HOLLYWOOD – On Friday night at the Avalon, Elbow played the last show of their U.S. tour to a packed house that likely felt lead singer Guy Garvey had designed the seamless set list for their ears only. It was as if the words just came to him in the moment and were meant solely for those in the audience to absorb.

Forgive me for sounding a bit sappy, but this show was one of the most engaging performances I've witnessed in a very long time.


[Click on the image to view a gallery's worth of shots from Elbow's show.]

We waited patiently while Elbow took their places onstage amid the crooning backup vocals that open their new album, April's The Seldom Seen Kid. Elbow were equally patient to begin "Starlings," fiddling with instruments and addressing the crowd until finally the time had come. Out of nowhere, Garvey and guitarist Mark Potter raised their trumpets to produce the one long, startling note that launches the album opener. And so began the night.

Continuing the pace of Seldom, Elbow followed with the album's second track, "The Bones of You," a heavy, chilling tune that must have traveled through the nerves of everyone listening. After only two songs, it became clear that this band has redefined the word "cool" – dressed liked they had come straight from shooting a Gap ad, the Elbow lads graced the stage with wise confidence. They didn't rely on gimmicks and stage lighting to entertain, but rather solid, reflective music and witty intermissions that explained their contemplative (sometimes cryptic) lyrics. And thanks to earlier instruction from Garvey, the audience was even able to bring the band back onstage for a lengthy encore.


[Click on the image to view a gallery's worth of shots from Elbow's show.]

After the nostalgic "Station Approach" from 2005's Leaders of the Free World, Garvey kindly asked the audience to pass forward a CD someone in the back had been waving in his direction all night. And as if that wasn't moving enough, he then asked everyone to look into the video camera and sing happy birthday to drummer Richard Jupp's son, who was having a birthday that night far from his father. You couldn't help but feel like the members of Elbow had become your best friends over the course of a couple of hours.

It was clear, after a glistening performance of "Grace Under Pressure," that Elbow wanted to stay with the audience as much as the audience wanted to hear more from them. So, of course, they made room for one more tune. Closer "Scattered Black and Whites," from their 2001 debut, Asleep in the Back, had the entire audience mesmerized, as if the words were meant only for them and only in that moment. One audience member was so moved by the connection Garvey was translating to the audience that he jumped onstage calmly just to give him a hug and sway to the music a bit before being shooed off by security.

To say that Elbow ended their U.S. tour on a nostalgic note would be an understatement, and this performance will not soon be forgotten by any of those lucky enough to have witnessed it.