Imperial Teen played Zebulon last night. Aside from the 9 p.m. headliner set time (which is, unfortunately, now common in L.A.), it felt like the indie shows that existed before the algorithm dominated life. There were still tickets available the day of the show, but, by the time the band was on stage (a few minutes late), the room was packed. Imperial Teen didn’t stick to the set list, but they still managed to get in the old favorites, like “Water Boy” and “Yoo Hoo” (if you’re a fan of the movie Jawbreaker, you know these songs), and some tunes from the new album, All Over You. The main set was less than an hour and they came back for a two song encore, which is the perfect time for a show. Plus, they actually bantered with the crowd! What I’m getting at is that it wasn’t this overly planned, static set that’s made to hype an extremely online audience who wants to know exactly what they’re going to see and hear before it happens. It was the real deal, a show that would only happen this one time, even if they are playing eight more gigs across the U.S. in the next month. 

Anyhow, Imperial Teen has a new album out now and I love it. You can read more in my interview, “Imperial Teen Is Back and All Over You.” 

Dopamine Chamber, the fifth album from Fontaines D.C., is out this Friday, October 16, and we’re throwing a listening party at Club Underground at Chinatown’s Grand Star Jazz Club. Doors are at 9:30 p.m., album play begins at 9:45 p.m. After the album, both floors of the Grand Star will be open with Larry G. and I playing indie, post-punk, darkwave, new wave and more. If you’re going to see Boy Harsher on Friday, come by after the show and show your ticket for free entry into Underground. Otherwise, you can get tickets now on Eventbrite or Dice.  

And, while we’re on the subject of Underground, you might want to get your tickets now for the Halloween party on October 30. 

If you want some recommendations for the rest of the weekend in L.A., or early next week, head to Beatique. For tunes, check out this month’s mix, which features new music from Soft Cell, Hercules and Love Affair, Boy Harsher and ADULT., plus a few old favorites and more. 

And I finally did get around to writing up a horror movie recommendation for October. It’s The Iron Rose, the 1973 film from French director Jean Rollin. 

She’s a fashionable, young woman who likes to stroll along a cold, ruin-strewn beach. He’s a poet in a mod suit who writes of love and death. They meet at a wedding reception and make a date for a bike ride that ends at a local cemetery. What could go wrong? 

The Iron Rose (aka La Rose de Fer and The Crystal Rose) is Jean Rollin’s 1973 cemetery jaunt that was a critical failure in its day, but has since come to be regarded as one of the French director’s best films. It is, by far, my favorite Jean Rollin movie, a masterpiece in atmospheric horror where nothing needs to happen because the whole vibe is just so damn creepy. It could be a high goth Before Sunrise, where a pensive couple-for-the-night talk of life amongst the dead. But, in fact, something does happen. Actually, a few things happen. I won’t spoil the end for you, but it’s a horror movie set in a cemetery, you can probably figure it out.

Read more in “The Iron Rose is the Jean Rollin Cemetery Jaunt You Need to See This Halloween.” 

I’m trying to keep this update short, but there’s a lot more up on my blog, Beatique, so just go there for essays, band interviews, record reviews, etc. Thanks for reading. 

Liz O.