We Are The West at 701 Santa Monica Blvd., 2-4-23 Concert Review

We Are The West playing "Summer"

We Are The West returned to Santa Monica last night for the duo’s first parking garage show of 2023. In fact, it was the first show in the series since they played that special one hundredth concert in early November, and the crowd was clearly eager for a bit of that magic people have come to count on these guys to provide. And the duo certainly delivered. Last night’s show was one of the best I’ve seen.

The night got off to a great start with the opening trio of Jeff Parker on guitar, Paul Bryan on bass, and Jay Bellerose on drums. (You likely know both Paul Bryan and Jay Bellerose from their work with Aimee Mann.) They took the stage at 8:39 p.m., and soon created a cool atmosphere from which a delicious groove emerged. I love music that transports me, that in some way takes me out of my regular reality, whether it’s mentally or emotionally. I expect that of We Are The West, of course, and was thrilled that this trio quickly accomplished it as well. Their set was one great jam. I was particularly captivated by Jay Bellerose. First thing I noticed was that he had a maraca strapped to his left ankle. And throughout the set, he was constantly making adjustments to his kit, and changing his approach to the drums and cymbals. They finished at 9:25 p.m., and rightfully received a lot of applause from the appreciative audience. And that’s something else about these We Are The West concerts. They seem to attract a really good audience, an audience made up of attentive folks, people who love and appreciate music and musicianship, people who recognize when something is special.

At 9:53 p.m., We Are The West made their way to the stage, the duo of Brett Hool on guitar and John Kibler on standup bass, along with Mathias Kunzli on drums, and two minutes later kicked off the set with “Summer,” which is the first track from the group’s 2021 release Only One Us. The song featured a truly pretty instrumental introduction, which also worked to quiet the audience and draw them in. And everything suddenly felt all right. This group’s music makes the world seem like a beautiful place. They followed “Summer” with “For Giving,” which also follows “Summer” on the album. John began this one on bass, using a bow. Partway through the song, Marie Abe joined the group on accordion. This song included some beautiful harmonies, so moving that by the end I found I had tears in my eyes.

Then for “The Golden Shore,” the title track from the duo’s 2018 record, the other musicians joined the group. Sylvain Carton was on clarinet, Paul Cox was on keyboard, and Dina Maccabee played violin. And that remained the configuration for most of the rest of the set. The group established a wonderfully jazzy atmosphere before Brett began delivering the song’s lyrics. “We like the days it seems everyone’s our friend.” Well, that is how it feels at one of their concerts. Last night, this song grew and swelled beautifully. Sylvain then switched to saxophone for “Good Luck (And All That Stuff),” a song from the first We Are The West EP. This song had such a cheerful vibe, and featured some wonderful work on violin. They followed that with “The Watchers,” which also came from The Golden Shore. This haunting piece became powerful, almost gloriously overwhelming, and featured some excellent work on saxophone.

Sylvain and Paul then stepped aside for “Hold On,” a song that featured some really nice work on accordion. This song lifted my spirits even further last night. Sylvain returned on saxophone for “Don’t Worry About It,” which began with some a cappella work, and featured some terrific energy. That was followed by “Only One Us,” with Paul Cox returning on keys, and Sylvain switching to mandolin. There was a lot of joy in the playing, and this song included some nice stuff on keys. Then for “Hey God, I’m Alive!” Brett urged folks to sing along, saying the song asked “the universal question, why?” They delivered a great rendition, a highlight of the set. They then wrapped things up with a fantastic cover of “Maria Bethania,” a song written by Caetano Veloso for his sister and included on his 1971 self-titled album. For this one, Dina provided some excellent vocal work as well as some wonderful stuff on violin. This song also featured some great work on accordion. This rendition got delightfully wild before the end. What a superb way to conclude a beautiful night of music. The set ended at 10:54 p.m.

Set List

1. Summer
2. For Giving
3. The Golden Shore
4. Good Luck (And All That Stuff)
5. The Watchers
6. Hold On
7. Don’t Worry About It
8. Only One Us
9. Hey God, I’m Alive!
10. Maria Bethania

Here are a few photos from the show:

Jeff Parker, Paul Bryan, Jay Bellerose

"For Giving"

"For Giving"

"The Golden Shore"

"The Golden Shore"

"The Watchers"

"Hold On"

"Only One Us"

"Hey God, I'm Alive!"

"Maria Bethania"