Sometimes it’s good to live in Los Angeles.
Forget the traffic on the 405 Freeway, forget the air
perpetually brown with smog, and follow the music.
Last Thursday at the Troubador a little show called “The
Exile Follies” swung through town. And by
“little” I mean the kind of show with multiple
outstanding musicians putting on stellar performances.
The cast of “The Exile Follies” is made up of
self-deprecatingly proclaimed “indie rock icons”:
“Throwing Muses” frontwoman Kristin Hersh, John Doe of
the seminal L.A. ’80s punk band “X”, and Grant
Lee Phillips of “Grant Lee Buffalo.”
Yes, there are a few obvious themes to these exile follies. All
three of the main performing artists were part of critically lauded
and influential bands that never quite hit commercially. And all
three now have solo careers.
So, the three exiles joined forces to play a series of shows
together, highlighting each of their songwriting and musical
talents.
Opening the L.A. date was Tucson, Arizona icon Howe Gelb. Gelb
played Dylan-eque quirky folk tunes with only an acoustic guitar
and his discman. He used the discman to inject classic material
like Bob Dylan and Miles Davis over his own playing as well as some
bizarre recorded noises. At one point during his brief set Gelb
called a friend from the audience up on stage to help him sing.
Running up from the audience, a young woman with long, dark hair
joined Gelb on stage to add a powerful howling to the song’s
chorus. After the song, Gelb introduced her as none other than,
yes, PJ Harvey. Where else but in the celebrity-ridden L.A. could
this happen?
Soon after Harvey left the stage, Phillips joined Gelb onstage
and the follies essentially began.
The packed house was treated to each of the three exiles joining
another onstage and then playing individually. For the finale, all
three came out for renditions of classics like, “I Shall Be
Released,” and “When the Levee Breaks.” The
weapon of choice for the night was the guitar, generally acoustic,
supplemented only with vocals.
The Troubador show was the second to last date of the tour,
which showed in the familiarity of the performers with each
other’s material and stage banter. It was a solid show for
fans of any of the three artists, as the individual sets allowed
each artist time to play up some hits in their own unique voices.
Meanwhile, the collaborative playing produced compelling harmonies
and quirky humor between songs. L.A. indie rock icons or not, the
amount of talent exploited during the show was phenomenal.
Yes, sometimes it’s good to live in the city.