Grizzly Bear at The Greek (10/10/12)

There are certain concerts that reverberate through your head for days. Accompanied by a buoyancy of spirit that such profound fulfilment can bring. It certainly puts a bounce in my step. Wondrous spectacle, fragile delicacy punctuated by crescendos of sweeping bombast and the hypnotically chaotic compositions that somehow all pull together under the creamy harmonies of their beautiful voices. That's a Grizzly Bear concert!

I felt serendipity was on my side when I started to climb the long hill up from Los Feliz Boulevard to The Greek and the kindly Joe Napolitano and Jillinda Palmer took pity on the elderly gentleman trudging slowly up the sidewalk. They pulled over and gave me a ride the rest of the way. I knew the night would be good right then and there.

The weather was perfect for a Fall night, but frankly, if it got cold, no one noticed. I had a good seat in the front section so was just as glad I wasn't in the overcrowded pit, which looked like it was filled with some of Los Angeles' tallest music fans. 

I only saw some of the Lower Dens opening set, but it sounded pretty and an appropriate thematic lead in for Grizzly Bear. By the time the headliners came on stage, right on schedule at 8:45, all the seats had filled up. Ambient chords washed out over the crowd, kind of like a monochromatic overture, as fog and lights wrapped the stage in a bluish glow and odd ghostly figures with sad eyes slowly rose from the stage into the air. 

I'm not sure what they represented, but to me they looked vaguely like floating sperm with long tails of twisted umbilical cord. Maybe they were hanging IV bottles. Or maybe I was reading too much into it. Anyway, during the course of the evening, they would rise and fall, sometimes in unison, sometimes separately. What this opening did was induced a trance-like mood in the audience who were then prepared for whatever direction Grizzly Bear had in mind.

It's a far cry from the first time I ever saw them at Spaceland in 2006, when Ed Droste (at right) had first gotten a band together to satisfy the demand for live shows once his music broke on Myspace. They sat on the floor and fiddled with knobs and buttons, played guitars and keys, and performed a stunning recreation of the original music Ed Droste had composed and recorded by himself in his room.

Christopher Bear, Daniel Rossen and Chris Taylor have been Grizzly Bear for about six years now, as both performers and writers, and I've seen them grow from Spaceland to The Troubadour to The Walt Disney Concert Hall to The Wiltern to The Hollywood Palladium. In fact, the last time I saw them was three years ago at The Palladium and it was a big disappointment because the sound was awful, all arena thump and way too bass heavy. Removed all the nuance and basically ruined their music.

But I also knew The Greek would be a perfect place to restore their integrity and that they did. Obviously their new album Shields has had an impact already because as soon as the low thumps of "Speaking in Rounds" began, the audience rose to its feet and squealed in delight. We never sat down again. Next, they went backward to the first song on the album, the single "Sleeping Ute" and it's propulsive beat which breaks mid-way to reveal a delicate reverie at the center.

From then on it was a journey back to previous albums with new songs strategically placed for maximum impact. I was glad they sang so much from Veckatimest including album favorites like "Cheerleader", "Two Weeks" and the challenging "While You Wait For The Others", but they covered all but one song from Shields. With the aid of an additional keyboardist, Aaron Arntz, who made the band a five-piece, they were able to fill out their sound to a near-perfect recreation of the recordings.

This is one of those bands that, no matter how good they sound on record, they are even better in person. The singing is stronger, the orchestrations more grandiose, and the emotional impact more... impactful. There's little between-song nonsense as they get down to the serious business of creating a nearly elusive balance between psychedelic rock and art-rock, accompanied by a visual presentation that hypnotizes the audience.

The singular light-hearted moment came when Ed commented, "It sure smells like the audience is having a good time". Yes, the air was filled with a fragrant aroma. Contact highs were epidemic. It was wonderful to hear them go all the way back to Horn of Plenty for "Shift", which they had rearranged for the full band on their EP release of 2007, Friends and presented here live. From Yellow House came "Lullaby" and, during the encores, "Knife" which features Chris Taylor's extraterrestrial puppy yelps.

The concert, proper, ended with the last two songs from Shields, "Half Gate" and the splashy "Sun In Your Eyes" which provided an appropriately dramatic and bombastic finale with the lighting following suit (see below). The three encore songs kept us up at that high point even after we filed out into the night. The audio and visual stimulation of this show will make it  truly a highlight of the year. And the audience appeared to have been held completely in thrall. It was the kind of audience that make you proud of Los Angeles. There's a warmth that I see coming from this city's music fans that makes me wonder if it's the same elsewhere.
 

