‘ALEXSUCKS’ Packs The El Rey Theatre In LA, Closing Out The Autopilot Tour

Out in Los Angeles California there’s been a shortage of artists to fill a certain type of void in alternative rock. It’s the kind of alt rock that’s been inspired by a fusion of modern LA punk bands. Names like ‘FIDLAR’, ‘The Buttertones’, ‘The Frights’, ‘Surf Curse’, and ‘Joyce Manor’ are staple names that come to mind. At the same time there’s a softer side to it as well. Then you find an artist like ‘ALEXSUCKS’ who perfectly fills that gap, and in all honesty creating a shame there’s not more artists that sound like this. Once hand picked a few years ago to open a last minute gig at the Kia Forum for the almighty ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’, ‘ALEXSUCKS’ has been spending the last few years in LA cutting their way through a lot of the smaller but established LA venues, including successfully selling out The Roxy. They’ve also played at venues as openers at places like The Fonda Theater, The Echo, and The Belasco, so it seems pretty fitting that The El Rey Theatre becomes the perfect next place for them to headline. This 770 cap room was filled to the brim with a nice crossover of alternative kids of all scenes from skaters, to goth kids, to emos, to crust punk kids, etc. 

The first opening slot was filled by the bassist for ‘ALEXSUCKS’, with his project being titled ‘orseno’. It was a fusion blend of edm and house music that saw him with two keyboards side by side as he juggled around building up the instrumental on the fly. Those that usually don’t watch these kinds of sets from an artist can definitely take away a certain unique type of talent, and perhaps a refreshing breather for someone that usually goes to shows that are mainly guitar driven. After a twenty five minute set, and twenty minute changeover came a band that modern punk bands oughta keep on notice. ‘Dogma Society’ hailing partially from Salt Lake City, as well as various neighborhoods in Los Angeles took the stage with force as the show saw its first mosh pit of the night. It felt infectiously raw and unapologetic and was sure to keep everyone on notice of their name. This band seems like a staple band of the scene to definitely make some infectious noise and will be put on many peoples radars in the next few years to come. 

Finally a raucous crowd awaited ALEXSUCKS, and what the crowd got was a 15 song 65 minute set of the biggest and baddest bangers in their discography. One can argue that Alex’s vocals have a clear hint of inspiration from The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas in it and it definitely can be heard when songs like ‘What’re We Doing Here’ and ‘Talk To You’ get performed. Three songs in, Alex’s girlfriend and fellow musician ‘Lola Blue’ was brought on stage to do a quick moment of guest vocals with a tambourine that made for a pure loving moment. Closing out with the title track of the newest EP ‘Autopilot’ (also the name of the tour) was a strong send off for what was the final day of this tour they wrapped up in LA. Notably, Nick Rattigan, frontman of ‘Surf Curse’ and ‘Current Joys’ was seen in the balcony vibing to each song, and it really feels like ‘ALEXSUCKS’ can be a shoe in for a tour for either one of his projects somewhere down the line. With a band like Surf Curse overselling the Hollywood Palladium a few years back and likely on their way to play venues in the 6000-7000 cap range, a slot like that could do wonders for an artist like ‘ALEXSUCKS’. All in all, it was a memorable show to be at in what is absolutely a big stepping stone in the career of ‘ALEXSUCKS’. Definitely an alternative artist no one should be sleeping on.