Los Campesinos
Parenthetical Girls
Echoplex, LA
10 February, 2012
Saturday night heralded the return of Los Campesinos! to Los Angeles, on the heels of their most recent LP, Hello Sadness. The lines outside the Echoplex stretched around the corner, and the crowd buzzed in anticipation. While in no danger of laying waste to the charts here in the States, they command a rabid cult, and said cult was out in force for this show.
Ably handling the opening honors were Parenthetical Girls, (Portland, OR), who tuned up the crowd admirably, working mostly from their recent series of 4 EPs'. Zac Pennington didn't let the second billing stand in his way, commanding the stage, (plus leaving it for the audience, more than once), and totally winning over the crowd. Amber was a winsome presence, nailing down the musical side of things, and serving as the perfect foil. It was a shame to see their set end, and I highly look forward to catching them on their own. Hats off to the headliners for being comfortable enough to have a strong band open for them.
The headliners hit the ground running with "By Your Hand", the lead cut from Hello Sadness, and the track of choice performed on the recent David Letterman appearance, then segueing neatly into a rousing rendition of "Romance Is Boring", (see below), title track of their previous LP.
The set was weighted with new tracks, but didn't stint on the old records, and the emotional highlight of the evening was the high energy "You! Me! Dancing!" into the grimly hypnotic "The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future". All in all, an amazing evening, and a nice sign that even though Los Campesinos have absorbed new members, the heart still beats strong.
Post Script: LC! bounced back up to L.A. a few days later for an appearance on KCRW's 'Morning Becomes Eclectic', where you can see a live in the studio take on "Songs About Your Girlfriend".
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(courtesy of Setlist.fm)
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