Last night, the Bird and the Bee performed in front of a capacity crowd at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. Not only was it a rare opportunity to see the band perform songs from the upcoming release, Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates, but it would also be the last Bird and the Bee show for a while, due to lead singer Inara George’s pregnancy.

From the moment Inara walked on stage, it was obvious that pregnancy didn’t hinder her sense of style, as she was dressed in a fashionable, form-fitting dress. Overwhelmed by the turnout, Inara thanked everyone in attendance, as it marked only their second sold out show in Los Angeles. In a fitting tribute, the show was dedicated to T-Bone Wolk, longtime bass player, collaborator and friend of Hall & Oates who passed away earlier in the week.

The band kicked things off with “Rich Girl” and proceeded to play some classic Hall & Oates as well as a few classics of their own including “Polite Dance Song”, “My Love” and “Again and Again.” The mother-to-be’s willingness to dance onstage revealed that pregnancy didn’t hinder her sense of stage presence either, as she later confessed that her husband thought she may be dancing around a bit too much.

Backing Greg and Inara were the usual cast of characters, Willow Geer, Alex Lilly, Wendy Wang and Juliette Commagere (who also opened the show with her own set), as well as Justin Meldal-Johnsen on bass and Aaron Redfield on drums. Just when you thought things couldn’t get any better, surprise guest John Oates, one half of the iconic, multi-plantinum duo, Hall & Oates, joined the band on stage to perform “She’s Gone,” “Maneater,” and “I Can’t Go For That.”

Weren’t able to make it to the show? Check out http://www.livestream.com/thebirdandthebee/ where the show was streamed live and is now archived.

Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates is due in stores on March 23rd. Inara is due on April 30th.

Set List
Rich Girl
Love Letter to Japan
Private Eyes
Sara Smile
Again & Again
F*cking Boyfriend
Heard It On The Radio – original song from new album
Kiss On My List
Man
My Love
Diamond Dave
Polite Dance Song
She’s Gone (w/ John Oates)
Maneater (w/John Oates)
I’m A Broken Heart
I Can’t Go For That (w/John Oates)

Emiliana Torrini played to a packed house at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on Wednesday, August 19, 2009.  For close to two hours, Emiliana and her band treated the captive audience to a wide variety of her catalog, including “Sunny Road,” “Jungle Drum,” “Me And Armini,” and “Heard It All Before” (not on the set list).  She was in a very jovial mood, perhaps because of the El Rey’s ambiance.  She admitted that it felt great to play at such a Presidential-looking venue (complete with a red velvet interior, chandeliers and a balcony area in the back).  The sound and lighting was equally impressive, making it her best L.A. performance to date.

At her March 2009 performance at the Troubadour (click here for a review of the show), she mainly performed songs from Fisherman’s Woman and her newest release, Me and Armini.   This time around, she took fans for a brief trip down memory lane, singing several classic tracks from Love in the Time of Science, such as “Unemployed in Summertime” and “Tuna Fish.”  She expressed a bit of apprehension before singing “To Be Free”, letting out a sigh of relief after she realized it was still a fan favorite.  It’s hard to believe the album was released ten years ago, because the songs still sound great.

Emiliana kept the crowd engaged with several amusing anecdotes between songs.  One highlight of the night was during her intro of “Me and Armini.”  An audience member near the front vocally expressed that the story was going on a bit long.  Intended or not, Emiliana heard it and playfully put her hands on her hips and reminded the heckler that she has the microphone.  The crowd loved it.

Although the show marked the end of her North American mini-tour, she will be touring Europe this fall.  Visit her official website, www.emilianatorrini.com for tour dates.

Opening for Emiliana Torrini was Anya Marina.  Photos from her performance will be posted later in the day.

Last night, the Bird and the Bee (Inara George and Greg Kurstin) were in their natural habitat, as they played an outdoor show at Descanso Gardens in La Canada, CA. The show was open to all ages, so fans both young and old were on hand to view the Main Lawn performance.

