the Walkmen, September 12 at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre

The Walkmen are another of Carla's bands.  I'd known about them for years and I checked them out, whether seeing parts of their sets at festivals or getting an album or two, but I just couldn't get into them.  No particular reason or anything against them; I've always thought they're pleasant enough, there's just nothing that's really grabbed me and I'd drifted elsewhere.  I've loved bands that are more abrasive and not every band has to have a rough edge, and not every band has to have a song that's grabs me early on, but there are also bands that I just pass on at the time.  But these guys are one of Carla's favorites and she had gone on about them since shortly after we met.  I was looking forward to a time when we could see them together, when I could enjoy them in her periphery, and even if I couldn't come to love them, I could see a good show and learn to appreciate them.  And getting us to see a show at the Ford Amphitheatre is an easy sell.  We saw an Irish music festival there a while before and were in awe of the venue: it's close to home, clean, well-maintained, big enough for not a huge crowd but for a good audience, and it's the rare place in L.A. that shows some kind of appreciation for nature, as the back of the stage is the edge of the forest behind the place.  There are some really good and pretty locales in the city but the Fonda is just beautiful.  They allow outside food there (another great thing about the venue) so we got some sandwiches and settled in for a great show.  And indeed it was.  The tunes were pleasant and the band blended in for a very agreeable performance.  I was more enraptured in being with Carla than the performance but the music made for a lovely setting.  It was just a joy being with her as she enjoyed the music so deeply.  That night everything just aligned and it was just a wonderful evening, one of our best that year, whether at a show or anywhere else.
Milo Greene opened but we missed him/them.

The Walkmen's set-list:
"Line by Line"
"We Can't Be Beat"
"Heaven"
"The Love You Love"
"Juveniles"
"Blue as Your Blood"
"I Lost You"
"Heartbreaker"
"Love Is Luck"
"Angela Surf City"
"Red Moon"
"On the Water"
"In the New Year"

"All Hands and the Cook"
"Louisiana"
"Dónde Está la Playa"
"We've Been Had"
"Canadian Girl"