Back around the 2018 time frame, Play Like a Girl (no longer around) and Purple Bite joined forces to put on Friday night events at Stories Books and Cafe. They called the nights Commune. It was an evening where singer-songwriters would both sing and discuss their tunes. On a recent adventure out to the Airliner Bar, I had a sense of déjà vu to those nights at Commune. This time, instead of Commune, it was School Night (a collaboration between Make Out Music and KCRW). Closing out the night was Ella Hunt who was doing a west coast release party celebration of her debut album Blindspot (a few days earlier, she had one in New York).
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| Ella Hunt at The Airliner Bar |
What did I notice before she even started her set? She was in deep conversation with the sound guy as the two of them were fiddling with knobs on the Nord Stage 3 keyboard that she was using for the night. She told the audience that she wasn't used to playing on a keyboard. As can be seen in an Instagram post from her New York album party, her go to musical instrument is the non-electronic piano. She explained the situation by saying that she was, "Stepping out of my comfort zone." She then went into her "comedy bit" by telling the audience that she was in her mom's vintage Prada dress that had zippers on the side. "It'll help me scratch my legs without feeling like I'm flashing you." Comedy is in her blood as she's also an actress who is currently starring in the Hulu comedy Not Suitable for Work.
For "Subway Trash," she mentioned that it was for the first single she released from the album. "It's a song about shapeshifting to please others and the addictive cycle I got into with that. I love my life as an actress and being someone who can perform lot's of different characters for people, but I got into a habit of doing that in my personal life, as well."
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| Ella Hunt at The Airliner Bar |
She mentioned that the album is about grief. This was highlighted as she talked about "Dove Grey," which is a song about a day when they were saying good-bye to her sister during her final days. The song is inspired by a photo that was taken of her mother. The red stage lights added emotional weight to her song. Her final song of the night was "Theory of Love." "It's not about my home city. It's about a city I've spent time in. It won me over through the eyes of the person I love." She had to clarify this for sure, because her lyrics include the line "I hate this city."
What did I notice: she played the keyboard's pedal barefoot.
What did I notice 2: she did say a couple times that even though she was playing a solo set that we should add drum tracks in our heads.
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| Ella Hunt at The Airliner Bar |
The song spotlight goes to "Six Hours," which is her favorite song of the album. The introduction of the song showed that she had the touch of the nerves and vulnerabilities as she first called her song "Six of Hours." Being an actress, she is used to being in front of the camera so the honesty of the moment connect her closer to all of us. It starts with a lovely crafted piano intro, leading to quiet vocals that expand into classical vocals to conclude the song. The six hours are the time spent on a train to meet someone close.
Rest my head and let you drive
Setlist: Blindspot, Mother's Chair, Subway Trash, Six Hours, Dove Grey, Theory of Love.
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