S.Lo on October 13th, 2019

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Who can play two melodies on the same guitar at the same time? Or on a double neck, on both necks at the same time? Or two drum sets (acoustic and electronic) with the hi hat in the middle split at the same time? El Ten Eleven can. And they made the Moroccan Lounge a loop nirvana Friday night (on 10/11). Kristian Dunn clearly shined as the guitar hero and Tim Fogarty gleamed as the hero on drums for the faithful who packed the house Friday night.

Without as much as a humble hello, the duo got straight to work jamming and layering furious riffs that were a rave made by hands, not laptops.

They kicked the night off with “Indian Winter” (from 2010’s “It’s Still Like A Secret”), the first opus of the evening with several movements that unfolded before the eyes and ears of an engaged audience from both Southern California and around the entire country that flew in to see them Thursday and Friday. A few more songs in, Dunn spoke again, mirroring back the enthusiam of the crowd singing along, wordless, to their instrumental melodies, “Uh-huhhhh!” The crowd didn’t mind the lack of meaningless banter. They and the band were in a continual conversation via the music, with not just heads bobbing but full upper bodies swaying with hands throwing down. Sometimes, though, all were a bit more still, in awe of the sonics shaking everyone from core to the floor. When El Ten Eleven go hard, they go heavy and, thankfully, the subs of the club handled it well.

After much cheering following “Everybody’s Clouds,” opener Rob Crow returned to the stage to rip through the vocals and offer guitar reinforcements for a couple songs off their “Unusable Love” EP from 2017 with actual lyrics. After Crow departed backstage again, Dunn said, “Rob’s amazing,” then quipped, “Now back to our hits.” 

At a middle point in the night, Dunn took a moment to give their heartfelt thanks and said they’d start playing their debut album (celebrating its 15-year anniversary this year). Explaining that the show was advertised as having two sets because his back was messed up, he said he felt okay and asked the crowd if it was okay to roll on through. All cheered to 11. As Dunn and Fogarty started “My Only Swerving” the adrenaline in the room hit the roof and audience members threw their arms up and nearly levitated in head-bobbing bliss in the wild rush of excitement. The melodic charm of that first record, with Dunn’s whimsical sounds and turns against Fogarty’s rock and trip hop beats put them in good stead. “The fact that people still like a record we put out in 2004 is unbelievably gratifying,” said Dunn recently. “Tim and I were still figuring out what we were doing when we made that album. I think that might be part of why it’s appealing to people. It’s a very honest record and naiveté can be really fascinating. So I’m glad it was honest, and I’m glad we did it.” Friday night, their fans sang those melodies in unison with full volume and passion. “Yeah, we like those sounds, and we like when you sing along to our songs,” Dunn acknowledged with a triumphant smile on both musicians.

Before starting “Connie,” Dunn shared that it was about his mother and hoped that it helps others when they’re having a hard time with anything. He made a suggestion, “When the song crescendoes, see if [the darkness] flies away. See if it works.” For all with a shadow, it surely lightened the burden of troubled times.

Before the closing song (“Bye, Mom”) he shared more effusive gratitude from him and Fogarty, “Thank you guys for coming. We know some of you traveled to be here and some of you are from here. It kind of blows our mind that people are traveling to see us. Thank you so much.”

Rob Crow began the night in humble form, just himself, his acoustic guitar and some great songs (with lyrics and melody) as well as some honest banter about growing up in a dysfunctional family, being homeless after being sent to a mental institution by said dysfunctional family (joking, “Anyone else here from a cemetery?”), being haunted by past mistakes like taking another guy’s cab while high, and losing weight and gaining it back after having five kids. Crow’s humanity in both song and story was refreshing. The room was packed for him, as well, and enrapt in all he gave of himself. For a Star Wars fan in the room, he honored a song request for “O.B.1”  At the end, an audience member summed up the set nicely, yelling, “Rob Fucking Crow!”

Recap and photos by S.Lo