Feist and Spoon in Los Angeles
November 12th 2007 - Feist and Spoon played the Gibson Amphitheater last night in Los Angeles and I for one, am so happy that I got off my lazy monday ass, grabbed my wife, cut through the merciless southern California traffic, and made it down there to see the show.
Spoon was outstanding. They have one of the better album releases this year to tour behind and although I was new to some of their older material, seeing them in concert only proved what I had suspected all along. Spoon is a great fucking band. They jammed effortlessly through a setlist that heavily favored newer tunes at the same time playing the hell out of their older material. I must say I was not disappointed.
I was disappointed in the crowd at times during the Spoon set. L.A. crowds are normally late, which is so disrespectful to the artists. I will never understand this. Spoon started their set late due to this very reason and therefore basically had to overlap songs with little or no pause between them. Still, I think Spoon made fans out of anyone who had just come to see Feist.
By the time Feist came out on stage everyone had their shit straighten out. Or perhaps it was Feist who straightened their shit out as she captivated the audience instantly upon walking onto the stage holding a lantern. Walking behind a screen in the center of the stage that light up her figure from behind, she went into her first song.
I can say from that instant on, I was completely fixated on her every movement. She has the ability to established a sincere and intense connection with the audience, engaging them at the same time channeling enormous personality. Breathing life into each and every word, Feist sings gently as a hummingbird, leaving you in awe.
I really had no idea what to expect for this show. Feist has one of the best albums of the year but seeing her live, I was unsure of what to expect. Rarely have I been as mesmerized by an individual as I was that night. Leslie Feist is one of those rare souls that takes her performance to another level. The hairs on my arms thought they might be at a catholic mass with all the standing up on end and sitting and kneeing and worshiping. I had planned on writing down the setlist but I completely forgot about it, a sure sign of a great performance.
It is obvious that Feist is so comfortable and confident with who she is, you can’t help but fall directly in love with her in every way. She is something special to behold. She was strapped to a guitar for the majority of the show, making with a brief trip over to rock out on the piano.
Perfectly backed by her band, she literally engulfed the Gibson Amphitheater with her presence. I think everyone agreed as the crowd howled like lunatics in between songs. I will post an expanded review for this performance once I get the setlist, but you will need to experience what I am telling you firsthand to truly understand what I am talking about.
She is still touring and if at all possible you should buy tickets right now.
As I said earlier this year, she deserves the commercial success that she is enjoying. Far too often this not the case. Many times when someone gathers tremendous commercial success, it makes me immediately suspicious. The truest measure of an artist for me is how they perform live. I’m glad for once that someone like Feist has broken through, intact.
(check out the video below to see a few video clips from the performance, a piss poor substitute for actually being there, but it will have to do)
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