What IS wrong with Los Angeles?

Or New York, for that matter? A question that seems to be eternally unanswered was yet again pondered at the El Rey Theater on September 27th by rising star, Harrison Smith, also known as The Dare.

It took me a month to listen to the new Geordie Greep single. Maybe it’s because it came out in the middle of my move to Los Angeles, maybe it's because I just never found the time. But the dramatic music writer in me wants to say that it took me so long because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Black Midi.

Palestinian-Canadian artist Nemahsis (née Nemah Hasan) is going through change, heartbreak, and isolation, and we hear every bit of it on her debut album Verbathim.  

Duster has had an undeniably unique journey to legendary status. The slowcore/space rock act formed in 1996, and spent their initial five-year stint in the shadows of Up labelmates Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. Despite breaking up in 2001, the group had attracted a cult following, and listeners were thrilled when archival record label Numero Group announced the reissuing of Duster’s catalog in 2019.

Remi Wolf is a USC alum, a vocal powerhouse, and a freaky, little weirdo.  On October 16, Wolf headlined a sold-out show at the Greek Theatre in Los Feliz. Wolf, being from Palo Alto, lovingly called it a hometown show. 

On October 11, EDM sensation turned electric popstar Porter Robinson brought his SMILE! :D

tour to the historic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The 32-year-old took to the stage in a

fashion unlike ever before in his decade-long history of touring.

The first time I saw Wallows, I was sixteen and alone at a 1,000 capacity venue in Fort Lauderdale. On Thursday, September 12, I attended my sixth Wallows show to date. Despite all that’s changed in the years since my first show, so much has remained the same. Their setup will always see Braeden Lemasters at stage right and Dylan Minnette stage left, with Cole Preston sat at the drums between them. The same three dudes I met that night in Fort Lauderdale. But today—an EP, two albums, and two tours later—I’m twenty-one, and Wallows is playing a show at the Kia Forum.

SOS Booking’s all-out, B.S.D.M festival, serving as Peeling Flesh’s Los Angeles stop on their current tour, demonstrated every bit of violence, chaos, and fun that you could expect from a genre and band with those names. The night started with an up-and-coming band, First Degree. They were followed by IE locals, Smoked909, the Bay Area’s Slime, Two Piece from Florida, and the so-southern and so-dreadful Corpse Pile, from Houston. Headlining the night were the two prime bands of the Slam genre currently, PeelingFlesh and Snuffed On Sight.

Clairo charmed Los Angeles audiences during her five-night residency at the Fonda Theatre, where she showcased her third studio album, Charm. Her soft, radiant voice made audiences want to dance, act frivolous, and take off their clothes while fans experienced the brutal LA heat wave lining up along Hollywood Boulevard before the shows.

Chris Stein, cofounder of Blondie, may have lived even more lives than the nine given to his black cat, Lou. Both joined me on a video call to chat about their human half’s new memoir, “Under a Rock.” The book is a masterclass in rich storytelling, forgoing glitz and glamour in a stream-of-consciousness divulgence from a generational musician. Reminiscence is a gift, and each reader is a lucky recipient.