Photos and review by ALYSON CAMUS
– LOS ANGELES – “All My Rowdy Friends” is the title of a famous song by Hank Williams Jr., a song that Elliott Smith used to cover at shows. Elliott was even often wearing a Bocephus t-shirt, at the effigy of Williams Jr., a way to anchor his roots in country music; after all, Elliott spent his childhood in Texas before moving to Oregon.
“All My Rowdy Friends… Celebrating the Music of Elliott Smith” was also the theme of the night of music at the Regent Theater on Tuesday night. August 6th, 2024 would have been Elliott’s 55th birthday, and his studio, which he named New Monkey, was organizing a fundraising; it was a way to celebrate Elliott’s music while raising enough money to keep his studio alive the way he intended.
The night was the occasion for many artists to perform Elliott’s vast catalog, something not so easy to do. “His songs are not easy to play,” told us an apologetic Beck who tried his best at “Alameda” and a few other tunes at the first Elliott Smith tribute I ever attended, just after his passing. All the participants of this last one did a great job, and if some of them didn’t know all the lyrics, you could tell that a lot of them had put their hearts in this evening.
Unfortunately, there were two big absentees: Violet Grohl was supposed to be there, but she had to cancel because she caught pneumonia, and Band of Horses Ben Bridwell also couldn’t come because of the hurricane raging on the east coast. There was also an odd moment when we saw Devendra Banhart on the screen performing “No Name #3” live from a Lithuanian jail cell. He didn’t explain why he was there but he didn’t seem to be joking.
Wearing white lab coats, the New Monkey crew (Joel Graves, Robert Cappadona, and Greg Cortez) made several apparitions on the screen installed behind the stage, while sitting behind the console in the New Monkey studio. They were also part of the live show: Greg Cortez for example joined Stephanie Hatznikolous on guitar during her dynamic rendition of “Baby Britain,” and they all came back on stage after a short intermission during which we saw the “Coming Up Roses” alternative take video (courtesy of Ross Harris). It was the only time of the night we saw Elliott on the screen, and maybe this is what was missing during the night. They could have included more of Elliott with photos, videos, or even stories… But there was his music, interpreted by a large range of people, men and women, youngsters and older musicians, and the night was a real testimony of Elliott’s ability to touch a large range of personalities and ages. After thanking all the participants, Joel Graves told us they may do this again next year, so we’ll see!
The night enfolded a long list of performers, not necessarily well-known names, but talented musicians who had put a lot of their time and heart into the show. All the songs they performed were Elliott’s except for “Summertime” sung by Shon Sullivan and Nicole from Goldenboy – a sweet melancholic tune that featured Elliott on the backup vocals in the recording – “Heaven Adores You” performed by Earlimart’s Aaron Espinoza – a song deeply influenced by Elliott and written after his death – and “He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s the Pilot” by Grandaddy – a song that Elliott liked a lot as Jason Lytle explained.
All night long, the Figure 8 band was the house band with Shon Sullivan (Goldenboy) on guitar, Aaron Embry (who also played with Cat Power, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros among many others) on keys, and Scott McPherson (She & Him, Beck, M. Ward, Bright Eyes, Sense Field, Neil Finn among others) on drums.
It’s difficult to pick a highlight of the show, but I was almost surprised to see how many young artists were featured in the lineup: Kelsey Auria opened the show with a great solo cover of “Everything Reminds Me of Her” followed by “Junk Bond Trader” with the full band. Eclectic power pop artist Aaron Lee Tasjan, who recorded his first full-length solo album at New Monkey studio, did excellent covers of “Independence Day,” and “Son of Sam.” He came back on stage very often and took the lead vocals during “Pretty Ugly Before.”
Indie rocker Kevin Devine did a surprisingly (and excellent) heavy cover of “Clementine” as well as a very dynamic rendition of “Division Day.” Like Aaron Lee Tasjan, he came back on stage numerous times, either to play guitar or do the backup vocals. “Sweetheart of L.A.’s Rodeo” Leslie Stevens covered “Miss Misery” with high-pitched vocals and tenderness. LA trio Cheekface rocked the “Ballad of Big Nothing” whereas the very young Elliott Fullam did a tranquil and intimate cover of “Pitseleh.” Former lead singer of Devics, Sara Lov, moved everyone with her version of “Twilight,“ and The Walking Dead” actress Emily Kinney was all smiles during her luminous cover of “Say Yes.” This was followed by young alt-pop artist Mehro, who did a solo cover of “Angeles,” followed by “Half Right” with the band. Illuminati Hotties’ Sarah Tudzin (who has worked with Boygenius, Weyes Blood, and Pom Pom Squad) picked a song by Elliott’s earlier group Heatmiser, “See you Later.” Then, LA-based singer-songwriter Johanna Samuels (who was on background vocals almost all night) did a remarkable cover of “Can’t Make a Sound,” and Grammy award-winner Madison Cunningham put a delicate but dynamic spin on “Sweet Adeline.” It’s safe to say that most of these young artists didn’t know Elliott on a personal level, and it was uplifting to see how much they all had been inspired by his music.
Elliott’s peers were also represented by Earlimart, although one-half of the band, Ariana Murray, was not there. Aaron Espinoza said Elliott changed his life before a rendition of “Punch and Judy.” Indie rock heroes Grandaddy (Jason Lytle and Jim Fairchild) who toured with Elliott, performed a moving “Between the Bars,” “Everything Means Nothing to Me,” while Sara Lov took the lead vocals for “Waltz #1.”
Finally, Aaron Embry did an early version of “Strung Out Again,” with sound engineer Fritz Michaud on drums, followed by Kevin Devine for an explosive “Kings Crossing” with the full band, then everyone was back on stage for the beloved “Waltz #2.” They couldn’t have missed the occasion to perform the Hank Williams Jr. classic, “All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down,” and the show concluded with Johanna Samuels on lead vocals, inviting everyone to sing along during “Happiness.”
All night long, there were nice touches, little Elliott-esque evocations here and there: the figure 8 wall was painted on the hallways of the Regent Theater, pink carnations were given away at the entrance (an homage to Elliott’s boutonniere in the “Miss Misery” video), the stage was lit with plenty of roman candles, Aaron Lee Tasjan was wearing a very Elliott bucket hat, the show opened with a cartoonish Ferdinand Bull on the screen, Johanna Samuels was wearing a white suit (similar to Elliott’s in the “Miss Misery” video), a red balloon was attached above the marquee of the Regent, the merchandise table was filled with “I heart Metal” shirts… if you are an Elliott fan, you don’t need any more explanation. It was a way to tell everyone, we know you will get it and you are welcome in this club. I barely paid attention, as I was too much in a hurry to get a good spot when I entered the theater, but the hallways of the Regent (and the VIP lounge) were the site of a strange art exhibit: paintings with Elliott’s face were exposed, and they were probably AI-generated, just like the VIP badges showing photos of Elliott with a Star Wars-theme. It looked like a weird and odd choice, but it was to put a smile on everyone’s face. After all, Elliott had a great sense of humor, and a lot of people often forget about it.
