Wednesday, September 15, 2004 Going to the Largo is one of those quintessential LA experiences -- it's exclusive, expensive, confusing, and always leads to an unforgettable experience. So it was a quintessential night at the Largo when my friends and I attended the record release party for Jill Sobule's latest album: First there was Jill and her tiny guitar, singing "Underdog Victorious," the title song of the new album, stopping in the middle to encourage everyone to sing along. Then a very tall skinny man in a pinstriped suit came up to cover one of Jill's songs (which, I can't remember) -- he had a high voice that echoed, resonated into the microphone. After him? HARRY SHEARER, small and ape-like, his wife, and his wife's amazing coat performed Heroes as a duet, complete with callbacks (goddamn, I love that song). I'm probably the only one there who went OOOH when Leah Andreone took the mike acapella. But she did, and it was really great. Even if she has the most awkward stage presence I've ever seen. About halfway in, Jill told this story about performing at a Jewish tribute to Simon and Garfunkle last week with Lisa Loeb, and "can Lisa come up?" Lisa Loeb? So freakin' cute. She and Jill duet-ed on "America" and another song, Lisa on the big guitar and Jill on the little one. We plotzed. And in between, there was the quality Sobule lyrics and music and random conga lines and covers. When was the last time you heard "All the Young Dudes" played on an upright bass? Or accompanied a song by tapping together water glasses? All at this tiny club no bigger than your average garage. I was maybe five feet away from the stage. Nights like those make the traffic and smog worth it. Nights like those, I wouldn't trade for anything. | permalink blog • archives • photos • about • contact This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. All content © 2004.