In their thirteenth year together as a band and in celebration of their sixth studio album, Pollen, Tennis appeared at the Hollywood Palladium for their largest show to date. The show consisted of an indie pop set that was well received by the audience and highlighted by lead singer Alaina Moore’s unique vocals and disciplined, tight melodic hooks.
All photos by Jenna Houchin
Tennis’s show at the Palladium was part of their largely sold out 2023 Pollen Tour which featured stops in cities like Sacramento and will be heading through Arizona and Texas in May. The Palladium, however, was the largest audience the band has ever played according to Moore. The band itself formed in Denver, Colorado, where Moore and Patrick Riley also met each other; this leg of the tour might be thought of as a west-coast focused segment.
The Palladium itself is not dissimilar than most Hollywood venues, occupying a large chunk of real estate while grass cracks through the parking lot. The whole environment creates a very “L.A.”, urban atmosphere. Indoors, the venue looks a lot like a roller skate rink, with pinkish purple strobe lights and a couple teal ones off to the sides. In fact, a disco ball that looked like it hadn’t been employed in a few years still hung from the back of the main standing area. Blaze Foley’s “Clay Pidgeons” broke up the otherwise typical pop playlist.
The opener, Loving, was a five piece band whose opening song featured a minute long intro. A rare keyboard frontman interestingly sat center stage while the rest of the band stood. A typical electric slide guitar droned out above everything with a long, echoing tone (which has become popular recently). An acoustic guitar added an interesting organic element that seemed to undergird many “indie folk” bands simply by featuring the instrument.
The band played a half hour set, featuring a consistent indie rock style that held a slower tempo and relied heavily on steady downbeats and effects pedals. The feature of the harmonica on a few later songs were a more memorable part of the set. The emphasis on a musical “vibe” however meant that some of the lyrics could not always be heard clearly. Overall, they were a very tight, dependable opener, that cleanly opened the show.
The same venue that has, according to an employee, hosted swing bands from before the 1940s to more private events for artists like Prince and Usher, was filled to the brim by the time Tennis started two hours after doors opened.
As they emerged, the audience got close to a literal roar. Immediately, Tennis stood out as an act on the back of the lead singer’s light, airy voice that at once floated above and cut through the typical “middle end” instrumentation. In moments where the vocals entered a lower range or dropped out, the band fit more typically into the genre. A trade off of the higher range is that it wasn’t easy to make out the lyrics at all.
The sound “mix” had quite a bit of bass as well as drums, and the electric guitar was almost drowned out, even during an early solo, at least from certain parts of the venue. Despite some muddies in the mix, the strength of simple melodies that had clear hooks and weren’t over embellished still came across.
Moore was also particularly comfortable interacting with the audience. The introduction to “Let’s Make A Mistake Tonight” featured a very warm audience interaction. A brief story was told about Moore having spent a long time not playing guitar until being coaxed back into it by her bandmates.
There are two elements of Tennis that set them apart from the typical indie band. First, the centerpiece of the band is the husband and wife duo of Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley. The occasional storytelling and reference from Moore to Riley between songs made that connection clear to the audience. Second, Moore’s aforementioned airy voice soars above an instrumentation that is otherwise similar to their contemporaries – tight and well-rehearsed but not necessarily a standout.
Pitchfork has described their most recent album as “somewhere between pleasantly forgettable, reliably vibey and genuinely inspiring.” Their live set as a whole could be fairly described with those same three terms. In particular, “vibe” and “pleasant” are good descriptors, though like cotton candy, a sweet and comfortable sensation doesn’t necessarily leave a deep and lasting impression.
That review also described Tennis’ musical evolution as starting from a more corny Beach Boys, nostalgic style to moving into a more typical indie pop sound, and that feeling came through as well during the show. As mentioned earlier, the songs themselves and the instrumental arrangements did not stand out much from contemporaries in the same genre. The only exception is that some of the melodic hooks are a bit more disciplined and refined, as well as Moore’s unique voice being able to deliver those melodies effortlessly. Otherwise, it was a very solid indie pop concert that stuck to what has worked in the genre for themselves and their fellow bands.
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