Live Review + Photos: Arlo Parks at The Wiltern

Poetry, friendship, and plenty of good vibes with fans in the pit and fans in the stands. Recent BRITT Award Nominee Arlo Parks performed in Los Angeles at The Wiltern on Saturday, March 2 for the second night of their Soft Machine North America Tour. 

Chloe George is the tour’s opener and had a loving fan base greet her with excitement Saturday night. She ended her set with guitar in hand and an intimate moment with the crowd tearing up thanking everyone. 

After a pause to set up the lights dimmed, Arlo and the band came on stage to start the night with the song ‘Weightless.’ While mainly playing from their recent album My Soft Machine Parks sprinkled in some songs from their previous album Collapsed in Sunbeam. 

The first song played from the 2021 album was  ‘Caroline’ which Arlo described as an “oldie but a goodie” and was met with a cheer from the audience.

Along with the “My Soft Machine” album, Arlo released a book recently called “The Magic Border: Poetry and Fragments from My Soft Machine.” Arlo in between songs would take a small pause and give more context to every other song. The combination of Arlo’s soft voice and what could only be described as poetry they were reciting was a lovely addition to the concert experience. The influence of recently publishing a book was obvious to fans and purely poetic to anyone new. 

Continuing with the theme of poetry Arlo introduced the next song starting by saying “It’s important to welcome the hurt that comes with being alive, but also [like] the love and the connection of learning to trust people and having a beautiful support system which is something I always didn’t have.” This was met with a round of applause as Parks continued introducing the next song “about a love triangle with a studious gentleman” and the lights dimmed as ‘Eugene’  began.

The band was beautifully highlighted throughout the night. There were multiple solos from the band members with Dani Diodato as lead guitar and Sam Harding on bass. Arlo gave a lovely shout-out to their band calling them like family after “playing together for 7-5 years.” Their chemistry was noticeably strong as they built off each other’s energy throughout the night. During the song ‘Devotion’ Arlo picked up a guitar and was jamming with her band members on stage. 

The lighting throughout the show gave a warm energy and had projections constantly playing in the background matching the theme of each song and the grand finale did not disappoint. While Arlo acknowledged they have more of a soft sound, they had a couple of songs that had people dancing. The closing song ‘Softly’ noticeably stood out, the crowd on their feet. As the song picked up pace Arlo gave thanks and bowed out, as her lead and bass guitarists leaned against each other playing out the song, ending the night with a kiss on the cheek. 

Arlo Parks Setlist

1. Weightless
2. Blades
3. Caroline
4. Jasmine (Jai Paul Cover)
5. I’m Sorry
6. Eugene
7. Dog Rose
8. Pegasus
9. Hurt
10. Too Good
11. Black Dog
12. Purple Phase
13. Hope
14. Sophie
15. Devotion

Encore

1. Softly

Chloe George

Arlo Parks

All photos by Colin King.