Actually, Records mini-tour hits L.A.

Last night, the Actually, Records Minotaur mini-tour wound up at the Silver Factory Studios in Central Los Angeles. I go to a decent amount of shows but never heard of the place. I tried to get there on time because I thought it was in a sketchy neighborhood and wanted to park nearby. Well, my brother and I got there late and the street was still desolate. It was that sketchy. But the spot wasn't a bad venue for a small show, and it turns out we weren't late because we spotted the familiar faces of Eric and Michelle right in front, as well as the Actually, Records proprietor Chien, who flew out from Chicago to observe the shows. (I thought he'd introduce the bands or show or something, but no.)


First up was Jack Tung, who went on well after 10:30 p.m. He was a one-man wrecking crew armed with atmospheric knob-turning, DNB-meets-metal beats, and guitar soloing (x4). A real intimate way to kick off the late-starting show, and I guess it worked. Every time I tried to introduce myself to the man, he was busy talking to ladies.


I have to admit that when Gold Medalists went on, I was a hard guy to please. It was past 11:30 and seeing the band's set list bummed me out because it went on forever. At least there was some amusing banter in which the singer/guitarist called his bassist a mofo, only to be informed that the latter's mom and dad were in attendance. The group's style was a pretty raw pop punk, and their second-to-last song was the heaviest and best cut.


What can I saw about Kite Operations but they totally ruled. Their unorthodox but ripping blend of noise, free jazz, and metal woke up the GR crew, who went straight to the front row to soak in the sound. It was also cool to finally meet Joe Kim (left) and the dudes in person. They have not only been in my blog and GR's review pages, but also in the mag's letters page, taking issue with some factual errors that we ran on them. But rad music heals all, and when we talked to the guys after the set it was my turn to give them shit for giving props to certain media sponsors of the tour that (1) wouldn't know good music if it pissed in their ears and (2) didn't even show up to the gigs. Definitely check out these guys and their live show if you think you can handle them.


The final performance was XYZR_KX, who played a mix of dance and ambient music. By then it was past 2:00 and way too late to stick around. Nothing personal, dude.


At the end of the night, Chien seemed happy with the tour. Nice guy, although I wish he introduced us to the artist who made the tour's cute flyer. I heard she was there. Meanwhile, Eric has already re-glossed the band of the night as "Kite Ops."