Tag: Club Underground

  • Everything You Heard Upstairs at Club Underground’s New Year’s Eve Party

    View from the stage upstairs at Grand Star Jazz Club for Club Underground's New Year's Eve Party 2025/26 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    View from the stage upstairs at Grand Star Jazz Club for Club Underground’s New Year’s Eve Party 2025/26 (Pic: Liz O.)

    Last night, my friend asked if I had a song for the new year. I didn’t. I thought about it, though, and answered Kneecap “H.O.O.D.,” more for the band than for the specific song. They’re the group I would consider the MVP of 2025, one that has had a lot of bullshit thrown their way just for speaking out against the genocide that so much of the world has watched transpire on their phones. Yet, they’ve stuck to their principles and refuse to be silenced. They’re the real deal in a time of fakers and I appreciate that so much. That’s the kind of energy we need this year. 

    Anyhow, I played upstairs at the Grand Star for Underground’s New Year’s Eve party. Super cool crowd. Thank you all for being there, especially on a rainy L.A. night. It was great to overhear someone in the crowd saying, “I love this song…it’s Confidence Man” when “Gossip” came on. Even better to hear from people who came up to the booth because you were excited to hear “Juicebox” or “¿Porqué te vas?” or some other song that I can’t recall right now. Hope to see more of all of you in 2026. Set list is below. The 2025 songs link to other mentions on this blog. 

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  • New Year’s Eve at Club Underground + More Happening in L.A. 12/25- 12/31

    Club Underground New Year's Eve 2025 Flyer

    Next Wednesday is New Year’s Eve and both floors of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open for Club Underground’s last bash of 2025. Larry G. and I will be your DJs, playing the best indie, darkwave, new wave, post-punk, Britpop and more. If you’ve been to an Underground NYE party before, you know it’s a blast and that it also sells out. Head over to Club Underground’s website now and get your tickets before they’re gone. 

    Us L.A. lifers know that Christmas week is a notoriously slow one as far as nightlife is concerned. But, there are still a few things happening that I want to shout out, so keep reading. 

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  • Club Underground, Analog Outlaw and More Happening in L.A. 12/05 -12/10

    Crowd shot from Depeche Mode x New Order Night at Club Underground at Grand Star Jazz Club in Los Angeles on April 18, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    See you at Club Underground on Friday, December 5 (Pic: Liz O.)

    I’m back at Club Underground this Friday, December 5, and we’re going to be celebrating my birthday. Advance tickets are available now, but you can also get them at the door on Friday night at Grand Star Jazz Club inside Chinatown’s Central Plaza, right next to the Bruce Lee statue. Party starts at 9:30 p.m. and is 21+. 

    So, what’s in store for Friday? IDK, but it’s my birthday (sort of, my actual date of birth is on a weeknight this year), so I’ll probably make you dance to Fontaines D.C. And Sextile and Confidence Man and The New Eves. We’ll see what happens. 

    Anyhow, that’s not all that’s happening this weekend in Los Angeles, so keep reading for some of my recommendations. 

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  • New Saint Etienne and Everything Else You Heard at Underground on 11/14/25

    Saint Etienne International album cover
    Cover of International, the final album from Saint Etienne

    Had been meaning to get “Save It for a Rainy Day,” from the latest Saint Etienne album, into my club sets for a good minute. It was sort of appropriate that the first time I played it out was at Underground last night, on account of the rain and all. The whole album, International, is fantastic. It’s also Saint Etienne’s final album, so do pick it up when you have a chance. 

    I forgot to take pics. It’s okay, we can use our imagination. Shout out to the handful of people who were on the dance floor for nearly the entire night and to the Kneecap fans who know all the words to “H.O.O.D.” I was impressed. Set list is below. The new-ish stuff is in bold and links to other mentions of the artists on this site. 

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  • Cerrone, Christine and the Queens and More of What You Heard at Club Underground on Halloween

    Club Underground Grand Star Jazz Club Los Angeles Halloween 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    View from the DJ booth (Pic: Liz O.)

    I’ve had Cerrone’s new version of “Supernature,” with Christine and the Queens on vocals, on my laptop since it came out last summer, but I’ve only played it out once before tonight. IDK why as it’s a really good, fresh version of a disco classic. Anyhow, I played it for the second time tonight because it was Halloween and Underground was packed and it seemed like the best opportunity to give it another spin. It did really well.  

    Anyhow, I’m writing this at three in the morning because, even though I’m exhausted, I can’t get to sleep yet. Halloween was a vibe, even if I was too lazy to get together a costume and grabbed my husband’s old mask and army jacket and went as a human fly. The mask lasted about an hour before I started sweating and came to the realization that I do actually need to wear my glasses. None of that matters. What matters was that the crowd was good and there are more people dancing to “Highway Man” from The New Eves and Confidence Man’s collab with Jade, “Gossip,” is a legit dance floor hit now. Set list is below. All 2025 releases are in bold and link back to previous posts where they appear. 

