Langhorne Slim (aka Sean Scolnick) is one of the most energetic, charismatic performers to come through Orange County in a long time. He's witty, engaged with fans and not afraid to get real when the need arises.
The performer's earlier work is typically rootsy, smooth, introspective and on the whole down tempo. Adding "the Law" to the mix has created a low-fi caffeinated version of that. Their newest material skirts the boundaries between country, folk and rock, but live they also have elements blues, jazz, and gospel steeped in the mix.
Occasionally groups will hang around after their shows to meet people. Langhorne is the first performer i have ever seen come out early before the show to visit with fans. Unlike most, he seems to revel in reminding the audience there's no glass wall that separates them. He spent the night jumping into the crowd, dancing around and even joked around with specific audience members in seemingly impromptu lyrics. Most impressively when woman was inches away taping him with her cell phone (it's camera light full on) jarring an otherwise soulful heartfelt song, he wittily shrugged it off.
Still seems surprising tonight's show wasn't a sell out. This is one of the best bands and performers I've seen in a long time. If you haven't heard of Langhorne Slim yet, you will be soon.
If ever there was a concert miracle I had one tonight at the Rolling Stones at the Honda Center. A crew of people I went with all went in on the $85 dollar ticket raffle the Stones are running. Essentially they place pairs of two randomly throughout the stadium from the nosebleeds to the tongue pit. Our group ended up in the nose bleeds in two separate sections. In an attempt to all stay together we tried to discuss with the ushers a way to get "upgraded." In the last hour before the show we heard that there was someone near our section handing out tickets. By the time we got there they had finished handing them out, HOWEVER, one of our crew happened to see someone she knew, AND THEY HOOKED US UP!!! We ended up just off the floor about 30 feet from the edge of the tongue pit. I can not sufficiently explain how excited I was to see the band. The phrase perma-grin comes to mind.
The Rolling Stones
As my regular readers know I have a list of the bands to see before they die. A sort of bucket list for bands as it were. Recently, I became a bit alarmed that the Stones were celebrating their "50 and counting tour" and decided it was finally time to see them. While enjoying the show, it occurred to me that a child conceived at the concert would be at retirement age able to claim an association with a band that was founded 120 years before.
That said, Mick Jagger was prancing around the stage like an anorexic teenager. If it weren't for the advantage of being close enough to see wrinkles you would have thought you were watching a show from 40 years ago. Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts were a bit less animated, but they still have their musical chops.
Mick Jagger
One of my all time favorite Stones albums is "Let it Bleed," and I think they must have gotten my note, because they played over half the songs from it! In truth, I suspect it was just because Mick Taylor was guesting with them!
Mick Taylor With the Current Rolling Stones Lineup
Didn't seem Taylor and Wood had any animosity or rivalry on stage. They were just on big happy band rocking out and getting mad bank from the ticket sales. "Honky Tonk Women" and "Midnight Rambler" were pulled off without a hitch. "You Got the Silver" was pretty solid but Wood had a bit of an issue on the slide parts.
"Gimmie Shelter" was the female back up singer's chance to shine, prancing around on stage singing with Mick only to be stuck in the backup singer spot the rest of the night. The USC Thornton Chamber Choir shared the stage for "You Can't Always Get What You Want" as well as a surprise French horn player for the intro.
The Rolling Stones
Usually when I bring a camera to the show, the lighting is crap I have to push the ISO way too high and the photos come out dark and grainy. This was not the case. In addition to the elaborate (and mysteriously disappearing) lips from the beginning of the show and the tongue pit, the stage was awash with rapidly changing colors and spotlights. So while my photos were not taken right at the stage, they are some of the better looking ones I have shot in a while.
Dave Grohl wth The Rolling Stones
So far every show they have done has had a local guest. For us it was Dave Grohl! He sang a verse and played guitar on "Bitch." At this time I should mention that my concert neighbors not recognizing one of the most famous musicians from two pivotal bands of the grunge generation, leaned over to ask who it was. I started chatting with them in the gap before the next song and discovered they had bought $40 counterfeit tix, then bought "cheap" nosebleed seats at the door and by some miracle got upgraded. I wish I had taken a photo of the counterfeit tix. They were way off from the original coloring. Considering it's a Ticketmaster event you think they would have tried harder at the duping. In any case, I was blown away by the fact that they spent the entire night SITTING with people standing all around them. What's the point of getting upgraded if you aren't going to watch the show???
The band played so many famous songs it's probably best just to look at a set list. Songs that really stuck in my head are "Wild Horses," "Friend of the Devil" (probably for the crazy poofy jacket Mick wore), and "Paint it Black."
