Over the course of two days that I spent watching Peter Bjorn & John play shows, I repeatedly had to explain who they were to randoms by noting “the whistling song” and then impersonating, poorly, said song. The good thing for the band, whom are a bad record away from being a one-hit wonder, is that their new record, Gimme Some, is their best release yet. The bad thing is it doesn’t contain eleven tracks closely resembling, or even relating to, “Young Folks.” This became apparent more on the second night, Sunday, at the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts. Though the band gave an inspired and energetic performance, I heard numerous grumblings about the lack of old tunes played during the set. Yes, the show that cost ten bucks to get into and featured three quality bands was actually complained about. Welcome to L.A. fellas. We are horrible, horrible human beings.
The first night was a different atmosphere all-together. FYF Fest had recruited Peter Bjorn & John for three shows over two days, the first two at secret locations and billed as “house parties.” After an early show in the Los Angeles suburb of La Mirada, a crowd of maybe one hundred converged on a downtown L.A. loft for a midnight start-time for a line-up featuring four bands. The loft was mostly vacant, save for a motorcycle parked in a corner and the stage set-up in another corner. Outside the sixth-floor space, views of the Los Angeles skyline could be taken-in, as well as the the scenic industrial warehouses that populate the side of L.A. that one doesn’t often gaze to in the early hours of the morning.
Peter Bjorn & John were the second set and seemed like they couldn’t be happier to be there. They mingled before hand, afterward, posed for photos, gave away a three-thumbed foam hand that is featured on the Gimme Some album cover, and, oh yeah, rocked.
The new record sounded thinner live than through headphones, but, it was only the three of them using the traditional guitar-bass-drums setup. And, I figure, it was one of their first times playing these songs. But where their songs sounded a little rough around the edges, they made up for in sheer showmanship. There were punk jumps. There were poses on top of amplifiers. Peter Moren and Bjorn Yttling both played from the ground at points, back to back at other points, and even in the audience. John Ericksson is beyond professional behind the kit, impressing anyone even mildly familiar with the drums. John also took lead on “Black Book” and appeared to have the time of his life when they closed on the Swedish National Anthem.
And for as much of a blast the loft party was (might be an early contender for my favorite shows of this year), the Eagle Rock show was better in sound and proficiency. It seemed less like the band had been hanging out all day, as they even went to the trouble of noting that they had a new record and they were there to try out every song from Gimme Some. They played them out of order, with some absolutely killing-it live (“I Know You Don’t Love Me” was an absolute revelation). “Let’s Call It Off,” from Writer’s Block, unveiled just how beloved that album is, as it was clearly the fans’ favorite of the night despite being a weaker song than most all of the new material.
In hindsight, the touring blitz showed the band to be more personable and relatable than I had assumed previously. At the Eagle Rock show, before beginning the set, Bjorn announced that they were going to play all eleven songs from Gimme Some in order to see if they would stay on the record. After opening with “Tomorrow Has To Wait,” Bjorn in a voice that sounded like McBain dryly concluded that “it stays.” They threw promotional stickers into the crowd and came out of the two-day marathon as virtual rock-stars. Their next tour will be more of a crowd-pleasing event. Hell, they might even bring back “Young Folks.” But I’m glad I got to check out these new jams from Gimme Some in their infancy, as by May, they will probably be everyone’s favorite new songs, not just mine.
And something must be said about the rock-solid support that helped PB&J entertain the majority of attendees. The Lovely Bad Things continued to place a distance between themselves and the majority of garage rock that you can see on a daily basis in Echo Park and Silver Lake. Their set in the loft was brief, but actually received a fan-demanded single song encore of “Big Surr,” with the band rocking in the crowd and completely fulfilling their duty of getting people pumped for the main event.
Devin Therriault played after the headliners and, though also brief, proved himself to be a must-see up-and-comer. His blend of pure-rock with a rockabilly swagger is so fun and sincere that you can’t help being swept up in it. Over the course of the last couple weeks, when people ask if I’ve heard any new music that they should check out, I keep coming back to Therriault, who is clearly to most talented and original performer to grace the stage wherever he shows up. And Jail Weddings, who opened the Eagle Rock show, couldn’t fit more people on the stage if they tried, but managed to seem controlled and focused, rather than chaotic, which is common in such large troupes. I only caught a few songs, but they were good enough that I will get to the venue earlier the next time they are on the bill.
