Five bands. A small group of music lovers. One living room. It's not often that something like this happens, but when it does it's fairly safe to say that it's thanks to Songs From A Room (or Sofar Sounds as it's come to be known), a movement making its way around the world, bringing intimacy and respect back to live music and giving new musicians a new platform to showcase their music. The only rules being: No talking. No texting. Just listen and enjoy.
The rules seem simple enough, but it's quite a lofty goal when you think about what the floor at any show looks like these days: a sea of backlit cellphone screens and a chorus of shouting as people try to converse over the music they paid to come hear. For any true music loving, gig addicted fan, it's the bane of one's existence. So the creation and execution of a series of small gigs where your undivided attention is the highest form of currency (along with maybe a six pack of beer) is something quite special.
Which is why when a video of Marcus Foster playing a gig in someone's living room in London made its way onto my twitter feed last summer, I got really excited. Upon doing a bit more research, I came to find that Songs From A Room stems from London, run by Rafe Offer, Rocky Start, and Passion Ate Dave (David Alexander), the latter being the first to host and take part in this grassroots movement to bring live music back down to earth with new focus and enthusiasm.
I soon signed up for the newsletter and watched over the months as gigs kept popping up in London and soon found their way to the States. Late last year, to my shock and pleasant surprise, this humble little blog of mine got a shout out via Sofar's official twitter page, and I finally bit the bullet and emailed over a few recommendations of my favorite up and coming bands. I was floored to get an email back and an invitation to the first Los Angeles gig. Not really knowing what to expect, I left all my expectations at the door and came away from the night thrilled and honored to have been part of it at all.
The gentlemen of Sofar Sounds were kind enough to let me bring Abi, my usual partner in crime, as my +1 and not long after our arrival the main room and other living areas were packed with people. We were both surprised to see a few familiar faces from the singer/songwriter circuit of fans that frequent the LA shows, but it's all the more evidence that this really is a small world after all (and I now have that song stuck in my head, so don't think that lack of creativity didn't go unpunished). Because the list of performers is keep secret until the night of the gig, it made for a fun game of "who's a band member?" while we waited and really drove home an underlying theme to this movement: we're all just music fans. These gigs have you standing shoulder to shoulder with musicians and fans alike, which if I might say, is pretty damn cool. Not to mention the lovely setting. Casey's (our hostess for the night) apartment set a wonderful mood and tone for the night, its old Los Angeles charm making it all the more apropos.
Rocky was our cheerful and enthusiast MC for the night and once introductions were made, Chief (sans one member), a band based out of Santa Monica, christened the Los Angeles gig by going first. I recognized them as soon as they all took their places in front as one of the bands featured in the Reuters piece I saw months beforehand. Many reviewers have been quick to compare them to other bands and another time (read: the products of Laurel Canyon in the 60s) and I suppose that is fitting. Though they may have come together while attending NYU, they sound like California, with its dusty orange orchards and the beat of the Valley under an unforgiving sun and the shade of the canyons and the sweep of a Pacific breeze. Not to wax too poetical, but they sound like home.
[Check out their Take Away Show - shot it Malibu - for LA BLOGOTHEQUE]
Jesca Hoop's performance felt like storytime with a favorite, quirky aunt who drinks tea, sneaks out for smokes when the others aren't looking, and is as comfortable with her favorite expletives (which she freely admitted to before she started her set, much to everyone's amusement) as she is with less offensive four letter words. Vocally and lyrically she takes her listeners on a journey, where you're likely to find yourself in some wooded glen, an environment she seems to find inspiration in and evokes often in her songwriting, be it located in her native Northern California or the United Kingdom where she's since taken up roots. She's an imagery songstress and if the chatter online is any indication, she's soon to take flight.
[For a taste, listen to her Daytrotter Session and read the glowing writeup]
Saint Motel was next and they came in guns blazing, with their sole mission seeming to be to have fun and make everyone happy. From the looks and sounds of the audience: Mission Accomplished. At the risk of sounding like a hippie, there were some seriously good vibes throughout their four song set. I've since had the chance to listen to their EP "ForPlay" and it's interesting to compare it to the unplugged version we got that night. Because I had no point of reference and the stripped down acoustic tracks were played so well and with such a healthy amount of cheek, I was surprised at how much they remind me of the bands I listened to in college. Don't take that the wrong way, there's nothing emo or dated about them (though a lot of the bands I listened to back then can no longer say the same), but they are a delightfully reimagined take on the power pop/rock that never goes out of style.
[See for yourself at their 3rd Annual Zombie Prom. Who says love is dead? Undead maybe. ;)]
I wasn't really sure how The Absolute were going to play this gig. I had never heard any of their music before, but Abi had been to one of the their shows at The Viper Room and from what she'd told me, I thought them to be a rock and roll band, through and through. So how in the hell were they going to play someone's living room without getting the police called on us for breaking some noise ordinance? Well, as it turns out, they did have to do a little retooling in order to perform for us (we had the pleasure of hearing the "drunken waltz" version of one of their songs) and I think they did a wonderful job. Philip has an incredibly powerful voice, one that is no doubt conditioned to project over their usual level of sound, but during this more organic performance there were points when he was singing so loud and with such passion I got chills. I almost wish I could have been a person outside, maybe taking the dog for a walk along the beautiful tree lined street Casey's apartment is on, and heard their performance from below. Maybe someone did and just for a moment got to take part in this incredible night of music with the rest of us.
[Listen to a couple of the new tracks from their forthcoming EP La Fin du Monde out March 4]
Hyperpotamus was the last to arrive and the last to perform and it was honestly the coolest ending to the night we could have asked for. With nothing more than four microphones, a loop station pedal, and small set of speakers, he literally wowed everyone in the room. He lays down beats that sound like inconsequential sounds until he loops and layers them on top of each one, sings with a voice of impressive range, and suddenly he's a one man band and has command of the entire room (his cover of "Sweet Dreams" by The Eurythmics was a big hit with us). This wasn't his first stop to a Sofar Sounds living room; this Spaniard played for them at a London gig last summer and continues to make his way around the world (if I read correctly, there will soon be a Take Away Show filmed in Barcelona). But enough of my rambling, I come bearing evidence of his brilliance:
[Check out his YouTube Channel and then see him live when you can!]
And so ended the night, one I won't soon forget and that introduced me to five new bands in a fashion I could easily get spoiled on. So sign up the mailing list, become part of the movement, and see who and what you find along the way.
