And now for my first ever post about a concert. I'm not exactly a concert junkie, but since I love music so much, and love all kinds of music at that, it's inevitable that I take the occasional trek to hear some artist or band whom I've been following. Let's see, the last concert I went to was the Squirrel Nut Zippers at the El Rey. That was in mid December and came four weeks after seeing Suzanne Vega, also at the El Rey. I couldn't imagine blogging regularly about concerts unless I was trying to be a music critic or something. I don't pretend to be a voice of authority on all things musical. Far from it. I just like to enjoy it and soak it up.
Last night, though, I attended a concert that was one of the most unique, not to speak of one of the best, concerts I've ever been to. Hence my feeling compelled to blog about it. It was a relatively intimate concert of about 500 people or so at the Malibu Performing Arts Center. The featured artist was an Australian blonde named Sia. If you've heard of her, it's either as one of the vocalists for the London group Zero 7 and/or because of her song "Breathe Me," which was 
featured on the finale of Six Feet Under. I've been a fan of Sia's since the first Zero 7 album Simple Things came out in the summer of 2001. Sia was one of three featured vocalists on that album. She only sang on two tracks ("Destiny" and "Distractions"), but they're by far and away my two favorite tracks on that album, all because of her terrific voice. This was around the time she was trying to kick-start a solo career with an album called Healing Is Difficult. The songs are okay, but I stayed much more into the Zero 7 side of her career. As did she. Sia contributed another two tracks to their second album, 2004's When It Falls ("Somersault" and "Speed Dial No. 2"), but it took her until 2006 to release her second solo effort, Colour the Small One, which featured a lot of terrific tracks, including "Breathe Me." Not missing a beat, 2006 was the same year she showed up on Zero 7's third album, The Garden. This time she sang on something like half a dozen tracks. Half the album, in other words. Then in 2007 she released a live album called Lady Croissant, from a concert she gave at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City on April 17, 2006 (except for "Pictures," the only new studio song on that disc). And finally, in January of this year, she released her third solo album, Some People Have Real Problems. If you frequent Starbucks at all, I know you've seen it sitting up there by the cash register. She released it through the Starbucks Hear Music label (her first two albums were with Astralwerks, who stupidly dropped her after Colour the Small One). Referring to her new home, she was like, "I don't think I would have ever sold as many records if I hadn't had my face in a box at every cash register at Starbucks." So you see? Astralwerks dumped her, but things happen for a reason. Now look at her career for Pete's sake.
featured on the finale of Six Feet Under. I've been a fan of Sia's since the first Zero 7 album Simple Things came out in the summer of 2001. Sia was one of three featured vocalists on that album. She only sang on two tracks ("Destiny" and "Distractions"), but they're by far and away my two favorite tracks on that album, all because of her terrific voice. This was around the time she was trying to kick-start a solo career with an album called Healing Is Difficult. The songs are okay, but I stayed much more into the Zero 7 side of her career. As did she. Sia contributed another two tracks to their second album, 2004's When It Falls ("Somersault" and "Speed Dial No. 2"), but it took her until 2006 to release her second solo effort, Colour the Small One, which featured a lot of terrific tracks, including "Breathe Me." Not missing a beat, 2006 was the same year she showed up on Zero 7's third album, The Garden. This time she sang on something like half a dozen tracks. Half the album, in other words. Then in 2007 she released a live album called Lady Croissant, from a concert she gave at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City on April 17, 2006 (except for "Pictures," the only new studio song on that disc). And finally, in January of this year, she released her third solo album, Some People Have Real Problems. If you frequent Starbucks at all, I know you've seen it sitting up there by the cash register. She released it through the Starbucks Hear Music label (her first two albums were with Astralwerks, who stupidly dropped her after Colour the Small One). Referring to her new home, she was like, "I don't think I would have ever sold as many records if I hadn't had my face in a box at every cash register at Starbucks." So you see? Astralwerks dumped her, but things happen for a reason. Now look at her career for Pete's sake.Last night's gig was arranged by a local radio station called KCRW (89.9 FM). Broadcasting from the basement of Santa Monica Community College, KCRW serves as both L.A.'s NPR affiliate as well as caterer of terrific music programs in the mornings and evenings. Being a public station means they're not beholden to commercial influence. The DJs, in other words, can play whatever
music they want. And luckily, thank God, these DJs have very good and wide-ranging tastes. Indeed, the station's buzzword is eclectic. Their weekday morning show from nine til noon is called Morning Becomes Eclectic. The guy who hosts that is the station's music director, an Englishman from Birmingham named Nic Harcourt. On some mornings during the eleven o'clock hour, Nic will have a band in the studio to play some tunes live. They usually have time for two sets, in between which Nic conducts an interview. Well now Nic's come up with an idea called Sessions, which is basically doing the whole live artist/interview thing in front of an audience. Last night was the first of what will be three Sessions throughout 2008 (the other two artists and dates are TBD). Clearly this was a genius idea on Nic's part, as the concert sold out in seven minutes.
