Staff Editor on February 24th, 2022

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It was a night of special moments Wednesday at the Troubadour, the Los Angeles venue that has been the site of so many of them over 6 1/2 decades.

Not only did L.A. trio Night Talks celebrate the release of their sophomore album “Same Time Tomorrow” — which has been on the shelf for almost two years because of the pandemic — opening act Jake Hays invited his mother onstage for his encore.

His mother is Cherie Currie of the Runaways, who Hays said had never played the Troubadour. So, joined by Night Talks singer Soraya Sebghati and backed by Hays’ band, they did a rendition of the Runaways’ hit “Cherry Bomb” that brought the house down.

Night Talks’ set proved worth the wait. “We finished [‘Same Time Tomorrow’] in March 2020 and have been sitting on it for almost two years,” guitarist Jacob Butler told Buzz Bands LA before the show. “Because our live show is our biggest asset, we didn’t feel comfortable putting out the album without being able to play shows. We’re so inspired by the love, support and positive feedback we’ve been getting for the last two singles [‘On and On’ and ‘Overcome’) we put out …

“This show is actually the biggest headlining show we’ve ever played. Can’t believe it sold out, honestly.”

Their headlining set started off with the trio – Sebghati, Butler and Josh Arteaga – getting their due from the crowd and then jumping into “Dancing With My Eyes Closed,” during which Butler commanded the stage with solid guitar solos. After the song finished, he shook himself loose as they transitioned into “Shake Me Awake.” Sebghati mentioned that the music video for that song had them waking up at 5 a.m. numerous times to do shoots at the Los Angeles River.

The band hit the bittersweet notes just perfectly in their song “Overcome,” which explores the end of a friendship. For their second encore, “Nights,” they shared with the crowd a preview of a single from their third album. Throughout the set, Sebghati used the full stage for her dynamic performance, and Arteaga played it cool on the bass. When the set closed out with the third encore, “Walls,” the singer still had unbridled energy and encouraged the audience to respond in similar fashion. They responded with arms raised high and screams to the final notes.

Hays opened up the night with pop-rock tunes and vocals that skipped gleefully across the beats. A fan in the crowd yelled out more than a few times, “You’re f*cking hot, Jake.” Eventually, Hays responded with a smirk, “Thanks, Evan.” Someone else commented about his Trader Joe’s-like shirt, but he defended his choice, “This is a gift from my dad.”

At the end, he and his band stepped back to yield to his mother and Sebghati, and “Cherry Bomb” went off.

Setlist: Dancing With My Eyes Closed, Searching, Tell Me, Shake Me Away, On and On, Stranger, Overcome, Nowhere, Too Late, Watching Waiting. Encores: I’m On Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover), Nights, Walls.

Photos and recap by Notes From Vivace