So, Pedro the Lion has been one of my favorite bands for quite some time now. Though the band is no longer together, their lead singer, David Bazan, is still recording and touring. Bazan has been doing a series of small intimate house shows the last couple of weeks. One of them was last night at my friend’s house in Irvine, CA. I, of course, drove home for the show. I got to my friend’s place at around 7:15. I walked into a room of probably 40 other strangers watching the Oscars, one of whom I actually knew. Bazan arrived at around 7:45. It was a slightly awkward entrance because we were all so surprised to see him just stroll in. However, he was definitely welcomed with smiles. He played for about an hour and a half. His set included all of the new songs from his upcoming album, a variety of old pieces, one of which being my favorite “Options” from the Control album, and a cover of Hallelujah. In between songs he took questions from the room about himself, the new album, his history with Pedro the Lion and his other band Headphones, Obama, and various other topics. He even took a brief moment to answer a phone call from his daughter. It was precious! It was such a great experience. It’s rare that you get to see one of your favorite artists in such a small setting. The last time I saw him was two years ago at UCLA’s Royce Hall with Ben Gibbard and Johnathan Rice. If you’ve ever been to Royce Hall, you’d know that this house show is on the completely opposite side of the spectrum.

I took a couple of videos from the show. Unfortunately, they all sucked. But here’s a video from another performance of a cover of Hallelujah.

Check out Bazan’s current EP Fewer Moving Parts and definitely be on the look out for his new album. More info at www.davidbazan.com