Monthly Archives: June 2024

Upcoming Gigs

Disco Matinee First Anniversary Party Is July 7

Disco Matinee First Anniversary July 7, 2024 at Grand Star Jazz Club from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. with DJ Liz O. and DJ Jus' B playing disco, funk, dance punk and more.

Disco Matinee is turning one year old and we’re going to celebrate on Sunday, July 7 at Grand Star Jazz Club from 3 to 7 p.m. To say thank you for your support this past year, there will be no cover before 4 p.m. if you RSVP on Instagram or Facebook* and the cover after 4 p.m. (or if you don’t RSVP) will be $5 for the first anniversary party. 

Disco Matinee is a monthly, Sunday afternoon party with DJs Liz O. (that’s me) and Jus’ B. We play disco, funk, dance punk and more. If you’re down to dance to everything from Donna Summer to Talking Heads to Mary Jane Girls to Lime, this is the party for you. 

Grand Star Jazz Club is at 943 N. Broadway in Chinatown’s Central Plaza, right next to the Bruce Lee Statue. Both street and lot parking is available. The venue is also right across Broadway from Metro’s A Line stop in Chinatown. 

See you on the dance floor on Sunday, July 7. 

*If you don’t have Facebook or Instagram, just click this link to send us an email with RSVP in the subject line and send us your name. 

Happening in L.A.

Happening in L.A.: June 27 through July 3

Liquid Sky movie
Liquid Sky plays at Gardena Cinema on Friday night.

It’s a good week for movies in L.A. You’ve got two nights of Bruce LaBruce screenings at 2220 Arts + Archives, The Living End (with Gregg Araki in the house) at Academy Museum on Thursday and, one of my personal favorites, Liquid Sky at Gardena Cinema on Friday. 

Also on Friday, Vidiots is screening Out of the Blue, the 1980 Dennis Hopper starring Linda Manz as a troubled punk rock teen. The movie is the source of the “Kill All Hippies” sample in the Primal Scream song of the same name. And, not to spoil anything, but it has one of the most disturbing endings I’ve ever seen in a movie. You’ve been warned. 

There are also some worthwhile shows happening on the lower side of the ticket price spectrum, including Hunx & His Punx at Lodge Room next Wednesday night. At the time of writing this, tickets were still available for that show. As always, there are loads of DJ nights happening— certainly more than I’ve been able to keep track of on socials this week— so take some time to check out those if you can too. Keep reading to see what’s happening in L.A. between June 27 and July 3. 

(And, in case you were wondering, my next gig is Friday, July 5 at Grand Star Jazz Club for Décadanse x Underground. Click on this link for more details.)

Continue reading Happening in L.A.: June 27 through July 3 →
Music

Mark Your Calendars: July 5 Is Decadence x Underground at Grand Star Jazz Club

Decadence x Underground at Grand Star Jazz Club on Friday, July 5 with DJs Larry G., Liz O. Pierrot and Fife Laroux

Friday, July 5, is going to be amazing. Mark your calendars for Décadanse x Underground at Grand Star Jazz Club. This one-night-only event brings together L.A.’s Friday night indie dance party with monthly French pop Décadanse Soirée. Catch Larry G. and me (Liz O.) with your favorite new wave, post-punk, Britpop, indie faves and more, while DJs Pierrot and Fifi La Roux play the jams en français.

Tickets are available now on Dice and Eventbrite. Get yours as soon as possible. You don’t want to miss out on this night.

Grand Star Jazz Club is located at 943 N. Broadway in Chinatown’s Central Plaza, right next to the Bruce Lee Statue. There is both street and lot parking in the neighborhood and the venue is located right across Broadway from Metro’s A Line station in Chinatown. Party starts at 9:30 p.m. and is 21+. See you on the dance floor on July 5.

Got It On Vinyl, The Playlist

This 12-Year-Old School of Seven Bells Song Still Hits Like It’s New

School of Seven Bells Ghostory on vinyl
My vinyl copy of School of Seven Bells’ 2012 album, Ghostory.

When a song isn’t instantly recognizable, you can see it on the faces in the crowd. They’ll shoot befuddled glances around the room, scope the scene and see how many people look like they know it. They half-dance, as if they’re still deciding whether or not to stay on the floor. 

In the DJ booth, this is a tense moment because there are a few ways that the scenario can play out. They might leave the dance floor, taking a handful of people with them. Or, someone who is equally bold and clueless might come up to the booth with the “play something I know” request. In the best possible instances, they stick with the groove and keep moving.

I see people cast the “I don’t know this song, should I dance?” glance whenever I play “Low Times” by School of Seven Bells. The song is 12 years old, and I’ve been playing it for just as long, but it still hits as if it were new. Even though it’s not a song that people automatically know, they keep dancing. Every time, the crowd grows and energy builds alongside the heart-pounding rhythm and breathless vocals. 

Continue reading This 12-Year-Old School of Seven Bells Song Still Hits Like It’s New →
Movies

The Legend of the Stardust Brothers Is a Wild Ride Through Pop Stardom

The Legend of the Stardust Brothers 1985 movie
The Legend of the Stardust Brothers

It’s Tokyo, 1985 and the vibe inside the nightclub is Cabaret, were that movie directed by David Lynch. The scene is shot in grainy black-and-white and filled with characters who look as if they are caught between the past, the present and a fever dream. At this moment, which is just seconds into The Legend of the Stardust Brothers, nothing could be too weird for you. Well, nothing, perhaps, except the appearance of the Stardust Brothers themselves. 

