By Lisa Burke
March 14th 2016, Los Globos, Los Angeles CA: The last couple of months have really been testing my decision-making skills, or lack thereof, by having too many good shows in one night for me to attend all of, and surprisingly on Monday nights of all nights, which is not an easy night to get out on to begin with. I am however working on becoming a heavy metal superhero who can fly around town saving one metal show at a time while exceeding at least two different shows in one night, but I do like to attend shows in their entirety because some people frown on you when you are only able to see one band at a venue even if it’s your second show of the evening all the way across town. Last Monday March 14 2016, I attended a doom, stoner, psychedelic themed metal show at Los Globos in Silver Lake, featuring headlining act Ape Machine from Portland, Oregon, with support from Beastmaker and The Blood Wisdom. After this entire show I also made my way to see Hollywood Roses play at the local strip club, but I’ll save that adventure for another review.
The Blood Wisdom is a local alternative act that mixes psychedelic and punk elements into the world of rock. They are perfect for a Silver Lake house band, and not to discredit them in anyway, but the hipster scene would definitely accept them as one of their own. This quartet is skilled and carry their own vibe with barbie-esque voodoo style dolls hanging on the microphone stand and the singer with his well put-together gothic punk image and vocal tone. My favorite aspect of this band was actually the soft and intricate drumming of the female drummer who put some really interesting, creative, and somewhat tribal and ritualistic moves into the mix. One little side note about image, and of course I don’t know the reason behind this, but the guitar player with his white t-shirt and baseball cap looked as if he landed in the wrong band or just came from baseball practice since everyone else was in blacks and looking pretty goth alternative. It didn’t take away from the performance but it did add a slight confusion for me. The female bass player had good style in playing as well as dress, and my total consensus was that it was a pleasant experience and while I felt there are some generic qualities, the drumming effect really helped pull it out of this label to achieve a higher level.
The draw on this night was actually for Beastmaker who have recently been signed to Rise Above Records with an album due on March 26th and they are headed to Europe in the near future to tour with Blood Ceremony, which is quite the feat and a generous offer for such a newly emerging band. The stoner psych rock and doom metal family is really taking off in a big way these days, and with so many emerging artists out there who are influenced by Black Sabbath and friends, it seems they need to have some special quality to stand above the rest. This was my first time viewing this band and I wasn’t disappointed. There is a unique quality about them that you really need to witness to fully understand, and it’s an enjoyment to watch. The bass and guitar players both sing and harmonize well, although the backup singer’s microphone was a bit low so I didn’t really get the full effect. The drumming rocked out in the most appropriate way possible and carried the the band’s core on its shoulders. This trio has much to offer with a very big sound, and one that is unique and fun. The only aspect I was slightly disappointed by was the one note track they were stepping in along the way where every song was approximately the same length, tempo, and similar in style and flavor. I wondered what would happen if they took two songs and chopped them up and mashed them together to make one, if in turn perhaps my original thought would have instantly flown out the window? Some tunes they played were ‘Clouds In The Sky’ and the ever popular ‘Mask Of Satan’, and with doomy bands these days if Satan isn’t part of your metal vocabulary you are probably doing it wrong. These dudes came from Fresno and packed a very memorable punch that I’m excited to hear more from in the future. Later on in their set there was a somewhat heavier song that I believe was the same one to carry a guitar solo that I found stood out from their other tunes in a good way, and if they continued to mash this up with more varied tone and solo work, it would only enhance this whole band to a higher level. Definitely one of the newest forces to be reckoned with in this genre, so keep your eyes out for their progress.
For the finale act and at a show with three bands that was over by around 11:30, you would think people would stay till the end, especially with such a quality band like Ape Machine, but the crowd which was decent for a Monday night thinned out just enough for me to notice and wonder why. Again, with this stoner psych and bluesy genre you have to stand out somehow, and these guys do stand out with flying colors by the constant in-your-face riffage and just the sheer depth of their tunes where no two songs sound the same, and they follow a winding path to the finish that leaves you excited for where they are headed to in the next round. There was a jam interlude where the singer stepped off stage maybe for a weed break, who knows, but it was a brilliant jam with a mini drum solo that was again in-your-face in a great way, and the hard hitting solid tempo travelled well with me. They ran the whole stage with its brick wall backing in a very dominating manner and the vocals were a pleasure to hear from start to finish, plus there was the perfect amount of vocals vs guitar solos as well. Most of the songs had a familiar sound to them, but were unique in that I couldn’t pinpoint any of it to another band because they do have an original sound, and basically it just gave off a friendly atmosphere. I was really thrilled that I finally got the opportunity to see this band and in this big open space with a decent sound quality I couldn’t imagine it better.
Los Globos is actually a pretty great venue for rock and metal acts, which they have only had for the past few years, as this place used to be a Latin dance club. They do have club nights most nights however, as they have a big upstairs and downstairs space with a large outdoor patio when it’s in use. This show was in the upstairs room which has a somewhat vintage feel and the green dot disco-esque audience and floor lighting is fun as well, and that is actually the only place I’ve seen rock and metal shows but apparently they do have them downstairs as well on occasion. I also got to hear a fun little story from the bouncer when I was outside about how Justin Bieber visited once and had a private party by himself where they closed off a room for him to not tip anyone and demand any attractive females be sent his way. It’s comforting to know that rich young boys can be such douchebags. The moral of this story is that you should stay as metal as possible to avoid such nonsense in your future.
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