Tearist, MEN, The Younger Lovers - The Smell - October 8, 2011
See also: Our cover story on Tearist.
Lina Lecaro Yasmine Kittles
Tearist, MEN, The Younger Lovers
at The Smell
October 8, 2011
Better than... being rich from a job you hate.
MEN's JD Samson got a bunch of attention last week -- positive and negative -- for an article she wrote on Huffington Post called "I Love My Job, But It Made Me Poorer." While some thought she was complaining, it was an honest expression of the plight many revered artists face; thousands of adoring fans doesn't necessarily equal money in the bank. After MEN's packed performance at The Smell Saturday night, let's just say that JD is rich in the way that counts.
MEN are currently on tour with CSS, who headlined Saturday night's Culture Collide fest at the Echoplex (both bands also played CC's Antics block party Sunday). It's somewhat telling that they chose to play The Smell, the all ages downtown underground venue known for its $5 shows. It sucks to struggle financially, yes, but playing in spaces that allow you to do whatever you want is important for a band like MEN.
It was important for the two acts before them too. Tearist continue to be one of the most compelling acts in Los Angeles. The hypnotic electro-noise duo offer ragged yet infectious rhythms and raging, strangely sexy freakouts. 
Lina Lecaro JD rocks a tampon string hat at The Smell
Singer Yasmine Kittles and William Strangeland-Machaca have a chemistry somewhere between Suicide and The Kills, but more unpredictable. When Kittles banged on the stage and the club's brick walls with a metal pipe -- and then tripped over one of them onto the floor and shrieked -- we couldn't tell what was intentional and what wasn't. It didn't matter. They tore it up.
The Younger Lovers and MEN reviews below.
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