Snarky Puppy at Orpheum

Reviews, Live Shows

230521 Stranger Love

TL;DR

230402 All-Reich (LA Phil Green Umbrella)

Not my favorite Reich

220926 UnitOne: Shiki

New music, well-executed

220624 LA Dance Project, "Be Here Now"

Amazing dancers and ground-breaking music but underwhelming choreography

220213 Breathing Forests by Gabriella Smith (world premier)

Sobbing beneath our masks

211203 "Seven Pillars" premier at Emerald City Music

Inspiring composition, mind-blowing performance

210911 Sylvan Esso at The Greek

Standard production, amazing music

210911 Tune Yards at Ford Amphitheater

Low expectations, high reward!

210129 Cinematic Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall livestream

Monochromatic, but enjoyable.

201201 Sylvan Esso "With Love" streaming

Heartfelt performance by one of my favorites

201010 NDT2: Dare to Say

Proving that streamed dance performances can move

201010 NDT: Endlessly Free

The Other You is my favorite choreography ever.

201010 Kaoru Watanabe: Haruka and Akira

"Kibou no Hikari" made me cry

200411 Arugakki at JCCC Montreal

First steps: shaky, exciting

200322 Nederlans Dans Theater at Place des Artes

Vladimir is mind-blowing

200221 DRUM Tao at Jorgensen Center

pina colada cotton candy

191116 Sylvan Esso at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Moving music, delightful dancing, incredible sound

191115 Ohmme at Teragram Ballroom

Fantastically quirky

191025 Hiatus Kaiyote at Novo

Amazing music, over my head

191023 Frances Cone and Delta Rae at Bootleg

Introspective, thoughtful music vs showboating

191017 Cosmo Sheldrake at Echoplex

Great samples, less-inspiring looping

191013 Oregon Symphony premier of Andy Akiho Percussion Concerto

My new favorite piece of classical music.

191009 GoGo Penguin's Koyaanisqatsi at Regent Theater

A worthwhile addition to an iconic movie

190925 Cornelius at Echoplex

Bright lights, big music.

190726 New Original Works Festival 2019 at REDCAT

Craving a "composition"

190717 Mitski at Hollywood Palladium

How to make pop songs performative?

190614 Imogen Heap at Greek Theatre

Hide and Seek and not much else

190601 Snarky Puppy at Orpheum

So Snarky!

190319 Monterey Symphony: Sound Waves Concert IV

A drifting concert. Water Concerto anchored by Chris Lamb

190316 Miyamoto is Black Enough, at Wallis

Holy shit this was a good show!

190127 Hidaka at International Dinner 2019

Go Hidaka Taiko!

190116 Third Coast Percussion with Hubbard Street Dance

Unsure why I was unmoved

181120 Dermot Kennedy at Fonda

Solid show to adoring fans

181108 Birdtalker at Hotel Cafe

A special band, early in their career

180623 Olafur Arnalds at Cathedral Sanctuary

The power of sweet/sad melody!

180614 Dirty Projectors at El Rey Theater

Amazing quirk-pop!

180310 Miyake x UnitOne

UnitOne shines!

180224 Batare at La Mirada Theater

Laudably ambitious but scattered.

180223 QuiltCon 2018

Inspiring works, inspiring community.

180131 Kagami Kai at Asian Art Museum

Amazing mochi-making skills, frustrating calligraphy, and take-home encouragement

170416 Sigur Rós with LA Phil

Amazing concert with a few missed opportunities.

170115 A Seed: Ichi-Ryu Manbai

Overwrought concept, thin music, tragic flowers

160927 Sigur Rós at Hollywood Bowl

Amazing sound needs mixed set-list

160918 Road to Kumano: Taiko Project with Chieko Kojima

Ambitious new work!

160409 Locations and Dislocations: An Ecomusicological Conversation

thought-provoking, inspiring, exhausting

130514 Stuck Elevator was fantastic

Powerfully uneventful ending

081012 Byron's Bottled Water Operas

Welcome. Stay and think.

