Kylesa @ The Echoplex, Los Angeles. 10-14-13.

Kylesa are one of the most consistently awesome bands in the underground music scene. They throw sludge metal, psychedelic rock and DIY punk into a blender, and create some of the gnarliest music around. I've been following the band since their 2006 album Time Will Fuse it's Worth, and haven't been disappointed yet. They rolled through town earlier this month promoting their new record, Ultraviolet and put on another great show at the Echoplex.

Pinkish Black served as the main support act of the evening and proceeded to melt brains throughout the venue. They play an oddly compelling brand of dark wave/goth by way of doom metal. One guy on synths singing, one dude beating the shit out of his drums. That's it. Both band members are stationary and confined behind their respective instruments, but it's still the most hypnotizing shit imaginable. I was thoroughly impressed with this band's set and plan on keeping my eye on them for the foreseeable future.



Kylesa wasted no time once they took the stage, kicking things off into high gear with "Scapegoat" from Static Tensions. Thus began a long night of headbanging and trance like swaying from everyone in the audience.

I was a little surprised by the sparse crowd inside the Echoplex, this was reminiscent of their 2009 show at the nearly dilapidated Knitting Factory, not like their triumphant runs through The Troubadour, Glass House and Echoplex years prior. Scheduling the show on a Monday night, during a Dodger playoff game (when Los Angeles goes full bandwagon mode and apparently stops functioning) might have had something to do with it. Either way, Kylesa brought their "A" game regardless. They ripped through tracks off Ultraviolet and their last two albums, with "Hallow Severer" being the sole "old" jam in the set. The trippy light show, the band's dual drummers (yes, two of em'), Laura's mop of blonde hair dominating the stage, and Phillip's oh so cool skateboard-guitar/theremin rig, Kylesa's performance was a treat for senses. The band's staggering ability to jump through musical styles with ease boggles the mind. One second Laura's ethereal voice is floating above an LSD like jam session, the next, she's shrieking over the nastiest riff Tony Iommi forget to invent.

two drummers = 2x heavy

 Kylesa's musical palette is so diverse, any self respecting music fan will love something about this band (friends to metal heads, punks, hipsters, hippies, art students, stoners, classic rock zombies, you name it, they'll love it). Check out Kylesa, you won't regret it.

Deafheaven @ The Echoplex, Los Angeles. 8/23/13.

Deafheaven are blowing up. Back in May the band opened for veteran noise rockers Boris at the Echoplex, five months later Deafheaven headlined and sold out the same venue themselves. On paper, the San Francisco natives sound, a dizzying blend of black metal and shoegaze/post-rock influences doesn't seem like a recipe for accolades or huge success. Deafheaven however manage to pull the whole thing off rather well. Really fucking well. The underground metal and punk rock media having been going apeshit for the band's latest album Sunbather, so much so that even mainstream publications like Rollingstone are trying to get in on the buzz while they can. Deafheaven had played Los Angeles many times before but this was to be my first time seeing them live and I didn't really know what to expect. I personally enjoy Deafheaven's dreary to ethereal nine minute epics as chill out music. The barrage of blast beats and floating guitar melodies are startlingly hypnotic, inviting reflective thoughts and zoning out. In other words, I was totally unprepared for shit storm that took place once they hit the stage.

The crowd inside the Echoplex was equal parts rapturous and downright ravenous. I understand the first part, Deafheaven's music could be described as both sweeping and inspiring. However, I fail to understand how moshing, crowd surfing and tossing cans of PBR around is warranted...during the slow parts. I think most of the shenanigans were due to the vast spectrum of Deafheaven's fanbase. I'm no anthropologist, but it appeared as though the folks with little to no exposure to tremolo picking where the ones getting the most belligerent, but hey, who am I to judge? To each their own. Long story short, the crowd loved them some Deafheaven.

