Groove Armada – Los Angeles City Hall
April 6th, 2008 bobby g“Enter and we dance. Plug it in and we begin.”
My favorite thing to do in Los Angeles is to attend live shows. Because of our location we get great music almost all year round. Now that the weather is getting warmer, outdoor concerts are starting to pop up. Los Angeles has 4 or 5 great outdoor theaters so last night was really a surprise since it was not at one of the usual venues. On Saturday night my friend and I headed downtown to check out one of our favorite artists Groove Armada at Los Angeles City Hall. The ‘Los Angeles City Hall’? The one and only.
The stage was setup on the South staircase and was sponsored by KCRW. Since this was a very unique setting for a concert my friend and I were a bit skeptical on how it would be pulled off.
After a quick dinner in Little Tokyo we headed over to City Hall (1st and Main). The show kicked off promptly at 6PM and started with a DJ set by KCRW’s very own Jason Bentley. Jason had the slot from 6-8PM and the task of warming up the crowd on an unusually brisk Spring night in LA.
While it was billed as a DJ set, Jason did more ‘Macbooking’ than spinning on the 1’s and 2’s. While this lead to a lame joke by me, Jason Bentley got the crowd moving and warmed up. One of the highlights of the set was Jason mixing ‘Nasty Girl’ by Vanity 6. My friend decided that if she was a stripper that would be her goto song. If you don’t remember ‘Nasty Girl’ listen below.
At about 8:30, after the crowd was sufficiently warmed by Jason Bentley and an ample supply of booze, Groove Armada took the stage and did not disappoint.
The tour was billed as a DJ Set for their latest album ‘Soundboy Rock’ so we were not expecting the full lineup of Groove Armada characters as when we saw them at the Hollywood Bowl over the Summer. True to our expectations they transitioned without a break in the action and put on a great show.
The acoustics were a nice surprise and the setup provided great clarity. Although we couldn’t hear each other talk during the car ride home (note to self: get earplugs), Groove Armada provided a great night downtown. The first 2/3 of their set was mostly a DJ set however they began mixing in their greatest hits for the last third of the show. When they mixed in ‘Super Stylin’ the crowd reached their feverish peak.
The crowd was filled with your KCRW subscriber types (thirty-something hipsters, yuppies, eco-friendly moms and dads) and a few of the just turned 21 crowd. Everyone meshed well together and the party was in full swing for close to 3 hours. During one of the last songs the stairs in front of the stage were opened up and everyone rushed the stage to groove as close as possible to the action. They wrapped up their set around 11PM at which point we retreated back to the Westside to rest from a long night of dancing.
In all, Los Angeles City Hall provided a unique venue and Groove Armada provided the perfect soundtrack for an evening in an urban environment. While it was a bit chilly the dancing kept us warm all night long. These kinds of nights make me wonder why I don’t do more things downtown.
