Bootleg Theater Los Angeles 3/11/11

[Erik]

Augustine
Antebellum
Blue Caravan
Stray Italian Greyhound
No Gringo
Are You Listening
The Breaking Light
My Medea
St. Stephen's Cross
The Tower
Radio
Harbor
Grandmother Song
-
Idioteque
Save the Best For Last
Help is On the Way

[Michele]

As much as I would have been OK with a set without Blue Caravan tonight, I didn't want to hafta go without hearing the new song. Fortunately Alex's missing gear showed up half an hour before the show. Sadly Vienna's wallet is gone, but she does have her passport so she can still get around. I had worried the venue might not let her in to play without ID

Since this was a standing show we were encouraged to bounce to Augustine. I've always wanted to...too bad I couldn't! I think there was head bobbing but I couldn't see well enough if there was bouncing.

The theater is a tiny wooden box with a red sculpture made up of the usual ventillation tubes arranged on the ceiling instead of criscrossing throughout. The balcony was curtained off tonight. They have the nicest smoking patio I've ever seen, complete with a BBQ grill. It was really intimate and the audience was responding to things in all the right ways. They decided not to teach singing parts folk festival style, instead taking their chances that the audience knew the words for Antebellum and would sing along. There were some and Alex was happy to know who was on his team.

My blah over hearing Blue Caravan Yet Again comes from the use of keychestra. Yes it's been cool to see and hear...but I feel it distracts from the song. In a strange way I know it also doesn't though, because everyone always figures out when to stop jingling at the right time. I dunno. Alex swiping his bow across the audience was sweet though.

Stray got its start from Vienna arriving too early for a flight and messing around with GarageBand.

No Gringo clap along happened and cemented my opinion that a good crowd had turned out. It was in danger of dying out near the beginning, but it made it.

Alex taught the singalong part for Are You Listening folk festival style.

I love the way The Breaking Light builds up. The audience didn't pick up on the singalong though. Next time. Vienna said something about the glass rim sound wasn't going the first time they tried it.

My Medea is so badass now. I mean it has always been beautiful and dramatic, but now we're talking full on electronica and pain. I think the intro's gotten a few trills and backward loops since Denver but I'll have to recheck.

St. Stephen's Cross was a request by the merch volunteer and it booted Recessional from the setlist. They hadn't played it in a while and Vienna said at the end nice job for Alex's robots for remembering everything that goes on for that song. Alex said they were going to ask for overtime.

The Tower, Radio, and Harbor all redone sent me into toe tapping bobbing mode. Yes, even Harbor, the other Yet Again song, but tonight I was into it, mostly because Vienna was too. I missed Bianca though. It always takes a new band member some time to get adjusted.

I think Vienna lost her breath during Grandmother Song. She veered off beat, but got back on and finished strong just like nothing had happpened. I don't know how she does it!

Idioteque has also gone to Yet Again state for me, but when it's a good performance I really can't complain. I apologize to everyone who doesn't even get the chance to see any show...I'm not gonna dwell on it. This sort of grumbling gets real old for Tori show reviews...

Vienna had been playing a borrowed Yamaha keyboard from a volunteer, but decided to play Help on the upright Baldwin. She can't see the audience or Alex when she plays an upright. They brought Nicole out so she could sing on the end. Alex started Save The Best For Last, all his fault. Not really. He got encouraged by Vienna playing the piano for it. He did three lines, even.

They passed Alex's hat around for Japan as Alex introed the song, and emphasized that he needed it back. He thanked all two Animators fans who were probably in the band who cheered when he mentioned them. It's an awfully far cry from when they would sell out the old Hotel Cafe...I have some thoughts on turning that around a bit. We'll see.

[tanthalas]

Heh, I'm not big a fan of the keychestra for Blue Caravan either. I think it takes more away from the song than it adds to it.

Love seeing St. Stephen's Cross on the setlist regardless of whether I'm there or not.

Thanks for the setlist and the detailed recap!

