Swervedriver

On Saturday, May 31 to the early hours of Sunday, June 1, we saw Swervedriver at the Music Box at the Fonda in Hollywood.  I first heard of Swervedriver around 13 years ago when my brother put some of their music on the mix tapes he gave us for Christmas.  He described them as “good driving music” with their long instrumental sections heavy on guitars and bass between lyrics.  Swervedriver haven’t put anything out for at least 9 years.  The lead singer/ guitarist, Adam Franklin, has done at least one solo album and some work with another band.  After a long hiatus, Swervedriver reunited for a tour this year.

The Music Box at the Henry Fonda Theater is about one block from the Red Line subway station at Hollywood and Vine.  After having dinner at The Waffle (see previous review) we walked back to Hollywood Boulevard, passed the Pantages Theater where it seemed like most people were going to see the musical, Wicked, turned right past an $8 parking lot and got in line near the Music Box.  The line seemed fairly short given that it was 7:50 pm, 10 minutes before the doors were scheduled to open.  We were practically in front of the theater.  The guys behind us were there to see Film School, one of the opening acts.  They didn’t seem to know who the headliner, Swervedriver, was.  The guy in front of us had on a white jersey with black lettering, red trim, and the name “Satan” on the back.  We heard him mention to one of the guys behind us that he had bought his ticket for $30 and they were now selling them for $20 at the door.  As we waited some venue employees went down the line giving out purple wristbands to those who wanted to buy alcohol from the bars inside, checking ID’s before giving the bands.  The line moved forward at 7:57 pm and split into two lines: one for those with tickets and the other for those one the guest list or those needing to purchase tickets.  At 8:05 pm, the doors opened.  We went through security that consisted of a cursory frisking and entered the theater.

The venue is a fairly small theater that seems more like it should be showing movies or plays than concerts.  In fact, my wife and I had seen the comedic play, Late Night Catechism, there nine years ago.  I think the theater was called something else back then, probably just the Henry Fonda Theater.  I didn’t remember it being particularly colorful back then.  But this time the interior had lots of color.  The walls were painted a shiny dark blue with red and gold trim, and some green along the stairwell walls, sills, and the swirling wave designs along the walls of the main theater.  In the lobby and upstairs were some frescos of what looked like modern art: intersecting curved lines combined with dark green, light green, and white colors.  At the far end of the lobby they were selling merchandise for Swervedriver and the two opening acts: Xu Xu Fang and Film School.  They also had an Adam Franklin solo CD.  We bought some Swervedriver badges.  The lobby also has the only public restrooms in the venue.  Inside them were those attendants who hand you a paper towel and expect a tip in return.  They also sold candy and toiletries.  I avoided the tipping “obligation” by not accepting a towel after washing up.  It’s supposed to be better for the environment to let your hands air dry anyway.  Besides, what if the attendant’s hands weren’t clean?

The theater itself consists of a wide floor space narrowing as it got closer to the stage.  The walls keep the dark blue with red and gold trim pattern.  A large bar selling drinks was at the back wall opposite the stage.  On either side of the stage were these elevated deep alcoves.  In the one to the right hung a banner with the venue’s “coat-of-arms”, a design with the name “Hollywood” on top in a crown, “Music Box” in the middle shape, outlines of cockatoos on either side, and “Fonda” on the bottom.  This coat-of-arms was also projected onto the red curtain over the stage and upstairs on a wall in the outdoor section.  In the alcove to the left of the stage two young DJ’s sat at a small table and picked out the canned music to play before and between the performances of the bands.

The ground floor of the theater had no seats so we went upstairs to check if the balcony was open.  The concert did not have assigned seats.  Upstairs were two red couches along the wall with the doors to the balcony.  The employee near one of the doors said the balcony wasn’t open and whether it would open depended on the eventually number of attendees.  There were more stairwells on the side going further up but they were blocked off with velvet ropes.  There were also stairs in the back leading to the roof.  On the roof were a small bar and some chairs and tables.  This was where the attendees could smoke.  The roof had a pretty good view of south Hollywood.  One small (off limits) outdoor stairwell had a large iron 5-pointed star as its landing rail.  There was a large iron lizard sculpture along another outdoor wall.  We returned to one of the red couches on the second floor and waited for them to open up the balcony.

