S.Lo on September 15th, 2019

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On the third date of her three-month-long world tour, Jay Som (née Melina Duterte) received reinforcements from a supportive hometown crowd last night at the Echoplex, sold out and packed nearly to the back bar.

She was also reinforced by various members of the openers. Or rather, the openers were satellite projects of various members of her band, as well as collaborator Travis Vick supporting his sister Taylor in her project, Boy Scouts, also hailing from Som’s hometown (before L.A.), Oakland. With Zachary Elasser (Affectionately) on drums, Oliver Pinnell and Dylan Allard on guitar and bass (who also accompanied in Affectionately), and Maxine Garcia (Fime) on keys and guitar, Som charmed audience members who waited in quiet anticipation through the night.

As an introduction, the singer-songwriter set the temperature of the room to casual, “Hey, I’m Jay Som. Thank you for selling this shit out. I’m nervous,” which the crowd answered with loud cheers.

She and the band then launched into the quiet groove of “If You Want It,” the lead track off her latest album, “Anak Ko.” After easing into the shoegazey dreampop of her 2016 album’s title track, “Turn Into,” Som gave her humorous signature note of appreciation, approaching the mic with quiet hesitance then shouting a hearty “… Thank You!!” Keeping exactly to the scheduled 11:00 p.m. set time, she also teased, “Are you guys having fun? You should be asleep right now. Like, you’re a kid. This song is called ‘Baybee.'” And thus they grooved on into the single from the 2017 full-length, “Everybody Works.”

The set then focused on the new album, with the strange and dark title track, “Anak Ko,” almost evoking goth vibes when Som played on a small synthesizer while Pinnell shredded on distorted guitar before the singer continued with an eerie vocal effect. The mood lifted with subsequent songs like the groove-driven “Tenderness” and R.E.M-reminiscent “Nighttime Drive.” At one point, after expressing how nice it was to be home in L.A., someone shouted “Where do you live?” to which Som replied amusingly, “Highland Park!” With pride, she also encouraged people to visit the Headcount voter registration table in back. Before the swooning chorus “no hard feelings” of the new album’s “Peace Out,” the singer also checked in with everyone, asking, “How are you feeling?” eliciting hearty whoops. She added, “I’m feeling good. I’m highly caffeinated.”

A highlight for both the band and audience was the 2017 single “The Bus Song” where the crowd triumphantly sang along, “I like the bus!!” with delighted smiles all around.

Last year’s non-album single “Pirouette” then ended the main set, and the crowd was treated to an encore of Som’s 2016 single “I Think You’re Alright” and “Lipstick Stains,” the lead track for 2017’s “Everybody Works.”

Taylor Vicks’ Boy Scouts opened with alternative chord tunings and gazey, jangly yearnings. Elasser’s Affectionately shared breathy, lullaby-like indie rock and Fime, also L.A.-based originating from the East Bay up north, rocked an introspectively shy then growling, howling set.

Setlist for Jay Som: If You Want It, Turn Into, Baybee, Anak Ko, Tenderness, Nighttime Drive, Peace Out, Superbike, Get Well, The Bus Song, Pirouette / Encore: I Think You’re Alright, Lipstick Stains

Recap and photos by S.Lo