This Friday, April 17, is Darkwave Nite at Club Underground. Both rooms of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open with Larry G. playing indie Britpop and more in one room, while I’ll be spinning darkwave, synth, electro, post-punk, etc. in the other room. Will you dance to new Ladytron? Maybe some ADULT.? Sextile and Pixel Grip? Come down and find out. Advance tickets are available now.
This Friday, April 10, is ‘90s Nite at Club Underground— think Britpop, Björk and Trainspotting— and both floors of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open. Larry G. and I will be your DJ for the night and it should be a good one. Advance tickets are available now, so get yours as soon as you can I’ll see you on the dance floor this Friday night. Party starts at 9:30 p.m. and it’s 21+.
As for the rest of the weekend and early next week, here are my recommendations.
This Friday, March 27, is The Strokes Night at Club Underground. Both rooms of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open, with Larry G. and I on the decks, so you’ll get a solid dose of The Strokes, plus the Underground mix of indie, post-punk, Britpop, synthpop, new wave, darkwave and more. Advance tickets are available now. See you on the dance floor this Friday night. Doors are at 9:30 p.m. and it’s 21+.
Keep reading for my recommendations for the rest of this weekend and early next week.
Ladytron released a new album, Paradise, yesterday. I gave it a first listen on Bandcamp yesterday and knew immediately that I had to get it and had to play “I See Red” at Underground for Girl Power Nite. The whole album is fantastic. It’s also long and I’ve only listened through it one-and-a-half times at this point, so I don’t have much to say about it yet.
The other new song in last night’s set is “Strings of Terror” by Sam Quealy, who you really need to hear if your taste in music is dance pop-meets-clubby performance art. Stacey Q-meets-Chicks on Speed is the comparison I used in my review. Anyhow, you can also hear “Strings of Terror” on this month’s Beatique mix.
Set list is below. Songs from the past year or so link back to other references on the blog.
March is Women’s History Month and, this Friday, March 20, we’re celebrating at Club Underground with Girl Power Nite. Both floors of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open, with Larry G. and I will be DJing all night. I’m playing in the theme room, where you’ll hear everyone from Siouxsie and the Banshees to Elastica to Le Tigre to Boy Harsher to Wet Leg. A bonus: for those of you who are going to see Peaches and Pixel Grip at the Bellwether on Friday night, you can get into Underground for just $5 if you show your ticket at the door, so definitely plan to stop by after the show. Advance tickets are available now.
As for the rest of this weekend, and early next week, here are my recommendations.
Last night was The Smiths x Joy Division Night at Club Underground. It was also the release of Gorillaz new album, The Mountain, which features multiple contributions from my all-time favorite guitarist, Johnny Marr, so I kicked off the open-to-close set downstairs with “Casablanca,” from Gorillaz, featuring Mr. Marr and bassist/dapper punk Paul Simonon.
“How Soon Is Now?” was going to be the last song, but I underestimated how long it is. Then “Unloveable” was going to be the last song, but I could totally squeeze in “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” after that because it’s only two minutes, so that was going to be the last song. Then the crowd asked for one more, so you got a bonus track, “Morrissey” by Robbie Williams. It’s on his new album, Britpop. Totally in theme. Anyhow, set list is below. Songs from the past year or so link back to previous mentions on the blog.
This Friday at Club Underground is The Smiths x Joy Division night. Both floors of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open with Larry G. and I playing your faves from both bands, plus the Underground mix of indie, post-punk, Britpop, new wave, shoegaze and lots more. Tickets are on sale now on Dice and Eventbrite. Don’t miss out on Underground this Friday, February 27, because it’s going to be a fun one.
As for the rest of the weekend, keep reading for my recommendations for concerts, clubs and movie screenings happening in L.A. between Thursday, February 26 and Wednesday, March 4.
Club Underground x Synthwaves is back with a full-venue takeover at Grand Star Jazz Club in LA’s Chinatown on Friday, February 20. I’ll be in the Synthwaves room (upstairs) playing synthpop, darkwave, post-punk and ‘80s. Tickets are available now on Dice and Eventbrite, so get yours and join the party on Friday night. Doors open at 9:30 p.m. and it’s 21+.
Saturday is the 127th annual Golden Dragon Parade in Chinatown. The parade, celebrating Lunar New Year, starts around 1 p.m. and runs down Hill and Broadway between Temple and Bernard. It’s a really fun event and free to attend, so definitely check it out if you’re in the area.
As for the rest of the weekend and early next week, keep reading for my recommendations.
It’s time for another theme night at Club Underground and, on Friday, February 6, we’ll be bringing back one of my personal favorites— Gorillaz x Daft Punk Night! Both floors of the Grand Star Jazz Club will be open with DJ Larry G. and me, Liz O., playing all night. On the first floor, you’ll hear songs from Gorillaz and Daft Punk, plus indie, Britpop, post-punk, synth and electro dance. Second floor is Gorillaz, Daft Punk, post-punk, electro, new wave, darkwave, goth, synthpop and dance. You know this is going to be a good one too, since Gorillaz has a new album, The Mountain, coming out later this month, five songs from which are already out now. (You may have already heard “The Happy Dictator” at Underground.) Tickets are available now on Eventbrite and Dice, so get yours now.
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.