Space Is The Place: The XX At Hollywood Forever Cemetery

THE XX

HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY

13 OCTOBER, 2012

Hollywood Forever Cemetery has a knack for booking artists that thrive on atmosphere, and in the case of this particular show, could they have picked any act more atmospheric?  The XX have made an indelible impact on the music world in a very short time, and their appearance came on the heels of a brand new LP, Coexist.   Properly tuned up by two support acts, the sold out crowd was straining anxiously when the lights finally dimmed.
Space is a major concern to The XX, and they made the most of it, using the silences for suspense before the dynamic shifts that wowed the crowd.  The band, Oliver Sim, Romy Madley-Croft, and Jamie Smith, managed to work in healthy chunks of both their albums, and their onstage demeanor has grown more assured, evident from the opening "Angels" onward. 
All in all, a triumphant return to Los Angeles, and a nice table-setter for their gig the following day at the Treasure Island Music Festival in San Francisco.

 

SETLIST:

Angels/Heart Skipped A Beat/Fiction/Crystalised/Fantasy/Basic Space/Missing/Reunion/Sunset/Night Time/Swept Away/Shelter/VCR/Islands/Chained/Infinity+Intro/Tides/Stars

(courtesy of Setlist.FM)

middle support act John Talabot

 See the brand new XX video for "Chained" below:

2:54-Live At The Hollywood Forever Cemetery

2:54, an up and coming English quartet, was given the place of honor opening for The XX on Saturday, 13 October, at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.  The sound was exquisite, and the band more than did justice to the songs from their self-titled debut LP from this year, (out on Fiction-UK, Fat Possum-US).  Colette and Hannah Thurlow are the driving force in the band, augmented by the steady rhythm section of Joel Porter and Alex Robins.

"Scarlet" and "Creeping" were the high points of the set, but, like their LP, the band never drifted far from its comfort zone, maintaining a relatively high bar throughout.  Their first LA appearance was at the Troubadour in June, and they managed to bookend this trip with an in-store at Amoeba Records.  Looking very forward to their next trip to the States.

Divine Fits: Hollywood Forever Cemetery

DIVINE FITS 

MASONIC LODGE

AT HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY

28 AUGUST, 2012

Divine Fits celebrated the release of their debut LP, A Thing Called Divine Fits, with the mother of all record release parties-an evening at the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. 
Divine Fits are: Britt Daniel (Spoon), Dan Boeckner (Handsome Furs, Wolf Parade), and Sam Brown (New Bomb Turks).  They've banded together in what some might slap with the hoary phrase 'supergroup', given the members backgrounds, but it's much closer in sentiment and execution to Wild Flag, which happened to have Britt Daniel produce their first single. There's no trace of ego, and the creation of an entity that's far more than the sum of its parts.  And did I mention that they rock?

This was show #9 for the band, with Boeckner taking the opportunity to riff on the Beatles "Revolution #9" for the occasion, and the third in a mini-LA-residency, (see above poster).  They wasted no time getting the ball rolling with the Daniel leading "Flaggin A Ride", and Boeckner showed his stuff on "My Love Is Real", (videos above and below, respectively). 

Other highlights of the evening were "Wouldn't That Be Nice", which took full dynamic advantage of the old room, and "Civilian Stripes" was given an affecting reading.  That the band is so seamless after such a short time is notable, and Boeckner and Daniel have stated in interview that they would like it to be a going concern.
Britt Daniel, of course, is no stranger to these pages.  As mastermind of Spoon, he made our radar at Coachella in 2010, and later in the year at the Matador 21 celebration in Las Vegas.
What a year for Dan Boeckner, not only this new project, but a Polaris Prize nomination for the final Handsome Furs record, Sound Kapital was a welcome surprise after the band wound up earlier this year.  Didn't realize at the time that their January gig covered here would be among the band's last.
While not sporting his mates high profiles, it was cool to notice the way Sam Brown took directional charge with his playing, and helped lift the songs intensity above the recorded versions.  It will be interesting to see this band again with more shows under their belt.  The mind reels...

A Thing Called Divine Fits, released 28 August on MERGE Records.

