Scene Report: EQUALIZER presented by Heterodox Records at NO FUN (10.18.25)

Event: EQUALIZER presented by Heterodox Records

Date: 10.18.25

Venue: NO FUN – 1709 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR

^{Disclaimer: Time is a slippery bastard. What you’re about to read happened in some kind of order, maybe not the one you’d expect. Dialogue has been trimmed, warped, and occasionally shoved through a meat grinder for clarity. Reality remains mostly intact.}

Tonight began with a slight wardrobe crisis. Turned out to be the only true dilemma of the evening – it was trying to decide between wearing my reliable long-sleeve tee or my new shirt that says “The Only Good Nazi is a Dead Nazi.” I decided against wearing the latter because it implies that there is a good Nazi. Spoiler alert: there isn’t. Nazis must be destroyed.

As mentioned before in other scene reports (Scene Report: EQUALIZER presented by Heterodox Records – No Fun Bar), NO FUN in Portland is a small venue. While some venues might try and use the word “exclusive” or “intimate”, NO FUN doesn’t shy away from the fact it’s a tight room pressed between Portland’s veins – and that’s the charm. It’s kind of turning into a bunker for the weird, the wired, and the eternally overstimulated. Hold up, I just saw Cyclop Toad roll out his contraption of video synthesis. He dragged out this twitching box of madness, a contraption that looked equal parts video altar and semi-functional time machine. What a nice surprise. I could already feel the overstimulation humming through the floorboards – exactly the right kind of chaos for a Saturday night at NO FUN.

First up tonight is NNDL. Apparently this is a brand spanking new setup for him, so I’m curious to see what kind of wave of dread we’re about to get hit with. Instead, something stranger happens. I was expecting to be washed away in an industrial ocean, but tonight it feels like we’re dragging up an ancient chain from a black moat, each metallic link screaming against the air as a drawbridge rises somewhere at the edge of Nothing. Which makes sense considering one their albums I’ve reviewed is called Nothing, Nothing. Just as I’m scrawling that down, SPINES leans over and hijacks my notebook like a gremlin.

SPINES: Industrial workout for the senses. What if I brushed my teeth to this music. I just like the thought of doing mundane tasks to this eerie mechanical noise.

Check out some of the set below:

There is so much going on tonight that it’s going to be hard to remain coherent. Everyone is here. Kid Camaro, Wet Mango, Eric Schlappi, Tati, Soup Purse, WMX and lots of other folks – even the king of Goblincore himself, SLTHR is here. Oh also, Occurian is here and I need to correct the record. He has, in fact, seen Face/Off. However, in our ongoing cultural excavation, we unearthed a list of Wesley Snipes films that he has somehow missed entirely. Below is the list for educational purposes. And before connoisseurs of the fine arts go nuts for me not including Demolition Man, I confirmed that Occurian has already learned how to use the three seashells. Also, I’d like to add To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.

Holy shit, time to switch gears because Togusa’s set just started. He is KILLING IT. It’s beats, it’s love, it’s energy. And speaking of Wesley Snipes, Togusa’s set makes me feel completely ready to be decapitated by Blade himself – where’s the blood raining from the ceiling when you need it. I’m trying to get a closer glimpse of the set but I can’t really move – it’s shoulder to shoulder, packed tight as circuitry. Beats strike like live wires, every one sparking off another until the whole room hums with electromagnetism and sweat. I did catch a glimpse of Todd dancing and if you can make a Soup Purse lose all bodily control and forget about the shortage of VISO energy drink gripping the nation, you’re operating on another level entirely. What’s more amazing than anything is that this is only Togusa’s second live set ever (their first was LITD 85) – the precision, the control, the sheer violence of those frequencies leaves me with only one thought: when the hell are they playing another show? Dynamite set.

Did I mention everyone is here? The usual crew, the wandering goblins, and a whole new wave of faces pulled in by the gravity of the night. NO FUN is bursting at the seams. Normally there’s a table upfront by the stage on the left – prime real estate if you want to sit right by the stage to soak up the sonic sunlight, but they removed it to make room for dancing. Wise decision. Especially since SPINES‘ set is starting.

SPINES music is what Technoir was always meant to be. The music is alive and everyone is feeling it. I think shows like this don’t come around too often. The universe rarely lines up this cleanly. It’s that rare night where schedules, weather and stellar music sets are in sync on a Saturday in Portland. The perfect storm. The captains of this bloody sea are the music makers and we are the ancient sea life swimming next to a vessel that’s out of this world, as it guides us safely off to darker and more dangerous ground. SPINES, our resident Alien sea captain, is absolutely shredding this place to bits. The crowd’s moving as one organism – hypnotized and feral. I will never miss an opportunity to bathe in their organic beats and wailing siren frequencies. Video below courtesy of @occurian 🅾.

You want to know how good tonight’s show is? So good that I haven’t once mentioned the Devil’s Dill restaurant next to NO FUN supplying all of us mutants with the best sandwiches in Portland. Their sandwiches are the gold standard for the overstimulated and undernourished. Although they did change out their fries from steak fires to a smaller caliber (size, not quality) fry. It’s a bold move to change a menu item in a restaurant that’s highly acclaimed by neurodivergent and autistic folks who often use specific food as comfort when planning their schedules. I may or may not be talking about my self.

I was skeptical at first, but the fries are actually delicious. Small crisis averted. Just in time for Production Unit Xero and Enzo Caselnova‘s set. On the flyer they’re calling themselves “ENZO X PUX.” I tried suggested to them the name EnXero, but that one landed like a balloon full of gravy. It’s probably a good idea I don’t run my own marketing company or anything. But they did tell me they decided on a new name for this collab and it’s officially the Sons of Aethyr. It’s a deep cut, because it’s the name of a PUX album from like 15 years ago. But honestly, it’s a fitting name – because that’s what this set sounds like: the offspring of some magical arcana blasting chaos magick into our souls of our eardrums. Two sonic sorcerers calling lightning into the room. Their knobs make the air hum with static and affection. What does that even MEAN! The dancers dance to the music – to the sweet love of it. No, I’m not having a stroke, it’s the sweet love of it … where’s there’s no demons allowed. Well, some are allowed, but they must follow the rules, honor the collective or face the consequences of community.

I don’t care where you end up tonight – you won’t top this. The energy is frenetic and the community is swelling. The love is sharp, bright, and impossible to contain. Everyone’s laughing, sweating and colliding in rhythm. It’s the kind of night that might convince you into believing that survival may still be a group activity. We’re all happy to be alive – maybe not now, but at least … here. One of the last frontiers of collective sanity in a country drowning under fascist rot. Portland remains alive because its people still believe in each other, and that, in this America, is revolution.

Also, related Tati drew a picture of a fox in my notebook: