the heart of rock 'n' roll is still beating

Before I start, I want to throw out huge props to Heidi for coming all the way to Los Angeles just for the hell of it, regardless of our MIA RSBF. It wouldn't have been the same without her!

Zach Galifianakis Is Real People, Largo, June 2, 2006: As this is a concert blog, I hadn't originally intended to write about this show, but Zach had musical guests, in the form of David Garza and Fiona Apple, join him. Their contribution was rather short, to tell you the truth. They started with David on guitar for a few of Fiona's standards: "Paper Moon," "You Belong to Me," and "Extraordinary Machine," and David finished up their initial set with a reworked "Electric Avenue." Later in the show, David provided musical accompaniment for a few songs, and Zach commanded Fiona back to the stage for one more. In her typical manner, she looked like she had no idea what to do until David kicked off "Rainbow Connection."

Although the musical section was probably intended as the surprise treat to the Largo faithful, Zach was by far the best part of the show. Three comics preceded him, and though they were funny in parts, he clearly outshone them all. I hate trying to describe comedy--if there's a funny way of saying things, odds are the comic has said it--so I'll just comment that he was hilarious all around, from his characters to his ad-libs to his traditional jokes and setups. Oh, if you like details, he pulled a couple of people off the street and made them part of the show, had a troubadour-style friend who sang and/or embellished his jokes, turned over a large part of the show to a woman who had come from Portland, Oregon, to interview him, and came up with the best use of Huey Lewis and the News' "Heart of Rock and Roll" that I can ever hope to witness. And based on my limited exposure, he repeated only a few jokes.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that this was my first Friday gig at Largo for someone who wasn't Jon Brion. Although Jon's absence was palpable, I was glad to see that Largo is still going on, though in a slightly different capacity.

And I can't end this without including a quote from before the show. As we were waiting by the door, we overheard a group of people going in. One of the women said, "Those were my old boobs. These are my new boobs." (I had to check with Heidi to make sure we didn't make this up.) I love LA!


See also:
» top 5 Largo memories
» that ain't working, that's the way you do it
» there was no way of knowing