Return of Jens Lekman

JENS LEKMAN
MASONIC LODGE AT
HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY
28 SEPTEMBER, 2011

Jens Lekman returned to Los Angeles in support of his new EP An Argument With Myself, just out on Secretly Canadian domestically, or Service worldwide.  His last area appearance was an intimate pool party at the Mondrian Hotel late last year.




This evening was a cozy show at the Masonic Temple in Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Santa Monica Blvd.  Sweat dripped in the packed windowless room, the stained glass Masonic eye overhead keeping an eerie check on everyone...

Accompanied by percussionist Addison Rogers from Bloomington IN, he kept it acoustic, save for assists from his Roland 404, and covered a generous portion of his catalogue.





For those unfamiliar, Jens is an observationalist singer/songwriter/raconteur from sweden whose songs spring from the germ of a simple idea, (getting a haircut='shirin', making a picnic lunch for a seaside trip='your arms around me'), before heading out to parts not entirely expected

Highlights: a spare reading of 'Black cab stood above all, after which Lekman murmured that that was the best rendition they'd ever done of that song.



At one point, the stage was invaded by dancing girls, and for all the fun listening to the songs provide, the most exhilarating moments of a Jens show always seem to be when the dance party breaks out.

Evening closer 'I Remember Every Kiss', shorn of the recorded version's symphonic grandeur, brought things to a close with Jens outsinging the original...


Setlist: (courtesy of Setlist.fm)

1. Intro
2.  An Argument With Myself
3. Waiting For Kirsten
4. I Saw Her In The Anti-War Demonstration
5. A Sweet Summer's Night On Hammer Hill
6. I Broke Up A Fight
7. The End of the World is Bigger Than Love
8. Cowboy Boots
9. Black Cab
10. Golden Key
11.   The Opposite Of Hallelujah
12. That's the Way Love Is
13. Encore
14.  Sipping On The Sweet Nectar
15. Every Little Hair
16. And I Remember Every Kiss  

Flaming Lips At Hollywood Forever Cemetery: 'When The Going Gets Weird...'

Let it be said that I have been to some interesting shows in my time, and just on paper this was ready for the top ten, before it even commenced.

Flaming Lips in a cemetery, what's not to love? I made the 'Soft Bulletin' show, sticking with what was near and dear to my heart, although I do look forward to hearing reports of the second night, where they took on 'Dark Side of the Moon, as only they could...featuring guest appearances from opener Marnie Stern and the one and only Peaches (!).



Night one was all about them, and suspense built through the last minute adjustments and sound checking. Wayne Coyne hit the stage to open the festivities with a thank you to the cemetery, and a warning about the lights, and tips on how to handle a man in a giant orb coming toward you.








From what is now the middle of their catalogue, The Soft Bulletin was a tipping point, when the harsh oddness of their early days wore off, and thanks to an oddball MTV hit, they were faced with actual commercial prospects, and the question became: 'what now?'.

Finding a sympathetic ear in producer Dave Fridman, (who helped transform Mercury Rev's Deserters Songs), they hit the jackpot with a lush, stunning cycle of songs that didn't shy away from the complications of growing older.

Thanks to Jimbo & the Exposure Room, the whole show is available here to view.

Caveats on my videos: the sound overwhelmed my poor camera, being right up front, & see the video above for the whole spectacle, but mine will definitely give you a feel of how special 'right there' was...

Mo' caveats: please be mindful of the first video if you have any strobe related issues...it is after all, The Flaming Lips...The first video, below, is the 'grand entrance', i.e. introducing band members from a giant eyeball, Wayne taking a spin in the hamster ball, i.e. the usual...

Video #2 is the lead track, "Race For The Prize", and as you will witness, is just pure batshit pandemonium...


Highlights from the rest of the set include Wayne borrowing some fake blood from the audience during "The Spark That Bled", and what other audience can you count on being equippped with fake blood?

A touching take on "The Spider Bite Song" gave respect to the core members, the oversized laser-shooting hands made an appearance, and the set peaked with an emotional rendition of "Waitin' For A Superman"...




On stage right, the supporting cast included Interpretive Dance With Light Saber, amongst the characters!































































Final note: didn't have much time to poke around Hollywood Forever before the sun went down, but on the way out, I was delighted to trip over the final resting place of none other than Johnny Ramone, which made for a fitting end to an unforgettable evening.