What can Carrie Brownstein not do? Co-starring with SNL alum Fred Armisen on IFC’s hit series “Portlandia” and fronting the band Wild Flag are just a few of her accomplishments. With two sold out shows at the Echoplex, Portlandia: The Tour came rolling into Echo Park with comedy sketches, music (including Susanna Hoffs from The Bangles performing “Manic Monday” with Armisen and Brownstein), creative videos and audience participation. Surprise guest appearances from Kyle MacLachlan, Kumail Nanjiani—the waiter in the episode “Around the World in 80 Plates”—and keyboardist Rebecca Cole from Wild Flag and Sleater-Kinney made for a variety show good for any attention span. The crowd showed their enthusiasm when Brownstein mentioned Sleater-Kinney should be making an appearance on the TV series. Catch the show on IFC and Wild Flag at Coachella.

—Debi Del Grande

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Mark Lanegan can back up the best of ‘em or belt it out on his own, and his new album Blues Funeral is creeping over the horizon on its way to an early February release. He’ll be performing with the Mark Lanegan Band at the Echoplex on February 9 and you can get some tickets here … or you can win them from us! Just email a YouTube of some prime old-time blues song that’ll make our hearts stop to us at rsvp@larecord.com with subject BLUES. Skip James? Robert Pete Williams? Deal ‘em out! Starkest and sparest wins!

Indie folk band Deer Tick gave some samplings at the Echoplex of its brand new album, Divine Providence.  It all started when John J. McCauley III said he really didn’t feel like playing and wanted to just drink some more and talk with the crowd.  I think most wouldn’t have minded as McCauley is highly entertaining.  And even though McCauley was able to continue drinking, the band was tight and played hard.  Guards opened and walked away with some new fans. Photos by Debi Del Grande

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The Drums

It was a full house at the Echoplex. A large ‘Drums’ banner hung on the stage. The excitement rose before the show even began, as loud new wave sounds bumped on the speakers. People had already set up shop at the front. I took my place and prepared for  fast drum beats and sexy bass.

Superhumanoids featured accompaniment from drummer Darren Weiss, who recently drummed for both Papa and Girls on tour. His drums fit in perfectly with loud guitar, complimentary keys, droned out bass, and solid vocals. The band transitioned perfectly between new wave, pop, and gunge sounds. When Sarah sang, she performed with an effortless voice and touch of her keys simultaneously. This revved up the audience for a night filled with songs we won’t be able to kick out of our heads for weeks.

Superhumanoids

Io Echo sounded like new wave Jefferson Airplane mixed with garage Annie Lennox. They dedicated their Palm Prix famed commercial song “Doorway” to Jonny, and it sounded fantastically loud. Singer Ioanna Gika playfully shook her voice similarly to the way Grace Slick does. Guitarist Leopold Ross is modestly multi-talented, and he has accompanied a shit ton of bands and films musically. Io Echo previously opened for famed acts Florence & the Machine and The Big Pink, and has once again snagged a great gig, touring with the Drums.

Io Echo

The Drums bounced on stage with a wildly passionate crowd shouting for them. I was pleased to hear many tracks off the Drums’ new album, Portamento, and a few hits from Summertime. The new album is much less poppy and happy compared to the first. The songs are unique unto themselves but yet fit in with 80′s bands like New Order and Smiths.—like “Money,” probably the most listened-to song off the new album, which  made the audience jump and sing crazily. I was ecstatic to hear “I Need A Doctor,” a song that describes nearly every relationship with the lyrics, “But you torture me, and you ruin me, I need a doctor, you know I love you, but I wanna kill you.” Singing along passionately to this song is almost therapeutic. The band introduced its next song as one that they hadn’t played in a long time. “I Felt Stupid” reminded us how much the Drums have grown with the new album. It sounded amazing, but it had much less depth and maturity than the new songs from Portamento. The Drums’ sophomore album has been getting harsh press, but the energetic fans filling the Echoplex would back me when I say that the band’s sound has matured, and there are much more keepers on this album rather than just “Let’s Go Surfing.” Jonny appreciated that the audience stayed late on a Tuesday night. The way people screamed for an encore revealed they were far from tired.

