Last night I picked up some last minute tickets to The Swell Season via a nice girl selling them for face value on Craigslist. I packed up the girlfriend (well she packed me up and drove) and we headed on out to K-town.
First of all, there should be a documentary about two white people trying to find a quick bite to eat in Koreatown, maybe starring Bill Murray, maybe not, because that was a project. At first glance your options are pick up a sandwich at Ralph’s and eat it on the street somewhere, get something fried at Denny’s, go to the douchebag bar/restaurant right next to the Wiltern, or venture off to try to make sense of the flattened circles of the Korean alphabet. We decided to mull it over at Frank and Hank’s, and finally headed right next store to Romero’s Mexican Food which more than hit the spot. After two more than big enough burritos and a few more stiff drinks at Frank and Hank’s we headed on into the show.
First of all, this was the highest percentage of gay men that I’ve seen in the Wiltern men’s room so far, let’s attribute that to the fact that Martha Wainwright was opening the show tonight. I’m not sure if she’s a West Hollywood hero or not, but I have a feeling a lot of Rufus fans were in the house to support his sister. Or maybe they just saw Once and Martha was a bonus. Either way, I missed Martha Wainwright’s set because I was hanging with my buddy Jameson over at Frank and Hank’s.
9pm is the correct time to leave whatever bar you’re at if your goal is to just catch the headliner. We found our seats up in the mezzanine and had a good ten minutes to hang before the lights went down and Glen Hansard rushed on stage to perform a just-as-powerful-as-in-the-film-if-not-more rendition of Say It To Me Now.
Immediately following the first song, Glen introduced Marketa Irglova who made her way to her piano. The set covered all of the songs you’d recognize from Once, other album songs, newer songs, and a few covers included some traditional Irish songs and a version of Michelle Shocked’s Fog Town. Glen was very charming and witty, explaining every song, probably to the point that Marketa wanted to kick him in the ass to get the next song going (seriously it would have been a 45 minute show tops without his tales), but no one in the audience would have wanted it that way. Glen’s banter kept the audience engaged and lightened the mood between those deep blue (or green?) ballads. The ragged ol’ Takamine acoustic guitar from the movie made it through the whole set, and sounded just as raw and chimey as it did in the film.
The sound was crystal clear at the Wiltern last night, the audience so quiet that you could probably literally hear a pin drop on stage while they performed each song. The next time I go see the Swell Season it won’t be a last minute decision.
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