We ended up sitting on the couch through the first two opening bands.  The couch was very comfortable and we could hear the music fine through the PA system.  It was an ideal spot for people-watching.  The other attendees were either our age or older.  Some looked like they might be our parents’ age.  The attendees were mostly Caucasians with a few African Americans.  They were mostly men and many women there were part of male-female couples.  A few women came with female friends or with groups.  Some attendees came from other cities such as the guy in front of us in line who came down from the Bay area.  Another came up from Orange County.  I guess we came all the way from central SGV.  The attendees’ outfits ranged from casual to stylish to vintage.  In addition to that guy’s Satan jersey, there were many Swervedriver T-shirts.  We saw someone wearing a New Model Army T-shirt and another in a Curve T-shirt.  One guy wore a Lakers T-shirt with the message “It’s Gasol Good.”  Another wore a T-shirt for the Hard Rock Café in Makati, Philippines.

As we waited, more and more people entered the venue.  There weren’t many places to sit and some people tried to sit on the sills below mirrors that were across from where we sat.  Every time they did the venue employees would go over and tell them they couldn’t sit there.  I counted at least 19 attendees asking about balcony seating.  One said he had two artificial hips and another said he had a bad back.  Both problems would make it difficult for them to stand up for the entire concert.  The age of the attendees really showed and the song “Help the Aged” by Pulp that played as part of the canned music seemed very appropriate.  But everyone got the same answer:  not enough people.  From overhearing conversations with someone who seemed like a manager, we learned that they didn’t have enough attendees to afford the liability insurance to open the balcony.  They needed an attendance of 800 and by 10:10 pm they only had 500.  The concert was far from sold out, though the floor seemed fairly full when we eventually went down to watch the headliner.  I guess Swervedriver have been away too long.  We heard that they when they played at Coachella in late April that their tent was only 1/3 full.

The DJ’s played some pretty good music such as “Step into My World” by Hurricane #1, “Accuracy” by The Cure (who coincidentally were playing a show at the Hollywood Bowl that same evening; perhaps this partially accounts for the Swervedriver show not selling out), and “Let there be Love” by Oasis.  The first opening band, Xu Xu Fang came on at 9:05 pm and the quality of the music got worse in my opinion.  They consisted of four male guitarists (at least one a bassist I assume), a female keyboard player, and a female singer.  She was tall with dark hair, wore dark clothing, and had a low voice.  The stage was covered in smoke with orange and red lights shining through it.  The music was very loud, heavy, and dirge-like.  It could be described as “drug enhanced.”  A few songs combined heavy guitar sounds with lighter keyboard sounds.  They ended at 9:40 with a song that included lots of wailing from the lead singer.

More canned music played and at 10 pm, the second opening band, Film school, came on.  They consisted of two male guitarists, a female bassist, a male drummer, and a male keyboard player.  One of the guitarists sang lead and the bassist sang background.  Behind the band on stage they projected avant guard film images at the same tempo as their music.  At least they were consistent with their name.  They sounded more upbeat than the previous band.  Their beats were faster and the songs more anthemic.  They actually sounded a bit like The Cure.  The keyboard created atmospheric textures reminiscent of the Cure album Disintegration.  Despite being lighter than Xu Xu Fang, the songs still sounded heavy like those on the Cure album Pornography.  Film School’s lead singer also had a yelping voice like early Robert Smith.  Their set ended at 10:40 pm.

