Live Review: Low in L.A., Sep 28 & Sep 29, 2007
It’s been awhile since I’ve seen Low live, and I can’t believe I forgot just how incredible they are. I was blown away all over again.
The first band, Teneighteight, were sort of Gorillaz-esque, thanks to the white screens they played behind. There were lights behind them so all you could see were their silhouettes on the screens. They were good, I enjoyed their set. My 16 year old daughter who came along with me enjoyed the shadow puppets the bassist started making at one point.
The next performer, Charlie Parr, is a friend of Low’s. He played some traditional bluegrass tunes and some of his own acoustic songs. I really enjoyed his set and found myself very irritated with the people nearby who were talking loudly almost throughout his whole performance. He was really, really good, and I’m disappointed with myself now for not picking up a CD.
The thing that’s so incredible about Low live is how intense they are. Their music is quiet, haunting, and it builds to such powerful heights. The combination of Mimi’s and Alan’s voices are perfect. It gives me chills. It’s a very emotional experience.
The crowd was very quiet while they were playing, which was nice, and no requests were called out until near the end. When they came out for their encore, someone yelled for “Canada,” and they played it. They also played some of my favorites—ok, they’re all my favorites, but I was really happy they played these ones—”Murderer,” “Dragonfly,” and “Pissing,” which is a really loud, doomy song.
The band was pretty quiet in between songs, although at one point Alan greeted everyone, and asked those of us who’d been there the entire time to let everyone else know what we thought of the opening bands. There were only about 10 people there when the first band came on, and only about 30 when Charlie Parr came out, although people started arriving during his set, and the place was fairly full for Low’s set—but not exactly packed. They are doing two nights there, tonight being the second. So if you’re in LA and are free, it’s highly recommended that you go. I’d go again in a heartbeat tonight, except I don’t think I can handle the lack of sleep this weekend.
Alan also asked if anyone had any questions, or needed any problems solved, because they were very wise, they’ve been all around the world, and have raised two healthy children so far. At which point Mimi (his wife) said, “I hope you didn’t jinx it.”
Entire setlist:
Cue the Strings
Sandinista
In Silence
Take Your Time
Dragonfly
Belarus
Silver Rider
Hatchet
Violence
Point of Disgust
Pissing
Violent Past
Murderer
Breaker
Encore Break
Canada (by request)
More pics from the show can be seen here. Previous reviews/interviews with Low on Kulturblog can be found here, here, and here.
I’ll post a couple songs from their latest album to the radio.blog.
UPDATE:
I ended up going to the second L.A. show on Saturday, as well. My son wanted to go after hearing me rave about the Friday night show, so we went! And I’m so glad we did—the setlist was different and included some songs I really wanted to hear: “(That’s How You Sing) Amazing Grace,” and “When I Go Deaf.” Complete setlist:
Will the Night
In Silence
Sandinista
Take Your Time
Dragonfly
Belarus
Sunset
Point of Disgust
Sunflower
(That’s How You Sing) Amazing Grace
California
Violent Past
Murderer
When I Go Deaf
Encore Break
In the Drugs
Little Argument With Myself (by request)
Breaker
Both nights, I went down front to get some pics during the first song. Both nights, as I was moving through the crowd to make my way back up to the balcony, I found myself almost at the point of tears. Just so happy to be hearing this music live. It really moves me.
A couple more pics:
Awesome. I saw them a couple months ago as they opened for Wilco. I wrote up a review but never posted it because I never got around to writing the review of the Wilco part. I’ll paste it here because hey, it’s written:
I wondered what Low would be like in a large venue like the big outdoor pavilion where this show took place. I’ve only seen them in very small places with crowds of 200 to 500 or so. I’ve always thought their music was best suited for smaller places—their music isn’t exactly arena material. I was sitting a good 100 yards away from the stage and it felt wrong to not be up near the stage. But the sound was great. Everything was very well balanced and beautiful. The people around me weren’t into it and there was a lot of conversation, which was annoying.
Low only played seven or eight songs, I think. Mostly material from their latest, Drums and Guns. “Sandinista” was as slow and quiet as can be, which I loved. I think the Wilco crowd was a bit impatient with the apparent simplicity of most of the music. They perked up a bit when Wilco guitarist Nels Cline took the stage and sat down with a steel guitar in his lap. But they were probably disappointed with what he did with it. The song was one I hadn’t heard before. During the first part of the song Alan Sparhawk sang a couple of short verses over his straight eighth note strumming, a slow beat, and a simple bass line. During this part Cline was just playing a note here and a note there, adding accents. Then the song went into a very long, noisy, tuneless instrumental section that very gradually built from a dull murmur up to a loud murmur while Cline improvised some tuneless guitar lines over the chord changes played by Sparhawk and bassist Pat Livingston. I was enthralled with it for about eight or nine minutes until they reached the loudness climax, but then I started to get a bit impatient myself as they kept on going for a few more minutes at that same level without doing much. It was cool anyways.
As Low ended their set with a rockin’ version of “Breaker,” I stood and cheered, all alone, in a sea of indifference. Screw you, Wilco fans.
Of course, I love Wilco. And they were awesome.
Comment by Tom — October 1, 2007 @ 6:26 am
Haha. That sucks. I’m constantly surprised by how many people *don’t* get Low.
Comment by Susan M — October 1, 2007 @ 8:12 am
Susan, they’re not very easy to get, even at their most accessible. “Drums and Guns” was not an easy album to grab immediately, imho.
Comment by Supergenius — October 1, 2007 @ 10:16 am
They definitely have their own pace. You have to be patient, and willing to be still.
Comment by Susan M — October 1, 2007 @ 10:25 am
Even as a fan Drums and Guns was not easy for me to get. I think The Great Destroyer is pretty accessible, though.
Comment by Tom — October 1, 2007 @ 11:14 am
Great post. I don’t know much about Low, but I will make it a point to listen to them.
I went to Arcade Fire last week. They were much better than I imagined, very intense. I’m going to Eisley and Mute Math tonight.
Comment by MCQ — October 2, 2007 @ 5:54 pm
[...] Kulturblog: Susan M reviews a Low concert [...]
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