On the cold night of November 29, 2012, Alex Clare, joined by his band, kicked off their North American tour at The Fonda Theater in Los Angeles, CA which was Sold Out!
At around 9:30 the red curtain rose. and stood an empty stage. Cheers echoed through the room. Clare’s 3 piece band, including a bassist, drummer and keyboardist walked on stage and started the intro of “Relax My Beloved” off of their album, The Lateness of The Hour. Clare could be seen swaying to the song, behind the stage, until it was it was his cue to go on stage. He walked slowly on the stage and took his place in front of the microphone, looking into the crowd. His voice, so smooth and clear, made the fans go crazy. Following was “Tight Rope” “Humming Bird” and “I Love You”. With each song, the crowds energy increased as did the bands. The keyboardist was constantly head banging and fist bumping while Clare did almost the opposite, standing in front of his microphone stand and simply singing.
After 12 energetic songs, Clare slowed it down with 3 acoustic songs. Before going into his cover of “Goodnight Irene“, Clare told the crowd that he learned the song when he was 11 and it was a tradition of his to perform that song every time he performs live. The crowd was silent as Clare’s pure voice soothed the crowd, until the end where he was absorbed with cheers.”I’m going to play 3 acoustic songs tonight that I didn’t write and as a writer, it’s kind of a cop out!” Following that, he played two more acoustic songs, sharing the chorus with the crowd, so they could help him out.
Following the acoustic songs, Clare left the stage to his band who had a jam session for about 2 minutes, playing an array of different genres, the keyboardist banging his synthesizers with drum sticks, the drummer rocking out and the bassist just relaxed and calm. When Clare rejoined the band, they performed one more song and after the intro of Too Close began. Every hand in the room was up, whether to fist bump or to record the song, that was the moment people anticipated the most, everyone dancing and singing with Clare.
Clare put on a performance not like many artists do. Although he didn’t move as much as his other band members, he was still the star of the show with his flawless voice, hitting every note on every song, making it sound like the radio and album version. His band performed what seemed like a new original genre, incorporating dub step with rock. This show was Sold Out for a reason and if Alex Clare comes to your city, be sure to get a ticket!
Review by: Nicole Lemberg