At 10:45 pm we left our comfortable places on the couch to stand before the stage.  For the past two hours or so the couch had been the best seat in the house since we didn’t mind not seeing the opening bands.  We did see many attendees unable to find places to sit as the theater got more crowded.  But now that the openers were finished we figured we’d go down while many other attendees went up to the roof to smoke before Swervedriver came on.  The scheme worked and we found some good places about 20-30 feet from the stage.  The DJ’s played “Black Night Crash” by Ride, a shoegazer band from the same era as Swervedriver.  They then played “A Hard Day’s Night” by the Beatles from a much earlier era perhaps to appease the older crowd.  As we waited, the floor got more crowded but they did not open up the balcony.

At 11:12 pm the lights dimmed and the curtain rose to reveal Swervedriver.  They consisted of a drummer, two guitarists, and a bassist, all male.  They looked as aged as the audience.  The lead singer and rhythm guitarist, Adam Franklin, had cut off his dreadlocks a while ago.  The others looked skinnier than Franklin, but no younger.  But they didn’t sound older.  They started off the set with “Sci-Flyer” with its long instrumental beginning heavy on guitar.  Spotlights of red, orange, and blue shined in the background.  They followed with the more vocal “Sandblasted”.  The next song, “The Birds” was faster with more easygoing vocals.  They seemed to be hitting their stride.  During the applause that following someone yelled, “Welcome back!”

Franklin and the guitarists switched to different guitars, the first of many such switches, though they were all electric guitars.  They played “Duel”, a song I knew well since my brother put it on a mix tape he gave me many years ago.  The anthemic song showcases their reputation for “great driving music.”  The next song, “Blowing Cool” featured a heavier guitar and bass sound.  The lights shined designs of spinning spokes.  That took them to the powerful beginning of the next song, “The 99th Dream.”

The band members hardly spoke at all between songs only saying “Thank you” to the applause.   But that was fine with us because they sounded great, as if they were part of a currently burgeoning music scene rather than a relic of a past one.  They continued with “Behind the Scenes of Sound and Times.”  It had a characteristic long instrumental beginning but was unique in its use of feedback and steel guitar-like sound.  A heavy drum beat began the next song, “The Other Jesus.”  They contrasted that with the faster start of the next song, “Juggernaut Rides” only to go back to the heavy drum beginning of the next song, “She’s Beside Herself.”  This song built itself up with the drummer playing a march like beat, then adding the guitars, and eventually the bass at a point when it seemed like they “kicked” the song “up a notch.”  At the start the bassist seemed to be taking a break but he was actually getting ready to join in about a third of the way through.  The spotlights created outlines of purple and blue clouds in the background.  They next song, “Girl on a Motorbike” seemed to tell a story.  It sounded more “driving” than the others as was appropriate given its title.  The then got more anthemic with “Rave Down.”  The song seemed to get louder as it played and it sped up at the end.  The spotlights created spinning green lines in the background.  We couldn’t identify the next song.  It had a rockin’ start, slowed then, and then got explosive again in a hurry.  They song segued into a slower, more atmospheric instrumental that brought a the set to a close.  With bows and thank-you’s they left the stage.

The cheering, clapping, and stomping were nonstop.  No one left as far as I could tell.  Swervedriver returned and the cheering got louder.  With a “Thank you very much” they went straight into the explosive beginning of “Son of a Mustang Ford.”  This was the song they didn’t play when my wife saw them ten years ago.  She’d been hoping to hear it then and now, after a long wait, her wish was granted.  They followed it with the bluesy “Duress” with its instrumental beginning heavy on the drums and its use of feedback.  As they finished playing, the drummer stood up and said, “Los Angeles, thank you very much!”  They then left the stage for the final time.  It was 12:45 am, June 1, 2008.  The curtain came down implying that there would be no more encores.

Swervedriver didn’t play the song I knew best by them, “The Last Train to Satanville” from another mix tape that my brother gave me.  But they still sounded great and I gained greater appreciation for the songs I didn’t know as well.  The concert was like stepping into a time machine.  The band, the other attendees, and we had aged but that evening brought us back to a younger era.