Last Wednesday, I went to see the Taken By Trees/El Perro Del Mar show at the Trobadour. I went alone this time around as I don't know any of my friends willing to go to a show on a weeknight. I left my house around seven with minimal traffic to West LA. Luckily, I managed to find street parking by the venue without having to pay bullshit street prices.
So I went in line to buy my tickets and was surprised to see how short it was. Anyway, I felt like I was the only person from among these people who went alone. There were two other lone wolves like myself who really wanted to see the show and didn't feel so isolated. I really hate it when people say that you need to go with someone to see a show or a movie, because nothing should ever hold you back on what you want to experience. Seriously. Shows are fun regardless of friends. And since we three loners wanted to see the show that night, we found camaraderie amongst ourselves. We bonded together with music, Hurricane Katrina (since Liz was from New Orleans), beer, indie boobs, etc. Loneliness brought us together.
Taken By Trees opened the first half of the show. The show started off with Pakistani music played as a background for clips of Pakistan. By the time the film ended, the band entered the stage and performed a lovely version of "To Lose Someone". I was always envisioned Victoria Bergsman to be incredibly shy and quiet. On the contrary, she was in good spirits that night. Commenting how she loves LA and all the wonderful people who came to see her on Hump Day. She mostly played tunes off her recent album although she performed "Lost and Found" off her first record. Thank god I caught her set that night, as she rarely plays in the States.
After Taken By Trees played their set, I went to the merch stands to purchase her new record on vinyl. $15 for a record...and I only had $8 in my pocket. By some strange twist of faith, Victoria Bergsman showed up at the merch. As I try not to squeal like some fanboy, I kept my cool and introduced myself. She was surprisingly friendly and nice, although I felt my English was too fast for her Swedish ears. The conversation was fairly short as I did not want to seem so forceful. I mentioned how I first saw her in New Order's Temptation video but later discovered she was the same girl who sung "Young Folks" and was part of The Concretes. I ended our talk wondering why she grew out her hair. She wrote a note in reply.
I felt embarrassed as I bombarded her with random comments and questions. Instead of treating her like any normal person, I was in absolute adoration. I just can't seem to help myself with the musicians that I have great respect for.
After having a random encounter with Victoria, I caught the following set with El Perro Del Mar. She started the set with "Let Me In" off her recent EP "Love is Not Pop; which basically set the tone for the rest of the night. Gone are the days of happy-go-lucky Sarah Assbring with her French-influenced pop. Instead, the set is full of somber, contemplative dream pop pieces from her recent EP. At times, the set reminded me a lot like Cocteau Twins since there was a whole lot of shimmery guitars. While she did not play anything off her first two records, but I was glad that she performed "Gotta Get Smart". She told the crowd how she had her heart broken in LA and she wrote that song. Assbring was incredibly friendly that night, although a bit moody whenever she talks.
Sarah also did a cover of The XX's "Shelter". I didn't really care much for the original, but Sarah's band brought the song to a whole another level. As the set was nearing the end, a lot of people were expecting a bit more. Fortunately, she ended the set with a Big Star cover, "Blue Moon". I couldn't believe that she played my favorite Big Star song and take it a whole new direction. What was originally a simple quiet piece, Sarah made it into a dream pop song about lost love. I could never be any more happier with this set.
After the show, I ran into Sarah. I told her how much I love her rendition of that Big Star song and erroneously described it as cover of some folk singer (I was thinking of "Nature Boy" off their "Third/Sister Lovers" album). Funny enough, Sarah actually believed me. Echoing the note that Victoria wrote to me earlier, "you always learn something new each and every day".
That night reminded me of how I shouldn't let simple things hold me back. Life should always be a new experience each and every day. Whether it be meeting your favorite artist, foolishly telling a lie to said artist, or going alone and meeting new fellow loners. Life is enriched with the many possibilities out there.
A couple of days later, I ran into Victoria at another show. Only this time, she was the one waving to me. We talked as if we were old friends.
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