L.A. RECORD » Pehrspace

FOLKTALE FEST II @ PEHRSPACE

Walt Gorecki — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 22:23:41 +0000

Mom by Chris Payne

The 2nd annual Folktale Fest, and the triumphant return of Sean Carnage Monday nights at Pehrspace after a very brief hiatus, made for a packed crowd on a warm summer night. As I entered I found Sacramento performance artist/musician Mom dancing away, half-clothed and squeaking in a cutesy pitch-modified falsetto to novelty type music in a classic Mouseketeer hat. Surrounded by streamers and balloons and dim red lighting the whole experience was very surreal. Mom has a reputation for being quite messy (think blood, urine, and cake) but she toned it down to simply rubbing squids on the audience and covering herself with milk while a giant man-baby breastfed from her in what seemed like an animatronic Disney tableau gone awry. Next up Knight Rider took to the stage with dreamy synth-pop that devolved into creepy Lynchian territory at times, but was unfortunately cut short due to some technical difficulties. Thundersnail played an epicly haunted set involving a Chinese dulcimer, which just might be one of the most beautiful instruments I’ve ever seen. Folktale Records’ founder Chris Payne followed as Whitman, this time backed by a cavalcade of local musicians–former Mae Shi members Ezra Buchla and Corey Fogel on viola and percussion respectively, and Rich Seymour of Clark 8 on cello. Even with that full of a band, Whitman maintained a very sparse, personal sound with a power that packed the room. LA expatriate Jon Barba (formerly known as Nicole Kidman whilst performing) followed up with a set that alternated between upbeat keyboard tracks and completely acoustic guitar performances. A natural performer who manages to transfer his own awkwardness and vulnerability into something that can command devoted silence from the most raucous crowds, Jon’s power as a musician only increases over time. Finally the monstrous Bay Area free-jazz-meets-noise-punk quintet No Babies kicked into a set that rivaled their already infamously epic live performances culminating in a feverish mosh pit that had a new year’s feel as people ripped apart the streamers and popped the balloons prior to the closing soundblast, “Be the Best.” Of course a Monday night at Pehrspace wouldn’t be complete without a dance party to a set of DJ Kyle Mabson playing pop jams and 90s guilty pleasures. If tonight is any evidence, Folktale Records seems to be successfully establishing a new auditory narrative based not on genre but on context and personal expression.

-Walt! Gorecki

JUN. 22: COME BACK TO WHO YOU ARE OPENING RECEPTION w/ MOSES CAMPBELL + FIELDS LANDING + ART INSTALLATION BY GHOST GHOST TEETH

Intern — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 22:12:04 +0000

FEB. 4: KEVIN GREENSPON + BESTIAL MOUTHS + HALLOWEEN SWIM TEAM + TES ELATIONS

Shane Carpenter — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:28:53 +0000

KEVIN GREENSPON, BESTIAL MOUTHS, HALLOWEEN SWIM TEAM, AND TES ELATIONS ON FRIDAY FEB. 4TH AT PEHRSPACE, 325 GLENDALE BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES. 9:00PM/ $5/ ALL AGES

JAN. 24: WHITMAN + JON BARBA + FORMER GHOSTS + NO PAWS

Shane Carpenter — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:24:47 +0000

WHITMAN, JON BARBA, FORMER GHOSTS, AND NO PAWS ON MONDAY JAN. 24TH AT PEHRSPACE, 325 GLENDALE BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES. 9:30PM/ $5/ ALL AGES.

JAN. 17: THE TLEILAXU MUSIC MACHINE + MELTED CASSETTES + SHANE SHANE + SON CATS + DYODEATH

Shane Carpenter — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:53:34 +0000

THE TLEILAXU MUSIC MACHINE, MELTED CASSETTES, SHANE SHANE, SON CATS, AND DYODEATH ON MONDAY JAN. 17TH AT PEHRSPACE, 325 GLENDALE BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES. 9:30PM/ $5/ ALL AGES.

JAN. 31: CHILD PORNOGRAPHY + ROBIN WILLIAMS ON FIRE + SOLOING OVER ALANIS MORISSETTE + OG HALLOWEEN SWIM TEAM + AGAPE

Shane Carpenter — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:47:32 +0000

CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, ROBIN WILLIAMS ON FIRE, SOLOING OVER ALANIS MORISSETTE, OG HALLOWEEN SWIM TEAM, AND AGAPE ON MONDAY JAN. 31ST AT PEHRSPACE, 325 GLENDALE BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES. 9:30PM/ $5/ ALL AGES.

