Here is Your Best Bet This Weekend in LA (8/10-8/12)
If you go to Randy Newman’s website and look under events for his concert schedule you will find exactly one concert on that schedule. So rarely does he perform that this Sunday’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl is a must-see for even the slightest fans of Newman’s work.
The evening is billed as an evening of songs from all of Newman’s studio albums. From his first album in 1968 (appropriately titled Randy Newman) through his most recent recording, Dark Matter (2017), Newman has written songs that will stand the test of time. His wit and emotion combine to comment on the subjects of the day, but they never seem like relics of a different era. Rather, he so smartly crafted his songs that they remain topical today and will continue to do so for generations to come.
To get an overview of his repertoire, check out my dream setlist I posted here yesterday. There are videos or audio clips of each of the songs I’ve selected. And the ones I didn’t choose are very familiar to most people:
“Mama Told Me Not To Come”
“Short People”
“It’s Money that I Love”
And of course, “I Love L.A.”
This concert will feature Newman with his band and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra conducted by his cousin, film composer David Newman.
From my point of view, this is the concert of this summer’s schedule at the Hollywood Bowl not to be missed. That makes it Your Best Bet This Weekend in LA.
Photo of Randy Newman by Pamela Springsteen