Nothing Matters in Our Private Universe — Jon Brion

Jon Brion‘s monthly residency at Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles was in celebratory mode on December 20, 2019 with Christmas decorations adorning the stage, some surprise special guests, and Guinness on call for the maestro. Largo owner Mark Flanagan welcomed everyone while musician Bobb Bruno made a cameo appearance, popping on the stage and sitting through the introduction, but leaving without playing anything. Being a little tired from the previous night’s visit to Largo and wanting to soak in the show without too much self distraction, my notes were more sparse than usual. However, I am able to

Why Elaborate…? — Ranchero Brothers

On Friday, November 8, 2019, the Ranchero Brothers played at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach, CA. People who are interested in reading this probably already know the identity of the Ranchero Brothers, but for any uninitiated readers who stumble upon this post, the Ranchero Brothers are Rhett Miller, lead singer/rhythm guitarist, and Murry Hammond, harmonies/bass player for the alt country band, Old 97’s. Click the title to read more…

A Man and His Will to Survive

It was a particularly fine night on June 28, 2019 to attend Jon Brion’s monthly show at Largo at the Coronet. The show was opened by actor/comedian Whitmer Thomas. Special guest was bassist Sebastian Steinberg. Highlights of the evening were: a lot of material was played on celesta, including a version of “Eye of the Tiger” that was taken to a higher level of creativity, a groovy cover of “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing,” crowd singalongs of “Wish You Were Here” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” and Jon dusting off his unreleased song “She’s At It Again” and getting moody with grungy Gretsch tones.