Swimm with Winter at the Levitt Pavilion, Los Angeles

The Levitt Pavilion continued its 50-concert series at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles with a Thursday night show featuring L.A. indie bands Swimm and Winter. The show drew in a sparse, but present crowd as the dreamy bedroom-pop sounds from Samira Winter’s project, Winter, washed over the park. “This is such a fun show… it’s great to be outside” Winter shared with the crowd.

The crowd nodded along to “Jaded” and some mouthed the chorus to “Alligator,” “you’re the reason why I never feel down.” Between the songs, they often included dreamy samples and sounds that prepared the audience for the nest song. “This next song is about my cat, Zoey,” Winter shared before going into “Zoey,” which had the crowd singing along, “I feel alive, I feel alive / Where you are.” They performed a couple new songs in Portuguese that were collaborations with local band Triptides. “Amiga” automatically had a more “worldly” sound, featuring a surf rock inspired guitar part that transported everyone to a beach in Brazil and rolled into a heavier, more psychedelic, fuzzy guitar solo part. The next new song hadn’t been released yet, but was giving everyone tropical vibes with surf rock, shimmering guitars.

Winter’s aesthetic was as dreamy as their sound, as the set lights featured warm pinks and purples and flowery garlands draped over the amps. For the last few songs, a visual of what appeared to be an altar graced the screen above the stage, panning over tarot cards, crystals and other objects. The dreamiest song of the night, “Memoria Colorida” was also sung in Portuguese, and had the crowd swaying around and headbanging during the heavier parts as they lost themselves in the dreamy, reverb-slicked haze of sound. “This has been our first show in a while and we’re going on tour tomorrow,” Winter shared of their upcoming tour with Vinyl Williams. They closed their set with two more songs off their latest album, Ethereality, the angsty “You Don’t Know Me,” and heavy “Black Sea.” They let the sound fade gradually for the last song as each band member laid flat on the ground to close the set.

The hype woman, a member of the concert series staff, took the stage to announce Swimm, “The best of ’80s synth pop, sun-kissed yacht rock and smart lyricism come together for the groovy atmospheres of SWIMM,” she read, after giving a shout out to some of their sponsors present, including Topo Chico, Guayaki Yerba Mate and more. “Are you guys ready to fucking rock?” Swimm’s frontman Chris Hess addressed the crowd, donning a sarong and crop top. They started the set with “Belly,” an indie pop-forward track that really grabbed the crowd’s attention.

The set was both catchy and soulful, each of the band members demonstrating their expert musicianship on their respective instruments, the keys player matching Hess’ vocals quite well while alternating between guitar, bass and keys. Songs like “Wasted” and “Uh Huh” were popular with the crowd, providing dreamy, yet danceable melodies and funky beats. “Man’s Man” was reminiscent of Tame Impala, featuring groove-worthy drum patterns and guitar licks and a raspy vocal in the chorus. For “1,000 Lovers” and “Love You Down,” Hess brought his “baby” D’Angelo to the stage to join him in a soulful, romantic shift to the set.

“This is really beautiful, we feel really lucky to be playing for our friends in this beautiful place,” Hess shared. Before he brought D’Angelo to the stage (on his birthday, by the way) Hess requested a “dark and sexy with a lot of smoke” set for the stage. The crowd stood captivated as Hess and D’Angelo showcased their voices — Hess’ a more raspy, soulful one and D’Angelo’s a clear and cutting one. They gazed at each other while singing beautifully in harmony.

“Let’s hear a round of applause for Winter… my favorite song is ‘Zoey,'” Hess shared before continuing their set. During “Speak Politely,” he beckoned the crowd forward and encouraged connections. During their set, they performed mostly songs from their latest album, Sentimental Porno, closing the set with “Windows,” a song Hess dedicated to his sister who was in the audience, visiting from Florida. Mister Psychedelia opened the evening for the two acts. For more on the Levitt Pavilion’s summer concert series, visit http://concerts.levittlosangeles.org.

Swimm Setlist:

1. Belly
2.  Easy Way Out
3. Wasted
4. Man’s Man
5. Uh Huh
6. 1000 Lovers
7. Love You Down
8. Speak Politely
9. Windows