Photos and review by NOTES FROM VIVACE
LOS ANGELES – Jumping across that other pond, Australian Dope Lemon (moniker for Angus Stone) came to Los Angeles’ The Novo to celebrate the release of his seventh studio album Golden Wolf. When it was time for his set to begin, Stone walked onto the stage through the ultra bright white spotlight. As soon as he emerged through the lights, he could be seen with his guitar swung behind his back and holding an Asahi beer can with his left hand. He gave a peace sign and then walked to the center of the stage where he gave the crowd a wave.
The set opened up with “Stonecutters,” which took psych rock to new levels with the gradual unfolding of the music. The crowd got a kick out of “John Belushi” when two individuals came out with theatrical masks to provide additional entertainment. If one looked closely, they would have noticed that the individuals behind the masks occasionally lifted up their masks so that they could judge how close to the stage edge they were.
“You guys look beautiful tonight.” The title track of the new album was introduced with, “This song is conceptualizing what it is to get to the end of mortality, finality. And what it is that takes you there, what you take with you, and what you leave behind.”
“Hey You” had the return of the theatrical masks. A band member took out a harmonica to add a touch of blues folk to the song. One of the individuals in the theatrical mask and the harmonica player danced together. “Slinging Dimes” was a spoken word triumph. Though the Eastern-infused “Honey Bones” doesn’t rank as one of his most played songs on Spotify, it got some of the loudest cheers of the night.
The atmosphere of the night was given an additional bump as the night headed towards a conclusion. For “Coyote,” images of Joshua Trees under moonlight were splashed across the stage’s screen. “Rose Pink Cadillac” had the lights crew throwing up the pink lights and a trio of audience members took the opportunity to get onto the shoulders of loved ones.
The night of music expression ended with a simple message splashed across the screen, “Thank You.”
The Palms opened up the night. For long-time scenesters of the indie Los Angeles music scene, the Johnny Zambetti-Ben Rothbard duo will always be remembered as Terraplane Sun. They addressed the topic of why they had to change their band name prior to the song “Push Off.” They explained how they had a falling out with their record label and could only continue via that name change, “We ended up writing a song to inspire us to get out of it [the contract].” Their rendition of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You” had the crowd swaying. “Breakin’ Up” had that rock sound that had someone in the audience exclaim, “They’re shredding.” Their set ended with “Levitate” that had a breezy alt-pop sound with addictive guitar play.
Dope Lemon Setlist: Stonecutters, How Many Times, John Belushi, Little Whiskey, Golden Wolf, Hey You, Slinging Dimes, Honey Bones, Electric Green Lambo, Coyote, Rose Pink Cadillac, Uptown Folks. Encore: Home Soon.
The Palms Setlist: Talk Too Much, Future Love (We All Make Mistakes), Pretenders, Push Off, Sleepover, Fesse, Fade Into You (Mazzy Star cover), All4You, Breakin’ Up, Levitate.
