All posts by Liz O.

I'm a longtime, cross-genre DJ and writer living in Los Angeles.
Happening in L.A.

Substance Festival, Bar Italia, The Darkness and More Happening in L.A. 11/06 – 11/12/25

Taleen Kali and Josephine Shetty (Pride Month Barbie) performing at The Love Song bar in downtown Los Angeles on February 8, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Taleen Kali, seen here at The Love Song, plays Substance on Friday, November 7 (Pic: Liz O.)

On Tuesday night, I went to see One Battle After Another, the new Paul Thomas Anderson film. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a middle-aged former revolutionary living incognito with his teenage daughter in a sanctuary city, where Benicio del Toro is a martial arts instructor running an Underground Railroad for migrants. It’s a movie that hits hard given this year’s ICE raids and, y’know, fascism, but there’s enough humor in it to keep the movie from feeling too heavy. The pacing is also fantastic, which is more or less to be expected from the director of Boogie Nights. I hadn’t realized that nearly three hours passed when the lights in the theater rose and I pulled out my phone to see messages that Prop 50 passed and Zohran Mamdani is New York’s new mayor. One Battle After Another  is playing  at a bunch of theaters in Los Angeles right now and that’s my one movie recommendation of this week because there are loads of concerts happening in the next few days. 

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Interview

David J Sings of History Repeating in New Protest Single, “ICE Too Cold to Thaw”

David J and Shepard Fairey "Ice Too Cold to Thaw" press photo by Angel Enciso.
David J and Shepard Fairey seen here with copies of the “Ice Too Cold to Thaw” vinyl and print. (Photo: Angel Enciso)

David J was in Asheville, North Carolina for a gig when a protest erupted right under his hotel window. “I was woken up early in the morning with the sound of it,” the L.A.-based musician says on a recent video call. “I just went down to the street and joined in.”

The event provided a spark of inspiration for J, who was already troubled by what he had been seeing in the United States. “Just being amongst that community there, just really good decent people speaking out against this authoritarian horror that’s being visited upon us, that was the galvanizing moment,” he says. Lyrics for what would become “ICE to Cold to Thaw,” the recently released single from David J and the Resistance, began to take shape. 

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Interview

Kommunity FK Returns to L.A. for Independent Project Records Anniversary Shows

Patrik Mata of Kommunity FK press photo by Kevin Estrada
Patrik Mata of Kommunity FK (Photo: Kevin Estrada)

It’s been six years since Kommunity FK has played Los Angeles. To be specific, they haven’t played live at all since 2019. This week, though, you’ll have two chances to see the seminal goth band, who came up in post-punk L.A., this week. Kommunity FK is set to perform live on both nights of Independent Project Records 45th anniversary— Wednesday, November 5 and Thursday, November 6— at Gold-Diggers in East Hollywood. The concerts foreshadow an exciting 2026 for the 47-year-old outfit, helmed by singer Patrik Mata,. Kommunity FK’s 1983 debut album, The Vision and Voice, is planned for a reissue next year via IPR.

“We get so many requests for it,” says Mata on a recent video call from Albuquerque, where he has lived since 2005. 

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The Playlist

Ultra Sunn, French Police, N8NOFACE and Everything Else You Heard in the New Wave/Darkwave Room at Nocturno 11/01/25

Crowd shot from DJ booth in new wave vs darkwave room at Klub Nocturno in Los Angeles November 1, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
View from the DJ booth in the new wave/darkwave room at Klub Nocturno, 11/01/25 (Pic: Liz O.)

It’s Halloween weekend and the Dodgers won the World Series a handful of minutes before the club opened. Needless to say that the vibe was strong at Klub Nocturno on Saturday night. I was in the DJ booth in the new wave vs. darkwave all night and, even when the room was at its most densely packed, people seemed to be in a really good mood. Ex Lover played live and I enjoyed their set. 

There wasn’t anything extremely new in my DJ sets last night, but I was happy to see more people out on the dance floor for the new-ish songs from Ultra Sunn, French Police, N8NOFACE and Alice Glass. Set list is below. All 2025 releases are in bold and link back to previous mentions on Beatique. 

Continue reading Ultra Sunn, French Police, N8NOFACE and Everything Else You Heard in the New Wave/Darkwave Room at Nocturno 11/01/25 →
The Playlist

Cerrone, Christine and the Queens and More of What You Heard at Club Underground on Halloween

Club Underground Grand Star Jazz Club Los Angeles Halloween 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
View from the DJ booth (Pic: Liz O.)

I’ve had Cerrone’s new version of “Supernature,” with Christine and the Queens on vocals, on my laptop since it came out last summer, but I’ve only played it out once before tonight. IDK why as it’s a really good, fresh version of a disco classic. Anyhow, I played it for the second time tonight because it was Halloween and Underground was packed and it seemed like the best opportunity to give it another spin. It did really well.  

