ARTICLE BY CHERYL CHENG
AUGUST 22 | DOWNTOWN L.A.—Wales punk band Joanna Gruesome made their Los Angeles debut tonight at The Smell, a warm-up show before performing at FYF Fest on Sunday. On tour in support of the excellent full-length Weird Sister, Joanna Gruesome was engaging, lively and showed a lot of promise.
Any show at The Smell has to take in consideration the venue itself. Like a Woody Allen film in which the location becomes an equally important character, The Smell itself becomes a presence in the show, with the venue's oppressive heat, the DIY aesthetic, and the chamber-like echoes the warehouse space creates. With these aspects in mind, the venue can become somewhat of a distraction.
Nevertheless, Joanna Gruesome blazed through their set—that is blazed as in "to proceed extremely rapidly," as the set was only about 20 minutes. But perhaps it was partly an effort to entice fans to see them again at FYF Fest.
Surprisingly, in spite of the band's punk sound, the members exuded extreme politeness. Singer Alanna Gruesome—each member having adopted the "Gruesome" surname a la Los Campesinos—admitted she doesn't usually talk in between songs. "How are you?" she awkwardly asked the crowd, who responded with cheers. "How are you?" a fan yelled back. "Good," Alanna said with a smile.
Her polite mannerisms included keeping an eye on those in the audience who were moshing, asking them several times to be mindful of others. Before the last song, Alanna requested that everyone "just be nice" so that all could have a good time. A person in the crowd responded indignantly, "Don't tell me what to do. You're not my mother." To which Alanna quickly replied, "Then fucking leave." It was an interesting dynamic—to potentially turn off a fan—but it also showed the degree to which the band cared about all their fans' well-being.
If attending FYF Fest this weekend, I'd highly recommend heading to the festival early on Sunday to see Joanna Gruesome for yourself.
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