The band played Sunbather in it's entirety (save for one interlude track) which was tantamount to Christmas morning for most inside. Really, the new album is that good. From the moment they launched into "Dream House" the band not only commandeered the stage, but the audience's sanity as well. I can't honestly say the band's raucous reception wasn't entirely welcome. The mood was festive inside to say the least. Besides, the breakdown near the end of "Dream House" that gives way to that soaring guitar wail is so epic, I'm glad that burly dude behind shouted "YEEEEAH" like from Team America: World Police, because it deserves it. My highlight of the night was watching the band nail "The Pecan Tree," their drummer in the American Psycho shirt in particular. During their encore, playing "Unrequited" from their debut album Roads to Judah, vocalist George Clarke's mic went out. For over an hour the dude had been slamming his microphone stand into the stage and swinging it around like a rogue band leader before it finally decided to end it's own suffering. Without missing a beat, George kept shrieking into the audience at the top of his lungs, amplification be damned. The emotional intensity of Deafheaven's music is even more pronounced in their live show. That explains the king's welcome they received at the Echoplex. Check this band out ASAP. 




*BONUS VIDEO/DEAFHEAVEN OVERDOSE*
Mellow vibes on this one folks. Promise.

Converge/ Torche/ NAILS @ The Echoplex, Los Angeles. 10/28/12

We Are The Champions

Converge are easily one of the best live acts on the planet and one of my favorite bands of all time. I'd watch them perform the phone book in a basement (with more growls and d-beats than usual) if I could. Some of you might recall my last Converge story from this summer's FYF Fest. Well, my wounds had healed, sinuses cleared, and shoe laces tied extra tight. I was ready for another dose of Converge on their All We Love We Leave Behind Tour.

Talk about a lineup. This tour was siiiiiiick. Like "OMGZ" I need to sit down and catch my breath after reading the lineup. Torche, Kvelertak and NAILS. All three bands have released killer albums, all produced by Converge's Kurt Ballou, in the past few years. This overs the creme de le creme of metal, rock, hardcore/grind. Even the local opending act Dangers is ridiculous!


So we arrived early to catch Dangers because they impressed the hell out of me when they opened for The Dillinger Escape Plan back in January. This time I was familiar with their songs, and impressed by how tight and close to their album they sound live. Their singer Al is a madman on stage, jumping into the the crowd and running around the pit like a wild injun, jumping and crawling while shrieking at the top of his lungs...while barefoot. Can't wait to see these guys again.

Kvelertak was next. I really enjoyed their self titled debut album from 2010, and was looking forward to watching them rock out, but alas, I was starving. My girlfriend and I headed to the back of the venue (where you can't see jack) to get some pizza during Kvelertak's second song. The band sounded awesome from what I heard...but after a long day of work, we needed to eat. Sorry guys, next time.

Glad I ate, because NAILS was fucking exhausting. Imagine trying to work out with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1970s. NAILS mantra: "We came, we saw, we kicked it's ass!" This band is so heavy it's retarded. Really. I described their sound as "a monolithic slab of caveman brutality" when they opened for Dillinger in January (yeah, them and Dangers...go figure) and now I want to add, "violent" to said description. Something about this band makes causes me to speak in grunts and long for a 2x4 to smash over people's skulls. Their songs are short, fast and fucking awesome. The 2nd guitar player they added only made them sound heavier. I simply can't get enough NAILS.

Torche was next and were totally a welcome change of pace. I think I might have turned into a total werewolf if the aggro streak didn't halt right there. Luckily, Torche is all about having fun. They played a lot of new stuff of their latest album Harmonicraft, and had a lot of little HD cameras set up on stage, leading me to believe they were filming for a new video or a TV performance in the future. Their newer stuff is poppy enough to get dudes and ladies alike to move and dare I say, even dance, near the front of the stage. Then their older material comes along and is so heavy it has heads banging throughout the venue. So glad Torche was on this bill. Kudos fellas.

Finally, the headliners and heavyweight champions of the underground metal/hardcore universe took the stage: Converge.

