Just ahead of two all-star arena concerts this week, the independent dance club scene joins the groundswell of action in response to the devastating Los Angeles fires with a special edition of the L.A. Gives Back benefit at the Bellwether on Wednesday.
Hosted by IHeartComix, the dance party is curated by 11 leading promoters on-site, with a talent lineup that includes Alice Glass, Ladies of Leisure, Emo Nite DJs, Spank Rock, Falcons, SuperNova, Chrome Sparks, Kito, Walker & Royce, and Lil Mariko, plus several surprise performers. L.A. Gives Back is the annual IHC holiday party that normally benefits homeless nonprofits, but this one comes in response to a citywide emergency.
“I think in times like what’s happening now, this really shows the best side of who this city is,” says Franki Chan, founder of IHeartComix, the creative marketing agency, which has deep roots on the L.A. alternative dance scene. “It’s an immediate reaction to something that is going on. It’s a little bit more personal.”
Chan notes that the fires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena hit the arts community especially hard, including members of his own staff. Chan had arrived home from a trip to Japan the night before the fires began. Within days, the house where he lives and has the IHC offices near Sunset Boulevard was just half a block away from an evacuation zone.
“There were about 20-plus people that lost their homes that have either worked here or we hire frequently, or have been co-conspirators, artists, colleagues — people that we’ve worked with very closely,” says Chan. “That reality is kind of really hard to wrap your head around.
“It’s easy to wake up in Hollywood and look outside and see blue skies and everyone’s at the coffee shop or whatever, but at the same time, just a few miles away, people have lost everything,” he adds. “That conflict is very real. I think both realities need to exist right now.”
This week’s L.A. Gives Back party will be the seventh hosted by IHC. It will unfold in two spaces at the Bellwether — the main concert room and a club-like presentation in the Camille’s event space on the venue’s south side. Joining IHC on Wednesday are multiple popular promoters, from longtime supporters Brownies & Lemonade and A Club Called Rhonda to Pangea Sound and Production Club.
“This really puts our very special collection of nightlife brands on the forefront,” Chan says, adding that many on the bill are fully “capable of selling out multi-thousand rooms on their own, but you just never get to see them together. If you like dancing, if you like hearing a very broad range of music, then you’re going to have a good time.”
For anyone else, there will also be a livestream of the 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. show (and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. pre-show performances) available to watch on lagivesback.org and multiple other channels: Billboard’s YouTube page, Brownies & Lemonade’s Twitch account, Veeps, and On Air. All funds raised will go to the California Fire Foundation, MusiCares, Pasadena Humane Society and the Anti-Recidivism Coalition.
Chan normally spends months organizing the L.A. Gives Back benefit, but this time quickly organized a small army of at least 100 volunteers and donations that not only includes the performers, but promoters, backstage food, lasers, livestream crew, marketing and other production costs. The Bellwether donated the spaces, and Ticketmaster is waiving all fees for ticket purchases.
A sleep-deprived Chan was still nailing down performers on Tuesday. Among the highlights not to miss are singer Alice Glass, former member of Crystal Castles; and Ladies of Leisure, the quartet of DJs that includes Tove Lo, Leanne Allen, Jesse Selchow and Deirdre Coleman.
“There was so much help being given that it was almost hard to find places where you could be included or actually make a difference there,” Chan says of the response across the city. “I kind of feel like in times like these, everyone needs a focus on the things that they do really well, you know?”
Among the onstage hosts will be comic and musician Reggie Watts, who plans to improvise as usual, but keep the focus balanced between having a great night and the immediacy of the cause.
“My goal is to keep it fun and keep it weird but to also infuse that reminder of why we’re here,” says Watts. “We do need these spaces to kind of be around each other and to talk to each other in person. And I hope this event will have those moments. This is a great opportunity for people to be reminded of how important it is to meet in person and not solely rely on electronic means of image projection or lifestyle projection.”
Watts notes that full impact of the losses from the fires to the creative community remains unknown, but several studios he’s personally recorded in burned down. “So many artist’s studios burned down, homes burned down. All of the gear has been lost,” he says. “Everyone’s doing this hyper connected thing: How can I help? And that’s going to add even more value to this community.”