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Live at House of Blues Anaheim

August 17, 2024 Review by Todd Markel

Amidst his current tour as opening act for Foo Fighters, Pennsylvania’s “Lo-Fi” experimental genius, singer/songwriter Alex G managed to squeeze in two back-to-back sold-out performances at Anaheim’s House of Blues.

Just moments after the clock struck 8:00 p.m., the lights dimmed, and the Los Angeles-based slacker-rock trio, julie, gradually made their way onto the darkened stage.

Before this show, I wasn’t familiar with julie, but I was pleasantly surprised by the large crowd of fans and the enthusiastic response from the audience as they finished their opening song.

Drummer Dillon Lee delivers aggressive, high-energy grooves that form the driving backbone of julie’s sound. This powerful rhythm is complemented by heavily distorted guitar riffs that seamlessly transition into clean, crystalline melodies.

Bassist and vocalist Alex Brady, along with guitarist and vocalist Kenyan Pourzand, create a delicate contrast with their softly sung, angelic harmonies, bringing to mind the ethereal vibe of Sonic Youth.

julie’s debut full-length album “my anti-aircraft friend,” yes it’s all lowercase (like the band name), drops in September and julie is already selling out their own respective dates for their upcoming headlining tour.

As the room filled to capacity, the anticipation became almost unbearable. Over the past few years, Alex G has steadily climbed to the top of my “All-Time Favorite Artists” list, and I couldn’t wait to see him live again. In my opinion, his latest full-length album, “God Save the Animals,” is one of the greatest records ever released.

As the lights dimmed to a deep blanket of red, a piano instrumental, occasionally overlaid with an indistinct female voice, began to seep through the sound system. Alex G and his three band members stepped onto the stage, attending to their instruments before launching into the opening song, “S.D.O.S.” As the piano-driven track swells to its peak, Alex’s heavily pitch-corrected vocoder vocals emerge with the striking lines, “God is my designer. Jesus is my lawyer.”

Having grown so accustomed to the perfectly balanced mix on the album, where every instrument and vocal level sits just right, experiencing this moment live was breathtaking. It was like hearing it with fresh ears, offering a new perspective on a song I’ve listened to countless times.

Surprisingly, the band dove straight into one of their most popular tracks, “Runner,” right after the opening song. The track begins with the piano and electric guitar each playing their oddly timed chords, which suddenly fall into place when Alex establishes the rhythm with his acoustic strumming on the opening verse. The vocal melody in “Runner” echoes the nostalgic feel of Soul Asylum’s “Runaway Train,” which is exactly why I have such a deep love for this track.

Next up in the set were “Southern Sky” and “Gretel” from 2019’s “House of Sugar.” While Alex’s latest album is my personal favorite in his discography, it was clear the audience had a special appreciation for his older material. Having recently immersed myself in Alex’s eight studio albums and various singles, I was particularly excited to hear him perform “Rules,” the title track from his 2012 album.

Despite the absence of moshing and crowd-surfing, the energy in the room was on par with any punk show I’ve attended. As the band tore through old classics like “Memory,” the entire crowd sang along to songs I had only recently familiarized myself with, serving as a stark reminder of just how late I hopped on the Alex G train.

The next part of the show highlighted a trio of tracks from “Beach Music,” starting with “Thorns,” followed by an instrumental jam leading into “Kicker,” and then “Walk.” I was surprised to glance at the stage clock and see that, just 25 minutes in, they had already powered through nine songs.

‘Serpent is Lord” was next, followed by the wildly chaotic and thunderous track “Brick.” This song rarely pops up on my playlists, making its jarring contrast to Alex’s typically slow, catchy, and melodic songwriting all the more striking. Continuing the trend of performing back-to-back tracks from the same album, Alex followed “Brick” with “Horse,” another intense and somewhat chaotic piece from “Rocket.”

One of the first Alex G songs I fell in love with was the hauntingly dark, minimalistic “Blessing.” As the intro synth blasted out, accompanied by flashing stage lights, I was instantly reminded of the confusion I felt when I first heard this track, since it stood out so starkly against the predominantly analog instrumentation on the rest of the album. The song is undeniably a crowd favorite, and it’s hard to resist whispering and “hoo’ing” along as Alex nonchalantly struts across the stage. The simple drum and bass line keep the tempo steady, while guitarist Samuel Acchione ping-pongs the almost KORN-like guitar riff throughout.

The songs “Immunity,” “Powerful Man,” and “Cards” propelled us through the midpoint of the set, setting the stage for the final two pre-encore tracks of the evening, “Miracles” and “Forgiveness.”

Alex jokingly made it clear there would be no encore, yet what followed was one of the longest and most gratifying encores I’ve ever experienced. When the band reappeared, Alex treated the crowd to seven more songs, including “Forever,” “Hope,” and “Ain’t it Easy,” before closing the unforgettable night with the fan favorite, “Mary.”

This is a show I won’t soon forget. If you haven’t explored Alex G’s music, I highly recommend starting with “God Save the Animals” and continuing through to the very last track. (Despite the album’s title, Alex has stated that he doesn’t identify as religious.) Then look for Alex G on the road with Foo Fighters, or one of his own headline shows soon.

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by Tim Markel Photography

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