Live Review: The Japanese House, Del Water Gap and Skullcrusher at The Greek Theatre

On Thursday night, August 15, The Greek Theatre hosted a dream lineup for indie-pop listeners with The Japanese House, Del Water Gap and special guest Skullcrusher.

Opening with a set from their 2022 debut album, Quiet the Room, Skullcrusher found themselves playing to devoted fans who had arrived early to watch them play songs like “Whatever Fits Together,” “Pass Through Me” and “Lullaby in February.” As the sun set on the historic Los Angeles amphitheater, the band gave thanks to Del Water Gap and The Japanese for bringing them along on such a special tour.

Promptly at 8:00 o’clock, Del Water Gap’s S. Holden Jaffe joined the stage with his band to play “Coping on Unemployment” from his latest album I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet. Dressed in a pair of Levi’s 501 blue jeans and a black trench coat, Jaffe danced freely around the stage despite the typical August heat in Los Angeles.

Taking a moment to express gratitude to his fans, old and new, Jaffe told a story of how he had seen a friend of his perform at the Greek Theatre in 2020, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, thinking he would never have the chance to perform at this iconic venue. As a dedication to the same friend who was present in the audience to watch Del Water Gap, Jaffe performed “High Tops” from his Don’t Get Dark / 1 (646) 943 2672 EP. Jaffe also played songs from Del Water Gap’s 2021 self-titled album, like “Hurting Kind,” “Alone Together” and “Perfume.”

Treating it as a special occasion, the band also performed their new single “Purple Teeth, The Bravery” while giving thanks to The Ally Coalition, which provides support to grassroot non-profit organizations for LGBTQ+ youth. Additionally, Jaffe encouraged the audience to register to vote in light of the upcoming US general election this fall.

To close out, Del Water Gap played fan-favorite “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat,” which was met with applause, cheering and singing from audience members that knew every word.

Before long, The Japanese House, a.k.a Amber Bain, entered the stage and immediately broke out into “Touching Yourself” off of her In the End It Always Does album. Setting the mood for a night of emotional music of all kinds.

Gawking at the sheer amount of people in the audience, Bain inquired how far back the audience reached. Seeing how the crowd filled nearly the whole amphitheater, Bain exclaimed that this concert would be incredibly fun before playing “Something Has to Change” from her Chewing Cotton Wool EP.

Transitioning into some of her softer songs, Bain promised to work her way back to her upbeat songs, though it would not be a proper show if she did not play some of her iconically sad songs. Elaborating on some of the sentiments behind her song-writing, especially in her early projects, she shied away from using pronouns like “she” and “her” in her lyrics, as she questioned if she would succeed as a musician if she was openly queer. However, she has now embraced it more than ever. To honor this, Bain segwayed into her 2023 single “Boyhood,” along with other songs like “Follow My Girl” from her 2019 Good At Falling album, and finally “Saw You In A Dream,” while the stage lit up with strobe rainbow lights to show off the pride she has for herself and the muses for her songs.

For the latter half of the show, Bain moved onto songs like “Friends” and “Worms” where her bassist, Dominic Potts, broke down insane bass riffs. Additionally, Bain introduced her close friend, Katy Gavin, where the two sang a duet of Gavin’s new song “Inconsolable.” Between Bain and all of her supporting band members, the energy of pure happiness and appreciation was radiating off of them for having the opportunity to play at The Greek Theatre.

During her encore performance, Bain discussed the currents of her own love life and how it inspires her song writing now. While introducing her new single, “:)”, Bain told the story of how she wrote this wholesome love song for her fiancée and how she quickly fell in love with her over the dating app Raya. The song was written on a whim to impress her partner in the early talking stages of their relationship, and to Bain’s benefit, the song was received with equal levels of admiration.

To close out the show, Bain performed a country version of “Boyhood,” where she experimented with a twangy acoustic guitar that was accompanied by her saxophonist, Cicely Cotton, while adoring fans in the audience sang along. From then on, she performed a fusion of “Sunshine Baby” and “One for sorrow, two for Joni Jones” to end the night.

All in all, Skullcrusher, Del Water Gap and The Japanese House crafted a beautiful night of deep, emotional lyrics through iconic indie instrumentation.

Setlists

Skullcrusher

1. Key
2. Whatever Fits Together
3. Building A Swing
4. Pass Through Me
5. Changes
6. It’s Like A Secret
7. Lullaby in February
8. March

Del Water Gap

1. Coping On Unemployment
2. Better Than I Know Myself
3. Doll House
4. High Tops
5. Hurting Kind
6. Alone Together
7. Purple Teeth, The Bravery
8. To Philly
9. Chastain
10. Perfume
11. Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat

The Japanese House

1. Touching Yourself
2. Sad to Breathe
3. Something Has to Change
4. Follow My Girl
5. Boyhood
6. You Seemed So Happy
7. Baby Goes Again
8. Over There
9. Morning Pages
10. Chewing Cotton Wool
11. Saw You In A Dream
12. Friends
13. Worms
14. Dionne
15. Still
16. Inconsolable [Duet with Katy Gavin]
17. 🙂
18. Boyhood [Country Version]
19. Sunshine Baby/One for sorrow, two for Joni Jones