They opened with "Concubine" and the Echoplex exploded. I learned my lesson from my FYF. My girlfriend and I retreated to the outskirts of the floor, away from the pit, but still close enough for me to get some awesome videos. Since their superb new album, All We Love We Leave Behind, dropped in October, it was almost a given that Converge would be playing a lot of new songs. However, the band went online and asked fans what other songs they'd like to hear on this tour. The response was massive. EVERYONE had a thousand old song they wanted to see live. I was stoked they played "Heartless," one of my top choices!


Rare gems like the ultra dirge-y "You Fail Me" and from way back when "My Unsaid Everything," gave Converge's  old school fans a nice nod, while all the new jams from All We Love flat out slayed. "Trespasses" "Sadness Comes Home" "Glacial Place" "Empty On The Inside," etc etc. I've never been
more stoked to hear a band play new stuff in concert before.

The venue had lots of floor space, which gave the sold-out capacity crowd room to breathe. I think that's what kept the energy level relatively high throughout the night. People could take a step back and catch their breath before jumping into the pit for the next song. After a full night of ass-kickery, and a full day of beforehand, I was exhausted by the time Converge wrapped their hour and half set up with the always epic, "Last Light." After paying homage at the band's merch table (and getting a sweet ass Axe to Fall flag) I ran into Converge singer/visual artist/record owner and awesome human being Jacob Bannon outside. Dude looked drained. He was covered in sweat, his voice barely audible and was still chatting it up with fans outside. He may have gone through the ringer onstage, (and every night) but you know he'd do it again, to the delight of assholes like me, in a heartbeat...forever if he could pull it off.

That's why Converge rules folks. Check em' out next time they're in driving distance. And if you ever see NAILS, bring ear plugs and a baseball bat.

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead @ The Echoplex. 6/17/11.

I first got into Trail of Dead in 2005 when Worlds Apart first came out. My trusty community college was right next to a Tower Records and there I spent large chunks of time reading about music/movies and buying lots of music/movies. It was awesome. I got Worlds Apart, loved it then got 2002's Source Tags and Codes and loved it even more. I sort of lost track of the band after that point. Life threw us on separate paths I suppose. So now it's 2011 and Trail of Dead's latest album, Tao of the Dead rules pretty hard. I'm glad these fellows have wondered back onto my radar and equally glad I finally got to see them live in concert.

Missed the opening acts but made it to the Echoplex just as Austin's finest finished setting up their gear. Echo Park is so much closer than hassling a drive to Hollywood, I'm glad Trail of Dead took my best interests at heart when deciding to book this show. Yeah, so the band came out and blazed through the last half of their new album. Everyone, save for the cocaine binge dude dancing to my left, zoned out and watched as Trail of Dead brought most of Tao of the Dead to life before our eyes. Then they played some older stuff, and the audience went nuts. As soon as the opening notes from "Will You Smile Again For Me" were played as the peaceful looking hipster types in the crowd went ballistic and started jumping and even moshing like it was a Limp Bizkit concert in the early 00's! Kind of funny/strange for me everytime I see these normal folks let loose at non-extreme metal shows but hey, to each their own.

Conrad breaking shit...unintentionally these days

The band was full of energy. I'd heard a lot of hype about how gnarly ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead's stage show is supposed to be and I was not disappointed. No, they didn't smash all their instruments or throw their drums around stage like I read they used to do back in the day ( the band is also in a stripped down phase, rocking it as a four piece and got rid of their 2nd drummer) but they still put on a hell of a show. Everyone but the bassist switched off instruments at least once during the night, with 3/4's of the band behind the drum kit before the end of the concert, which is always rad.

My favorite moments of the night were, of course the tracks off Worlds Apart and Source Tags and Codes. I wanted to record "How Near How Far," so I could relive the awesomeness forever but decided to put my camera down and just rock out instead. The consolation prize/video is pretty sweet though. Here's Source Tags' "It Was There That I Saw You," with Conrad fucking up Jason's guitar that he's using prompting them to play the song again from the beginning. HA. Good times.