music they want. And luckily, thank God, these DJs have very good and wide-ranging tastes. Indeed, the station's buzzword is eclectic. Their weekday morning show from nine til noon is called Morning Becomes Eclectic. The guy who hosts that is the station's music director, an Englishman from Birmingham named Nic Harcourt. On some mornings during the eleven o'clock hour, Nic will have a band in the studio to play some tunes live. They usually have time for two sets, in between which Nic conducts an interview. Well now Nic's come up with an idea called Sessions, which is basically doing the whole live artist/interview thing in front of an audience. Last night was the first of what will be three Sessions throughout 2008 (the other two artists and dates are TBD). Clearly this was a genius idea on Nic's part, as the concert sold out in seven minutes.What made it extra cool was that they held it at the Malibu Performing Arts Center (MPAC), which meant I finally had an excuse to go to Malibu after nearly a solid decade of living in Los Angeles. Yes I know how sad that might sound, but Malibu isn't exactly on my way anywhere, living as I do in the central San Fernando Valley. Getting there is kind of like going to the Getty Villa. You've gotta head over the Hill on the 405 freeway, then take the 10 freeway west until it dead-ends at the coast, at which point you head north on Pacific Coast Highway. When you pass the Villa on your right (at which point you're in Pacific Palisades), you just keep going north another 10 miles or so, straight into the center of Malibu. When you see the sign that announces Malibu City Hall on your next right, you make that right, drive up the little road to City Hall, then keep driving a little further up. MPAC's right behind it. When you walk into the two-story joint, you're already on the second level, where they've got a couple bars and a smattering of lounge furniture. Downstairs is where the auditorium is, as well as another bar.
The stage was all made up in a sort of child's room kind of way, very playful. Lots of pink and white, stuffed animals, and a nice comfy sofa center stage. If you've seen the cover of Some People Have Real Problems, and especially the cover of the four-song EP Day Too Soon, released last November to get people warmed up for Some People, then you'll have an idea of what I mean. Indeed, for the first two songs, Sia had this tween girl on the mic next to her 
singing backup vocals. The concert kicked off with the whole auditorium pitch black. The main theme from Rocky came on ("Gonna Fly Now"). Sia and gang filed onto the stage wearing these pitch black costumes outlined in colored squiggly lines, so that they looked like child-like drawings of stick figures come to life. And that's how they sang the opening song, "Buttons," before the stage lights came on and everyone stripped down to their street clothes. Sia introduced the young gal Lucia, who provided backing vocals for the second song, "Little Black Sandals," before she left the stage for the night. The band was a decent size. You had the drummer, bassist, and guitarist, as well as the cellist and keyboardist. During the interview when she was introducing her bandmates, Sia explained that the cellist wasn't actually part of her band on a permanent basis but was a local freelancer in L.A. who'd racked up experience with the likes of Tom McRae and Beth Orton. Oliver "Ollie" Kraus was his name.
singing backup vocals. The concert kicked off with the whole auditorium pitch black. The main theme from Rocky came on ("Gonna Fly Now"). Sia and gang filed onto the stage wearing these pitch black costumes outlined in colored squiggly lines, so that they looked like child-like drawings of stick figures come to life. And that's how they sang the opening song, "Buttons," before the stage lights came on and everyone stripped down to their street clothes. Sia introduced the young gal Lucia, who provided backing vocals for the second song, "Little Black Sandals," before she left the stage for the night. The band was a decent size. You had the drummer, bassist, and guitarist, as well as the cellist and keyboardist. During the interview when she was introducing her bandmates, Sia explained that the cellist wasn't actually part of her band on a permanent basis but was a local freelancer in L.A. who'd racked up experience with the likes of Tom McRae and Beth Orton. Oliver "Ollie" Kraus was his name.I'd seen Sia in concert before so I wasn't surprised at all at how playful she was between songs. At one point, having fun with the intimate nature of the event, she was like, "Is everyone okay?
Can I get you anything?" Some people toward the back of the room got up and danced during "Sunday" and made Sia forget the lyrics. But she was so cool about it. She was like, "I saw you guys get up and dance and thought 'We're friends!' and it was just so exciting! I usually forget the lyrics to one song, but never that one." And then she went ahead and actually told us what the lyrics were supposed to be. At another point she was like, "Please heckle away. It makes me feel more comfortable." All the fun and games between songs provided the perfect counterpoint to how deep, soulful, and heartfelt the songs themselves could be. No kidding, the woman can write lyrics, and she can belt 'em out with the best of 'em. There'd be moments where I was just sitting transfixed, not just by the words, but by the gorgeous music and her seemingly indestructible voice.The gist of the interview was Sia telling us about her life. She started with her childhood in Adelaide and worked her way to living in London. To describe Adelaide to those who didn't know where in Australia it was, she said if you look at Australia on a map and tried to pick it up and
take a bite out of it, Adelaide's on that part of it on the bottom where your two bottom front teeth would meet. She grew up there an only child in a very musical household. Mom's not only an art historian and oil painter, but a bass player and singer as well. Sia said Mom sounds like German singer Nina Hagen. Dad, meanwhile, is a guitarist who just released a CD. When not playing, Sia said he works as a cleaner and flower arranger. Recently he just wrapped a meat pie commercial. The first indication she had any interest in music at all was this cassette tape she had at home which had all of three songs on it: "Light My Fire" by The Doors, "Don't Get Me Wrong" by Chrissy Hinds, and "Borderline" by Madonna. She'd listen to those tunes literally over and over and over, and she wouldn't even listen to all of "Light My Fire." There was just this one instrumental section that she'd loop ad infinitum.
take a bite out of it, Adelaide's on that part of it on the bottom where your two bottom front teeth would meet. She grew up there an only child in a very musical household. Mom's not only an art historian and oil painter, but a bass player and singer as well. Sia said Mom sounds like German singer Nina Hagen. Dad, meanwhile, is a guitarist who just released a CD. When not playing, Sia said he works as a cleaner and flower arranger. Recently he just wrapped a meat pie commercial. The first indication she had any interest in music at all was this cassette tape she had at home which had all of three songs on it: "Light My Fire" by The Doors, "Don't Get Me Wrong" by Chrissy Hinds, and "Borderline" by Madonna. She'd listen to those tunes literally over and over and over, and she wouldn't even listen to all of "Light My Fire." There was just this one instrumental section that she'd loop ad infinitum.Her real first ambition, though, was to be an actor, and to that end she dabbled in some theater in high school. While still a teenager, she ran into a pal outside a cafe who was looking to put together a band. He asked Sia if she could sing. She lied and said sure. And that marked the beginning of the career she has today. Only 15 at the time, Sia became lead singer of a band in Adelaide called Crisp. She described their music as a "jazz funk acid house hip hop explosion." For the most part they made music about pretty heavy stuff: AIDS, racism, homophobia.
When asked about how she wound up in London in her twenties, she related an incident when she was three. Her godfather Vitus was lighting up a cigarette, and a fleck of the lit match landed on her eyeball. Her mom successfully sued the match company and scored three grand. A third
of that went to the lawyer. Her mom then took a grand and invested it in an insurance company for Sia to use when she was an adult. That last grand was deposited in a savings account where it could accumulate interest. All that money meant Sia could take a trip around the world after high school, which was the same time Crisp broke up after three years. One of the stops on her trip was London, where she participated in a jam. No sooner did she get off the stage than a manager came up to her and said, "You're with me." This manager, incidentally, just happened to play soccer every Tuesday night with the two guys who founded Zero 7. He introduced them to Sia, and that's how she ended up contributing to those two tracks on Simple Things. They had those two songs mostly finished but still needed someone to sing. She said their recording studio was about the size of the couch. Sia took the tracks back to her flat for a week and came up with just the thing. After she laid down those lyrics, though, nothing happened for a good long while. She forgot about it while churning out her first full-length solo, Healing Is Difficult. That dropped with a big loud thud and made Sia figure she wouldn't have a singing career after all. Then Simple Things came out a week later, and that changed everything, especially in the U.S.
of that went to the lawyer. Her mom then took a grand and invested it in an insurance company for Sia to use when she was an adult. That last grand was deposited in a savings account where it could accumulate interest. All that money meant Sia could take a trip around the world after high school, which was the same time Crisp broke up after three years. One of the stops on her trip was London, where she participated in a jam. No sooner did she get off the stage than a manager came up to her and said, "You're with me." This manager, incidentally, just happened to play soccer every Tuesday night with the two guys who founded Zero 7. He introduced them to Sia, and that's how she ended up contributing to those two tracks on Simple Things. They had those two songs mostly finished but still needed someone to sing. She said their recording studio was about the size of the couch. Sia took the tracks back to her flat for a week and came up with just the thing. After she laid down those lyrics, though, nothing happened for a good long while. She forgot about it while churning out her first full-length solo, Healing Is Difficult. That dropped with a big loud thud and made Sia figure she wouldn't have a singing career after all. Then Simple Things came out a week later, and that changed everything, especially in the U.S.Sia said her solo career has died and been resuscitated many times. Simple Things resuscitated
it the first time. Then, when she was on the verge of oblivion again, the Six Feet Under finale happened. Luckily, though, during those peaks and valleys, she always had what she called a "teacher's salary," steady income from Zero 7 royalties. "Song writing is the only gross industry in music," she said. And since she wrote all the songs she contributed to Zero 7, whose albums have sold well in the States from the get-go, and many of whose songs are used on various TV programs, she's always been able to count on steady paychecks regardless of her solo career's status. "Breathe Me," of course, was the watershed. During the Six Feet Under finale, it was looped so that what was normally a four-or-so-minute song became, like, a twelve-minute song. Sia said that turned her career into an "overnight whoa." After that episode aired, she woke up to a bunch of e-mails from friends saying stuff like "expletive expletive most amazing thing expletive." No, really. She did say "expletive" instead of the actual profanity. That's when Nic told us how well behaved she was being considering how much she curses normally.
