I’m not DJing this weekend, but do want to give you a heads up that I will be back in at Nocturno in the new wave vs. darkwave room on August 14. Full venue takeover at Catch One and it’s always a lot of fun, so head over to Dice and get your tickets.
This weekend is the Surf Guitar 101 festival down in Garden Grove. I wrote about the weekender earlier this week, so check out the story if you haven’t already. Surf Guitar 101 goes from Friday through Sunday and includes performances from Los Straitjackets, The Bomboras, Boss Martians, Slacktone and a whole lot more.
As for the rest of the weekend and early next week, here are my recommendations.
Concerts
There are a ton of concerts happening within the next week, so here’s the most concise rundown I can give you. Classic alternative fans might want to catch The Fixx and The Smithereens at Belasco on Thursday, July 30. If you’re more of a post-rocker, though, you should head out to Skirball Center, where Tortoise is playing a sunset concert that same night. It’s free, but parking is $20.
On Friday, July 31, you can take your pick between Black Moth Super Rainbow at Belasco,Vick Vapors, Night Ritualz, Blood Rave and Dildox at The Roxy or Social Lovers and lovetempo at The Airliner. These should all be worthy shows, but, I would say, Black Moth Super Rainbow if you’re more into psychedelic weird indie stuff, Vick Vapors for the darkwave crowd (make sure you catch Night Ritualz and Dildox), Social Lovers and lovetempo for the disco heads.
Kim Gordon’s Saturday night show at Pacific Electric is already sold out, but, you can still get tickets for Of Montreal at The Regent or Geneva Jacuzzi at Zebulon.
Now, if you couldn’t get Kim Gordon tickets for Saturday night, you can still get one for her second night at Pacific Electric, which is Sunday, August 2. Also playing on Sunday is Casi, a duo from Washington who make noisy beats and punk tunes. They have a self-titled debut out now on Carpark and are headlining Permanent Records Roadhouse on August 2.
During the week, Gotts Street Park, who have a new single, “Easy” out now and an album, Somewhere Between, set for release on October 16, play Hollywood Forever’s Masonic Lodge on Tuesday, August 4. The following night, catch Mexican Institute of Sound and The Meridian Brothers over at The Regent.
Clubs/DJ Events
For your weekly dose of indie, post-punk and more, head to Club Underground at Grand Star Jazz Club, where Larry G. is playing from 9:30 p.m. until last call.
On Saturday afternoon, stop by Salt Box Records/Hello Stranger in Little Tokyo for A Vinyl Hangout, where Jinmoo and Bigter of Seoul’s Kompakt Record Bar will join Moniquea, XL Middleton and DJ Expo. That night, Disco Decadance is happening at Apotheke with birthday DJ Dirtie B, Jes Danz, Mothafunk, Strawberry Guy and Midnight Magic’s Tiffany Roth. If you’re going to the Kim Gordon show, this is the perfect place to hang afterwards, as Apotheke is right next to Pacific Electric.
Movies
With Gregg Araki’s new movie, I Want Your Sex, about to hit theaters, the director’s older films have been and will continue to be screening around town as well. Down in Orange County, The Frida, a fantastic indie theater I recommend visiting when you have the chance, starts its “I Want Your Teen Apocalypse” series with Totally F**ed Up on July 31 and August 1. Catch I Want Your Sex there the following weekend and The Doom Generation and Nowhere later in August. Closer to home, Vidiots is screening Mysterious Skin on Wednesday, August 5, with appearances from Araki and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. They’ll be on hand for a Q/A at the 7 p.m. screening, for which only a limited amount of walk up tickets remain, and to do the intro for the 9:45 p.m. screening.
On Saturday, August 1, Philosophical Research Society’s 7th House film program is hosting its Kate Bush Night. Back by popular demand (and for Kate Bush’s birthday), the event a mix of rare footage, interviews, videos and more on the big screen, plus a costume and lipsync contest.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Follow on Instagram or sign up for the weekly, Beatique newsletter for updates on new stories and gigs.
Listen to the Beatique Mix for July, 2026, featuring music from Madonna, Tomora, Basement Jaxx, Saint Etienne and more.
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