Oh, Susanna!

 

As I mentioned earlier in the week, three very Kenneth events happened while Damian and I were on the coast, including a performance by Susanna Hoffs. Ironically, the last time I was in L.A. was exactly 10 years ago, when I made a special trip to see the Bangles beauty perform ... at Largo! 

That outing was nearly derailed by an epic snowstorm here in NYC -- my flight kept getting canceled and eventually I made it there for only one of the two shows I had tickets for, which both featured guest Belinda Carlisle.

This time around, we were fortunate that my friend and former roommate James was available to join us. He happened to work on (Susanna's husband) Jay Roach's "High Desert," so we chatted with him after the show and found it adorable how the famed director went out of his way to make sure James's selfie was to his liking. 

Before the concert, we ran into our mutual pal and film reviewer extraordinaire Glenn Gaylord, whose write-up is so spot-on I will just share it with you here. 

He writes:

I went to see Susanna Hoffs & Friends at Largo last night. She did a wonderful 14 song set of Bangles classics, a couple of new songs, and, to our delight, she and her small band performed the first 7 songs off of The Beatles' classic album, HELP! She sounded as good as ever, with that angelic yet raspy voice which always cuts through. If you've never been to Largo, it's a small, intimate 200+ seat venue and artists keep things SUPER casual. No photos or recording was allowed, which made it feel evern more special. 

Susanna, admittedly scattered, gave off a "you're in my living room" vibe, stopping and restarting songs, forgetting lyrics, changing tempos, all while being beyond adorable. In the biggest surprise of the evening, Conan O'Brien came out to workshop jokes from his upcoming Oscar monologue. If the jokes he told are any indication of what he's gonna do, this will be one for the books. I really hope he goes there with the Timothee Chalamet bit.

As much as I love The Bangles...and why, oh why, are they not in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame yet????...I have really worshipped her three cover songs albums she recorded with Matthew Sweet (another favorite of mine). Their voices blend together so well. Did I mention I'm a huge power pop fan?  Each album covers a specific decade in music....60s, 70s, and 80s.  

I have been hungering for their 90s collaboration, but tragedy struck Matthew in October 2024 when he suffered a debilitating stroke while on tour in Toronto. It's been a long, slow road to recovery and it's not clear he'll ever be able to play guitar or sing again. Visit his GO FUND ME page for more details and if you have felt he (and Susanna) have enriched your life with their artistry, maybe consider donating. 

In the meantime, here's the setlist from Susanna's concert last night.

  1. In Your Room

  2. None of Them Were You (The List)

  3. Bad Case of Loneliness

  4. Help!

  5. The Night Before  

  6. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

  7. I Need You  

  8. Another Girl

  9. You're Going to Lose That Girl

10. Ticket to Ride  

11. Manic Monday

12. Hero Takes a Fall

13. Hazy Shade of Winter

14. Encore: Eternal Flame

Kenneth and James on the real Melrose Place, circa 1992

We finished the night off with James by cruising Melrose Avenue before getting a bite at Canter's. xo