Live Review and Photos: tUnE-yArDs, November 2, 2011, The Music Box – Los Angeles, CA

Rob Hakimian·November 4, 2011

Photos by Philip Cosores

Any aspiring solo musicians who hope to build a live show around a looping pedal and as many other instruments as they can possibly play at once may think it’s a good idea to ask Merrill Garbus for advice. But I honestly don’t think she’d be able to tell you. The kind of symbiotic relationship that Garbus seems to have with her pedals, drums, and ukulele is definitely one of those you-have-it-or-you-don’t things. What she will be able to help you with, however, is how to keep a crowd entertained; and it’s simple really: smile, dance, talk, and be as entertained by them as they are by you. And judging by the way Garbus radiates from the stage, all these things come naturally to her, too.

Special guest opening act Cut Chemist certainly had a way with the people, too. For someone who is primarily spinning records, he kept the crowd engaged, being straight up with them about what he was there to do and keeping them interested by adding comments about each record he was playing. With his eclectic musical selections, he took us on trails through South America and Africa, bringing rhythm to The Music Box that would be capitalised upon later in Tune-Yards’ set. It was impressive to see Lucas McFadden DJing in the traditional way with wax, and with his close-up cameras we could get right up close with the process of how he managed to switch seamlessly from one to the next without missing a beat – not that watching it would allow us to emulate such an underrated skill. If anyone was unimpressed they were certainly respectful, and won over when McFadden revealed that he had been working with Tune-Yards on his next release. Over his 45-minute set, Cut Chemist got the crowd warmed up and it wouldn’t be the last of him we’d see that evening.

Of all the ways to start off a show, Garbus’ yodel-like vocal intro must be one of the most original, and letting her freak flag fly immediately gave the crowd a taste of what they’d be getting for the whole set – and it was exactly what they all wanted. Tune-Yards’ live show is as vibrant as they come, and when joined by her band, who were dressed in bright clothing and would dance and wave their arms around on stage, I felt like I was watching an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba that’s enjoyable for adults, no hallucinogenic drugs required.

Garbus showed us all of her abilities right from the start including her drumming prowess on “My Country” and her emotional side with a killer vocal delivery on “Powa.” Throughout the set everybody danced, and even in the less well-known songs like “Hatari,” from her debut album BiRd-BrAiNs, people found the groove and simply went for it. “Fiya” showed Garbus in her more simplistic singer-songwriter mode, while “Gangsta” went the complete opposite way and showed Garbus’ more artistic side. For this special performance of the latter, Garbus invited Cut Chemist back onto the stage to perform a version of the song that incorporated not only the original version but also elements of Cut Chemist’s remix of the song. Keeping time with the cut and scratch of Cut Chemist cannot have been easy, but Garbus and her band stopped and started abruptly in perfect rhythm, producing something extremely impressive technically. However, the night’s real show-stopper was “Bizness,” which allowed her dual saxophonists to deliver their maximum punch and the interplay between the two of them was astounding.

While the set leaned heavily on newest album, W H O K I L L, there were a few curveballs thrown in for the hardcore fans, including standalone single “Real Live Flesh,” and she even used her encore to play a new song called “Party Can (Do You Want To Live?).” I say these were for the hardcore fans, but judging by the way almost everyone in the audience reacted and reciprocated Garbus’ energy it seems pretty much everyone there was a hardcore fan, or at least was by the end of her set.

While I’ve already mentioned how Garbus showed genuine happiness throughout her set and how that made it an extremely enjoyable performance to behold, what made it special was nearing the end of the show when she seemed to get genuinely overwhelmed by the reception she was receiving. To receive this kind of acceptance would be humbling to anyone, but for someone who makes something so unique and something that could be so easily dismissed to get this kind of reception was something truly special, and it capped off the night in a way that can make everyone in attendance proud to have been a part of it.