All posts by Liz O.

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

Happening in L.A.: Thursday, June 13- Wednesday, June 19

Pulp Nite at Underground with Larry G. and Liz O. at Grand Star Jazz Club in Los Angeles on June 14, 2024

This weekend is going to be amazing. Friday night is Pulp Nite at Club Underground. I’ll be playing alongside Larry G. at Grand Star Jazz Club, where both floors of the venue will be open. There will your favorite Pulp jams and deep cuts, plus so much more. Tickets are available now on Eventbrite and Dice, so pick up one for yourself or a few for your crew and dance with us at the Grand Star on Friday night. 

Continue reading Happening in L.A.: Thursday, June 13- Wednesday, June 19 →
Music

Pulp Nite at Underground Is This Friday

This Friday, June 14, is Pulp Nite at Underground and I’ll be back to DJ with Larry G. for the two-room bash at Grand Star Jazz Club. You’ll hear Pulp’s hits and deep cuts, plus ‘90s Britpop and indie, on the first floor. Up on the second floor, expect to hear all that plus more of your indie, post-punk, new wave and classic alternative favorites. 

Advance tickets for Friday night are available now. Purchase yours via one of the links below. 

Pulp Nite at Underground tickets on Dice

Pulp Nite at Underground tickets on Eventbrite

Continue reading Pulp Nite at Underground Is This Friday →
New Music

Pulsar, the New Album from L’Impératrice, Is Out Now

L'Imperatrice Pulsar press photos by Augustin JSM
L’Impératrice (Photo by Augustin JSM)

In April of 2021, I saw L’Impératrice live at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. Three years later, the thing that stands out about that show is how hard everyone danced.. There was one point when singer Flore Benguigui got low and the audience did the same.

I was in the balcony that night and, from my vantage point, I saw a broken heart totem and a crown totem bouncing above bobbing heads. When L’impératrice turned songs from Tako Tsubo, like “Submarine” and “Peur des filles” into full-blown disco jams — the latter sounding like “Love to Love You, Baby”— it felt like the crowd was moving as a single body. Before that night, I had spent more than a month listening to Tako Tsubo  on repeat, partially because I interviewed L’Impératrice for Audiofemme, but also because the album quickly became a favorite of mine for that year. But, L’Impératrice live is a whole other level of wild energy that I hadn’t heard in their recordings, at least until now. 

Continue reading Pulsar, the New Album from L’Impératrice, Is Out Now →