The Smell: Eclipse, Moon Fuzz, Rain on Fridays

This was my first time heading out to The Smell since venues started opening up again in June 2021. I might be missing a venue, but I believe I've now been to every music venue on the east side that I used to head out to prior to the pandemic (excluding those that have closed, of course): The Echo, Silverlake Lounge, Redwood Bar, Highland Park Bowl, The Goldfish (previously The Hi Hat), The Lodge Room, Harvard & Stone, Resident, and Hotel Café. Some of those aren't necessarily considered the east side, I suppose. I guess my definition is everything east of Hotel Café. I still have yet to venture west of Hotel Café other than Bar Lubitsch. So no Troubadour and the Sunset Strip venues.  

I walked in as Eclipse was starting up. They're a three piece band that came in from Las Vegas. They let their music do the talking. Their music had a smooth jazz quality to it.

Eclipse

What hit me about what had changed at The Smell since I was last there was the fact that the lights were just a touch better. I looked up at the stage lights and noticed that they were all new. Other than that, same guy at the door though there were now two dogs instead of one. It looked like there were the same magazines on the bookcase that probably should have been tossed during the pandemic. It looked like some of the newspapers at the very bottom had a layer of dust covering them. The couches were still torn up and should have been dragged out to the dump or upholstery done. In some way though, isn't that what we love about The Smell?

MoonFuzz came on next. I'd seen this band at Happy Sundays Long Beach. The guitarist and bassist love playing across from each other. The band concluded the same way as they did at Happy Sundays by allowing their drummer to go solo for a few minutes. It is awesome watching her take control. And it is just not me who loved it. The crowd was cheering every beat.

MoonFuzz

Rain on Fridays concluded the night. They drove up from San Diego. Though they're San Diego based, I noticed that Strawberry Army and promoter In Fuzz We Trust follow the band on Instagram so they do have some fans here in Los Angeles. They have a grunge style and sound. As the set was concluding, I noticed three young women coming up to the front of the stage. Hopefully, they hadn't just walked in, because it looked like they were fans of the band and would have missed 90% of the set.

Rain on Fridays

Silverlake Lounge: Mazie, Your Favorite Color, Jagged Baptist Club

I wasn't planning on going out on Wednesday night, but then I noticed that Mazie was playing The Silverlake Lounge. Now I'd never heard of Mazie before, but it seemed like it would be a unique set. Was I ever correct. It really was like watching live animation. What I mean by animation is a cartoon character jumping from the screen and right onto the stage. Just the way she dresses in very colorful fashion and the silver chain that she had in her hair. Her music also just had that kid cartoon feel to it (now I don't watch kid cartoons so I'm just imaging how those cartoons are). A very enjoyable set.

Mazie

Up next was Your Favorite Color. I swear I just couldn't get it out of my head: the lead singer reminds me of a young Jared Leto from his "My So Called Life" days. I think the band is still a work in process. I say that, because they rounded out their set with two cover songs. But this band really rocked me with crisp and slightly stretched vocals that played well against driving beats.

Your Favorite Color

Jagged Baptist Club concluded their fourth residency night. This band knows how to entertain and expects the adulation for doing so. At the end of the set, they shouted out some thanks. They even shouted out thanks to an individual who requested to be thanked. 

Jagged Baptist Club

The Echo: Feels with Kairos Creature Club and Le Pain

This is a set I'll remember for years to come. After a decade, Feels played their last show (or at least until the 5 year reunion show). It was a 15 song tour de force that lasted for a good solid hour in front of a fan base filled with those who had followed the band from the start and those who had just recently started following the band. They played a mix of songs from their three album and EP releases: Feels (2016), Post Earth (2019) and Subversive Reaction (2021). Laena, lead singer and guitarist, made sure that we weren't going to be having a sense of depression due to this being their last show. She told us to all have a fun time as the band opened up with "Sour" that has a real psychedelic feel to it -- making you want to dance like a genie coming out of a bottle. Throughout the set, the band did their classic head flips and face off jams. As the show came to a conclusion, a bottle of champagne was brought out to celebrate the final show. The final encore was played and yet no one really wanted the moment to end. 

