ARTICLE BY OSCAR RANGEL
PHOTOS BY CHRIS ALVAREZ
NOV. 2 | SILVER LAKE—Just when you thought Monday was just like any other day, there’s buzz in the air about something big. Scenestar favorite Happy Hollows just returned to Los Angeles to start their November residency at Spaceland, and while updating the concert calendar for this addition, I noticed there was a subtle slot for a special guest. Usually it’s reserved for other local bands whom the residency band may be friends with. But the world of Twitter was hinting otherwise.
Through various Twitter accounts that we follow, there was word that an artist headlining this week would be taking that opening slot as a special surprise. Could it be fellow local band Silversun Pickups playing at the Gibson Amphitheatre? There was a guess of the Pixies, which we were thinking would be insane, but cool if it happened. It was not until we got confirmation from a reader on who it could be that we were hooked line and sinker: Julian Casablancas.
After getting in contact with friends, teasing people online with hints of who it could be, we got a lot of “neither confirm nor deny,” which usually means yes. What kind of rush would there be if we were to confirm a free Julian Casablancas show at a small venue? We decided for the safety of all those involved that we would wait closer to showtime to let people know through our Twitter that there would in fact be a special appearance by The Strokes frontman.
Showing up early to Spaceland, I actually bumped into Julian and said hello. We talked about the upcoming residency shows, and he said he was planning to play all four nights at the Downtown Palace Theatre and was pretty excited about the Spaceland warm-up show. After the brief chat, I also ran into The Happy Hollows. It has been a while since I’ve seen them, and I caught up with what has been going on with the band, who just played a good number of shows at CMJ and were back for a residency at Spaceland in support of recently released new album Spells. We walked in for Julian Casablancas’ soundcheck and were in awe of how many instruments were on stage. Lots of keyboards, two drum sets, horn players, multiple guitars, etc. Was Arcade Fire playing too? There was a whole lot of gear on stage!
After soundcheck, I took a peek outside to see if there was a line around the block, but to my surprise, the secret was yet to catch on. I tweeted if “This Was It?” for the people showing up to the Spaceland residency, but perhaps that was too subtle. It seemed safe enough to spell it out for our followers. Yes, Julian Casablancas is opening for Happy Hollows with Julian playing at 10 p.m. and Happy Hollows at 11 p.m.
Spaceland was filling up, though not as fast as I thought it would. It was not until about a few minutes before Julian’s set that the venue felt packed. I even had a few friends walk in right before he got on stage. It was tight, but not the human oven I thought it would be considering the caliber name taking the stage. The lights went down, and the show began with great energy. Julian came on strong with “River of Brake Lights,” which could easily be the title of a typical commute in Los Angeles, where Julian now calls home. The excitement was high for those in attendance to see that the rumors were true.
With the crowd not knowing a lot of the solo material, most of the singing was done by Julian, which is usually a good thing, especially since I don’t have the best singing skills. The crowd was moved most by “11th Dimension,” the current single from Phrazes for the Young, which was available that night at the door and was sold out by the end of the set. Julian made good use of all the instruments on the stage, with horns blaring and synths electrifying the room. It made me curious about what kind of production set up he will have at the Downtown Palace Theatre. Seven songs and 45 minutes later, the crowd walked away pretty excited about what they had just witnessed. No doubt fans in attendance were blowing up their Twitters about being here at the warm-up show. And there were still a lot of people who stayed for Happy Hollows, and for good reason. The band didn’t let the crowd down with their energy, and they are more polished since I last saw them play at Spaceland. I made sure to pick up a copy of the new album as a soundtrack to my drive home after the show.
Now that the dust has settled, those with tickets to see Julian Casablancas are in for quite a show. You can catch him on Fridays this November at the Downtown Palace Theatre with tickets available through Ticketmaster.
November 6th: Julian Casablancas at the Downtown Palace Theatre
November 13th: Julian Casablancas at the Downtown Palace Theatre
November 20th: Julian Casablancas at the Downtown Palace Theatre
November 27th: Julian Casablancas at the Downtown Palace Theatre
Julian Casablancas Friday Residency Pass
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