All posts by Liz O.

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

Disco Matinee Is Now On Third Sundays at Grand Star Jazz Club

Disco Matinee Los Angeles day party disco funk dance punk Italo disco HiNRG at Grand Star Jazz Club on Sunday, August 18, 2024 with DJ Liz O. and DJ Jus' B

Disco Matinee, the day party that I do with Jus’ B, is now on third Sundays at Grand Star Jazz Club in Chinatown, so join us on August 18, 2024 from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. for an afternoon of disco, funk, dance punk, Italo and HiNRG. Discount advance tickets are available now on Restless Nites.

Click here to get your tix on Restless Nites.

The Grand Star 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, plus, the dance club is located across Broadway from Metro’s Chinatown stop on the A Line.

Check out my set list from Disco Matinee’s first anniversary party to get an idea of what you might hear.

This is a 21+ venue and the cover will be $8 at the door on the day of the event. See you on the dance floor on Sunday, August 18, for Disco Matinee.

Upcoming Gigs

Joy Division x The Smiths Dance Party at Club Underground Is Friday, August 9

Flyer for Joy Division x The Smiths Nite at Club Underground in Los Angeles on Friday, August 9, 2024 at Grand Star Jazz Club with DJ Larry G. and DJ Liz O.

Club Underground brings a dose of post-punk Manchester to Los Angeles on Friday, August 9 with a Joy Division x The Smiths dance party with DJs Larry G. and Liz O. (that’s me) at Grand Star Jazz Club. Both floors of the venue will be open, so you can expect a mix of hits and deep cuts from the Mancunian icons as well as your favorite Underground indie, Britpop, post-punk, darkwave and new wave jams. Plus, there will be a giveaway for tickets to this year’s The Smiths/Morrissey Convention at Avalon on August 25.

Click here to get your tickets for Joy Division x The Smiths dance party at Club Underground

Continue reading Joy Division x The Smiths Dance Party at Club Underground Is Friday, August 9 →
Music

Happening in L.A.: August 1 – August 7

Stranger Than Paradise Jim Jarmusch 1984
Jim Jarmusch’s 1984 film Stranger Than Paradise is screening at Alamo Drafthouse this weekend

I’m not DJing this weekend, but put together a really quick list of DJ nights, shows and film screenings that are on my radar. Also listed in here is an artist’s market on Sunday that’s organized by the Armenian LGBTQ+ group GALAS. I’ll probably be adding more arts events in the future too. 

In case you didn’t know, I also write event listings for Discover Los Angeles. 

Click here to read GET INTO THE LA GROOVE: AUG. 5-11, 2024

My list for Discover Los Angeles is cross-genre and focuses more on the big ticket events, but I try to get some of the smaller, hyperlocal events in there as well whenever possible. 

The Happening in L.A. lists that I post here on Beatique are focused on low and no cover events on nights when I’m not DJing. I try to abide by a $30 max rule for everything listed. It also includes film screenings. I do a lot of digging just to get the handful of events listed here on account of the internet being a mess. Then I narrow it down to what I would want to check out. However, there’s always stuff I miss because, like I said, the internet is a mess. You’re welcome to send me info on your band’s upcoming gig or your next DJ night for possible inclusion. Just be sure to email it to me because I miss DMs all the time and, frankly, the less time I have to spend on social media, the better. 

Continue reading Happening in L.A.: August 1 – August 7 →
The Playlist

Here’s What I Played at Splash! at The Mermaid on July 30, 2024

The Mermaid Little Tokyo Los Angeles (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Now entering the Mermaid

I had just returned home after a meeting and noticed a text asking if I could fill in for the opening DJ set at Splash!, which was set to start in a little over an hour. I said I could get there at 7:45, then ran out, got dinner, ate half a banh mi, wrapped up the other half for later that night, grabbed my laptop and the controller that I had yet to unpack from Nocturno on Saturday night, scheduled a ride and showed up at 7:43 p.m., which was more than enough time to set up and get started at 8 p.m. 

Since I still had my Nocturno folder loaded into Rekordbox, I played more of an alt. ‘80s set, with a few other random songs that I either happened to have on my laptop or was able to download quickly. It ended up being a great night. I met some super cool people, dropped some tunes I hadn’t played out in a while (“Get the Balance Right,” “Our Darkness,” “No More Words) and finished with Pia Zadora and Jermaine Jackson’s duet “When the Rain Begins to Fall,” from the sci-fi epic Voyage of the Rock Aliens, because why not? 

Here’s the set list. I’m still scheduling August gigs, so I don’t know when I’m playing next, so follow on Instagram and I’ll the next date when I have it. 

Continue reading Here’s What I Played at Splash! at The Mermaid on July 30, 2024 →
Adventures in L.A., Got It On Vinyl

In Sheep’s Clothing x Japonesia Is the One Record Fair I Try Not to Miss

In Sheep's Clothing x Japonesia Summer Market, July 28, 2024 at Homage Brewing in Chinatown, Los Angeles. (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
In Sheep’s Clothing x Japonesia Summer Market at Homage in Chinatown on July 28. (Pic: Liz O.)

I almost regretted leaving my igloo on the last Sunday in July. It was hot af and I was still a little tired from the previous night’s DJ gig at Nocturno, but the In Sheep’s Clothing x Japonesia Summer Market was happening and that’s the one record swap that I try not to miss. So, I twisted my hair up and butterfly-clipped it, like at least 75% of longhaired L.A. this summer, and headed out to the brewery for a dig. 

