Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Elbow @ Wiltern, 7/22/09
If Guy Garvey was half as pretty as Chris Martin, Elbow would have been at the top of the charts a long time ago, neck in neck with Coldplay. As it is Elbow's richly melodic rock, powered by Garvey's transcendent voice has long made them the darlings of critics and music geeks everywhere, but not as celebrated as they should be be the mainstream. Such is life.
Over the past ten years, Elbow has gathered an extremely diverse and loyal base, which poured into the Wiltern on a Wednesday night, selling out the house. There really is something magical about standing in between a behemoth of a man, covered in tattoos, in a jean jacket with the sleeves cut off, and a tiny scrap of a girl, who couldn't be more than sixteen, wearing tons of glittery eyeshadow, and hearing them both unabashedly belting out the same song at the top of their lungs.
The night started out a little rocky. Dressed like an angelic undertaker in all black, Garvey walked out of the blue misty haze and immediately informed us that their gear hadn't arrived and was still "somewhere over the Atlantic." He then thanked his crew for running around "ill and sleepless" to magically produce a borrowed set of instruments, and then launched into "Starlings" their first single off their most recent album, Seldom Seen Kid. The borrowed gear did not hinder them in the slightest, and the audience was soon enveloped in waves of melody accompanied by sharply honest lyrics.
Like the DJ of a radio show, Garvey felt the need to explain the motivation behind writing each one. "This song is about the morning after you fall in love," (Mirrorball), this song is irrelevant now that you have a new President." (Leaders of the Free World), "This is a song about telling the woman that you love how you feel moments before you die," (Switching Off). Which is an insight few bands bother with, and really sets the tone for the set. Audience participation is also heavily encouraged. For their mammoth closing number, "One Day Like This," Elbow had two small kids up on stage to help conduct the audience as they sang the chorus. Something about these two youngsters encouragement made the audience rise to the occasion and our voices rose as one filling the theater and spilling out into the street.
Support for LAist comes from
Set List
Starlings'
'The Bones Of You'
'Mirrorball'
'Leaders Of The Free World'
'The Stops'
'Mexican Standoff'
'Grounds For Divorce'
'The Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver'
'Switching Off'
'Newborn'
'Weather To Fly'
'One Day Like This'
Encore
'Some Riot'
'Station Approach'
'Scattered Blacks And Whites'
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist