Tune-Yards Live at the El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles

Tune-Yard’s latest album release is called I can feel you creep into my private life. Such a title is fairly unnerving at first thought, but, as any fan would suspect, a night with Tune-Yards proved they are anything but. On February 22, Merrill Garbus, Nate Brenner and their band brought a night of eclectic fun and honesty to the Angelenos that filled the El Rey Theatre. Garbus kicked off the evening with “Home,” off their latest album, and followed with “Look at Your Hands,” a song that feels like an acid trip through the ’80s. For “ABC 123,” Garbus whipped out her ukulele and yellow lights behind the transparent backdrop pulsed with the beat. When the song ended, she said, “Thank you for coming tonight.” 

No less did Tune-Yards kick back into the music with 2014s “Water Fountain,” a song that encapsulates Garbus’ knack for combining pop and African beats. It’s a night of enjoyment, but those really listening really hear Garbus. The new album is all about questioning her privileges as a white woman, so vibing to lyrics like “I am loved in every single tongue” or “I use my white woman’s voice to tell stories of travels with African men” presented a unique, if not cathartic experience. Regardless, Garbus provided a space for fans that identify with her songs a safe space to be both vulnerable and carefree.

Going back to 2011, Tune-Yards played “Powa” from their sophomore album Whokill. A few sweet notes play before Garbus jammed out on the harmonica. She stopped. The song really plays in and the crowd is excited. As the song continued, the bluesy-ness of it becomes more apparent. Toward the end, Garbus instructed, “now you have to sing” for the finishing “oohs.” “What about this,” she asked— only kidding of course— before hitting a note way too high for likely anyone in the crowd.

Back to back, Tune-Yards did two songs from I can feel you creep into my private life: “Now As Then” and “Colonizer.” They went heavy with “Colonizer,” bringing dubstep funk and a light show galore to the self-crucifying track. Lights flashed at a seismic level during a banging drum solo that eventually culminated with a sound of video game-like bee bops.

After “Heart Attack,” Garbus took a moment for thank yous: Los Angeles for two nights, the band, the team, the opener. “We have beanies, just saying. It’s cold,” she half-joked. “Alright, here we go,” she said, plunging into “Honesty,” a robotic, dancey, desensitizing whirlwind.

Tune-Yards finished their night with “Bizness” and “Free.” The last song built with a resounding under-clap beneath the glow of blue and purple. “I keep crying my truth,” Garbus sang. It felt like a moment of inspiration, but a struggle between “free”/ “don’t tell me I’m free!” looped. Good vibrations still rang through and Garbus signed thanks with her hands before exiting the stage.

Setlist

1. Home
2. Look at Your Hands
3. ABC 123
4. Water Fountain
5. Coast to Coast
6. Es-So
7. Powa
8. Now As Then
9. Colonizer
10. Heart Attack
11. Honesty

Encore

1. Bizness
2. Free