David, Newton and Ingrid

It really is amazing how much "culture" takes place around me. Thursday night, we went to El Rey in West Hollywood with, at most, 150 other people to see David Ford open for Newton Faulkner open for Ingrid Michaelson. Ford and Faulkner are both Brits.

Ford's set was standard. Four songs including Go to Hell and It's a Shame, utilize all the powers of sampling and reverb that he could muster. Based on crowd response, they didn't know who this guy was, and based on Ingrid's set, his style would not be appreciated. While I like his music, I probably don't need to see him again until he has something new.

Newton Faulkner was new to me. And his set rocked. His guitar playing included both left and right hand picking and using his very live amplification on the sound board as a full range percussion set. I am sure that had I listened to his album, I would have assumed it was a singer/songwriter along with his band. But this solo act is pretty amazing live. And while his original pieces were good, they were a bit "mumbly" and hard to understand. On the other hand, his cover of Dead of Alive's You Spin Me Round was hilarious. And this was only topped by his (must I repeat solo) performance of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Absolutely brilliant.

After this, Ingrid Michaelson as the headliner was a bit dull. She has a clear voice and easy stage presence. Clearly she has her shtick together as a performer and the stage banter was light and fun. But it still felt tired. She was performing her stuff, threw in a couple brand new songs (and seemed genuinely pleased/surprised when completed) and didn't really seem to be having fun. The end of the tour perhaps? Perhaps I am overly harsh, since nothing could be as bad as the Jacob Dylan we saw earlier this year (Ingrid clearly knew the audience existed). Or perhaps I was just tired and not really her target audience. Overall, this was a fun evening at El Rey, and another example of the things you can do in LA without really trying.