Matt Caughthran didn’t need to remind the crowd inside La Cita to show their enthusiasm. even if Mariachi El Bronx were filming for a new music video inside the sold out, Saturday night show. This crowd, packed close to the narrow stage inside the downtown Los Angeles bar, was already hyped. And “Bandoleros,” from the forthcoming album, Mariachi El Bronx IV, is a jam with a cumbia rhythm that automatically gets people dancing.
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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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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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Over the weekend, I realized that it’s been a few months since I made a mix, so this is a quick set with some dance tunes and some rock tunes. It’s mostly new music, but I threw in a couple oldies that fit my mood. There’s no real adherence to genre because that’s not how I listen to music at home. All of the artist names on the set list below link to where they’ve been previously mentioned on Beatique.
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This just in: I’ll be DJing at Club Underground at Grand Star Jazz Club tonight, August 29, at Grand Star Jazz Club in Chinatown. Tickets are available now on Dice and Eventbrite. Plan to get there early and stay late for new indie, classic new wave, Britpop, darkwave and everything in between.
Check out these previous set lists from Club Underground:
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This Friday, August 22, is Yeah Yeah Yeahs x Siouxsie and the Banshees Night at Club Underground. Larry G. and I are DJing and both floors of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open. It’s been more than a year since Underground last did this theme and, if you’ve been to it before, then you know it’s a good time. Tickets are available now and you can get yours on either Eventbrite or Dice. Party starts at 9:30 p.m. on Friday night and it’s 21+.
Saturday, August 23, is the last day to check out Monday Nights: L.A.’s Scene of the Century, the retrospective exhibit of Sean Carnage’s Monday Nights, which I co-curated, at Leiminspace in Chinatown. For the closing party, John Thill will be playing live and Kyle Mabson is DJing. This is also Leiminspace’s 10th anniversary, so come out and celebrate from 4 – 7 p.m. There’s more information on Sean Carnage’s website.
Keep reading for my club, concert and movie screening recommendations for this weekend.
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On Friday night, the party at MutMuz spilled out of the gallery and onto the otherwise quiet Chung King Road, a semi-hidden pedestrian street in Chinatown that’s known for art galleries. First wave L.A. punks mingled with my own generation of electro-weirdos, while a handful of teenagers milled about the gallery owned by Mark Mothersbaugh. On the walls was a retrospective of of the late artist Tomatâ du Plenty, including his paintings, as well as photos and ephemera related to his performances, including his time as the frontman of seminal synthpunk band the Screamers.
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It’s been a minute since I’ve DJed at The Mermaid, long enough where I hadn’t seen how the corner near the DJ booth now looks like an underwater cave (see pic above). It’s super cute. Anyhow, last night was an open format set, so you heard everything from new Alison Goldfrapp and Tyler the Creator to oldies from Brenton Wood and Creedence Clearwater Revival to everything in between. Set list is below.
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Good things take time and Nuovo Testamento is a band that’s keenly aware of that. About a year after releasing their 2023 full-length, Love Lines, the L.A.-based trio returned to the studio and, just last month, they released the result, a five-song EP called Trouble. In the context of recorded music’s history, two-and-a-half years isn’t much of a gap between releases. Still, singer Chelsey Crowley says, during the in-between time, the band heard, “you guys haven’t put out music in so long.”
It’s an extension of the art vs. content debate. How often should bands be releasing music? Should you pump out the jams to satiate the platforms or wait until the songs you want to make are ready? Crowley offers a definitive answer. “We prefer to have songs that we like,” she says. “We’ll let them marinate for a second.”
It’s an attitude that’s reflective of the band’s roots too. While Nuovo Testamento’s music is steeped in late 20th century pop influences, they’re still punk to the core. They tend to tour extensively and are proponents of physical media. “It’s not just about this digital space,” says Crowley.
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Vilevo played live last night at Nocturno and their set was fire. I watched from the DJ booth, both above and behind the stage, so I really could only see the backs of the musicians, but I saw the way the crowd lit up when they played and that was really cool. Anyhow, I bought their album, Recopilación, this morning and am listening to it right now. Give it a listen when you have a chance.
Alice Glass dropped a new single a couple weeks ago, “Catch and Release,” and it slayed last night. Instant banger. You’ll definitely be hearing this more in the coming weeks/months. Other new tunes in the set include “My Love” from Lebanon Hanover, which turned up pretty early in the set, plus “Everything We Thought We Knew” from N8NOFACE and “Rearrange” by Sextile, both of which I started playing at Underground in the past few weeks. Then there are the new-ish songs that I’ve played at Nocturno previously this summer, but are definitely getting more people out on the dance floor now: French Police “Sugar Killer,” Mareux “Nonstop Romance” and Ultra Sunn “Wrong Floor.” Set list is below.
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