Monday re-cap: The best Cochina After Party ever

Photo: Mikhai Tran

Chris Payne (aka Whitman) has been doing the unplugged (literally—it’s in a park with no power) Cochina Fest for a number years, and I think I’ve hosted the after party for a few of those.

This past Monday was the most audiophonically depraved Cochina party, hands down.

Instead of solely acoustic sounds (Whitman, Nora Keyes, John Thill), Payne mixed things up and threw in some amplified performances (No Babies and BYODeath). The result: a superlative aesthetic and social collision.

Photo: Sean Carnage

Here’s Chris Payne—Whitman—with his bros Rich on cello and Jon on miscellaneous. Two of these gentlemen were rewarded for their spectral and haunting performance with a chilled bottle of Smirnoff Ice (but you’ll have to look at the full gallery below to see who took the biggest gulp).

Photo: Mikhai Tran

No Babies said they had to fly out after the show so I let them play second. I was worried for the other performers. Would their still be a club after No Babies’ set? This band is pure rowdiness. Well, I’m happy to say we all survived. It was a real pleasure hosting this band once again. I hope they heal and come back soon.

Photos: Sean Carnage

Nora Keyes is just one of the most superlative performers of all time. Period. I’ve been a fan since long before I lived in L.A., and now she’s a friend.

Still, we hadn’t seen each other in awhile—and I hadn’t heard her newest music.

Well I’ll be damned if she didn’t conjure up one of her best sets ever, complete with yodeling, cackling, and some truly rotten sounds.

Legends never fade.

John Thill got a bit faded, though. Here’s our bro getting Iced. Welcome back to Southern California, John! (Thill sounded as heartbreaking and amazing as ever between Smirnoffs BTW.)

BYODeath is the new punk band from Matthew who does Outsider Folk, etc., etc. These guys totally slayed. They were making me think: yeah—there is a folk/hardcore connection as they shredded party decorations, amps, ear drums…it got wild. Great job, guys.

And oh man what a fucking AMAZING audience! DJ K Mabs & Vice Cooler created one of the best mixes ever and a lot of people including me never wanted it to stop.