Monday, August 28, 2006

Zero 7 At the Hollywood Bowl

Last night I had the good fortune to see Zero 7 and friends perform at the famed Hollywood Bowl. For those of you who read my past article lamenting the Bowl (The Flaming Lips Show), you should take solace in knowing that not every show there is like that. For this chilled, down-tempoed concert, the audience (at least from where I was seated) toned down the Trader Joe's and actually paid attention to the acts.

I do have one question though. Why was Zero 7 not the headliner? That distinction belonged to the Gotan Project, a band who does not nearly have the same rep in this country as Zero 7. Because of this, the band, who already is a rarity to see on the road, played what seemed like an abbreviated set, lasting only an hour and fifteen minutes. Zero 7 was done by 9:15pm. Shame.

But what a glorious set it was. Last night Zero 7 was fronted by two very distinct lead vocalist, Sia, the chanteuse, and Jose Gonzalez, the Swedish folkie. When not singing, Sia danced like a flapper from the roaring '20s and when it was her turn to the mic, she took it with the raw emotion of a torch song singer, and played it all the way to the back row. We were mesmerized. Gonzalez provided introspection to the songs he worked on, and was a nice change to Sia's theatrics. Throw in some of Zero 7's trademark instrumentals, and you have a recipe for a wonderful show. I'm just sayin' it wasn't long enough!

I found this television appearance of the band performing "Somersault" on You Tube. I think it will give you a better idea of what they are all about, and for your consideration I've posted 2 songs. The first song is a live version of a song found on "Simple Things" called Destiny with Sia on vocals, and a remix of Future, a song off of their current album entitled "The Garden," which features Gonzalez.

1 comment:

Jaime said...

great show. we went to Trader Joe's to buy some food before the concert . . . but it was just some Pirate's booty and a couple of sandwhiches. no cheap wine or wedges of brie for us.