Inara George and Greg Kurstin were sans band and backup singers on the large stage, which Inara admittedly felt a bit strange. Backup singers, Juliette Commagere, Alex Lilly and Willow Geer, were all on tour, and Inara joked that it was weird not having them there to act crazy and upstage her. She took advantage of both the extra room and lack of background singers though, by inviting three fans on stage to be her backup dancers and circling around the stage on a few songs, which prompted her to mention her respect for Beyonce. “I don’t know how she does it…I don’t see a lot of shows, but I’m going to see her…”

The band played a mix of both old and new, including “Again and Again”, “Diamond Dave”, “F*cking Boyfriend” (sung as “Funky Boyfriend” to not offend the young ears), “Birthday” (which she dedicated to her husband, director Jake Kasdan who was in attendance) and “Because” which they rarely perform live. Their cover of Hall & Oates’ “I Can’t Go For That” has become a fan favorite, along with their medley of “I’m A Broken Heart” and “How Deep Is Your Love”.

Showing that they are just as generous off stage as on stage, Inara and Greg stuck around after to show to meet and greet fans and announced that they will be opening for Katy Perry at the Palladium in Hollywood, CA.

More pics from the show follow…

Australian artist, Butterfly Boucher has become a staple in Southern California since the release of her latest CD, Scary Fragile.  Aside from playing at Spaceland, House of Blues San Diego, and Sainte Rocke in Hermosa Beach, Butterfly is currently in the middle of a weekly residence at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, CA.  I was able to catch her show on Wednesday, June 17th.

Butterfly opened the show with her catchy single “Gun For A Tongue” and it didn’t take long for her to kick it in high gear. So high that she was forced to shed her black leather jacket in the middle of the show and later took a longer than usual pause to tune her guitar (which she admitted was only a cover for her to catch her breath, to the amusement of everyone). Mixed in with other songs from Scary Fragile, she didn’t forget to play “Another White Dash” and “I Can’t Make Me”, two hits from her debut CD, Flutterby.

Butterfly Boucher ends her June residency at Hotel Cafe with a show on June 24th and then travels north for shows in Portland and Seattle before circling back to San Francisco.  Check her website for tour details.

More pics from the show follow…

On June 15th, A Camp paid a visit to the Troubadour in West Hollywood, CA, officially marking the end of their North American tour.  It’s not often that lead singer Nina Persson graces the U.S. with her presence, so it was no surprise that fans came from near and far to see the group composed of Nina Persson (the Cardigans), Nathan Larson (Shudder to Think) and Niclas Frisk (Atomic Swing). Canadian siren Emm Gryner accompanied the band on keyboards for the tour.

The group kicked the show off with “The Crowning” and segued into “Love Has Left The Room,” as the band primarily played tracks off their latest wonderful release Colonia. A few of many highlights included the “Golden Teeth and Silver Medals”, a duet Nina performed with Reg Vermue, lead singer of opening act Gentleman Reg, and the guitar driven “Chinatown”.

As someone who has never seen the Cardigans live (to this day, Gran Turismo is one of my favorite CDs), seeing AND hearing Nina live was definitely a treat. Even “murderous asses” wouldn’t have been able to elude her charm.

A Camp will continue their tour in Sweden, playing several dates in June and July.

More pics from the show follow…

Although she’s been playing shows in Los Angeles forever, Nikka Costa made her first appearance at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, CA on June 12th.

Nikka and the band took command of the intimate stage and filled every inch of the venue with a mixture of funk, rock and soul. The multi-talented siren also showed she can do more than just belt out tunes and move to a groove when she got behind the drums for “Happy In The Morning.”

Even though the show was to promote her latest Stax release, Pebble To A Pearl, it was good to hear her perform “Push and Pull,” “Like A Feather” and “Everybody Got Their Something”, three gems from her 2001 release, Everybody Got Their Something.

