Karla Rendon
News Editor
Albert Hammond Jr. played a sold out show at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles Wednesday, with the venue reaching maximum capacity at 600.
The line to enter began around 5 p.m. with eager fans patiently waiting outside the hip venue and many fans proudly displaying their best Strokes-related merchandise; an ode to Hammond since he also serves as rhythm guitarist for the band.
Oakland-based indie rock artist Jackson Phillips, better known as Day Wave, warmed up the crowd with his upbeat tunes and straightforward attitude.
Four songs into his performance, Phillips announced his guitar’s E-string had ripped as he was playing his first song in the performance, making the audience laugh.
After his half hour performance and joyous movement from the audience, Day Wave concluded his set and asked if the crowd was ready and excited to see Hammond perform, resulting in ecstatic applause.
Hammond played a 16 song set mixed with old songs from his two previous albums, 2006’s “Yours To Keep” and 2008’s “¿Cómo Te Llama?” as well as his newest album, released in July, “Momentary Masters.”
Hammond’s energy on stage as a solo artist shows how charismatic he is as a performer compared to his cool and relaxed demeanor when he plays with the Strokes.
With the Strokes, Hammond would be so mellow with his guitar playing that he would almost seem distant and uninterested in the performance.
His detached demeanor would seem cold at times and even bored.
With his solo material, Hammond is charming, lively and engaged with both the audience and his performance.
His energy radiates throughout the venue and is contagious, causing audience members to emulate his enthusiasm.
Hammond had very colorful facial expressions and his dancing was highly applauded as the crowd copied his intensity.
He remained true to his style as he dressed in semi-formal attire that seemed almost casual; the usual Albert Hammond Jr. look.
Hammond began his performance strong with “Rude Customer,” a lively song that had the crowd immediately whistling with approval and singing along.
He showed his humorous side throughout his performance and recommended that the crowd listen to “Momentary Masters.”
Hammond asked how the audience toward the back were doing and joked with them.
“How are you guys doing in the back? I can’t see you guys, but I’ll assume you’re happy to hide all the sadness there is,” Hammond said.
Hammond was fairly interactive with the audience by making them laugh in between songs as he was singing, throwing several guitar picks to the audience with his logo on them as well as responding directly to audience members who would yell things out to him from the crowd.
Although Hammond had a lighthearted attitude throughout the show, he got a little aggressive when one fan crowd surfed to the stage and attempted to take a photograph with Hammond on his cell phone as he was performing “Spooky Couch” resulting in Hammond throwing the fan’s phone to the crowd.
Even though this act of impatient aggression may have been harsh and completely inconsiderate, fans cheered as the phone flew across the Teragram Ballroom and the phone’s owner laughed as he was escorted off the stage.
Hammond played his 2006 tune, “In Transit,” making the audience members nostalgic to “¿Cómo Te Llama?”
“In Transit” is one of Hammond’s most memorable songs and it was welcomed warmly by fans with the crowd singing along to every word.
“In Transit” is a tune about feeling free and was appropriate for how unrestrained the audience felt.
Hammond had a strong ending with one of his new songs, “Side Boob.”
The animated tune had the audience dancing harder than any other song with more people crowd surfing.
During “Side Boob’s” guitar solo, one fan managed to crowd surf to the stage and had the side of her right breast signed by Hammond, an act that was wildly applauded with whistles, laughs and approval.
After his performance was over, fans begged for an encore and Hammond did not keep them waiting.
After only two minutes of pleas, Hammond and his band reappeared on stage to play three encore songs.
The high point of the night was when he played his second encore, “Blue Skies,” a song about two people who have drifted apart while the narrator still hurts from the drift.
The melancholy song united the audience as they all sang in harmony to the somber tune.
Hammond concluded the night with the lengthy tune “Coming to Getcha,” a new song off “Momentary Masters” which was a perfect choice to reinstate high energy into the audience after his “Blue Skies” performance.
With a grateful “thank you,” Hammond exited the stage, leaving the audience a memorable concert experience.
Karla Rendon can be reached at karla.rendon@laverne.edu.