I had the great good luck of going to a show at Hotel Cafe the next night and meeting Grizzly Bear's guest musician for this tour, Aaron Arntz (seen second from right with the rest of the band), and we got to chat for a little while. I was eager to ask what it is like to perform with such a spectacular light and effect show going on around the band. He said it's not at all distracting, but actually enhances their experience on stage and adds drama to the concert. Michael Brown is the extraordinary lighting designer who designs for the legitimate theatre as well as rock and roll concert staging. I noted the dreamy weightlessness that was similar to the floating mason jars that hovered around the stage at their Palladium show three years ago. That was Michael Brown as well and he seems to be the perfect designer for this band as they are on the same elusive wavelength.

As I related to him how I first saw Grizzly Bear at Spaceland in 2006, he said he had been part of that show as a player in the opening band, Hour of the Shipwreck. I had been impressed with that band as well, only now I learned from Aaron that their drummer had been Barbara Gruska (now of The Belle Brigade). I even saw Aaron performing with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros last May at The Greek. The criss-cross overlapping of bands and players probably happens a lot more than I can keep track of.

His being asked to join Grizzly Bear for this tour was unrelated to being on the stage with them six years ago, and was a happy coincidence. The band was still in town as this was the last show of the U.S. leg of their world tour and they departed for London on Sunday to cover Europe for the next month. Taking their light show and floating sperm with them. This was my seventh time seeing Grizzly Bear and it was certainly one of the very best shows I've seen (or heard) from them. It's a week later and I'm still vibrating.

whrabbit

Feed Your Head Show at Lot 1 - October 13, 2012

Come on out and give Soular Brothers a nice send off on Saturday night, October 13th at my show at Lot 1. They have been a residency band for my monthly event for three months running, and I like this idea. We even saw them through a name change (from The WildBunch) and I have enjoyed the super sets they  provided in August and September.

Tomorrow I make them the headliners and have surrounded them with some new bands and my friends, The Happy Casualties who, as the show's capper, will send you out into the night on a high note. To open I have the pleasure of presenting David Piorek of The Preacher's Son showcasing his new project The Trembling Tabernacle of Piorek. And with a name like that I expect something daunting, overwhelming and spiritually uplifting.

Next up is Simon Cardoza's voyage back to the performing stage in a band called, you guessed it...Cardoza. I saw them once at Casey's Bar and was pleasantly surprised at how tight and accomplished they seemed already. Simon's singing voice was a particular surprise. Headliners Soular Brothers hit the stage at 11, bringing their Long Beach sound with them.

There's beers and burgers and time spent with Eileen and Jason of Lot 1. Sean Guerin is doing sound and Rebecca Balin will handle the door. Do drop in and say 'hello'.

whrabbit

The World Record Record Release Extravaganza at Echoplex - October 4, 2012

Even though it was a Thursday night, that didn't stop the celebration for the release of the first record from The World Record (above) in six years from going on for hours. Radio Free Silver Lake hosted the giant show that featured four bands on the main stage and three other bands doing acoustic turns over in the corner between sets. And a huge crowd of well-wishers turned out on a week night to pick up copies of this hot new album. (I've listened to my copy and it's a superb record)

I tried to get there as early as possible, still missed the first band, but saw most of the acoustic set by The Breakups (at left) who were down to two members. Jake Gideon is such a good singer that it was just as polished as a full band set. Just as they finished, Seasons (below) fired up the main stage and this was when I notice the house that Aaron Ballard had told me he had constructed for the show. It hovered, like Dorothy's house, over violinist Caitlin Wolfberg, who bears no resemblance to the Wicked Witch of the West (except for maybe the magic she does with a violin).

Our attention was drawn to the digital shirt that was illuminating itself in time to the music on lead singer Nic Garcia. I enjoy the harmonizing they've been polishing with John and Kaitlin on key songs. They were in their usual tip-top form, even adding a trumpet player for the evening.

I actually feared for Kaitlin (at left) after Aaron told me he built the floating house in his gallery and then couldn't get it out the door because it was too big. He had to remove the roof and re-attach it at the Echoplex before the show, so it was held together with tape and hope. Fortunately there were no earthquakes (or twisters).

The sets were somewhat abbreviated to accommodate all the acts performing and the party atmosphere made one want to wander around and socialize. So I managed to miss The Damselles and the TC4 by hanging out on the patio and being taken to the green room. I was out front for the beginning of The World Record and, even though I've seen this band many times over the years. They sounded like a hot, new band, full of energy and enthusiasm.

