Will Sheff

The Tallest Man on Earth

Bird of Youth

Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever -

December 20, 2008

Live Review by Adam McKibbin

History erodes.  Buildings crumble.  Bills pile up.  Cemeteries are not immune.  For while you may leave your earthly problems and terrestrial debt when you take your final bow, the land that’s holding your bones or ash won’t give you and your cohorts a free ride – at least not when you’re buried in the middle of Hollywood.  On the precipice of bankruptcy a few years ago, Hollywood Forever has instead become a hot nightspot – thanks to summer screenings of classic films on its grounds.  The resting place of Cecil B. DeMille, Johnny Ramone and Rudolph Valentino now hosts an incredible annual Dia de Los Muertos.

And now, thanks to the newly refurbished Masonic Lodge on its grounds, it’s also poised to play host to some rock shows.  While the venue had already been officially christened by the likes of Sarah Silverman, Okkervil River frontman Will Sheff did the honors on behalf of music, playing an excellent “solo” show (backed by a few of his Okkervil cohorts) that offered some fresh takes on material from last year’s The Stand Ins (ranked #5 on The Red Alert’s Best Albums of 2008), as well as material from his increasingly powerful back catalog.

After the audience waited much too long for the opening-opening-opener – for all of its ample atmospheric charm, the Masonic Lodge doesn’t rate highly in the “comfortable to kick back between sets” category – a stripped-down version of Bird of Youth took the stage.  Bird of Youth leader Beth Wawerna sounds like ex-Mendoza Liner Shannon McArdle, which is a little strange given that Timothy Bracy (McArdle’s ex-bandmate and ex-husband) played on her record and is responsible for a bio that likens her, straight-faced, to a young Westerberg or Costello.  Based on her performance on this night, even calling Wawerna a young McArdle would be a stretch.  She keeps fantastic company, though – her studio band included Charles Bissell of The Wrens, Matthew Caws of Nada Surf and Sheff himself as producer/singer/guitarist/pianist – and that alone is cause to overlook a forgettable live appearance and give her album a shot (although the songs currently featured on the Bird of Youth MySpace page aren’t particularly noteworthy, either).

Eccentric Swedish folkie Kristian Matsson was up next, DBA The Tallest Man On Earth.  He’s been touring with Bon Iver and got some love from Pitchfork, so there was a bit of buzz about him, and it was immediately clear that he was going to be a sharp change of pace.  He even made his between-song tuning an enjoyable experience.  His nimble fingerpicking made for some exhilarating heights, and he has a magnetically weird stage presence and vocal style.  Shallow Grave, his debut, is absolutely worth seeking out.  But the live experience is even better; the lo-fi reserve of the album turns into an almost aggressive listening experience. 

A fresh set of candles across the stage gave the audience another chance to reflect on their unique surroundings – the Mason chairs on the stage juxtaposed with the classic movie posters on the walls.  Sheff seemed happy to be there and honored to be the inaugural music headliner, and he played with his customary passion.  The show didn’t have the full dramatic punch of a “proper” Okkervil show – there aren’t any wasted pieces with the band – but there wasn’t a whole lot lost in translation, and recent classics like “For Real” were reborn altogether, almost like Okkervil River Unplugged.  Few working songwriters can pull off character studies like “Savannah Smiles” and “Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1979”; given the intimate setting and a chance for Sheff to add some between-song explanations, these songs both had added resonance.  Heartbreaking stuff – and beautifully written.

But it wasn’t all a mellow affair.  “Lost Coastlines” and “Unless It’s Kicks” – both crowd favorites - added some infectious pep.  Sheff is great with a set list, and even though his set felt a little short, the tickets were cheap and he closed tremendously.  Okkervil guitarist Lauren Gurgiolo played a great set and brought a practically post-rock vibe to the explosive finale of “Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe” -  which minutes earlier had created one of the show’s most memorable moments out of an accident, when Sheff knocked out his guitar plug just as he was about to tear into the crescendo.  As he made technical amends, he set the scene for the song, explaining his thought process in a quick patter, then launched back into the song with a renewed fire, making the well-mannered crowd lose their minds for a moment.

Sheff often does “A Stone” solo during Okkervil shows, so its inclusion and treatment here was not a surprise, but the song was no less effective for it.  The “bitter dismay” of the song’s climax is much more devastating when torn from Sheff without any superfluous racket.  And then came “For Real” – one of his signatures, played in a cemetery and reimagined as a seven-minute, piano-driven dirge.  It was completely riveting, and put a triumphant cap on the evening.  The ghosts of Hollywood were surely glad for such lively company.