Tonight, I’ll be in Long Beach, playing darkwave, new wave and synth pop with Klub Nocturno. There’s no cover, but it is 21+ and you probably should arrive early. Party starts at 9 p.m. at Alex’s Bar, 2913 E. Anaheim St. in Long Beach. RSVP on Dice.
On Friday night, I’m back at the Grand Star for Club Underground’s Pulp Nite. Both rooms of the venue will be open at 9:30 p.m. Get your advance tickets now. The Grand Star is located at 943 N. Broadway, inside Chinatown’s Central Plaza, right next to the Bruce Lee statue. This is a 21+ party.
To be honest, I wasn’t a huge Molchat Doma fan. I could hang with a few songs, enough to oblige the frequent requests at clubs, but their albums just didn’t really resonate with me. Then, last Friday, I gave Belaya Polosa a listen and immediately bought it on Bandcamp. Molchat Doma’s fourth album is their best so far.
But, I’ve been hesitant to write about the album because even AP has done that, on account of Molchat Doma’s now four-year-old TikTok hit, and there’s a digital stack of music that I’ve been meaning to write about, but haven’t. So, I’ll just try to squeeze as much as possible about all of it here.
Sunday, September 15, is the freestyle, hiNRG and Italo edition of Disco Matinee at Grand Star Jazz Club. In other words, Jus’ B and I will be playing all the jams you can handle from the likes of Sylvester, Donna Summer, The Flirts, Pet Shop Boys, Bronski Beat, Fun Fun, Divine, Alaska, Fancy, Stacey Q, Exposé, Lime and so much more.
Disco Matinee is a day party held on the third Sundays at Grand Star Jazz Club from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. The Grand Star is located at 943 N. Broadway, inside 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 across Broadway from Metro’s A Line stop in Chinatown. This is a 21+ event. Tickets at the door on the day of the event will be $8 (cash or Venmo).
Friday, September 13, is Pulp x Underground Nite at Grand Star Jazz Club in Chinatown. Both floors of the venue will be open with Larry G., Jesse B and me (Liz O.) on the controllers. Dance to all your favorite Pulp jams before they play the Palladium and Hollywood Forever, plus, the Underground mix of post-punk, new wave, indie, darkwave, synthpop and more. Tickets are available now via Dice or Eventbrite. The Grand Star is located at 943 N. Broadway in Chinatown’s Central Plaza. Party starts at 9:30 p.m. and it’s 21+.
I played a last minute set at Underground last night from open to close. It was a fun night in spite of the hideous heat wave that struck L.A. this week. Thanks to everyone who came out and hit the dance floor. Set list is below.
Visitors from the Arkana Galaxy screens at Philosophical Research Society on Friday, September 6
Here’s the rundown on what’s happening in L.A. this week. I kept the list at under $35 this time around to include Fat Beats 30th anniversary at Avalon, which has a pretty awesome lineup. When I checked on Thursday morning, Ticketmaster had a BOGO sale going for Soft Kill at The Regent on Saturday night. The Paranoias, Professor Galactico show at The Paramount on Saturday is actually free if you’re over 21, but it looks like you still have to reserve a spot on Dice.
Keep reading for the full list. And for more events, check out my nightlife roundups for Discover Los Angeles.
View from the balcony while Strangeways played at The Smiths/Morrissey Convention on Sunday, August 25, 2024. (Pic: Liz O.)
It was still early in the evening when Strangeways dropped us back into 1992 with a little “Glamorous Glue.” Up on the balcony at Avalon, the crowd sang along, “everyone lies/nobody minds/everyone lies” and the energy grew more dynamic as the song progressed. If you knew the song— and, certainly, everyone in this room did— you could anticipate what would happen once The Smiths/Morrissey tribute band reached the final verse.
“We look to Los Angeles—“
The crowd roared, nearly overpowering the second half of the sentence.
“— for the language we use.”
Down on the floor, right in front of the stage, people jump up and down, their arms waving in the air as they chant, “London is dead! London is dead!”
In this brief moment where L.A. pride and Morrissey-mania converge, I realize why I’ve always had a good time at The Smiths/Morrissey Convention. It’s a legit, local gathering made by and for fans that still happens in spite of all the forces that make it more difficult for subcultures to exist.
This was my new from DJ booth in the Jewel’s Room at Catch One for Nocturno on Saturday, August 31. (Pic: Liz O.)
It’s Sunday morning, I’ve hardly slept. I have Sacred Skin’s song “Call It Off” running through my head and Depresion Post Mortem’s cover of “Yo Voy” fighting to overtake it. Still, I’m going to try to explain last night’s gig at Klub Nocturno in a way that people who normally don’t know what I’m rambling about will understand. It might not work, but we’ll try. (Scroll down if you just want to see the set list.)
Last night, Klub Nocturno took over Catch One, which is this massive, multi-room disco that has an amazing history going back to actual disco L.A. There were five dance floors of varying sizes going all night: Rock en Español vs. Cumbia, Indie vs. 80s, Deftones Night, Corrido Night and Sad Bunny Night. I played Indie vs. 80s in the Jewel’s Room, where the dance floor is on the ground level of the building and a staircase in the corner leads up to a mezzanine, where the DJ booth is located, before heading towards the second level of the club.
