Snow Patrol
Music Box at Henry Fonda Theatre
October 19th
Wiltern
October 20th
with Barbara Morden

Scotland-based Irish band Snow Patrol returned to Los Angeles recently with a pair of shows that found the band balancing its commercial success with a still-growing artistic vision.  And that’s the way it should be.

The smaller venue performance at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood came first, originally scheduled for the Wiltern but moved to the almost large, club-like venue.

Singer Gary Lightbody is now more comfortable in his performing skin, less awkward, working the stage to a greater degree and playing more to the audience than in the past.  In fact, his voice was strong and his stage presence quite personable, especially that so-Irish cheeky banter that had the loyal fans, cross-generational but mostly 30-ish, going between numbers.

There’s no flash here, and the band hasn’t succumbed at all to a bit of stardom now, hallelujah.

This is a jeans-and-t-shirt outfit, focusing on their music  and quite crafted songs — utterly unpretentious. Snow Patrol shifts well from introspection and ballads and is multi-dimensional, also able to kick into anthem variations that never come off as obvious moves.

Though the band did use video screens and images, it never detracted from the set, which drew greatly from the band’s last couple of albums, including the opening “If There’s a Rocket Tie Me to It,” the driving riff-rock of “Hand Open,” mood-casting of “Shut Your Eyes” and the group’s big Grey’s Anatomy-boosted  hit, “Chasing Cars.”

A definitive highlight was the swelling ballad “Run,” ever the crowd-pleaser and sing-along, dedicated to Irish producer/remixer/artist Garrett “Jacknife” Lee, who recently relocated to L.A. Lightbody said the band owed him their success, and this rendtion wa a fine tribute — Lightboy on guitar until the full band came in on the last chorus.

The group also showcased a new song, “Just Say Yes,” which will appear on the upcoming compilation album, Up to Now, due in November, and also featured two other previously unreleased tunes along with live recordings and non-album recordings.

The Wiltern performance the next night was similar, though not quite as intimate as the Fonda found the group. The addition of Troy Stewart on guitar for a few songs, as well as drummer Richard Colburn from Belle & Sebastian, fleshed out the sound a bit more.

One thought voiced by a number of U2 fans who also happened to like Snow Patrol was, “If they ended the tour in L.A. on Tuesday, why are we stuck with Black Eyed Peas at the Rose Bowl?” Snow Patrol is far more gifted and appealing to the genuine U2 fans than BEPs will ever be, but more on all that in Buzzine’s overview of U2 glory and fiasco-in-the-pit in another review.

Photos by Barbara Morden