Set list included: Sour (Post Earth), Unicorn (Feels), Rodeo (Subversive Reaction), Trash Island (Subversive Reaction), Night Walker (Subversive Reaction), Anyways (Post Earth), Tollbooth (Post Earth), Running's Fun (Feels), Car (Post Earth), Post Earth (Post Earth), Deconstructed (Post Earth), Slippin (Feels), Tell Me (Feels), Close My Eyes (Feels)

Feels

Kairos Creature Club did their third residency night. They're in from Florida. I would say their music has the basis in adult contemporary, but they take in influences from other genres in the music. Some of their music has the undercurrents of jazz. The final song they played, if done a bit faster and louder, would qualify as a heavy metal song. 

Kairos Creature Club

Le Pain opened it up with just their third set ever. Their music just floats with the clouds. They have some sweat vocals and occasional funny dance moves. And their final two songs were sung in French. 

Le Pain

I'm Up On Buzzbands: Livingmore at the Moroccan Lounge

I'm up on Buzzbands with a show review of Livingmore's album release night. Goon and Oddnesse opened.

I'm Up On California Rocker: The Shivas with Family Cash and The Blank Tapes at the Resident

I got an invite to head over to the Resident. I turned it into an article for California Rocker.

The Shivas

Feels Decides to End Their Long Run

This series was originally posted on Instagram. There are some edits and corrections.

Thursday night, The 6*6*60s sent me the below Instagram post from the Feels stating that they were playing their last show at the Echoplex on Monday, September 20th (to me, this is so appropriate as I’ve seen the band at this venue -- including The Echo -- more than any other).

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by FEELS (@feelstheband)

That sent me down memory lane, because I’ve enjoyed catching Feels in concert for a decade -- almost practically to the date. I do hope some of you enjoy the following walk.

In September 2011, I went to The Standard in DTLA to listen to my friend participate in a poetry reading. Afterwards, on the rooftop, a band called Raw Geronimo played a 4 song set. Unfortunately, I have no photos from that night, because The Standard wouldn’t let me bring in my camera and I was rather upset when I saw a number of photographers with their DSLRs. But the band obviously caught my attention.

Photo 1: Two months later, after work, I rushed down to Origami Vinyl with my point and shoot Canon G9 (I’m not sure why I didn’t bring my Canon 5D Mark II) and captured this really horrid shot. If I’m not mistaken, I had previously mentioned to my friend Siria that I’d come across this amazing band. I do believe she had some involvement in setting up this specific night and told me to come out. (I’ll admit there is a former member of the band in this photo that I totally forgot about.)

Photo 2: Then in December, I went to The Mime (a venue that was on Glendale Blvd just before the entrance to the 2 Freeway) to catch them again and brought along a proper camera. Yes, in 2011, my love affair with Raw Geronimo was full on. (I’ll admit again there is a former member of the band in this photo that I totally forgot about.)

Photo 3: This photo was taken in January 2012 and ranks as one of my all time favorite photos.

Photo 4: I believe this was the only time I ever caught the band at The Satellite - October 2013.

Photo 5: So I told this story once before. In more recent years, I’ve spent 2 or 3 days shooting Echo Park Rising for Buzzbands. But prior to that, I used to just go down to catch a handful of bands and then take off. Well, in 2014 I went down to Echo Park Rising to catch only one band and one band only, Feels. This is the first time I caught the band under that name change.

Photo 6: This photo was taken July 4th, 2016. I so wished that it had become an annual tradition -- a 4th of July show by Feels. I have a handful of photos (I think Photo 3 also applies) where the lights just love to play along with Raw Geronimo / Feels. It is like there is this intertwine between the lights, music and the band.

Photo 7: This photo -- March 2017 -- was taken at HM 157. The band was playing in a very small part of this historic house and the place was packed with people. I was right up there at the front taking photos. When the set was just about to get super rocking, Laena took a pause and said something like, “To all the photographers, you might want to move away from the stage to make sure your cameras don’t get damaged.”

Photo 8: I mentioned on Instagram that I believed this was the only time I caught the band outdoors (July 2018). I now realize this was the second time I'd seen the band outdoors. Taken at the Resident’s patio.

Photo 9: This photo was taken for Buzzbands in 2019. So for this specific show I basically got as aggressive as I might get saying I wanted to shoot Feels. I’m reading my email from back then and in a passive aggressive way I’m just telling them that I’m shooting Feels for the site.

Photo 10: A 2021 photo at The Echo. This one was also shot for Buzzbands. To me, there really is a serenity watching Laena fronting Raw Geronimo / Feels. Maybe it is just how my finger likes to snap shots of the band, but it always seems to capture these moments of serenity in the middle of loud rocking psychedelic music. 

P.S. There is an early connection here with The Like, which I’ll leave out so as not to drag this on any further.

