A Month of Music
Somehow, I just wrapped up one of the busier months of live music I've had. Sure, the two-night run in Oakland a few years ago when I caught Chvrches and Grimes on consecutive nights (getting Wolf Alice as a bonus), was something. That was also lightning in a bottle, the weekdays between two Coachella weekends when California is just lousy with big(ish) bands playing smaller shows.
The run I've been fortunate enough to have since February 15 was more a combo of the ability to travel, some lucky ticket-getting and the right acts on tour in the same area around the right time. And, to be honest, they were all tremendous.
February 15, 2018 - Lana del Rey at the Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, CA
I have no idea how Lana del Rey did an entire tour and scheduled all of one California date. Still, as someone who had never seen her (and if you've read this blog over the years, you know I'm speaking as someone who has made an argument that it's possible she's one of the best acts ever in terms of a period of continuous quality), it seemed important to see her in California.
It's kind of remarkable. Lana del Rey has gone from an opening album that was about as Let's-Go-Party-With-Rich-People-In-The-Hamptons to music that has solidified her as being a symbol of west coast chill.
She did not disappoint. Backed by a full live band, some of her breezy songs turned into surprise thrashers. Late in her set, when she performed a medley of songs, she included "Black Beauty," where her guitarist took as much of a front seat as her always-on-point vocals.
That's a whole other story. It's a pop show, so there are plenty of layered backing tracks, but at no point did Lana decide to let those rule the day. She sang her tail off.
We all know that Lana is something of a persona for performance purposes (and, let's be clear, the history of music has plenty of examples of this, from Sgt. Pepper to Ziggy Stardust to Pink [as in Floyd] to the White Stripes, etc.) She plays the role well, though, but it was her between song banter with fans where she was so genuinely herself that made a statement. The facade down, she became more human, connecting in a way that was simultaneously humble and ecstatic. When it was time for the next song, she put the face back on... it was business time and the crowd loved it.
Also, we were stunned when, instead of the whole charade of leaving the stage and coming out for an encore, she let the band get a break while taking a walk along the security railing for 10 minutes of autographs and selfies with the fans up front. I don't know of any other act I've seen so overtly get close to the fans. It was marvelous.
Of course, the music has to stand up for the show and, happily, it did. It was a two-hour bliss out with beating drums, great singing and an artist feeling confident of her show and her place in today's music scene.
March 9, 2018 - Lorde at Key Arena, Seattle, WA
As for a secure place in today's music scene, Lorde is basically in charge of the music scene at the moment. So let's pause and love how she very consciously chose Run the Jewels to open for her. I have to say it's pretty great looking around the arena and seeing folks who rode into town not quite know what to do with the rap duo while people on the floor (and in the stands) were going bananas as they played. The crowd really did go "RTJ!"
This was my second time seeing Lorde. Last summer, at Bumbershoot, it was the middle of her moment, with arguably the biggest album release to that point of the year under her wings. She had put on quite a show, but it was a bit of what I called "Storytime with Lorde," which was probably what a good chunk of the audience was really looking for, so who am I to say.
At Key, she was much more focused on the music. She brought more live musicians with her this go-round, though I think she's going to find in the future that she can put them to better use (Lorde, call Lana. Learn.)
That said, the arena staging was a far better scene for Lorde than the festival stage. At a festival, where she's sharing a stage with so many other groups (Weezer was on before her at Bumbershoot), I imagine her production is limited. At Key, she had a set she could control and it made a difference. Simple but dramatic staging complemented her songs, which were all sung well.
The highlight for me (and, truthfully, it was probably not the moment many others hung on, but hey, we all get different things out of these shows) was "Yellow Flicker Beat." There were plenty of other highlights ("Perfect Places" remains the pinnacle of Lorde's songwriting as far as I'm concerned and I will die on that hill if you come at me), but "Yellow Flicker Beat was the first moment where the performance on stage picked up steam from the energy in the crowd, which fed the crowd even more and...yeah. It was stellar.
