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Friday night at The Troubadour featured long-time local favorites Earlimart and UK indie pop/rock group The Wedding Present. And, unexpectedly, Keanu Reeves, sitting up in the VIP session, rocking out to the latter. Earlimart went on right at 9 o'clock, with bright, hypnotic images projected on the wall behind them, which included forests, fields, and underwater sequences. An original Ship Collective band whose offshoots/former members include Great Northern and Silversun Pickups, Earlimart are currently back to the basics: talented founders Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray, with a touring drummer. The set included music from their two recent albums Mentor Tormentor and Hymn and Her (Majordomo in Japan), as well as from some oldies like 2004's Trebel and Tremble. Murray is fascinating in her effortless switching from a Christmas-light-strewn keyboard to a low-slung bass guitar, and her mellow vocals are the perfect accompaniment to Espinoza's higher, whispery voice. The combination of Murray's synthesized string sounds and Espinoza's hard-driving guitar are very effective; the dynamics between harder rocking songs like the infectious "Nevermind the Phone Calls" and the pretty "Happy Alone" (reminiscent of Headlights' Kill Them With Kindness) kept the show at a good pace, and is part of what keeps Earlimart interesting and continuously on the radar for indie rock fans, regardless of their lack of a label in the U.S. Steadfast good songwriting refuses to be ignored. Espinoza told the crowd, "You are the reason I live here", and bands like this are the reason many of us live in L.A. (Take that, Pitchfork and Airborne Toxic Event.) Needless to say, it was a very enjoyable set.
The Wedding Present are another band who have paid their dues and been around awhile, but with quite a different sound. Founded by singer David Gedge in 1985, the group's discography seems to have gone through several genres, with their latest release El Rey (Vibrant/Manifesto) sporting an unabashedly lo-fi pop-rock sound. Gedge's vocals sound kind of like a less romantic Morrissey, live, if Mozz never hit his high notes or held anything too long. The drums and guitar bang along steadily, but the songs themselves are lacking something, and somehow managed to blend together into a single, bland sound onstage. The crowd was enthusiastic, however, and the venue was full; Gedge joked with individual fans who yelled out requests, and the energy was high. The fact that the presence of Keanu Reeves was actually more interesting than the music, however, wasn't a good sign, and I left thinking Earlimart were truly the stars of the night.
Low-light photos by Simone Snaith for LAist
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I couldn't disagree more strongly on the Wedding Present. This was my first time seeing them perform and I was really surprised by how great they were live. Perhaps the energy of the crowd was a big influence, but I enjoyed their set far more than Earlimart's, which was just another Earlimart performance to me--nothing really special. The Wedding Present had infectious energy, Gedge had a lovely sense of humor and by the end of the set, the vast majority of the crowd was enthusiastically dancing along. How often do you see that at an "indie pop/rock" show?
In a word, they rocked. If they had opened up for Earlimart, rather than the other way around, I would have left the show early.
i'm guessing Simone isn't a fan or Wedding Present. I've seen Earlimart before, and they were fine, but Wedding Present were great.
Earlimart was a nice mellow show, but The Wedding Present picked up the energy a bit and put on a pretty clutch performance.
Their live show is something they can't completely catch on their studio albums. It was great seeing them at SXSW and now here in LA, quite a different feel between the two shows - the audience was at rapt attention at both.
Keanu...ran into him blindly near the paparazzi at door, but the fact that he was 'also watching' didn't take away from what The Wedding Present or even Earlimart delivered.
Yes, I was very obviously outnumbered there too. Sorry, I just don't like their songs. Good musicians though.