[Fred]

Heh, I'm not big a fan of the keychestra for Blue Caravan either. I think it takes more away from the song than it adds to it.

Love seeing St. Stephen's Cross on the setlist regardless of whether I'm there or not.

Thanks for the setlist and the detailed recap!

Thanks for the great, detailed recap, Michele! My Medea seems to be the sub for Gravity in recent sets, which is fine with me. It's nice that Vienna can rest Gravity when she's at a venue where she expects lots of longtime fans, which seems to be what she is doing. This career juncture is an ideal time for her to cycle through some of her earlier material and re-think it, as she is doing (beautifully) with My Medea. Drought, anyone?

[Fred]

They have the nicest smoking patio I've ever seen, complete with a BBQ grill.

Not familiar with smoking patios. I infer it's a place people smoke at intermission without having to go out on the street. Is it a California thing, or just something I've never noticed because I don't smoke? What's the significance of having a BBQ grill there?

My blah over hearing Blue Caravan Yet Again comes from the use of keychestra. Yes it's been cool to see and hear...but I feel it distracts from the song.

It was fun the first time, when it was new (Highline last summer), but I agree, they don't have to do it forever. It's such a beautiful song, I want to concentrate on Vienna's vocal line.

I love the way The Breaking Light builds up.

Is that the official title now?

My Medea is so badass now. I mean it has always been beautiful and dramatic, but now we're talking full on electronica and pain. I think the intro's gotten a few trills and backward loops since Denver but I'll have to recheck.

She's definitely in experimentation mode with it. Highline and Bell House sounded pretty different. Highline was very straight (she had just started putting it in sets again shortly before), and Bell House not. As I mentioned in my comments on those shows, it had a huge impact (on me at least) at Highline and not so much at Bell House not because of different performance but because of different overall mood and circumstances of the shows. Highline was an emo-fest, Bell House wasn't. (Maybe it was the wine. ) The great thing is that I can appreciate Vienna a lot either way.

St. Stephen's Cross was a request by the merch volunteer and it booted Recessional from the setlist. They hadn't played it in a while...

That song continues to grow and grow and grow on me.

Yes, even Harbor, the other Yet Again song, but tonight I was into it, mostly because Vienna was too.

I'm starting to have seen enough shows to realize how Vienna can get very inspired doing a particular song on any given evening, and that song becomes an instant highlight, like Radio at my last show at The Bell House, or Kansas at my very first show at the Emelin.

Thanks again for the great show review!

[Michele]

Not familiar with smoking patios. I infer it's a place people smoke at intermission without having to go out on the street. Is it a California thing, or just something I've never noticed because I don't smoke? What's the significance of having a BBQ grill there?

Since smoking is banned indoors in CA and in front of entryways, people go out there to smoke. There's usually benches and stuff. I just thought the grill was cool, and unusual placement since it's a music venue; I don't smoke and am not sure how elaborate these areas usually are. It occurred to me that I probably thought the patio was noticeably nice because there weren't any smokers there at the time.

I love the way The Breaking Light builds up.

Is that the official title now?

I'll have to check back on it or find out tomorrow, I don't remember right now.

Other stuff I didn't remember: before one song Vienna talked about how people will ask what kind of music they play, and they end up giving an awkward long hypenated answer of folk-classical-etc-pop that doesn't answer the question. So the answer ends up being NPR music, which means nerd music. I think this was the lead in to Radio, related to thinking about the stories on the news.

I didn't really think much of the banter during the show, but typing it all out afterward I realized there was a whole lot of it (which naturally lends to a lot to talk about for a show review). It wasn't overly silly or rambling for this show, but as Erik put it, they were quippy.

[Fred]

...Vienna talked about how people will ask what kind of music they play, and they end up giving an awkward long hypenated answer...