For an artist that, presumably, we are going to have around for quite a while, Lorde performing at this level now means we've got year's of great still to come, too.
March 13, 2018 - The Naked and Famous at Columbia City Theater, Seattle, WA
Big acts in big rooms are something. Big(ish) acts in small rooms are something else entirely. For the band's "Stripped" tour - not unplugged per se, but dialed back versions of their big rollicking songs that let the vocals shine - the New Zealand stars picked super small venues. I don't care how bad your phone camera is... in this room, you could get a nice shot no matter where you were.
The fans seemed to grasp that this was a rare opportunity. To see the band this close up, to hear these songs this way and to honestly interact with the band the way they did. There were moments of... kinda, yeah, dialogue during the show. It had been a while since I saw a band in a venue this small and, even when I have, few bands with the level of polish TNAF have.
I left gobsmacked. The group's vocals took over, though, let's give proper credit to the backing instruments. Just the right piano crescendo at the right time gave me chills more than once. The group's harmonies, which have always been a key part of their sound, but have often been paired with anthematic musical lines (an aside: at the show, Thom Powers told the story of how Alisa Xayalith came up with the signature line of "Young Blood," which if you've heard you will know forever) were able to be front and center.
Even days later, I'm still struck by the coda of "No Way." It says something that you can know a song well, yet hear it performed in a different way, forget the end of the song is coming and be completely unprepared when it hits live, like you're hearing a familiar song with an entirely new state of mind and feeling.
That I was handed someone's VIP pack on the way out - which included a band-autographed tour poster - only sealed an absolutely fantastic show. I hope to see The Naked and Famous again, but I doubt it'll be like this was. After all, they said this tour was "just to have some fun" and that they're recording their fourth album and will "get back to rocking the fuck out" with it.
It was a great way to seal up an amazing month of music that reinforced why I still go to shows after all these years. I have tickets to Pearl Jam in August and I'm guessing at least one more show will happen before. But it's neat to get a reminder of why music is still such a central part of my life and will be for years to come.
The run I've been fortunate enough to have since February 15 was more a combo of the ability to travel, some lucky ticket-getting and the right acts on tour in the same area around the right time. And, to be honest, they were all tremendous.
February 15, 2018 - Lana del Rey at the Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, CA
I have no idea how Lana del Rey did an entire tour and scheduled all of one California date. Still, as someone who had never seen her (and if you've read this blog over the years, you know I'm speaking as someone who has made an argument that it's possible she's one of the best acts ever in terms of a period of continuous quality), it seemed important to see her in California.
It's kind of remarkable. Lana del Rey has gone from an opening album that was about as Let's-Go-Party-With-Rich-People-In-The-Hamptons to music that has solidified her as being a symbol of west coast chill.
She did not disappoint. Backed by a full live band, some of her breezy songs turned into surprise thrashers. Late in her set, when she performed a medley of songs, she included "Black Beauty," where her guitarist took as much of a front seat as her always-on-point vocals.
That's a whole other story. It's a pop show, so there are plenty of layered backing tracks, but at no point did Lana decide to let those rule the day. She sang her tail off.
We all know that Lana is something of a persona for performance purposes (and, let's be clear, the history of music has plenty of examples of this, from Sgt. Pepper to Ziggy Stardust to Pink [as in Floyd] to the White Stripes, etc.) She plays the role well, though, but it was her between song banter with fans where she was so genuinely herself that made a statement. The facade down, she became more human, connecting in a way that was simultaneously humble and ecstatic. When it was time for the next song, she put the face back on... it was business time and the crowd loved it.
Also, we were stunned when, instead of the whole charade of leaving the stage and coming out for an encore, she let the band get a break while taking a walk along the security railing for 10 minutes of autographs and selfies with the fans up front. I don't know of any other act I've seen so overtly get close to the fans. It was marvelous.
