GWAR in Los Angeles

About GWAR

GWAR is a shock rock band that formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, though the project's roots trace back further to the late 1970s. The group is built around Dave Brockie's larger-than-life stage persona and the band's commitment to elaborate, grotesque costumes and theatrical brutality. Their shows are essentially performance art projects where the line between music and spectacle dissolves completely. Songs like "Rag Time" and "Sick of You" established them as serious musicians underneath the carnage, with actual songwriting chops that proved this wasn't just novelty act stuff. The band has maintained a cult following for decades by refusing to soften their approach or explain the point. They tour relentlessly, treat every show like it's their last, and have influenced everyone from shock rap to modern metal theater bands. The costumes have evolved constantly, the venue damage is real, and the audience expectation is simple: come ready to be horrified and entertained in equal measure.

Known for Rag Time, I'll Be Your Bolton, Sick of You, Slaughterama, Have You Seen Me

GWAR + Los Angeles

GWAR played House of Blues on October 23, 2025, and the 19-song set closed with one of the more unhinged encores in recent memory — Pussy Planet, Rock 'n' Roll Never Felt So Good, Sick of You, and a Seal cover of Kiss From a Rose. The Great Circus Train Disaster opened things properly, Saddam a Go-Go got its moment, and Bring Back the Bomb hit hard. Bad Bad Men and Tyrant King gave the middle its weight, and America Must Be Destroyed landed like it should. Los Angeles got the full treatment.

GWAR in Los Angeles News

• GWAR Announce Spring 2026 US Tour with Soulfly and King Parrot Consequence of Sound · Dec 15, 2025
• 'Let There Be GWAR' exhibit celebrates 40 years of metal's bloodiest band - Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times · Sep 18, 2025
• News: GWAR 40th Anniversary Exhibit to Run in Los Angeles New Noise Magazine · Sep 15, 2025
• ‘War pARTy’: Gwar 40th Anniversary Celebration Adds Retrospective Art Exhibition Coming to Los Angeles This Fall VICE · Aug 26, 2025
• GWAR announce massive retrospective gallery in Los Angeles Kerrang! · Aug 5, 2025

Live Music in Los Angeles

Los Angeles has a complicated relationship with metal. It's a city that birthed glam metal excess and nu-metal radio dominance, yet it's also where underground extreme music thrives in smaller venues and the devoted fringes. GWAR fits the latter—their industrial-grade shock value appeals to the LA metal faithful who reject mainstream polish and want their concerts to feel genuinely dangerous.

Los Angeles road trip to see GWAR?

Stay in Los Feliz, where you can walk tree-lined streets and catch views from Griffith Observatory. Dinner at Republique in the Arts District—refined French-inspired food in a restored factory space that feels more Paris than LA. Spend an afternoon at the Huntington Library in San Marino, a world-class art collection that justifies the drive. The city's recording studio history is everywhere; walk through Hollywood and you're literally surrounded by the spaces where hits were made. End the night at a jazz bar like The Fonda Theatre or catch live music on Sunset Boulevard.