It reminded me of the first time I saw them. It was at a Henry Clay People show (bash!) at Spaceland in April, 2009, and it was late, I was hanging out with Evan and Brett Marie Way and Brett said I had to stay to hear The World Record even though it was probably 12:30 in the morning. But I stayed and Brett Marie was right, they blew me away. Such harmonies! Such classic sounding pop songs! Very similar to The Parson Red Heads, but definitely their own band.

It all came back last Thursday night as they dominated the stage of Echoplex, even adding solid back up as the set progressed. Great new songs from the album included the title tune, "Freeway Special", "Be Nice" and "Cats On the Roof" and "We're #1" but one of the highlights was when I was taken backstage to watch from the wings. What a treat! I could really observe just how much hard work goes into making them soar. Ther were definitely number 1 tonight.

And soar they did, with Andy Creighton in strong voice, backed up by Aaron and then a brass section which added so much pizazz to the music, it just swept you up. Of course the sterling guitars of Andy and Aaron have always been a powerful component in their compositions. The shot above shows The Damselles on stage with them.

Afterward, I saw some of Geronimo Getty's fine acoustic set (at right) in the corner and Francisco The Man who finished out the musical portion of the night with a rousing show. Apart from the music and festivities, it was great to hang out with so many wonderful people who came out. The night eventually became a swirl of impressions, but I remember nice chats with Paulie and Cristal Pesh, Jef Hogan, John Seasons and Kathryn Pinto in the green room, Ruthann Friedman Carlisle, Ryan Fuller, Jake Gideon, who else? Hung around with Gerg, Rob Danson (Happy Birthday) Bronson, The Seasons gang. Couldn't have been a better night. I snuck back in to get a shot from the stage after it was over...for mood, and to prove to myself that I stayed till the end.

whrabbit
my photos, too.

The Album Leaf at The Satellite - September 29, 2012

On Saturday, September 29, I went to see The Album Leaf at The Satellite. This band has such an interesing history, beginning as a solo side project of musician Jimmy LaValle that has evolved into a highly respected musical project with fantastic fans that even get Album Leaf tattoos to show their devotion. Sometimes they play as a band in venues like El Rey, or in a nearly solo configuration like I saw at The Echo in 2008. Well this was a really special show that was being filmed for an online TV show called Audio-Files that has shows of bands like Ramona Falls, Damien Jurado and Low.

My history with The Album Leaf goes back to The Black Heart Procession by way of Calexico, actually by way of a poster for a concert by Calexico. Let me explain...in 2006 I was looking through the LA Weekly for upcoming concerts and saw a poster for a show by Calexico that looked so appealing I knew I would like this band. I listened to music samples on their Myspace page (yes, back then) and fell in love with the band on the spot, bought Garden Ruin (loved it), and got a ticket for this concert on June 13, 2006 at The Fonda.

But as I walked into The Fonda that night, The Black Heart Procession were performing "Guess I'll Forget You" in an auditorium swimming in fog and blue and purple day-glo light. I think I was hypnotized within 15 seconds. Jimmy LaVale was a member of the band that night and in a couple of subsequent shows I attended, but then he was gone. Off to devote all his energy to something called The Album Leaf.

I only had to hear one song by this band to become completely enamored of this music. It was a blending of some of the things I like best...instrumental music, piano, softly understated vocals, intelligent orchestrations and haunting melodies. I think I was a fan for a long time before I finally got to see then live. There's no stage craft at all, just musicians sitting on a stage and playing serious music. I found it completely unpretentious and hypnotically moving.

I think Saturday's show was the best I've seen. Four musicians make up The Album Leaf right now and some play a variety of instruments. But from where I was standing Jimmy LaValle was not four feet in front of me playing his keyboard. I got to see right up close the remarkably fluid way his hands fly across the keys. What a privilege to witness that.

I only recognized a couple of songs as they focused on most of the new songs from their great new EP Forward/Return, which they were selling that night. It's a mostly instrumental recording that plays much like a beautiful film score for a movie yet to be made. The incredibly committed playing by all members of the band made it seem like they all reallly believe in this record.

After five incredible concerts in one week, I expected at least one of the shows to fall short. It didn't happen.

whrabbit
photos by Brad Roberts

Earlimart at The Satellite - September 28, 2012

Just a quick jotting to say how the concert week continued in high gear as Earlimart gave what may be one of the best sets I've ever seen from them at The Satellite on Friday night, Sept. 28. And this is from someone who has seen them about 15 times. Aaron Espinoza was in a reflective and thoughtful mood as he announced that the band would be on a hiatus for a little while after this show, promising that this would be a celebratory set that featured many greatest hits. And even though their new album, System Preferences, would not be released until October 16, Aaron said he would be selling them after the show outside the bathrooms.

