Last night's show at the Hollywood Bowl was amazing. Amazing!
I was invited by a friend to join her in a garden box, essentially upgrading my ticket. It was my first time in one of those and it was lovely. Tables, box service, close to the stage. I could get used to that...and might consider an upgrade next season...
The KCRW theme of the night was male/female songwriting teams. First up, the Bird & the Bee. I am a recent fan, only having learned of them earlier this year when their album of Hall & Oates cover songs was released. The girls were all sparkly dresses and colored tights, the guys were all business. I enjoyed the short set - pop, melodic, fun. The downer was they only played one H&O song. They have a pretty decent catalog of music that should be explored.
It wasn't until last night that I learned half of She & Him is Zooey Deschanel. To be honest, I was neither impressed or excited about their set. Until they hit the stage. Whoa! I am definitely not much of a folksy rock fan. That label just brings to mind Guthrie, Baez and Puff the Magic Dragon. I was quite surprised by her singing; it wasn't always strong but she was consistent with the good. She had some stage presence when she pogo'd during musical interludes; other times she just stood there, playing a tambourine. I liked every song in the set - even the folksy ones. Theirs is also a catalog I'll be digging into.
The night ended with The Swell Season. Holy crap! This duo hit my radar when my friend Porter suggested I check out the movie 'Once' starring Glen and Marketa. One of the songs from that movie 'Falling Away' is far and away one of the most beautiful songs ever written - lyrically and musically. Their voices compliment each song - his booming, hers subdued and longing. I was so struck by all of the elements - harmonies, horns, vocals, delivery. Most of all, I was struck by their sheer delight and awe to be playing the Hollywood Bowl. The look on Glen's face when he asked the crowd to sing along was true beauty. The set had the feel of an intimate pub gig and a huge party simultaneously. It was glorious and gorgeous and amazing. Check out Once, Falling Slowly and the song Low Rising. Actually, do yourself a solid - check out all of their music.
I had such an incredible night...I really wanted it to go on and on...
No comments:
Post a Comment