Snarky Puppy at Orpheum

Such a great concert!

Roosevelt Collier opened with a nice set.  Collier plays lap steel and the instrument sounded best when he took a long, legato, quiet solo.  I teared up!  At other times I found myself distracted by the mix -- specifically the low end that sounded muddy to me -- and I was trying to figure out how I'd mix the kick and bass to sound more clear.  Jen tells me some sound engineers prefer the bass to be "felt, not heard", so maybe my taste is just different.  Jairus Mozee sat in on one piece and sounded wonderful playing off of Collier.  His sound was a bit lost when the full band was in.

Snarky Puppy began with a few gentle pieces, and save for the last two pieces, all of the music was new... I assume from the band's new album, Immigrance.  (But as I write this I'm listening to the album and I'm embarassed to say I don't recognize much from the show.)  The audience was really loving the new music and the woman behind me was singing along to almost every song, but I wasn't particularly taken by the new stuff.  I didn't dislike it or anything, but the melodies feel a bit over my head.  There was one piece toward the end of the set that really captured me but generally speaking, the melodies are less "pop" and more jazz, and resonate with me a bit less than the classic Snarky Puppy rock-pop stuff.  That having been said, the musicianship and solos are so absolutely fantastic that even without catchy hooks, I'm loving everything.  The music is so rich with interesting breaks and changes, and everyone is just a master at building patiently behind the soloist.  It's so satisfying to have a 5-minute solo that just builds and builds and builds in intensity.  I wish I were half as good!

Jason Thomas was on drums.  He's apparently a regular with the band but most people are probably hoping for Larnell Lewis who is featured on so many Snarky Puppy videos.  Thomas was great!  He did two solos and both were musical and really powerful.  (And I like his extra snare set up to the left of the hi-hat.)  Band leader, Michael League, announced that three previous Snarky Puppy drummers happened to be in the house and he called them up to stage.  One joined Nate Werth on the percussion set and the other two awkwardly played shakers for a bit before taking turns at the drumset.  They were all amazing and the audience was on their feet at the end.  There was a lot of "melodic" playing, with insanely fast runs between the hands and kick.  I wanted that kind of craziness to blossom into a clear groove, but maybe I'm a simpleton.  I also wanted more clicky-clacky short sounds but Thomas seems to quickly move to toms, kick, cymbals, and other long notes.

Bobby Sparks was on keys and played the whamminet (clavinet with whammy bar) in a few pieces.  It was awesome.  He also took a really nice synth solo on one piece with notes that bent multiple octaves.  It was one of the more effective uses of unapologetically synthy sounds I've seen in a jazz-style solo.  (It was about the size and shape of Minimoog Model D but I couldn't tell what it was.)

Lights were by Francis Clegg and it was too much for me.  They were artfully done and original -- you can tell that Clegg has a good sense of taste -- and changes were amazingly well timed with the music.  Is a percussionist running the board?!  But while I appreciate when the lights help highlight the soloist (sometimes when a trumpet is really effected, for example, it almost sounds like a guitar, so the lights help) and I like continual changes in the overall lighting mood, I'm not a fan of moving lights and flashes.  I feel bad saying anything that would limit a lighting designer's artistic vision, but I don't want to notice the lights much.  My goal instead would be "subtly bold".

The sound was great!  (I wish I'd caught the engineer's name... According to the Snarky Puppy website, it was likely either Michael Harrison or Matt Recchia.)

Oh and for the last piece, League said, "Let's welcome Cory Henry to the stage!  He's never heard this piece before but... he's Cory Henry!"  Indeed, his solo was amazing.  It's so nice that Snarky Puppy prepared these kind of extra surprises.  It felt like such a treat to see it all.

The show was absolutely inspiring.  I'm looking forward to seeing more Snarky Puppy shows from here on!