Every number they played from the new CD was beautifully rendered and showed that their knack for writing immediately appealing songs has not been diminished one iota over the years. Throwing in classics like "Heaven Adores You" and "Happy Alone", it all blended seamlessly with new classics like "97 Heart Attack" or "U & Me". They're music just melts me.

What was most moving was seeing a sentimental side to Aaron which he usually hides under the wraps of his often profanity-laced banter between song. Actually I've always enjoyed that sarcastic side of his humor, and find it funny he can't restrain himself even when there are children in the audience. Well, like I've always said, no one was ever corrupted by a bad word.

When he talked about how grateful he was to the local music community, how he had no idea where he might have ended up and said this neighborhood saved his life, I could relate in a certain way. I know I've met many individuals who would say the same thing. I can only relate what it did for me. You see, when music re-entered my life about seven years ago, it shook me to my very foundation, turned me completely upside down and rearranged all my priorities. Earlimart was one of the reasons. I started going out to shows and clubs, met hundreds of wonderful new friends, decided to try writing and felt like my life had been given a whole new sense of purpose. Like Aaron, I thank you all. 

Had to get that out. I'll be posting a more full some review on Tuesday at Radio Free Silver Lake.

whrabbit
photos by Brad Roberts

Menomena Triumphant at El Rey - Sept. 27, 2012

I just got home from the Menomena show at El Rey and I am completely bedazzled (12:30 AM). I am not surprised because they had the same impact on me when I saw them for the first time at The Troubadour back in 2007. The originality, the creativity, the love of what they're doing, is so completely infectious, you feel a part of the creative process as you watch them. What a gift for an audience. This was the fourth time I've seen them, and I think it was the best of all.

I'd heard how the one of the original three members, Brent Knopf,  had decided to split amicably after the release and tour of Mines (September 16,2010 at El Rey) in January 2011 to focus on his own music in Ramona Falls. This prompted Justin Haris and Danny Seim to commit to continuing forward with the band and record their fourth album, Moms, which was released on September 18, 2012. Recruiting other musicians from the Portland Oregon area, the album was put together the same way their others took shape, with each artist adding his own contribution separately and the final mix being composed in a computer program they affectionately call Deeler.

What they create is a music with no specific genre, it's a stew consisting of indie, jazz, classical, dance music, and a few other things I can't think of. And I love it. Moms may be their finest achievement yet, and hearing the songs live only makes that argument stronger. They've outdone themselves lyrically this time, with the same brainy intelligence they always display but now with more personal and even haunting observations on life.

 

I was startled when five musicians strode out on stage because I thought they'd be down to two performers and a lot of looping pedals and prerecorded samples. And I'd seen them as three before, and more at El Rey in 2010, which I recall was a surprisingly lackluster show which made me wonder. They kicked off with an arrangement of "Muscle 'n Flo" from Friend and Foe that had to be retooled for the new mix of instruments, which included two (!) keyboards, bass, drums and Justin Harris trading off on guitar and baritone saxophone. At first it sounded a little unfocused and I feared for the new band make-up.

Once they played the amazing song "Plumage" which launches their new album, I relaxed as the perfect mix of voices and instruments reached peaks I'd never heard before from Menomena.The concert took off from there and I was elevated to somewhere near the ceiling for the duration of their show. It was sublime and yet only played to an El Rey that was only three quarters full. Where were the people! Everyone I know should have been there because this was one of the best sets of the year.

They ended up playing all but two songs from Moms, and I could not have been more pleased because in the less than two weeks I've had the album it has made an indelible impression on me and represents a giant leap forward in their songwriting and now in their performance skills. Throwing in songs like ""Rotten Hell" from Friend and Foe and "Queen Black Acid" from Mines made a wonderfully diverse program and each band member shined. I love that they all sing. I left the theatre a mile high!

This spectacular week just keeps getting better and this was the best show of the week, so far. Boy it's really fun catching all these shows where my favorite albums of the year are being performed live. And to see these artists when they are at the absolute peak of their performance skills. It's not like seeing someone trying to keep up with past peaks that are not all that enthused or someone trying to recreate something that was gone long ago. This is a special time and I am going to bask in it. And to see bands in a wonderful venue like El Rey only make me appreciate Los Angeles all that much more.

whrabbit
photos by Brad Roberts

Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra at The Fonda - September 25, 2012

Amanda Palmer has always presented some of the biggest challenges for me as a purveyor of popular music. Back when I was recording music videos as my only way of learning about new music, I had recorded her video for "Girl Anachronism" with The Dresden Dolls and, although at first I thought it was a bit studied, bizarre and overly theatrical, the edgy humor in it won me over and I grew to see it as a statement about the art they were creating. For one thing, Amanda's piano playing was startlingly aggressive and powerful, like her eyebrows, and Brian Viglioni's mime make-up coupled with the exaggerated gestures and fierce drumming made the duo one of the most strikingly adventurous bands I knew about.