it the first time. Then, when she was on the verge of oblivion again, the Six Feet Under finale happened. Luckily, though, during those peaks and valleys, she always had what she called a "teacher's salary," steady income from Zero 7 royalties. "Song writing is the only gross industry in music," she said. And since she wrote all the songs she contributed to Zero 7, whose albums have sold well in the States from the get-go, and many of whose songs are used on various TV programs, she's always been able to count on steady paychecks regardless of her solo career's status. "Breathe Me," of course, was the watershed. During the Six Feet Under finale, it was looped so that what was normally a four-or-so-minute song became, like, a twelve-minute song. Sia said that turned her career into an "overnight whoa." After that episode aired, she woke up to a bunch of e-mails from friends saying stuff like "expletive expletive most amazing thing expletive." No, really. She did say "expletive" instead of the actual profanity. That's when Nic told us how well behaved she was being considering how much she curses normally.When she explained her work on Some People, she said you have to talk first about Colour the Small One, and how that album came from such a dark, sad place. After that, she said she spent something like fifty grand on therapy so that she'd cheer the hell up. And that's why Some People is the exact opposite from Colour. It's an album that comes from a bright, happy, playful place. She said Some People was about "embracing the cheese."
Here's a little side note about Sia which I didn't know until last night. During the interview she pointed out her Aunt Cecilia sitting toward the front (she was in the third row, I was in the fourth). This gal Cecilia just happens to be married to Colin Hay. Or, as Sia calls him, Uncle Collie. Who's Colin Hay, you ask? Oh, no one really. Only the lead singer of Men at Work. You 
remember that song "I Come from a Land Down Under," right? From the eighties (my favorite decade!)? Yep, that guy. Men at Work also did that one song "Who Can It Be Now?" Interesting thing is, Colin Hay's actually from Scotland. He and the fam moved to Oz when he was still a teenager. Men at Work only did three albums between 1982 and '85. That first one, Business as Usual, made the biggest splash. It has the two songs I mentioned above and won the Grammy for Best New Artist. They were the first Ozzie act to nab that prize. January 1983 saw the group become the first Ozzie group ever to have both the top album and top single in the US and UK. So anyway, that's Sia's uncle. Cool, eh? She tried to get Colin there for this concert, but dude's on tour right now. He's had a solo career since the late eighties, when he relocated to New York and started living what Sia called the "high life."
remember that song "I Come from a Land Down Under," right? From the eighties (my favorite decade!)? Yep, that guy. Men at Work also did that one song "Who Can It Be Now?" Interesting thing is, Colin Hay's actually from Scotland. He and the fam moved to Oz when he was still a teenager. Men at Work only did three albums between 1982 and '85. That first one, Business as Usual, made the biggest splash. It has the two songs I mentioned above and won the Grammy for Best New Artist. They were the first Ozzie act to nab that prize. January 1983 saw the group become the first Ozzie group ever to have both the top album and top single in the US and UK. So anyway, that's Sia's uncle. Cool, eh? She tried to get Colin there for this concert, but dude's on tour right now. He's had a solo career since the late eighties, when he relocated to New York and started living what Sia called the "high life."I've now seen Sia in concert four times. The first time was when Zero 7 came to the El Rey in December 2001 to promote Simple Things. Then I saw her with Zero 7 at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in June of 2004 when they were promoting When It Falls. In November 2006 she came to the Avalon in Hollywood to promote Colour the Small One. Then you've got last night, which was by far the best of the four. Recently Sia moved to New York after living in Los Angeles for two years. Like her Uncle Collie, she's no doubt living the high life herself now.
Here's last night's order of songs. First set:
Buttons
Little Black Sandals
Lentil
Day Too Soon
Sunday
Soon We'll Be Found
Interview with Nic
Second set:
The Girl You Lost to Cocaine
Academia
You Have Been Loved
Playground
Destiny (Zero 7 song)
Breathe Me (the "fake last song of the night" as Sia put it)
Encore:
Somersault (Zero 7 song)
