Pop Break Live: An Evening with Dawes, ‘Misadventures of Doomscroller’ at the Theatre at Ace Hotel on May 5, 2023 in Los Angeles
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Every once and a while, you can catch a truly special concert in Los Angeles featuring musicians who call the City of Angels their home. And for some reason, seeing a show of hometown heroes always feels great. The most recent example of this was the incredible set from folk rockers Dawes, who treated fans to a two-hour-plus show featuring two full sets from the band and no opener. Something about the time, place, setlist, and vibe made the show an unforgettable night for all in attendance.
Taking place at the famously gorgeous Theatre at the Ace Hotel, the intimate show – fittingly called An Evening With Dawes – felt like a special one-off for fans to gather together and steal glimpses of Dawes jamming and getting lost in every groove. In typical LA fashion, the crowd was diverse, featuring everyone from kids to seniors, and even a few celebrities. Despite being the final date of the tour for their eighth record, 2022’s Misadventures for Doomscroller, Dawes managed to play a career-spanning set that captured each era of the band’s career. The crowd roared with delight at every song played, but it was clear the hometown crowd was really loving all the ones that show love to Los Angeles, including “Time Spent in Los Angeles” and “That Western Skyline.” As lead singer and guitarist Taylor Goldsmith sang, “We met in California / She saw our city’s promise reaching through my eyes,” you couldn’t help but get lost in the dreamy groove of the song, including the hard-hitting bass and ecclesiastical organ.Â
The Ace Hotel theatre, an old movie palace first built nearly 100 years ago and funded by Hollywood legends Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford, felt more like a converted church that night, housing the dreamy and spiritual-sounding melodies of the band. Soft colorful lights danced over the stage as Taylor Goldsmith crooned every lyric and bassist Wylie Gelber stuck close to Taylor’s brother – Griffin Goldsmith – the drummer all night long. When it was time to transition out of the gentler tracks, the band dove into “Feed The Fire,” which got the crowd dancing as the guitar got pluckier. Not long after, Taylor commented that he felt so much love in the room that night, and that it’s always special to perform when you feel that love is real.
A big highlight of the first set included “Someone Will,” which hearing live sounds like a classic track you play when driving down the highway with all your windows rolled down and your best friends at your side. By the song’s final stanza, when Taylor sang, “It’s nights like this in the quieter parts of Los Angeles / when you think you see the outline of the beast, up in the hills,” it felt like the night captured in the song was that very night at the theatre. The band dropped out and only Taylor’s voice, along with nearly a thousand others, sang the song to a close. It was a perfect moment to capture just what made the show feel so special.
A few songs later, Griffin Goldsmith had a killer solo on “Comes in Waves” where all the lights went out except the one above him, and the crowd was incredibly quiet while he played, only erupting with applause after a few minutes of a tight and groovy jam. In the second set, Taylor had more moments to shine with two, back-to-back solo acoustic songs, “The Game” and “A Little Bit of Everything.” As Taylor serenaded the crowd through smoke and darkness, it felt like the whole world had stopped to watch him play. As a special treat, the band even closed with “Peace in the Valley,” a track from their debut that has only been played a handful of times over the last three or four years.
In that double-set show, Dawes’ career-spanning setlist ended up showcasing the undeniable range of the band’s sound; dipping into folky-country and Laurel Canyon-inspired acoustics, to jam band-esque, bluesy guitar and jazzy improvs. The California jam band sensibility definitely resonated with the hometown crowd and felt like a real treat to watch. Across both sets, each band member got their literal moment in the spotlight with a funky, sultry, or wicked-sounding solo, like a rock and roll jazz set. It was so easy to get lost in every song that it felt like the two-hour set completely flew by. Dawes are the type of band that are both musicians’ musicians and keenly intent on connecting with fans – and their Evening With Dawes show certainly proved that.
