Orville Peck at The Fox Theater in Oakland 6/14/2022

 

Orville Peck at The Fox Theater Oakland 6/14/2022
photo by Marc Fong 

In 2020, gay country star sensation Orville Peck was slated to play shows at small venues outside of and in the Bay Area including Pappy & Harriet's in Pioneertown, The New Parish in Oakland and The Independent in San Francisco. 

Orville Peck at The Fox Theater Oakland 6/14/2022
photo by Marc Fong 

Those shows so happened to be Faux-Chella shows as they all fell between weekend one and weekend two of Coachella but that was two years ago when everything, including Coachella and every other festival, show, anything and everything was canceled due to COVID. 

Two years later, the masked man with that deep, velvety voice that cries Chris Isaak re-emerged with a new tour and new tour dates including Coachella, Stagecoach and Faux-Chella shows. This time around though Orville Peck played a sold-out show at The Fox Theater in Oakland which is nearly three times the size of his scheduled 2020 show at The Independent. Days shy of  making the Faux-Chella cut off (90 days before and/or after Coachella in a 100 mile radius of the Empire Polo Fields) Orville Peck's June 14th show was also just in time for pride celebrations! 

Orville Peck at The Fox Theater Oakland 6/14/2022
photo by Marc Fong 

Orville Peck at The Fox Theater Oakland 6/14/2022
photo by Marc Fong 

And the wait was worth it. 

Before masks were a common thing whether you liked them or not, Orville Peck made them fashionable with long tassels giving off a mysterious allure. Even under the mask, he made many in the crowd weak in the knees: swooning, singing and swaying to his trademark sound. 

Orville Peck at The Fox Theater Oakland 6/14/2022
photo by Marc Fong 

From the strings of the guitar to the keys of the piano Orville Peck passionately caressed each instrument he played bringing an intimacy to life right before his fan's faces. He could be a crooner from the past or perhaps a visitor from the future gracing us with a new, fantastical genre of music that we've been missing.  

Orville Peck at The Fox Theater Oakland 6/14/2022
photo by Marc Fong 

Clad in barbed-wire attire, many in the crowd mirrored him in similar masks as he played hits and a smattering off his phenomenal new album, Bronco. He proved to be a born performer with an active, engaging stage presence, plus a unique and superb sound, with an air of intrigue that is inescapable. 

Orville Peck at The Fox Theater Oakland 6/14/2022
photo by Marc Fong 

Orville Peck is someone you gotta see live to believe. 

review by Marc Fong & Nikki DeMartini

Sunflower Bean @ Moroccan Lounge 6/2/2022

It's been a month since Brooklyn based Sunflower Bean has been on the road touring in support of the third instalment to their catalog, Head Full of Sugar. The new album dropped on May 6th and on June 2nd the East Coast garage rock three piece were in the West Coast playing a sold-out show at the Moroccan Lounge in LA. 

Sunflower Bean at Moroccan Lounge 6/2/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Shortly after the opening band --- finished their set, the doors of the room where live performances are held opened and the crowd spilled out into the adjacent room where the bar is. Even with two rooms the Moroccan Lounge is on the smaller side which made a great setting for an intimate show, especially since it was sold-out. The change over didn't seem to last long as the crowd started making their way back into the performance room almost as soon as they had left it. 

Sunflower Bean at Moroccan Lounge 6/2/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

The air was thick in the dark room and as we packed in like sardines for the headliners I noticed that my friends and I were the only people I could see with masks on. At this point in the pandemic this shouldn't be surprising to me but it definitely strikes a cord. 

Sunflower Bean: singer/bassist Julia Cumming, guitarist/back up vocals Oliver Faber and drummer Nick Kivlen, didn't make us wait too long, taking the stage a few minutes past 10:00. With Julia stationed stage left, Oliver stationed stage right and Nick tucked in the back, they opened with the title track of their new album, "Head Full of Sugar". Opening the show with what is one of their most psych-rock songs easily got the crowd into the same groove the band. It was also a great indication that we'd be hearing a bunch more from the album, Head Full of Sugar.  

Under the surface of all the smug faces taking in the psychedelic live music moment a need to rock-out was bubbling. Alas, the chill aesthetic continued on to new song number two of the night, "In Flight".

Sunflower Bean's music is wise beyond their 20 something years, more so now than their 2016 debut,
naturally. On their 2022 release, they tackle existential life contemplations which were probably magnified by the pandemic as many can relate to, with a sense of youthful maturity heard not only in their lyrics. The harmony of Julia on bass and Oliver on guitar is a profound driving force while Julia also takes command as front-woman effortlessly.  

Sunflower Bean at Moroccan Lounge 6/2/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Looking very 90's grunge/early 2000's emo in a old torn up sleeveless T-shirt that could pass as a dress and hard A-line hair cut, Julia introduced the third song as one from a few years ago called 22. She then asked if anyone there was 22, rallying the 22 year olds there to make their presence known. As a circle pit formed and thrashing began, their presence couldn't be ignored. From that point on it was pretty much a full on garage-rock, rock show complete with mosh pits, thrashing and elbows being thrown. 

As the band played on, more and more of their new music coursed through the crowd including Julia's proclaimed favorite track off the record, "Other Side" and my two favorites "Baby Don't Cry" and "Roll the Dice." 

Sunflower Bean at Moroccan Lounge 6/2/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Sunflower Bean at Moroccan Lounge 6/2/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini

There wasn't too much action happening on stage and it wasn't needed, their innate passion for playing a live show was all that fans needed and wanted. But as the end neared, Julia riled the crowd by getting into the crowd, causing a flurry as she wailed. Their last song that night is also the last song off of their new album, "Feel Somebody". When a band releases a new album then hits the road, fans expect to experience that new music live and that's what Sunflower Bean did. From the set-list, to the venue to the stage presence and minimalistic set up Sunflower Bean is on the road bringing fans what they've missed, an intimate garage-rock show. 

Sunflower Bean at Moroccan Lounge 6/2/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini