{"id":25061,"date":"2015-11-11T16:42:43","date_gmt":"2015-11-12T00:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/?p=25061"},"modified":"2015-11-12T17:10:43","modified_gmt":"2015-11-13T01:10:43","slug":"review-and-pictures-glen-hansard-at-walt-disney-concert-hall-in-la-the-last-will-be-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/2015-11\/review-and-pictures-glen-hansard-at-walt-disney-concert-hall-in-la-the-last-will-be-first\/","title":{"rendered":"Review and Pictures: Glen Hansard at Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA–The Last Will Be First"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_0089<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Glen Hansard<\/a><\/strong> is one of our favorite artists and live performers who always projects bounteous humanity into his performances. \u00a0Monday night at the Walt Disney Concert Hall<\/strong> in LA, Hansard<\/strong>\u00a0again proved that point all night. \u00a0Hansard’s<\/strong> tours of the US are entirely too infrequent so we jumped at the opportunity to catch him for the first time since he ripped the sky open at the 2012 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival<\/a><\/strong>. On Monday, the meshing of\u00a0Hansard<\/strong>\u00a0and the intimate, sweet-sounding Walt Disney Concert Hall<\/strong>\u00a0resulted in one of the best concerts of the year.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0091<\/p>\n

Talented Aoife O\u2019Donovan<\/strong> opened with a sonorous 30-minute set that meshed perfectly with the pin-drop acoustic surroundings. \u00a0O’Donovan’s<\/strong> set was capped off by Sara Watkins<\/strong> (violin) and Thomas Bartlett<\/strong> (piano) joining her (see photo below) for a \u00a0tremulous take on the title-track off her impending new album [In The] Magic Hour<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0082<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hansard then took the stage with six other musicians and opened with\u00a0Grace Beneath The<\/strong> Pines\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(see video below), eventually being joined by three horn players spotlighted up in the small balcony way above the rear of the stage. \u00a0As he would do on several occasions this night, Hansard<\/strong> sang sans microphone and filled the Disney<\/strong> with his warm, powerful vocals. \u00a0The\u00a0staging and attention to detail made the band’s sounds especially enthralling and made the Disney feel just that more intimate. \u00a0<\/strong><\/em>There was everything from deft pizzicato violin plucking, egg shakers, heavenly harmonies, the aforementioned horns and, of course, Hansard’s<\/strong> powerful and evocative vocals and songs. \u00a0On\u00a0Winning Streak<\/strong><\/em> his ten-piece band performed particularly well, but the highlight of the night was the ferocious performance of When Your Mind\u2019s Made Up<\/strong><\/em> (from the film\u00a0Once<\/strong><\/em>). \u00a0Dazzling drummer Earl Harvin\u00a0<\/strong>throttled the song to incredible heights while Hansard<\/strong> sang his soul off, and capped the song off with a perfectly timed leap and landing as the band brought the raging song to a sudden stop. \u00a0‘Twas magic, as they say. \u00a0They followed with a powerful reading of another trademark Hansard<\/strong> song,\u00a0Birds of Sorrow<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0086<\/a><\/p>\n

Hansard<\/strong> is the consummate musical host, and on several songs he turned to the audience behind the stage to sing (to their obvious joy). \u00a0At one point he asked for the lights to come up to show the beauty of the Disney Hall and spotted a woman in a “black dress in the last row that was just clapping.” \u00a0Hansard<\/strong> counted the empty seats in the pit (16) and asked the black-dress woman to bring sixteen of her back-row-friends down to fill the empty pit seats. \u00a0And so the last became first. \u00a0It was yet another example of Hansard’s<\/strong> winning graciousness. \u00a0He also consistently involved the audience, requesting they vocally augment the songs in various ways (Back Broke<\/strong><\/em> was greatly enhanced thereby) and telling affecting stories throughout (his father’s drunk friends were dubbed “drunkles,” and he told of a friend briefly ruining songwriting for him by telling him that “songs are proof that love doesn\u2019t work”). \u00a0Other highlights included\u00a0McCormick\u2019s Wall<\/strong> <\/em>(featuring a vivid fiddle solo) and the new banger, Lowly Deserter<\/strong><\/em> (which he performed on Colbert’s<\/strong> show last week<\/a>) that got the crowd onto its feet.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0090<\/a><\/p>\n

Hansard<\/strong> and Rob Bochnik<\/strong>\u00a0(Frames)<\/strong>\u00a0dramatically began the first encore spotlit on\u00a0the same upper rear balcony where the horns began, sans mics or amplification, on the song Say It To Me Now<\/strong><\/em>. \u00a0Hansard<\/strong> later brought out\u00a0Aoife O\u2019Donovan<\/strong>\u00a0to assist on his treacly\u00a0Once<\/strong><\/em> ballad Falling Slowly<\/strong>, and then brought the entire band (with\u00a0Aoife<\/strong>, who killed it) to the front in a line to render a rousing accapella version of the standard The Auld Triangle<\/strong><\/em>. \u00a0He closed the encore with a winsome version of Her Mercy<\/strong><\/em>. \u00a0The second encore featured Philander<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0followed by an everyman’s take of\u00a0Leonard Cohen’s<\/strong> Passing Through<\/strong><\/em> (watch video below).<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0078<\/a><\/p>\n

As we said, Hansard<\/strong> never fails to give each show his all, and it was definitely the case at Disney Hall<\/strong> on Monday night. \u00a0Don’t miss any opportunity to catch his life-affirming concerts (go HERE<\/a><\/strong> to see the list of dates).<\/p>\n