Trevor Hall, Thievery Corporation, and Dirtwire

Multi-instrumentalists are always mesmerising, but Trevor Hall’s talent on the accordion as well as the guitar is on another level. His skilful playing demonstrate the years he’s given to the instrument, and although he doesn’t play it often any more, watching his fingers dance over the complex keys and buttons in an alternative version of All I Ever Know was something wonderful to witness.
He opened the show with his track Unity which he played acoustically on his guitar. He bugan playing the introduction, then started laughing a little and stopped to answer questions from fans, which was a really nice personal touch, before continuing with the song. His powerful rocky voice rang out through the venue, and every single person in the crowd seemed to be singing along, so he occasionally stopped singing and let the audience fill in the song for him, which was pretty cool.
He played a few of his singles from over the years, but mainly focused on his self titled album, playing it in its entirety. The set was reasonably long, and it was nicely broken up with a few covers, and some banter with the audience. Hall is an incredibly talented singer/songwriter, and I can’t wait for his new album Chapter of the Forest to hopefully tour!

If you’ve heard of Thievery Corporation, it’s likely down to Zach Braff’s inclusion of them on the Garden State soundtrack, with the track ‘Lebanese Blonde’; a dramatic, brass-driven number with a mellow vocal that runs contrary to the instrumentation, it really only hints at the creative talents behind it. In fact, Thievery Corporation aren’t a band in the traditional sense; it’s the project of Washington D.C. musicians Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, who have spent the best part of twenty years making electronica and trip hop that incorporates a diverse range of musical influences; bossa nova, reggae, dub and acid jazz all included. Accordingly, their live shows play less like typical gigs and more like lavish celebrations of world music; a vast array of guest vocalists tend to take part, in order to translate their records as honestly as possible, and the same can be said for the instrumental side of things; whilst there’s a core band, with drums, bass and guitar taken care of, the palette is extended to all manner of weird and wonderful foreign sounds; a jazzy brass section, in particular, is key to the group’s aesthetic, as are the steel drums. They’re long overdue a return to the UK at this point; expect a veritable feast of international sounds should they ever make it back.

If there’s any doubt in your mind whether or not you want to go and see Dirtwire, please do yourself a favor and buy a ticket now before it sells out. They are phenomenal live. I saw them at the Moroccan Lounge in downtown LA last night, and the place was packed, granted it’s a smaller and more intimate venue. They played an hour and a half set filled with a plethora of different instruments, as the trio no joke played about five to seven different instruments each throughout the show. They are extremely talented musicians. Their songs are upbeat and easy to dance to, and they know how to entertain a crowd. Not to mention their recorded music is phenomenal too, it makes me feel a certain type of way when I listen. I cannot say enough great things about this band; they are amazing! I hope to see them again when they make their way around here! :)