Tag: The Wiltern

LIVE REVIEW: Bombay Bicycle Club @ The Wiltern L.A.

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Bombay Bicycle Club
photo by Joyce Jude Lee for neon tommy.

The only thing that can really mend the wound of a lost Dodgers game in L.A. is a damn good concert. That might explain why there was a line around the block for hours leading up to Bombay Bicycle Club’s set at the Wiltern on Friday, even with the first round of playoffs going, and in triple digit heat, this was an act of commitment. Once inside, the pit filled up quickly, the crowd predominantly made up of 20-somethings with unusual haircuts. It was a very specific demographic, but a very enthusiastic one. So when first opening band Luxley took the stage, I could tell it was going to be a very involved audience.

Luxley is a New Orleans “wildfire dance rock” band. It’s the recording project of Ryan Gray, who dances all over the stage the entire duration of the set, getting into it, as the old adage goes, as if no one is watching. The music is definitely dance-y, but it’s a little hard to peg. It certainly has a pop rock vibe to it, due in part mostly to Gray’s vocal style, but it has a variety of elements, from electronic tempo and drops to some really primal drum sections. The crowd was fairly interested; it’s pretty hard not to be when you can see the band enjoying themselves as much as they were. They were a good way to get the energy going but were a bit of an odd fit for a Bombay Bicycle Club show. BBC is known to showcase their versatility in sound, and there wasn’t enough variety between Luxley’s songs to hold our attention; not to say it was bad, or that it wasn’t enjoyable, it just felt like we got several very similar songs all at once.

Milo Greene was the main opener, and what a pleasant surprise this quintet was. The Los Angeles “cinematic” pop band have such a soothing yet progressive sound, and so lithely executed that I consider them my newest love. What makes them unique is each member is a lead vocalist and also multi instrumentalist. For each song, the members trade off instruments, gliding seamlessly from guitar to bass to keyboards. The harmonies were rich from the range of vocal styles of each member. Marlana Sheetz, sporting a very Jenny Lewis-esque white pant suit, brings the whispy female range to the table, but male members Robbie Arnett, Graham Fink, and Andrew Heringer create that depth of vocal harmony that hearkens back to Fleetwood Mac. Musically, they couldn’t be more different, but they are certainly not lacking in that department. Drummer Curtis Marrero effortlessly binds it all together to create their tight-knit sound. They played a few songs from their full-length self-titled debut, such as “1957,” a beautifully crafted song that typifies their sound (and a song that I’ve been listening to on repeat since then). But they also have a new album due out in January, called Control, and took the opportunity to show off the upcoming material, full of technical guitar bits and big impact, more upbeat in tempo from Milo Greene.

Bombay Bicycle Club is a band that couldn’t possibly disappoint. Over the span of four albums, they have not lost the momentum that makes them who they are. Opening with “Overdone,” from their latest album, So Long, See You Tomorrow, released earlier this year, was an expertly planned ploy. That sludgy riff in the bridge will get anyone going, guaranteed. And the amazing part about BBC is that they are mercurial, shifting from some musically dense material right into their more atmospheric sound, in songs like “It’s Alright Now” and “Shuffle.” Their visuals featured a series of circles recalling the album art from their latest release. Onto the circles various images were projected for each song. It was executed so well; for songs like “How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep” (my personal favorite BBC song) the circles became an evening sky, and the lyrics appeared in what appeared to be scribbled constellations, glowing and burning out as quickly as a shooting star. “Feel” had the most perfect visuals, with cobra serpents to reflect the sound of this very Arabian-esque song. This was probably my favorite performance of the night. That snake charming guitar lick that rings throughout the song was just magical in a live setting, and they really milked it for what it was worth. The tone on that particular riff is guitar perfection, so when the normal fade out ended with several more bars of that lick, I just about melted. “So Long, See You Tomorrow” was a great, pre-encore ender, because it literally left the crowd begging for more. It’s that song that burns inside of you, starting as a familiar warm ember within, and crawling down into every appendage until you are full of warmth and bliss. It crescendos just barely enough, so there was no way they could end on that note.

The encore was, in all respective senses of an encore, the last hoorah. They threw it back to “What if” from their 2009 debut I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose. The night ended on “Carry Me” which was a whirlwind of percussion and strobes, sing alongs, and some pervasively chilling tremolo guitar. This show at the Wiltern was one of the first stops on what will be a very extensive tour throughout most of the U.S. in October. It’s been hailed as the must-see tour of the season, so it is strongly advised that you catch them before they depart on their European tour in November.

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LIVE REVIEW: HAIM @ The Wiltern, L.A.

