If you’ve never heard of The Smell, chances are you won’t be familiar with any of these little-known experimental, electronic and indie pop musicians that played at the intimate venue on Friday, Nov. 6.
Nestled inconspicuously in downtown Los Angeles with its entrance opening to an alleyway behind Main Street, The Smell has for the past decade hosted countless established and starting-out underground bands within its redbrick and colorful, artsy mural-covered walls.
David Scott Stone opened the night, seated behind a black barricade of synthesizers and other effects machines. His chilling, elegant performance consisting of a single composition may just have been the most wondrous thing of the night.
With a repeated underlying melodic phrase driving the song forward, almost engulfed by the increasing build-up of layers of distortions and atonalities, it was noise but far from noisy. It was menacing, yet incredibly beautiful.
Following Stone was The Urxed, the solo project of Robert Barber from the experimental band High Places. Also using synthesizers, Barber fed vocals into a microphone to achieve the effect of eerie primal howls. His brash fist-pounding on one machine produced heavy percussive thumps that conjured up a jungle setting, complete with gorillas.
Though there was excitement in the fusion of the jungle sound and the industrial electronic buzz, this was dampened by the bass-heavy noise assault that was quick to bore.
snowsuit* came next in the form of Steve Touchstone’s one-man act, this time using pre-cut noise music fed from a laptop computer. A lanky stick of a guy with a head of messy black curls, Touchstone screamed unintelligible words at the top of his lungs while dancing stiffly and spasmodically like he was in excruciating pain.
It was entirely over-the-top crazy, but for that, it was hard for the crowd not to crack a big smile. The sheer energy and showmanship was infectious.
For better or for worse, showmanship was the only memorable factor of Hawnay Troof, the solo project of Vice Cooler that followed. Decked out in a black and white giraffe print costume made of leathery spandex, Cooler convinced the crowd to chant along to his rap-influenced songs, leapt on and off the stage and at one point sidled into a mock striptease.
His persona was entertaining or irritating, depending on your tolerance level for ridiculous antics, but in the end there was simply too much show and not enough substance in the music to inspire.
The anticipated last act of the shared show came in indie pop duo Panther’s 25-minute set.
The duo’s live sound was a surprise departure from their latest LP “Entropy,” full of piano-driven pop tunes that, despite their anxiety-ridden lyrics, still sound cheery on record.
Perhaps due to the live setup, with Charles Salas-Humara on guitar, vocals and effects pedals, and Joe Kelly on drums, it was natural that the guitar and drums became dominant.
As a consequence, the lush layers that characterized their music droned into near oblivion, which was unfortunate.
But on the rewarding flip side, Panther brought a much looser, more energetic and more emotionally charged sound that did not suffer from the dullness of polish.
Kelly’s solid percussion satisfied, while Salas-Humara’s strained facial expression and jerky movements carried his hushed voice that can otherwise seem inexpressive, into its sometimes tortured, sometimes ethereal heights.
At the end of the night, the refreshing onstage alternation of a band like Panther, and the reality that it may be near impossible to listen to someone like snowsuit* on headphones, was an affirmation of the utter delight in hearing music live, even those little heard of.
““ Ruiling Erica Zhang E-mail Zhang at rzhang@media.ucla.edu.