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Earlier this week we checked out El Perro Del Mar and opening act Rosie Thomas at--well, here's the problem: We're not sure where we were, because we weren't where we were told we'd be. In what in the end was a serendipitous turn of events that brought us to a cool venue, we began our evening searching for the Rec Center Studios in Echo Park, only to find first a sign taped behind a gated door telling us to enter in the back, then a person in the back telling us to go a couple of blocks up on Sunset near The Echo. We found two lines of people on either side of an unmarked door, and picked the "wrong" line apparently--we went with the excuse that our psychic abilities haven't been performing to par lately, rather than, oh, say, the fact that there were no signs or markings anywhere indicating what line was for whom. We may well have been at The Echo; we were down some stairs and in a pretty great space. Any readers know for sure where we were? Let us know!
But enough about that. Our psychic skills might not be up to par, but the evening's performers most certainly were. Soon after making ourselves comfortable in the basement space on an appropriated cushioned bench, Seattle-based Rosie Thomas took the stage. She is a study in opposites, being that her speaking voice has a diminutive cadence and a sort of Edith Ann or cartoonesque connotation, whereas her singing voice is lush and rich and full of powerful emotion. Between songs--many from her newly re-released album These Friends of Mine and many, like "Wedding Day" and "Since You've Been Around" from earlier releases--she entertained us with tangential anectodes, many of which were noticeably funnier and more cleverly delivered than most material offered the viewers of television comedies. Thomas' folksy, melodic songs are chiefly love songs--love lost, love craved, love celebrated, and she included a touching cover of R.E.M.'s "The One I Love."
After a short break, El Perro Del Mar took the stage. The band is fronted by Sarah Assbring, who reminds us a little of a Swedish super-sized version of actress Mischa Barton, and many of the songs in the evening's set came from their 2006 self-titled release, including "Candy," "Dog," and "I Can't Talke About It."
El Perro Del Mar's songwriting signature is the repetitive line and construct, which, for our taste, can be somewhat irritating (we suppose that's why we're writers and not musicians, among other reasons chiefly affiliated with talent and ability, but we've digressed). Many songs, like the bubbly "God Knows (You've Gotta Give to Get)" (heard it in Starbucks yesterday, incidentally) are built around a single line and offer little of lyrical variety, while many others, use the theme of sadness in all its forms--depression, loneliness, heartbreak--as their basis. What makes El Perro Del Mar enjoyable is the combination of Assbring's haunting voice, and the performative storytelling, wherein subtle changes of inflection in the vocals or music indicate a furthering of the emotional core of the song where the lyrics do not. This was particularly noticeable in a song which had essentially only four words, "Boy," "Girl," "Hello," and "Goodbye," and yet the saga of this bittersweet relationship was clear.
Two of our favorite songs of the night came during the encore, the first being a folksy, thoughtful solo number by Assbring for which we don't know the name, and the last of the evening, which was an incredibly well-done cover of The Velvet Underground's "I Found a Reason" perfectly suited to the style and sound of El Perro Del Mar.
Listen to and learn more about El Perro Del Mar HERE
Listen to and learn more about Rosie Thomas HERE
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glad to see a review of this show. i'm an especially big fan of rosie thomas. i think her new album is amazing, really her best one yet. the only misstep on the album for me is her cover of "the one i love."
the space the show was finally held at is called the echoplex, aka the ex_plex. this was the first time i'd been in the hollywood-remodeled version of it. they started using this space a couple years ago, and back then it was a really dingy, rundown warehouse inside, which actually gave it a nice indie-cred look... a venue you'd expect in new york city.
the new ex-plex is a nice place to see a show, but i did not care for all of those benches they have out on the floor. maybe it's just me, but i don't like floor spaces like this (think troubadour or knitting factory) used for benches. the main floor should be for standing audiences and if you want to sit, sit on the sidelines. i suppose time will tell if they make these benches a regular thing, or if they're only used for "quiet" shows like this one.
the last-minute venue change was annoying, but since i bought my ticket thru ticketweb, i got an email around noon that day informing me of the new venue.