Continue reading In Sheep’s Clothing x Japonesia Is the One Record Fair I Try Not to Miss →
The Playlist

Here’s What I Played at Klub Nocturno on July 27, 2024

View from the DJ booth in the new wave/darkwave room at Klub Nocturno. (Pic: Liz O.)
View from the DJ booth in the new wave/darkwave room at Klub Nocturno. (Pic: Liz O.)

There were a lot of requests for the new wave/darkwave room at Nocturno on Saturday night. Most of them came before the event and I started a separate playlist in Rekordbox just to keep track of them. The most requested song of the night was “Club de Vampiros” by French Police, which you heard a little after midnight at the start of my second set. 

My favorite request came in person at the club, maybe a little before 1 a.m. Someone asked for Miguel Bosé, which I was happy to oblige. For a minute, though, I feared that I wouldn’t be able to play it after all because the night was coming to a close and I kept thinking of big songs that hadn’t been played yet, like “Tainted Love.” Fortunately, though, “Amante Bandido” made an appearance right before the last song of the night. 

As always, Nocturno was a blast. Thanks for dancing and thanks for the requests. Keep reading for my set lists. 

Continue reading Here’s What I Played at Klub Nocturno on July 27, 2024 →
Movies, The Playlist

I Swiped This Real Life Song From Voyage of the Rock Aliens

Voyage of the Rock Aliens 1984 movie title card

There’s a Real Life song that’s creeping into my DJ sets and it’s not “Send Me An Angel.” I’ve played “Openhearted,” from the band’s 1983 debut album, Heartland, in my sets at Splash! twice this month. Most likely, it will keep turning up in my new wave sets, at least at bar gigs or early in the night, because it’s a good alternative to the Australian band’s big hit, packed with drama and a sticky melody. Also, the song has been stuck in my head for most of this month, so I probably need to keep playing it until I dislodge the earworm. 

But, I have to make a confession about “Openhearted.” I totally, 100% swiped this Real Life song from Voyage of the Rock Aliens. In fact, I wouldn’t even know the song were it not for that bonkers movie and I probably should be embarrassed for saying that. But, also, I’m from L.A., where “Send Me an Angel” has been such a dominant banger for so long that any other Real Life song has long since faded from memory. That is, unless you are so baffled by Pia Zadora’s turn as a high schooler torn between her controlling rockabilly boyfriend and a new wave alien that you watch Voyage of the Rock Aliens every time it pops up in your Tubi recommendations. 

Continue reading I Swiped This Real Life Song From Voyage of the Rock Aliens →
Happening in L.A.

Happening in L.A.: Thursday, July 25 – Wednesday, July 31

Klub Nocturno flyer for July 27, 2024 at Catch One in Los Angeles

This Saturday night, July 27, I’ll be DJing in the new wave vs. darkwave room for Nocturno at Catch One. Elsewhere in the club, you’ll find Rock en Español vs. Cumbia, Corrido Night and Sad Bunny Night. Nocturno is always a blast and it’s a really good option if you’re going out with friends who have different tastes in music, so make plans and get your tickets now. (Click here to buy yours.) The address is 4067 W. Pico Blvd. in Arlington Heights. Party starts at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, and is 21+. 

Here’s what else is happening in L.A. 

Continue reading Happening in L.A.: Thursday, July 25 – Wednesday, July 31 →
The Playlist

Here’s What I Played for Splash! at The Mermaid on July, 23, 2024

Christmas in July at The Mermaid on July 23, 2024 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Christmas in July continues at The Mermaid. (Pic: Liz O.)

It was totally last minute, but I filled in for Splash! at The Mermaid on Tuesday night, playing ’80s music from 8 p.m. until last call. I was in a Roxy Music, Japan and Duran Duran mood, which manifested in the set. Plus, I’ve had the Real Life song “Openhearted” stuck in my head on-and-off for a few weeks, so that made an appearance in the set too. Check out the set list below.

Continue reading Here’s What I Played for Splash! at The Mermaid on July, 23, 2024 →
Adventures in L.A., Live Music

Listening By Moonrise at L.A. State Historic Park with Low Leaf and Salenta + Topu

Low Leaf live at L.A. State Historic Park for Listening by Moonrise from Clockshop and Living Earth on July 21, 2024 (Photo: LIZ OHANESIAN)
Low Leaf live at L.A. State Historic Park for Listening by Moonrise on July 21, 204 (Photo: Liz O.)

There’s a pocket in L.A. State Historic Park where city life almost fades away. It’s near the back of the 32-acre park, just beyond sculptor Anna Sew Hoy’s bronze arches, “Psychic Body Grotto,” between the track that runs around the periphery of the park and the small creek bed that fills during storms. Here, the trees are large, at least by the standards of downtown Los Angeles. Even though many of their leaves have already fallen and dried, there is still plenty of shade and a cool breeze rustles through them. The reminder that we’re still in L.A. comes every five to ten minutes, when A Line trains whizz past the park to and from the Chinatown Metro station. 

L.A. State Historic is my local park, so I’m here often, but on this particular Sunday, I stopped by for music. A few times a year, around the full moon, the local arts and culture non-profit Clockshop, the same group that puts on the annual Kite Festival, hosts a music and sound event called Listening By Moonrise. For the July session, they teamed up with Living Earth, a fairly new collective that produces events that bring together performance and local nature.  On this occasion, the performers are Salenta + Topu, a jazz duo that met in Brooklyn, but are now based in L.A., and Low Leaf, who makes impossible-to-categorize music with, primarily, a harp and synthesizer.

Continue reading Listening By Moonrise at L.A. State Historic Park with Low Leaf and Salenta + Topu →