by Nate Diggity Dawg (Friday Morning / Song of the Day)
Now, listen here. If I was the kind of guy that felt the need to justify my musical street cred to the reader, I would mention in the very first sentence of this review that as I type this I was listening to the Beastie Boys greatest album (obvs Paul’s Boutique) on vinyl on my home turntable, whose former home was the USF School of Music*. I am secure in my musical taste, so I don’t need to say that (even though it is true).
I guess if I was VERY secure in my musical tastes, I might do what I saw several men doing: wearing a shirt that said REAL MEN LISTEN TO LAUFEY** to see the movie Laufey’s A Night at the Symphony: Hollywood Bowl. That is what I observed in the IMAX theater with my wife, teens, and one of their friends at said movie. But I don’t need that specific shirt to feel confident enough to tell you that this was an amazing movie.
I’m a 51-year-old man Florida Man, so usually… delicate, artsy songs about various stages of love and romance are not really in heavy rotation. In fact, vocals and lyrics themselves are not top of mind even when I listen to classics like Sarah Vaughan (heresy, I know). However, there is absolutely no denying that Laufey (pronounced LAY vey,) full name Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir), the 25-year-old half Icelandic, half Chinese singer has the chops. Her mother is a professional violinist, and she graduated from the prestigious Berklee School of Music. Those things don’t automatically make her amazing, but they don’t hurt either.
The thing is, Laufey’s voice has this way of making even me stop what I am doing and enter her extremely personal world. A world that usually consists of two people (sometimes just one) having a specific conversation about exactly how they are feeling at that moment.
When she walked onto the stage, all graceful in a (to me) ridiculously floppy pink bow-shaped dress thing, I thought, “I wonder if I mis-judged this”. But I didn’t. Her voice is like velvet. She has a HUGE range. It’s soulful and emotional and breathy, but not in-your-face. It sneaks up on you and makes you feel something. I felt that the first time I heard Laufey which was on the WMNF Morning Show Thursday with Katarina and, let me tell you, it is powerful on the big screen.
The movie itself is a mix of concert footage and behind-the-scenes moments of her driving around and talking, and that’s so cool. Although I am old and jaded and kind of assume everything on screen is a scripted, focus group-tested, rehearsed act, seeing Laufey talk about her music, her influences, and what the symphony means to her was fascinating. She’s young; she famous but NOT jaded. She is in love with her life and her luck and music and the fact that she can sell out the Hollywood Bowl. She is not afraid to show that she is overwhelmed with all of it. And she also is not afraid to be silly, as when her twin sister joined her on stage on violin and they teased and poked at each other.
Laufey is so unique in the musical ecosystem. She has single-handedly introduced millions of young ladies (and surely at least hundreds of young men) to Ella Fitzgerald and Chet Baker. She has a voice that has launched a thousand YouTube videos discussing whether or not she is a Jazz with a capital J singer.
I know my daughter cried at least once during Letter To My 13 Year Old Self. I didn’t cry, but one song in particular stuck with me—Valentine. It’s this delicate, heartfelt tune that had me thinking about my wife and all the years we’ve spent together.
Also, real quick about the The Hollywood Bowl. It is a place I’ve always known about primarily from watching Monty Python Live at the Hollwood Bowl on VHS as a kid. I thought it was kind of a random bandshell, and never really thought much about it. It’s famous, sure, but for a Florida guy like me, who prefers Skippers, Crowbar and Dunedin Brewery, well, it’s just not on my radar. Watching the movie, though, I must admit, that place is stunning. The open-air amphitheater under the California night sky, with tons of fancy drone-footage, the way the lights play off the crowd and the stage—it’s a spectacle.
I’m a music guy, not a movie guy. So I won’t give this any stars or thumbs or whatever. But if you like intimate music and you are interested in what kids are listening to these days, you really owe it yourself to watch Laufey’s A Night at the Symphony: Hollywood Bowl, even if you aren’t super familiar with her work. It is a very intimate look at this talented young singer making tidal waves.
* In case you get any ideas, the turntable in question was purchased in good faith at Sound Exchange. I know it was originally from USF, because it has PROPERTY OF USF SCHOOL MUSIC hand-engraved in the very front. I love that about it. <3
**My mock up image of a real shirt you can get on Laufey’s official merch store, because I am not sure if we have the legal rights to use the image.
Leave a Reply