Anyhow, I’m writing this at three in the morning because, even though I’m exhausted, I can’t get to sleep yet. Halloween was a vibe, even if I was too lazy to get together a costume and grabbed my husband’s old mask and army jacket and went as a human fly. The mask lasted about an hour before I started sweating and came to the realization that I do actually need to wear my glasses. None of that matters. What matters was that the crowd was good and there are more people dancing to “Highway Man” from The New Eves and Confidence Man’s collab with Jade, “Gossip,” is a legit dance floor hit now. Set list is below. All 2025 releases are in bold and link back to previous posts where they appear. 

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Happening in L.A.

Your Halloween Weekend Plans Are Here

Club Underground Halloween party flyer for October 31, 2025

Still don’t have plans for Halloween weekend? On Friday, October 31, Club Underground is happening at Grand Star Jazz Club in Chinatown. Both floors of the club will open with Larry G. and I DJing open-to-close. Dress your best because there will be a costume contest as well. Underground’s Halloween party always sells out and tickets are going fast on Dice right now, so get yours as soon as possible. This is a 21+ event. 

Tickets for Club Underground’s Halloween Party 

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Movies

Depeche Mode: M Is More Than a Concert Film

Somewhere in the middle of Depeche Mode: M there’s a quote about technology and how, despite the access to advanced tech today, it’s the old school gear that feels more authentic. I’m paraphrasing, obviously, but that’s the gist of a statement that stuck with me through the rest of the film, partially because I agree with it, but mostly because I think that there’s more to it. Not only does vintage tech feel more authentic, but so does vintage content, y’know, the stuff we used to call art. I say that because the immediacy watching clip after clip of Depeche Mode’s concerts in your Instagram stories while the Momento Mori tour was happening does not compare to seeing M in the theater.  Depeche Mode: M is a stellar concert film, one that I will confidently say is essential viewing for fans of the band. 

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Interview

Pets Fuse Dance Beats and Melancholic Pop on Debut Album, Spiral Question Mark

Pets Press Photo by Mika Lungulov-Klotz
Photo: Mika Lungulov-Klotz

It’s nearly dusk on a chilly-for-L.A. Saturday when synths and sax float through the breeze in a small nook of Elysian Park. A handful of people, and a few dogs, are crowded on blankets spread across the leaf-strewn ground. Pets, the East Coast trio, are in town for a weekend of gigs celebrating their debut album Spiral Question Mark, one of which is here, under a tree, where dark green leaves hang above them like the valance of a stage curtain. Their sound is smooth and rhythmic and more than a little melancholic. It’s a good fit for a day like this one. 

“It’s not really about wallowing in that feeling,” says Jonny Campolo of the sad song-heavy debut. “It’s about a solitary kind of confidence that you can have when you’re alone or when you’re sad or emotional or melancholic.”

He adds, “Melancholic music, raw, emotional music is absolutely my favorite kind of music, the kind of records that you can just fall into and live in.”

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Adventures in L.A.

Dia de los Muertos Has Started at Gloria Molina Grand Park and Olvera Street

"Estamos Unidos" by LADWP- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Altar at Gloria Molina Grand Park depicts skeletons at a family dining table with one empty seat with a sign that reads "This Seat Is Reserved for Those We Lost in ICE Detentions and all immigrants lost in la frontera" (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
“Estamos Unidos” by LADWP- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (Pic: Liz O.)

“Viento,” the Caifanes song, plays as a mild, downtown wind blows the papel picado hanging above Dia de los Muertos altars at Gloria Molina Grand Park.   There’s a sizable crowd milling about on Sunday afternoon, investigating the details of the large, often elaborately decorated altars, or ofrendas, that local artists and community groups have made for the exhibition, which runs through November 2. 

There are a lot of Dia de los Muertos events happening in Los Angeles between now and next weekend (check L.A. Taco for a comprehensive list). I try to always check out the ones at Grand Park and Olvera Street, which are walking distance from each other. 

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The Playlist

Ora the Molecule and More of What You Heard at Club Underground on 10/24/25

Ora the Molecule live at El Cid in Los Angeles on May 15, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
I didn’t take pics at Underground last night, so here’s one of Ora the Molecule at El Cid back in May. (Pic: Liz O.)

Someone asked about a song I played at Club Underground last night and I wasn’t sure what it was at the time, but it was probably “Nobody Cares” by Ora the Molecule, since it was the only new song in that chunk of time. Also, people have asked about it elsewhere recently. It’s my favorite song on, Dance Therapy, the latest album from Ora the Molecule (who, for those reading in L.A. on Saturday, is playing at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater’s costume ball tonight) and it’s been doing really well on the dance floor. I’m guessing it’s because the song is true— “Oh, you’re feeling weird?/ Well, guess what/Nobody cares.” 

Anyhow, I played the second half of the night and the set list is below. The 2025 releases are in bold and link back to other mentions on this lil’ blog. Don’t forget to snag yourself a ticket or two or more for Club Underground’s Halloween Party.  

Continue reading Ora the Molecule and More of What You Heard at Club Underground on 10/24/25 →