Live Review: The Essex Green / Kelley Stoltz
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Artist:
The best thing about Spaceland in Silver Lake, California is that it really is in a land all its own. It is not possible for an up-and-coming indie band to play Los Angeles without gracing its iconic stage. That said, The Essex Green and Kelley Stoltz were a smart musical pairing for the venue. The two acts played well-crafted music that delivered both a pop and jazz fix.
On record, indie veterans The Essex Green have the same dark, blues undertones as fellow Brooklyn outfit The Fiery Furnaces, or Cincinnati’s The Greenhornes. That undeniable, ‘60s garage rock twang unfortunately didn’t show through in their performance. The band’s trademark flute was a hit when Sasha Bell momentarily retired the keyboard and brought it out, which, regrettably, did not happen until the end of the show. Bassist Julia Rydholm and guitarists Christopher Ziter and Jeff Baron had a much closer dynamic with each other than they did with Bell. The Essex Green started out slowly, but as the night progressed they became more accessible and even got the audience dancing. All in all, they are a rocking band with energy and talent to spare, but in the live setting they had more of a bouncy, Belle and Sebastian sound mixed with a Sgt. Pepper flair.
San Francisco’s Kelley Stoltz was an unexpected surprise — not only is he a guy with an uncanny resemblance to James Blunt (vocally and visually), but he was also great fun live and even brought a bubble machine with him. As soon as he took the stage, the ambiance in the club did a 180 and became an energetic dance party. Kelley used the night as an opportunity to showcase new material. He switched duties between guitar and keyboard, often rocking out on the guitar with his fellow bandmates, all of whom had an undeniably weathered, jazz musician aura. With their stylish jam sessions, fedoras and bubbles, Stoltz and company delivered a much livelier set, feeding off of the energy of each other, as well as the audience.
As the night came to a close, Stoltz pulled out a bouncy rendition of the Welcome Back Kotter theme song and got the entire club singing.
-Review by Jen Tartaglione; photo by Kit Lubold
On record, indie veterans The Essex Green have the same dark, blues undertones as fellow Brooklyn outfit The Fiery Furnaces, or Cincinnati’s The Greenhornes. That undeniable, ‘60s garage rock twang unfortunately didn’t show through in their performance. The band’s trademark flute was a hit when Sasha Bell momentarily retired the keyboard and brought it out, which, regrettably, did not happen until the end of the show. Bassist Julia Rydholm and guitarists Christopher Ziter and Jeff Baron had a much closer dynamic with each other than they did with Bell. The Essex Green started out slowly, but as the night progressed they became more accessible and even got the audience dancing. All in all, they are a rocking band with energy and talent to spare, but in the live setting they had more of a bouncy, Belle and Sebastian sound mixed with a Sgt. Pepper flair.
San Francisco’s Kelley Stoltz was an unexpected surprise — not only is he a guy with an uncanny resemblance to James Blunt (vocally and visually), but he was also great fun live and even brought a bubble machine with him. As soon as he took the stage, the ambiance in the club did a 180 and became an energetic dance party. Kelley used the night as an opportunity to showcase new material. He switched duties between guitar and keyboard, often rocking out on the guitar with his fellow bandmates, all of whom had an undeniably weathered, jazz musician aura. With their stylish jam sessions, fedoras and bubbles, Stoltz and company delivered a much livelier set, feeding off of the energy of each other, as well as the audience.
As the night came to a close, Stoltz pulled out a bouncy rendition of the Welcome Back Kotter theme song and got the entire club singing.
-Review by Jen Tartaglione; photo by Kit Lubold
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