On a Thursday night in Los Angeles, an intimate crowd gathered for a free performance featuring Holly Miranda and Imaad Wasif. The decent-sized concert hall in the back of the Zebulon Cafe restaurant was transformed into a sit-down venue complete with small tables, chairs and candles toward the front of the stage and near the risers.

Imaad Wasif, who’s best known as the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s touring guitarist, took the stage solo this time with just an acoustic guitar. The sound of his voice and playing filled the room completely during his opener “Out in the Black” off his 2006 self-titled album. Immediately after, he was joined by his “friend Mo” also on guitar. “Holly’s a good friend and asked me to play this show…this is my first time playing these new songs,” Wasif shared with the crowd before diving into a new song, “So Lost.” “I’m fucking nervous man, it’s like I’ve been living in a cabin” Wasif shared with the crowd. Stripped-down, intimate performance settings like these clearly made Wasif nervous as there was nothing to hide behind, but his nervousness didn’t come across to the audience while he was playing. His voice carried well and both guitar players played well off each other. Unlike Dzi, new songs like “Age of Entropy” and “So Lost” have more of a folk-inspiration behind them, and come off as less psychedelic than his previous album. “I try to fight these thoughts in my head all the time and these songs are the process of conflict that’s in my head…” he shared before going into the screeching intro for “I Can’t Feel Anything.” This song had a dark, brooding, “on-the-road-again” vibe. Wasif sang, “I can’t feel anything tonight” repeatedly as if pleading to feel something. “This is like a complete birthing process… like an exorcism. It’s like I’m losing my mind,” Wasif shared again, spacedly. During his final song, “Rival Son,” droning, fuzzy guitars were featured, and Wasif stood for the first time during the performance to grab the mic and got into the audience, singing to them “it was not me you are destroying,” before dropping the mic on the floor and picking up his guitar back up on stage.

Around 10:15, Holly Miranda’s three-piece band (that would feature numerous guest performers) took the stage. This was not the typical trio though — Miranda was joined on her guitar with a drummer and baritone sax player. They opened with the upbeat “All I Want is to Be Your Girl” before Sam Stuart joined them on bass for “Mr. Fong’s.” The pop-y chorus and disco drum beat had some of the crowd grooving along to the beat. “You guys all right?” Miranda asked just about everyone before continuing. For “Golden Spiral,” three backup singers joined the band, but Miranda’s powerful vocals pretty much washed over all of them. The rhythmic singing and bari sax solo had the crowd nodding along to the straightforward rhythm. Miranda took a moment to introduce the band members, sharing that their drummer for the night, Josh Herbst, had just learned all 11 of their songs yesterday. The catchy “When Your Lonely Heart Breaks” really allowed Miranda’s voice to shine and the simple yet stunning melody had the audience watching in awe.

By the time Holly Miranda took the stage, the room was lightly packed with standing audience members in addition to those who were seated. “Happy Women’s day! …We get one day!” Miranda joked before continuing her set with “Exquisite,” a song she wrote with TV On The Radio’s Kit Malone. It certainly was an uncommon wind instrument variety when the flugal horn was added to the stage for “Sing Like My Life,” which took things down a notch. “I took you for granted… I was so fucked up then,” she sang softly, gradually increasing to a hair-raising belt. “It’s a trip to be back at Zebulon,” Miranda shared, reminiscing on her old stomping grounds. The set closed with the dreamy “Waves,” and the crowd lingered a bit longer, their ears still ringing from Holly Miranda’s powerful vocals.

Imaad Wasif Setlist:

1. Out In The Black

2. So Lost

3. Age of Entropy

4. I Can’t Feel Anything

5. Traces

6. Fader

7. Stars Are Falling

8. Rival Son

Holly Miranda Setlist:

1. All I Want is to Be Your Girl

2. Mr. Fong’s

3. Golden Spiral

4. When Your Lonely Heart Breaks

5. Exquisite

6. Sing Like My Life

7. To Be Loved

8. Wherever You Are

9. Let Her Go

10. Thursday

11. Waves

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat