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  • Everything You Heard at Club Underground on December 26, 2025

    Bruce Lee statue in Los Angeles Chinatown Central Plaza after 2025 Christmas storm, December 26, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    If you’re ever like, “I can’t find the Grand Star!” just look for Bruce Lee. (Pic: Liz O. 12/26/25)

    Last night at Underground might have been the first time ever that I’ve played “Friday I’m in Love” at a club. The reason is that, yesterday, news broke that Perry Bamonte of The Cure died. He had been playing with the band live in recent years and is in The Show of a Lost World (a terrific concert film that you really must see). However, his tenure with the band in the studio was from 1992-2004, so any song I played in tribute would likely have to come from Wish and, really, it would have to be “Friday I’m in Love.”   That’s just how it works out. 

    Anyhow, the Christmas storm finally ended right before the club opened and it was great to see people out and about. Thanks so much for dancing last night. Club Underground is on Wednesday next week for New Year’s Eve. Both floors of the Grand Star will be open. Larry G. and I are on the decks all night. It will be a good time. NYE at Underground always sells out, so be sure to get your tickets in advance. 

    Get tickets for Club Underground’s New Year’s Eve Party at Grand Star Jazz Club

    Set list from last night is below. All 2025 releases are linked to other references to the band on this wee blog. 

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  • New Year’s Eve at Club Underground + More Happening in L.A. 12/25- 12/31

    Club Underground New Year's Eve 2025 Flyer

    Next Wednesday is New Year’s Eve and both floors of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open for Club Underground’s last bash of 2025. Larry G. and I will be your DJs, playing the best indie, darkwave, new wave, post-punk, Britpop and more. If you’ve been to an Underground NYE party before, you know it’s a blast and that it also sells out. Head over to Club Underground’s website now and get your tickets before they’re gone. 

    Us L.A. lifers know that Christmas week is a notoriously slow one as far as nightlife is concerned. But, there are still a few things happening that I want to shout out, so keep reading. 

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  • Best of 2025 + More of What You Heard at Klub Nocturno 12/20/25

    Crowd shot in new wave darkwave room at Klub Nocturno in Los Angeles on December 20, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    View from the DJ booth in the new wave/darkwave room at Klub Nocturno on 12/20/25

    I’m writing this on Sunday morning and the coffee hasn’t kicked in yet, so IDK what to say except that last night at Klub Nocturno was a vibe. I DJed alongside Milagro in new wave/darkwave room. Played a few of my favorite tunes from this year, like “Women Respond to Bass” by Sextile, “Catch and Release” from Alice Glass, Pixel Grip’s “Reason to Stay” and “Everything We Thought We Knew” by N8NOFACE. People danced. Good times were had. Anyhow, set list is below. The newer songs (past year or so) are in bold and link to other mentions here on the blog. Wishing you all happy holidays!

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  • Klub Nocturno + More Happening in L.A. 12/18-12/24/25

    Klub Nocturno Los Angeles December 20, 2025 flyer

    This Saturday, December 20, Klub Nocturno is back at Catch One for a full venue takeover, meaning that there will be five rooms of dancing for you and your friends. I’ll be playing in the new wave vs. darkwave room this time around. This is an 18+ event and tickets are available now on Dice. Nocturno’s Xmas parties usually sell out in advance, so the sooner you get yours, the better. I’ll see you on the dance floor this Saturday night and maybe you’ll hear something off my Top 10 Bangers for 2025 too.

    Keep reading if you want my recommendations for concerts, clubs and movie screenings happening in Los Angeles between Thursday, December 18, and Wednesday, December 24. 

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  • Best of 2025: Top 10 Albums

    Sextile Yes, Please album cover
    Want to guess where Sextile’s album, Yes, Please, landed on this best of 2025 list?

    To be honest, the album I listened to the most in 2025 was actually my top pick from last year, Romance by Fontaines D.C. I also spent far too much time listening to two 2024 albums that I didn’t hear until this year, Fine Art by Kneecap and Humble As the Sun by Bob Vylan. We spend a lot of time putting together our year-end lists, but the truth is that time is irrelevant. The right album will hit you when you need to hear it and that could be on the day it’s released or five years later. 

    Still, I think we should shout out stellar new albums, lest we collectively fall deeper into an algorithmically-induced nostalgia hole. And there was a lot of fantastic music released this year, much more than what’s included on this list. I doubt I heard more than the smallest fraction of good shit released in 2025. So, consider this just the start of a list that will never really be complete. 