Kan and Shingo, the washed-up pop stars at the center of the film, bolt onstage and on screen in full color, their silver jumpsuits shining, their tale of woe set to a glam rock beat. Kan tries to keep it together as Shingo gorges himself on food and drink. They are a brilliant mess, but the crowd is thoroughly unimpressed. 

Continue reading The Legend of the Stardust Brothers Is a Wild Ride Through Pop Stardom →
Adventures in L.A., Art

Go See Giant Robot Biennale 5 at Little Tokyo’s Japanese American National Museum

Yoskay Yamamoto "Moonage Daydream" installation with Luke Chueh painting in background at Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo for Giant Robot Biennale 5. (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Yoskay Yamamoto’s installation “Moonage Daydream” with painting by Luke Chueh in the background at Giant Robot Biennale 5. (Pic: Liz O.)

It’s a been a minute, but the Giant Robot Biennale is back. Between 2007 and 2015, the group exhibition developed by Erik Nakamura and the Japanese American National Museum popped up roughly every other year, bringing together a cross-section of artists that you might recognize from shows at the GR2 Gallery in West L.A., or from the pages of the magazine Giant Robot, which ran from 1994 until 2010 and helped introduce audiences to artists like Takashi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara. 

Continue reading Go See Giant Robot Biennale 5 at Little Tokyo’s Japanese American National Museum →
Happening in L.A.

Happening in L.A.: Thursday, June 20 – Wednesday, June 26

Dum Dum Fest 2024 poster in Echo Park
A reminder outside The Echo that Dum Dum Fest with Taleen Kali, Sacred Skin, Dildox and more is Saturday at The Echo

No DJ gigs for me this week, but there are a ton of events happening in L.A. In fact, so much is going on that it took a good while to narrow down this list of concerts, DJ events and movie screenings for you. Which band do you check out on Friday night? IDK, but I have seen Melt-Banana twice and they slay. Should your Saturday night movie be The Legend of the Stardust Brothers or Liquid Sky? (That’s a tough call, friends.) Is it best to head to Alamo Drafthouse on Tuesday or Wednesday for Deep Red? (I would say go Tuesday, then head to Little Tokyo for Dolce Vita’s new ‘80s night, Splash, after that.) 

Since life is still really expensive, I only picked events that had at least one ticket available for under $30 before fees at the time of posting this. For all I know, it may be just one ticket in some cases, so don’t blame me if you can’t find anything but $100 resale floor tickets for Twin Tribes or whatever. But, just in case you didn’t know, even the Doobie Brothers have some cheap seats available for their show at The Forum on Sunday. Keep reading for more of what’s happening in L.A. 

Continue reading Happening in L.A.: Thursday, June 20 – Wednesday, June 26 →
The Playlist

Here’s What I Played at Klub Nocturno on Saturday, June 15 2024

Sambas and fishnets (photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Summer 2024 DJ uniform: Sambas and fishnets.

On Saturday, it felt like summer had arrived. That is unfortunate if you, like me, have an aversion to sunlight and sweat. The upside was that I was DJing in the new wave/darkwave room at Nocturno on Saturday night, so I could avoid the sun. Since online tickets had already sold out, though, I had to prepare for a hot night. That’s when fishnets really come in handy. In fact, I think fishnets and Sambas might end up being my 2024 club uniform. After a four-and-a-half-hour DJ set, I felt pretty good. (Three cans of water probably helped too.)

It was a really fun night. There were stilt walkers who came out to the stage in the new wave/darkwave room twice, dancing to French Police and Sisters of Mercy during one set and Depeche Mode and Visage in the other. The crowd let out disco calls during “Blue Monday.” It was a vibe. 

Boy Harsher’s remix of Chelsea Wolfe’s song “House of Self-Undoing,” which was released earlier in the week, made its second appearance in my sets this weekend. Since it’s brand new, I’ve been testing it out early in the night, but I’m really into it, so you’ll probably be hearing this later in the nights going forward. The remix is available on Bandcamp, by the way, so get it into your own collection if you’re so inclined. (That’s not an ad or a sponsored link, btw, but Bandcamp is my personal first choice for digital music.)

Continue reading Here’s What I Played at Klub Nocturno on Saturday, June 15 2024 →
The Playlist

Here’s What I Played at Club Underground on Friday, June 14, 2024

Actors In Real Life single cover
Cover of Actors single for “In Real Life.”

I forgot to take pics last night at Underground. It happens. But, it was another fun night on Friday, the memories of which become hazy after playing music for four hours. I do, however, recall that I really like the way Actors latest single, “In Real Life,” sounds with Roxy Music’s song “More Than This.” It makes sense in my head because Actors always sounded less like a “darkwave”  or “postpunk” band to me and more like people who have listened to a lot of Roxy Music, Bowie, Japan and Duran Duran. But, that doesn’t mean that two songs will go well together and I never know for sure until I try it. 

(Just in case you’re wondering, all my sets are improvised, but, when you’ve been DJing since you were 18 and you’re now a far cry from that, you have a good feel for which songs go together and which ones don’t.)

Also new to my set is “Hechizos” by Glass Spells, which you might have heard me play on Dublab last week. If not, you can click on this link to the archive of the show. Glass Spells are from San Diego and are currently on tour, but, unfortunately, don’t have an L.A. date. However, they will be at the Observatory in Santa Ana on July 17. Check Glass Spells’ website for other upcoming tour dates. The other new addition to my set is Boy Harsher’s remix of Chelsea Wolfe’s song “House of Self-Undoing,” which I love. Anyhow, here’s the set list.  

Continue reading Here’s What I Played at Club Underground on Friday, June 14, 2024 →