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After appearing at almost every music festival that summer had to offer this year, HAIM returned to Los Angeles for two nights of homecoming shows that were destined to be nothing short of a kick ass homage to the city that made them who they are. Lots of L.A. love was being thrown around for their second night at the Wiltern. Their openers, a valley girl punk band called Bleached, got the 818 area code sistas to rally for most of their show (that’s not to say the gentlemen and non 818ers in the crowd, which made up a considerable amount of the audience that night, were not feelin’ the love).

Bleached was the perfect opener for what was going to be a rockin’ girl fest. Sisters Jessica and Jennifer Clavin exude that classic punk girl attitude, a seemingly effortless style of performing that feels like a peek inside a garage jam session. Later in the show, Este Haim would admit that that’s exactly the vibe they were going for – the old jam sessions they used to have at their house parties when their parents were out of town. Bleached could certainly be that band straight out of the epic house party from your teenage years. With little stage production and a pretty packed house, they were not phased by opening for an act as wildly popular as HAIM; they treated the crowd like the old chums that brought the keg to the party. The performer-audience relationship deepened when their stage hand started throwing out Capri Suns to the crowd. Within their hour long set, they played a good chunk of their latest LP, 2013’s Ride Your Heart, along with some older stuff from a few of their earlier EPs. Even up in the very last row of The Wiltern on the top balcony, it felt like a kickback California punk show, with lots of sweat included.

By the time HAIM took the stage, the air in the theatre had congealed into a sticky humid mess. I wasn’t even in the pit and I was fading fast until that echoing thud of “Falling” rung through the night. From that point on the energy never ebbed as the crowd erupted immediately into a dance party. The best thing about a live HAIM show is that something comes through in the flesh that is absent on the recorded album. Aside from that attitude that can only be exuded by Este’s infamous bass face, the sisters’ instrumentation is exuberant in a live setting. The bass is more jarring, the vocal harmonies are more impressive and Danielle flashes her chops as a guitarist in a way that makes you wonder why the hell there aren’t more guitar solos on the album.

As they have been doing for months, they covered “Oh Well” by Fleetwood Mac three songs into the set, further proving that there’s something very classic and also eclectic about their style. Their rendition of the song shows that that their roots are founded deeply in classic rock. The best performance of the night was easily “My Song 5,”which was right in the middle of the set. Este admitted to the crowd that playing it is her favorite part of the night because the song gets people to “shake their asses,” and the audience happily fulfilled her predictions, lifting their voices in the best sing along of the night as every single person in the place chanted “Honey, I’m not your honey pie.” And I certainly wasn’t alone in my air guitarring and head banging for this song.

Afterward, the girls kicked it down a notch with a new rendition of “Running if You Call My Name.” This version features Danielle solely on guitar for the first two verses and doesn’t pick up until the bridge. It was yet another moment in the show that Danielle stole the performance by virtue of how talented a guitarist she is. They finished off the set with “Forever” and a confetti explosion to boot, which in my experience makes any concert ten times more magical.

When they returned for an encore, Danielle jumped on the drums for a cover of Beyonce’s “XO.” Every single girl in the crowd went nuts for the Queen Bey cover its insanity rivaled only with the pandemonium that ensued with follow-up “The Wire.” I knew it would be the crowd favorite but people started dancing on the stairs and in the aisle- a girl in front of us literally took up the span of five seats for her overly excited dance move which involved sidling back and forth and throwing her arms out as wide as she could. I was disappointed to see that a lot of people bailed after “The Wire” – if you’re a true HAIM fan you are not going to miss the “Let Me Go” finale. It’s just not right. The girls complete every show with this rendition of the song, culminating with all three sisters wailing on drums in a primal evocation. There’s a strong sense of finality that comes with this ending and it’s blasphemous to willingly miss it.

Whether you are in the front row of the pit or at the highest point on the balcony, when you are at a HAIM show you become a part of the greater HAIM experience and will witness one of the best rock shows you’ve ever seen. It’s amazing that after months of nonstop touring, they can pull off two solid shows so effortlessly. Their stint on the road is coming to an end very soon, so I’m more than pleased that I caught one of these astounding homecoming shows. If you’re in Seattle or Portland you’ve got another chance to catch these incredible sisters before they play FYF Fest in Los Angeles; in October they head to Mexico City for Festival Corona Capital.