I started seeing them live in 2006 when they played a free in-store at the now defunct Virgin Megastore on Hollywood Boulevard and I was struck by the legion of worshipful fans, all dressed in various recreations of Dresden Dolls attire; striped stockings, ripped bodices and bowler hats. The place was packed and I was way at the back, but the power of their live performance filled the store. I knew then that I would be a long-time fan.

Having seen The Dresden Dolls at The Wiltern, at a sit-down show at The Orpheum, even a musical/dramatic piece they performed in Boston based on the concept of the Gunter Grass story The Onion Cellar, I then started to track Amanda Palmer's solo career. When The Dresden Dolls went on hiatus in 2008, and she played The Troubadour in August that summer and she premiered songs from her forthcoming solo album Who Killed Amanda Palmer. It was reassuring to see that her inspiration and performance drive were intact.

The Brechtian punk cabaret style was still the vehicle but the songwriting became more intense and revelatory. Her rambling, confessional songs are often so personal they can make the observer feel like a voyeur. Sometimes one hopes they're fiction. Her piano playing continued to be one of the biggest draws for me, as a fan of the instrument anyway, and I've never seen anyone play it the way she does. Even when it's sloppy, it's exactly right.

She played The Fonda later in 2008 and back to The Troubadour in June 2009, always with remarkable backing bands and consistently putting on a show that was as visually stimulating as the music. In October last year, she and Nail Gaiman, who she had recently married, toured in a limited music/spoken word concert that was almost like sitting with them in their living room as they traded off songs and words in a creative duel that was further proof of Amanda Palmer's commitment to expanding her and her audience's artistic boundaries.

So it's with this background that I trekked up to The Fonda on Tuesday night, September 25, 2012, for my ninth concert with Amanda Palmer. This time it was Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra and it was a show in four acts. Announced as a 9 o'clock start, I figured not much would happen by 9:30, so when I walked in Act One was just over and I'd missed it. Sorry about that, especially when the next act, turned out to be some odd amalgam of glam rock/Rocky Horror Picture Show theatricality and dated power singing and it seemed embarrassingly old-fashioned and not really what I came to see.

Act Three was far more successful...and surprising. They are a band from Boston (Amanda's home base) and called Ronald Reagan, though for no obvious reason I could detect. What they are is two gentlemen who play bass saxophones, interpreting pop songs using only those instruments and occasional vocal drum noises. The audience ate it up and it was pretty captivating. They said they had never been to Hollywood before and this was their first show in L.A. and you could tell they were very pleased with the reception they got from a very warm Los Angeles audience.

Then there was Amanda, backed by a twelve-piece Grand Theft Orchestra... the lighting, the staging, everything came together for a sublime experience. Playing mostly songs from her newest album, Theatre Is Evil, they sounded even more dazzling live than on the record. Amanda's remarkable stage presence is always warm and welcoming while at the same time she seems edgy and slightly dangerous.

She even performed a new and unique arrangement of "Coin-Operated Boy" which she began on piano, then switched off to guitar and finished on the drums, while the band tries to keep up with her. Her command is such that even during numbers where the band stops playing and she's barely whispering into the mike, the audience holds it's collective breath and listens attentively.

While wandering the lobby during Act Two, I noticed Palmer's social conscience at work with a table set up for voter registration. There was also a table asking audience member to write down the saddest, most awful thing that ever happened in their room.

There's always a part of the program devoted to Amanda reading comments from the audience, but this time the results were so gut-wrenching and emotional, the crowd was stunned. I have never heard a quieter bunch of people in my life as she read some of the saddest things I've ever heard.in a soft, quiet, winsome monotone that made the exercise all that much more moving. Comments like "I tried to commit suicide" or "I was raped by a parent" or "My parents told me I was too fat" rendered the room silent and people wept.

As an entertainer that's taking performance to the outer edges of audience expectations, but Amanda's fans are so willing to travel with her that the whole experience becomes one giant collective cathartic journey. Thank you Amanda Palmer.

whrabbit
photos by Brad Roberts (except Dresden Dolls portrait)