This Friday, I’m back at Club Underground with Larry G. for Yeah Yeah Yeahs x Siouxsie Nite. Both floors of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open and tickets are available now. Party starts at 9:30 p.m. and it’s 21+. Find the Grand Star at 943 N. Broadway inside Chinatown’s Central Plaza next to the Bruce Lee statue.
As for the rest of the weekend and into next week, your options include Pearl and the Oysters’s free show at Levitt Pavilion on Saturday. Also happening Saturday is Razorcake’s annual chili cook-off at Footsies and Décadanse’s tribute to Francoise Hardy at the Grand Star. On Monday, Ed Harcourt is playing at The Stowaway, which is a very intimate venue. Tuesday night, my favorite Schwarzenegger movie, The Running Man, screens at Vidiots in Eagle Rock. There’s plenty more happening in L.A. too. Check out the list below.
The Mermaid’s Christmas in July tiki mugs, including a Christmas tree, a sand/snow man and a gingerbread man. (Pic: Liz O.)
Splash! is Dolce Vita’s new Tuesday night ‘80s party at The Mermaid. You’ll still hear Italo disco in the mix, but you’ll also hear new wave, synthpop and more subgenres of the decade’s dance music . I played for the first time since the rebrand for the first half of the night tonight and it was lot of fun to get to drop some of my Italo favorites (Ken Laszlo, Pino D’Angio) with a few of the ‘80s night standards (OMD, The Cure, etc.), some tunes that I don’t get to play out so much (Olivia Newton-John “Twist of Fate”) and a few tracks from the era that are actually new to me (Angelyne “Sex Goddess,” thanks to the Dark Entries reissue). Oh, and I was able to work in the best song from Voyage of the Rock Aliens (Real Life “Openhearted”), a movie I’ve been trying to write about for a while, but I still can’t make sense of it, which might be the point. My only regret is not adding Pia Zadora to my ‘80s virtual crate. Next time.
Also, it’s Christmas in July at The Mermaid. The tiki mugs in the top photo are part of the promotion. You can buy one solo or with one of the drinks on the Cocktails for a Cause menu, all of which have Christmas horror names, like Santa’s Slay. The mugs were so cute— my favorite is the sand/snow man in the center of the photo— so I had to take a photo.
Disco Matinee hit its first anniversary. We celebrated at the Grand Star, who has kindly hosted us on the first Sundays of the month since July of 2023. The coolest people on the planet were there. One of them is a friend of mine who I’ve known since the days of dialup internet. She brought me the sweet disco ball pen seen in the above photo. You might notice the blur in the photo. That’s because the disco ball spins too! You might also notice that I haven’t done my nails in quite a while. That’s because I don’t care about your Instagram beauty standards dictating that hands should only be seen when they are freshly manicured.
Anyhow, here’s what I played. Thanks to everyone who came out and danced with us.
Set One:
Michael Zager Band – Let’s All Chant
Anita Ward – Ring My Bell (Pontchartrain edit)
Evelyn “Champagne” King – Shame (Mr. Turner edit)
Cerrone – Supernature (Ethan Wood edit)
Kano – It’s a War (Purple Disco Machine, Lorenz Rhode edit)
I brought two heaving bags of vinyl to play alongside DJ Felix for my pal Malvada’s night at Bigfoot Lodge. Of course, I worried that I didn’t bring enough music and, of course, I brought more than I needed. One of the records that made it onto the turntable, though, was Taleen Kali’s most recent album, Flower of Life. I played “Only Lovers Left Alive,” which is a terrific song that shares a title with one of the best ever vampire flicks.
Anyhow, I posted the record in my Instagram story, tagged Taleen and then, very shortly after that, there she was at Bigfoot Lodge. Turns out she was already on her way there when I posted. It was a fun coincidence, but also a good segue into this reminder that you should get Flower of Life. It’s a fantastic album and— I swear this isn’t sponsored content— if you head over to Bandcamp, you can get it on vinyl or cassette or CD or digital.
The scene at Grand Star Jazz Club for Decadanse x Underground on July 5, 2024
Decadanse x Underground was such a great time and I’m happy to have been a part of it. DJs Pierrot and Fifi LaRoux played French pop on vinyl downstairs. Larry G. and I brought the indie vibes upstairs. We switched off on the controllers about every half hour or so.
“Amour Ex Machina,” from L’Impratrice’s new album, Pulsar, did pretty well for my first time playing it out. “Digitalism in Cairo,” the Digitalism track that samples “Fire in Cairo” by the Cure, made a reappearance after many years. People probably don’t recall it was a big track back in the ‘00s.
Anyhow, I’ll be back at Underground next Friday, July 12, for Siouxsie x Yeah Yeah Yeahs Nite. Tickets are already available on Restless Nites, Dice and Eventbrite.
