Review: Belle Brigade live at the Music Box

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing LA based band, The Belle Brigade, along with Dawes and Blitzen Trapper at the beautifully revamped Music Box in Hollywood, as they returned home after a 6 week tour. I’m not a music writer (officially, yet) but I always feel compelled to share because really good music floods my brain with a bunch of other ideas that usually somehow become woven into the fabric of my experience as an artist and designer. So I’m doing that here and now for the first time. Feels strange…

This tidal wave opening act, The Belle Brigade, conjured musings of meaningful experiences and feelings of connectivity amid the generally shallow and disconnected exchanges saturating the city of angels. I was happy to have arrived just before curtain, because for the first time ever, a group had me completely charmed four bars into their set. From that point on, I was dancing stomping and grooving to every song whether I tried to or not. The brother sister duo and their amazingly talented band mates offered such warmth and energy, I felt my insides open up instantly to the incredibly cohesive and heartfelt sound of their rock/folk/pop/world/americana tunes.

Barbara and Ethan Gruska (big sis and little bro) have such a playful and sincere connection to each other (just watch the ending of the video and you’ll see what I mean), seeing them interact on stage makes you feel like you’ve known them since you were all just kids. Their forthright and sincere presentation of imaginative and poignant lyrics combined with immense amounts of well-honed talent makes them a standout band in a sea of bands that remind you of other bands hailing form bygone eras.

So, I won’t try to akin them to a thread of a priori sounds and artists (i.e. Paul Simon, Joan Jett, Emmylou Harris, Band of Horses), because these artists have forged a sound all their own. It’s a sound that makes me feel the way I did when I heard (insert meaningful song here) on my CD player as I embarked on my first road trip with my best friend in my first car the day after we graduated high school, but minus the cliché. The Belle Brigade exude such a genuineness and sincerity, I forget about that silly critical distance thing a real music writer tries to keep and I just gotta say this band feels good all around. So go out and listen see them at their next show or get some of their music. You’ll be glad you did.

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