Photos and review by NOTES FROM VIVACE
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – The band dada came on through the Troubadour for their Return To Dizz Knee Land Tour, a belated celebration of their 30th anniversary as a band.
One impressive note about that 30 years as a band is that the band still consists of the three original band members: Bassist / vocalist Joie Calio, guitarist / vocalist Michael Gurley, and drummer Phil Leavitt. The trio has also formed side bands with each other. Gurley and Leavitt formed the band Butterfly Jones. Calio and Leavitt formed a band called 7Horse that landed a song on the Martin Scorsese movie “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
As the band walked down the stairwell from the Troubadour’s green room to the stage, they were treated as alternative rock royalty. The crowd roared with approval. Calio had a punk rock attitude and played with intensity while wearing a “Who the f*ck is dada?” T-shirt. Gurley wore a cowboy hat and had just a touch of an amused grin whenever fans cheered with approval. Leavitt took the lead in entertaining the crowd between songs and embraced the age question with humor. He pointed out the handful of what he called the second generation fans in the audience, “People who grew up on this music, their dads forced it on them and now here you are.” The band also riffed about the iconic punk rock venue Madame Wong’s West that thrived in the 1980s.
The band’s set ran for an hour and fifty minutes, playing 15 songs that included two encores. The crowd cheered throughout the night, enjoying the band’s harmonies and melodic tunes. They especially enjoyed the catchy phrase of “Bob The Drummer,” which they sang along with enthusiasm. The song also highlighted the band’s willingness to let the music flow in the direction it wants to go, which included the band members flowing along with it. Calio took a walk off the stage and disappeared into the stairwell midsong. He hung out in the stairwell for so long that it appeared that Leavitt started to search for his bandmate with a look of amusement.
The band held off their top hit “Dizz Knee Land” for the encore portion of their set, a song that shows the dichotomy of life – one minute you’re doing something stupid like robbing a grocery store and the next minute life is filled with joyous anticipation.
Opening up the night was Los Angeles local band Livingmore who earlier this year celebrated their fourth record release The Garden. They surely won new fans on this night. One could feel the audience growing more and more enthralled with the band’s alternative pop sounds. There was no doubt on that fact by the time the band played “Memory Hill” and “Places” that got glowing reactions from the crowd. When their set ended, the audience gave them the strongest stamp of approval with arms raised high and loud clapping filling up the Troubadour.
Dada setlist: Dim, Dog, Playboy in Outerspace, S.F. Bar ‘63, Mary Sunshine Rain, Trip With My Dad, Ask The Dust, Posters, Holiday, California Dreamin (The Mamas & the Papas cover), Bob The Drummer, Moon, Feel Me Don’t You. Encores: Dizz Knee Land, Dorina
Livingmore setlist: Kick It, Counting Sheep, Neighbors, Really Mean It, Gone Too Fast, Memory Hill, Places, Eyes, Sharp, Dead Fruit
