When one thinks of the bittersweet melancholia of Jason Lytle’s lyrics and melodies, it’s funny to think that he has actually played a celebratory part in points of my life. Whether fronting Grandaddy at the Wiltern as I rang in the New Year or performing solo at the Hotel Café while another birthday passed me by, Lytle’s haunting, lo-fi landscapes have always resonated soundly within me.
Earplugs were not required at the Bootleg Bar on Tuesday evening, as Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle took the stage with Sea of Bees as the supporting act. It was all about wonderfully delicate moments, as notes clung tenderly to the night air.
Jason Lytle’s set opened up with a dark, instrumental number that sounded almost out of Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. A small technical issue in the beginning that could have completely soured the evening, as it would have back in Grandaddy’s heyday, was quickly overcome. “Why am I not home watching International House Hunters?” Lytle shyly teased during the evening. Despite the only real occasion being the live performance of Lytle’s latest solo album, Dept. of Disappearance, I witnessed much more smiles than I have in the past from this otherwise reluctant live performer.
Along with solo material, Grandaddy favorites “El Caminos in the West,” “I’m on Standby,” and Crystal Lake” were also played.
Photos and words by Leslie Kalohi.

[View with PicLens]

[View with PicLens]