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33rd Annual Almost Acoustic Christmas
ELECTRIFIES THE KIA FORUM
December 19, 2024 Review by Jimmy Alvarez
It was 33 years in the making and it’s fair to say many of us would lose our minds without KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas. With radio wars being what they are, KROQ is back to the top of the radio broadcasting totem pole in the eyes and ears of listeners in SoCal and beyond.
This year’s show was somewhat of a throwback honoring the station’s iconic musical pedigree. The station’s bounce back to the mountain top has a lot to do with their VP of Programing, Kevin Weatherly. Solidified by a top-notch morning show, strong weekday DJs, and the music has once again propelled KROQ to putting on the show everyone wants to attend.
This year, the bands ran the gambit from cool to cooler to coolest. Openers included bby and The Linda Lindas. Staples of the station included Awolnation, Jimmy Eat World, Franz Ferdinand, Beck, Sublime, 311, and The Smashing Pumpkins.
As the sellout crowd started to wiggle its way into the Kia Forum, we caught up with a few bands. bby was ecstatic to be there performing in front of the sold-out crowd. The Linda Lindas have had a whirlwind year; they too said 2024 has been a wild ride. For Sublime, it was like a high school reunion for Eric Wilson, and Jakob Nowell is so grateful to be part of such a wonderful family that put out the songs that make so many people smile.
With 311, Nick Hexum was stoked they were asked back to play the show, and P-Nut marveled at the fans and their ages. The range is crazy and they all love the classic songs and the new tunes too.
No matter who was playing, there was a common theme – joy to be playing in front of the KROQ listeners.
As the show opened, bby took the stage. As you can imagine, being an opener you get an opener’s time slot and length of time to play. It only took a few seconds for everyone to be impressed by the energy and sound coming from the English indie rockers.
This very non-conventional band has been taking the radio airwaves by storm, and the crowd was ready to see if bby lived up to the hype.
bby
The band features vocalist Benjy Gibson, bassist Deon Graham, guitarists Jessy Jacquet-Cretides, Tommaso Medica, and drummer Tom Parkin.
The collective that is bby set the crowd into a frenzy. Opening with “Breathe,” Gibson tore through the stage like a madman with his hair on fire.
The crowd, well at least those I could see in the pit area, sang along to all the words to “That Feeling,” “Ur Bedroom,” “Leftside,” then the Forum exploded to their current mega-hit, “Kinky.” Leaving the stage with the fans wanting more, they closed with “hotline,” which, again, drew a large roar from the early birds.
As for the KROQ staff, they took turns coming out and raving up the crowd. Klein and Ally of the morning show with the staff made their appearance known, Nicole Alvarez, Megan Holiday, and Kevan Kenney also did the same, and the crowd loved every moment of it.
The stage was rotating, so there was little down time, and before you knew it, out came The Linda Lindas. These ladies came to deliver on a year that has seen them go on tour with Green Day and open for The Rolling Stones.
Photo by Kevin Winter | Getty Images for Audacy
The band is comprised of Eloise Wong on guitar and vocals, Bela Salazar on guitar and vocals, Lucia de la Garza on guitar and vocals, and Mila de la Garza on drums. I caught them a few months ago with Green Day at Petco Park, and the now capacity crowd would get a very good look at them and share in the opinion that these ladies are legit!
They opened with “No Obligation” and “Too Many Things” as those early birds became animated and couldn’t get enough of them. Other highlights included “Growing Up” and “All in My Head” before calling it a night to “Racist, Sexist Boy.”
Then in the blink of an eye, the stage was overtaken by an ominous color scheme with the silhouette that emerged behind the backscreen simply saying Awolnation. There stood before the now capacity crowd, lead singer Aaron Bruno.
Wearing a red Christmas themed shirt, Bruno led the band through their Trans-Siberian Orchestra cover of “Christmas Eve / Sarajevo.”
Then they slid immediately into a funky version of their monster hit, “Kill Your Heroes.”
Clearly the entire band was excited to be playing the show, and their excitement was apparent with their interaction with the crowd. They delivered a crisp and booming rendition of “RunPlay,” and “Panoramic View.”