—Alyssa Holland (words + photo)

Get a little appetizer by listening to the bands or watching some videos.

The incredibly talented multi-instrumental Wild Beasts made their 3rd trip to LA.  This time, the English band graced the stage of The Echoplex in support of their UK chart-topper Smother. The music flowed with a perfect combination from both Smother and former Two Dancers. Please come back soon!

Photos from Wild Beasts on October 13 by Debi Del Grande.

Setlist:

Lion’s Share
Bed of Nails
The Devil’s Crayon
This is Our Lot
Deeper
We Still Got the Taste of Dancin’ on our Tongues
Two Dancers II
Loop the Loop
Albatross
Reach a Bit Further
Hooting & Howling

Encore:
The Fun Powder Plot
All the King’s Men
End Come To Soon

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Teams, aka Sean Bowie, at Check Yo Ponytail, was a tsunami of brilliance. I couldn’t help but splash my feet about to the eclectic textures of his submerged disco trill funk. Teams’ music takes you to a another realm filled with saturated colors and aquatic vibes. I can’t get enough of his sound right now. —Chris Sanchez

400 Blows started out heavily with a devoted crowd. It was hard for me to push to the front for pictures because people wouldn’t budge no matter how much I tapped shoulders and said, “Excuse me.” I had to stoop to their level and shove through. 400 Blows is one of one of the most powerful 3-piece bands. The punk drums mixed with metal guitar and loud screaming vocals makes for music that possesses your bobbing head. The crowd was really digging it when they played “The Beauty Of Internal Darkness” starting and stopping as the song does and adoring Scott Martin’s singing as he used a man in the audience’s head to rest his hand. “The Ugly Are So Beautiful” came on strong, and I was transfixed by Kevin Fitzgerald’s drumming skills. The man next to me screamed out, “Fuck me, man! That’s some sick ass drumming!” To which I couldn’t help but nod and smile.
Backstage with 400 Blows
It was a while before Butthole Surfers finally began to play. The crowd got dense. Since this band has a ton of albums spanning 20 years, they clearly had a lot to play. I hoped to hear a lot from Independent Worm Saloon which I’d have to say is my favorite album of theirs. They truly played an amazing set, with disgusting gory graphics on the screen behind them that fit right in with these guys. They granted my wishes with “Goofy’s Concern” and “Alcohol,” and the audience sang along loudly. When they played “BBQ Pope,” Gibby handed the vocals over to guitarist Paul, and the entire audience shouted along to his screaming. Gibby played his sax with a mess of valves and keys that somehow sounded right. It was radical to watch the audience pump their fists in the air while dancing and singing along, and pushing as hard as they could towards the stage. Gibby sang, “I don’t give a fuck about the CIA, I don’t give a fuck about cashier’s claim” and a whole laundry list of things Gibby doesn’t give a fuck about, in “Goofy’s.” “Alcohol” is self explanatory, and “BBQ” talks about the Pope being shot. As Gibby played around with his voice on his “BHS” Box, he made a so-called “medley” which featured the band’s best known (but often misheard) lyrics: “Tommy played piano like a kid out in the rain, then he lost his leg in Dallas he was dancing with a train, they were all in love with dyin’ they were drinking from a fountain that was pouring like an avalanche, coming down the mountain,” from “Pepper.” Everyone sang along happily. I shook with joy as they broke out playing “Who Was in My Room Last Night?” The guitar on this song made everyone fantasize about being Paul Leary. At this point I forgot about how defensive and psycho the crowd was, and I ‘moshed with them. Sadly, they didn’t play one of their only serious songs, the beautiful “The Wooden Song,” that got me through my middle school break-ups, but they played a great set ranging from their early punk sound to their later experimental sound. The fans left satisfied, with the loud sound of ringing in their ears.

—Alyssa Holland (words + photo)

Butthole Surfers and 400 Blows at Echoplex on August 27, 2011. Photos by Debi Del Grande.

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