I think this same comment came up at The Bell House, but I don't remember if it was in the intro to Radio. Might have been. Vienna's music really is sui generis, and that probably makes audience-building hard for her, but she seems to be doing ok in that department nonetheless. Seems like a lot of other highly original singer-songwriters solve this problem by bouncing around from one genre to another, but each CD is pretty solidly in one genre. People like Elvis Costello or kd lang. Of course, if Vienna eventually finds herself with a lucrative day job saving the world that still leaves her time for some music, then she can continue to follow her muse without compromise. It might be a trade off of quantity for quality; seems worth it.

I didn't really think much of the banter during the show, but typing it all out afterward I realized there was a whole lot of it...

Ditto at Bell House. One reason my review was so long, but I'm still thinking of stuff they said I didn't report initially (like the comment about interning for Facebook over the summer). Seemed like (1) they were very relaxed and comfortable, and (2) Vienna was grateful for the chance to get out on the road for a while after finals. Doesn't faze me at all; Vienna could talk for an hour and play 3 songs, and I'd be happy. (Of course if she talked for an hour and played 15 songs I'd be happier. )

I think being talkative gives her an edge when she's playing to new listeners. Most of her shows I've seen have been in front of suburban/rural community theater audiences that probably contained a lot of new listeners, and I think that approach may make them more receptive to her music. I've seen others who talk almost as much (Dar Williams, but her banter is much more stream of consciousness). Last year's Red Horse concert was very talky, and got pretty funny because John Gorka rambled and had to be put back on track by his collaborators repeatedly. I saw a double bill of veteran talker/singers last year, too: Arlo Guthrie and Janis Ian. They may have spent more time talking than singing. In fairness, Janis was touring in support of her memoir and reciting passages from it. On the whole, I like a communicative style, a lot, and I've seen other performers who could benefit from learning it. Earlier this year I saw Diane Birch give a fine performance in front of one of these community theater audiences and totally fail to make contact with them. A little talk would have helped.

[Kalenabear]

Some minor problems with ticketing and finding people to accompany me to this show almost derailed my attendance. Others told me, “You’ve already gone to so many Vienna shows. Save the hassle and skip this one.” So, I’ll admit...I walked into the theater with a slightly apathetic here-we-go-again mood. But, as soon as Vienna and Alex struck the first note in Augustine, I smiled to myself and thought, “Yessss! I’m glad I’m came. Let’s enjoy another great ride.”

Audiences:
Before Vienna and Alex took to the stage, I struck up some convos with two first-time VTAW listeners. (A crammed, intimate theater space does wonders to small talk and mingling for a shy gal like me. So does the line to the single-occupant little girls’ room. ) One woman was there by her brother’s recommendation, after he saw VT on the East Coast. The other lady had never even heard of Vienna or Alex, but her friend brought her to the show for her birthday. What an awesome bday gift! In fact, the folk festival sing-alongs (see Michele’s post) in Antebellum and No Gringo really made it easy to tell who was a first-time, casual, or hardcore VTAW audience member. I’d say that we had a pretty even mix, so I was super excited to see how the new blood would react to VTAW awesomeness. The line at the merch table showed that there were indeed new converts.

Yes, we pay to enjoy the performers on stage, but of course a show’s venue and audience can make or break it. I agree with Michele-- we were a pretty responsive, interactive group. We laughed at all of VTAW’s wittiness and hooped and hollered in the right places. While there was only a bit of bopping, we nodded our heads. I also saw lots of big smiles, closed eyes, and swaying bodies during the slower songs.

Also, the audience is always so varied at VTAW shows: I love how there was this lady next to me in dread locks, the dressed-in-all-black wall flowers, the tall blonde Covergirl model behind me, three older women who looked like they belonged to my mother’s Joy Luck Club, and the younger, giddier college crowd. VT and AW certainly pool in people from all corners. When Vienna and Alex mentioned the tribulation in Japan, this crowd made it that much easier to see how similar we are despite our differences.

Bits and pieces:
Toward the end of Nicole Eva Emery’s set, she mentioned that she was still a newbie to live shows. (Though, she’s really quite a talent! She’s got that smokey, but edgy gal-at-the guitar badassery down.) She felt that she was still new to the banter in between songs and was at a loss for how to describe us. “What’s another word for [I forgot what adjective she used]? C’mon, you guys are smart. You’re Vienna fans, you have to be nerdy and smart.”