As with all Nikka Costa shows, everyone left knowing they got their monies worth from watching a true performer.  Seeing Nikka in concert is always a reminder of why I love live music.  I’m especially thankful that I made it through the entire night without getting hit in the face once with a trombone.

Nikka plays another show in Hermosa Beach, CA (Saint Rocke) tonight and closes out the mini-tour on June 14th at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, CA.

Manda Mosher

The WorldFest 2009 Earth Day Festival, took place this past Saturday at Woodley Park in Encino, CA. Several sirens were on hand for the celebration such as The Chapin Sisters, Manda Mosher and one of my favorite new bands, Obi Best.

Manda Mosher’s debut album, Everything You Need, was released last month, and she will be making an appearance on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson this Thursday, May 21st. For more info on Manda, visit her myspace page.

Obi Best lead singer, Alex Lilly, announced on stage that it was her birthday, but evidently SoCal Edison never got an invite, because the power kept shutting off throughout the set. Despite the technical difficulties, they were troopers and finished the set, having to forgo instruments that weren’t working.

More pics from WorldFest follow.

Obi Best

Obi Best

Obi Best

Obi Best

The Bird and the Bee (Inara George and Greg Kurstin) played not too far from home when they took the stage at the Echoplex in Los Angeles, CA on April 6th. The band has been playing a lot of local dates recently, as this was my third time seeing them this year.

Before the show, I ran into Inara outside the venue and thanked her for the station ID she recorded for the radio station a month or so ago (to hear it, tune into to Sirens of Song Online Radio). I then made a very feeble attempt at small talk, yet she was as gracious as always. Even gave me some ideas of where to eat before the show.

To give a quick rundown of the night, the band opened up with “My Love,” mellowed it out with “How Deep Is Your Love,” and covered Hall & Oates’ “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” which afterward turned into an on-stage discussion of the song’s title. The hijinks didn’t end there though.

Everyone was in a jovial mood all night, as somehow the topic of condoms came up and Greg commented on how Inara and the band looked like condoms. I have to admit, I love the plastic dresses – what a great look! The background singers – Alex Lilly, Juliette Commagere (who opened the show) and Willow Geer – did a bit of rump shaking, and things got a bit out of hand during “Love Letter to Japan” which had Inara laughing through part of the chorus (see photo below).  All in all, it was a fun night for the band and the crowd. 

The last stop on her North American tour, Emiliana Torrini performed to a sold out crowd at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, CA on March 30th.

From the moment she stepped onto the stage wearing a flowered dress and shoes that looked like they were painted in gold, the crowd was enamored by her mere appearance.

She kicked off the show with “Fireheads” and had the crowd moving with “Me And Armini.” At one point, she was feeling a bit frisky and politely asked for some whiskey (wow, I really wasn’t trying to rhyme). Not a minute later, a shot glass was placed by her feet, and as soon as the song was over, Emiliana and the drummer took a moment to the amusement of everyone.

Although hesitant to perform any songs from Love in the Time of Science, for fear that the album was too old and people wouldn’t know the songs, Emiliana heeded the crowd’s wishes and went off the set list to sing “Easy” and “Unemployed In Summertime” during the encore.

Ever since I bought Fisherman’s Woman, I had been patiently waiting for Emiliana to come back to the States to hear songs like “Birds”, “Heard It All Before” and “Gun” live. Having performed material from all three of her albums, at the end of the night, it’s safe to say there wasn’t a disappointed person in the crowd.

Emiliana will start a European leg of her tour in June.

Set List
Fireheads
Heartstopper
Lifesaver
Today Has Been OK
Sunny Road
Hold Heart
Big Jumps
Haha
Birds
Jungle Drum
Me And Armini
Bleeder
Gun
Heard It All Before
Fisherman’s Woman/Sea People
Nothing Brings Me Down
Beggars Prayer