I have a view from the booth that overlooks the dance floor and stage. Usually, it’s not until right around 10 p.m. that I see the room begin to fill with people. Last night, I started playing at 9:30 on the dot and began to see signs of life on the dance floor three or four songs into the set. By the time I mixed “Rippin Kittin” into “Something to Remember Me By,” the dance floor was alive and growing.
The first time I heard people scream for a song that night was during “Love My Way,” the Psychedelic Furs classic, which was maybe at around 10:30 p.m. The energy was incredible. I’d look down and see this big mass of people under the purple and red glow of the lights. I could hear them singing along to The Strokes song “Reptilia” and Le Tigre’s big ’00s club hit “Deceptacon.”
When the intro of “Smalltown Boy,” the Bronski Beat’s jam, faded in at midnight, the screams were wild. TBH, that’s really the song of summer 2024, even though it’s literally 40 years old. I hear it everywhere from clubs to the A Line.
The room hit its peak at midnight. People chanted through “Living on Video” and sang along with “Two of Hearts.” There were dancers in the mezzanine lounge area too, so during the stretch from “Smalltown Boy” through “Goodbye Horses,” I felt like I was DJing in the middle of the dance floor.
It was one of those nights that passed all too quickly. I looked at my laptop, noticed it was after 1 a.m. and realized that I had to start dropping the big sing-a-long numbers— “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” “There Is a Light,” “Just Like Heaven”— immediately and try to squeeze in as many requests as I could. (I had more than four hours of requests, which came in before the party started, loaded into Rekordbox.) Anyhow, it was an awesome night and you can see my set list below.
Here’s the crowd dancing to Depeche Mode’s cover of “Route 66” (The Nile Rodgers Mix) at Club Underground’s Depeche Mode Nite on Friday, August 30
Last night was the first time I DJed the Depeche Mode room at Underground’s Depeche Mode Nite. By the end of my first set, I realized that playing nothing but Depeche Mode-related songs (Yaz counts, it’s Vince Clarke) is really easy to do when you’ve been a big ol’ fan since you were 10 years old.
I got in my favorite Alan Wilder cut, “Fools (Bigger),” which is a B-side for “Love in Itself.” I have a whole story about that, which involves tracking down a sample I heard, accidentally finding it in a used record bin, playing it at a club and making a friend with whom we became the Alan Wilder Appreciation Association, but we’ll save that for another day.
Mixed in some synth pop that wasn’t made by members of Depeche Mode in the second set, plus a mini Vince Clarke tribute right after “Send Me an Angel,” and then went all DM again for my third set, which closed out the night upstairs at the Grand Star. Anyhow, the set list is below. Thanks for sticking through the sets. I hope you got to hear a Depeche Mode song that you hadn’t heard in a long time, or maybe one that’s new to you.
Want to know what’s happening in L.A. this Labor Day Weekend. Let’s start off with where I’ll be DJing.
Friday, August 30
Club Underground: Depeche Mode Nite @ Grand Star Jazz Club
Not only is it Depeche Mode Nite, but we’ll be celebrating the birthday of Underground’s founder and resident DJ Larry G. Both floors of the Grand Star will be open, so expect Depeche Mode jams and deep cuts, plus your Underground favorites on Friday night. Larry G., Filthy Rich and I are DJing from 9:30 p.m. until 2 a.m.
Grand Star Jazz Club, 943 N. Broadway, Chinatown 90012; 9:30 p.m.; 21+; Get tickets
Saturday, August 31
Klub Nocturno @ Catch One
Nocturno is back at Catch One on Saturday, August 31, with five rooms for dancing. I’ll be playing in the Indie vs. 80s Room. There’s also Rock en Español vs. Cumbia, Deftones Night, Corrido Night and Sad Bunny Night. Online tickets have already sold out, but there will be a very limited amount available at the door. Early arrival is suggested and the line starts at 8:45 p.m.
4067 Pico Blvd., Arlington Heights 90019; 9:30 p.m.; 18+; Online tix sold out, limited amount at door only, follow Nocturno on Insta for updates.
Check out what’s happening in L.A. for the rest of the week. Everything here is under $30 and it ranges from Spanish oldies at Grand Star on Thursday night to an L.A. Synth Club event in Long Beach on Sunday to a meet-and-greet with Night Tempo Tuesday night. There are some killer film screenings too, especially on Labor Day. If you’ve never seen The Time Masters, from Fantastic Planet director Rene Laloux, I highly recommend it.
This Friday, August 30, is Depeche Mode Night at Club Underground. It’s also the birthday of Underground’s founder and resident DJ Larry G., so you know this is going to be a night for the books. Both floors of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open and DJ Filthy Rich and I (Liz O.) will also be dropping heat all night. Be ready to dance to Depeche Mode’s biggest hits, plus album cuts and B-sides, along with your Underground favorites. Tickets are available now on Eventbrite and Dice, so take your pick and get yours now.
