Tag Results: pop & hiss
Los Angeles Times // Coachella 2012: “Le Butcherettes come to festival, conquer it”
All Teri “Gender Bender” Suarez had to do was walk onstage. Five steps to her keyboard and one uncomfortable-looking chicken-squat later, and she already looked as if she were in need of an exorcism. Once she struck her instrument and began sputtering in time to the beat in a crouched position, the gentleman standing next to me leaned over and said, “I’m scared already.”
This, as anyone who has seen Le Butcherettes before can attest, is when the fun begins.
The local group came to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the midst of recording its new album, and were augmented here by mentor/producer and frequent collaborator Omar Rodriguez Lopez. The member of At the Drive-In was the one and only calm presence on stage, his forceful punk-rock bass guiding Suarez and drummer Lia Braswell away from completely losing it.
LA Times Pop & Hiss’ Todd Martens Top Albums of 2011 And At #1 Is Le Butcherettes
On May 10, the No. 1 act on this list officially released its new album. Not a day has gone by since when I didn’t listen to at least one song from that CD.That made picking a favorite release in 2011 a rather easy task, but what follows are 14 other albums I still can’t wait to hear again. There will be no extended essay or grand cultural commentary here, just some artists I hope some may believe are worth exploring.
No. 1. Le Butcherettes, ”Sin Sin Sin” (Rodriguez Lopez / Sargent House): Everything about this album screams now. Based in Los Angeles and formed in Mexico, this band delivers current-events hard rock that defies genre borders, and it’s led with fearless bravado by Teri “Gender Bender” Suarez. Whether it’s dead authors, poverty or social injustice, Le Butcherettes vamp, rant and howl, a reminder that only rock ‘n’ roll can have this much fun tackling big ideas. - Todd Martens
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LA TIMES / Le Butcherettes let it all out in Chicago
L.A.-based trio Le Butcherettes has had something of a coming out party in Chicago. Though Pop & Hiss was forced to piece together the act’s Lollapalooza set via YouTube clips, the excitement and ferocity of the hard rock trio could still be felt through these trusty-ol’ tinny desktop speakers at our downtown HQ.
Teri “Gender Bender” Suaréz was in fine form, and even in the two-and-a-half-minute clip below, she’s a force that demands attention. Her voice is a dexterous thing, as she knows how to shade a yell with hints of scorn, sarcasm, slyness or whatever the moment calls for. Her rhythm section does plenty of heavy lifting as well, opening up the floor to let Suaréz bounce, run and level all sorts of abuse on her guitar. Before all is said and done, she punctuates the set to a close with a monstrous howl and topples onto a photographer.
At the start of the below video, you’ll notice Suaréz has a little fun with drummer Gabe Serbian. “Puke all the time,” she sings as she looks his way. Serbian had reportedly vomited off the stage more than once during the set, and though this clip appears to be vomit-free, Serbian clearly didn’t let an upset stomach slow him down.
Perhaps he was suffering exhaustion from the Chicago heat, or maybe he just had marriage jitters? After the Lollapalooza set, Serbian flew back to L.A. to celebrate his union with Dum Dum Girl bassist Bambi Davies.
Photo: Le Butcherettes at Lollapalooza in Chicago on Friday. Credit: Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
LA Times / RX Bandits take a bow at final L.A. show at the Glass House
The Glasshouse in Pomona has long felt like a home base for the progressive ska sounds of the RX Bandits. Crowded in a thicket of floppy-haired, bearded twenty-somethings, the swelling chants of “RXB! RXB! RXB!” on Saturday night were loud enough to drown out the thought that this would in fact be the second to last show of the band’s farewell tour, following 16 years, six studio albums and endless rounds of touring. This last L.A. County show came on the heels of a previous night at the Mayan Theater on Thursday.
Emerging from darkness and manning their respective battle stations with a hired horn section in toe, the sputtering drum line of “In Her Drawer” from their 2006 album “…And the Battle Begun” caused an irreversible seismic shift in the pit. Molten with excitement, testosterone and flailing dance moves, hordes of front row fans compressed into a cluster of whirling energy silhouetted by the glow of flashing stage lights. Off to the side, shards of brass from guest saxophonists added the kerosene, revitalizing the band’s sound after the departure of saxophonist Steve Borth and trombonist Chris Sheets in recent years.
