May 26, 2009 22:44

The Dears go for broke in LA

Murray Lightburn delivers intense, emotional performance

The Dears went all out at their Los Angeles show at the Echoplex Saturday night (May 23). Despite the fact that it was a holiday weekend that saw many people leave town, the Montreal band packed the club with loyal fans who sang and clapped along to several songs.

The band began their 80-minute set in a dramatic fashion, with frontman Murray Lightburn singing while obscured in darkness from the middle of the crowd before he shined his own flashlight on himself to reveal his location.

The band, which was once a quintet but is now a seven-piece whose only remaining original members are Lightburn and keyboardist Natalia Yanchak, focused primarily on their most recent album 'Missiles'. They also played a handful of older tracks to the delight of the crowd, including 'Whites Only Party' and 'Lost In The Plot'.

Lightburn said very little during his intense performance, but returned to the centre of the crowd for a second song later in the evening, during which he serenaded crowd members face to face and hugged several fans.

"Our beloved Los Angeles, thank you for being here from the bottom of our collective hearts," Lightburn said before leaving the stage.

The Dears played:

'Saviour'
'Money Babies'
'Demons'
'There Goes My Outfit'
'You And I Are A Gang Of Losers'
'Lost In The Plot'
'Berlin Heart'
'Disclaimer'
'Crisis 1&2'
'Dream Job'
'Whites Only Party'
'Bandwagoneers'
'Hate Then Love'
'Meltdown In A Major'
'Lights Off'
'We Can Have It'

--By our Los Angeles staff.
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