Fanfarlo: Concert Review and Photos

London indie pop group, Fanfarlo, graced Los Angeles with their presence once more this past Saturday at the El Rey Theatre. With Brooklyn band, April Smith and The Great Picture Show opening up with a very feisty and powerful set (amazing vocals!), Fanfarlo had a nearly sold out show with fans who enjoy the smooth vocals of Simon Balthazar and the allegro but unconventional strings provided by Cathy Lucas. These fans obviously included us since they’ve been one of our BeatCrave Favs.

We weren’t the only ones excited to be in the venue that night. With a cry of  “It’s fucking LA!’ from Lucas, the night’s energy went into overdrive. Jump started, Fanfarlo went right into a lush set full of deep harmonies, elegant violin melodies, splashing keys, crashing beats, and strong bass lines.

Fanfarlo has come a long way from just being a comparison to Arcade Fire. Their live set was breathtakingly more powerful than any recording they’ve done and to see how it all happens in front was a definitely an entertaining watch.  Showing their credibility in superb musicality, Fanfarlo not only manages to produce the sound they do but they produce the sound of a band who should really be twice their size. Pulling out a xylophone, a melodica, a trumpet, and last but not least – a clarinet, we wondered what else they could play but just chose not to display.

Playing nearly all their songs (since they only have so many songs on the one album), their encore provided a Fleetwood Mac cover for a rowdy crowd who had cheered them back onto the stage. Before starting the encore, they asked if it would be strange to play a cover song at one of their own shows. When a band has shown that much promise with a limited amount of songs, it would be impossible to say no and miss out on what great interpretation a band like Fanfarlo would offer – and of course, it was fantastic.

Check some of our photos from the show below!

Photography by Andrew White