These Words by Vanessa Herzog
July 17th brought an amazing night of electronic music to the Hollywood Bowl when Basement Jaxx and Royksopp took the stage. You couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful summer night at the Bowl. I strongly suggest that everyone go to the Bowl at least once a summer, if not more! The Norwegian duo Royksopp opened up with what the evening’s host, Jason Bentley, described as “Progtronica”. They immediately got the entire crowd up on their feet moving. They had me dancing too and thinking, “I love Norway!” Even the 50-year-old+ woman in the box in front of me was up dancing and singing along to their classic song that samples an old 50s pop tune, which she obviously knew. For two guys and some synthesizers they sure put out a lot of great music! The light show was fabulous as well, as the unique architecture of the Bowl provides a beautiful backdrop.
Basement Jaxx was up next with a full band. It’s so great to see electronic music with a full live band and live vocalists! It gives it more credibility, which is often most people’s complaint about electronic music in general. The Jaxx played all of their classic house hits and the entire Bowl was on their feet dancing. If the Jaxx didn’t get you on your feet, then your legs must’ve been broken! My favorite songs were the ones in which the Jaxx brought out their infamous acoustic flamenco-sounding guitar, which seeing it live made it all the more impressive. If you’ve listened to the Jaxx, then you’ll know exactly the sound I’m talking about. The live vocalists were remarkable as well and had some pretty futuristic costumes to go with their performance. The Jaxx closed the show with a bang! It looked like Rio during Carnival with showgirls donning sky-high headdresses parading around the stage and a marching band backing them. Wow! What an incredible evening! I don’t think I’ll need to exercise for the rest of the week because I danced so much!!!
Article by Matt Allen
Basement Jaxx and Royksopp brought down the house on Sunday night at the Hollywood Bowl. It didn’t matter if it was just two guys from Norway leading the way or a full band with Mariachi horns, multiple vocalist, and Carnival clad dancers, everyone came to rock. A few times a year I manage to have my faith restored in humanity. Looking around during both sets and seeing over 10,000 people in LA dancing will do that. Even the grandma is front of us didn’t sit down the whole Basement Jaxx set.
David Byrne and Arcade Fire played there a couple weeks ago (review here) and the show was so good that I vowed to come back to the bowl as often as possible. I really believe its the best place to see a concert in town. Everyone is super friendly, you can bring your own booze, people dance, and the music sounds great (as long as your not in the very very back). Loaded with picnic supplys, a couple cameras, and some other goodies, we entered to find lots of open space in the box we were supposed to share. This was the first time I’ve had the pleasure of a non-bench seat and it made the night all the better. The chairs even fold up to give way to a makeshift mini dance floor. Not being a big fan of either band, I didn’t really know what to expect. Electronic music live either lands on one side of the fence or another. Rarely is it just alright. It didn’t take long for Royksopp to grab the audiences attention. They bounced between tracks like So Easy with the classic Blue on Blue vocals and Poor Leno. A few more tracks were laid down during the setting sun then it was time to truly get the party started……right!
When your playing a venue like the Hollywood Bowl, you’ve got one chance to make it happen. There is no point in waiting around til you play again cuz it most likely won’t happen. The Jaxx didn’t waste any time as they stormed the stage with Lisa Vennum-Kekaula (Bell-Rays) and the rest of the ever growing band. Instantly seats got folded up and everyone was on their feet. This is the part where I’m supposed to list off a bunch of songs they played. It didn’t matter. From one song to the next the revolving cast of players, including equally enjoyable vocalist Sharlene Hector, kept the party going. Finally the Carnival Dancers and a bunch of guerrillas were taking over the stage and The Basement Jaxx had accomplished what very few bands have ever acheived in Los Angeles. Ten thousand people shakin’ their booties and….
So Easy – Blue on Blue
