Whammy! Analog Media, the VHS shop and microcinema in Echo Park, celebrated its third anniversary on Sunday, February 10, with a day of live music. While bands were scheduled to play from noon until 8 p.m., I was only able to check out the 4 – 7 p.m. stretch, which included performances from Chaki, Major Entertainer and Pride Month Barbie.
A theme running throughout the afternoon was how special Whammy! is and that’s true. It’s actually one of the few places in L.A. that legit lives up to the overused descriptive “hidden gem.” Although the shop’s address is on Sunset Blvd., you won’t notice it from the street, you have to walk down Rampart and enter through the alley. Once you step inside, you’ll feel like you’ve been transported to another past that’s cooler than the one that actually existed. Trust me, you would not be able to find many of the movies here at the corporate video stores that now stoke nostalgia in people. And you certainly wouldn’t be bobbing your head to “Mesopotamia,” the funkiest of the B-52s’ jams, while you browse.
Certainly, you would never hear a live synthpunk cover The Misfits song, “Skulls” in a ‘90s Blockbuster, but I did at Whammy! on Sunday afternoon. I arrived at 4 p.m. to catch Chaki’s set because the funk bassist and I have been acquainted on socials for a good while, but never officially met in person, which is bizarre considering that we have multiple IRL mutual friends. Indeed, we met as soon as I stepped onto Whammy’s patio, where he recommended the Yerba mate that was available via a keg in the corner.
The Yerba mate, from United Wild Brew, really was fantastic. It woke up my sleepy ass just in time to dance to Chaki’s set. The “funk wizard” stepped onto the stage in a purple robe covered in large silver stars, the first of several costumes for a set that lasted less than an hour. The performance’s first highlight came early on, when the musician quickly changed into a Robocop costume to perform a cover version of the Sleaze Boys’ sample-heavy ‘80s electro banger, “Robocop.” Chaki told me this was his final performance of the song, so I’m grateful to have had the chance to catch it live.
What I appreciate most about Chaki’s set is how L.A. it was. Some of us who were kids in late ‘80s L.A. (me!) will recall hearing “Robocop,” a song that’s long since fallen into obscurity, on the radio alongside the freestyle hits of the era. But, that’s not all, Chaki, who wore a sequined cape over a Zankou Chicken t-shirt for the rest of the set, dropped samples of commercials in his set, including the only-in-L.A. earworm, “Keyes on Van Nuys.”
It was an energetic performance, complete with audience participation, humor and lots of bass. From originals like “Funky Frankenstein” to his cover songs, which included versions of “Skulls,” the previously mentioned Misfits songs, and “When Your Were Mine,” Prince’s Dirty Mind deep cut that became a hit for Cyndi Lauper.
Major Entertainer, who has opened for Neil Hamburger and Eric Andre, followed with a performance that was perfect for the setting. Combining music and comedy, Major Entertainer weaved a tale that relates to a movie called Pin, which I had never heard about before his set. In fact, I had to google “Pin movie” when I got home to learn that it was released direct-to-video int the late 1980s and, years later, landed in Fangoria’s 101 Best Horror Movies You’ve Never Seen. I think that’s a testament to a good performance, though, that Major Entertainer’s story was so, er, entertaining that I had to go look up the film reference.
Pride Month Barbie, who followed Major Entertainer, is the duo of Josephine Shetty, who I met the previous night at Taleen Kali’s show, and Tyler Holmes. Their debut album, All the Girls in the Room Say ‘Sorry,’ came out last year and while I had heard their music before, I hadn’t seen them live before Sunday.
At Whammy!, Pride Month Barbie played two songs from the album, including their stunning cover of the Cranberries’ mega-hit “Dreams,” but most of the set was improvised and that made for a very cool performance. On the album, Pride Month Barbie has a melancholy synthpop sound with bits of Sophie and classic rave influences. The live, improvisational pieces were more techno and reminded me a bit of Drexciya. Behind them, G.L.O.W., the ‘80s wrestling show, played on the projection screen. I loved the juxtaposition of this very modern, ethereal electronic music with Matilda the Hun cackling and the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling brawling in a casino on the screen behind the duo. It was a good way to end the day.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Read her recently published work and check out her upcoming gigs or listen to the latest Beatique Mix. Follow on Instagram for more updates.
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