Photos and review by ALYSON CAMUS
LOS ANGELES – Three sold-out nights at the Hollywood Bowl celebrated filmmaker Wes Anderson and his unique gift for selecting music for his deeply personal films. An all-star lineup filled the two-and-a-half-hour event with once-in-a-lifetime collaborations and performances. There is no doubt that Anderson, with his signature aesthetic, has built an intensely loyal – even obsessive – following, and for three nights, the Hollywood Bowl embraced Wes Anderson’s magical world.
BonBon, a Swedish candy company, created limited-edition candy boxes featuring packaging inspired by famous characters from Anderson’s films, while many attendees dressed up for the occasion. Despite the hot weather, you could spot numerous Margot Tenenbaums in fur coats and Steve Zissous wearing their signature red beanies.
Just outside the Bowl’s entrance, the Criterion Channel, home to much of Anderson’s work, offered a large selection of films, merchandise, and giveaways, while cardboard picnic boxes filled with treats and assembled by the online magazine Air Mail were generously handed out to everyone attending the show.
The evening, curated by Wes Anderson and Beck with the help of musical director Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck’s longtime bass player), was one to remember, featuring a lineup for the ages. But music was the true star of the night, as the mood of Anderson’s films is beautifully enhanced by evocative scores from Alexandre Desplat and Mark Mothersbaugh, as well as carefully chosen classic pop and rock songs. Saying that the songs are characters in the films has become a cliché, but in Anderson’s case, it is absolutely true.
Bill Murray, who has appeared in many of Anderson’s films, served as the evening’s master of ceremonies, assisted by Jason Schwartzman, who even tossed a Rushmore soundtrack cassette into the crowd at one point. “I think it should go out to you tonight for being here, so I’m gonna toss it to someone. Please catch it!”
Both were hilarious and brought their signature comedic style to the celebration. At one point, Murray compared actors to gypsies: “They’re gypsies. They come together from all over, they spend a few months together, intimately and devotedly pursuing one common goal, and then they disperse. They may never see each other again! It’s a funny life. You make deep friends and then give them away. The music you’re going to hear tonight is the music of gypsies!”
Later in the evening, Beck enlisted Murray to play a service bell on one of the songs, a duty the actor embraced with characteristic enthusiasm.
Throughout the evening, an all-star band featuring Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Jason Falkner, Joey Waronker, and Gus Seyffert backed an impressive lineup of performers, including Beck, Jackson Browne, Britt Daniel, Karen Elson, Jeff Goldblum, China Forbes, Jim James, Rajib Karmakar, Jenny Lewis, Mark Mothersbaugh (along with his iconic band Devo), Aakash Pujara, Rogê, Kaoru Watanabe, and Rufus Wainwright.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic and Iryna Orlova, leading the Ukrainian Mosaic Orchestra, also contributed to the evening’s magic, making it at once eclectic, eccentric, and delightfully surreal.
Wearing Steve Zissou’s iconic red beanie, Bill Murray introduced Mark Mothersbaugh and his band Devo by saying, “We’re going to have music that makes you laugh, that makes you think, and that makes you feel!”
It is difficult to single out one highlight of the evening, as every performance brought its own share of emotion, joy, and delight. Devo delivered a blistering rendition of “Gut Feeling,” while Beck performed three poignant covers: Love’s “Alone Again Or” (Bottle Rocket), Elliott Smith’s “Needle in the Hay” (The Royal Tenenbaums), and the Bobby Fuller Four’s “Let Her Dance” (Fantastic Mr. Fox).
The ever-charming Jenny Lewis sang “Freight Train” (Asteroid City), while My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James delivered two stunning covers: the Kinks’ “Strangers” (The Darjeeling Limited) and Cat Stevens’ “The Wind” (Rushmore).
Acclaimed pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet performed an Alexandre Desplat composition, while Jeff Goldblum and his jazz band energized the crowd with “Blinuet,” a piece featured in Rushmore.
But there were also a few unexpected moments, performed at Wes Anderson’s request, such as “Zorro Is Back,” a song from the French Alain Delon film Zorro, which was also featured in Bottle Rocket. The song was performed by Rogê, accompanied by Beck, Jenny Lewis, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and several others.
You could have heard a pin drop when Jackson Browne delivered two moving renditions of “The Fairest of the Seasons” and “These Days,” two songs he wrote for Nico and that Anderson later used on The Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack.
Karen Elson performed a beautiful cover of Françoise Hardy’s “Le Temps de l’Amour,” a song featured in Moonrise Kingdom, while Rufus Wainwright showcased his impressive French skills with “Rue Saint Vincent” (Rushmore), performed with China Forbes, followed by “Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?” (The Darjeeling Limited).
Kaoru Watanabe brought his taiko drumming to the stage to perform the percussive soundtrack of Isle of Dogs, while Ami Dang and Aakash Pujara played flute and sitar on music from The Darjeeling Limited soundtrack. Finally, Spoon frontman Britt Daniel brought “Making Time” (Rushmore) to life.
The evening concluded with an ensemble performance of the Faces’ “Ooh La La,” the song that closes Rushmore. It was a truly magical evening at the Hollywood Bowl, blending music and cinema with a remarkable cast of performers to honor a beloved filmmaker.
Anderson has always had a knack for making extraordinary use of ’60s and ’70s pop and rock songs, transforming them into inseparable elements of the scenes in his whimsical films. Drawing from a vast range of musical influences, Anderson’s unique vision and instantly recognizable aesthetic were fully celebrated at the Bowl during a perfect summer night.
Credit: Source link