Monday, December 13, 2010

and maybe the world will look like this forever

Here are three of the last four shows I went to this year. The fourth is Mumford & Sons at The Sound Academy in Toronto, but they get their own dedicated post. No, I'm not above showing favoritism.


Johnny Flynn @ The Hotel Cafe (11-5-10)

Johnny Flynn @ The Hotel Cafe (11-5-10)


Originally, I wasn't going to be able to see Johnny perform because he only had one date booked at The Hotel Cafe and it was the same night as Florence + The Machine. Luckily, he decided to add another night and it was a mad dash to buy a ticket before it too sold out. I first got wind of Johnny back in 2008, along with Laura Marling, but at the time my musical interests were largely elsewhere.

I'll be the first to admit that back then, his particular brand of folk music wasn't something I gave much thought to. I was still coming down from my Warped Tour college days and you were more likely to find me in the pit at a rock show than in the quiet attendance of an acoustic set. Nowadays, I like to juggle both and thankfully he made his way back onto my radar late last year and I was able to give his music a proper listen.

Johnny Flynn is storyteller. Lyrics, arrangement, and his distinctive voice all lend to the weaving of tales that are contemporary, but are laced with classical imagery that belies his actual youth and hints at an educated background. And he does it all with such ease; there is nothing rushed about his singing or playing. He seems content enough to simply sing you his stories and then move onto the next town, a troubadour for a new age.

And that was how we found him in Los Angeles, just another stop on his journey. I had heard many a tale of his shyness and sometimes outright awkwardness on and off stage, so I feared that our small but stigmatized crowd would make him downright skittish. He too happens to be friends with a certain British actor who has found an obscene level of fame over the last couple of years, and his fans have flocked to his friends, and while this is easy promotion for up and coming musicians like Johnny, it creates a kind of frenzy amongst the new fans that has little to do with the music and almost everything to do with the association to their favorite star. How cynical of me, sure, but I've seen it firsthand, more times than I'd like, and as much as I love this town, it's LA and unfortunately how things often are, regardless of what I think.

The timing was beneficial that night, though, and his high profile friends were not in attendance, so things went without a hitch. Well, almost. As it turned out, Johnny was talkative between songs and engaging, his humor light but charming. He played the first set of the night, so it was a bit hurried, but he had a much more powerful presence on stage than I expected, his voice strong and captivating. All was going really well until he took a second during an interlude to tune his guitar. He made some quip about it being old and having to tune it often and everyone merely laughed along with his easy candor. Then one particular woman broke the moment and I was sure had ruined the night.

She rose her voice above the din of the venue and said (I'm paraphrasing here, this was a while ago, after all), "that's what Laura does too," referring to Laura Marling. Sounds harmless enough, right? Yeah, not so much. My friend Abi and I stole a look at each other before covering our faces in shame. That awkward, uncomfortable Johnny I'd heard rumor of was suddenly standing on stage. He mumbled out an almost inaudible "oh" and went back to tuning his guitar, the mood broken. We had made it almost the entire night without a fangirl stepping out of line and then that chick had to go and ruin it. My friends and I were suffering from a serious case of secondhand embarrassment and I was doing my best to tame a raging bout of contempt for these women who continue to strive to make complete asses of themselves and everyone in attendance.

Just once I'd like to see one of these musicians perform without having to worry that half or more of the audience didn't check their shame at the door in an embarrassing attempt to get closer to someone who is little more than a fantasy. Just once. I supposed this means I'll have to vacant Los Angeles. *headdesk* Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with being a fan, I can fangirl with the best of them, but some of these people have taken it above and beyond what can be considered sensible and respectful behavior. But I digress, yet again. Honestly, this is a gripe and a half that I could write on for pages and pages, but I won't.

Somehow though, Johnny shook it off and when he prompted a sing-a-long to "Tickle Me Pink" as his final song, all smiles and modest cheer, I was almost proud of him. Needless to say, I'd really like to see him again, perhaps with his band The Sussex Wit. If he sounds this good by himself, I can only imagine how great he is with the support of a band.

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Florence + The Machine @ The Wiltern (11-6-10)

Florence + The Machine @ The Wiltern (11-6-10)


Florence Welch is a force of nature. Full stop.

Florence + The Machine has been a constant presence in my "Heavy Rotation" playlist on my iPod for over a year and a half now and I have a feeling this won't be changing any time soon. Oddly enough, I have Nylon Magazine to thank for this. I downloaded their Summer Playlist last year and "Cosmic Love," which was featured in the mix, was enough to having me downloading all of Lungs before the day was over. I then paid well above face value to see her perform at The Troubadour last October and it's one of the best overpriced tickets I've ever bought. The venue could barely contain the energy coming from the stage and audience. It was arguably one of the best shows I've ever been too.

Fast forward a year and she's playing The Wiltern and leveling us all with nothing but her voice and enviable energy and enthusiasm. She's a bit of an odd bird, too. In contrast to the strength of her singing voice, Florence is rather soft spoken between songs, she's delightfully quirky in the way she works the stage, and theatrical in a way that's understated and entertaining, but not comical or requiring a meat dress or enough backup dancers to mask a lack of charisma or rhythm. And it all just works.