I'm Up On Buzzbands: Bully at the Lodge Room

I'm up on Buzzbands with photos and review of Bully and Lightning Bug at the Lodge Room. What a night of music that went at lightening speed. Well, that is specifically for Bully. Lightning Bug kept it chill.

Bully

New Music Alert: Run River North's "Lonely Weather"

Run River North has a video out for their song "Lonely Weather." The lyrics talks about grabbing your sweater, which immediately had me thinking about Lucy & La Mer who loves sweaters. Of course, in this song the lyrics start with, "Oh god it's the winter / I'm a winner in the summer / I'm a nothing feeling nothing." So whereas Lucy loves winter weather, Run River North is using winter as a metaphor for being lonely. But the lyrics aren't depressing. It may start out with depression, but the band is saying "So go and grab your sweater . . . / Feet up in the clouds / Flowers in the rain." So hey, no matter the seasons of your emotions, find a way to enjoy life as best you can. 

The song has pop melodies that has me thinking Run River North needs to do a tour with WILD.

Shot at the Fonda Theatre for Buzzbands

Five Straight Nights of Music (Actually Six)

It was a wild five straight nights of music -- though I do believe I made it home by 11 p.m. (or within reason) for all those nights. It started on Monday when I went to The Mint to catch Ariel Beesley and Archer Valentine. Ariel Beesley is a long time favorite who puts on a great show that includes wonderful punk pop melodies along with a stage show that mesmerizes with multiple high kicks, hair flings and general enthusiasm. Archer Valentine opened the night with sexual appeal that had the gals at the front of stage. This was my first time at The Mint since mid-2019. And well, since that mid-2019 night there had also been a long gap in between visits at that time, as well. The Mint is a bit far and out of the way from where I live when you consider all the other venues that are so much closer, but I generally always enjoy my time at this venue.

Ariel Beesley

Tuesday night was going to be a rest night, but then I noticed that Earth is a Death Star was playing at Little Joy. I've been wanting to catch this band for a couple years now. Their garage rock sound shook the floor. They weren't the only band I caught. I arrived at Little Joy just in time to catch a few songs from Boy Have Heart. His friends were there is force. One Outta Ten came up next with a party animal style that is catchy. You can tell they just love playing music.

Earth is a Death Star

Wednesday was spent at The Silverlake Lounge where Jagged Baptist Club was on their second residency night. I've seen this band 3 times in less than 2 weeks so I'm not sure how much more I can add about this band's music. Opening up for the band was Friendly Bear and Reckling. I saw Reckling for the first time when they were playing with Feels at the Resident back in late 2019. Their music is all about speed. I noticed that the lead singer recently got engaged; congrats are due to her.

Reckling

My Thursday night was featured on Buzzbands. It states that I did the reporting on the opening night of live music at The Goldfish. That's a bit generous. I provided some details, but Kevin Bronson did the write-up. Always You and Double Wish will forever be wonderfully known as the first bands to play the new venue that replaces The Hi Hat.

Always You

I decided to put the pedal to the floor and head out Friday night to catch Talk Time and Polartropica at an undisclosed location in Lincoln Heights. Was it really in Lincoln Heights? If it was, it was on the edge of Lincoln Heights on the east end. Either way, it was a night under the stars. Polartropica put on an extravagant set that she is well known for doing. Talk Time just rocked us.

Polartropica

There was a sixth night out -- Saturday night. That night is also being featured on Buzzbands.

I'm up on Buzzbands: The Goldfish Live Music Opening with Always You and Double Wish

I decided to head over to The Goldfish to catch the opening night of live music. If you love the Los Angeles music scene, you know that The Hi Hat used to occupy the location. My night there is now up on Buzzbands with photos of the first two bands to play the space: Always You and Double Wish.

Always You

Permanent Records Roadhouse: Dove Armitage, Fun Country, Sally Spitz

I've followed Quincy Larsen of Dove Armitage for a number of years. It started with coming across Cat Scan a few years back. Then on to the band Kevin. I know she started Dove Armitage back in 2020, but this was the first time I was able to catch one of the sets. Quincy knows how to entertain. Her stage show had her sprawled on the concrete floor at times. Other times during the set she used a wooden corner table or the wrought iron grilles for a window. The music had a gothic romance to it that played with Quincy's onstage sexuality. There was a temporary dead microphone moment, but she handled it like a professional.

