FYF FEST on September 3, 2011. All photos by Lindsey Best.

Broken Social Scene
Cold War Kids
Cults
Death From Above 1979
Explosions In The Sky
Girls
Guided By Voices
The Head And The Heart
Japanandroids
Mister Heavenly
No Age
Smith Westerners

[View with PicLens]

NO AGE, SOFT PACK, OFF!, DANGERS, CRYSTAL ANTLERS, BIG FREEDIA, LA SERA, LOVELY BAD THINGS, AND TIJUANA PANTHERS ON SATURDAY DEC. 11TH AT THE GLASS HOUSE, 200 WEST SECOND STREET, POMONA AND ALADDIN JR., 3161 NORTH GAREY AVENUE, POMONA. 7:00PM/ $12/ ALL AGES.

—Devon Williams

The tracklist:
1. Life Prowler
2. Glitter
3. Fever Dreaming
4. Depletion
5. Common Heat
6. Skinned
7. Katerpillar
8. Valley Hump Crash
9. Sorts
10. Dusted
11. Positive Amputation
12. Shred and Trascend
13. Chem Trails

Here are the best words extracted from the press release:

Los Angeles

Spunt and Randy

glowing talismans

clubhouse

art-life/music-life

fertilized a purple patch

enthusiastic notice

“Best Recording Packaging”

sweaty

abroad.

evolution.

lives

welded

ruptures and triumphs;

banged and bruised, yet better off

weird-out

Melody

howling

grazes,

skree

all vital

of

—Daiana Feuer

Coachella is the defining music event in Southern California every year — for fans and local artists alike. The festival has become a kingmaker for striving L.A. bands rounding the corner into national prominence. Recent performances by Silversun Pickups, the Airborne Toxic Event and No Age have been both goodbye kisses to the Echo Park club gantlet and an introduction to an eager mainstream audience.

Who will be the local breakout this year? We rate the chances of L.A. artists using the only hierarchy that matters at Coachella: colored wristbands. No under-the-table swapping allowed. [Read More]

Vampyre Love (Ultra Live) by RTX

Planet Earth’s mighty RTX surge forth with this “ultra live” Pentagram cover recorded on a camcorder at an old Safari Sam’s show with Easy Action and No Age. This will be coming out on a special one-sided 7″ on Outlaw but you can listen above, and while you listen, maybe you should go read Kurt from RTX’s interview with Pentagram’s Bobby Liebling! (Every word in this post useful for your life!)

More: NO AGE

Some volume issues during a performance on screen render the crowd restless. Murmurs ripple through, speculating and questioning.

“Can’t hear a fucking thing!” cuts through the darkness, crass and unconstructive.

“Well, you should’ve been there!” retorts another faceless voice, more lighthearted. By the end of the film, he couldn’t have been more right.

The Smell first opened its doors in 1998 and to this day is the only Los Angeles venue heavily DIY in nearly every aspect. Dedicated to the purveyors and connoisseurs of music and art, the Smell is run by the artists whose work decorates the walls, by bands who schedule their own shows and volunteers who love art. It’s a community spot welcoming creative minds.

Michael Fierstein, of Static Aktion, has been working with club owner Jim Smith for over five years now, setting up shows and loving every minute. He’s brought some great acts to the Smell, a magic he used to make their documentary film about the legendary venue, Live at The Smell.

“I love The Smell, it’s my home,” said Fierstein, who produced the film. “I have nothing but the utmost respect for Jim Smith and it really was an honor that he would trust me to oversee a movie about the Smell, using The Smell’s name.”

Working with friend and filmmaker Bob Bellerue, the documentary became the sort of thing only the marriage of like-minds could make happen. Bellerue brought his technical prowess to plate and Fierstein picked bands and booked shows for filming.
“I thought it was important for us to document some of the bands that were around and also document our space and what a show is like at the Smell,” said Fierstein.

From the in-your-face shots of sweaty kids in sonic ecstasy hovering over the Foot Village drum circle to Captain Ahab’s enthusiastic, Speedo (only) clad side show mouthing lyrics and bouncing off every surface he can get to, the shots capture The Smell in true form.

The camera stock, editing, and overall cinematography were very DIY, an appropriate aesthetic for the feature. Reminiscent of Urgh! A Music War, the film showcased live acts in uninterrupted succession. Segments of performances by The Mae Shi, Foot Village, Ponytail, Abe Vigoda, High Places, Gowns, BARR, No Age, HEALTH and Captain Ahab were shown with crisp, flawless audio.

“It’s DIY cinema vérité,” explains Bellerue, “a fancy way of saying we were just working with the equipment available to us.  Amongst the core crew and our friends we had a couple of miniDV cameras, Hi-8, and mini-DVDr.  With good audio any video can work.”

Mirroring the values of the Smell in content and quality, Live at The Smell immortalizes the venue on film. In the press release, Bellerue says, “Venues come and go, but Jim Smith and the Smell are going nowhere fast and taking us all along,”  This film spearheads the ride and from the looks of things, it’s going to be the time of our lives.

—Christina Nersesian