Gallery: Hanni El Khatib, Bass Drum of Death and Tijuana Panthers at the El Rey Theatre

Kevin Bronson on October 28th, 2013

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It was a massive night for L.A.-based Innovative Leisure Records on Friday at the El Rey Theatre. It was also a huge night for sweat. Three of IL’s artists (that’s about 20 percent of the roster) brought their blood-pounding rock to the El Rey, headed up by Hanni El Khatib, touring behind the sophomore album, “Head in the Dirt,” that saw him graduate from a two-piece garage-rocker into a much larger sound. Mississippi duo Bass Drum of Death set the tone with songs off their self-titled debut released in June, and Long Beach’s Tijuana Panthers kicked off the night with surf- and garage-influenced blasts off their IL release “Semi-Sweet.” Mosh pits, banging bodies, vicious guitar-rock … it was all that and a little more.

Photos by David Benjamin