LIVE REVIEW: London Grammar @ The Wiltern, LA

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It was only about a week ago that I finally listened to that London Grammar album I’ve been holding onto for a few months now. Unfortunately, the British trio got bumped to the backburner as the Coachella lineup came out in January and my playlists have since been dominated by Coachella artists. Regrettably so, because London Grammar is the moody trip-hop my life has been missing as of late, and had I played If You Wait sooner, my love for them could have run deeper when I saw them at their show at The Wiltern in L.A. (that’s not to say that my week long obsession has not resulted in an undying affection).
Let’s start with The Wiltern, located unusually in the middle of Korea Town. Amidst the countless strip malls with abundances of Pho restaurants, the Wiltern sticks out like a sore thumb. The venue is a beautiful art deco style theatre in the usual sense, with every inch of wall space covered in some artistic accent (they just don’t make venues like this anymore). Its elegance was befitting of a London Grammar performance, with its sleek, thoughtful consideration of detail and beauty. My seat was in the Mezzanine section on the farthest part of the balcony, which was more than okay with me because I have spent my fair share of concerts waiting in line for hours beforehand, hoping desperately that I get that spot on the rail, a necessity for a woman only clocking in at 5’2’’. Also, it sounded like a good idea to have a seat away from the pit, so I would be able to just absorb every moment of the show, without worrying about whether I’d be able to see or not. My vantage point was pristine, and I could tell any seat in the house was a good one.

So let’s jump right in to the performance. Dominic “Dot” Major and Dan Rothman were the first to step out onto the dark stage. Dan began playing those riffs that have left the band in a position to be relentlessly compared to The XX (not that that’s a bad comparison to be made), with his haunting, reverberating whisper of guitars behind Dot’s keyboard and electronic work. It sounded as if they are sampling their own music, but each sample is indistinguishable as a song as they seamlessly piece together each musical bit. And then, of course, Hannah Reid finally joined them on stage. She began with what turned out to be a lengthy vocal solo, the kind that raises the hairs on your arms and hushes the crowd into awe. This was her chance to shake off her nerves, and it was apparent that she was a bit reserved (and as she later admitted, rusty, for this was their first performance in three weeks after almost a year of touring). There were only a few moments in the intro where her vocals frayed, but as a whole it was a good indication that the show was going to be remarkable.

My favorite song by them has changed every hour for the past week, but walking into this performance I can without a doubt say that “Wasting My Young Years” has grown on me the most. I figured this would be the most poignant moment of the night for me, because those lyrics sure do ring true for any young adult, never mind Hannah’s strain when singing that “maybe”—gets me every damn time. Sadly, this was probably my least favorite song of the night. Perhaps my expectations were just too high, but she sang the chorus  slightly differently and I thought the live rendition would crescendo into some sort of epic ending, especially since Dan kept jumping onto a drum kit. It wasn’t bad by any stretch, I just feel that it is one of their strongest songs, and exemplifies their sound as a band (never mind the fact that one of the two tees they sold at the merch booth bears its namesake) and they could have capitalized on transforming through live performance. Also, it was the third song on the set list, which I would have much rather preferred it towards the end, perhaps even in the encore.

This didn’t muddy the rest of the night, however, and the band made up for it in other surprising moments. One was during the final encore, “Metal and Dust” which is their most experimental track on the album. It is the song that doesn’t sound like the rest, not relying as heavily on the piano and Hannah’s vocals. Unlike “Wasting My Young Years”, with “Metal and Dust” they chose to transform it through live rendition. She sang the strange falsetto portions toward the end  that on the album version sound like samples coming out of a machine.

The songs in the second half of the show definitely were the strongest, as Hannah seemed to loosen up both in her personality and her vocals. It was apparent that she is not fully comfortable on stage yet, and she even admitted so during the show. Her fear of becoming paranoid from contact high was brought up twice as she advised the people in the front row to cool it on their joints, respectable but also a bit overkill. There are certain things to be expected at concerts, and weed ranks pretty high among those things (stupid pun). She was obviously very wary of what would affect her performance, which is fine. But it also made it obvious that she has a little bit of stage insecurity. Nevertheless, by the end of the show, she seemed at home.

The two best performances of the night were easily “Strong” and “Nightcall.” “Strong” is one of those tracks that strikes a chord with just about everyone, and was bound to be a hit live. “Nightcall,” for me, stood out the most. The Kavinsky cover was better than I could have anticipated. During the lulling bridge, Dan’s piano playing seared through the theatre, and you could hear Dot’s fingers move through the chord progressions. When it erupted, the low end of the piano was jarring and Dot’s tremolo picking sang behind Hannah’s near shouting of the next chorus. It didn’t actually vary much from the album version, it was just amplified powerfully.

All in all, I feel as if I’ve fallen down a London Grammar rabbit hole. I cannot stop listening to them, and getting to see them a week after familiarizing myself with their work was a treat beyond my wildest expectations. Plus, it’s always a luxury to see a band perform on a tour of their first album. To see them grow will be exciting, and to see how their stage production will grow will be very interesting. I will be anticipating their return to the states after their leg of European tours, because this show only deepened my affection for their music. Hopefully, they will return in time for festival season next year!

Listen to London Grammar’s Sights EP here via Soundcloud.