LIve Music LA
So, one of the things I really dislike about living in LA is that music has to be trendy in order to be booked in this town, which poses problems for listeners who prefer things written by tht guy Anon a couple of hundred years ago. As a result, live music must usually be obtained by flying somewhere else like Denver or Austin or Chicago or New Orleans. This weekend was a rarity in LA, two actual bands I wanted to see.
On Friday night we headed out to the House of Blues Sunset. It's not my favorite venue in the world, but they have a decent sound system (unlike most of the clubs on the strip) and valet parking for the same price as most of the independent lots, so it's more convenient than most, even if parking costs almost as much as the ticket itself. The headliner was Great Big Sea with a Canadian singer as the opening act. GBS, if you're not familiar, is a band out of Newfoundland. When I first saw them I thought they should look like Blind Boys from Alabama, but they don't, they really don't. Music is Sea Chanteys, Traditional Irish pub songs, song about horses, etc and selected covers. Gallows Pole has never been done better including by Led Zeppelin.
On Saturday we inched our way through traffic up the hill at Griffith Park to the Greek to see The Swell Season with opening act Iron & Wine (well five songs anyhow, since we missed the beginning of their set). The Greek is beautiful, up on the hill with woods surrounding it, but parking is a stacked nightmare in a field, where more the one person couldn't locate their car when the show was over. Same $15 parking fee, but much more inconvenience. Swell Season, if you've not heard of them, might also be called the band from the film Once.
There were similarities and differences between the two shows, although both were enjoyable.
Things that were eerily similar:
-Presence of violins, Acoustic Guitars & Accordions
-Both headliners include a guy surnamed Doyle
-Both headline acts contained at least one number where said acoustic guitars were played faster then one would think possible of an acoustic instrument
-Both headline acts included surprise guest stars
-Both shows included audience participation segments
So, you can see a theme in my musical choices and why they're not often present in LA. Similarities aside, the differences in the two experiences were vast. Although roughly the same genre of music (folk rock), the Greek show was a largely sit down event, with standing only for clapping and ovation purposes. The GBS show by contrast was standing and jumping only. Also, the GBS show included a Bodhran, which has to notch up it's rating. The biggest contrasts had to be the audience participation. To wit:
GBS - the singing test
I Fought the Law (passed)
500 Miles (passed)
Bohemian Rhapsody (unsure the band passed, much less the audience. We all knew the words, but none of us is Freddie)
GBS songs chorus
Swell Season
Chorus to SS songs
While tuning: My Girl
So, GBS is the clear winner here. All catchy tunes that everyone knows the words too, even if they can't hit the notes.
Guest Stars - a vast difference
Swell Season
Surprise Guest Richard Sherman whom Glen Hasnard had met while having lunch around Oscar season last year. Asked him offhand if he'd like to do a song at the show. So, with the audience singing along (or at least those of us old enough to remember), Sherman played the piano and sang Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious that he & his brother has written for Mary Poppins. Got a standing ovation for it as well. Fun and could only happen in LA.
GBS
Surprise guest Russell "Goldilocks" Crowe. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised. I knew he was in town doing promo & shooting and I know Alan Doyle has written songs with him, but still somehow odd to see him as part of a band rather then the boss man who seems to alienate most of his former band members. Did Folsom Prison Blues with GBS accompanying and then joined in on "the greatest song in the world", the famous Molly Malone. The good news is, he didn't f**k up MM, which he couldn't sing worth a damn the last time I saw him and he actually managed to tell a funny joke. Oh, the Goldilocks can be explained by any recent picture of him. No man should be allowed to have hair that pretty. It's just not fair.
I think I have to go with SS being the clear winner on guest stars. Where else would you get to see the composer of Super... actually preform the song live. It was cool.
So that's all the good music for now. Hopefully going to see another Irish band in 2 weeks. Apparently October is the only month in which music I like is allowed to be played live, so I'm trying to take advantage of it. All in all I'd say the GBS show is the one I'd prefer to see more often, but the Swell Season show was a nice interlude.
On Friday night we headed out to the House of Blues Sunset. It's not my favorite venue in the world, but they have a decent sound system (unlike most of the clubs on the strip) and valet parking for the same price as most of the independent lots, so it's more convenient than most, even if parking costs almost as much as the ticket itself. The headliner was Great Big Sea with a Canadian singer as the opening act. GBS, if you're not familiar, is a band out of Newfoundland. When I first saw them I thought they should look like Blind Boys from Alabama, but they don't, they really don't. Music is Sea Chanteys, Traditional Irish pub songs, song about horses, etc and selected covers. Gallows Pole has never been done better including by Led Zeppelin.
On Saturday we inched our way through traffic up the hill at Griffith Park to the Greek to see The Swell Season with opening act Iron & Wine (well five songs anyhow, since we missed the beginning of their set). The Greek is beautiful, up on the hill with woods surrounding it, but parking is a stacked nightmare in a field, where more the one person couldn't locate their car when the show was over. Same $15 parking fee, but much more inconvenience. Swell Season, if you've not heard of them, might also be called the band from the film Once.
There were similarities and differences between the two shows, although both were enjoyable.
Things that were eerily similar:
-Presence of violins, Acoustic Guitars & Accordions
-Both headliners include a guy surnamed Doyle
-Both headline acts contained at least one number where said acoustic guitars were played faster then one would think possible of an acoustic instrument
-Both headline acts included surprise guest stars
-Both shows included audience participation segments
So, you can see a theme in my musical choices and why they're not often present in LA. Similarities aside, the differences in the two experiences were vast. Although roughly the same genre of music (folk rock), the Greek show was a largely sit down event, with standing only for clapping and ovation purposes. The GBS show by contrast was standing and jumping only. Also, the GBS show included a Bodhran, which has to notch up it's rating. The biggest contrasts had to be the audience participation. To wit:
GBS - the singing test
I Fought the Law (passed)
500 Miles (passed)
Bohemian Rhapsody (unsure the band passed, much less the audience. We all knew the words, but none of us is Freddie)
GBS songs chorus
Swell Season
Chorus to SS songs
While tuning: My Girl
So, GBS is the clear winner here. All catchy tunes that everyone knows the words too, even if they can't hit the notes.
Guest Stars - a vast difference
Swell Season
Surprise Guest Richard Sherman whom Glen Hasnard had met while having lunch around Oscar season last year. Asked him offhand if he'd like to do a song at the show. So, with the audience singing along (or at least those of us old enough to remember), Sherman played the piano and sang Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious that he & his brother has written for Mary Poppins. Got a standing ovation for it as well. Fun and could only happen in LA.
GBS
Surprise guest Russell "Goldilocks" Crowe. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised. I knew he was in town doing promo & shooting and I know Alan Doyle has written songs with him, but still somehow odd to see him as part of a band rather then the boss man who seems to alienate most of his former band members. Did Folsom Prison Blues with GBS accompanying and then joined in on "the greatest song in the world", the famous Molly Malone. The good news is, he didn't f**k up MM, which he couldn't sing worth a damn the last time I saw him and he actually managed to tell a funny joke. Oh, the Goldilocks can be explained by any recent picture of him. No man should be allowed to have hair that pretty. It's just not fair.
I think I have to go with SS being the clear winner on guest stars. Where else would you get to see the composer of Super... actually preform the song live. It was cool.
So that's all the good music for now. Hopefully going to see another Irish band in 2 weeks. Apparently October is the only month in which music I like is allowed to be played live, so I'm trying to take advantage of it. All in all I'd say the GBS show is the one I'd prefer to see more often, but the Swell Season show was a nice interlude.