Mick Jagger
All in all a fantastic show. Amazing music, amazing visuals, and an amazing performance even with their getting on in years (unlike Dylan). With that I will leave you with a few more great photos from the show!
For readers new to this blog, I should mention, lately I have been a bit obsessed with the banjo and all music that contains it. Whether it be Pete Seeger, Bela Fleck, Guster, Kermit the Frog or Trampled by Turtles. As such I was delighted when the TBT mgmt allowed me to shoot some photos at their show.
Dave Carroll
Of all the niche areas of blugrass, I have to say speedgrass is a new one. Speed infers punk rockers picking up pennies and grass folksy acoustic instruments. The reality of it is plaid shirted fans jumping and moshing to banjo solos, lots of fantastic beards and good looking women with jobs (not my phrase). It was nice too see all the OC hippies come out of the woodwork again, if only for an evening.
Ryan Young
TBT, doesn't just play fast however though. What makes a good show is balancing speed with slow, happy with sad and light with dark. Coincidentally the majority of the dark happened during the three songs I had to shoot in the pit. I did get a few good photos though.
Dave Simonett
There was just something about this band that made them feel organic. As if they all started playing together just for the hell of it and just happened to strike it lucky. Even though Dave Simonett is the lead singer, it really seemed each was an equal member of the band. Even their stage layout implied that with all five evenly spaced in a row with their own little spot on stage for amp and instruments.
To close the show, TBT played a fantastic rendition of Where is My Mind. Unfortunately I had been tipped off about their cover of it before the show so it wasn't the mind blowing supprise it could have been. Pretty cool with the crowd singing the oohs though.
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% Side Note: HoneyHoney
While the headliner of the show was Trampled by Turtles, HoneyHoney was impressive. Their records were a bit overproduced "meh," but live they were great. Very much enjoyed their blend of country folk and rock. Suzanne Santo's stage personality was fairly adorable as well, but when she was singing it was nothing but soulful country.
Suzanne Santo
With her pipes, HoneyHoney could easily go commercial pop country and be huge, so you have to respect them for keeping it real.
I still remember the day my friend sent me a link for the Lumineers. I was blown away by genuine heartfelt music clearly written by people who love what they do. I found myself wondering if they were capable of bringing that to the stage or if it would fizzle in the spotlights. Clearly my doubts were unwarranted. So glad I went!
Wesley Schultz
These guys get it. Folk music is not about playing ridiculously fast or crazy arpeggiation. It's about keeping it simple and approachable. Something everyone can sing. The reason most popular folk melodies move in such small intervals is because everyone can sing them together (unlike our national anthem). There is nothing quite like an entire _building_ of people singing along. Much like Pete Seeger before them The Lumineers seem to recognize, the more involved people are with the music the more they will enjoy it.
Jeremiah Fraites
Now being old school in my music consumption, I have been spinning their CD for a while and recognize how solid an album it is. What surprised me is that in the middle of this iTunes era so much of the audience knew ALL of their songs not just their single. To me it leaves hope that the album might be not quite dead yet.
Wesley Schultz
One of the great discoveries during the show is how amazing Neyla Pekarek's voice is. When they did their new song Falling, it blew my mind what they had been hiding.
Admittedly, it might be a bit outside of the sound they were going for on the first record, but hopefully the next time they sit down and track an album, they find a way to use it more! It's much like Laura Marling backing up Noah and the Whale or subsequently Marcus Mumford backing her up.
Neyla Pekarek
There were plenty of other nice surprises during the show including a Dylan cover and the band jumping into the crowd to play a fully acoustic version of Darlene. I've seen plenty of bands do variations of this, but I've never seen one get so in the dead heart of the crowd and take a full setup with them.
I do have to say that the Lumineers did manage to make me feel a bit old. To be fair, I was born in the 80's (just), but was amazed at the number of fans that didn't know "The Weight" by the Band. Only about 4 people in the entire audience knew the song AND THEY HAD JUST PLAYED IT ON THE PA BEFORE THEIR SET (whoops)! They ended up having one of the four come up. The woman they chose was awkward, funny and slightly out of tune. Probably the best person for the job. I was one of the other four who knew that song because it's the sort of thing my friends and I sing when we're hanging out having a few drinks. It made me happy that that was the sort of thing they did as well. I guess what I dug most about these guys that they share their genuine enjoyment of the music with the people.
The Lumineers
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* Side Note
Sound at the observatory was amazing. It was even good in the corner. Not sure if that's the Lumineers or the local guy, but keep it up!