As usual, Vienna used one mic for vocals and another that was connected to her looper. In No Gringo (or was it St. Stephen’s Cross?), after she had gathered her looping notes, Vienna proceeded onto the intro of the song. With one hand still playing, and without taking her eyes off the keyboard, she then pushed the looper’s microphone so that it swung away from her. Hmm, I know...it was such a small, subtle thing, but it made VT really rocksta’ in my eyes. Maybe you had to be there to see the devil-may-care action.

This was my first time hearing Alex’s Are You Listening and I 100% LOVE it. Gosh, Wong has so many talents and while I’ve always recognized him as a gifted instrumentalist, this song affirmed that he is also quite the composer. You could just see how into it he was while singing and playing. There are times when Alex has this almost-raspy/gruff voice and that’s when his sincerity and love of his craft shines through. Before they started Are You Listening, Vienna told the audience that she was yielding the keyboard to Alex. In return, Alex quipped that he would yield the cajon to Vienna. This begged a “Oh, don’t get their hopes up.” chuckle from Vienna. They also apologized that they didn’t bring cue cards for us, since y’know, the chorus of “Yeah!” is a bit difficult to remember. :p

Add a tally from me for labeling the new My Medea as “badass”. My first time hearing this new version. For some reason, I thought she was playing the intro to Radio, but was pleasantly surprised. I admit, I did a gleefully dorky fist-pump when realized that it was My Medea. Oh, and I totally thought of you, Aaparallel, haha!

As Michele mentioned, for the newborn whiskey and wine glass song, Vienna had some trouble getting sound to emit from the wine glass rim. She joked that she had wine-glass playing anxiety....or something to that effect, I can’t quite remember. Alex followed that up with a one-two, “Don’t worry, everybody gets it!” I can’t say that I’ve warmed up to the chorus of The Breaking Light just yet, but the ambient sounds that Vienna and Alex made with the whiskey bottle and wine glasses were really powerful, especially at the end when the whole song swelled in volume and meaning.

Not to sound sappy or philosophical, but I guess this is why I still came to the show, despite what others told me about it being “another Vienna Teng show?!” I knew in the back of my mind that there was no such thing as a duplicated live performance. That the setlist and performance would never be the same; the banter; the community; the small talk within that community. We were all bound together by music, if only for one night, in the shared experience of a unique, ephemeral performance. That’s the power of live shows.

Afterwards:
After the show, Vienna was gracious enough to sign my Warm Strangers songbook. Amid nervous mumbles (again!), I gave her some gifts, but also brought along a gag-gift. I thought it’d be totally lame to give it to VT, but was relieved when she threw her head back and laughed at the parasite plush doll. Nerdiness ensued. :p

It was great to see you, Michele and Erik! Thanks for saying 'hi'! Didn't know that you knew who I was, but I spotted you two right when I walked in. There were definitely some familiar faces in that crowd...

[aaparallel]

Afterwards:
After the show, Vienna was gracious enough to sign my Warm Strangers songbook. Amid nervous mumbles (again!), I gave her some gifts, but also brought along a gag-gift. I thought it’d be totally lame to give it to VT, but was relieved when she threw her head back and laughed at the parasite plush doll. Nerdiness ensued. :p

I LOVE those parasite plushies!
Thanks for the details. Those make a show review for me.

[Fred]

Also, the audience is always so varied at VTAW shows...

I see a lot of variety *between* shows, since about half are in NYC clubs and the other half in suburban community theaters. Difference in mean age is about 25 years, between the two. And Vienna makes both work. She's such a pro.

Before they started Are You Listening, Vienna told the audience that she was yielding the keyboard to Alex. In return, Alex quipped that he would yield the cajon to Vienna. This begged a “Oh, don’t get their hopes up.” chuckle from Vienna.