Of course, the music has to stand up for the show and, happily, it did. It was a two-hour bliss out with beating drums, great singing and an artist feeling confident of her show and her place in today's music scene.
March 9, 2018 - Lorde at Key Arena, Seattle, WA
As for a secure place in today's music scene, Lorde is basically in charge of the music scene at the moment. So let's pause and love how she very consciously chose Run the Jewels to open for her. I have to say it's pretty great looking around the arena and seeing folks who rode into town not quite know what to do with the rap duo while people on the floor (and in the stands) were going bananas as they played. The crowd really did go "RTJ!"
This was my second time seeing Lorde. Last summer, at Bumbershoot, it was the middle of her moment, with arguably the biggest album release to that point of the year under her wings. She had put on quite a show, but it was a bit of what I called "Storytime with Lorde," which was probably what a good chunk of the audience was really looking for, so who am I to say.
At Key, she was much more focused on the music. She brought more live musicians with her this go-round, though I think she's going to find in the future that she can put them to better use (Lorde, call Lana. Learn.)
That said, the arena staging was a far better scene for Lorde than the festival stage. At a festival, where she's sharing a stage with so many other groups (Weezer was on before her at Bumbershoot), I imagine her production is limited. At Key, she had a set she could control and it made a difference. Simple but dramatic staging complemented her songs, which were all sung well.
The highlight for me (and, truthfully, it was probably not the moment many others hung on, but hey, we all get different things out of these shows) was "Yellow Flicker Beat." There were plenty of other highlights ("Perfect Places" remains the pinnacle of Lorde's songwriting as far as I'm concerned and I will die on that hill if you come at me), but "Yellow Flicker Beat was the first moment where the performance on stage picked up steam from the energy in the crowd, which fed the crowd even more and...yeah. It was stellar.
For an artist that, presumably, we are going to have around for quite a while, Lorde performing at this level now means we've got year's of great still to come, too.
March 13, 2018 - The Naked and Famous at Columbia City Theater, Seattle, WA
Big acts in big rooms are something. Big(ish) acts in small rooms are something else entirely. For the band's "Stripped" tour - not unplugged per se, but dialed back versions of their big rollicking songs that let the vocals shine - the New Zealand stars picked super small venues. I don't care how bad your phone camera is... in this room, you could get a nice shot no matter where you were.
The fans seemed to grasp that this was a rare opportunity. To see the band this close up, to hear these songs this way and to honestly interact with the band the way they did. There were moments of... kinda, yeah, dialogue during the show. It had been a while since I saw a band in a venue this small and, even when I have, few bands with the level of polish TNAF have.
I left gobsmacked. The group's vocals took over, though, let's give proper credit to the backing instruments. Just the right piano crescendo at the right time gave me chills more than once. The group's harmonies, which have always been a key part of their sound, but have often been paired with anthematic musical lines (an aside: at the show, Thom Powers told the story of how Alisa Xayalith came up with the signature line of "Young Blood," which if you've heard you will know forever) were able to be front and center.
Even days later, I'm still struck by the coda of "No Way." It says something that you can know a song well, yet hear it performed in a different way, forget the end of the song is coming and be completely unprepared when it hits live, like you're hearing a familiar song with an entirely new state of mind and feeling.
That I was handed someone's VIP pack on the way out - which included a band-autographed tour poster - only sealed an absolutely fantastic show. I hope to see The Naked and Famous again, but I doubt it'll be like this was. After all, they said this tour was "just to have some fun" and that they're recording their fourth album and will "get back to rocking the fuck out" with it.
It was a great way to seal up an amazing month of music that reinforced why I still go to shows after all these years. I have tickets to Pearl Jam in August and I'm guessing at least one more show will happen before. But it's neat to get a reminder of why music is still such a central part of my life and will be for years to come.
Comments
Lifestyle Magazine
website designing company in India