Hollywood Bowl – July 12, 2026
I’m not really a movie person. I haven’t seen any Wes Anderson movies. So when I saw this event I really had no interest. And then I started seeing familiar faces added to the lineup. It was pretty much Beck’s touring band and also some people who’ve opened for Beck and performed with Beck and also Devo and Jackson Browne. My interest was piqued, but I was still on the fence. And then I got a text from a friend asking if I was going, so I asked if he was singing and if so whether he could get a comp ticket. He said his sole payment was free parking. And then later he found out he could add himself to a list for possible comp tickets and was able to secure one for me. By that time he knew how Beck-heavy the show was and knew I would want to see it. He ended up finding out he got the ticket with enough time for me to snag a bus ticket online. Woot! By this point, I knew the Baldwin Hills line would be fine, so that’s what I got. The comp ticket ended up being in Section E. Sections D and E are on either side of the Terrace Boxes. I’d sat in Section D before for Matchbox 20. It’s a lot closer than I usually sit. I was honestly a little surprised to walk through the special tunnel to the box seats where they check your tickets before letting you through.
I went to the Sunday show, which was the third night of this program and I had seen many, many clips on Instagram by the time I got there. So I immediately realized that from the comp seat my friend was given to share with his friend there was NO WAY I would see him. For his part, he was on risers on the side of the stage that was completely blocked by the façade of the Bowl. I thought that was hilarious. Being a naturally friendly person, I turned around to the people behind me to share this bit of news and ended up having a long pleasant conversation with them. I think they actually paid for their tickets. The row in front of me was pretty full, but in my row it was just me and some people on the aisle closest to the center. One other woman was accidentally sitting one row down and when people came she realized and moved to my row. I was guessing she was also there with a comp ticket to see the choir so when the show started, I motioned for her to join me scooting down as close to center as we could get in our row. It still wasn’t enough, but I was right about her comp ticket. She said her boyfriend had suggested she move up to K when they came on. We’d both had the setlist texted to us, so just before their songs, we hightailed it up to K and actually had a pretty good view. They went on right before intermission. I decided to go back to my original closer seat at intermission because I was pretty sure Beck would be at center stage where I could easily see him from the side. My friend had asked if he needed to stay till the end to say hello or if he could leave at intermission. I told him he was free to go since I only had 25 minutes to get back to the bus. He texted me after he left to say Bill Murray patted him on the back and said good job. Epic!! I’d say that’s far better payment than free parking.
It was a really great show. Enough so that I left feeling like maybe I should watch some Wes Anderson movies. There were several orchestral pieces and then such an all star lineup with a range of styles that the night moved along remarkably fast. Wes Anderson seemed to do a lot of work with Alexandre Desplat, who is one of my daughter’s favorites. I very much enjoyed Beck’s covers of Needle in the Hay (after which the guy behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said, “How happy are YOU right now??”) and Alone Again Or and also Jenny Lewis’ version of Freight Train. Rajib Karmaker and Aakash Pujara were a joy to watch and Kaoru Watanabe was masterful. Jim James was also great. The girlfriend who hoofed up to K with me asked who he was and I said, “My Morning Jacket” and she went “OH!” As a bonus, we got Devo, Rufus Wainwright, Karen O, Jackson Browne, China Forbes and more. Jean Yves-Thibaudet wore his sparkly Louboutins. Someone in my section commented on their sparkliness. Jeff Goldblum was an absolute delight. He even took a few moments to explain how jazz works to an audience who otherwise might not know. “I’m going to play the melody, we call it the head. And then everyone is going to take a turn doing a solo…”) The house band was indeed Beck’s touring band, with his regular bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen acting as music director.
And now here’s the weird part: everyone in the audience was so nice and so well behaved. I have not had that experience at the Bowl for a long time. No one was talking during the show (maybe between songs which is totally fine). The guy directly behind me let out a couple of loud whistles during applause and when he saw me cringe he said, “I’m sorry, was that right in your ear?” and then he stopped. It was truly the best experience I’ve had at the Bowl in a really long time.