Concrete Frequency: Songs Of The City (Various Artists) 1/08/08 - Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, CA.

(Van Dyke Parks, Inara George, and Sondre Lerche backstage)

Another from the archives...I went mainly because I'm a big fan of Belle and Sebastian and Sondre Lerche. (I've also seen Annie Stela and Inara George [solo and with "The Bird and the Bee] previously)

"Songs Of The City" took place early last year as one half of a two part series of shows (that were outside of the concert hall's usual fare) put on by "Concrete Frequency." 14 artists of the mostly indie variety each performed two songs accousticly that were supposed to represent what "city life" meant to them, on a stage that was decorated with furniture and other funishings to represent a large living room (all the night's performers sat on the chairs and couches while whichever artist was up at that time played) The Los Angeles Times writes:

Urban music is, stereotypically, beat-driven and heavy, pushing people’s buttons as it pours out of somebody else’s car radio. But twist the phrase – into “Songs of the City,” for example – and suddenly, “urban” loses it funk. “Songs of the City” sounds like a folk-life anthology, not a radio format. It’s genteel and almost pastoral.

That mood filled the air Tuesday at Walt Disney Concert Hall, as a long and stellar list of indie-pop songwriters reflected on their lives within and between cities. Probably the quietest evening of the L.A. Phil’s “Concrete Frequency” series about music and the metropolis, “Songs of the City” offered nothing as boisterously evocative as the Zappa or Boulez pieces featured on other nights. Most participants waxed gently about cramped apartment life, touring or traffic, though a few let in some street noise.

Some of the artists really took care to drive the point of the show home, especially Biirdie with "LA Is Mars" and John Doe with "Los Angeles," or with other places such as "Zach Rogue's "Chicago x 12" and "Lake Michigan," Sondre Lerche's "Wet Ground," Inara George and Van Dyke Park's "Vine Street" and Franklin Bruno's "Up With Upland."

Others choices were a little more perpexing - other reviewers thought Zooey Deschanel (with M. Ward, later known as "She & Him") was "shoehorned" into the show because they didn't really sing about the theme of the program. A cynical part of me wondered if some of the performers were there, or performed only newer material were using the show as a promotional tool.

Regardless, it was an night of unique performances from a wide variety of musicians. A long night tough - total running time was a little over two and a half hours (admittedly, it did drag a bit in the last half hour) On a technical note, this recording is a bit on the quiet side because I was fairly conservative setting my levels, which was probably a good thing because the performance volume varied throughout the night.

1.) Introduction by Mark Mothersbaugh FLAC MP3

Biirdie

2.) LA Is Mars FLAC MP3
3.) Life In A Box FLAC MP3

Franklin Bruno

4.) Tired Of The West FLAC MP3
5.) Up With Upland ->Love's Got A Ghetto FLAC MP3

Annie Stela

6.) Fool FLAC MP3
7.) Heart FLAC MP3

Zach Rogue (Rouge Wave)

8.) Chicago x 12 FLAC MP3
9.) Lake Michigan FLAC MP3

John Doe (X)

10.) Los Angeles FLAC MP3
11.) She's Not FLAC MP3 (FLAC link fixed)


Money Mark (Beastie Boys)

12.) Black Butterfly FLAC MP3
13.) Color Of Your Blues FLAC MP3

Mark Bianchi (Her Space Holiday)

14.) The Boys And Girls FLAC MP3
15.) The Truth Hurts So This Should Be Painless FLAC MP3

Stevie Jackson (Belle and Sebastian)

16.) Bird's Eye View FLAC MP3
17.) The Electric Box (with Biirdie) FLAC MP3

Zooey Deschanel (with M. Ward) (a.k.a. She & Him)

18.) Lonesome Town (Ricky Nelson cover) FLAC MP3
19.) I Put A Spell On You (Screamin' Jay Hawkins cover) FLAC MP3

Sondre Lerche

20.) Wet Ground FLAC MP3
21.) Minor Detail FLAC MP3

Inara George (with Van Dyke Parks)

22.) Right As Wrong FLAC MP3
23.) Vine Street (Randy Newman cover) FLAC MP3

Daniel Rossen (Grizzly Bear, Department Of Eagles)

24.) Balmy Night FLAC MP3
25.) Phantom Other FLAC MP3

Bob Mould

26.) Thumbtack FLAC MP3
27.) Surveyors and Cranes FLAC MP3

Kyp Malone (TV On The Radio)

28.) Today I Was A Desperate Bitch FLAC MP3
29.) Winter Song FLAC MP3

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Note: the right channel got disconnected from the 48:00 to 61:12, so I had to do a copy/paste from the other one.