When most people think Los Angeles music they’re likely to picture hip-hop artists, and with good reason. Over the lifetime of the genre no city, with perhaps the sole exception of NYC, has contributed as much to hip-hop as LA and it’s surrounding areas. Yet because of its notable place in hip-hop, the underground scene of LA is constantly overlooked. But before it was the city of hip-hop, it was the city of skaters and punks, and on March 8th in a tiny building in Highland Park, LA noise rock mainstays we’re determined to remind this group of Angelenos about their roots.

Lunch Lady took the stage around 8:30 pm. They exemplified elements of the noise rock that has made No Age so popular, but with a twist of surf rock on top of it. It felt very Los Angeles as a whole, the consistent punky drums and Dick Dale riffs felt right at home in the ocean-loving city. While the crowd was rather small, filled mostly by the typical but diverse LA underground rock crowd, the band upheld a consistent and appropriate energy that betrayed the venue itself. An instrumental assault made even more effective by a purposely lethargic vocal style (for a solid comparison think Cherry Glazzer) looked like it was going to be a running theme of the night. Attendees were a lucky bunch because of this, a clear vocal allowed a comprehensive hearing of hilarious lyrics like “My blood is rum and coke,” a thought that has no doubt passed through the mind of most twenty-somethings. Lunch Lady may have closed out to a small crowd, but based on talent alone they could easily find themselves opening for the likes of Wavves, Best Coast, and Abe Vigoda on their way to becoming the next Cherry Glazzer.

Before Behavior took the stage an element of the venue came to mind that must be mentioned. This place was loud with a capital “Oh my god my eardrum just blew out.” Highland Park Ebell Club is one of those countless historic LA venues that dot the landscape, few of which feel like they were originally made for live music. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it absolutely leads to some of the most unique and visually stimulating venues in the country. Ebell club then is notable for the fact that it’s essentially a stripped out old theater. Floors and beams completely bare of carpet or any form of soundproofing reverberated the sound of each band (mind that all of them are some form of noise rock) tenfold. It was miraculous that the sound itself was so clear honestly, though it was hard not to feel for rookie concertgoers caught without a set of decent earplugs.

Behavior took the stage to a crowd not much larger than that for Lunch Lady. They were immediately much louder and more aggressive musically, though equally as unthreatening visually. They were an unapologetically stereotypical group of nerdy LA skater looking kids, but the intensity of their music, or at least the sheer volume, clearly conflicted their appearance. One thing the band had going for them was their drummer. Many of the songs had adequate guitar, but it felt like it was there for texture more often than not. The drums, however, were dynamic and exciting, while not exactly the signature tribal stylings of HEALTH, they were crisp and expressive, occasionally bordering on jazzy. Many of the tracks had noticeable inferences but they had done a decent job of blending them together to hide each individual component, though one could still pick out bits of Big Black or Metz here and there. Audience members were spread out in a peculiar pattern for the duration of the set. In fact, it was so strange it was jarring. At a typical show, the crowd congregates in front of center stage and flowers out in an increasingly less dense concentration. In this case, it was like someone had just dropped fifty points at random in the room and assigned an attendee to each one. Perhaps this lead to better acoustics, or better viewing angles, maybe it speaks to the social anxieties of the mid-twenties crowd in 2018, but whatever the case, it’s one of the strangest things I’ve seen at a show. Crowd distribution patterns aside, Behavior made a decent return on what was essentially a showcase for them courtesy of No Age. And while Lunch Lady claimed the title of the most impressive opener, Behavior will be well on their way with a little more time on stage.

No Age came out to a crowd at least three times the size of Behavior’s, and while they were still scattered about the venue, they did loosely gather in a more standard, less disconcerting pattern fairly quickly. As soon as the first song started up they immediately proved why they were the headliner with their significantly more polished (though still delightfully gritty) sound. The crowd was much more engaged with No Age up in front of them and when they played their classic, “Teen Creeps,” as their third track, the front of the house finally began to move in a brief modestly sized mosh pit. It shortly tuned into people just jumping and swaying more aggressively than usual, but every so often it would flare up into actual contact. Musically, they were much clearer and more engaging than previous acts, though that likely came from having performed for much longer than either of the openers have even been bands. Either way, it was refreshing to see onstage. No Age ran through a wide variety of songs, from slower more atmospheric tracks like “An Impression,” to aggressive noise rock cuts such as “Fever Dreaming.” In fact, the standout moment of the show had to be when they played “Fever Dreaming” followed by “Glitter,” completely changing the atmosphere of the tiny theater into that of a classic underground punk club. While it was always destined for No Age to be the standout of the night, the combination of the small room and the intimate crowd made for a rare concert experience with the LA legends that few in the crowd will forget.

It’s a hot topic to debate the death of rock and it’s surrounding genres. At the end of the day either answer is right, rock as a commercial entity on par with its appeal from the ’70s and ’80s is unequivocally dead, its crown now proudly worn by today’s rock stars of rap. Yet the genre itself will never die, and while the top of the pyramid may be old and weathered, anyone who looks a few layers down will find a host of new music that isn’t afraid to shatter boundaries. Rock will always be around, someone will see to that, and who knows, if the bands that come out of the underground are anything like No Age and their contemporaries from The Smell, maybe rock is better here than it ever was on top.

File Photo: Anthony Lopes