Review: Livingmore Dials Up Their Friends at The Echo

Livingmore is splitting time between Los Angeles and Japan. They're currently hanging out in Los Angeles for a few more weeks before they fly back to Japan. I saw them back in late June for their self titled Livingmore record release party and then I got to catch them again this past Saturday at The Echo. For what could be described as their going away party, they put together a line-up that warmed my heart. On this day, the calendar was flipped back to pre-2020 venue closures: the night was held at The Echo and I have a long history with everyone that was on the line-up. 

Livingmore at The Echo

Opening up the night was ANDREA. That's the new project for Emma Cole. I still remember catching Emma Cole for the first time back in 2018. She was the opener for the final Chinatown Summer Nights that year. It was a first encounter that would be hard not to remember as Lauren Ruth Ward joined her on stage. Up next was Dream Phases and if I'm not mistaken Livingmore and Dream Phases will always be connecting in my memories (and if not, well, sometimes memories get mixed up). I do believe I saw them both for the first time back in 2017 when they played The Hi Hat (a former venue in Highland Park) together. After Dream Phases was Child Seat, which technically is a post 2020 encounter, but I've followed the band's core -- Madeleine Mathews and Josiah Mazzaschi -- for far longer than the band itself. 

ANDREA at The Echo

This glorious night of music almost did not happen. An electric transformer blew and the electricity didn't kick back on until just before the clock struck 7 p.m. The 7 p.m. time was important, because if the electricity didn't turn back on by that time, The Echo was going to call the night off. I noticed that something was off as I was walking towards The Echo. It was so off that I had to mentally make sure it was in fact a Saturday night. Triple Beam Pizza, Fluffy McCloud's, Masa of Echo Park, and Stories Books and Cafe were all closed. Even though the electricity went on at 7 p.m., not all was in the clear as the venue need to run tests to make sure all was working properly. 

As mentioned, up first was ANDREA. Hardly surprising, in the audience was Lauren Ruth Ward. She was met with screams from the crowd, "You're hot." She tore through her set with a dynamic stage performance. It included a spin on the floor for her song "I Need Your Love." That wasn't all that unusual for her. All the way back to that 2018 encounter, she always put on one of the better engaging sets in the Los Angeles music scene. There was a big shift in directions for her; however. Instead of a singer-songwriter style of music that even dated as recently as 2023, she has transformed into a punk rocker.  I'm all for this re-invention. 

For her song "Get Away From Me," she mentioned that it is a song about two individuals having a phone conversation. She mentioned she was singing both parts. It was not an issue of her having dissociative identity disorder. Her last song had the crowd going wild as she sang the Adam Sandler cover "Somebody Kill Me." It was a cover meant to connect with all the millennials in the crowd. Her debut album should be coming out soon.

Dream Phases at The Echo

Dream Phases was next with their psychedelic flavored sound. My understanding is that if The Echo called off the night due to the electrical issues, there was an offer from Dream Phases to keep the night going by moving the night to one of their homes for a house show. They definitely win an award for their set. Out of all the bands, their gear packed the stage the most. The blended psychedelic vocals of the band had the crowd cheering after each song. Their song "Little Blue Magnolia" was just recently released and is about the child of Brandon Graham (lead vocalist) and Jeanna Fournier (bassist) whom I'm guessing is approaching the age of 3: I've been waiting my whole life for you, now you have arrived.

They saved the best for last. Off their 2024 Phantom Idol album, they played "Turn Away." The song harkens back to their earlier catalogue. They ended the song with a band jam that had The Echo's lights participating. 

Child Seat knows how to dial up the energy levels. Lead singer Madeleine Mathews' rocker vocals created ear worm moments that started off with the opening song "Heart To Heart." Like Emma Cole, Mathews has an ability to just command the stage.

The band is known for their stage props. In the past, for their song "Money," they've used a money gun or cash register to toss around fake dollar bills. That song did not make the set list, but a keen eye would have noticed two jester dolls hanging out on one of the amps. Based on your view point, the two dolls were either creepy or classic.

Child Seat at The Echo

The band had perhaps the two best moments of the night. First, for the song "Stress," Mathews accidentally unplugged her microphone. What a perfect alignment with the word stress. Then when they sang Bruce Springsteen cover "Dancing in the Dark," Emma Cole and Alex Moore (Livingmore) came up on stage to sing backing vocals.        

Child Seat at The Echo

Livingmore has been a favorite band since my first encounter back in 2017. After not catching a set in 2025, I've gotten to catch the band twice in rather short order in 2026. Hopefully, they don't spend all of 2027 in Japan, resulting in me not seeing a set for a full calendar year again. Of course, if they do spend all of 2027 in Japan, a way around that would be to fly to Japan to catch a set. 

Child Seat is not the only band with props. For Livingmore, a retro bright red phone took center stage. With the band on stage except for Alex Moore who was off stage, the phone began to ring. Someone in the audience began to chant: Pick It Up. Maybe that will become the band's calling card chant. Moore answered the call and picked up the phone as the band launched into the opening track of their recent album, "Resident Psycho."  

Livingmore at The Echo

If I'm not mistaken, one has to give it up to the guitarist Tristan Esmundo's family and friends. They showed up in mass, positioning themselves on stage right where he was playing. They spent the set in full vocal support. 

Moore gave some context to the song "Memory Hill." The song was inspired by meeting up with a friend for the first time in awhile. There was some distance there that was closed by returning to what initially created a bond in the first place: humor.

Livingmore at The Echo

As for humor, to close out the night, the band asked the audience, "Shall we play one more?" With the crowd screaming for an encore, the band launched into their deep catalog and closed out the night with "Really Mean It." 

The night ended just shy of midnight. Good old pre-2020 nights.

Livingmore setlist: Resident Psycho, Away Away Away, Places, Memory Hill, Ready To Escape, Kick It, Keep Multiplying, Sharp, Not That Nice, Dead Fruit, Gone Too Fast, Really Mean It.

Child Seat setlist: Heart To Heart, My Broken Heart, Never Gonna Be You, Stress, Hyperphantasia, Burning, Dance in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen cover), Sad Voyage. 

Dream Phases setlist: Post TV, Tandy, Colour Garden, Little Blue Magnolia, Haunt Me, Orphan Pinata, Speed Of Light, Turn Away.

ANDREA setlist: Over the Edge, Give It a Rest, Rich, Milk Money, I Need Your Love, Get Away From Me, Meet Me Outside, Somebody Kill Me (Adam Sandler cover).