Just when we thought their last performance was beyond amazing, they shocked us and rocked us with ONE more outstanding set at, yes, the Troubadour. The place was packed and full of energy brought by all of their gracious and loyal fans. Playing almost all of their tracks from their self titled debut, the I never, EVER get tired of listening to,they also graced us with a NEW song, and I have to say, if the rest of their sophomoric album is anything close to their new tune, we definitely have something to look forward to. They have been, and will be, on tour with Aussie's own Ben Lee for a bit longer, but my Musicbleep friends, I have great news! Low Vs Diamond will be playing the famous Hollywood Palladium June 25th!! I know we've talked about these gents quite a bit, considering they are resident artists of musicbleep, but this time around I thought I would give you a little background information on these fine fellows courtesy from their official website
www.lowvsdiamond.com
Low vs Diamond is, in every sense of the word, an American band - with all of the members hailing from backgrounds as diverse as their hometown cities themselves… Seattle (vocals-Lucas Field), Chicago (drummer-Howie Diamond), San Francisco (keyboardist-Tad Moore) and Atlantic City (guitar-Anthony Polcino and bass-Jon Pancoast). This melting pot of musicians was established a few short years ago when they formed Low vs Diamond. Upon meeting in college at, Lucas, Howie and Tad found themselves with a common ground; music. Tad remembers, “When Lucas asked me to meet him in LA, I had only heard a few rough demos of his songs. I was like Count me in. I threw away the books and started playing. I never looked back. None of us have.”
Howie agrees, “Looking back would be a waste of time. I’m more interested in driving this band forward.” He does so with his volatile drumming that holds it’s own in power, as well as style.
After moving to Los Angeles, the trio eventually met lead guitarist, Anthony, and bassist, Jonny, two Jersey transplants, who brought their own richly textured styles to the table. “Anthony is much more in the know in terms of what guitars make what noises, and he brought that to the table,” Lucas observes. “And Jon’s bass playing has a driving feel that guides the songs.” With a lineup firmly in place, Low vs Diamond began to hammer out songs that have been described as lush, languorous and beautifully, guided by primary songwriter, Field. For Lucas it’s all about the Big Moment, the place in a song where the music swells in sync with the emotion, and it feels like time—in the space of a few chords—comes to a momentary stop. “Playing live, you get a chill, with everybody singing along,” he recalls. “It’s just this big climatic moment of melodramatic emotion. I can’t get away from those kinds of chord progressions and those kinds of melodies.”
That much is obvious from listening to Low vs Diamond’s self-titled debut, filled with sounds and hooks, putting listeners on notice that this Big Moment-loving band is on the way to bigness itself. Kevin Bronson from the Los Angeles Times explains it best writing that the band “stands precipitously between overwrought melancholy and chimey hopefulness, avoiding both excesses… the band’s music plays to an optimism that stops short of outright glee.”
While never concealing their nods to current bands ranging from U2, in scope, to the Strokes, in grit… Low vs Diamond are clearly possessed by those that passed before them. It’s these roots that define the essence of what separates this band from the rest. Low vs Diamond achieve something uniquely intimate with their attention paid to songwriting. Real songwriting. You hear the complex song styling of Serge Gainsbourg, Burt Bacharach, and even Broadway. Real songs with real stories. Lyrically, Lucas weaves in themes dealing with family (such as “Actions Are Actions” and “Don’t Forget Sister”,) and stories about saying farewell to love (“Heart Attack” and “Wasted”). Each track on their self titled debut album is as lucid and cinematic in scope.
As a unit, Low vs. Diamond possess that rare abstract quality that says, “If you don’t hold on now, this whole thing may disappear forever,” bassist Jon concludes. “We’re just a band. All we want is to be able to get out there and play this music that we’ve worked so hard on together. We’re very happy to have the chance.”
I was sitting in the back of a friends car on the way to lunch about a month ago thinking about Jens and I have to admit, I was a little bummed out thinking that it was probably going to be a while before he headed out our way. After eating at The Taco Spot in Eagle Rock, I picked up an LA Weekly to flip through upcoming shows and low and behold I read "Jens Lekman; The Echo, May 28th!" WHICH JUST SO HAPPENED TO BE MY BIRTHDAY, I ALMOST HYPERVENTILATED! 
After a wonderful dinner and two homemade cocktails, we headed to the Echo. A sold out venue, to no surprise, packed in as many Jens fans as they possibly could and we headed to the left of the stage and awaited his arrival to the stage. 
The lights went down, house music off and out came precious, little Jens with a giant smile on his face. Although he did not have his typical entourage of Bjork/Princess Leigha look-a-like band mates, there still were some familiar faces sharing the stage with him. He put on yet another stellar show of happy, whimsical songs about lost loves and heartbreak, but still has a way of making you smile and laugh until your cheeks hurt from happiness. He performed followers' favorites like "Sipping on the Sweet Nector", "Arms Around Me", "Postcards to Nina", and my personal favorite "Maple Leaves" where he sings about a girlfriend that when breaking up with him tells him it was all 'make believe' but he thought she said 'maple leaves'. 
This charming man, along with my friends, really made my evening. My hope is that he is making new music and will be around again soon. Until then, I will rely on my hours of Lekman melodies on my iTunes. If you have not heard this angelic, not from this earth, singer/songwriter that plays guitar, the egg shaker thing, a ukulele, and even imaginary bells in the air that only he can see, do so now and check out his website http://www.blogger.com/www.jenslekman.com. 
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