As part of the Off The 405 series, the Getty Museum played host to a special performance by Laetitia Tamko, AKA Vagabon. Accompanied by an expanded group, including a string trio, vocals/french horn accompaniment from Sasami Ashworth, and a bass assist from Emily Elhaj (Angel Olsen band), Vagabon brought new life to a small but vibrant catalogue, focusing on debut album Infinite Worlds (Father Daughter Records), with "Fear and Force" being a standout.
It’s been fascinating to watch the
evolution of the Dum Dum Girls, started by Kirstin Gundred, (Dee Dee), as a bedroom project, turning into a tentative
performing group, to a kick out the jams band. The recorded progress has
evolved to match, with their latest LP, Only
In Dreams, (on Sub Pop), capturing the unease of growing up without sacrificing the
jangle. Finding a balance between
the two is a trick, and over the course of a night at the Echoplex, that is just
what the Dum Dum Girls pulled off.
The set was filled with generous
tastes of both their LP’s, starting unevenly with a muddy “Caught In One”,
before plunging into the joyously up tempo “He Gets Me High”. They persevered, and by the time they
launched into “Bedroom Eyes”, sound issues were definitely under control, and
they finished off the set strongly.
Along with Dee Dee, the band is now
comprised of stalwart guitarist Jules, along with Malia James, in for original
bassist Bambi, and the irrepressible Sandra Vu, who took over the drum throne
from Frankie Rose. Her assertive beat kept things on track all night.
To their credit, when the encore
came, it was treated not as a formality, but full guns blazing as they opened
up with “Jail La La”, from I Will Be,
followed up with “Teardrops On My Pillow”, and then savaged the remaining
faithful with “Coming Down”, an anthem pitched somewhere between Mazzy Star’s
“Fade Into You” and Bob Dylan’s “Knocking On Heaven’s Door”, proving decisively
that you can take the ladies out of the garage, but the not the garage out of the ladies.
(below is a nifty cover of the Pale Saints "Sight Of You".)
A generous line of support acts
made for a full, rich evening; one can get easily spoiled by four quality bands for $15. The festivities were started by Sisu, followed by
Young Prisms and Tamaryn.
Tamaryn, New Zealand born, San Francisco based singer led a group that turned up the volume considerably, sometimes serving and sometimes overwhelming songs from their debut The Waves, which came out last fall on Mexican Summer.
Young Prisms are a San Francisco based quintet that found a sweet spot of drone amidst the sometimes tricky acoustics of the Echoplex. Their lush sound was informed by Shoegaze, but not held captive by it. They were certainly the revelation of the evening. The newest LP is In Between, on Kanine Records.
Sisu features Sandra Vu, stepping out from behind the kit to lead a sharp four-piece. Their new EP Demon Tapes, Vol. 2 is hot off the press and available through Bandcamp, (check the widget below the photos). This is a band you'll be hearing more of soon.
The Dum Dum Girls capped off their L.A.
stay with a free show Saturday, May 19 at the Getty Center as part of the “Off
The 405” summer concert series.
First official trip to the wondrous Getty Museum, perched on a hillside overlooking the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles, not to be confused with the old museum in Malibu, now known as the Getty Villa. I had been to the new fortress once long ago, before it opened, for an interview with the book division. Obviously didn't pan out & wasn't practical, but sure would have been cool. The museum is built into the hillside, and at that point was unfinished...Taking the tram up, then elevatoring 4 stories down into the hill, checking through security, and pacing along unfinished cement corridors was pretty exciting, with all kinds of vehicles passing by, (inside), and incessant construction, it was like being in your own James Bond film. Very hip.
The return was less ceremonial, simply melding into the pack of tourists and trying to sample the amazing smorgasbord of art and photography laid out, courtesy of the late J.P. Getty. The Getty Trust is in good form, and will certainly be viable for a long time coming; the museum a heady reflection of that fact. One of the public outreach efforts it makes is to have concerts one saturday a month, the lure this particular day being 'The Antlers', from Brooklyn. Did I mention that it's free? Show was free, museum was free, parking a mere $15...(no sarcasm whatsoever, a stone cold bargain in Los Angeles). It would have been easy to overindulge, so the plan is more on the lines of a seperate trip for each of the five main buildings...Today's pick turned out to be 'Enlightened Observers', a look at the evolution of documentary photograpy through the century. Varied and extremely moving, it alone is worth the trip.
On the way in, we got a sampling of the prospective acoustics in the courtyard, as the band ran through a brief soundcheck.
The barren intimacy of the songs from their '09 record 'Hospice', were taken up a notch, thanks to incessant touring, but maintained the ability to connect emotionally.
It was fascinating to watch outside the hardcore of fans clustered at the foot of the stage, back to the tourists who would stop and watch, sometimes engage, and sometimes move on...
If you listen closely enough during 'Bear', (above), you can hear the meeting of the 'Valley Singles Club' cloistered near us, doing what singles at free events the world over do...
As dusk fell, the stream of tourists tapered off, and the crowd settled in as the band moved into the heart of their set, nearing the end with a stunning version of 'Two', featuring guest vocalist Holly Miranda. The perfect capper to a lovely evening at the Getty.
