S.Lo on January 28th, 2020

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Los Angeles has had a long-running yet intermittent love affair with Juliana Hatfield dating back to the days the Blake Babies broke out of the college radio ranks and her Juliana Hatfield Three project followed. Since then, she’d sweep through town every few years like a breath of fresh air. Her songwriting craft and musicianship are second-to-none in an industry of bar-chord rock. She can do it all with an open heart and open fingering on the fretboard. She’d dazzle us and then she would disappear for another couple years to write another new album. Being strung along over 18 albums hasn’t been completely unbearable, though.

Hatfield’s last appearance here in the City of Angels was the 2015 reunion of the trio at the Roxy, celebrating the release of their second album in 22 years, “Whatever, My Love.” Last night, she returned as a four-piece (with trio member Dean Fisher on bass, Mike Oram on second guitar and Chris Anzalone on drums). They touched down at the Echoplex in the middle of a month-long, 20-date foray across the States behind her most recent releases: 2018’s “Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John;” last year’s releases of new originals “Weird” (see below); and a second one-band covers album, “Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police.” Not surprisingly, Hatfield’s distinctive voice tied the disparate material into one cohesive night.

In an interview with the Recording Academy shared by the band itself on their website, the singer-songwriter-producer shares that “growing up, [she] was truly fanatical about The Police and had all their albums and knew all the deep cuts.” In that album’s liner notes, she explains the song choices: “I hope to continue to go deep into covering artists that were important to me in my formative years. The songs I’ve chosen seem to resonate in the present moment. ‘Rehumanize Yourself,’ ‘Landlord’ and ‘Murder By Numbers’ explore ugly kinds of nationalism, abuses of power and the mendacity of large swaths of the ruling class. And then there are the timeless, relatable psychodramas: ‘Every Breath You Take,’ ‘Can’t Stand Losing You’ and ‘Canary In A Coalmine.'”

The Monday-night crowd of devotees who grew up with Hatfield (and, for that matter, the Police) were treated to strong new arrangements that allowed for the singer to stretch and infuse the songs with her own meanings relevant to today. With her vocal and emotional range, Hatfield gave covers such as “Hole in My Life,” “Roxanne” (apparently an impromptu solo which all in the audience were more than ready to sing along to when Oram’s guitar cable needed switching out) and “Hungry for You (J’aurais toujours faim de toi)” a more torch-bearing, soulful gleam. The 22-song set bounced valiantly across her career, beginning with “Everybody Loves Me But You” from her own 1992 solo debut full-length “Hey Babe” straight into “Everything’s for Sale” off “Weird” then back again to “Bottles and Flowers” off 1995’s “Only Everything” after a “Hole in My Life” Police cover that hit it out of the park. Heavily featured in the set were songs off 2017’s “Pussycat.” The familiar riff of “My Sister” later in the set elicited full-hearted cheers with many singing along, which was the perfect setup for “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da,” which elicited a collective outright “Woooo!” before Newton-John’s “Physical.”

To close, fans were treated to the trio’s “Feelin’ Massachusetts” and “A Dame With a Rod” off “Become What You Are,” with Hatfield dedicating both to the Juliana Hatfield Three’s original drummer Todd Philips.

Potty Mouth opened the evening with energetic punk-pop, noted by Hatfield later for “how great they’ve gotten.”

Setlist: Everybody Loves Me But You, Everything’s for Sale, Hole in My Life
(The Police cover), 
Bottles and Flowers, Wonder Why, Lost Ship, Murder by Numbers (The Police cover), Roxanne (The Police cover), Dog on a Chain, I See You, Sunny Somewhere, Hungry for You (J’aurais Toujours Faim de Toi)” 
(The Police cover), A Little More Love (Olivia Newton‐John cover), Staying In, My Sister, De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (The Police cover), Physical
(Olivia Newton‐John cover), When You’re a Star, Candy Wrappers, Everything Is Forgiven, Feelin’ Massachusetts and A Dame With a Rod.

||| Watch: The video for “Can’t Stand Losing You”

||| Also: Watch the video for “Lost Ship”

||| Also: Stream the entire album “Weird”