Dove Armitage

Fun Country came up next and they couldn't have been any different than Dove Armitage. We went from gothic romance to country. After Dove Armitage, you might say they looked rather square. That just showed the diversity of the night. It was a full band with percussion, keys, guitar, bass and even a trumpet for a couple songs. There was a total of 7 in the band. It was perfect to capture this band under the night sky (the event took place in Permanent Records' patio area.

Fun Country

Sally Spitz of French Vanilla closed out the night. She had the comment of the night, "I'm single. I'm on anti-depressants." With a friend starting off the tracks, Sally gave the audience some beat poetry vocals. She also had some nice swagger that was timed with the beats. All this performed under red lights that were set up.

Sally Spitz

Silverlake Lounge: Cuffed Up and Jagged Baptist Club

Cuffed Up hit the stage at the Silverlake Lounge for their first live set since March 2020. Was there any rust that needed to be polished out? Not from what I could tell. They came on stage and just shredded it throughout their set. Sapphire Jewell often played the guitar low to the ground while sliding those fingers. During one song where she took the lead vocals, she stepped out into the audience with power. Ralph Torrefranca was a tornado of energy that sent his glasses constantly sliding down his nose and him having to constantly move it back in place. What a 30 minute thrill.

Cuffed Up

As for Jagged Baptist Club, this was my second time seeing the band over a 4 day period. I'd previous driven down to Long Beach to cover Happy Sundays and got to catch their full set at Alex's Bar. This band is just fun to watch and photograph. Lead singer Blake Stokes does have a revival preacher style, which fits in perfectly with the band name. This style combines dynamic and quirky with a touch of the feeling that you're part of an inside joke. With arms often stretched out towards the audience, this band connects with their fans.    

Jagged Baptist Club

I'm Up On Buzzbands: Happy Sundays Long Beach

I'm up on Buzzbands with a photo gallery of Happy Sundays Long Beach music festival. 

You'll find photos of the following bands: 

Chapis 

Danke 

Dream Phases 

Jagged Baptist Club 

Litronix 

MoonFuzz 

N8NOFACE 

Operation No-One Knows

She Wears Black 

Stormhouse 

The Thingz 

Velvet Starlings 

Danke

New Music Alert: VAVÁ's "Wild Thing"

VAVÁ has a new song out called "Wild Thing." There is a calmness to the music that just let's you settle in place (be it your bed, couch, arm chair, bathroom tub) and relax. The composition mixes in vocals, guitar and drums in a thoughtful manner. A contemporary pop gem.

Lyrics: It can't be more obvious / The more we ignore it / It goes burning down around us

The wild thing out there just is something you need to let out on occasion. I would say though that the wild thing doesn't mean to go crazy and nuts. The music is too calming to make that conclusion. I think it is simply telling us to take unexpected turns in life and enjoy the outcome.

photo taken at El Cid

The Echo: Warbly Jets with All Things Blue and Grace Mitchell

It was time to head out to catch the Warbly Jets' residency at The Echo. I didn't realize it, but Chuck Ellis and Jackson Singleton opened the night at The Echo with short singer-songwriter sets. A voice and a guitar for both. They were appreciative to the crowd that showed up prior to 9 p.m. 

Chuck Ellis

Jackson Singleton

Next up was All Things Blue. Her songs are also in that singer-songwriter direction with tender melodies. There is also a minimalist garage rock to some of her songs where she takes dramatic license with her vocals. Was there a moment to remember during the set? Most definitely. When she was closing out the set with her final two songs, she took a step back and tripped backwards over her guitar. Was she hurt? She kept performing. When the second to last song was finished, she exclaimed, "I fell." 

All Things Blue

Up next was Grace Mitchell with what she said was a whole new band. Her guitarist played it moody, but on occasion she'd flash a smile to the audience to let them know that she was rather pleased with the set. As for Grace Mitchell, she stood on stage and hit some rocking tunes. Time just jumped ahead in warp speed. At one point, I looked down at her set list (which was written down on a 11 x 14 sheet in large bold lettering) and couldn't believe the set was nearing an end. As far as I'm concerned, she could have re-started the set list again and I wouldn't have been bored. 

Grace Mitchell

Warbly Jets closed it out with their fourth residency night. This was my second time seeing their residency. This band is just amazing. Their music is rapid. The lead singer is in constant motion. The keyboardist isn't as dramatic, but still has a charismatic style just by the way he hits the keys. Their drummer takes triumphant stances throughout the set. And though this band is dramatic and wild, they are also very precise. They mark off the floor very precisely with tape, making sure their various instruments are set up exactly where they want them to be.

Warbly Jets