The Besnard Lakes, The Happy Hollows: Concert Review and Photos

It was a busy week for us as we headed to the Troubadour once again for another fabulous show last Thursday. With Fuck Buttons and VV Brown helping us put electronica and pop under our belts, we were ready to get back to some rock – some great rock. With the recent release of their latest album, The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night, The Besnard Lakes filled the venue with old and new fans and Los Angeles locals The Happy Hollows did a fantastic job warming us up for them.

Although just a trio, The Happy Hollows bring a crazy  force of energy every time they take the stage. However, if you’re a long time BeatCrave reader you would already know that. You would also know that we love to cover this band as their post-punk vocals, incredibly intricate bass lines and  guitar riffs never disappoint us. Lead vocalist, Sarah Negadari, was in rare form this night as well

Although spouting out sweet nothings to the the audience as if we’re her pet bunnies, she had quite the opposite demeanor in between songs because when The Happy Hollows play a song, they play it as if their life were ending. Their buddies, Andrew and Nick, came out to join them on songs they love to play when they’re all back home but this night, in particular, proved that Negahdari and microphone stands just don’t really go together. When we say that in regards to the microphone stand, we ‘re talking about its ability to stand up properly when Negahdari uncontrollably jumps back and forth all over stage. Audience members didn’t have to save the stand from her rambunctious energy just once but twice – and we don’t ever complain. The lady has got some damn good showmanship.

However, when The Besnard Lakes took the stage, the venue had packed itself and the four piece came out and opened with the strong numbers they are known for. Accepting Canadian jokes here and there (along with whiskey), the band only exemplified their strengths as musicians because even if they can joke around there’s no messing around when it comes to delivering a performance. Vocals were unbelievably flawless as Jace Lasek effortlessly reached those high notes. Although many men are able to use their falsetto, rarely do we ever hear pure and confident ones such as his. His wife Olga was charming as ever on the bass (especially after she got her whiskey), the guitar was shred to an unknown level and the drums beautifully threaded the entire set together.

If you missed out, we could pity you but we’ll just pretend like you were there with us through the photos below!

Photography by Carl Pocket