concert review: vampire weekend/beach house/the very best.

A few Saturdays ago, I saw Vampire Weekend, Beach House and The Very Best at the Hollywood Bowl.

The Very Best opened up first. To be honest, they weren't for me - I heard from a lot of people I talked to that they loved them, but I just wasn't a fan. They played African hip-hop fusion, which I like normally, but all their songs sounded the same. Their back up dancers, however, were amazing. I was with friends (hi Matt, Em, and V!) and we all shared the same wish to steal their dance skills.
I love Beach House, so I was very excited to see them live. Biggest shocker - the lead singer is a girl. Yes, as a fan I should have know that, but I always thought she was a he on the recordings... Anyway, they were fantastic. Played a really great mix of songs, the set was really cool, they were great. Enough said.

Vampire Weekend was flawless. I love them a lot - they are adorable, preppy, musically inclined hipsters who have songs that just make you want to dance and lyrics that show off their Ivy League educations (Columbia grads). They played new songs, old songs, fast songs, slow songs. They closed with Walcott which was so fun - imagine the whole Hollywood Bowl dancing and singing. Cousins was fantastic live, the call-answer of M79 was perfect with the whole Bowl; basically, it was awesome. They played their biggest hits, which was kind of a let down if you (like me) were a fan of some of their less well known songs. They are fantastic performers - very charming and charismatic. They made a lot of jokes, and interacted with the audience which is always great.

On top of that, VW had plexiglass chandeliers that moved up and down, a huge Aztec like circle with lyrics in it as a backdrop and the best use of the changing colored dome I've seen in a while. Only other downside: the T-shirts were disappointing. The four of us (my friends and I) stood there for a good deal of time deciding which shirt was the least mediocre. Mine has dogs on it (not goats, Matt).
I've had Vampire Weekend stuck in my head for weeks, and I'm totally fine with that. A perfect way to end my Hollywood Bowl season for the year.

Vampire Weekend! Those bright orbs are the chandeliers. 

concert review: phoenix/grizzly bear/girls.

I saw Phoenix, Grizzly Bear and Girls at the Hollywood Bowl on 9/18. It was a great concert! 

Girls opened up. I wasn't familiar with them, but they were good. Their first three songs were really good - upbeat, happy, whimsical, reminiscent of SoCal surf rock. The ending songs of their set were not as enjoyable - they leaned towards heavy metal, which I'm fine with, but they were such a drastic change from the opening songs that I was confused and waiting for the old Girls to come back. I downloaded a few songs, not the whole album

Grizzly Bear was fantastic. They are in my Top 5 favorite bands, and seeing them live was spectacular! Edward Droste (vocals, guitar, keyboard) has the voice of an angel - his voice is like honey and melted chocolate. Their music sounds amazing on a CD, but three times as fantastic live. It made me love them so much more. A nice mix of songs from Yellow House and from Veckatimest. I definitely want to see them again any time they play in LA.

Phoenix was the perfect way to cap off the night. Talk about performing - these guys have enough charm and charisma to circle the world a few times. Their music is awesome, but again, it was superb live because they are such great performers. I danced the whole time! It made me pull their CDs out again and listen to them on the way home and the rest of the week.
But the best part of the whole night: going on stage. I was with my friend Katharine, and we got front row-center seats, which was absolutely amazing. Then, at the end of Phoenix's set, they pulled people up on stage, and Katharine and I were two of them! We danced on stage with them for the last song, and then, once the concert ended, were promptly escorted offstage by Hollywood Bowl personnel. But I got to tell Thomas Mars that I loved his music, so it made it all better.

Overall, a fantastic evening! Great music, the Hollywood Bowl, friends, food, and oh yeah, dancing on stage.