Forty-five shows so far this year. At this pace, 2025 is shaping up to be a record breaker (2022's post-pandemic 53 is the number to beat).
Paul Simon was the stand-out surprise of the quarter. I almost didn't buy a ticket, worried that he's past his prime and that this would be a nostalgia show. I last saw him in 1989 in Berlin for the Graceland tour! But it turns out that his latest album is quiet and beautiful (he played it in its entirety before moving to the rest of his amazing ouvre), and he knows how to use his diminished voice to great effect. It was an amazing show. And almost certainly the last time I will get to see him (but I hope not the last time I get to see his wife, Edie Brickell, who came out to duet on a couple numbers).
Kruder & Dorfmeister also blazed brightly, reprising their acclaimed K+D Sessions album with a live band. As befits a duo that has always prized sound quality on their releases, the show sounded fantastic, held down by a truly first-rate drummer.
Highlights for Portola Fest were definitely LCD Soundsystem (always a reliably great live band) and James Murphy's remarkable traveling dance floor, Despacio.
And closing out the quarter was Wet Leg, demonstrating that (a) rock is not dead and (b) they are among the best rock bands of this decade.
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- Girl Talk, Chromeo
- Paul Simon
- Regina Spektor
- Los Bitchos
- Father John Misty
- Lucy Dacus
- Dimuzio/Frith/Goldberg/Ochs/Amendeola
- Kruder & Dorfmeister (playing K+D Sessions Live!)
- Portola Fest Day One (Confidence Man, Oppidan, Yosuke Yukimatsu, The Dare, Caribou, LCD Soundsystem, Kelly Lee Owens, plus a bit of Bob Moses and Christina Aguilera)
- Portola Fest Day Two (Noga Erez, 2manydjs, The Rapture, Underworld, plus a little Moby and Arca, and closing it out in the always amazing Despacio tent)
- Kelly Moran
- Iron & Wine, Band of Horses
- Wet Leg
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