We got a drum solo out of her in NY.

...for the newborn whiskey and wine glass song, Vienna had some trouble getting sound to emit from the wine glass rim...

Also in NYC.

Not to sound sappy or philosophical, but I guess this is why I still came to the show, despite what others told me about it being “another Vienna Teng show?!” I knew in the back of my mind that there was no such thing as a duplicated live performance. That the setlist and performance would never be the same; the banter; the community; the small talk within that community. We were all bound together by music, if only for one night, in the shared experience of a unique, ephemeral performance. That’s the power of live shows.

I'm very new to this stuff. (I've mentioned this before--sorry.) I quit going to non-classical concerts in the 1970s, and only resumed after I discovered Vienna's music. (I hate to be corny and call Vienna's music a life-changing experience, but we're talking about a 30-year gap here.) Now I go to lots of shows (3 last week, 2 next week), many kinds--folk, rock, Americana--and the most important thing I've discovered is that there is unpredictable magic in live popular music. When you're in a blah mood, when you're wondering why you bought the tickets in the first place, when you're in doubt, JUST GO, because some small piece of magic is probably going to happen, and maybe much more.

I thought it’d be totally lame to give it to VT, but was relieved when she threw her head back and laughed at the parasite plush doll.

As a microbiology professor I've received quite a number of plush microbes over the years from students. I have a nice little collection. Just got another one this year.

[Kalenabear]

My Medea seems to be the sub for Gravity in recent sets, which is fine with me. It's nice that Vienna can rest Gravity when she's at a venue where she expects lots of longtime fans, which seems to be what she is doing. This career juncture is an ideal time for her to cycle through some of her earlier material and re-think it, as she is doing (beautifully) with My Medea.

B-b-but, I lurve Gravity! I was hoping that she'd play it at this show. I don't know, Harbor and Gravity were the two songs that introduced me to Vienna (My Medea sealed the deal) so I don't mind hearing them at every show. Plus, I love how much Gravity has evolved, so it doesn't really get old to me. I've heard all three versions live!

Harbor remains a favored fixture simply because I never get tired of watching Alex play the cajon, glock, and snare at the same time. They're both on fiyah for that song!

I forgot to mention how rich St. Stephen's Cross sounded that night. In contrast to the Roxy Theater performance, SSC didn't feel like it lacked anything this time, thanks to Alex's over-worked robots, yep! Weird, since they had Ward and his electric guitar the last time, too. Maybe it's bc the Roxy show came right after Inland Territory's release so that I subconsiously compared the live and studio versions. I really really hope that St. Stephen's Cross finds its way on more setlists. I dare say that it's my favorite IT song and it's gorgeous any way VT/AW play it!

I see what you mean, though, Fred. It is indeed an ideal time for VT to rework her older songs and introduce live versions for the ones that rarely make it out of the studio. Solution: why have My Medea or St Stephen's Cross sub for Gravity? Let's have all of them on there and get longer shows! Hehe, if only...

By the way, what are your guys' thoughts on the venue? I'm trying to rank the L.A. standing-only venues against each other. Personally, I liked The Bootleg Theater since it was intimate enough for singalongs and good views to the stage. Excellent sound system, too. But, it felt more claustrophobic than The Hotel Cafe or The Roxy. (I believe Hotel Cafe's floor space is the smallest of all three? Maybe that just means more people turned out on Friday! Yay!) That said, I'll take Bootleg over The Roxy, which distracted us with thumping from the club above.

I was also going to comment about the keychestra, but as you may know, VT's running a poll on her Twitter/Facebook. It's interesting to read everybody's preference! I think one poster hit it on the head: bigger venues disperse the jangling so that it creates a nice ambience. Smaller venues are too intimate to concentrate on both VTAW's orchestrations and loud jingles.

[Fred]

B-b-but, I lurve Gravity!

LOL. She's only resting it intermittently, and, I'll bet, not for long. It's her war horse, after all. That and Harbor. Who can blame her?

