Hollywood Bowl – August 2, 2026
The Hollywood Bowl is changing their ticket model. I’m not crazy about it. We knew we wanted to see this show, but when my friend texted to tell me there was a presale I didn’t believe it at first. This is a Hollywood Bowl programmed show – how could they have a presale? Presales are only for lease events! But it was true. In addition to the advertising blitz they have been doing which has been bringing different kind of people to the Bowl, they are also running presales. In case you thought there might be a reason to subscribe for early access tickets, there isn’t anymore. As the saying goes, “When in Rome…” so we did use the code to get presale tickets. We were all logging in and I was the one who was able to get in and get the tickets. We didn’t get super close, but we did get the end of the row with the overhang so we didn’t have to worry about people standing in front of us.
I took the bus from Baldwin Hills and met my friends there. They got themselves from K Town to the Zoo lot and shuttled over. They have had the side gate closed most of the season, but now that they have put in the sensors that you walk through and only have to stop for bag inspection if it beeps, the main gate entrance isn’t too bad.
St. Vincent is always great. I feel like everyone should go see her at least once. This was an orchestral show and the person who did the orchestrations, Jules Buckley, also conducted the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. The orchestrations were fire! I had already given the album a listen and immediately texted Ryan to tell him how good it is. She performed songs from that album and many of her classics, which were also beautifully orchestrated for the evening and all punctuated by her trademark quirky humor.
The people around us were surprisingly well behaved. I think that might just be the crowd St. Vincent draws. I made a comment to Ryan about his friends being notably absent and he replied that these people were mere acquaintances. Lol. All in all it was a very enjoyable night.