Khruangbin Does L.A.
Nothing like a warm summer night for chill vibes and smooth tunes.
I got turned onto Khruangbin about three years ago when I stumbled upon their album Con Todo el Mundo. I guess one of their songs popped up somewhere in my Spotify selections, and I ended up looking up the album. My first impression was that it was super groovy music; the kind that you might find in a Tarantino movie or get stoned to at an old school kickback.
I had been wanting to see them live ever since then but could never catch them when they were in L.A. So when I found out they were going to be playing at the iconic Hollywood Bowl, I jumped at the chance to buy tickets.
As the sun set and the stage hands started setting up after their opening act (Unknown Mortal Orchestra), I was intrigued by the minimalist decor. It was literally some white stairs, fog machines (like, a fucking ton of fog machines), lights, and a small backdrop of three arched windows that had colored lights glowing behind them; super simple and clean, just like the band’s sound.
The thing about Khruangbin, which consists of three members, is that they are not showmen. Laura Lee Ochoa, who plays bass and sings, Mark Speer, the guitarist and other singer, and DJ Johnson, who plays the drums, get onstage and work their magic with their instruments. There aren’t big pyrotechnics going off, Ochoa and Speers aren’t running back and forth on the stage, they don’t do any bantering between songs with each other or the crowd; the show was strictly about the artistry and musicianship.
The big screens were also like their own art installation because the cameras had a psychedelic filter applied to them which made the band members look kind of fuzzy and hazy. The woman sitting next to me lamented, “Oh, no! I wanted to see them clearly,” when she realized that there would be no focused camera angles of the band. And with the amount of fog blowing around the stage, it added an even trippier effect to the whole experience. Seriously, I don’t know how Johnson was able to breathe or play the drums because he was right next to about four of the fog machines! It truly was like going to see an art piece in motion.
As the set was coming to a close, people were up and dancing in the aisles, grooving with each other. Everyone was vibing to Khruangbin’s melodic set, with each song rolling into the next like waves of the ocean. It seemed like everyone was in the zone. It was a perfect experience from a band that took the time to create a concert that reflects their laidback style against the L.A. city night.
