I occasionally went to Echo Curio to find bands that fell outside of my music circles, which mainly consists of the “Silverlake/Echo Park music scene” (The Fold, Spaceland) and bands with ties to the former Kiss or Kill Club. (The air quotes on Silverlake/Echo Park being used as a clarifying emphasis as Echo Curio was in Echo Park.) I also went on over to The Smell every so often. Perhaps you could even call these excursions temporary relief from my norm. In late 2010, Echo Curio shut down, which probably means that I’ll be heading over to The Smell more often to escape from my music patterns. To prove the point, I guess I’ll highlight a couple recent nights spent at The Smell.
My first night at The Smell was to catch Barrie Rose, Tommy Santee Klaws (pictured right), and Manhattan Murder Mystery (pictured below). Now this night was only semi-about catching bands outside my music circle. I am a fan of Manhattan Murder Mystery. But my night started off with seeing Barrie Rose. I only caught a couple songs by Barrie Rose – I would have perhaps caught more than half of her set if it wasn’t for a minor traffic jam on the 110 and the assumption that The Smell doesn’t usually kick off till around 10 p.m. (I actually was in a conversation recently where a friend headed to The Smell and missed most of the band he had gone there for because of his same assumption that The Smell doesn’t kick off until 10 p.m.). There was an emotional vulnerability to her two songs that I found fascinating. Interestingly enough, I’d actually had a brief conversation with her at The Echo just a couple weeks earlier though at the time I had no idea she was a singer. Next up was Tommy Santee Klaws, another unexpected surprise. A splendid set where the two male vocalists harmonized us with amusing lyrics such as, “You look better when you’re dead.” The final band of the night was Manhattan Murder Mystery. I swear they like to spend more time playing with their backs to the crowd than facing the crowd. As for the lead singer, he starts their sets off by wearing an army helmet, but throughout the set one can never know if it’ll be on the ground, on someone else’s head (non-band related) or on his own. And as for his guitar, he played half the set with a broken string. I used to like keeping score on broken strings, especially while watching the former band known as The Randies.
(click on images to enlarge)
Something interesting outside of the bands happened that night. A man went up to the microphone between Barrie Rose and Tommy Santee Klaws. He told everyone that it was his 41st birthday and that if they so wished he’d welcome them singing “Happy Birthday” to him. And, also, if they felt like giving him a gift afterwards, outside, he’d appreciate it. Everyone obliged him with the singing of “Happy Birthday.” I’m not sure how many obliged him with a “gift”. Not being a regular enough attendee to The Smell I had no clue who this person was and why he would ask for a song and gifts of money. Anyways, when I headed back to The Smell a few days later, I noticed him hanging outside The Smell. “You here for the music?” I was asked. “Yes,” I replied. I also noticed that his image is on one of the t-shirts sold at The Smell.
And so yes, a few days later I headed back to The Smell. I tried to get a couple friends to come along with me, but they were both busy. This being my second time around within a week, I started to notice other small things about The Smell. Each night a box of goodies was brought by one of the bands. On my first night, Manhattan Murder Mystery brought some mini-muffins. On this second night, Black Elephant brought a box of cookies and a half sheet of tres leches cake.
(click on images to enlarge – first row both photos Black Elephant, Run-on Sunshine second row Feel Free)
Devon Williams opened the night. I caught perhaps a little over half the set. It was a great set and I will keep an eye out so that I can catch a full set at a later point in time. Run-On Sunshine went on next. They are a two piece, minimalist, punk rock, acoustic band. They had song titles such as: “Singles Staying Single,” “Her First Squirrel,” “Home is Where the Heart Breaks” and “Kitty Bus.” They were in from Arizona, travelling with Feel Free, the next band up. (I’ve noticed that a number of bands from Arizona seem to stop off at The Smell.) To end the night, Black Elephant played in the back room. This is where I noticed that the concert seats that line the walls, the seats that I used to stand atop to grab some photos when the area was packed, were now basically unusable – probably because of people like me (though in my defense it has been awhile since I stood on any of those chairs).
The Smell definitely has a uniqueness all to its own – as can be seen by the photos in this blog (see above). The uniqueness goes beyond the sofas, books and paintings, however. First off, it is a DIY venue. Then there is the all-ages aspect combined with the no alcohol rule. And you have middle aged gentlemen mixing with high school kids mixing with beach blonde hotties mixing with hipsters mixing with punk rockers. It is an eclectic environment that is not replicated in any of my other standard music venues. Here’s looking to spending more time at The Smell in 2011 – and perhaps hoping that those behind the Echo Curio music scene are able to come back in some form.