Let's have all of them on there and get longer shows! Hehe, if only...

Ah yes, I can see it now in my mind's eye. Tengfest 2012, Ann Arbor. About as long as Götterdämmerung, 6 hours in one sitting. 4 studio CDs plus alternate arrangements, stray singles, and covers. The faithful sitting through it in rapt attention to the last note like true Wagnerians. Sign me up.

I was also going to comment about the keychestra...I think one poster hit it on the head: bigger venues disperse the jangling so that it creates a nice ambience. Smaller venues are too intimate to concentrate on both VTAW's orchestrations and loud jingles.

Actually, that kinda fits my experience at Highline (big) vs. Bell House (smaller), I guess. At Highline it was such a novelty, though.

[Michele]

Apologies for the delayed response, although two weeks isn't quite too far off...

Bits and pieces:
Toward the end of Nicole Eva Emery’s set, she mentioned that she was still a newbie to live shows. (Though, she’s really quite a talent! She’s got that smokey, but edgy gal-at-the guitar badassery down.) She felt that she was still new to the banter in between songs and was at a loss for how to describe us. “What’s another word for [I forgot what adjective she used]? C’mon, you guys are smart. You’re Vienna fans, you have to be nerdy and smart.”

Think she was looking for adjectives for awesome...

As usual, Vienna used one mic for vocals and another that was connected to her looper. In No Gringo (or was it St. Stephen’s Cross?), after she had gathered her looping notes, Vienna proceeded onto the intro of the song. With one hand still playing, and without taking her eyes off the keyboard, she then pushed the looper’s microphone so that it swung away from her. Hmm, I know...it was such a small, subtle thing, but it made VT really rocksta’ in my eyes. Maybe you had to be there to see the devil-may-care action.

Yes, this really has to be seen in person, and you really have to be watching for it; that multi-tasking (which she seems to have successfully picked up from Wong) isn't apparent in audio recordings, and for the visual, it's blink-and-you'll-miss-it.

Amid nervous mumbles (again!), I gave her some gifts, but also brought along a gag-gift. I thought it’d be totally lame to give it to VT, but was relieved when she threw her head back and laughed at the parasite plush doll. Nerdiness ensued. :p

That sounds cute! Perfect tour mascot, er, if there was a constant tour going on.

It was great to see you, Michele and Erik! Thanks for saying 'hi'! Didn't know that you knew who I was, but I spotted you two right when I walked in.

The "didn't know that you knew" is usually my deal That plus I'm usually terrible with remembering people, but having our group pic helps.

By the way, what are your guys' thoughts on the venue?

It felt like a house concert! Not many people there, being able to see everyone's face. It was a nice change. I wish the show had been seated, but since it wasn't sold out I could take a break between sets. I could have very easily hated it though if everyone had been chatting the whole time.

I can't compare to the Roxy, have never been there. Had wanted to dash over and see Dilana from Rock Star Supernova that same night, but the schedules overlapped. Some other time.

Thanks for filling some thoughts on the audience and the performance! I remembered one last quip, Vienna said before Radio that she thinks she's probably on a terrorist watch list now because of the research she did when writing the song.

Tengfest 2012, Ann Arbor.

Let's get this booked...call The Ark, tell 'em to get Hill Auditorium ready...

I'd love to see Between get redone...chorus with looper = yes please. I do have a string trio version of Drought on the endless list of things to post...

[Scot]

Thanks for the setlist, Erik. I hope you or M. recorded?

Personally, I'll be remembering 11Mar for other reasons, having been in Japan then...


scot

[Michele]

Thanks for the setlist, Erik. I hope you or M. recorded?

We did, but probably all we're going to post is Help. A good taper was there, as he has been for a bunch of the LA shows. You can get the opening sets on DIME for now, and he'll release the show when the unreleased songs are out.

Personally, I'll be remembering 11Mar for other reasons, having been in Japan then...

Yikes. Do you have your story written out somewhere? I think I haven't really read any first-person accounts, just have seen so many pictures.