Category: Concerts (Page 3 of 3)

6/5/16

Pam and I saw  the Zac Brown Band last October at the Hollywood Bowl.  The show was spectacular.  They played all the great ZBB songs plus some unexpectedly great covers of The Devil Went Down To Georgia, Let It Be, and Bohemian Rhapsody, which was just phenomenal.  In general the show was really upbeat and fun.  We left feeling great and wanting more.  So when ZBB announced they were touring again this year, we knew we had to go again.  We had huge expectations this time, because last time was just that good.

We went to the show with our friends Marla and Stuart.  I was friends with Stuart in elementary and high school, and they have lived down the street from us for decades, but we rarely saw them.  Ironically, it took a random act for us to rekindle our relationship.  We live in West LA and Country music is not the most popular music in our neighborhood.  Last year Pam and I were driving to an Alan Jackson show which was on the same night and in the same location as a Laker game.  While driving, we saw Stuart and Marla going the same way.  We pulled up next to him and started talking.  This was not so easy, as traffic was heavy, but once we maneuvered next to him, we had time to talk.  Assuming he was going to the Laker game, I asked him where he was going.  He hesitated, probably for the same reason I assumed he was going to the Laker game, and then said they were going to see a country music show.  Oh My!  Who knew there was another Country fan in the hood.

After the opening act, which was actually really good, ZBB came out and played for about two hours with a five minute intermission.  They sounded great.  They are all world class musicians and the acoustics in the Forum are amazing.  So much better than in Staples Center, the most dreaded venue in which Pam and I will see a show, as the acoustics suck in there.  Anyway, we enjoyed the show, but it paled in comparison to the one Pam and I saw last year.  ZBB does not play traditional Country music.  Its most country songs, frankly, are not that country.  They are great songs, though, and we love them.  The issue is that ZBB’s music is morphing into a quasi-metal and psychedelic sound, that is just too dark for us.  Along those lines,  ZBB has been collaborating with Dave Grohl, of Foo Fighters fame, over the past couple of years and he has been a big influence on some of ZBB’s newer songs.  He made a guest appearance at the concert and led the band in a cover of Live and Let Die.  The cover was so distorted, we barely recognized it.  Definitely not Country.  On the other hand, the band closed the first portion of the show with an intimate three song acoustic set, which was Country and included Free/Into the Mystic, It’s  Not OK, and I’ll Be Your Man.  This was the highlight of the show for Pam and me.

Last year, ZBB closed the show with Chicken Fried, an absolutely upbeat song that is just plain fun to hear and you leave the show singing it.  This year ZBB closed the show with Beautiful Drug, arguably a pop song at best and trite at worst, with lyrics that evoke junkie, drug induced references and depict a Fatal Attraction type of relationship.  Couple that with a sophomoric light show  that takes away from the music and we walked away in a daze not wanting to hear another note.

As we were driving home, we were all kind of bummed because none of us were in any hurry to see them any time soon.

4/4/16

Pam found us tickets to a Brandy Clark show at The Main Stage in the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, a tiny 200 person venue.  Pam has taken over getting us concert tickets ever since I took us to the  Old 97’s show at the El Rey a while back.  We left that show after five songs barely able to hear.  And for the umpteenth time I am reminded just how glad I am that Pam is in charge of show selection.  This show was a tune up for Brandy Clark before she appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres show later in the week.

We have seen Brandy Clark, a rising Country star, before, once when she opened for Jennifer Nettles at the Wiltern Theater and once when she opened for Alan Jackson at the Microsoft Theater.  We became instant fans of hers at the Jennifer Nettles show, and not  because she walked on stage clad in a miniskirt, boots and an acoustic guitar, though that didn’t hurt in my opinion.  When it comes to music, I am a believer in less is more.  Many times at small venues, the artist’s voices, and our ears, are overpowered by the drums and guitars.  Not on this night.

The show opened with a set by The Deltaz, a Southern California duo who play a nice acoustic mix of country and blues using only a harmonica, djembo, which is probably the most beloved African hand drum, and an acoustic guitar.  They played a great opening set, and as I am wont to do, I bought their CD and had a nice conversation with John Siegel, who sings and plays guitar.

After a short break, Brandy Clark came out, accompanied not by a miniskirt and boots, but by Miles Aubrey, who played acoustic guitar and sang with her.  For those who do not know Brandy Clark, she has been better known as a songwriter than a performer, though that is changing.  Her songwriting credits include, Miranda Lambert’s “Mama’s Broken Heart” and the Band Perry’s “Better Dig Two.”  She sang both of those and several songs from her first album and several from her soon to be released “Big Day in a Small Town” album.  Pam and I loved them all.  When we left we could not stop raving about the quality of the show and how much we enjoyed it.  It was somewhat bittersweet, though because we will most likely never get the chance to see her in a venue like this again.

Brandy Clark has a clear, pleasant voice.  She is easy to listen to and, to my amateur ear, is rarely off key.  She is one of those artists who may be better live than recorded, which is always a treat when you are in the audience.  What sets her apart though, are her lyrics.  Off-beat is not a strong enough adjective.  Quirkily funny may be better.  Or depressingly accurate may be best.  Her characters are heroes in a noir setting who may easily be overlooked in daily life, especially by someone like me who lives in the bubble of West Los Angeles.