Josh Radnor with Ben Lee at The Echo in Los Angeles: Photos
Category: Los Angeles
Big Talk 7/21/15
(a) setlist
- I’ve Been Sentimental Lately
- Neon’s Not Enough Light
(b) highlights
- yoooooo, the babes killed it on live TV!!!
- the dresses, the make-up, the hair, wow wow wow
- Jimmy Kimmel is kind of hilarious and super cool talking to the audience during breaks
- just being there! I got tickets super last minute (thx RVJ)
- I’ve seen the Killers several times on Kimmel, but always outside, never actually in the studio so it was cool being in there
(c) lowlights
- they should’ve played like 8 more songs, or 50 more, either one, whatever
(d) overall thoughts
TV performances can be annoying, or super cool – this was definitely the latter. Big Talk dressed in drag, Jimmy Kimmel was low-key hilarious, this was a solid freaking way to spend my vacation. Getting to be in the studio and watch both the aired and unaired performance was awesome. Love everything about this whole band and project and music, the end.
Bottom Line: Ronnie Vannucci is better than you.
I’ve Been Sentimental Lately:
Neon’s Not Enough Light:
Big Talk 7/20/15
(a) setlist
- What Happened to Delisa?
- La Rue D’Awakening
- White Dove
- Getaways
- Hold That Line
- Animal Husband
- The Void
- Cocktail Party
- What The Night Can Do
- I’ve Been Sentimental Lately
- Living In Pictures
- Replica
- Anything That’s Rock ‘n’ Roll (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers cover)
- Another Satellite
- Neon’s Not Enough Light
(b) highlights
- the band kiiillllllled it – probably my favorite show of the second album tour
- RVJ, does that even need to be said at this point, I wonder
- the Troubadour just has an awesome set up – killer sound, great lighting, solid stage set-up
- the crowd was so much better than the night before – people were actually moving and dancing to songs that had only just come out that day
- lines like, “Oh, the mic is hot. This band is hot.” ” we’re Big Talk and we’re from Malaysia!” “Old Pinkie (the guitar) is out of tune.”
- I took probably my favorite photos at a show ever! mostly due to the Troubadour’s lighting and set-up, thx Troubs.
(c) lowlights
- really really really wish I could’ve heard “Katzenjammer” live just once
(d) overall thoughts
This show felt like the perfect set-up for the band to shine. Ronnie was totally “on” all night, the audience was receptive, and every song just felt like so much fun. It made me so happy that it finally felt like people were getting what the Big Talk schtick is.
The Troubadour is freaking cool and every show there feels special. The stage juts out a bit like a diamond and there’s a beautiful balcony that overlooks the space. The production level was higher than previous shows, which – along with other factors – really highlighted the performance aspect of the band. While San Diego felt like a jam-band session, this gig was all about performance. Whether that was with in-between song jokes or really letting the new songs breathe, this felt like a show. Ronnie Vannucci basically needs his own comedy hour at this point, and everyone else at Big Talk plays their role well. A part of me wishes Big Talk would do a full tour, even just 10 cities or so, just so they can really get into a rhythm and mix up the setlist; it’s in variety and different circumstances that Ronnie most shines, I believe.
After the show, I talked with other Big Talk and Killers’ fans, which was cool, and chatted again with Ronnie and Taylor – basically the best dudes of all time. Full stop. Period. I will fight anyone who disagrees that Big Talk isn’t awesome and definitely hurt anyone who says anything against those dudes, but oh wait, no one can say anything bad about them or has because they’re wonderful, the end.
Bottom Line: I love Big Talk, I love Ronnie, I love Taylor, I love all of them, I love Big Talk and Straight In No Kissin’, and I just can’t help it.
Big Talk 5/25/15
(a) setlist
- Hold That Line
- Animal Husband
- What Happened to Delisa?
- La Rue D’Awakening
- Cocktail Party
- I’ve Been Sentimental Lately
- What The Night Can Do
- All My Luvin’
- White Dove
- The Void
- Another Satellite
- Neon’s Not Enough Light
(b) highlights
- I don’t even know where to begin….the whole fucking day. the entire day was a highlight. all of it.
- meeting Ronnie Vannucci and Taylor Milne before the show started, and making jokes and laughing with them for like 20 minutes – a dream
- the entire show from beginning to end, the end
- after the show ended, the band stuck around to chat with everyone and gave me and my friend who waited all day big bear hugs, what a perfect day
(c) lowlights
- n o t h i n g
(d) overall thoughts
So. Instead of writing a novel no one wants to read, I guess I’ll sum up this day and show with this: do you ever just have these out-of-body experiences where everything falls together so, so well that you have to believe that it’s all a dream? Like, an actual dream that involves you eventually waking up? That was this day. From beginning to end.
I flew out to California for a friend’s wedding, so catching this show right before the festivities began was like fate. To every human who remotely knows me knows that I love The Killers to death and Ronnie Vannucci is one of my favorite people ever. I never got to see Ronnie’s side project Big Talk during their first album tour in 2011, but I’d loved the music immediately.
Magically, Ronnie and his Big Talk bro Taylor Milne came out to chat with a few of us in line. Many memorable quotes were said and good times were had by all, but I’ll keep those close to the chest. Ultimately, Big Talk performed almost entirely new songs (what a ballsy freaking move that is, right?) for their first performance in over four years and it freaking rocked. What else is there to say? Their new album hadn’t even been released yet and they presented it with style, grace, and announced it would be called Straight In No Kissin’. Ronnie used a guitar pick with a picture of his dog Archie wearing a jetpack on it. I mean, come on. What a band.
Bottom Line: The only thing better than hearing a bunch of solid as all hell tunes is knowing that the dudes playing it don’t really care what anyone thinks and just wanna have fun. Admirable and impressive, to say the least.
Kat Goes To Shows 