Langhorne Slim and the Law @ Detriot Bar (10.17.13)

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.

The Avett Brothers @ The Shrine Auditorium (10.9.13)

The Avett Brothers

If e'er an inkling to see the Avett Brothers strikes, go.  The group is fantastic live, putting everything into their music and making sure the crowd walks away happy.

Scott Avett

The energy and enthusiasm the Avetts display on stage is reminiscent of a punk rock band.  There are even elements of that music in some of their songs and it leads one to wonder what they did before picking up banjos, acoustics and uprights.

Seth Avett

The Avetts are the masters of timing on stage.  Many bands just play all fast all slow or some piss poor mix of either, but these guys know how to sequence their songs to keep the audience with them much like good DJ's.  They hit songs from across their wide range of albums, focusing on the later pieces in the last 1/3 of the show.  This seems a fair way to do it, as some people love them for who they are now, and some really love the songs they have written over the last decade or so as well.

Scott Avett

During the show, both both brothers played fantastic songs unaccompanied.  Seth played "The Ballad of Love and Hate" and Scott Avett came out and played an acoustic version of "Murder in the City" from The Gleam II.



During both of these songs it seemed the entire 6000 seat audience at the Shrine was singing along.

Seth Avett

The band did a fantastic old timey version of "Jordan is hard road to travel:"



Upon looking for the name of the song, I found out it was an old minstrel song from 150 years ago.  The banjo has a strange darker origin story with minstrel shows, one that has mainly been forgotten.  It would be interesting to know if this was why they played it or if it was just because it has since become a traditional song.

Bob Crawford

At one point I looked up during the show to notice Scott messing with some cables mid song.  I found myself wondering why they didn't have a guy for that. Amusingly, I soon realized his brother was attached to the other end inches from my seat.  Good gimmick, but these guys should really look into wireless units if they weren't doing a bit.  Just stay away from the ones they had in spinal tap.

Joe Kwan

There are some bands that can't entertain an audience of 100, there are some bands that can, but loose it at 1000. I feel confident that these guys could do any sized venue and still be an amazing show.  As I said before, these guys are a band everyone should see!

The Avett Brothers

The Lumineers @ The Greek Theater LA (9.27.13)

The Lumineers

I'm not not usually someone who sees a band twice within a year, but as my girl had never seen the Lumineers, I decided to go again. It's amazing where a year can take a band.  The last time, they played The Observatory OC, a 500 seat venue. This time they played the Greek Theater in LA which is a 5000 seat venue and they sold out two nights.

As I had already had a press pass and shot a bunch of great photos of them (click here for that post) I didn't bother with that this time around.  I wanted to actually watch and enjoy them this time.  Sadly I was a bit further away than side stage, but still close enough.  The band seemed to have the same energy and intimacy with the crowd I remembered from their last show, although I think some of it gets lost in a big venue.  At one point they even went into the crowd and played.  As the Greek is so big they even had to bring mic's with them which was pretty cool given the logistics of it for the sound engineer.



Not surprisingly, the band played a similar set to the last time I saw them.  Apparently they have not had a lot of down time to write new material.  In addition to their entire album they played two from their demo EP and the "Falling" duet between Neyla Pekarek and Wesley Schultz.  There was only one new song (who's name eludes me) from last time that they played.  I really hope they take some time out from touring to write new material.  They've got the right energy, sound and feel for the time.  I'd hate to see them loose momentum, by disappointing fans hoping for something new.



To fill out their set, The Lumineers did a number of covers including Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues, which I think they did last time ( I have a vague memory of them playing one of his songs).  I hate to say it, but I prefer the Dylan version albeit sung much better by Schultz   I found their version a bit empty lacking instrumentation.

In the end the band was great, they still had the energy that made them what they are, and I had a great time.  I probably won't go see them again until they release another album or two though.

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Side Note:

Something that sort of mystifies me is the tie ins between the Lumineers and The Band. Last time I saw them right before they went on they played a song from the band and then closed the night with a sing along to "The Weight."  This time they played songs from the band right before and after as well.  Given the age and fashion tastes of those at their shows, I wonder how many have picked up on this.  If I ever get a chance I definitely have to ask them.

The Rolling Stones @ The Honda Center (3.18.13)

Mick Jagger

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!

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

Ronnie Wood shows off a gift from a fan

Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood

Trampled By Turtles @ The Observatory OC (1.18.13)

Trampled By Turtles

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.

 

Ben Jaffe

Ben Jaffe

Suzanne Santo

 

The Lumineers @ The Observatory OC (10.7.12)



The Lumineers

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!

Conor Oberst @ The Fox Theater Pomona (10.3.12)



Conor Oberst

There's been a thought rattling around my head for a while that Conor Oberst is our generation's equivalent of a Bob Dylan that grew up without the war, segregation, and massive cultural upheaval. Granted some of those things have happened in recent times, but not on the same scale. 

One of the interesting early elements of Bob Dylan is his relationship to Joan Baez.  I would never dare claim that Oberst and Jenny Lewis are as close, but there does seem to be a symbiotic relationship between them.  Having now seen Lewis and Oberst on stage together, I found that there was something reminiscent of the iconic pair.

As this was the night of the first debates Oberst was particularly talkative about how he felt that there was no hope and change this time around, just two guys with one slightly less bad to vote for.  He leaned over into the crowd, looked at people and interacted with them. Oberst spat quite a bit, mostly not on people (just on the stage) but when he was shouting it would occasionally fly. There was a feeling he spoke from a place of raw, bitter unchecked emotion, slightly falling apart at the seams.  He managed to keep it together and it was nice to see how strongly he felt about the well crafted words in his songs.

Going into the show I was wondering what kind of material we would hear given it was a show billed as Conor Oberst, not Bright Eyes.  Sometimes when artists plays under his own name it can mean he intends not to play songs from the other moniker. It ended up being a variety of songs, including his Bright Eyes material (even the electronic album), songs from the Mystic Valley Band, and a song from the Monsters of Folk.  In other words Conor Oberst, Bright Eyes, The Mystic Valley Band, and bits of the Monsters of Folk were all at the Fox Theater in Pomona tonight and we were all the better for it.

The night was full of guests. Opener Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins returned to the stage to back Oberst up for "Make a Plan to Love Me" and "Lua." 

Conor Oberst and Friends

A little later in the performance Oberst, introduced a "Mystic Valley Band Reunion" giving the impression no one liked what they were doing. As he put it, "No one hated the MVB more than the MVB itself."   While I would say its true that more people prefer the Bright Eyes records, I quite enjoyed the MVB.  In fact, I thought they put on the most enthusiastic performance of the night.  At the end of the night, everyone returned to the stage to sing "Make War."  Followed by an acoustic number by Oberst.

Tonight's show was a hodgepodge of performers, material and songs.  Honestly I think I preferred seeing that to a just Bright Eyes show.


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* Authors note: Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins


Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins

Jenny Lewis. Wow. Was surprised by her. I liked her country oriented stuff more, but overall it was good material. Some of the people there were clearly there to see her. The Watson Twins performed with her all night as backup. Not knowing who they were at the time, when they came on stage, I fought back a "boo" because I loath backup singers.  The twins won me over with their beautiful voices and corny 1950's style dancing with Lewis. That and because one of them played something for a bit. It looked a bit like a lapslide but I think it may have been some keys... Not sure at this point.

To close Lewis did a guitar and choir song called Acid Tongue reminiscent of Dylan singing blowing in the wind with Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, Pete Seeger and other backing him up at the end of the Montgomery folk festival.

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins

Nice touch to close a set.