the night will take you. Planning a set is futile because what you play is always dependent on what will make people dance. You won’t know what will make a specific crowd on a specific night dance until you see it for yourself. So, I never plan sets. I usually have songs floating through my brain, but plenty of times, like at Underground last night, those aren’t the ones I end up playing. So, maybe I’ll play those next week . You should stop by and find out for yourself.
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.
Albert Reyes’ haunted house for October, 2023 (Pic: Liz O.)
Back in 2009, I was standing in at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo for a massive Giant Robot exhibition and ended up chatting with one of the artist’s in the show, Albert Reyes. I had just started working full-time at L.A. Weekly, so I hit him up for an interview and then he invited me to his Halloween house party/art maze. Considering how many stories of mine have been lost within the black hole of the Internet over the years, I’m surprised that short interview is still online. Over the years, I interviewed Albert a few times, the most recent for Los Angeles Magazine in 2019, when he had a solo exhibition at Eastern Projects in Chinatown, and have seen a number of his haunted houses. This year, for the second year in a row, I got to DJ at Albert’s haunted house.
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!
October might have been stressing me out this year, but I felt an instant sense of relief inside The Mermaid last night. I was there to DJ another week of Dolce Vita’s Italo Horror Disco, this time with DJ Alex Arias. The first thing I noticed is that the Halloween display in the bar has grown larger and more detailed since I last played there earlier this month. The centerpiece is a mermaid skeleton, who is surrounded by a bounty of odds and ends, from crystal balls to eyeballs to skeleton hands. The glow-in-the-dark paints and swaths of fabric help give the impression that you stumbled upon this altar while underwater. It’s super cool. Stop by The Mermaid and check it out this week if you have a chance.
Other than that, it was great to play with Alex for the first time. I loved his set. Plus, some friends stopped by, which made the night all the better. Here’s what I played in my sets last night. Also, a reminder that I’ll be playing Underground’s Halloween party on Friday, October 27 and there’s a low ticket alert for the party, so get yours as soon as possible.
Mannequins dressed up in the Goodwill lobby. (Pic: Liz O.)
The moment I saw the khaki skirt, I knew that my Halloween costume issue was going to work itself out. I actually found two khaki skirts wedged in a rack at the Glassell Park Goodwill. One was a mini that could work in a pinch. The other was slightly longer and fuller. It had a wraparound belt and some buttons down the front, but still looked a little more like a school uniform. I shoved it into the cart and headed over towards the men’s department to find a blazer.
Halloween parties are this weekend and I still didn’t have a costume. So, of course, I showed up at Goodwill with no plan.
