Song Spotlight: Electric Guest's Take It Slowly (a night at The Airliner Bar)

Electric Guest had The Airliner Bar packed for their It's A School Night set (hosted by KCRW and Make Out Music). This was my first time at The Airliner Bar since 2022 when I covered a Jenny O set for Buzzbands (see link for the review and photos). I know that after that point in time, the bar venue went through an ownership change. When I noticed that they were once again putting on shows, I knew I wanted to head there again. I actually wanted to go in January, but something popped up that prevented me from going. Jump to April and I noticed that Electric Guest (as well as Theo Moss) were playing School Night and off I went. What did I notice when I first got to the venue (which is above the bar)? The hole-in-the-wall vibes are now replaced with a sleek modern touch that is similar to The Peppermint Club. 

Electric Guest at The Airliner Bar

For Electric Guest, it was a body next to body moment for their fan base far before their set began. Their Instagram stories mentioned a potential 9 p.m. set, but they ended up starting a little after 9:30 p.m. As time ticked past 9:30 p.m., I overheard someone make note of the time with the comment that they were more than willing to stay until 10:30 p.m. to catch Electric Guest. That was an understatement as I'm sure the individual would have stayed way past that point in time to catch the band. 

After his two bandmates set up their gear, lead singer Asa Taccone came up on stage to cheers from the crowd. He started off the set by telling a fun little story about what occurred as he was making his way into the venue. He had just parked his car and there was a dude on the corner. They made eye contact and the guy told him to come closer. The guy told him, "Smoking is back." Taccone told the audience, "I thought that was a good sign."

Electric Guest at The Airliner Bar

Taccone mentioned that they played one of their first shows at The Airliner. “It was not this nice. I wouldn’t call it a sh*thole, it was hell of real back then. I always had this sense memory whenever I thought of The Airliner about the mic that smelled f*cking terrible, but they’ve redone it and the mic smells great." I'm assuming he was talking about playing the venue circa 2011. The Airliner is not on my normal rotation of venues, but my association with the venue dates back to those years. It definitely had a Mr. T's Bowl vibe to it. A little seedy and a place where bands cut their teeth. 

The band played a strip down indie pop set. The band split their set into metaphorical thirds (that is, the setlist didn't follow that specific order). Their six song set played two songs from their debut album Mondo and two songs from their 2025 album 10K. They also played two unreleased songs, of which, they specifically mentioned that one ("Take It Slowly") would be on their deluxe album. 

Electric Guest at The Airliner Bar

One of the highlights of the set was watching Taccone's arm and hand motions. It provided added emotional weight to each song. The band included in their set the rarely played "Troubleman." It isn't played often due to the length of the song (the recorded version clocks in at 8 minutes and 48 seconds). The relaxed stripped down nature of the night had them playing a 3 minute version of the tune. 

The night ended with the crowd wanting a 7th song played. Taccone went up to mic to probably politely decline, but as he started to speak he realized that the sound guy had hit the mute button, "Mic is turned off." Someone in the crowd yelled out, "Turn the mic back on!" That did not happen, but he spent time talking and taking photos with his fans. 

Electric Guest at The Airliner Bar

The song spotlight goes to "Take It Slowly." Taccone introduced the song by saying that he knows we're all in "mysterious and difficult" times in America and that the song (for just a moment) was meant to "let go and breath it all out." The song is a tune that let's one dance in a relaxed style. You may see the world as descending into chaos, but one should still take a moment to appreciate the good in life.

The world is moving fast.
But I want you to know.
Take it slowly now.

Setlist: Play Your Guitar, Stand Back for You, Troubleman, Take It Slowly, I'll Try to Love You, This Head I Hold.