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)

Here are a few shots of Anya Marina, who opened up for Emiliana Torrini at the El Rey Theatre on August 19th. I’ve been playing her single “Move You” for a while, so it was a nice surprise to find out she was the opening act. Anya will be playing a couple of more Southern California shows (Hotel Cafe on August 26th and Street Scene 2009 on August 28th) before hitting the road in September. Visit http://www.myspace.com/anyamarina for tour dates. Read on to see more photos.

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

Sara Bareilles played three intimate shows over the course of two nights during a stint at Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles, CA. The photos you see are from the first set of her March 13th show. Once again, these photos are a bit old, but the new version of the site wasn’t up a month ago.

Tina Dico played a set at one of my favorite Los Angeles venues, the Roxy, on March 8, 2009. I know these photos are about a month old now, but better late than never!

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