With No Parents playing The Hi Hat and Boston street punx A Global Threat playing Cafe NELA, the last Thursday in May provided some ultimate conflicts! But alas, the homies in Mind Meld offered us a stellar opportunity to go scope out the new Zebulon Cafe.
Located on the concrete island between the LA River and 5 freeway known as Frogtown, Zebulon is a super fresh cafe and music venue that fits in right alongside other new-ish establishments like Resident and The Hi Hat. As reported in LA Weekly, Zebulon began as a Brooklyn venue but closed its doors in 2012 after a decade of putting on shows. The same peeps behind Brooklyn’s venue appear to have moved West and teamed up with those behind LA’s Everloving Records to produce a new incarnation of the former East Coast establishment.
In summary: Itz dope!
Inside, the venue is split in two – a front cafe portion with full bar that is cozy enough for catching up with friends, and to the left, past the box office and another door, is the venue itself. The venue portion has a second bar, a few tiers of stadium seating along one side, a big corner-style stage, and an escape route to the outdoor hang space. If you’ve been to taco hot spot Salazar, then the outdoor area of Zebulon will maybe feel familiar since the two spaces share a common fence. An ultimate chill zone, the outdoors area has lots of tables and chairs, as well as a server making the rounds and keeping drinks full.
We arrived for openers Flying Hair. These dudes served up some heady nugs direct to the dome – hazy stoner psych that somehow finds a way to maintain a real sense of clarity. We’ll def be keeping an eye out for their next record that’s said to be out this year! Always great to see the prolific Lars Finberg – The Intelligence (and A-Frames further back) have been faves for years now, and the news jams feel super fresh! The night rounded out with Mind Meld. Well stocked with bangers from their recent debut album, as well as some new tracks, Mind Meld’s ability to lure you in and and spit you out in a head-bangin’ daze was on full display.
Great show, all around 🙂 Full gallery below.
Photos by Sergio Estrada