Adam Olenius of Shout Out Louds
Freelance Whales, Shout Out Louds
Shout Out Louds with Freelance Whales at El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, May 21st, 2010
May 27, 2010
Photography by Laura Studarus
Shout Out Louds
It is interesting to note that my Moleskin notebook’s resonance is exactly the same as Shout Out Louds’ “Hard Rain.” Of course it seems like this tour might be teaching the Shout Out Louds a few things about emotional resonance. While Friday night’s crowd reacted politely to their impeccable renditions of middling material from newest album Work, it was really favorites from Our Ill Wills and debut Howl Howl Gaff Gaff that really caused audience-wide oscillations. (Nothing says Swedish indie rock like cheap physics jokes!)
Stuck with the thankless task of opener, Freelance Whales did a solid job getting the party started. A pleasant Mumford and Sons-by-way-of-Decemberists mish-mash, the quintet made solid use of a banjo, bass, several guitars and keyboards, watering can, harmonium, glockenspiel and (one assumes), kitchen sink. It was a performance teetering on the brink of adorable (hello harmonies and handclaps!) that lead more than one audience member to scream, “You’re better than Shout Out Louds!” (Highly debatable.) and “I love you!” (Yeah, me too.)
Shout Out Louds needed no such introduction. Opening with the arguably strongest cut off Work, “1999” they blasted though the show like a band possessed. Keyboardist Bebban Stenborg—normally relegated to the shadows—inched forward as the set progressed, adding both xylophone and seated drumming to her repertoire. Sadly, her hesitantly sweet backing-vocals were all but lost in the over-crowded mix.
What came though loud and clear was leadman Adam Olenius’ preening and strutting. His fun dialed to 11, he managed to wear his tambourine around his neck during “Impossible” and juggle cowbells and drumsticks over the course of “Tonight I Have to Leave it.” Doing the “rockstar” heavy lifting, his antics made up for significantly more recumbent members, whose performances didn’t quite match the spectacular sound. As a band though, Shout Out Louds seem to be blessed with both in spades.
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Comments
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July 13th 2011
9:53am
I really wanted to go for this show, but the tickets were already sold out by the time I got around to trying to purchase them. It sounded great from your review, which is written wonderfully. You described everything in the performance in such a detailed manner, and make me regret not going.
July 19th 2011
3:06am
Oh I missed this concert. Is there plans to do another tour and if so what would be an approximate cost for tickets?
August 3rd 2011
4:45am
This is yet another great review and reflects the potential and talent that this band provides its audience. It would be great to see them live and hope to hear of ticket sales cementing their place in the music and entertainment industry.
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8:10am
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January 2nd 2014
3:06pm
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