JAN. 10: NARWHALZ OF SOUND + BLACK LIGHT JIM MORRISON + SLUM WITCH + MIKKI AND THE MAUSES + LOLLY GESSERIT

Shane Carpenter — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:43:56 +0000

NARWHALZ OF SOUND, BACK LIGHT JIM MORRISON, SLUM WITCH, MIKKI AND THE MAUSES, AND LOLLY GESSERIT ON MONDAY JAN. 10TH AT PEHRSPACE, 325 GLENDALE BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES. 9:30PM/ $5/ ALL AGES.

CAPTAIN AHAB + NICOLE KIDMAN @ PEHRSPACE

Daiana Feuer — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:11:12 +0000

Twas the Monday after Christmas and all through Echo Park, not that much music was stirring except at Pehrspace. The dark parking lot was like a school yard where all the children sat on broken glass beneath a smoky haze. There were so many people, it seemed half of them were there to listen to the puddles dry and would not even make it inside, which was packed shoulder to shoulder by an array of youngsters and strange looking oldsters (guy in leopard print suit and hat, other guy with all the piercings and dreads that’s often at DIY things, a few streetwalker looking ladies, and someone’s mom). All kinds of fashions, from prep to goth, transcending certain rules about matching music and people. Nicole Kidman and Captain Ahab can appear on the same bill and the same crowd will happily receive John Barba’s sobbing suicidal guitar songs, then thrash and bounce to Captain Ahab’s hardcore club bangers. I brought my 14 year old brother from Florida to see this show, to open his mind. He’d never heard the term DIY before. We stood on the side by the speaker, and he was as blown over by the music as he was by the audience. Where he lives, things are more separate. He listens to metal you can buy at the mall. It’s a small town where the only thing you really encounter is mainstream, at least at his age. He’s never seen anything like Nicole Kidman. “He sounds like he’s crying,” my brother whispered. I could see that push and pull in his eyes that one experiences the first time encountering this fella with the high, quivering voice, who wears his heart on his keyboard’s presets. You want to give him audience because you’re afraid he’ll shatter, then his personal brand of DIY folk punk seeps in and you suddenly begin feeling purged by his sadness. It’s like a confessional where listening to the sinner’s darkest fears makes you feel absolved. I was really excited to see my bro’s reaction to Captain Ahab. They were the first act I saw play at the Smell when I moved here in 2005. The setup has certainly advanced. Jonathan Snipes now has multiple computers and knob consoles, mixing beats and video on a fancy screen. His curses rode pretty melodies into the face of hard thrashing beats. I knew that once Jim’s clothes came off and the crowd moshed their way to happy hardcore oblivion, my sibling’s horizons would be stretched ever so much wider. The people went nuts. The gig was being recorded for a live album and I hope you can hear his jaw drop. While everyone is just dancing like maniacs, to an outsider it looks like choreographed chaos, something you have to learn to be a part of. My bro said next time he’d go in “there,” but this time he needed to observe. He had never moshed to anything but metal, and where he lives, club beats are usually met by grinding. All in all, the experience was awesome for us both. It’s nice to shape young minds. Captain Ahab should be doing it worldwide. My brother says all the kids like Deadmau5. I think Captain Ahab can maybe be their salvation from the connotations of the rave scene. While Deadmau5 packs the Palladium, Captain Ahab packs this little room in a shopping plaza, and it’s perhaps more powerful and important and rebellious that the latter exists. The children need to know you can go clubbin’ in a different way. Captain Ahab has the technology to fit on a Hard Fest lineup. When and if they go there, they’ll probably change the world, one hug at a time.

—Daiana Feuer

JAN. 4: VIETNAMBLA + MOCK DUCK + REAL NORIEGAS + SUMMER TWINS

Shane Carpenter — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:55:21 +0000

VIETNAMBLA, MOCK DUCK, REAL NORIEGAS, AND SUMMER TWINS ON MONDAY JAN. 3RD AT PEHRSPACE, 325 GLENDALE BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES. 9:30PM/ $5/ ALL AGES.

DEC. 30: MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY + M31 + THE MORMOMS + KILL KILL KILL

Shane Carpenter — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 01:50:16 +0000

MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY, M31, THE MORMONS, AND KILL KILL KILL ON THURSDAY DEC. 30TH AT PEHRSPACE, 325 GLENDALE BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES. 8:00PM/ $5/ ALL AGES.