As Bruno thanked everyone for coming out, the undertone of the next song got everyone excited, then the crowd cheered on as “Not Your Fault” filled the arena. As the crowd got louder and louder, the decibel level went 747-style to their uber-hit “Sail.”
Before you knew it, the stage was rotating and the bands all brought their A-game. Franz Ferdinand was hyped to be onstage and you could tell.
Lead singer Alex Kapranos delivered with a high-velocity performance, playing the songs the fans came to hear. They hit the mark with fans with “Bar Lonely,” “Night or Day,” “Hooked,” and “Take Me Out,” before closing to “This Fire.”
Jim Adkins from Jimmy Eat World got into the holiday festivities and welcomed the crowd, and the audience loved his presence.
Concertgoers throughout the Forum lost their minds to “Sweetness,” “A Praise Chorus,” then the Christmas song everyone was waiting for their cover of Wham’s “Last Christmas.”
The cheers were almost deafening when they rolled into “Bleed American,” before closing with “The Middle.”
As the world turns in LA, the stage rotated and out came Nick Hexum and 311.
What a sound these Nebraska Cornhuskers put out, opening with staples “Beautiful Disaster,” then “All Mixed Up.”
It was as if the radio gods were looking down on the Forum and knew exactly when the show would become electric and that was the moment. “Come Original” did that.
Or maybe when Hexum took off his shirt? Perhaps that had something to do with the loud screams. Then again, SA Martinez was floating on air while dropping an amped performance of his own.
Playing “Full Bloom” off the new album was very well received, then back to the hit parade with their Cure cover of “Lovesong” and “Amber.”
With a crazy-cool video program behind them, 311 was on fire as they closed their set with “Down.”
I think one of the most anticipated sets came from Sublime. Many fans have seen Sublime in their heyday, and maybe more had never seen this iteration of the band which now features former lead singer Bradley Nowell’s son, Jakob.
With the talent and hair of a rock star, Jakob took no prisoners and belted out vocals that popped – I mean jaws were dropping throughout the venue.
Opening with “Garden Grove,” the hit parade was in full effect with “Doin’ Time,” “Burritos,” “Pawn Shop,” “STP,” “Date Rape,” “Badfish,” “What I Got,” and “Wrong Way.”
A highlight of their set was when they dove into their 2024 collaboration with Stick Figure, “Feel Like That.”
In the end, fans got what they came for with Sublime – they re-lived their youth with a glimpse into future of Sublime as they closed out their set with “Santeria.”
As the stage flipped sides, out came Beck David Hansen, or as we know him… Beck!
Photo by Kevin Winter | Getty Images for Audacy
He opened by sitting down with his guitar and jamming to what sounded like an old, bluesy sounding song.
Then we heard the notes that got the Forum on its feet when Beck opened with “Loser,” the KROQ hit that launched his greatness.
Photo by Kevin Winter | Getty Images for Audacy
Immediately the crowd went off and cheered as Beck began to dance the way he does to “Devil’s Haircut,” and then segued into “New Pollution.”
Wow would be the word, but it was the next song, the crowd cheered on to “Wow,” and lost its mind when he dove into “E-Pro,” before closing with “Where It’s At.”
Honestly, he could have played for three hours with his catalogue of hits, and fans would have loved it. Instead, we got eight songs that thoroughly engulfed the crowd.
And just like that, time literally flew as everyone was having such a fantastic night, when out came Billy Corgan and The Smashing Pumpkins.
With James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlain, and Kiki Wong alongside, the Pumpkins went off with “Tonight, Tonight,” “Today,” “1979,” the cover of Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust,” and “Bullet with Butterfly Wings.”
Corgan was amped, so were Iha and Wong; they were electricity personified on stage.
In the end, the crowd was cartoon crazy when they played another cover, Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” then “Mayonaise,” and U2’s “Zoo Station.” The night couldn’t end any better than Corgan, Iha, and Wong punching us with their piercing sound as they said good night with “Cherub Rock.”
Thanks to the support from Audacy, KROQ really got this one right. Not only did we see great bands, but we also saw bands that became part of the soundtrack of our lives.
The 2024 Almost Acoustic Christmas turned out to be one of those events that lived up to all the hype. It’s unclear what’s next on the mega-event calendar for The World Famous KROQ but going into the new year… people are now asking that question.
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241224 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR