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  • The 1999 WTO Seattle Protests Revisited in New Archival Documentary

    I used to think that the 21st century didn’t really begin until 9/11, that this was the one event that set the course for the years to follow. Now, I’m willing to admit that I was wrong. Maybe, the 21st century actually began at the end of 1999 with the WTO protests. In late November of the final year of the ‘90s, some 40,000 people hit the streets of Seattle to shut down the World Trade Organization’s conference in the city. They were people from varying backgrounds, including environmental activists, union members and farmers. Those of us who remember the protests only from watching the news may hazily recall reports of “blah blah blah anarchists, blah blah blah Starbucks.” However, a new documentary, WTO/99, drops viewers in the middle of the scene for four days of protests and, in the process, tells a very different story. 

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  • The Cure Hits Movie Theaters + More Happening in L.A. 12/11-12/17/25

    For the Cure fans reading this, The Show of the Lost World opens in multiple theaters in Los Angeles on Thursday, December 11. If news of this has escaped your timeline, The Show of the Lost World is the concert film based on the band’s 2024 performance in London, which is the only time they played their fantastic latest album, Songs of a Lost World, in full. It’s only in theaters for a few days, so get tickets while you can. 

    My other top recommendation for this weekend is the Depeche Mode Convention, which is happening at Avalon on Sunday, December 14. It’s really the most fun Depeche Mode fan party I’ve attended. There are two rooms with DJs, plus karaoke and giveaways throughout the night. This year Devotional: The Depeche Mode Experience and Faith and Devotion will be playing live and, of course, Richard Blade is the night’s host. A bonus: It’s an all ages event and runs from 6 p.m. until midnight. Tickets are available online, at various L.A.-area stores or at the box office on the day of the event. 

    As for the rest of the weekend and early next week, keep reading for more recommendations. 

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  • Ultravox Brings Together New Remixes, Minimal Synth B-Sides and More on The Collection Deluxe Edition

    Ultravox The Collection deluxe edition cover

    Back in 1984, Ultravox released The Collection, a best of compilation that brought together 14 singles released over the course of four years. If you’re new to the band, The Collection is a good place to start because it contains the jams of the band’s Midge Ure era, like “Dancing With Tears in My Eyes,” “Reap the Wild Wind” and, of course, “Vienna.” It was my first Ultravox record, pulled from a used bin in a San Fernando Valley record store for $2.99 back in the late 1990s. Last week, a deluxe edition of The Collection was released and, if you’re already a fan, you probably will want this in your collection. 

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  • Best of 2025: Top 10 Bangers

    New wave vs. darkwave room at Klub Nocturno, Catch One Los Angeles Saturday March 8 (Photo: DJ Liz O.)
    You may have danced to some of these songs in the new wave vs. darkwave room at Klub Nocturno (Pic: Liz O.)

    After writing this list of the top 10 bangers for 2025, it’s clearer to me that the sound of the dance floor is changing. The songs that have been working well at the clubs are the ones that don’t follow the strict vibe code of Spotify playlists. Instead, we have “northern soul, but make it Britpop,” “post-punk by way of Piper at the Gates of Dawn” and “Irish grime for the moshpit.” None of those songs would make sense together on an algorithmically-generated playlist, but they all made it into the DJ sets I played at Underground just this past Friday. 

    At least amongst those who regularly leave the house, there are still people who want to dance to music that they don’t already know, that doesn’t hold nostalgic value and doesn’t quite fit into the narrow parameters of genre. That gives me a bit of hope in the midst of the new AI era of music that has been thrust upon us. 

    All of the songs here are ranked by how I’ve seen crowds respond to them at my own gigs, primarily at Underground, where I’m DJing on New Year’s Eve, and/or in the darkwave room at Nocturno, where I’ll be playing on December 20. The only “metrics” I’ve used here are eyeballing the size of the crowd and the enthusiasm of their dancing. TBH, enthusiasm is more important than size, so if there are fewer people dancing, but they’re screaming out every word of the song, that matters. Anyhow, what I’m getting at is that I trust my ears and eyes more than any music or social media platform that is designed to be gamed.

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  • Kneecap, Pulp, Confidence Man and More of What You Heard at Underground on 12/05/25

    Kneecap "H.O.O.D." (2025 Remix) cover
    Frankly, I’m impressed by how many of you know all the words to “H.O.O.D.”

    Thank you to everyone who made it out to Underground last night and for all the birthday wishes. I’ve always been pretty low maintenance about birthdays just because mine competes with Christmas parties (and competed with finals back when I was in school). So, I learned the best thing to do is book a DJ gig the weekend of my birthday and say, “I’m playing here, if you want to come by and say hi.” I’m always pleasantly surprised by who I see. Anyhow, outside of this playlist and one really short and shaky video for the ‘gram, I don’t have much documentation, so you’ll just have to trust me when I saw it was a vibe. 

    As usual, the set list is below. Songs released in 2025 are in bold and link back to other references to the band on Beatique. And, before I sign off, tickets for New Year’s Eve at Club Underground are already available on Dice and Eventbrite. Two floors of indie, Britpop, darkwave, post-punk dancing all night. Get your tickets asap. 

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