Live: Jon Brion @ Largo, 10.06.07


Jon Brion at Amoeba Music / Photo by David Greenwald

The scene: Largo, a dimly lit restaurant and bar filled with tables, booths, and a little standing-room-only. Somehow we managed to score a booth right next to the stage. We arrived at 6:15 and were lucky enough to get in; my friend and his girlfriend got there at 7:15 and were the last two to make it in. Brion didn’t go on until 10:30, but if you’re planning on going (which you should, if you live in Los Angeles and have ears), it’s worth the wait.

To my left: Jon Brion, genius musician, getting bad vibes from his guitars and playing piano for most of the night. The highlights were a cover of the theme from Star Trek and an instrumental jazz guitar version of “Nowhere Man” that was so unbelievable it made me embarrassed to be a guitarist.

To my right: John Krasinski (Jim from The Office) chatting up his BFF Ben Gibbard, who joined Brion in the middle of his set for three songs. “How about Ben Gibbard’s voice? Fucking fuck!” Brion said during his second set, and indeed, the Death Cab/Postal Service frontman’s vox were as pristine and clear as ever. The two harmonized like angels on “All I Have to Do is Dream.”

Brion also played a pitch-perfect version of this song, one of my favorites from Meaningless. Please, buddy, put out another album or three.

Jon Brion – “Hook, Line, and Sinker”: mp3

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