Songs of the City, Disney Hall, 1/8

L.A. WeeklyMusic

We moved to Los Angeles because we found horizontal insanity to be better than vertical insanityWe moved to Los Angeles because we found horizontal insanity to be better than vertical insanity, explained Mark Mothersbaugh during his greeting at the Walt Disney Concert Hall last night, where a dozen songwriters from points across the globe gathered to share two songs apiece for the rapt crowd. Part of the remarkable Concrete Frequency series, the event, called Songs of the City, was less a song circle than a song crescent. Each performer faced the crowd while the others sat in a faux-living room behind them. One by one, the artists delivered songs on guitar, piano or some combination thereof. There was no campfire because were in a city, where comfy couches and concert halls offer warmth. Review and captons by Randall Roberts; Credit: Photo by Timothy Norris

John Doe, Van Dyke Parks, Belle and Sebastian and others at “Concrete Frquency”