At the Dave and Buster’s Hollywood location, inside, visitors come to play some Dance Dance Revolution and eat some garlic parmesan fries. Further inside, in Function Room Three near the human claw machine, a mosh pit is in full swing and bands are playing for their fans who are screaming their hearts out.
Hosted by Gravity Bookings, a live event planner since 2014, the show brought people from all over Southern California to listen to their favorite bands play in a Dave and Buster’s. On the bill was Domino Effect, Of that Nature, Crossing I’s Dotting T’s, a surprise performance by Nervous Kids, and Lagrimas.
“We sold 350 in advance,” said Randy Brady, the founder and main event coordinator of Gravity Bookings. “Not everybody checked in, but I’d say, I mean, we sold the 50 that we were supposed to be a day of, maybe, like, 425, maybe even 450.”
In Hollywood’s Dave and Busters, crowd at the front of Domino Effect dances on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion. 
In Hollywood’s Dave and Busters, Domino Effect’s guitarist, Gael Marmolejo, jumps up in the air while playing on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion. 
In Hollywood’s Dave and Busters, attendee crowd surfs across the room during Domino Effect’s set on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion. 
In Hollywood’s Dave and Busters Of that Nature’s singer/bassist, Kenneth Palos, performs on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion. 
In Dave and Busters Hollywood, room three, Of that Nature’s guitarist, Karman Anthony Palos, plays on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion.
The energy in the room was buzzing after Domino Effect opened the show with their pop punk sound. They were shortly followed by Of that Nature, a three-piece band, played more post grunge, alternative metal music. Crossing I’s Dotting T’s played after, bringing out five-piece instrumentals that take influence from 1990s-2000s alternative rock. A surprise addition of Nervous Kids took the stage after, bringing back a pop punk sound to the room. Closing out the whole set, Lagrimas brought in their melodic crust energy that brought a passion to the pit.
“It was amazing,” Brady said. “ I was helping watch the door and wristband people. It was just the same kind of event, with new faces that this show brought into my world, and also just, like, to the event. Everyone was smiling, happy, you know? Having a good time. The music actually brought a lot more people together than I expected. We sold out the show, we went a little under capacity, knowing that people were gonna kind of walk up, being for a more punk rock show, you know? A lot of people don’t buy advance tickets. So we were expecting a good walk-up amount, until we, at one point, started having to turn down people from entering, because we had reached, like, our capacity. It was cool. We tried to accommodate as people were leaving and saying goodbye, we would let other people come in, just to be safe. That’s our main priority: having a safe, responsible, and fun time.”
Three days after the show, Brady spoke about his overall experience in hosting the show and how it went down.
Q.) What was your guys’ importance in having that show?
A.) So, recap real quick. Started throwing shows there for artists that were up and coming back in January 2025. We started bringing talent to different venues in LA, and Dave and Buster’s was open to the idea of bringing raves there. So we started bringing raves to them, and then we threw a jazz rave, and we started going from the direction of rave into live bands. So we had, like, Blame My Youth and other bands play along the way, and we had a few different genres. Like, all kinds of genres, like, DJ stuff, band stuff, and then, I think Domino Effects caught us posting some of the recaps for some of the past shows on Instagram. Domino Effect was like, “Oh, I want to do that,” so they reached out to us on the Instagram page, we responded, and said, “Oh, hey, what’s your lineup like? What kind of friends are you gonna have out? What kind of show is it?” Domino Effect gave us the rundown, and I said, “This is really cool. That would be really cool.” I’m sure Dave and Buster’s can agree because we have built a rapport with Dave and Buster’s, you know, like usually they’re pretty chill, lenient. With what they expect of an event, they’re pretty open to a lot of opportunities. So I called them right away and said, ” We have a big show that’s gonna go down,” and yeah, it went from there.
In Dave and Busters Hollywood, room three, Nervous Kids guitarist, Ryan DeMint, plays to the crowd on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion. 
In Hollywood’s Dave and Busters, security moves to stop the moshpit during Nervous Kids’ set on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion. 
In Dave and Busters Hollywood, room three, Nervous Kids guitarist, Arturo Lara, plays on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion. 
In Dave and Busters Hollywood, room three, fans circle the mosh pit during Nervous Kids’ set on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion. 
In Dave and Busters Hollywood, room three, Nervous Kids bassist, Damian Morals, sings to the crowd on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion.
Q.) How did you feel about going into it?
A.) I recognized a lot of the bands, especially La Grimas, Crossing I’s Dotting T’s. We’ve had Crossing I’s Dotting T’s in the past, so I knew I liked the lineup. Like, Domino Effect, that was a band I was getting familiar with. But it seemed really cool, and it was for a good cause. It was for mental health awareness, something that I aligned with.
Q.) Did you guys first pitch to have it in the arcade area or was it always going to be in one of the function rooms?
A.) When we first pitched the idea, they were open to having it in an arcade. But, they weren’t sure whether or not the crowd would be too active, so they wanted to give it a test run. I think everyone was pretty happy with it being the function rooms. It’s funny to me, guys, it’s almost like, it goes almost like a walking contradiction, because it’s, like, punk meets corporate, you know?
Q.) Did you guys make any profit from the event?
A.) No, well, basically, we work out a deal to pay out the bands. They got 80% of the door, which is actually most, like, higher than most of the splits we do there, but because we believe in the idea and the foundation, you know, we gave them 80% of the door. We had to pay for sound. We covered the sound of backline, and, uh, that came out of ours. So, basically, hooked them up big time for this one
Q.) Were you there toward the end of the show?
A.) Yeah, so I was, actually, one of the managers, asked me if I could cut the show off, and so we’ve had agreements before, like, we’re gonna run from 7 to 10:30, 7 to whatever, or if it’s a nighttime rave, we do 10 to 2. Then we’re usually there to, like, three or four closing up and, like, shutting down, getting all the gear out. We’ll go right up to 2. They abide by the laws, right? It was 11 o’clock, right? It was, like, 10:45, and he comes up to, I’ll be shut the show down. And so, uh, I think there was a miscommunication as to when, and the fact that there was no curfew that was initially agreed upon. But, of course, we were respectful with the time frame. It was 10:45, and he goes, “You’re supposed to be done at 10.” And I said, “Well, there’s miscommunication there, sorry about that.” He got physically, like, kind of aggressive, and also verbally, got in my face, and it showed, a fake contract to me, saying that I agreed to end at 10. And I looked at the paper, but I wasn’t able to read it, and he wasn’t showing me the contract I allegedly agreed to. So, at this point, I’m, like, confused, and he’s, like, “You need to shut it down.” He gets in my face and says, “Listen, you don’t want this smoke boy.” As he said that, I said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Then I think he realized that he crossed the boundary and told security to get me out of there, that I was threatening him. Eyewitnesses that saw what he said to me and saw that I was just keeping my cool, you know? Yeah, so, from there, I left the building, I wasn’t allowed to go back in. I said, “All right, then, you handle it, then.” And then he went to try and shut the show down on his own, for no reason. Like, there’s no reason. This is completely under control, the security unit said it was under control. My agreement was with a different manager. I went through to let them know about the show. This was completely uncalled for and unprofessional, the way he approached it. As I’m standing outside, I hear that they’re trying to pull the plug on the show. They threatened to call the police. I just went to get my car, and I had the Gravity Bookings team load up the gear for me, and we ended up just calling it at night.
Q.) How is the relationship between Gravity Bookings in Dave and Buster’s now?
A.) Yeah, we don’t know exactly where we stand, but we want to keep the relationship friendly. I mean, aside from the fact that he did kick… the promoter out of the event. I don’t think it’s Dave and Buster’s fault, to be honest, but it’s that manager, for sure, trying to take a different route than professionally expected. So we’re actually waiting to hear back from them. They’re closing, funny enough. They closed down today.
This interview took place on March 31, the day KTLA reported that a vermin infestation temporarily closed the Dave & Buster’s in Hollywood on March 26. The Gravity Bookings team and Brady were not informed about their closure days before the event. “Yeah, I found out recently that news as well!” said Brady. “ I have never known DnB to be unsanitary or unclean, so it was a shock. They are making the adjustments needed from what I’ve heard, but they’re having a convo with me on Monday, so I’ll have more info then. Pretty gross!”
Dave and Buster’s, both corporate offices and their Hollywood location, has been contacted via phone and email but has refused commentary at this time.
“Yeah exactly it’s all pretty strange I will definitely be expecting a higher standard of communication from venues going forward,” Brady said. “ It’s Buster behavior from Dave. Honestly, it was cool on both ends for giving it a shot, but… the fact is that the corporate greed took over, it seemed like. It just shows that you can unplug the gear, you can take away the power from the gear, but you can’t take away the power from people. It just didn’t make sense, you know? I’m still trying to understand it, but, I think everyone played really well. The talent was incredible for the system that we had set up.”
In Dave and Busters Hollywood, room three, the singer/bassist, Levi Tristao of Lagrimas plays on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion. 
In Hollywood’s Dave and Busters, management speaks to Lagrimas’ vocalist/drummer, Jose “Juice” Jesus Guzman in attempts to shut down the show on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion. 
In Hollywood’s Dave and Busters, Lagrimas’ vocalist/drummer, Jose “Juice” Jesus Guzman, plays on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion. 
In Hollywood’s Dave and Busters, attendee crowd surfs in act of protest during Lagrimas’s set on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion. 
In Hollywood’s Dave and Busters, crowd at the front dances to Lagrimas on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion. 
In Hollywood’s Dave and Busters, fogged up windows dripping with condensation. Citlali Barrera writes their love for Lagrimas on the glass. Taken on March 28. Photo by Allison Chung, Clarion.
With Lagrimas closing the show, drummer and vocalist, Jose “Juice” Jesus Guzman, spoke out regarding how Dave and Buster’s is only comfortable in accommodating shows for their own benefit, with a lot of the crowd holding the same sentiment.
