Franklin Avenue

Evening Becomes Eclectic
Yeah, yeah, I know the knock on KCRW -- it's hipster music for yuppies; Nic Harcourt plays it too safe; the station hardly lives up to its "eclectic" promise.
Fine, fine. The station has some shortcomings. But I also know that I can listen to KCRW for a much longer period of time than any commercial radio station in town. And that still counts for something, Ruth Seymour pledgeathons aside.
That strong mix of music was on display at Saturday night's KCRW Sounds Eclectic Evening 2003.

Local songwriter/singer Gary Jules kicked things off; we walked in right when he was singing "DTLA" ("Downtown Los Angeles"). Jules is one of those local KCRW discoveries; he was in residency at the Hotel Cafe when the station started playing him. No offense to Jules -- a fine performer and excellent songsmith -- but if he can make it, then Maria and I think our friend Shawn Amos, a frequent Hotel Cafe performer, is more than ready for his own KCRW discovery. C'mon, Nic! What are you afraid of?

Next up, British up-and-comer Jem, another Harcourt favorite, started off a little wobbly. Maria wondered whether she was lipsynching, but in actuality she was singing -- but to prerecorded tracks of her songs. Took away some of the uniqueness, because I'm actually enjoying her debut EP right now (in which, by the way, she thanks Harcourt and "Morning Becomes Eclectic" producer Ariana Morgenstern). Jem picked up when she went acoustic, singing along to just guitar on the song "Flying High." Still like her CD.

Liz Phair also gave a stripped-down performance, but thankfully stuck mostly to her older crowd pleasers ("Supernova," for one) and offered up quite a bit of sass between songs. While listening, it dawned on me that, although the critics have turned their back on Phair, she's written some pretty damn good songs. And she still rocks, even on stripped-down guitar.

Surprise special guest came in the form of Shelby Lynne, who looked sassy in a new short 'do and sounded feisty in her between-song banter. She really makes it look effortless: The soul just oozes out. And alone on stage, with just a guitar, she came off with the most confident and powerful stage presence of the night.

But don't count out Beck. Homeboy does it all, from Hank Williams tunes to his own interpretation of Nelly's "Hot in Herre" (complete with a medley of "Where It's At"). Beck also paid tribute to his friend Elliot Smith, singing two of the late performer's tunes. For all that, he was rewarded with the night's big standing ovation.

The crowd then simply stayed on its feet for Jurassic 5, which kept the crowd amped with a fairly long set -- including a break, during which Cut Chemist performed his usual turntable acrobatics. J5 even got the said West side yuppies up and dancing.

Then, of course, came KCRW poster boy Damien Rice. Nic Harcourt's Irish crush remains virtually unknown outside of L.A., but here, he's a star. Rice shines in concert, where he turns his soft acoustic songs into stronger, more angry stories about love and love lost. "The Blower's Daughter" has become one of Maria's favorite songs; Rice ends his shows with the powerful duet "I Remember," a song that starts out so sweetly and ends so tragic that you won't forget it.

The KCRW show ended rather limp, meanwhile, as The Polyphonic Spree came on stage. Like any Los Angeles event, the crowd started leaving en masse to beat the traffic. But I think it was also because of the Spree, which, quite honestly, just seems like a way too bloated band. Yeah, it's interesting for a moment, the idea of a megagroup complete with gospel choir and french horn player. But I can't shake the rock opera vibe I get from the group.

All told, this year's KCRW show ran smoothly. The rotating stage meant no lulls, as performers began right after the previous act finished. Ruth Seymour never hopped on stage, demanding that we donate more cash. Sound was good; visuals also strong. And Beck sang "Hot in Herre," for crying out loud!