Kevin Bronson on November 4th, 2015

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Sylvan Esso’s debut album is now a year and a half old, and as evidenced by their show last night at the Fonda Theatre, everybody knows the words. The North Carolina duo of Amelia Randall Meath and Nicholas Sanborn must feel like old friends now to L.A. audiences; it’s at least their sixth Southern California performance since the album came out. Still, the capacity crowd welcomed them back warmly, even if it was almost 11:30 by the time they took the stage. Their percolating minimalism injected the crowd with a dose of witching-hour energy, and they were nothing if not charming, with Meath explaining in introducing the third song “Dress” that whenever she looks in the mirror and wants to think more highly of herself, she sings that song. That brought big cheers from the crowd, as did Sylvan Esso’s big single “Coffee,” which has proved it has more staying power than the actual caffeinated drink.

Meanwhile, Sanborn’s solo project Made of Oak releases an EP on Friday and he performs Thursday at the Bootleg Theater.

The show was part of the Red Bull Sound Select music series.

Photos by Brian Feinzimer

||| Previously: Live at Coachella; live at the Troubadour; live at Make Music Pasadena 2014.