Check out my set list from Decadanse x Underground at Grand Star Jazz Club on July 5, 2024.
Healing Gems live at Gloria Molina Grand Park for the 2024 Fourth of July Block Party (Pic: Liz O.)
At 5 p.m. on the Fourth of July, the sun is still beating against Gloria Molina Grand Park. It’s not as hot in downtown Los Angeles as one might expect after hearing the word “heatwave” over and over again on the news. It’s definitely not as hot as the Twilight Zone episode I had just watched, “The Midnight Sun,” which, let me tell you, is not one you want to see right as you’re getting ready to leave your air conditioned bubble on a summer day. Still, it’s sweaty-hot and all-too-sunny in the section of the park across from City Hall on this Thursday afternoon, but Healing Gems is riding a party vibe.
For Fourth of July, Grand Park throws a massive, free block party. There’s live music, DJs, rides, games and, for the second year in a row, a drone spectacle that lights up the sky without all the side-effects of fireworks. Once the sun sets, this 12-acre park will be packed, but we haven’t reached that point yet. Right now, a handful of folks have already staked claims on the park’s few shady spots with picnic blankets. A smattering of others brave direct sunlight for space in front of the stage.
This is going to be a whirlwind of a weekend. I’m playing four gigs in the next seven days and hope to see a few you out at least one of them. Friday night is Decadanse x Underground at Grand Star Jazz Club with Larry G. and me playing all your Underground favorites and Decadanse DJs Pierrot and Fifi LaRoux bring French heat to the dance floor. Tickets are available through Eventbrite or Dice.
On Saturday, I’ll be playing records for Malvada’s party at Bigfoot Lodge in Los Feliz with DJ Felix. Sunday is the first anniversary party for Disco Matinee over at Grand Star and Tuesday I’ll be joining David Christian for Dolce Vita’s ‘80s night Splash over at The Mermaid. Details for all those gigs, plus a handful of recommendations for the rest of the week, are listed below.
Thursday, July 4
4th of July Block Party w/Healing Gems, Tropo Magica, Grupo Soñador & more @Gloria Molina Grand Park
200 N. Grand Ave., DTLA 90012; 4 p.m.; All ages; No cover
96 Tears w/perksandkisses @ Grand Star Jazz Club
943 N. Broadway, Chinatown 90012; 9:30 p.m.; 21+; Get tickets
Subtract on the Pier 9 Year Anniversary @ Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier
15 39th Place, Long Beach 90803; 1 p.m.; 21+ ; Get tickets
Dávila 666, Self Improvement, Op-Ed, Space Horse @ The Paramount
2708 E. Cesar E. Chavez, Boyle Heights 90033; 8 p.m.; All ages; Get tickets
Friday, July 5
Decadanse x Underground w/Fifi LaRoux, Larry G., Liz O., PierrotGrand Star Jazz Club
943 N. Broadway, Chinatown 90012; 9:30 p.m.; 21+; Get tickets
Saturday, July 6
DJ Felix, Liz O. @ Bigfoot Lodge
3172 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Feliz 90039; 10 p.m.; 21+; No cover
Sunday, July 7
Disco Matinee 1st Anniversary Party w/Liz O. and Jus’ B @ Grand Star Jazz Club
943 N. Broadway, Chinatown 90012; 3 p.m.; 21+; $5 at the door, RSVP on Instagram or Facebook for free entry before 4 p.m.
Monday, July 8
Izzy Outerspace, Essencer, Ter, Voice on Tape @ Genghis Cohen
740 N. Fairfax, Hollywood 90046; 7 p.m.; 18+; Get tickets
Tuesday, July 9
Splash w/David Christian, Liz O. @ The Mermaid
428 E. 2nd St., Little Tokyo 90012; 8 p.m.; 21+; No cover
Wednesday, July 10
The Future Is Female: L.A. Filmmaker Screening @ Vidiots
4884 Eagle Rock Blvd., Eagle Rock 90041; 7:30 p.m.; Get tickets
It was before noon on the first day of July when I listened to Sleep, the new album from Daphne Guinness, for the third time that day. I’m not one to play albums on repeat, but this one resonated with me in a particular way. By the third listen, I had already started to memorize a few of the songs, but had yet to decide which ones will end up in my DJ sets. This album is disco perfection and there are songs suited for nearly every kind of set I might play.
Right to Repair laws aim in part to help curb e-waste that results from devices that have been difficult, if not impossible, to repair. (Syced, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication)
Today, July 1, is the day that right to repair laws go into effect in California and Minnesota, so the organizations that have been working to make this kind of legislation happen across the U.S. have declared it Repair Independence Day. Since I’m a Californian and have written about the new right to repair law in our fine state, it seemed like a good idea to post about it here. We’ll start with a link to my story from January.