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  • Your Halloween Weekend Plans Are Here

    Club Underground Halloween party flyer for October 31, 2025

    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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  • Ora the Molecule and More of What You Heard at Club Underground on 10/24/25

    Ora the Molecule live at El Cid in Los Angeles on May 15, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    I didn’t take pics at Underground last night, so here’s one of Ora the Molecule at El Cid back in May. (Pic: Liz O.)

    Someone asked about a song I played at Club Underground last night and I wasn’t sure what it was at the time, but it was probably “Nobody Cares” by Ora the Molecule, since it was the only new song in that chunk of time. Also, people have asked about it elsewhere recently. It’s my favorite song on, Dance Therapy, the latest album from Ora the Molecule (who, for those reading in L.A. on Saturday, is playing at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater’s costume ball tonight) and it’s been doing really well on the dance floor. I’m guessing it’s because the song is true— “Oh, you’re feeling weird?/ Well, guess what/Nobody cares.” 

    Anyhow, I played the second half of the night and the set list is below. The 2025 releases are in bold and link back to other mentions on this lil’ blog. Don’t forget to snag yourself a ticket or two or more for Club Underground’s Halloween Party.  

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  • “My Favourite for a Long Time”: Fontaines D.C. and Everything Else You Heard at Underground 10/10/25

    Fontaines D.C. Romance Album cover

    The last song at Underground last night was “Favourite” by Fontaines D.C. and, when I saw people singing along, I thought finally. Romance has been out for over a year now. It was my favorite album of 2024. It was a lot of people’s favorite album of last year. Both Larry and I have been playing multiple tracks off the album since it came out, and we were both playing Fontaines D.C. before Romance, but it wasn’t until this past summer that I really started to see the band hit with the indie club crowd here in L.A. Back in the pre-algorithm days, that would have been really unusual, but now it’s kind of normal. A band can meet all the metrics by which it would be considered successful, like award nominations and sold-out shows, and people still don’t know who they are because their “personalized” feeds are really just regurgitating nostalgia content based on basic demographic info and passive likes, served with a dollop of hot takes on Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter to make you feel like you know what’s happening in the world. 

    What I’m saying is that the internet is making us sad and uncool, so go out to a real club and dance to the music that real people put together into sets that would baffle Spotify. Dance to the new stuff. If you don’t know it this week, you’ll know it next week. 

    Anyhow, here’s last night’s set list, which includes new music The New Eves, Gorillaz (with Sparks), Alice Glass and more, plus a few oldies that I haven’t played in a really long time, like “Cupid Boy” from Kylie Minogue’s best album, the Scissor Sisters/Mylo mashup and probably some other tunes. All 2025 releases are in bold and link back to other references here on the blog. 

    Oh, before we get to the set list, be sure to pick up tickets for Halloween at Club Underground. Both floors of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open on Friday, October 31, and there will be a costume contest. 

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  • The New Eves, Confidence Man and More of What You Heard at Underground on 8/22/25

    The New Eves album cover The New Eve Is Rising
    Album cover of The New Eve Is Rising by The New Eves

    Earlier this month, I read a review of The New Eves album The New Eve Is Rising, which referenced The Slits and The Wicker Man, on Bandcamp and promptly bought the album based on my love of post-punk and the original 1973 The Wicker Man, which is the only version of the film that matters and, yes, I’m including that overhyped waste-of-time Midsommer when I say that. But, back to The New Eves. The album is killer and I’ve been wanting to play “Highway Man,” but haven’t because it seemed like the first play should be for a very specific crowd. That brings us to Underground on Friday night. I was playing upstairs. It wasn’t packed or anything, but there were a handful of goths in flowing skirts dancing to “Christine,” the Siouxsie and the Banshees song, and, I thought, if anybody is going to get The New Eves, it’s them. So, I played the song and every single one of them stayed on the dance floor for the whole three minutes and 43 seconds. 

    I finally got around to playing Confidence Man’s new track, “Gossip,” as well. It did pretty well and someone came up to the booth and asked about it, which is a good sign. The same person then mentioned a mashup that I played way back in the day that was Ladytron and Kylie Minogue. I love that one, but, I said, I literally only have it on vinyl. There’s a story behind that record too that I’ve been meaning to post, but you’ll have to wait for it. 

    Anyhow, the set list is below.  New/ish tunes are in bold.

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  • Yeah Yeahs Yeahs x Siouxsie and the Banshees Night at Club Underground + More Happening in L.A. 8/21 – 8/27/25

    Yeah Yeah Yeahs x Siouxsie and the Banshees Night at Club Underground on August 22, 2025 with DJs Larry G and Liz O.

    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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