There were moments of genuine awe where I got goosebumps and my breath caught in my chest when she hit a particular note or held one for so long I wanted to breathe for her. There were a pair of young girls, maybe sixteen, standing in front of us who were so taken with Florence, I'm not sure you could have physically shaken them from their revere. It was a treat to witness, that kind of adoration.

The two performances that really stuck with me were "Blinding" and "My Boy Builds Coffins." With the first, I was more struck by the way it was performed than anything else. Donning a bejeweled, lace cloak, the lights were turned down and a single key light behind Florence illuminated her ghostly silhouette. As the tempo of the song increased, so did the strobe light and the harder your heart beat. Again, she's theatrical, but she was able to be so with little more than posturing and her voice. Remarkable.

It's not even my favorite track, but this time "My Boy Builds Coffins" was one of those moments when I got chills and stood there gaping. The song is slightly bent and unusual but she and her band performed it in such a way that by the end the vocals and music were resonating so powerfully from the stage I was a bit taken aback. They were able to take a song I've heard countless times and they've countless more make it sound fresh and better than ever. If that's not a sign of a formidable performer, I don't know what is.

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Dear Jack Benefit (f. Matt Nathanson, Jack's Mannequin, and Something Corporate) @ The El Rey Theatre (11-18-10)

Dear Jack Benefit Show @ The El Rey (11-18-10)

Dear Jack Benefit Show @ The El Rey (11-18-10)


Andrew McMahon has been the voice of my evolution. Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin are the veritable book ends to a rather tumultuous period of my life and to have the chance to see both bands live, on the same night, was like coming full circle.

In 2003 I was a sophomore in college, newly heartbroken, and untethered. Instead of going out and binge drinking at frat parties and being loose with my morals, I embraced an equally cliched response to rejection and retreated inward. For a time, it seemed I'd never find my way back from this self-implemented exile. And then I found my muse, or rather, it found me in the form Something Corporate.

I was finally getting into my upper division screenwriting courses (I have my BA in Film with an emphasis on screenwriting) and my first feature length script was written to a soundtrack of Something Corporate with "Down" as the lead track. I spent many a night and painfully early morning writing until I couldn't see straight and crying until it didn't hurt anymore and all the while it was Andrew's voice that kept my feet on the ground.

The world kept turning and before I knew it, two years had past and Andrew was the frontman and brainchild behind a new band: Jack's Mannequin. Before the release of the album in August of 2005 Andrew was diagnosed with Leukemia and it was now our turn, as fans, to support him. It's a strange relationship we have as listeners with the musicians behind the music. We come to rely so heavily on them for support and encouragement and happiness that we form this symbiotic bond that is both incredibly intimate and yet completely impersonal. So when Andrew fell ill, it was terrifying and strange and all any of us could really do was hope.

It was that hope that slowly bleed into my own life and helped me find my own way back from the dark. Andrew soon made his recovery and has been an incredible source of inspiration the entire time. He's proof that life is hard and unfair and sometimes ugly, but if you keep going and never give up, you can come out on the other side changed, but whole...and alive. Glass Passenger came out in 2008 and "The Resolution" closed the wound for good:

There's a lot that I don't know
There's a lot that I'm still learning
When I think I'm letting go
I find my body it's still burning

And you hold me down
And you got me living in the past
Come on and pick me up
Somebody clear the wreckage from the blast

Yeah I'm alive
But I don't need a witness
To know that I've survived
I'm not looking for forgiveness
Yeah I just need light
I need light in the dark
As I search for the resolution


The night of the benefit was as much a show about raising money for a wonderful cause as it was about hope and healing, whether it was a conscious thought or not. Matt Nathanson opened the night with his dirty sense of humor and infectious personality. He and Aaron Tap did a cover of of ACDC's "Highway to Hell" that was ridiculous and hilarious and entirely wonderful. He was the perfect warm up for the night and I can't wait to see him headline his own gig.

It was full steam ahead after that, with Jack's Mannequin taking the stage first. I hadn't listened to much of Jack's this year, save for seeing an impromptu show at The Viper Room in February, because Something Corporate had once again taken top priority with their reunion this year, so it was really great to hear all these songs again. "Dark Blue" still gets the most cheers and "MFEO/You Can Breath" still gives me chills like I'm hearing it for the first time. This was also the debut of Jack's new bassist Mikey "The Kid" Wagner; he fit in seamlessly.

Something Corporate closed the night with all of our favorites and all the energy we've grown accustomed to and live for when Andrew works his way around the stage and ends up on top of his piano. These songs are old friends and they'll never not make me ridiculously happy. The night ended with "La La Lie" and all the band members from both bands on stage. Again, full circle. Now we wait for the next chapter as Jack's Mannequin records their, as of yet, untitled third album. I'm anxious to see where it takes me next, but I know I'm in safe hands.

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